The Heritage vertical of Embassy Travel and Tours Along with

Historian Pradeep Chakravarthy presents

Srirangam; Thiru Vellarai; Malayadipatti; Kodumbalur; Rock fort; Thiruverumbur; Uraiyur Tanjore Art and weaving

February 15th -16th 2018 Registration until – 31st December 2018 Online Brochure - http://mysticalpalmyra.com Or contact us at [email protected] / 9282119040 Facebook Brochure: https://www.facebook.com/mysticalpalmyra/ Our Philosophy

We seek to instill a tangible pride of our glorious past and build a responsible and culturally sensitive community through heritage travel and Srirangam

As the perennial river Cauvery the town of Tiru-Chirra-Palli or Trichy was and is perennial. Situated in the heart of Tamilnadu this city boasts of a glorious past and ultra modern future ”Smart City”. It’s name gives us a clue of the ancient traditions it has as a part of its location on the river bank. The name denotes an ancient Jain vow of fasting to death. Mystical Palmyra along with Historian Pradeep Chakravarthy wafts you on a two day trip to explore the region’s rich history and of course the jewel in the crown, the Bhooloka Vaikuntam – Srirangam

Ranganathar Temple

For many this is heaven on earth. The temple town can seldom be fully explored. Our orientation will acquaint you with the rich history of the temple in terms of food, poetry, art and architecture. Those of you who know Tamil, be prepared to learn an ancient love poem on the temple! Thiruvellarai

Thiruvellarai is a giant canvas. Its grand scale, though devoid of intricate sculptures, is reason enough to “wow” you. Witness the written record of the anger of a king muted by his passion for the . Nearby is a temple pond the likes of which you can never see anywhere else…. A prize if you guess what is unique about it! Kodumbalur

The clan of Kodumbalur were once the decisive factor in determining the fame and fortune of the great Chola Kings. Today we only witness a pale shadow of a glorious past. Obscured amidst the rural settings, and one in complete ruins, these temples were the inspiration for the later Chola rulers’ architectural adventures.

Malayadipatti

A fine example of early cave temples rich with stone carvings. Additional charm to these monuments is added by painted stucco covering some of these sculptures. Although these temples have been made more than 1000 years ago, these are not the oldest monuments of history here. Granite cliffs contain three caves which served for Jain hermits in the 3rd – 4th century AD, these caves contain also capsules made by people 3 – 5 thousand years ago. Both rock-cut Hindu temples have been made in one granite monolith Rock Fort

The iconic symbol of Trichy. We will not go up all the way but will stop midway to savour a little poetry in stone and the most imposing of all cave temples – and one king who became immortal because he did a little bit of boasting! Thiruverumbur

Built by Aditya Chola (871-907 CE) along the banks of the Cauvery to commemorate his victory in the Tirupurambiyam Battle, Thiruverumbur has several inscriptions from the Chola empire dating back to the 10th century. Home to a very unique Shiva Linga.

Uraiyur

After admiring many architectural masterpieces in their natural settings, it is time to look at craft. paintings have a distinct Uraiyur style. Let us watch an artist bring this divine and uniquely Tamilian art form to life. We will also be visitng the fading craft Uraiyur style of weaving. A smoking connection between Uraiyur and a British parliamentarian will unfold as well… Day 1 – 14th February Day 3 – 16th February When - 2245 – Meet at Madras - 0730 – Breakfast and Egmore station - 0830 – Leave for Rock fort - 2330 – Leave for Trichy by - 1000 - Thiruvellarai Where Rock fort Express - 1300 – Lunch - 1500 – Leave for Malayadipatti th Day 2 – 15 February - 1730 – Brief stop at Thiruverumbur - 1900 – Back to hotel and refresh - 0525– Arrive at Trichy Station - 2000 – Dinner - 0530 – Check into Breeze. Rest, - 2145 – Checkout and Leave for freshen up and have breakfast Train Station - 0830 – Srirangam - 2235 – Leave for Madras by - 1300 – Lunch at Ethirajammal Rockfort Express Ramanuja Koodam Day 4 – 17th February - 1430 – Leave for Kodumbalur - 0435 – Arrive at Chennai - 1700 – Thanjavur painting demo at Egmore Station Uraiyur/ Weavers belt of Woraiyur/ - Say Bye until our next Woraiyur Suruttu tour J

- 1800 – Back to Hotel, rest, dinner and retire for the evening The Fine Print! Included

Fine Print, Several places we will be visiting are places of • Train Travel by Two Tier or Three Tier AC worship and therefore we request your special coach on train. Incase your registration does Inclusions attention to the following: not meet the deadline, we shall provide an • Please dress conservatively and avoid wearing alternate mode of transport and shorts and sleeveless wear. Please carry a • Road travel on AC coach dhothi and shawl. • Accommodation in AC rooms accommodating Exclusions • Comfortable shoes or slippers since up to 2 adults. Children will be accommodate monuments are footwear free zones depending on the age and hotel policy. In this • We strongly advice carrying sun block, Trip we will be staying at The Blossoms Trichy sunglasses and cap - https://hotelblossoms.com/ • Basic medication/ first aid will be available. • Meals mentioned - 2 breakfast, 2 lunch and 2 Please carry your specific medication if any dinners per person (Request you to specify • Camera – Rs. 10 and Rs.100 for the usage of your preference if any in advance) camera at certain places • 2 bottles of water per person will be provided • Photography may not be permitted in certain on the coach every day. We request you to Places bring a refillable bottle in order to reduce the • We would like to iterate that this is not a usage of plastic waste. religious trip and therefore we all need to • Regular entry tickets where required will be respect the time and interest of those who are provided coming to enjoy the heritage aspect of the trip. • Darshan at temples will be allowed if People Therefore please ensure that you respect and wish to and ONLY if time permits. stick to time schedules. • All applicable taxes as on date • Due to unforeseen circumstances, in case we need to make certain changes in the Not Included itinerary, we request your patience and understanding. We assure you that the • Expenses of Personal nature alternate option provided will be just as • Room Service exciting • Any other attraction/temple not mentioned in the • A Tip between Rs. 50 – Rs. 200 per person itinerary may be collected for service providers based on popular consensus

Your “partners in Crime”

Embassy Travel and Tours has been in the Hailing from Tirunelveli and moving on to business of tailoring unique and memorable international exposure through KFI, MCC, travel experiences for the past four decades. JNU (Delhi) and LSE (London) in his academic A part of the Airlift Group of Companies, we years, Pradeep Chakravarthy has always had a adhere in a personalized manner to all travel passion for the history and Heritage of Tamil related services that one might require be it Nadu with special focus on the role that it guidance, documentation, reservations, plays in society then and now. Having a currency exchange etc. background in HR/leadership development and Customization and luxury travel is our forte, coaching through his assignments in TVS, which ensures the utmost comfort for our Cognizant, Infosys and McKinsey, he clients whether it is outbound, inbound or constantly explores methods of constructively domestic travel. employing out of the box techniques of Mystical Palmyra is the heritage vertical we exposure to fine elements practiced in ancient take pride in adding to our existing array of times to motivate and hone ones inherent skills. experiences extended by us. We are proud He pioneered temple walks in Madras. His deeply to showcase some of the neglected invested interest in the music, food, literature of treasures of a bygone rich era that are just allows him to present succinctly and around the corner. We assure you that the simply even the dreariest topic in history. He has whole experience will be an absolute authored several books and has over 300 articles luxurious insight into our glorious past. in The Hindu, Marg magazine, Express, Times of India etc., to his credit. He has lectured in several prestigious venues like IIC (Delhi), IC (London) and is an awardee from the Tag Foundation.

"This temple trip was different from others. It was not about religion, not about mythology, not e From ven about history. It was about the evolution of human civilization. What was even more interes ting, was how Pradeep was able to connect the past to the current way in which we think and act the to survive , synergize with others and form strategies to connect with the rest of the society. It w “horses” ould be brilliant, if we can use this knowledge and 5000yrs of history into our management pract ices. ” - Vinod Dasari, MD, Ashok Leyland mouth! We have never felt that Priya and Pradeep are organizers and we are just travelers. Over the yea rs we have become one family, every body making everyone feel at ease and comfortable – M ythili Chandrasekaran, Ex SBI

The call was for refreshing “degree” But the Mystical Palmyra pedigree Ensured it was so much more -- Places, People, food and tales of yore Priya and Pradeep pack so much fun The initiated will seldom shun Their trips planned with such care I proudly proclaim they are beyond compare. – J Krishnan, Logistics Industry

I had a very insightful trip and my appreciation and awe of Indian history and culture is being ex panded with each trip. It is also an eye opener as to how a warped version of our history is being taught in schools whereas such phenomenal achievements of our ancestors are being glo ssed over – Shailesh Vummidi, Jeweler

It was our first trip with Pradeep and Priya. We never had to think or be concerned about anythin g. Every little detail was taken care of. Living in Delhi, we are surrounded by monuments/tombs reminding us of the Mughals, British and India’s independence. One always thought that all hist ory was in the north. This trip opened my eyes to history in the south – Sudha Rajendran, Delhi

Contact: Sridharan Lakshmanan; [email protected]; +919282119040 Minimum age: 15 years (Between 15-18 yrs they Contact Raji Kumar; [email protected]; +919840471127 must be accompanied by an adult and above Address: 23, Thanikachalam Road, T. Nagar, 70 years they must be accompanied by a and Chennai – 600 017 Bank Details: Ours is a Current Account younger person) Package ICICI BANK LTD, NO.1, Cenotaph Road, Teynampet, Per person Package cost : details Chennai – 600018 - INR 16,000 on twin sharing basis (We will not be pairing guests. This is for those who are Beneficiary: EMBASSY TRAVEL & TOURS PVT LTD travelling as couples or with known people. A/C NO: 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 2 2 4 2 9 At the time of registering you may check with us for other participants looking to share the IFSC CODE - ICIC0000001 room) - INR 18,500 on single occupancy basis SWIFT CODE: "ICICINBBCTS”

BANK OF BARODA: S.I.E.T College Avenue Branch, Registration: Chennai - 600018 Before December 31st 2018 by way of Full payment at the time of registration to ensure Beneficiary: EMBASSY TRAVEL & TOURS PVT LTD confirmed participation in the tour A/C NO: 05310500000014 Cancellation and refund: RTGS/NEFT, IFSC CODE: BARB0COLMAD - 30 days before commencement of tour – 50% of tour cost will be refunded STATE BANK OF INDIA: NO.13 (6), Plot No.3, - Less than 30 days before commencement of Thanikachalam Road, T. Nagar, Chennai- 600 017. tour – no refund Beneficiary: EMBASSY TRAVEL & TOURS PVT LTD - incase of non-participation due to rescheduling of tour by the organizers due to A/C NO: 6 4 0 9 3 7 7 0 3 6 1 ANY REASON, 75% of tour cost will be refunded -Incase of cancellation of the tour by organizers IFSC CODE – SBIN0040801 – full refund including registration fee Cheques in Favor of: Embassy Travel and Tours Pvt. Ltd.