My Solo Guruvayoor visit

 My solo trip to Guruvayur

This is my second visit to Guruvayur by myself. The first time I went, I only went alone one way and was later joined by my family and we returned together. 

But this time, I was all by myself for a day and half in the temple precincts. I immensely enjoyed both my temple visit and the journey by train to and fro. 

I took my first train at 6:55 Am in kollam station and reached Trissur at 10:55 Am. From there I took the passenger train to Guruvayur which left at 11:30 Am and reached by 12 pm. I took an auto to the temple from the station as I didn't know how far it was. My hotel room was within the temple precincts. After I checked in and freshened up, I went to check on the queue and had the shock of my life. It was a serpentine queue starting at one end and ending at another direction with people still joining in. So I decided to have my lunch. When I came back at 1 pm, I found that the queue had closed for the 2:30 pm darshan and I was told that I could join the queue but would get only the 4:30 pm darshan. Still I decided to join the queue. 

A bachelor guy from Malappuram was sitting beside me and he asked me if I would like partaking the paal payasam he had booked in advance as he didn't have anyone to take it home to, his mom being a diabetic.  Would anybody in the right frame of mind (and health) say No to that? 

 Being by myself, I wouldn't have known to get the payasam ticket before I joined the queue. This was in the noon. 

I learnt many other procedures about the temple from the same person and saw many wonderful sights that will be ingrained in my memory for a long time. Both times I wanted to see the Lord, I had to wait in queue for 3.5 hours. But since We were the first lot after the 2:30pm group of people, we had darshan almost immediately after 4:30 pm. 

Whatever few sorrows I had taken to share with the Lord seemed suddenly so petty and trivial after listening and observing random people and families (what else would one do for 3.5 hours) and when I finally stood in front of Him and looked at his enchanting smile in the form of a bow wielding little Lord Rama, I stood there mesmerized and smiling too, unaware of myself. What a wonderful experience! And when I was told to move on, I realized I was filled with joy. And then came the three glassfuls of paal payasam prasadam, which I never expected to get.  I felt doubly blessed. 

The next darshan I had was the same night when I joined the queue at 11:30 pm for the Nirmalyam darshan at 3 Am the next morning. Both darshans were equally awesome. But I especially loved the feel of actually waking the Lord because we were right in front of the still closed Main temple door and were chanting the holy name and sharp at 3 Am the doors were thrown open and we were the first and only 40 or so people to be fortunate enough to get the Nirmalyam darshan.(this is the Lord as he slept and is awoken in the previous day's alankaram). The queue was closed again and the next set of people could see the Vagacharthu darshan, which was after the Lord was decorated. 

Also the Camaderie between us people waiting to see the Lord was so much present especially because of the absence of mobile phones with us. If we have humans becoming only e-social these days, in the absence of our phones, we again become social beings.  I could feel how that in itself was a 'feel good' factor. I also got to know so much about the lives of the fisherfolk family from Cherai near Ernakulam, whose young daughter was sitting beside me. She narrated how they had to shift to a school camp for a week during the floods a couple of years ago after their home had flooded and also talked about their day to day lives. This was in the night. The crowd of people for the Nirmalyam would confuse you as to the time of the day or night. 

Only some people dozing off and on would remind one of the dead of night time that it was. I realized how fortunate and blessed a life I have been given on listening to these stories of people from different strata of society. People had mixed reactions when I told I was there by myself. Most said I was brave, but a few looked on with suspicion. It didn't matter because I was here to see the Lord and nobody's opinion mattered. 

After Nirmalyam darshan,i went to my hotel room and rested for 4 hours. By 8:30 Am, I was back in the temple and was in the inner sanctum (not the innermost where we see the Lord, but the outer circle within the sanctum, which didn't require you to stand in queue,but you wouldn't be able to see the Lord unless there was no crowd) . I did 3 pradakshinams, chanted the Vishnu Sahasranaam and just sat there till 11:30. By 12 I was back in the room and after half an hour I was again back at Guruvayur station to take the train to Trissur and from there, my return journey by Venad to Kollam. Reached home at 9 pm after an eventful, fruitful, maiden solo tour. So on the whole, I felt greatly blessed and I now look forward to my next solo trip.