Thanks to all the people who wished us luck on our way- your wishes reached us and made our trip a success.:-)
Here's what happened in the last three days (four, if you count Feb. 6th too):
Day 0 (February 6th, Night):
We'd planned to start from the TTD Temple on Venkatnarayana Road, which was our meeting point. Sathya, Lavanya, Anuradha, I, Mr. Srinivasan, Mr. Vishwaksenan and Krupashankar were meeting there, while the rest would join us in Tambaram. After duly paying our respects at the TTD(for the success of the trip and all that:-), we waited for the tempo-traveller and it arrived in a few minutes. All of us got in and made ourselves comfortable. That was around 8.20 PM.
All of us had met fleetingly at the Kalki office- but that was a rather rushed affair, with discussions of the route map, travel plans and introductions. So the van-ride was our first opportunity to get to know each other, which was what we did in detail:-). We settled into the plush seats and sat talking until Tambaram, after which Kamalakkannan, Viji ma'am (his wife), Mr. Seetha Ram Sharma, Mr. VijayaKumar and his daughter Radhika got in. It became a bit of a squash then, because we were one seat short. It resulted in five of us squeezed in the four-seater in the back, with the rest spread out all over the van- but we didn't mind that- everything was too new and exciting:-). Kamal had brought along his Handycam, and a good many of us had brought along cameras with bundles of rolls- so we had every expectation of covering everything in detail.
By 9 PM, we had really started. We lurched out towards the outskirts of Chennai, towards Mayavaram, our first destination. The route map specified Chidambaram as the first night's halt, but Mayavaram was decided upon, because one Mr. Seetharaman, a friend of Mr. Sunder Bharadwaj(the person who supplied us with all the valuable info for the current route map, friend of Mr. Balakumaran, the writer), had informed us that we could stay in Hotel Prince Towers, his own home ground. We didn't realize, at that moment, just how valuable Mr. Seetharaman would prove to be. That would come later.
In the meanwhile, all of us PS Trippers (what a word) had plenty to catch up on. Aside from those of us who'd met at the Kalki office, there were a few newbies, like Mr. Vijayakumar and his daughter- and then there was the speech made by Mr. Balakumaran, specially for us enthusiasts. It was a masterpiece in its own way- it really set the tone for the trip.
"Yogi Ram Surat Kumar Yogi Ram Surat Kumar Yogi Ram Surat Kumar JeyaguruRaya. Ponniyin Selvan rasigargalukku..."
It began, and then followed a detailed and (sometimes) emotional description of the places we *must* see, what we must look for, about Raja raja Chozhan, about his life, the people he worked with, the temples he built, the conditions they were in...his voice worked its own magic. Sitting there in the semi-darkness, we felt ourselves slipping away into the magical world of the Cholas a 1000 years ago, where kings and queens raised huge temples, gave away numerous lands, fought enormous battles and won huge respect and loyalty from their people. If it was this way just thinking about it, what would it be like, actually visiting them? It would be a walk inside history, no less.
After a couple of hours of film songs and conversation, everyone began dozing- it was after midnight. At 2.20 AM, our van lurched to a stop outside a building with vehicles standing about in a garage-like place. A few dogs ran about here and there, two or three people with shawls thrown over their faces appeared. We dragged out our suitcases and marched into the Hotel Prince Towers. Maayavaram had arrived.