Our second program outside Tirukodikaval. We head to the outskirts of Trichy to the lively Agraham of Allur. The Agraham is lined with 150 houses facing each other along the east-west direction. The Agraham is populated entirely with Brahmins, predominantly Vathimas. The Agraham is bracketed on either side; on one side flows Kaveri while a railway track runs along opposite side. This thriving village has three major temples - Dharmasamvardhini sameta Panchanadeeshwara swamy temple, the ancient Pashupatishwara temple and the Perumal temple. Ramu anna who hails from this village made all the arrangements for our stay during the program impeccably.

Friday, October 11th, 2019

A group of 27 people arrived from Chennai by train to Srirangam railway station in Trichy on Friday night. We hired a bus from there to Allur. We had dinner and went to bed. We had two houses arranged for our stay.

Saturday, October 12th, 2019

We were up by 5 AM. After freshening up, we had milk/coffee and then walked to the river bank to take bath in Kaveri. The river was in full flow with lush greenery on the opposite bank making for a very pleasant sight. The kids had bath first followed by the elders. We spent close to an hour there and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. After the bath, we had breakfast. Later, we visited the Panchanadeeshwara swamy temple and then participated in the 'paal kudam' to the Perumal temple and witnessed the 'paal abhishekam' there. After that, the participants learnt the traditional art form of kolattam. After lunch and a couple of hours' rest, we had some snacks and proceeded to perform kolattam along the Agraham lane. The children in the group then recited two chapters from Bhagavad-Gita. We then visited the Veda pathashala and the children here again recited Bhagavad-Gita. The Veda Adhyapaka of the pathashala then spoke about the relevance of Agrahams and our culture. He stressed on the need to keep good company and to not deviate from our Dharmic path as laid out by our ancestors. The Veda pathashala boys then recited a portion of the Vedas. The children played with the cows in the backyard later. After dinner, we participated in Bhajans & Divya naama sankeertanam. As most people were very tired we retired for the day early.

Sunday, 13th October, 2019 The hustle-bustle of the previous day was missing today and many appeared lethargic. However, we soon assembled to head to Kaveri for our morning bath. The time spent at the river was enjoyed by the kids and adults alike. This was followed by breakfast and a visit to Parvati sameta Kalyana Pashupatishwara swamy temple. We all walked through a road cutting across fields on either side. The temple is very ancient and is said to predate the Tanjavur Brihadeeshwara temple. The participants then came back for lunch and then headed to Srirangam railway station for the train to Chennai. Thus ended a very memorable trip where the hospitality of the hosts deserves special mention.

Thanks to Sri. R. Prasad (Email: prasad.angarai@gmail.com) for sharing the details.