SINGIRIKOVIL NARASIMHAR AND KAVALUR OBSERVATORY

SINGIRIKOVIL NARASIMHAR 

Another Narasimhar temple near Vellore is Singirikovil. We decided to combine observatory in Kavalur, with the pilgrimage of Singirikovil. We started early in the morning from Chennai, and it took nearly two and a half hours to reach Vellore.

                                                 ( A view from the top of the temple)

We have to cross a river by foot to reach the temple. The river which used to be a small stream during most part of the year was hip deep full of water when we had gone immediately after the monsoon rains. The water was also flowing at great speed! But we really enjoyed crossing it as it was a great thrilling and rare experience.

                                                 ( A view of the temple from the parking area)

Then small stroll along the roadpath immediately leads us to the foothill of the temple. We can see a number of fresh fruits and vegetables shops along this path. The rates are very cheap also. There is an arch welcoming the pilgrims downhill, and about 50 steps elevate us to the entrance of the temple. A small, beautiful, and neat temple. The main deity is Santha Narasimhar with Goddess Lakshmi on his lap. The Lord is about 6 feet high with Chathurbuja. Two of them holding conch and chakra, and one on his lap and the another around Lakshmi. Very pleasing appearance and the dedication shown in adorning the God is amazing!

                                                 ( A small river crossing to reach the temple)

It was time for the Uchikala pooja, and lot of devotees had come to have the darshan. After the grand pooja, we all had kesari and puliyodharai prasadams. There are sannidhis for Garudazhwar and Bala Anjaneyar too. Circumbulating the temple itself is a pleasant experience as it is a rock-cut temple.

This temple is believed to be 1300 years old and built during the Pallavarayar period by the king Nandhivarman. As the temple is located in a remote place, the temple remains open only from 9.00a.m. to 12p.m in the morning and from 5.00p.m. to 6.30p.m. in the evenings.

We never felt like leaving the place whose beauty had trapped us there for a long time.

VAINU BAPPU OBSERVATORY AT KAVALUR

From Singirikovil, we went through another route while returning. We caught the Vellore-Polur main road through a place called Kannamangalam from where we entered the Javadhi hills road. To go through this road, we have to sign in the register of the Forest Department and obtain permission from the Checkpost. After completing those formalities, it was a fantastic ghat section throughout.

                                                           (Jamanamarathur - enroute kavalur)

                                                        (The forest environment inside Kavalur)


It was around 2.00 p.m. when we started from Singirikovil. It was nearly 4.30p.m. when we reached Kavalur. Before that, while traversing the ghat road, we came across, many small villages, one among which is Jamanamarathur. It is a charming mini hillstation with a bigsize townand a lot of shops with schools and colleges. There is also a waterfalls called Bhima Waterfalls and an active boathouse at Kolappan lake which is quite big in this lovely place. The weather is chill.

                                                           ( 6 inches telescope - Kavalur)

                                                           ( 15 inches telescope - Kavalur)

The forest road takes us directly to the Observatory entrance.The Observatory is located at Kavalur, Alangayam in Vaniyambadi. It is one of the field stations of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore, the others being one at Bangalore, one at Ladakh and the last one at Kodaikanal and so on.

This Observatory is called the Vainu Bappu Observatory named after the famous scientist. This place was selected by him after 5 years of detailed research to commission the telescope for stargazing. Kavalur had the ideal features he expected, namely,

(1)It is far from industrial pollution and busy city activities;

(2)It had 260 days of clear sky during nights in a year which is the maximum in South India;

(3)It was centrally located between Australia and South Africa and best suited to study both the constellations in the northern and southern hemispheres;and

(4)Finally, the altitude of 725 metres above sealevel was very appropriate for commissioning the telescope.

The general public and allowed for viewing inside the observatory only on Saturdays between 2.00p.m. and 5.00p.m. We came to know about this through the internet, and that is why we were very particular to visit this place skipping Jamunamarathur, as it was a Saturday.

                                                           ( 40 inches telescope - Kavalur)

We signed the visitors book and we were given the visitor’s pass. One of the staff of the Observatory took us inside the premises. Few other families, students and villagers also joined us. The campus is very picturesque with greenery all over. The staff member was giving a detailed description about the Observatory when he walked alongwith us. There are 6 telescopes here, each of different aperture dimensions, like 6 inches, 15 inches, 30 inches, 40 inches and so on.

Each of them was shown taking us to the proximity,and surprisingly, the biggest 2.3 metre telescope,which has been named Vainu Bappu Telescope was shown working in details.

Each of the field stations specialize in exclusive space researches. The Kavalur Observatory specializes on researches about stars, starclusters, novae,supernovae, galaxies etc. We have to climb upto 3 storeys to reach the 2.3metre telescope.

                                                                  ( 2.3m telescope - Kavalur)
 The complete working of the telescope with the horseshoe on the top opening, rotating and how it is used for research and all other explanations were described to us by a dedicated scientist there. I have to go a long way to explain those details. Instead, you can go through the various websites on the functioning of this Observatory, the pictures taken by the telescopes etc.

                                                             ( Inside the 2.3m telescope - Kavalur)

We were really stunned to see the massive researches that are going on in the field of astrophysics. If the sky is clear, we can even wait till the night, and public are allowed for stargazing around 8.00p.m. through the 6 inch telescope. But we had to return to Chennai the same night and so we did not wait for stargazing.

The entry is free for all, and there are no restrictions for camera or cellphone. The main aim is to enable even the common man to understand about space research. We absolutely enjoyed the visit and took a lot of photos there. It is a totally different and a patriotic experience altogether and everyone of us should take our children there without fail.