My diary part 3: My Longest walk ever!

This place is called Thiruvannamalai - well known to all Tamilians for its sacred hills. For every full moon, milllions of people from various places gather here and walk around this hill once.This is called girivalam/kirivalam. It is said that sages who live for decades wander in the hill on full moon night and so praying and walking around the hill that time is considered very sacred. Many people who did this have claimed that their prayers have been answered thus attracting many, irrespective of what religion they belong to. 


Everyone in my family have walked except me. I had no time all these years until yesterday. The day had finally come and I wanted to walk this time. Thiruvannamalai is just 1 and a half hour drive from my hometown. We all started walking at 4 with no footwear. The crowd was huge but my parents said it is comparatively less than it would be for the full moon tat comes in the month of April( It is called chitra pournami). 


We had to walk 14 kms around the hill. I felt no pain in my leg or my feet until I walked 6 kms. Maybe this is because Ive never walked this long or because Ive never walked without a footwear before. But I never gave up. I didnt want to. Fortunately there were so many arrangements made by the govt like you can sit and relax for a while and then start walking again, many shops are available so that you can energise yourself when you feel like you've become tired and so many small temples are present on the way. 


As you know India is a secular country and so are many temples. It doesnt restrict tourists to Hindus alone. I saw many foreigners walking around the hill as well. Shocking, they walk on every full moon. Whats even more interesting is many among them have bought their own homes in Thiruvannamalai and have settled here. 


We finally finished our walk at around 9.30. Had dinner at a hotel when I noticed that my feet has already turned red. But my heart felt light. I was happy I walked this long praying my favourite God(Lord Shiva). Walking like this for three consecutive full moon is considered special and good. So Ive made up my mind to walk on next full moon too.