To Ahobilam from Chennai-------Travel.

I am sitting on the steps leading to the terrace at a well fitted lodge right in the middle of a poor neighbourhood that reeks of buffalo dung and resonates with the grunts of black pigs and barks and yelps of a pack of friendly mongrels and the angry grimaces of a troop of monkeys with their young ones ,to all which green carpeted hilly ranges form the backdrop, that have in its caves hidden under water falls and in ledges in steep cliffs sannadhi's of Narsimha,at Ahobhilam in Andra pradesh and writing all that transpired yesterday --12.8.12.

Well i am finally here after the aborted trip last December to have a darshan of nava Narsimhas,in these hills known as Garudadhari hills ,nestled deep wihtin the thick nallamala forests near Cuddapah ,AP.

The journey by car from Chennai was on a different route one normally takes to Tirupati, the temple town one must pass to get here.It was through Thada route. It was free of traffic and bereft of bustling towns that line up on the other route.The road ,excellent!

This is my first travel on this route and the range of construction activities , huge residential complexes and artististically designed office complexes with glazed and tinted glasses had me literally gawking and wondering at the anamoly that whilst so much developmental activities are going on here at TN so many gloomy predictions about the state of economy is emanating non stop from the power hierarchy at the centre!

As we entered A.P ,roads [about which i normally comment since its state determines the comfort of the journey]was for most part good though speed breakers by the dozen ,near small towns and patchy spots and potholes were aplenty so were the construction of additioanal lanes on the highways that broke the tempo of the speed.The essentials to ward of evil eyes.

Open spaces with large tracts of fields , mostly lying around ,fallow stretch on both sides of the road.Some were being ploughed by tractors others by by huge bulls. Paddy fields and sugar cane fields that could be counted on the fingers were the only succulent greenery in otherwise undulating stretches of red and black soil..

The villages , settlements and towns on the way side were not exactly oasis of cleanliness unlike at Kerala or even to a certain extent at Tamil nadu.Quaint mud huts and dwellings are liberally sprinkled between pucca houses. Charpoy is the most prominent piece of furniture that occupies its pride of place right in front of all houses in villages and small towns , so like up at north Indian villages.Wine shops with ludicruous and fancy names are as numerous as those selling provisions ,tea and clothes.
The traffic was dominated by trucks ,mostly heading towards Chennai.Local buses are few and the preferred mode and may be the only mode of transport is cramming into share autos that weave dangerously with their over abundant cargo of locals.

Sri Rajashekara reddy's cheerful full length statues with a arm raised in joyful greeting ,exhibiting in general optimism and vigour dominate most of the round tanas of all towns .Ambedkar and Gandhi can claim only one to each's ,credit !

as i look up from my writing i spot a grim monkey studiously examining its fingers seated on a nearby ledge.Hope it doesn't pounce on me.The dogs who also share the terrace with them are more friendly.They wag their tails with great gusto.

After crossing few forests reached Ahobilam after an 8 hour journey.It has grown all out of proportion from first when i visited it 40 years back.The temple , a huge tree and few houses that i remember as the only habitation have been overrun by houses of all shapes and sizes.There is even a sprawling govt school.Then there was a lone priest , a person who had left IAS to become an ascetic and worship Narsimha in the wild forests.Now there are several priests who are more businesslike.
How ever the roads are covered by overhanging hedges and bushes thus retaining for itself the its original description, a hamlet in a forest, that spans hundreds of years, going back upto 7 th cent AD and 9 th cent AD respectively when Shankarcharya and Thirumangai aazhwar visited this holy place .

Photo.On the way to Ahobilam from Chennai.