Mahāśivarātri 2025 - A Journey through Tamil Nadu

We will be renting a house for the group to arrive comfortably in. We will spend time in Chennai landing, familiarizing ourselves with temple etiquette at the Kapaleeshwarar Mandir, and of course enjoy some exquisite South Indian cuisine.

Our first stop along the way is travelling North to the state of Andhra Pradesh to the southern village of Srikalahasti. In addition to making a pilgrimage to the Srikalasteeshwara Temple - a temple associated with the element of Air - we will also partake in the Rahu-Ketu puja for which the temple is known. We will delve into what this means together, but essentially it is a ritual to contain the negative effects of the eclipse-causing nodes that may torment one's birth chart. It will be a peak into the persisting importance of astrology in Indian life, both culturally and spiritually. Finally, we will visit one of the modern lineage holders of kalamkari, a tradition of fabric painting for which Srikalahasti is famous.

We will stay in Puducherry for three nights to join Kalarigram for their annual Mahāśivarātri festival, Tantrotsav.  Kalarigram is a school for Kalaripayattu (a South Indian form of martial arts) and other forms of traditional dance, and their annual festival is a celebration involving varied performances of art, music, dance, and ritual. Of course, the crowning event will be Mahāśivarātri itself, an all-night festival in reverence to Śiva, the Lord of Yoga and of Dance.

For this portion, we have booked comfortable accommodations nearby (with a pool!), right next to Auroville and a short drive to the heart Pondicherry. There will be options for free exploration of these famous sites... and of course, the option to simply rest by the pool is always available ;)

Click here to learn more about Tantrotsav.

Tiruvannamalai is one of the most sacred cities in all of India, and home to Mount Arunachala, the site where Ramana Maharshi spent the majority of his life. For many devotees, this alone is a reason to visit the sacred mountain, but the Annamalaiyar temple is another incredible destination.

I have a personal reason to come back, which is the 14km pradakshina (circumambulation) of the holy mountain. At all hours of the day and night, countless devotees make the trek around Arunachala as a way to honour Śiva. It was one of the most meaningful things I did when I was in India and I look forward to sharing it with you all. 

Srirangam is an island neighbourhood in the city of Thiruchirappalli and home to the Ranganathaswamy Temple, the Śiva temple associated with the Water element. This temple holds special memories for me - the inner shrine is uniquely incredible.

Our final stop on the bus tour, we will spend one night in Madurai and visit the famous Meenakshi Temple, the only Goddess-specific temple on our pilgrimage. This is the one temple on our journey that I have not myself been to; as a lover of the Goddess, I am looking forward to discovering this temple with you.