[MissionAbler]

What does an auto and self-drive enthusiast do to reduce his three-year-old's screen time on a Saturday? You guessed it right. He takes his family on a road trip! Come along for a peek into our weekend outing down the mostly pleasant highways of Southern India.

After mulling for a while and conferring with my better half, I set my sights on a not so close, but not so distant destination from Bangalore, the Arunachalesvara temple located at the foot of the Arunachala hill in Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.

The temple is located approximately 200 KMs away from my home base in South Bangalore.

Our partner for this trip was our much endeared 2016 Fiat Linea T-Jet.

As with any Indian temple, one can’t just show up and expect to have an audience with the supreme. Thus, we took a gander at the temple timings only to realize that we can’t make it to the sanctum before noon. The timing of the temple threw a wrench in our plan. To mitigate the situation, we timed our departure from Bangalore so that we could reach the temple around 4 PM for the evening darshanam.

Once the itinerary was in place, my wife and I spent the next hour gathering food, water, diapers, spare clothes, and other paraphernalia required to make the trip smooth for our young co-passengers.

With everything loaded and everyone buckled up in the Linea, after the customary refueling, we kicked off the journey around noon by entering the NICE road aka NH 48 from the Bannerghatta road toll gate.

After quickly covering this short stretch, we exited the NICE road at the Electronics City toll gate and merged into the Srinagar-Kanyakumari NH 44 that happens to be the longest national highway in India. Traffic was dense initially, but it tapered as we pushed into the familiar terrains towards Krishnagiri.

Cruising down the highway, Linea was doing its part by pampering us with its excellent ride quality. And I was doing my part by driving mindfully and admiring this wonderful amalgamation of engineering and design called Linea.

After driving for about an hour and half, we stopped for lunch at the Paakashala restaurant. Although our plan was to stop at A2B a little further, this restaurant caught my attention. It is tucked next to the Indian Oil petrol bunk with ample parking space.

While conversing with the staff, I learned that the restaurant has several branches and this particular one opened in December 2023. So, it looked pristine and offered a roomy and clean environment. As the restaurant was still vying for popularity, it had several open tables. As a result, we got timely service from the friendly staff. We settled for some idlis, dosas, and filter coffee. It was a good meal.

After relishing the leisurely lunch, we continued our journey and took a left at Krishnagiri into NH 42.

In about a kilometre, we took a right into NH 77 that connects Krishnagiri with Pondicherry.

NH77 is a comparatively narrow stretch, but it is blessed with greenery on both sides of the road. Apart from the scenic roads, seeing my son spending his time by exploring his surroundings, reading his Eric Carle books, and scribbling on his notepad made driving so much more enjoyable. This drive was about that, after all. Compared to the previous leg of the journey, NH77 is visually and mentally stimulating. It keeps the driver engaged by offering two lane roads, slow moving heavy vehicles requiring cautious overtakes, frequent diversions, gasp-worthy sights of mountains, coconut trees, underpass with a rogue speed breaker, school kids leisurely walking back home, bridges, busy markets, winding roads, sprawling water bodies, and verdant fields.

After driving for around 2 hours, we took a left and exited NH77 to enter the Thiruvannamalai road.

After a short drive, we arrived in Tiruvannamalai. The last time we visited Tiruvannamalai was before COVID-19. On that trip, while driving to Pondicherry, the impressive proportions of the temple complex along the highway piqued our interest in the temple. In order to learn more about this temple, we had made an unplanned stop. Since then, a lot has changed in this temple city. Modern bus shelters, paved and marked streets, better signage and street lights, and improved parking facilities have significantly improved the civic infrastructure of the city.

Back to our current trip, the street leading to the temple was lined with shops and dense with traffic. As we made our way by subjecting ourselves to the vagaries of the chaotic traffic, the temple welcomed us with a glimpse of its West gopuram.

Finding a parking spot was challenging. After passing the West gopuram, I noticed an SUV pulling out from a parking spot. With some slick parking manoeuvres, I scrambled to claim the parking spot. As I pulled the handbrake, the parking attendant knocked on my window and handed me a parking ticket of Rs 50.

Upon alighting from the car, I noticed the top of the temple fence adorned with bull statues at regular intervals.

We were soon swarmed by auto drivers offering a ride to the Raja Gopuram or East gopuram that is located at a distance of 1 KM. Although we ignored them initially, an elderly local lady informed us that entrance to the temple is restricted from the West gopuram. Before we could react, she waved down an auto for us. The familiar driver looked at me with a ‘I told you so’ look and he complained to the lady in Tamil that we had ignored him earlier. But the motherly lady consoled the driver and convinced him to take us to the East gopuram. I was touched by the lady’s gesture. With some tension still lingering in the air, we took a short auto ride. The driver dropped us a few metres short of the East gate.

We walked a bit through the pedestrian-only narrow street leading to the Eastern entrance.

The Eastern gate opened into a sprawling courtyard with very few devotees in view. But that was just an illusion. The large temple complex can hold hundreds of devotees without feeling crowded. Steel barricades were erected across the courtyard for crowd control and providing a smooth passage for the devotees.

We initially walked into the free darshan path. However, two veshti-clad gentlemen briskly walking in the opposite direction advised us to opt for the paid darshan due to the long queue down the path, which could take up to 2 hours to get through. We heeded their advice to avoid any delays in our return journey to Bangalore.

After walking down a different path and paying 50 rupees per person, we soon found ourselves in the fast moving paid darshan queue. Several devotees were clad in Red clothes.

While waiting in the queue, we got an opportunity to admire the intricately carved awe-inspiring temple interiors. Unfortunately, photography is prohibited inside the temple. It took us about 40 minutes to get our turn for darshan. Lord Arunachalesvara appeared majestic in all his finery. After paying our obeisance to deity Arunachalesvara and visiting the other shrines in the temple, we exited from the northern gate, which was quite a walk. To reach the temple exit, senior citizens can avail the golf cart facility offered by the temple management.

After exiting, the main road where our car was parked was in sight. So, we decided to walk to the car instead of hiring an auto. The narrow street leading to the main road was full of shops selling knick knacks. Not foregoing the opportunity, my son promptly asked me to buy him a toy. After fulfilling his wish, we started our return journey home around 8 PM by retracing the same route. We stopped for dinner at the Saravana Bhawan restaurant after driving for an hour and half.

We were pleased with the ambience of the restaurant and quality of food served.

In hindsight, it was a good decision to stop at this restaurant because we didn’t come across any good restaurants for several kilometres thereafter.

After the quick dinner, we travelled non-stop and reached home around midnight. Although we enjoyed the trip and it met its purpose, visitors should set aside more time to truly appreciate the scale and architecture of this temple. Fortunately, in the past, we have had the opportunity to explore the temple’s vastness at our leisure. Good travels to all!

[sagarpadaki]

Thanks for sharing. Can you share the timings when the temple is open for Darshan?

[MissionAbler]

It is open from 5:30 AM to 12:30 PM and then from 3:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Thanks

[ashkamath]

Although we enjoyed the trip and it met its purpose, visitors should set aside more time to truly appreciate the scale and architecture of this temple. Fortunately, in the past, we have had the opportunity to explore the temple’s vastness at our leisure. Good travels to all!

That was a well written trip log. You have maintained your Linea quite well. I have plans to visit Tiruvannamalai since some time.

Have you visited Ramana Maharshi Ashram at Tiruvannamalai? I was told that a trip to Tiruvannamalai is incomplete without a visit to Arunachaleshwar Kovil and Ramana Maharshi Ashram.

I intend to stay there for a couple of days and explore the town.

Thanks for sharing.

[kvsneela]

When did this trip happen.. When I went to Hosur on 15th June 2024, Uthangarai by pass was operational..

Many devotees, along with temple , go for the the eight lingams namely Indra Lingam, Agni Lingam, Yama Lingam, Niruthi Lingam, Varuna Lingam, Vayu Lingam, Kubera Lingam, and Esanya Lingam situated along the circumference road of the hill which might take an hour to complete in car..

[MissionAbler]

Thank you very much for your suggestion! I haven't visited Ramana Maharshi Ashram yet. I would love to visit it in a future trip.

[MissionAbler]

Originally Posted by kvsneela

When did this trip happen.. When I went to Hosur on 15th June 2024, Uthangarai by pass was operational..

Many devotees, along with temple , go for the the eight lingams namely Indra Lingam, Agni Lingam, Yama Lingam, Niruthi Lingam, Varuna Lingam, Vayu Lingam, Kubera Lingam, and Esanya Lingam situated along the circumference road of the hill which might take an hour to complete in car..

Thanks for this information! I visited at the beginning of this year.

[texens]

Originally Posted by MissionAbler

We stopped for dinner at the Saravana Bhawan restaurant after driving for an hour and half.

There are a gazillion "Saravana Bhawan" restaurants on highways in Tamil Nadu. Does the term "saravana" have any specific meaning in Tamil, or are they all trying to leverage the famed "Saravana Bhawan" which has branches in CP, Delhi and several countries across the world?

Asking since we came across so many of these on our way from Chennai to Bengaluru a few years back. We stopped in one of them thinking it to be same as the original one, and were supremely disappointed with the food and service. It was only then I realized that it's a copy cat, and not the original.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by texens

There are a gazillion "Saravana Bhawan" restaurants on highways in Tamil Nadu. It was only then I realized that it's a copy cat, and not the original.

There's this town called as Ambur in Tamilnadu which is famous for STAR Briyani. This town is between Chennai and Bangalore and there could be some 60-70 hotels in a stretch of a kilometer or so of this town and most hotel sport the name of STAR Briyani. I dont know who is the original and who is the copy cat.

I think this is the only place where Biriyani / Biryani is spelt as Briyani. And everyone there calls it a Briyani.

All said and done, Ambur STAR Briyani is absolutely delicious.

same with Davanegere Benne Dose ( Butter Dosa at Davanegere). Guru Kottureshwara Benne Dose hotel is supposed to be the one who started it. However you will find every other hotel name is Guru Kottureshwara and so you dont know which is original and which is copy cat. I am sure the locals know it.

[MissionAbler]

Originally Posted by texens

There are a gazillion "Saravana Bhawan" restaurants on highways in Tamil Nadu. Does the term "saravana" have any specific meaning in Tamil, or are they all trying to leverage the famed "Saravana Bhawan" which has branches in CP, Delhi and several countries across the world?

Asking since we came across so many of these on our way from Chennai to Bengaluru a few years back. We stopped in one of them thinking it to be same as the original one, and were supremely disappointed with the food and service. It was only then I realized that it's a copy cat, and not the original.

As you righly pointed out, there are many restaurants along the highways masquerading the original Saravana Bhavan. A discerning traveller can unmask these pretentious restaurants in a snap. Within the same restaurant premises, I found two spellings of the hotel name. Need I say more? We stepped into this restaurant completely aware that it was not the original one because finding this restaurant was like finding an oasis in a desert. The stretch leading up to this restaurant was dotted with several small hotels and dhabas, which I didn’t find family and parking friendly. If one can get past the fake branding of this restaurant, there is a good eatery waiting to be discovered.

[kvsneela]

Famous "Saravana Bhavan" is not present on highways in small towns ( unlike Adyar Ananda Bhavan). They don't have hotels even in Madurai or Rameswaram. 24 in Chennai itself, 3 in Kanchi, 1 each in Vellore and Thooththukudi, 2 in Thiruchendur . And many franchise owned in other countries. So if a Saravana Bhavan pops up suddenly on highway , it will be surely a imitator ( but hotel might be better than the original)..

[MissionAbler]

Originally Posted by texens

There are a gazillion "Saravana Bhawan" restaurants on highways in Tamil Nadu. Does the term "saravana" have any specific meaning in Tamil, or are they all trying to leverage the famed "Saravana Bhawan" which has branches in CP, Delhi and several countries across the world?

Asking since we came across so many of these on our way from Chennai to Bengaluru a few years back. We stopped in one of them thinking it to be same as the original one, and were supremely disappointed with the food and service. It was only then I realized that it's a copy cat, and not the original.

As far as I know, the name "Saravana" is associated with Lord Murugan or Kartikeya.