A Monsoon Wedding-Part-2

First of all an apology to all the dedicated readers of my blog, especially Revathi, Jeanne and Mick, I was totally occupied with work and found no time to blog. Finally I have found some free time now, so BACK TO BLOGGING.

The feast was sumptuous, and after some time of chatting about the "porutham" of the bride and the groom, we decided it was time to explore Tirunelveli. We had about three hours time from 4 P.M. to 7 P. M., and decided to make good use of it.
The first stop on our tour itineary was the famous Kanthimathi Nellaiyappar Temple. We took a bus to the temple which was about 25 minutes from the Junction busstand. The visit to this temple will remain as one of my most cherished memories. I was spellbound by the architecture and the grandeur of the sculptures and the layout of the temple.
This twin temple dedicated to Siva (Nellaiyappar) and Parvathi (Kanthimathi) is situated in the heart of the city. Built by the Pandyas in the 13C but entirely remodeled and extended in 17C - 18C , the main deity is a 'Suyambu Lingam' or a Shiva Lingam which erupted from underneath the earth. The temple is worth seeing for its beautiful sculptures, musical pillars, valuable jewels, a golden lily tank and a thousand pillared mandapa. It is one of the five sacred places in Saiva religion.
The highlight of the temple is the set of musical pillars, which produce musical notes on tapping them. Then there was a huge pond with fishes and the temple elephant who blessed all of us.
Next stop was the Iruttu Kadai Halwa shop.
Tirunelveli is synonymous with its halwa dripping with ghee that melts in your mouth instantly. So we bought halwa from the famous "Iruttu Kadai", maybe it does not have tubelights, I don't know why its called that. "Iruttu Kadai" when translated means "Dark Shop".
Then we just visited some of the shops and brought a silk saree for the bride and a silk mundu and Jibba(kurta) for the groom. It was beginning to get dark and we returned to the marriage hall.
D-DAY for Mapillai
It is 7:40 and our mapillai and his bride are about to enter a new stage in their lives or shall I say life as they are supposed to be-"One in spirit and Soul from now..." The vaathiyars(priests) chanted the mantras and the thali(mangalsutra) was tied on to the bride to the echoing of the "Nadaswaram Gettimelams".
The bride cried as she was leaving her family and joining a new family. I was immediately transported to 1994 when my sister was married and she cried a lot hugging our mother and uncle.
Then everyone proceeded to the dining hall, where a grand feast was arranged. Then it was time to say goodbyes and promises were made to visit each other(all far-flung relatives living places as varied as Palakkad and Pathankot). I returnedwith my sister and brother-in-law by the Nellai Express. That is another story, which will form the basis of my next post.
Keep reading.Cheers.