'Venkata-Lodge', The Unforgettable Hotel of My Life, In Kumbakonam of My Childhood Days

'Venkata Lodge', The Unforgettable Hotel of My Life, In Kumbakonam of My Childhood Days:

The first thing, as I got down from train recently, in the clean railway station of Kumbhakonam, was the thought of yummy Tamil food. Was too damn hungry after the shaky, wobbling train journey. And the first hotel, that flashed before my Third Eye, was the world famous Venkata Lodge. Shekhar & Rohan were too damn grubby, and wanted a quick solution to their starvation problem. 

I started asking everyone, I came across on the way, about the whereabouts of the evergreen, eternal Venkata Lodge. But to my dismay, the hotel had gone extinct, and no one knew about it, even hazily.

Suddenly, someone told me that, there's a hotel by the name VenkatRamana Residency, and that this hotel was known as Venkata Lodge several decades ago. I was immediately, in the seventh heaven, and started my auto trip to the hotel, with my baggages, I mean shekhar & Rohan.😆  Many reviews on the net, on food sites, told me that this was one of the finest hotels, in the town of Kumbakonam, and that none of the tourists visiting Kumbakonam, should miss its unbelievable yummy,mouth-watering food. 

But Alas, after my lunch, I was shocked to see the pathetic quality of the food served, and the standard of hygeine at the hotel. But people in the hotel told me, that this is the ancient 'Venkata-Lodge'. It made me wonder, if it was the same hotel of our times?

'Venkata-Lodge' of our childhood days, has eternally merged with the Almighty, and is no more existent on this 'Mother-Earth'. As I learnt, while touring the region, it was known by different glamorous, mesmerizing names, during different periods of Holy Kumbhakonam's History. 

Gone are the days, when we used to visit Kumbakonam, drooling all over, with the irresistible thoughts of Venkata Lodge & its Garmaa Garam Idly Gothsu, made of ultra tender brinjals, from kitchen garden.

Alas !!! Where have all those drooling childhood days, of our lives gone ???

I didn't stop my search with that. I knew that Venkata Lodge had two branches. I hunted crazily for the other hotel after the first episode of disappointment, but only to be disappointed once again for wasting my valuable time, wandering all around, aimlessly.

One fine morning, after our visit to one of the lovely temples , Shri Sarangapani Temple, of the town in the morning, we Three, Me, Shekhar & Pappu, landed up in a hotel nearby, recommended by many many local people, as one of the finest. Archana was the name of the hotel, and we were told, that food here is truly classy. And the food indeed was classy. 

We went there again and again, several times, for our meals, with great satisfaction. 

On the day of leaving, I asked the pious gentleman, with an ultra clean Veshtee, Angavastram on his holy self, and shining Vibhoothi Pattai on his prominent forehead, who was the busy cashier at the cash counter, as to how old was the hotel?.I complemented him several times, for the lovely quality of food. 

The gentleman surprised me, by telling me, that this hotel was more than 6 decades old, and that it was known by the name 'Venkata Lodge', in early days. It was now, Archana. I immediately asked him, if they make Idly Gothsu for breakfast. He said, we don't make such things here. Tears rolled down my eyes. Tears of Joy or Sadness ?, I dont know. But there were tears.

I was overjoyed to discover that AT LAST, I did find the place, I wanted to excavate amidst the historical ruins of Kumbakonam. It was no less than a UNESCO World Heritage Site for me. I came back to my hotel room late evening, fully contented & fully satisfied, to pack my stuff for the return journey back home, the next early morning. 

Some of the pictures, I deleted last week from my Smartphone by mistake. But some are still left that I am sharing here.

Unfortunately, the pictures posted here, are a mixture of both the hotels, known as 'Venkata Lodge', once upon a time 😆

Ohhh Sorry ; I am really sorry !! By mistake, I've deleted all the pictures of my 'Venkata-Lodge' visit, absent-mindedly, while creating more space inside my poor, dumb Smartphone, for my future write-ups. The above holy, sacred picture of  the All-Powerful  'Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupathi', is the only picture left right now, inside my Smartphone's storage space. But it was only, & only this 'Annadaathaa Shri Venkateshwara', who greeted me with open arms, for a sumptuous meal in Plantain-Leaf, at the entrance of the hotel, that was known as Venkata-Lodge, once upon a time. The picture just reminded me of the All-Powerful Hotel-Brand of my childhood days.

I promise, I'll post hundreds of yummy, mouth-watering, salivating pictures, if not more, of 'Venkata-Lodge', during my next visit to the holy Kumbhakonam. Please bear with me for being a lost-case, till then. :)

Whether, 'Shri Venkata Lodge' is existent or non-existent today on the surface of this expansive Planet, the memories of my fun-filled, freaky  childhood days in Kumbakonam and its 'Venkata Lodge', will always exist in my perennially fresh, evergreen mind.

So Long Mala