Rediff Logo Travel Sports interviews Find/Feedback/Site Index
    HOME | TRAVEL | TRAVELOG

INDIA GUIDE
TRAVEL DESK
EVENTS
AIRLINES
SEARCH


Annexe of theVailankanni basilica







Fast Facts

How to get there

Vailankanni is well-connected by bus to all places in Tamil Nadu and also Bangalore. From Bangalore you can carry on to Bombay, Goa and elsewhere. The nearest railway station is Nagapattinam just 11 kms away and Madras is about nine hours away by train.

From Nagapattinam there are buses to Vailankanni at an interval of fifteen minutes. The journey by bus from Vailankanni to Madras takes nine hours. The nearest airport is Tiruchirappali which is four hours by bus from Vailankanni. Pondicherry is also four hours away by road.

Where to stay

There is a huge office of the church is exactly opposite the bus stand. You can make your boarding arrangements with them. Here you can book a room or cottage. The church has 1,620 rooms and 11 halls (50 to 100 people can stay in each). Tariffs range from Rs 40 to Rs 100 per day.

Apart from that there are about 50 other hotels -- which offer clean but simple rooms -- in the town where the tariff ranges from Rs 60 to Rs 500, air conditioned or non-airconditioned. Your have to pay extra for hot water. At the festival time people rent out their houses as well.

To cope with the rush during the September festival, the church is building a huge hall on one acre of land. Fifteen thousand pilgrims will be able to stay here.

If you are looking for more comfort, we suggest you make Vailankanni a day trip from Pondicherry. Pondicherry has plenty of staying options. Try:

  • Pondicherry Ashok, East Coast road, Kalapet beach, tel # 0413-65160, 65161, 65162, 65163: A three star hotel with AC double rooms for about Rs 2,000 per night.
  • Seaside Guest House, 14 Goubert ave, tel # 0413-36494, 21825: A guest house offering AC double rooms for Rs 400 per night and non-AC rooms for Rs 350 per night . Fairly comfortable.
  • Anandha Inn, No 154 S V Patel road, tel # 0413-30711: Rs 1,200 for an AC double room in this three star hotel.

Cheap food is available in smaller eating houses and also there are a lot of food stalls on the main road. There are stalls on either side from the bus stop to the church. Surprisingly there are only two STD booths (for making long distance calls) here. One in the church compound and the other near the bus stop.

Vailankanni festival

Vailankanni festival is celebrated every year from August 29 to September 8. September 8 is considered auspicious because it was the day the Portuguese sailors first landed in these parts and they built the first actual church.

On August 29 a huge procession of devotees make their way to the church. And there is an impressive flag hoisting ceremony that indicates the beginning of the festival. This ceremony is attended by the district collector and other VIPs. By the way, festivals at all Hindu temples also start with a flag being hoisted.

At 8 pm there is a chariot procession, with three chariots. The Mother, St Michael and St Joseph. Actually this chariot procession takes place on every day of the festival. On the penultimate day six chariots join the procession and on the last day seven.

Mass is usually conducted in Tamil, Malayalam and English, from 6 am in the morning right till 6.30 pm in the evening (rosary and novena prayers). During the festival days it is also conducted in English, Konkani, Marathi, Malayalam and Telugu.

On September 7 and 8, the evening prayers are conducted by the Bishops of Thanjavur. Cultural programmes are also conducted for the pilgrims. The festival ends with the lowering of the flag on the September 8 at 6 pm.

Other events:

  • Throughout the year there is a chariot procession every Saturday. The chariot procession is also conducted on special occasions such as Independence Day. The procession involves a candle-lit parade, with hymns.

  • On the first Friday of every month there is a procession around the shrine at 6.45 pm. This is followed by benediction from the front balcony of the extension of the basilica.

  • On the first Saturday of the month, after the chariot procession, the blessed sacrament is displayed for worship. A layman, from Madras, comes specially to grace this occasion. People who are sick attend this ceremony in large numbers. The layman divides the crowd into groups according to their illness. People with eye problems are put into one group, handicapped people in another and so on . Each group is separately blessed with the holy sacrament. And then there is a special mass from 9 pm to midnight.

Back

Uvari

Tell us what you think of this feature

HOME |NEWS | BUSINESS | SPORTS | MOVIES | CHAT | INFOTECH | TRAVEL
SHOPPING HOME | BOOK SHOP | MUSIC SHOP | HOTEL RESERVATIONS
PERSONAL HOMEPAGES | FREE EMAIL | FEEDBACK