Vadapalani Andavar Murugan Temple: Busy and Beautiful

Hello Friends,

Very often we set out on a journey to discover long forgotten ancient temples in the interiors of a state, using Google maps and other aids to reach there. Yes this is indeed a joyful experience, but what happens is we ignore our own neighborhood temples in an attempt to travel miles away to explore an architectural wonder of a temple. Chennai city is home to several heritage temples that are beautiful, steeped in tradition, and have a history that dates back to several centuries before.

We visited the Pazhani Andavar Murugam Temple at Vadapalani on a hot, blistering morning in May. Not the best weather to step out but not minding the heat we ventured into the traffic laden Vadapalani with the help of a taxi. I was amazed at the amount of action and crowd within the temple. There were at least 4 weddings and 3 ear piercing functions going on. But the atmosphere was electric with devotion and religious fervour. Ticketed darshan help one go inside quickly for darshan beating the crowd. However, even at a little distance from an elevated platform the darshan of Lord Muruga was visible.

We gather that this temple has grown from a simple thatched hut with just a picture of Lord Muruga to tall and elegant structure patronized by several popular film stars. And over 7000 couples have been married here at this temple that is almost 125 years old.

Having had a good darshan inspite of the thronging crowds we sauntered around the temple and enjoyed the sights we saw, from beaming brides, to howling babies, to Lord Muruga taken around in the temple car, devotees in a beeline for Panchamrutham everything was so beautiful and simple.

Here are some pictures of what we experienced: