We had an one day trip to Vellore from Bangalore. The road was excellent, but for the number of tolls to pay. On the trip to Vellore and back, we had to pay Rs 400/- as toll charges for the van. One can have a decent break fast near Krishnagiri at the Adyar Ananda Bhavan, which is on the high way itself.First we had darshan at Virinchipuram Margabandeswara temple. You reach this temple just before you enter Vellore An ancient temple is a" must- visit".
Then we proceeded to Shenpakkam Vinayaka temple.The temple has no sculptured idols of Ganesha.There are in total eleven figures of Ganesha in a court yard open to sky. All the idols are not fully formed.
Then we went to Vellore fort, where the temple of Jalakandeswara is located. The fort itself is very impressive with its moat and massive walls.The temple has a beautiful mandapam with a stage ( perhaps a hall for dancing recitals). The sculptures of this mandap is really awesome. There is a museum in side the fort, but unfortunately we could not see that, as it was closed. There is boating in the moat, which also we skipped.
Then we had our lunch break, at Arya bhavan. We then went to Rathinagiri murugan temple. As we parked our vehicle, the temple was closed( Quite common in most of the temples in south India). We had to satisfy ourselves with the darshan of the hill and the tower of the temple! From there we went to Sripuram Golden temple, which is about 10 kms towards Krishnagiri. This is only a show piece and it seems to be hyped out of proportion.The place is well maintained, but there are other places of worship also better than this. I have visited Swami Narayan temples (Ahmedabad, Delhi,), which I consider higher, in many aspects.Many ISKCON temples outscore this.It looks more like a week end outing place , since you have all facilities of food, drink, water,toilet facility with an USP of gold(?) cladded mandap and the working hours are from 8 AM to 8 PM. This place reminded me of many US museums where in you are let out through the gift shop.The other dis(turb)gusting feature of this complex is the volunteers at the entrance, suggesting you to buy tickets for quick darshan. On the whole, this temple visit was quite disappointing, perhaps I was expecting something unique.
