Mattu Pongal at Anaipirandhan

This morning I walked in the Arunachala countryside and visited the village of Anaipirandhan. I was on my way to the home of my local milkman Bharat, who daily delivers fresh cow milk to my house and for which I wanted to give his cows a BIG THANKS.

On the way to the village I passed locals going about their normal day. Below a friendly lady (with her two kids) doing her laundry.

On my way to Bharat's house, I passed lanes covered with kolam decorations and also noticed that many of the simple, rustic cottages had state-of-the-art antenna TV dishes to pick up as many stations as possible.

And finally I arrived at Bharat's house and was introduced to his five cows. And time for their morning Mattu Pongal bath. Later the cows would be decorated, their horns painted and heavily garlanded in time for their beautiful cow puja -- of which they would be the honoured recipients.

HAPPY PONGAL TO ONE AND ALL.

Rural Arunachala

A couple of days ago on Ugadi (Telegu New Year) visited my friends at their farm south of Arunachala. But absolutely need no excuse to visit their place which is located about 8 kms from the base of Arunachala (as the crow flies).

They have a couple of acres of their farm currently under rice cultivation.

And below a worker winnowing the rice.

And next some of the beautiful cows at my friends' farm.

And more of their large herd of cows, peacefully grazing in front of Arunachala.

Some of the young 'uns foraging amongst some nice 'tasties' in a nearby field.

My friends have 11 doggies, most of whom have been with them since birth. Below is one of their large doggie contingent. As always when visiting the farm make sure to take lots of snacks for the doggies -- probably the reason I'm always welcomed by them with such a great fanfare.

One of the doggies making friends with the goats on the farm.

Nearby the farm are Reserve Forest Hills, which are excellent for a day's hiking and walking.

All in all a lovely way to welcome the New Year albeit Telegu New Year!

For information and photographs of agricultural land available in the same area as the farm, visit this link here.

Countryside Excursion

A friend and I decided to go on a countryside excursion. It was a beautiful day and as we left the crush of Tiruvannamalai we were quickly able to experience the charms of outlying pristine rural areas.

Our intended destination a chain of hills about 12 miles southeast of Arunachala.

Its astonishing just how easy it is to get 'far away from the madding crowd' and crush of Tiruvannamalai.

The below photograph shows Arunachala from a different and unique vantage point.

In the next photograph, looking in another direction one can see a chain of more hills far away in the distance.

Below, an inviting road winding through the beginning of the reserve forest area which leads further into the quiet of the countryside.

Over the last several months we have been visiting land within a 12 kilometre radius of Arunachala and have discovered serene, pristine countryside land far from the urban sprawl of Tiruvannamalai. We will be posting regular updates of both urban and countryside land in our Blog, however if you have specific questions about the possibility of purchasing land in an area such as this, please feel free to get in touch to:

arunachalameenakshi@rediffmail.com

In the next photograph the comforting presence of the silent sentinel Arunachala. Somehow in the wonderful peace and silence of undisturbed countryside, the beauty and power of the Hill seems even more pronounced.

It was a beautiful day and we agreed to soon return.