Photos from the function at Umayalpuram
The incredible bus journey !
Shyam, Rama and appa went for a day to Umayalpuram to attend the celestial Sita Kalyanam function, which is performed by Rama's dad every year with great pomp and show.
The Ceremony
The ceremony went off very well, including an excellent performance by Rama's 11-year old nephew (brother's son) on the mridangam! Appa was completely in awe of the child and his performance too ! And more than anything, a fine sense of respect for the elders and also the humility and grace with which the child carried himself !
After the function, the trio even visited Swamimalai by car - managed a quick darshan despite the thronging crowds (due to Sashti) and then headed back to the hotel in Kumbakonam.
And now for the Adventure -- although the onward journey by train (on saturday night) was pretty normal, their return journey more than compensated for it - their train tickets(for sundtay night) was still waitlisted when they had left. Shyam had hoped that by some miracle their return tickets would get confirmed, but till the last min it was still unconfirmed! Even buses were running absolutely chock-a-block (as indicated on the internet !)
Then were dropped by car to the Kumbakonam station, where appa tried his best to convince the station master to wangle some seats but to no avail ! When their last hopes of train travel were dashed, they proceeded to the Bus Terminal. There too, the Chennai buses were full and the manager directed them to some Travels who might have some seats. They took an auto to that place and checked for buses. Now begins the exciting journey -
They embarked on a Never-before-Journey from Kumbakonam to Chennai -- note the various legs of the journey - each leg by a different bus :
1. kumbakonam to Mayilaaduthurai
2. Mayilaaduthurai to Thanjavur
3. Thanjavur to Chidambaram
4. Chidambaram to Cuddalore
5. Cuddalore to Pondichery
6. Pondichery to Chennai !!
It seemed like they were doing a "Tamil Nadu Darshan" through an exciting all-night "Hop-on-Hop-off tour" ! They were boarding on and off the various buses EVERY HOUR , ON THE HOUR, until they reached chennai at 4:00!
Although all the buses were non-AC, and according to Shyam, they were all "fully ventilated" (completely exposed on all sides - no windows and probably no roof too !! sounds like they were all standing on the chassis and travelling all night!)
Added attractions in the bus included :
-jam packed buses with passengers overflowing
- people either standing / sleeping on the aisles and with no room to walk / stand
- MGR films being played with blaring music right through the night
- psychedelic lights of pink and yellow and green twinkling alternately inside the buses
- last-row-seat rides jolting them off their seats on every bump -- simulating a roller-coaster experience
- intscenes of india
-- an old grandmother clutching on to her four grandchildren with no place to stand (leave alone sit)
-- another lady travelling back home from temple visits to reach next morning to take her son to school !
Shyam's observation is that the "real india is riding on prayers and hope"- a prayer on everyone's lips - the bus driver starts off with a prayer before leaving, the numerous passengers visiting temples etc.
The last of the bus journey legs eventually ended when they reached Chennai around 4:15 am - and the trio were in Shyam's house by 4:30 am. Kitcha thatha had bravely endured the entire ride
The journey revealed Two interesting Truths:
- That the multi-bus hop-on-hop-off tour saved not only MONEY but also TIME ! !
1) the train ticket was 900 per head while the bus journeys (all inclusive rate of ONLY Rs.99 - looks like they had this irresistible offer of "Buy 3 Bus Journeys and Get 3 more Aboslutely FREE" and not to forget the 'FULL ventilation' thrown in completely FREE !!)
2) The train journey which would have left at 7:30pm would have reached only by 7:30 am, whereas the multi-bus option helped them arrive at their destination by 4:30 am ! They beat the train timing by almost 2-3 hours !!
So in this case, this seems to defy all logic but time is unequal to money !
With the exciting adventure drawing to an end, the octagenarian decided to propagate this new-found alternate mode of travel anywhere within TN - which gives you a saving of COST & TIME, with Excitement thrown in !!
Any more takers for the Hop-on-hop-off tour can please contact VSR Travels for mass bookings ! Special discounts - RUSH FAST ! Offers open until tickets last !
