Stay in Kanniyakumari; visiting temple; visiting cyber cafe
Having secured a good sleep, Monday was the second day in Kanniyakumari. In the morning hours as i stepped outside Triveni Tourist Home i could sight a bunch of scootermen wishing to take tourists to sunrise point. A little after 8 am i left the hotel to reach Devdas store, one of the few stores having newspapers and writing pads. In little over 15 minutes from here i reached the Kanniyakumari temple. The temple is fairly clean and the movement of the queue inside has a semblance of order. One has to remove his vest to enter the temple premises. Sighting the Goddess is a moving experience and the idol looking as radiant as ever. As one moves to the exit point there are a series of merchandise stores.
As i decided to keep a date with Kanya's footsteps on foothills, the vessel which i could board and the queue which i could join looked to be a tad different. The serpentine queue set to get longer every passing minute defeated the resolve to visit the Kanya's footsteps. The queue was made up of tourists coming from West Bengal and other states. Rampant unemployment and an order that looks to be disturbing every passing month has made the people from West Bengal search for opportunities in other states/destinations. From here i walked all the way to Fathima stores , there are a set of two to three stores with one serving as cyber cafe.
Run by a man from a minority section, he welcomes the customers with a smile and has a big impact on the sentiment index. With over two hours spent at the cyber cafe i head towards Vivekananda Ashram where i come across two boys working as volunteers, one hailing from Andhra Pradesh and other from Pune. The boys opened up to a discourse on activities they were associated with as far as the trust functioning went and i expressing regret over not able to board the vessel in view of serpentine queue.
As i head towards restaurant, i come across P Thungaswami running Ranade Communication serving as a cyber cafe-cum-phone booth. The times we live in and the opportunities we come across may make one wonder whether a phone booth is a necessity. In a place like Kanniyakumari which opens its door to tourists from across the globe, a phone booth is a must especially for those who are uncomfortable with the idea of a cell/smartphone. In the city of Bangalore some colonies have phone booths at every nook and corner. This i discovered in April 2014. Against this in the city of Delhi no phone booths can be discovered at any place making it convenient for some to resort to misuse of cell.
Ranade communication i have visited in the past to do stories in 2010 and later and this Mr P Thungaswami was able to recall. Later took meals from a Vegetarian restaurant which probably went by the name gowri shankar restaurant. The sumptuous feast comes for a little less than 100 rs with the staff at the counter cooperating in all possible ways. In the background songs in praise of Lord Venkateshawra is being played. In the vicinity of this restaurant is a handicraft emporium, a book stall and a BSNL Broadband Internet Browsing Centre ( Ranade Communication).Besides Mr P Thungaswami there is a girl who goes by the name Subba working in the cyber cafe.
The large hall a few metres away from reception desk of Vivekananda Kendra which served as a meal centre in the past has been discontinued. Velapan is the security guard in Vivekananda Ashram and opposite ashram are a string of shops like Kodak photoshop, nice footwear and a cyber cafe which i visited in the past. Later i head towards Kanniyakumari railway station to book a ticket for Thrissur. At Kanniyakumari railway station there is a computerised reservation centre and unreserved ticketing counter. Amidst string of chairs one can spot a Canara bank cash point. On display are southern railways vigilance numbers and a board of Kanniyakumari train timings. Janki is at the counter who books a ticket for Thrissur. In the evening i am in the Triveni Tourist home where i come across personnel like Robin and S Das. Though roads in the temple city are not wide, the fewer sighting of vehicles helps to keep the pollution at bay. One can walk from Vivekananda Ashram to Kanniyakumari road leading all the way to the market and temple with fewer irritants.
Tuesday was the day when i had to leave for Guruvayoor. I head to the outer fringes of the temple and return to Triveni Tourist Home. The train is supposed to leave at 10.30 am.
Having secured a good sleep, Monday was the second day in Kanniyakumari. In the morning hours as i stepped outside Triveni Tourist Home i could sight a bunch of scootermen wishing to take tourists to sunrise point. A little after 8 am i left the hotel to reach Devdas store, one of the few stores having newspapers and writing pads. In little over 15 minutes from here i reached the Kanniyakumari temple. The temple is fairly clean and the movement of the queue inside has a semblance of order. One has to remove his vest to enter the temple premises. Sighting the Goddess is a moving experience and the idol looking as radiant as ever. As one moves to the exit point there are a series of merchandise stores.
As i decided to keep a date with Kanya's footsteps on foothills, the vessel which i could board and the queue which i could join looked to be a tad different. The serpentine queue set to get longer every passing minute defeated the resolve to visit the Kanya's footsteps. The queue was made up of tourists coming from West Bengal and other states. Rampant unemployment and an order that looks to be disturbing every passing month has made the people from West Bengal search for opportunities in other states/destinations. From here i walked all the way to Fathima stores , there are a set of two to three stores with one serving as cyber cafe.
Run by a man from a minority section, he welcomes the customers with a smile and has a big impact on the sentiment index. With over two hours spent at the cyber cafe i head towards Vivekananda Ashram where i come across two boys working as volunteers, one hailing from Andhra Pradesh and other from Pune. The boys opened up to a discourse on activities they were associated with as far as the trust functioning went and i expressing regret over not able to board the vessel in view of serpentine queue.
As i head towards restaurant, i come across P Thungaswami running Ranade Communication serving as a cyber cafe-cum-phone booth. The times we live in and the opportunities we come across may make one wonder whether a phone booth is a necessity. In a place like Kanniyakumari which opens its door to tourists from across the globe, a phone booth is a must especially for those who are uncomfortable with the idea of a cell/smartphone. In the city of Bangalore some colonies have phone booths at every nook and corner. This i discovered in April 2014. Against this in the city of Delhi no phone booths can be discovered at any place making it convenient for some to resort to misuse of cell.
Ranade communication i have visited in the past to do stories in 2010 and later and this Mr P Thungaswami was able to recall. Later took meals from a Vegetarian restaurant which probably went by the name gowri shankar restaurant. The sumptuous feast comes for a little less than 100 rs with the staff at the counter cooperating in all possible ways. In the background songs in praise of Lord Venkateshawra is being played. In the vicinity of this restaurant is a handicraft emporium, a book stall and a BSNL Broadband Internet Browsing Centre ( Ranade Communication).Besides Mr P Thungaswami there is a girl who goes by the name Subba working in the cyber cafe.
The large hall a few metres away from reception desk of Vivekananda Kendra which served as a meal centre in the past has been discontinued. Velapan is the security guard in Vivekananda Ashram and opposite ashram are a string of shops like Kodak photoshop, nice footwear and a cyber cafe which i visited in the past. Later i head towards Kanniyakumari railway station to book a ticket for Thrissur. At Kanniyakumari railway station there is a computerised reservation centre and unreserved ticketing counter. Amidst string of chairs one can spot a Canara bank cash point. On display are southern railways vigilance numbers and a board of Kanniyakumari train timings. Janki is at the counter who books a ticket for Thrissur. In the evening i am in the Triveni Tourist home where i come across personnel like Robin and S Das. Though roads in the temple city are not wide, the fewer sighting of vehicles helps to keep the pollution at bay. One can walk from Vivekananda Ashram to Kanniyakumari road leading all the way to the market and temple with fewer irritants.
Tuesday was the day when i had to leave for Guruvayoor. I head to the outer fringes of the temple and return to Triveni Tourist Home. The train is supposed to leave at 10.30 am.
