LORD JAGANATH ON ECR

Nestled in the southern Indian peninsula, skirted by the waters of Bay of Bengal, Chennai is one place that has its own charm. Traveling along the East Coast Road in the evening is a pleasure as the motorists enjoy the spectacular view of the coastline and the cool breeze is rejuvenating.

Situated in Reddy Kuppam, Kannathur is the Jaganath temple. Opened in 1996 by Sri. Jaganath Spiritual and Educational Cultural Trust, the shrine resembles a replica of the temple at Puri. The marble steps lead us to the sanctum sanctorum where three idols of Lord Jagannath (Krishna) Balabhadra (Balram), and Subhadra (Krishna’s sister), along with Sudarshan brought from Puri have been installed. Santosh Kumar, the priest says “the three idols are carved out of neem tree. This same wood has been used at the temple in Puri.” These wood idols have been painted to give ethnic look. In this temple the lord along with his sister and brother are given importance. The three idols are placed on the same altar which is called “Ratna Simhasan”.

Ceiling of the temple is also covered with paintings of Vishnu, Brahma and “Ardhanareshwar”(half man, half woman) figures. A colourful mix of blues and greens make the whole sanctum sanctorum medieval. The priest applies sandal wood paste and sprinkles holy water on the devotees chanting mantras. In middle of it he says “only water abhishek (Washing of the idol) is done once a year and we chant a lot of mantras in praise of the lord". Every year in the months of June and July the idols are paraded in a stone car along the streets and devotees can get a glimpse of these colourful idols. Though the shrine looks like a replica of the Puri temple, there is a unique fusion of Tamil architecture and north style temple carvings.

The main tower is built using granite from Kancheepuram. Small temples of Ganesh, goddess Durga and Lakshmi are installed within the temple premisis. The lush green gardens provide a prefect spot for devotees to relax. “It’s a very serene place and gives you peace of mind”, says Mr. Rajkumar, the wet sandal wood paste drying on his forehead.

Compared to other temples in Chennai, Jaganath temple on ECR is different. The blend of southern and Oriya traditions is clearly visible on visiting the temple. Probably in the future it would be a place for the motorists to visit, pray and continue their journey on ECR.

Rickshaws- the forgotten vehicles

Anybody and everybody who is living in Chennai, or even visited Chennai would have spotted a rickshaw. These three wheeled vehicles have been on the decline steadily. Once a common sight in Chennai, now it can be spotted in specific areas like Triplicane, Parry’s corner, Mint and Flower bazaar.

“Due to increase in autos, our business is affected” says Munuswamy, a 41 year old rickshaw peddler. He has been pedaling rickshaws for the past 30 years. Like his father he also decided to pedal rickshaws at a very young age. Sadly, he has been living on roads from the beginning. Despite having a union the plight of these people is pitiable.

“I earn anywhere between 80 to 100 rupees a day. This is not sufficient to run my family, so in the evenings I work as a security guard at a bank where I earn 3500 rupees”. On asking if there are any specific types of customers , Munuswamy asserts “We see all kinds of people in our rickshaw; old people, children, Hindu, Muslims and Christians”. Charging a meager 25 rupees from Triplicane High road to the University, many people don’t bargain and just pay whatever we ask, he says. It costs 8000 rupees for a new rickshaw and a license is also required. To repair the whole rickshaw, it costs 1500 rupees. Before, tourists used to sit in rickshaws as the slow moving vehicles would provide them plenty of time to click photographs. Chinese and American tourists used to hire for traveling short distances, he adds.

Karthik, a 17 year old, who has been pedaling rickshaws for the past three years, says “I don’t go to school and instead I drive rickshaw to earn money”. On asking if the government could do something a frustrated Karthik says “There is no monetary help from the government, we have to take care of ourselves”.

Moving a few steps further, Kannama a maid servant, on asking why she uses rickshaw says, “Am old and I get tired after working, I cant afford autos as they are expensive, rickshaw is the best mode of transportation for me”. Once in a while I sit in a rickshaw, she adds.

Ravikumar, who used to pedal a rickshaw till 1997 switched over to driving an auto due to traffic congestion and bad roads. Moreover, the earnings are less, he adds. A separate lane is required to accommodate these vehicles due to their slow pace.

Gone are those days, when children used to wait patiently for their ‘rickshaw uncle’ to pick them up and drop them at school. A favourite form of transportation a few decades ago, it would not be surprising if these vehicles cease to exist in the future.

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my first post

hello :)
this is my first post in a blog. i was urged to create a blog by my prof/teacher. well, i hope to write something interesting and keep this updated.