Kanyakumari - 1

Kanyakumari !!! 

The southernmost city of India’s mainland. This was the only little thing which I knew about the city which I studied in school geography. But when it was decided to visit Kanyakumari, just like another netizen I went through various sites through the internet to check the ‘Places to see’ out there. So I found out a few places to see before we left for Kanyakumari. The city was named Cape Comorin by the British. The name is still used in the Indian Railways as the station code of Kanyakumari is CAPE.

After a journey of about 40 hours (believe me 40 hours of journey is a long one), we reached our destination. When we reached our destination and were on the way to the hotel, I noticed that typical weather which one feels in coastal areas. It was quite hot & humid out there in february. As our rickshaws entered the hotel and I saw something which made me jump out of rickshaw and start clicking through my camera. I was yelling, “This is it!!!” The reason for my excitement was The Vivekanada Rock Memorial & Thruvalluvar Statue was visible from the hotel’s parking. The view was so awesome that our tired minds got refreshed.

View from Hotel Seaface 

After having lunch we headed for the two monuments.The only way to reach there is through ferry services from the coast because they are located 400m offshore.

Vivekananda Rock Memorial is the major attraction of tourists in Kanyakumari. Swami Vivekanada was here for meditation before his departure to World religious Conference in Chicago. There is a bronze statue of Swami Vivekanada inside the Vivekanada mandapam.

Vivekananda Mandapam

Exactly opposite of it, is Shri Pada Mandapam meaning Rock blessed by feet of Goddesses. There is an imprint of a foot, which is believed to of Goddesses Kanya.

Shri Pada Mandapam

The force of wind out there can make anything blow away!!!

Just beside the rock lies another rock on which a 133 feet statute of Thiruvalluvar stands.The only word I can describe the statue is huge.  He was a Tamil poet and a saint. The statue was opened on 1^st January 2000.

Thiruvalluvar Statue

More about Kanyakumari in my next blog post.

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