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Pudukkottai Government Museum
Today while driving to Rameswaram from Chennai (Madras), I stopped for an hour at the Government Museum, Pudukkottai (அரசு அருங்காட்சியகம், புதுக்கோட்டை). Surprisingly, they had a sizeable number of artefacts. Unfortunately, due to the extensive renovation of the building, which had been stalled for two years due to the pandemic, the items on display are all cramped in the few available display windows – for example, marine animals and ancient musical instruments share a display and so on. If you are in the region, then spending an hour or two here will be a welcome break in your journey. Thanks to Subashini THF whose post about this place a few years…
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Farm visit near Pochampalli Town, Tamil Nadu
When he came to know of my visit to Salem this week, Mr Selva Murali of Visual Media Technologies invited me to visit his hometown Pochampalli, near Krishnagiri. He enticed me by offering to show me, a city boy, to visit his organic farmlands, taste the native produce and enjoy the scenic views of the lake & greenery around. I readily agreed. I was expecting a small town, but I was surprised to find a buzzing township with several shops, eateries, and even industries nearby. From Salem, it is a two-hour drive-by National Highway 44 (new number) towards Krishnagiri, you need to take a right turn at Kariamangalam which comes…
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Hotel Lakshmi Prakash, Salem
I am in Salem this week, and a friend recommended I visit the famous vegetarian restaurant, the Hotel Lakshmi Prakash (லக்ஷ்மி பிரகாஷ், சேலம்) in Brindavan Rd, Fairlands, Salem. Today we went to the hotel for dinner, which is in the busy market area of Salem for dinner and it was buzzing with customers, so we got a parcel and left to avoid the crowd. The ghee roast (முறுகல் நெய் தோசை) and the Rawa dosa (ரவா தோசை) were yummy, well worth the trip and the wait. The price was reasonable. Remember, when coming from the bypass to take the road below the bridge and not get on the flyover that goes…
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TexValley, a large Textile Mall in Erode
After our trip to Sankagiri Fort and then our Lunch, a friend recommended we visit one of the largest Textile Malls in the state before we go back to the hotel in Salem where we were staying. Called TexValley the malls are in Erode (Google map), about 75 minutes from Salem City and is on the National Highway 544 (Salem to Kochi). TexValley is an initiative of the local entrepreneurs in the region and supported by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and Government of Tamil Nadu. The region comprises Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode – they form the Textile Valley of Tamil Nadu, hence the name for the mall.…
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Sri Ardhanareeswarar Temple, Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu
We had a good darshan at Arulmigu Ardhanareeswarar Temple at Tiruchengode Hills (திருச்செங்கோடு அர்த்தநாரீசுவரர் கோயில்). The sacred hill is about 650 feet high, the drive by car is short, about ten minutes and by foot it will be a climb of 1156 steps. From Namakkal where we had offered our prayers earlier, Tiruchengode was a 45-minutes’ drive by Salem-Trichy (Tamil Nadu State Highway 94), from Salem city it will be about an hour. Since we went early on a weekday (Wednesday) there was no crowd in the temple, only a dozen other devotees. Tamil Wikipedia says the foot path to the hills is considered sacred, and a promise made in…
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Namakkal Anjaneyar and Narasimhaswamy Temple, Tamil Nadu
I feel blessed to have gotten a good darshan at Namakkal Sri Anjaneyar Temple [அருள்மிகு ஆஞ்சநேயர் சன்னதி, நாமக்கல்] and at Namakkal Sri Narasimhaswamy Temple [அருள்மிகு நாமகிரி தாயார், நரசிம்மர் திருக்கோயில், நாமக்கல்]. Namakkal Sri Anjaneyar Namakkal Sri Anjaneyar is one of the famous temples for Lord Hanuman in the state and is over a millennium old. The 18-feet idol is composed of a single stone and is believed to be growing slowly in height every year, as a result, there is no roof for the holy idol. Namakkal Sri Narasimha Temple The Sri Narasimha Temple is in the foothill of a small fort, the main Sanctum Santorum is carved out of the…
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Sankagiri Fort in Erode, Tamil Nadu
Today I felt wonderful as if I have accomplished something significant – feeling this way after a long time. This was after I completed the trek/climb to the top of the Sankagiri Fort in Salem District. It took me about 75 minutes to reach the top – a height of 2300 feet. Since it is a pandemic out there, and we had gone on an afternoon on a weekday I saw only a few others inside the fort – a group of young college students, a couple and a solo traveller. The fort is open for all and has no entry fee, which translates to having no security guards around…
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Tasty South Indian food I had near Tiruchengode area
When you are travelling, you get tastiest food at unexpected places. Today we experienced that at two places on our travel to Salem (Tamil Nadu) and surrounding region. Outside the cities it is safe and wise to always eat the local cuisine and to avoid eateries where you don’t find any locals but only tourists. Breakfast in Tiruchengode town, Tamil Nadu Today early morning after our darshan at Namakkal temple, we were on our way to Tiruchengode temple when we were looking for a good enough restaurant for our breakfast. There were many bakeries along the Attur-Rasipuram-Erode highway (Tamil Nadu State Highway 76) but cakes, puff (stuffed spicy pastry) and…
