The Kanchipuram Silk saree

 

Vailankanni to Kanchipuram - Day 4

Only 275 kms distance, but took us almost 6 hours....lots of traffic, a 2-lane highway for most of the way (sans central divider, driving can be painstaking) and, bad patches between Karaikal and Cuddalore. 

Post lunch, stepped out to see the famed Silk Saree shops of Kanchipuram.... suicidal, but, had to be done 😛....my co-passenger has been a beaut and she deserved some shopping!!😘 Here's some info on the "making of the Silk Saree"...my source, Mr. Shanmugham of Sri Kamatchi Silks,  Kanchipuram. Believe it or not, the entire supply of Raw Silk is from Bangalore. Zari is sourced from Surat. Design, weaving & Dyeing is all that happens in Kanchipuram; and, that is what separates the boys from the men! Mr. Shanmugham says a Kanchipuram Silk Saree is for a lifetime! He also said that the lightest Silk Sarees are the Mysore Silk sarees, middleweight are Kanchipuram sarees and really heavy Silk sarees are from Benares... that's Silk saree 'gyan' for you😀

Tomorrow's night halt at Guntur is just the means to an end, a break in journey , before Vizag scheduled the following day!

That's it for today! Good night... Stay with us!👍

Rameswaram to Vailankanni - Day 3

Hi all,

250 kms along State Highways, very little traffic (maybe, being a Sunday), driving at a very relaxed pace brought us to Vailankanni in 4 hours. Nothing exciting along the route, so munched on some super Pistachios, listened to Wynk music, and, enjoyed the drive. Had a power nap post check-in, followed by a sumptuous Chicken curry Meals, with Boneless Chicken 65 added-on😛, and then went to Mother Mary's Basilica.

Spent the whole of the afternoon there....teeming crowds, people from all faiths, from so many parts of India, doing this pilgrimage!🙏 

We are hugging the East Coast, tomorrow too, enroute to Kanchipuram, passing by Chidambaram and Pondicherry. 

So heartwarming to read all your comments, sorry I'm not responding to each one, but, your support and encouragement keeps us going!

Stay with us ! 🚘

Hi everyone,

Firstly, thankyou to all friends and family who are journeying with us ....loving your company and your encouragement! 😀👋 Today was a spectacular day. One more day along the East coast of India....this time driving North / North East. Lovely Highway from Kanyakumari till Ramanathapuram and then NH 32 from Ramanathapuram to Rameswaram. Superb drive! A memorable day in many ways......finally, got to see the Pamban Palam (Bridge) ! India's longest Sea bridge until the Bandra- Worli Sealink came up. The new Pamban Bridge is under construction and this promises to be an Engineering marvel. Work is on at a frenetic pace, but maybe, 5 more years to completion...can't say for sure. This was followed by a visit to Dr. Abdul Kalam's Memorial at Rameswaram.....and then, on the prodding of golfing buddy Jopu, a drive from Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi (Ram Setu).....about 20 kms from Rameswaram......memorable, so scenic and the tranquil vast expanse of waters will forever remain etched in your memory! Highly recommended to anyone who visits Rameswaram...please visit Dhanushkodi. From Dhanushkodi to the incredible Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram....an Architectural masterpiece! For Hindus, it is said that the 4 most holiest sites (Char Dham) are Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri & Rameswaram. A visit to Ramanathaswamy temple after visiting Kashi (Varanasi) is supposed to bring Moksha to the soul. Most Hindus would consider themselves really blessed to visit Rameswaram and Varanasi in their lifetime.     

Later in the day, we visited the Ramar Patham temple in Rameswaram, where Sri Ram's footsteps are visible. 

In between all of this sightseeing, on the recommendation of our Hotel room boy, we had lunch at Pugadh restaurant, near our Hotel! Fabulous Chicken biryani with Prawn fry, Squid fry and Vajram fry😆

Our trip to Rameswaram has fulfilled one of those lifelong dreams...

Stay with us! 

Day 1 of "Our Discovery of India" brought us to the southern most tip of India - Kanyakumari! Not a very pleasant drive from Ernakulam to Kanyakumari - 300 kms; however, no complaints, it's all part of the game. Unpleasant drive - simply bcoz it's a 2-lane road all the way from Ernakulam to Kanyakumari and with the heavy density of traffic, people crossings, intersections, etc....driving gets very arduous and stressful, indeed! Anyways, having got to Cape Comorin (the old name for Kanyakumari), the feel-good factor in being at this beautiful part of Incredible India warms the heart. The Triveni sangam - the 3 mighty Oceans converge here; the Vivekananda Rock memorial and the stupendous Tiruvalluvar statue are all sights to behold! The Vivekananda Rock Memorial was built in 1970. Swami Vivekananda was said to have attained enlightenment on this Rock. The Tiruvalluvar statue was inaugurated on Jan. 01st, 2000. This 133-feet tall Statue was built in honour of the Tamil Poet and Scholar, Tiruvalluvar, so well known for his literary masterpiece, "Thirikural". Many refer to him as Saint Tiruvalluvar!You can spend hours just staring mindlessly at the beautiful Oceans, it is mesmerising, indeed! A glass of white spirits would take the experience to a higher level! 😀 I am to sure whether the waters of the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal are of different colours, but whatever it is, you can clearly see blue and shades of blue and green....it could be an illusion...nevertheless, it is magnificent! The much-hyped about "Sunset@the Cape" was a bummer, thanks to a cloudy evening Sky. So, that's it....my co-passenger and me are in good spirits...excited, and, keenly awaiting the road ahead! Stay with us......🙏 

 T minus One.....

We are set for an early morning departure, tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 25th, 2022)!😀  

Our route.......Cochin - Kanyakumari - Rameswaram - Vailankanni - Kanchipuram - Guntur - Vizag - Konark / Puri Beach - Jamshedpur - Asansol (Chittaranjan) - Varanasi - Lucknow - Kanpur - Orchha - Mathura - Noida - Chandigarh - Amritsar - Hisar - Ajmer - Ahmedabad - Vadodara (Baroda) - Nashik - Akola - Nagpur - Hyderabad - Hampi - Mangalore - Bekal - Calicut - Back home ! Estimated 9,000 kms, 36-40 days. 

So, we've intentionally avoided Cities / Towns that we've already been to.... Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, and also, places like Kashmir and Rajasthan where we've been couple of times. One regret, though, is that we are missing out on the North East. Would have loved to drive around the verdant NE, but, that would involve quite a few more days, and, we didnt want to stretch our trip. 

Hopefully, the weather conditions will be salubrious at this time of the year, and, we hope the roads we travel, will be world-class! 

Can't wait to see Incredible India and live this dream🙏

See you tomorrow morning! Cheers!

 Hello Family and friends! 

This Blog has been a while in an extended pipeline 😀 The Part 1 of this blog "One from the Bucket List" will, hopefully, be the first of a few more to follow, in the years ahead!

Part 1 will cover our impending pan-India drive, scheduled for a flag-off on Friday, Feb 25th, 2022. We've named this drive "Our Discovery of India". 

Truly, this is a dream come true🙏. We, all, live with Bucket lists. I must do this, and do that, and go here and go there, before I die. As long as I am blessed with health and resources, let me pursue these dreams and enjoy this life. Contents of our Bucket lists may be the probable, impossible, and, the wishful! Doing an all-India drive is something that has been tossing and turning and churning, in my heart and soul, for so many years. An illustrious cousin has been at the forefront of driving across Continents. A few friends, too, have explored this passion for driving. Inspiration and courage has, surely, been pretty easily available!    

Finally, Part 1 of "One from the Bucket list" is about to fructify! As we head into the final stages of planning for this proposed 40-day drive, the excitement is palpable to my immediate family, adrenalin levels are high, and, I'm looking forward so, so much to this adventure of  a lifetime. 

Let me introduce to you the participants in "Our Discovery of India". Just the 3 of us.....my life and my wife, "Raj" 💕; "Mikael" 🚘, my brand new Hyundai Alcazar and myself! I give thanks, praise and glory to the invisible 4th partner in this Drive - my Lord Almighty, for giving me the resources, the grace and abundant blessings to make this dream come true. There are so many many people out there who have bucket lists , but may not have the resources to make them come true. And, that is why I consider myself to be enormously Blessed! 

Well, we are counting down... T minus 4... Stay tuned for more updates....

With love, hugs and spreadsheets!