Kodaikanal - Travel Information

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Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what a wonderful place on earth.....................

 

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Jai Sai Ram

 

Prakash

On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 9:15 AM, <mahadevanvnswamy wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is said that Prasanthi Nilayam is Swami’s office, Brindavan is His home and Kodaikanal is His playground. In a manner of speaking, this is so particularly where Kodaikanal is concerned, for it is here, that one gets a glimpse of the Sai of the Forties, especially where Divine Leelas are concerned. It all lasts only a few weeks, but what extraordinary weeks they are, for those blessed to enjoy Divine intimacy then!

 

Kodaikanal is a hill station in South India about four hundred and odd kilometers south east of Bangalore and near the Temple Cities of Madurai and Palani. In former years, every summer Swami used to take a few selected students with Him to Kodai.

 

 

 

 

 

KODAIKANAL - ASHRAM

 

 

 

 

Sri Sathya Sai  Baba's Kodaikanal Address

 

 

 

Swami's stay in Kodaikanal is often too short, consequently letters to Kodaikanal is not advisable.

Swami's address in Kodaikanal:

 

 

Bhagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba Sai SruthiLake RoadKodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, 604101

INDIA

 

 

 

Kodaikanal is a famous hilltop resort  some pictures of the nature around Kodaikanal that usually has rain ten months of the year. This is called off-season. Season is generally April-June, and that's when most tourists visit. Kodaikanal is a lovely place, free of dust and mosquitos, and has plenty of tourists attractions, like the restaurant called Buddha's Belly!

Here we will give you an overview of visiting Sai Baba, and some important information to get you well prepared!

 Generally, Sai Baba can be found at the Puttaparthi Ashram. This is in South India, approximately three hours drive from Bangalore. During the hot summer months in Puttaparthi, (Rayalseema area is one of the driest in South India) Sai Baba generally travels from Puttaparthi for Bangalore, where there is an ashram located T Whitefield, some 27 kilometers out of the city of Bangalore.

Occasionally, Sai Baba visits a small ashram called Sai Sruthi, located in the hill resort town of Kodaikanal, which is quite further south of Bangalore in the adjoining state of Tamil Nadu.

Travelling to Kodai    

The only direct way into Kodaikanal is by road. Kodaikanal is connected by road with Chennai (520-km), Ooty (264-km), Trichy (197-km), Coimbatore (175-km), Kumili (160-km), and Madurai(120-km). Additional buses ply during the season. Taxis and vans are available for local transportation. There are no auto-rickshaws in Kodaikanal, and taxi fares are set by local authority. All must pay to enter the National Park entrance, some kilometers out of Kodaikanal.

It is a hilltop town, and the roads narrow and winding. Those traveling for the first time, best not look down when looking out the window!!!

Planes fly to Madurai and Coimbatore. Then a two hour taxi journey. By Rail...The nearest railway stations are the Kodai Road Railway Station (80-km) and the Palani Railway Station (64-km).

 

Luxury Buses ply between Bangalore Majestic and Kodaikanal. Bus travel takes approximately 12 hours. Taxis from Whitefield to Kodai will cost between Rs 6000-8000 and you would be advised to share a taxi if you do this. Travel time to Kodaikanal would be approximately 10 hours.

 

It is never known in advance if Sathya Sai Baba will visit Kodaikanal in any year. Kodai is cool at night, oft times raining overnight, and generally mild, up to 23 degrees in the daytime. Fog, clouds and rain can be expected on any day at anytime.

 IF Sathya Sai Baba visits Kodaikanal, then the following are suggested: umbrella, thin light jumper, thin winter clothes as you would wear in a sub-tropical winter, thin plastic Macintosh like that you can get in Woolworth's or Kmart for $5 to have in case of rain.

Kodaikanal is flat where Swami's house is, there is one driveway to walk up (steep), then flat sitting area for darshan. If you were to stay in town at the Hilltop Hotel, Carlton Hotel or around the corner from Swami's place at the Sterling Hotel, then it is largely flat walking to Swami's darshan. The remainder of Kodaikanal is hills, hills, hills and incredibly narrow roads. A taxi to darshan is the usual practice if staying in one of these other Hotels.

 There are Western Hotels at Kodaikanal with charges somewhat similar to Hotels here in Australia. The top two are the Carleton and Sterling, standard Hilton Hotel type accommodation. Hilltop is very good and somewhat less, approx 750-1000 rupees per night.

There are many other hotels and guesthouses available in Kodaikanal. Many devotees group together and hire a guesthouse. Darshan is in the mornings; you can walk from the township, around the lake to the darshan queue, which is on Lake Road itself. Men line up on the footpath adjacent to the lake, Ladies line up on the other side of the gate, on the grassy side of the road. Ladies often sit in chairs by the roadside. Of late, seva dal have stalls either side of the gate, and as you pass, you put your shoes in and receive a chit.

There are only 4 lines each side at Kodai, and numbers are in fact given out. Men on cycles or young boys with hot canteens walk up and down the lines selling small plastic cups of tea. You can expect to stand in line up to about 8AM or thereabouts when the gates are opened and the lines called in. Lines generally begin to be formed around 6AM, and there is either silence of jollity in the lines ...

 

Like Puttaparthi and Brindavan, there is a small security check as you pass the gate; thereafter, it is a dash or a sedate walk up the STEEP driveway, to the darshan shelters. Men to the left of the front of the house, ladies to the right, guests along the far right wall. Men must pass in front of the ladies to reach their allocated darshan area.

There are chairs for those who need. Darshan is a small affair under a simple canopy, and ladies also sit in an island in front of the garden.

  Unlike Puttaparthi or Whitefield, all remain inside the compound, seated for darshan until its full completion. If individuals or groups are called for interview, all remain seated. By this time, pullovers, shawls and all the extra coverings are removed as the sun is out and quite warm. When Interviews are complete, Baba emerges, and goes inside the main building; thereafter, darshan is over. Sometimes prasad is distributed during darshan.

 

After morning darshan, Swami sometimes goes for a drive around Kodaikanal and environs; perhaps a leisurely drive, perhaps a visit to an orphanage, or to a home, or to another venerable place. Sometimes, to a picnic! One can often see a procession of cars leaving Sai Sruthi perhaps half an hour or an hour after darshan, with Swami's car in the middle. So if you wish, it is useful to come back after taking your breakfast and walk back down Lake Road, and by grace of Bhagavan, perhaps you will see Swami.

 

Afternoon Darshan commences with lines at approximately 2.30 or 3PM. As before, all line up around Lake Road. There is a small bhajan mandir on the top and right as you reach the top of the STEEP drive; if you see people going in, follow, for often there are spiritual talks, sometimes a divine discourse, or bhajans in that small mandir. For Afternoon Darshan, Swami may walk along the verandah of the residence, even if it is raining.

General Information - Kodaikanal

STD Code : 04542Population2,133 metres.

ClothingLight woollen in the evening during summer and heavy woollen during winter.

Altitude

2,133 metres.

Location120 Km From Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

Best TimeApril To June And September To October.LanguagesTamil and English.

Sai Itinerary

Please note: Generally, Sathya Sai Baba does not make His travel plans known in advance. For example, residents of Prasanthi Nilayam may find out that He is going to Brindavan only when He is actually leaving or even a few hours later. All the information we have about His travels is given below.

 

Swami usually spends most of the year in Puttaparthi, but He does visit Brindavan (near Bangalore) and Kodaikanal. Going by Swami's past travels, the following may give you an idea for planning purposes, but there is no guarantee that this itinerary will be followed.

 

January: Swami is usually in Puttaparthi until mid to end January.   February-March: Swami may go to Brindavan for a couple of weeks in early February, but He usually will be in Puttaparthi.   March:By the end of March, Swami usually goes to Brindavan.   April: Swami usually goes to Kodaikanal. The climate in Kodaikanal is very good at that time. A hill station, it is cool in the daytime but cold at night.   May-June: Swami is usually in Brindavan. He sometimes leaves for Prasanthi Nilayam about mid June.   July-September: Swami is usually in Puttaparthi.   October-November: Swami is usually in Puttaparthi where Dasara and the Birthday celebrations take place. He may go to Brindavan between Dasara and the Birthday celebrations.   December: Swami is usually in Puttaparthi for Christmas, but He may go to Brindavan in the first week of December (after the Birthday celebrations in November) and return before Christmas. However, He has spent Christmas in Brindavan in a few of the past years.