Talking about my Native Place-Sholinghur or CholaSimhapuram

View of both Hill temples in Sholinghur

I am glad to post this 150th article in my blog about my native place "Sholinghur" and about the famous temples in the town. 


Just like anyone, I have very sweet memories of the place where I was born and spent my school days in Goodlet High School managed by Church of South India. 

                                        Goodlet High School
( I left the place in 1966 and came to Chennai where all important events in my life like Graduation,Employment,Marriage etc took place. I am at present settled in Chennai in my own house.)


Now let me take you to my native place.


Sholinghur which is also called as Chozha Lingapuram (in short Sholingapuram ) and also called as  CholaSimhapuram is located in Vellore District. It is a famous Vaishnavite pilgrim place with two hill temples.


Sholinghur was ruled by the Chola Empire, Nawabs of Arcot and Tippu Sultan.Sholinghur also has a historical significance. It was here that Sir Eyre Coote fought against Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali in the Second Anglo-Mysore War.

Transport:
It is just 27 K.m. away from Arakkonam on the Bangalore-ChennaiTrain Route. Easy transport facility is also available from Chennai, Vellore,Chittor, Tiruttani, Arakkonam and Arcot. People alight at Arakkonam junction and come to this place. 

1. Distance from Chennai 110 K.M 2. Distance from Vellor 50 K.M 3. Distance from Tiruttani 27 K.M 4. Distance from Arakonam 27 K.M 5. Distance from Arcot 31 K.M

There is Railway Station in the name of Sholinghur, but it is not in Sholinghur town proper. The station is in a place called Banavaram which is 13 kms from Sholinghur.


 There are direct buses from Chennai to Sholinghur. Or you can take a direct bus from Chennai to Thiruthani ( famous Murugan temple town) and from there you can get plenty of buses to Sholinghur.


You have to take an auto from Sholingur bus stand to go to Kondapalayam where the both Narasimhar and Anjaneya temple hills are situated.

The town is famous for the hill temples at its outskirts i)Sri Yoga Narasimhar (1305 steps) located on the top of the hill Ghatikachala and Sri Yoga Anjaneya Swamy hill temple (406 steps). It is one of the 108 Divya Desams - sacred places in Hinduism. The temples are located on two hillocks. 


The Thakkan Kulam located on the way to the hills, is a big pond with 45 feet Anjaneyar statue & temple. Also, the town has war monument built by Tippu sultan at 1784 A.D during Second Anglo-Mysore War. 

Thakkan kulam

Anjaneyar statue

Temple of Yoga Narasimhar (Big Hill Temple):

                                        View of Big Hill


The Big  hill which is the abode of Lord Yoga Narasimha Swami 
is of 750 feet height with steps  of 1305.

           

                                                  ShriYoga Narasimhar 




Lord Narasimha with Sangu Chakram, Salakirama Haram,yoga peetam, korai teeth, long nails and strong hair gives darshan to the people as santhamurthi.

The Lord is praised by Thirumangai Alvar, Peyalvar and Nammalvar.  They praise him as Ilangkumaran and Akkarakani.

 

                                        Shri Amirdhavalli thayar

There was a separate temple for Amirthavalli Thayar on the Big  Hill  Previously. Now the Thayar  Shrine  has  been consider nearer to the Santum Sanctorum of Perumal. Procession Deity of Thayar is also kept there.

Yoga Anjaneya Temple(Small Hill Temple):

The Small Hill which is the abode of Yoga Anjeneya Swami is of 350 feet height with 406 steps.

                                                    Yoga Anjeneya
  It is a pleasant sight to see the Lord in the  Yoga form with  Sanguchakram. This form is the unique  one  in our country.

There are lots of monkeys on both the hills.The best way to stay safe from the monkeys is by not teasing them and not carrying anything in the hands that is visible..preferably dont carry anything.There are shops  midway that sell juices and snacks. Also different types of prasadam are available in the temple premises. So one need not carry any food item with them.

Temple in the Town: Bakthavatsala Perumal Temple


There is another temple in the town which is near the Bus stand.

Moolavar - Not present
Uthsavar - Bakthavatsala Perumal (Thakkaan)

One can have Darshan of Adikesava perumal at the rear end  of  this  temple only on  certain  occasions.  There  are  separate  sannathis  for  Andaal, Azhwaars, Erumbiyappa, and Thottaachaarya.


Accommodation:


There are many private cottages and chatrams where one can get accommodation at reasonable rents.

(Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholinghur
http://www.sholinghurnarasimhar.com/eSholinghurhistory.html)

Paraprosdokian

Definition of Paraprosdokian as per Wikipedia:

A paraprosdokian  is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.

Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but they also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a form of syllepsis.

 Now we can see some examples of   paraprosdokians:


( Readers of this post may give more paraprosdokians known to them in the Comments )

1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good Evening,' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

10. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks. 
12. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

18. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

19. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
20. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

21. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

22. You're never too old to learn something stupid.
23. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

24. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

25. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

26. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

27. A diplomat is someone who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip.
28. Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.

29. I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila. 
30. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

And finally, Words of Wisdom for the day:

"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."