On the way to the Temple, we woke up the manager of the hotel, who was in a meditative posture, and complained again. He nodded in agreement or sleep; I don’t know. So, with eager anticipation of fresh and cold water awaiting us from the right tap, we went back to the room. With the sun having surfaced now, the water was even hotter. Cold water was not to be found from any tap. We asked the neighboring roommates in the hope they too faced a similar problem. On the contrary, they said, "we got superb super cold water, Sir." Jealousy further irritated us. The Temple Prasadam served both as breakfast and lunch for us. So many varieties and so much quantity.

Vacating the room on the way out, I told the manager to ensure that at least the next occupant had no similar complaints. We were vacating. Why should he care? Glum-faced, he nodded in unspoken dismissiveness. And to his credit, at least he had set the air conditioning right.

Our next stop was the Nemili Bala Tirupurasundari Peetam. We had engaged a car for this trip and onward to Chennai. The family running and managing this Peetam insists this is not a Temple but a Peetam, a resting house for the Goddess. It is generally open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and no guarantee it will be open on all days. The family needs to attend to its own chores and requirements. Every visitor is always provided with a small card with the picture of the Goddess and the phone numbers of the Peetam and asked to inquire before deciding to visit whether the Peetam will be open on that day. The Goddess is in the form of a tiny figurine that was recovered from a river after one of the forefathers of this family had a dream in which he was asked to recover this figurine and make the house a resting place for the Goddess. I understand during a particular period, many top musicians come here to perform. Though this is not a Temple with all the attendant facilities, the same peace, calm, and quiet that you find in any Temple can be found here too. One of the persons managing there kept telling me, "You will be fine. You will be fine." I don’t know why. I took it as a blessing from them.

And we reached home sweet home early evening. A trip that all of us had feared as to how my wife and I would be able to manage with the health issues; with God’s grace, we did. Giving us more confidence to visit more Temples in the future.

Continued in 263. Out In Inn - Part 6