the journey continues…

Kovilpatti is a small village in TamilNadu, which is my husband’s granny’s place. Basically ajji mane .Though his grand-pa/grand-ma nobody is there, still he has his sweet memories here.Most of the summer vacations he has spent here when he was young and he always says he can never forget the taste of idly and chutney that his grand-ma used to do. Sweet!
He wanted to show me the paddy fields where he played, the pond where he used to swim, his favt Perumaal Temple…..

Kovilpatti is close to Tirunelvelli.From Coimbatore to Tirunelvelli there is a beautiful highway NH209 which passes through Palani,Dindigul etc.Where ever you travel in TamilNadu, the roads would be really good, which I miss in Karnataka.
On the way we found this small road side shop where he is putting idlies.

TamilNadu has a unique cuisine and my favorite are idly,dosa and parota.
Dosas would be real big in size and they call it as Roast.Plain Roast,Ghee Roast etc.and small dosas as Uttappam [ i.e set dosa in Karnataka].Parota also they have varities veechu parota, Kothu parota etc. Idlies are prepared in a different way and they would be very soft. If you are visiting TamilNadu then you should definitely taste Idly and Dosa with varities of chutneys they prepare.

Nel-veli (Tamil) means Paddy-Hedge. Whole town is surrounded by paddy fields and temple in the town is dedicated to Lord Shiva so it is called Tiru-nel-veli.Ancient temples are the major attractions of the city.We visited Kanthimathi – Nellaiyapper Temple which is in the heart of the city and Krishnapuram Temple which is few kms away from the city.

Tirunelveli is also famous for halwa .Halwa is made primarily from wheat and sugar. It would be golden brown in color, has a jelly-like texture and they would serve this on a leaf with ghee.The halwa tastes best when it is hot and it just melts in your mouth.So people who doesn’t have teeth also can taste this halwa .
There are some good shops around Nellaiyappar temple to buy halwa.Though the ingredients to this Halwa are just wheat and sugar,it has a distinct taste.My hubby says a unique recipe, blended with the sweetness of the river Thamarabarani gives that distinctive taste to the halwa.

Nalli Silks,Pothys,RMKV which are popular for silk saris and wedding collection, have opened their first show rooms in Tirunelvelli Town.

Kovilpatti is around 1 hour from Tirunelvelli Town.You can see paddy fields in and around the village.There is an old Perumaal temple here and a beautiful pond in front of that.
We also visited the Karupu Sami Temple here. Karupu Sami is one of the regional Tamil male deities who is popular among the rural of South India. The Karuppanar Kovil i.e. the temple, is in the outskirts of the village in open space and will not have traditional Gopurams like any other temples.Karupu Sami is believed to protect the poor, and ensure justice and self-discipline among his believers. He protects the village from all evils and devils so he is a village protector or Kaval Daivam.It’s also believed that he severely punishes who will commit any sin/crimes and will never forgive them.People worship him with great devotion and give him respect by naming their children as Karupu Sami/Karpagam.

Karupu Sami Statue

More photos you can find on this
flickr link.