At the tip of India is a temple, a dustbin and a bag of cement
The feeling of being at the extremity of any land mass is interesting. But being at the southernmost tip of the Indian sub-continent was exhilarating. I managed to dip my toes in the cool blue-green waters of Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India a few days ago. Lying in the state of Tamil Nadu (not far from the border with Kerala), this piece of land has seen a rich history, passing through the hands of several kings and colonial powers.
I have dozens of beautiful, touristy pictures of Kanyakumari but I must first share the one below. Here is yet another Indian 'trinity' that says a lot about India, similar to something I spotted in Delhi a few weeks ago. Facing the Indian ocean, at the southernmost tip of India is this pillar-based temple structure. A temple at the end of land is very apt for a country where religion, culture and nature are bound closely together. On the left are some bags of cement. Over my few weeks of travel across India I have seen frenzied construction and renovation both in cities and the countryside. The tip of India can be no different.
However the two dustbins are a complete surprise. As any visitor or indeed a resident knows- India needs many of these. I'm glad they exist at the extremities of land if nowhere else. All ye who enter or exit Bharat (India) by sea please drop your rubbish here please!
For some reason the 30'C plus heat in Kanyakumari hasn't dissuaded this shop near the beach from selling winter scarves along with cricket bats and other random plastic toys!
We stopped for lunch at this awesome tiffin place (Sri Gowri Shankar) at Nagercoil enroute to Kanyakumari.
This was some of the scenery we passed.
A couple of buffaloes grazed peacefully, trees swayed gently, beautifully framing the low hills behind. It couldn't have been more idyllic.
But I must not deceive you completely. The last bit of the road journey was far from idyllic with hot-blooded Tamil and Malyali bus drivers barreling down the road towards us!
We didn't go into this museum but feel like we should have.
At least one market stall by the beach had a mean streak - 'Katty fruits'.
The choppy waters meant we didn't get to visit this tourist favourite- the statue of Swami Vivekanand on an island near the coast. It wasn't a must-do in our very short layover this time.
An interesting fact: the whole statue was submerged by huge waves in the tsunami of 2004.
And finally this is what the end of India and the beginning of the Indian Ocean really looks like. Or the beginning of India and the end of the Indian Ocean if you want to look at the earth upside down or bottom up, which is what the universe below ours would do.
The waters are choppy and the beach is rocky. There are signs warning people not to go in too far.
Someone has dug two trishuls in the sand. Yet another symbolism in this land of symbols. The trishul is not just Shiva's and Durga's weapon but also a representation of the trinity of Hindu gods. For those more interested, here's an interesting take on decoding the Hindu trinity. Some of it sounds familiar. In my post on Pushkar I mentioned my visit to the only temple in India dedicated to Brahma- the creator of the universe.
I feel fortunate to have come this far. Yet I didn't get to stay long enough to see the sunrise or the sunset. As is increasingly happening on this trip, KK too remains on my bucketlist. One place I'd like to visit again and stay a bit longer.
I have dozens of beautiful, touristy pictures of Kanyakumari but I must first share the one below. Here is yet another Indian 'trinity' that says a lot about India, similar to something I spotted in Delhi a few weeks ago. Facing the Indian ocean, at the southernmost tip of India is this pillar-based temple structure. A temple at the end of land is very apt for a country where religion, culture and nature are bound closely together. On the left are some bags of cement. Over my few weeks of travel across India I have seen frenzied construction and renovation both in cities and the countryside. The tip of India can be no different.
However the two dustbins are a complete surprise. As any visitor or indeed a resident knows- India needs many of these. I'm glad they exist at the extremities of land if nowhere else. All ye who enter or exit Bharat (India) by sea please drop your rubbish here please!
For some reason the 30'C plus heat in Kanyakumari hasn't dissuaded this shop near the beach from selling winter scarves along with cricket bats and other random plastic toys!
We stopped for lunch at this awesome tiffin place (Sri Gowri Shankar) at Nagercoil enroute to Kanyakumari.
This was some of the scenery we passed.
A couple of buffaloes grazed peacefully, trees swayed gently, beautifully framing the low hills behind. It couldn't have been more idyllic.
But I must not deceive you completely. The last bit of the road journey was far from idyllic with hot-blooded Tamil and Malyali bus drivers barreling down the road towards us!
We didn't go into this museum but feel like we should have.
At least one market stall by the beach had a mean streak - 'Katty fruits'.
The choppy waters meant we didn't get to visit this tourist favourite- the statue of Swami Vivekanand on an island near the coast. It wasn't a must-do in our very short layover this time.
An interesting fact: the whole statue was submerged by huge waves in the tsunami of 2004.
And finally this is what the end of India and the beginning of the Indian Ocean really looks like. Or the beginning of India and the end of the Indian Ocean if you want to look at the earth upside down or bottom up, which is what the universe below ours would do.
The waters are choppy and the beach is rocky. There are signs warning people not to go in too far.
Someone has dug two trishuls in the sand. Yet another symbolism in this land of symbols. The trishul is not just Shiva's and Durga's weapon but also a representation of the trinity of Hindu gods. For those more interested, here's an interesting take on decoding the Hindu trinity. Some of it sounds familiar. In my post on Pushkar I mentioned my visit to the only temple in India dedicated to Brahma- the creator of the universe.
I feel fortunate to have come this far. Yet I didn't get to stay long enough to see the sunrise or the sunset. As is increasingly happening on this trip, KK too remains on my bucketlist. One place I'd like to visit again and stay a bit longer.
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