One day trip - Velankanni

My much awaited desired prolonged Velankanni trip.

One of the greatest pleasures of being in Chennai is your proximity to a lot of one day getaways… and nothing more exciting than planning a trip.

Even though we are in the first quarter of the year I have exhausted my leaves due to our cliché dialogue “personal issues”.

Now that can’t stop me from holidaying ;-)

When I sat down to plan the places to visit on my bucket list the first one that popped up was Velankanni, to visit the shrine of lady of good health.

In times of sickness this was always on my mind that when I get back to optimum health I will go and stand face to face with this mother as a sign of gratitude.

Hailing from down south in Kerala the trips to Velankanni were often registered as tedious, dirty, long trips.

I decided to create a better memory and enjoy my trip.

I did my research on climate to start with, modes of transport, hotels food, mass timings, and other tourist spots around Velankanni.

For the last two weeks I have been doing my research on the internet about Velankanni and speaking to the best hotels available for tariffs.

Something or the other came up and my two day leaves were not working out.

I planned a one day trip.

Departure - 10pm Chennai the busy Koyembedu bus stand

Arrival at the holy soil – 4.30 am.

I rushed back from my hectic weekend at work and quickly packed my backpack with clothes and other necessities, cookies to munch on and water.

Not to give extra strain on my back I preferred a Sleeper bus. There were hardly buses to Velankanni (surprisingly).I took a non a/c sleeper bus as A/c was not available. The humidity currently is beyond words could explain. I kept my fingers crossed that I should not fall ill or claustrophobic in the bus.

I thanked all the bloggers and their wonderful reviews which were so helpful choose the bus and hotel I wanted to stay in.

I would be using the hotel only during the day to refresh and catch some sleep which I have been deprived of.

Koyembedu and travel from that super busy noisy bus stand was not new to me. I sat down waiting for my bus and remembered my college days of how reckless and daring I was to walk in to koyembedu buy a random ticket to Nagercoil and further take buses to Trivandrum.

Today in spite of all the planning I was worried,

The bus reminded me of a fish .Tall and sleek and way too silvery.

Even though these thoughts happen on my thought bubble I laugh out loud, followed by an embarrassment.

The sleeper was an upper berth and had sliding windows. The bus started to move and the air fought to gush in.

I didn’t want to reach velaknni at 4.30.I prayed hard for a delay in departure contradicting to the prayers of fellow passengers.

I had a small talk with the bus driver and conductor and asked him if he could drop me  at “mathakulam”(this was the landmark the hotel reception gave me.

After a long halt at a toll before reaching Velankanni the bus pulls in to Velankanni by 5.30.The sun was out and I was a happy child. A proactive bus conductor asks for a couple of directions and drops me at VPN hotel in Matakulam or Our lady’s tank.

The bookings we done prior to my visit and they offered 10% discount plus complimentary breakfast after my sweet talk and enquiries.

The hotel was relatively new and the rooms were spotlessly clean .

I hit the bed and woke up at 8.30am.A quick shower and nibbled through a bit of everything on the buffet, took my camera and stood outside the hotel.

Being very enthusiastic and experimental that morning, I took a shortcut to walk to our lady’s tank.

I walked and walked through a dry dusty road with no signs of a tank. Occasionally there was a signage pointing to the direction I was walking to. I finally reached my destination. There were trees with cradles tied all over with bright yellow threads.

There was the tank with a metal covering and a cross and Hail Mary stencilled on it. I could look through the small holes and see a reflection of it in the water beneath.

I walked towards the Shrine of our lady of Good health and by then the sun was at its peak. Sipped from a bottle of water I was carrying and I could see devotees crawling towards the tank from the church as a belief. I saw an exhausted woman in the verge of collapsing on the sand. She drank water from my bottle and I proceeded to the church. There was a malayalam mass happening at that time and I took that as a sign from Mother Mary Welcoming me to her abode.

I sat on the floor outside as the church was full of Malayalam speaking devotees. Post the service I entered the church and I quickly tried to remember the names I had registered in my mind of people who needed special blessings.

I felt that I was pressurised to pray and not to forget.

I did my generalised template of prayer and prayed for My parents, grandparents, uncles ,aunts, cousins, their children, relatives, neighbours in all houses I have lived in, people I have met in all cities that I have lived in, my school, colleges, juniors , seniors , classmates, faculties, teachers, mentors, guides,doctors,people who are unwell, troubled, colleagues at work, bosses.

I have always found myself in a very difficult spot trying to pray in a busy church. I never get a Holy feeling or connect.

There is always suffering around.

Visited a museum near the church with pictorial depiction of how mother Mary appeared to the milk man .The church was founded its founding is attributed to three miracles: the apparition of Mary and Jesus to a slumbering shepherd boy, the curing of a lame buttermilk vendor, and the survival of Portuguese sailors assaulted by a violent sea storm.

I walked through the dirty crowded humid roads with fruit, shell, and pirated CD vendors and reached the beach.

The sipped some tender coconut water and clicked a few pictures of the ocean.

I ate raw mangoes and cashew apple.

The resinous cashew juice burnt my stomach as I walked back to where I could take a rickshaw back to the hotel. I ordered food to the room and slept. I was content that a long term dream came true and I was relaxed after the good sleep and food at the hotel.

I lay on the upper berth looking at the beautiful full moon from the window and the wind stroking my hair getting recaps of the day which has gone by…in spirituality and relaxation. I would probably not want to go back to Velankanni but I have memories well etched.