Below is a small write up about our trip to Vailankanni where we went to visit Our lady of Good Health Shrine. The Shrine is popularly called "Our Lady of Vailankanni" and it is located town of Vailankanni which is on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. It is located 150 miles south of Madras in Tamil Nadu and 5 miles south of Nagapattinam.
From Chennai there are 2 ways to get to Vailankanni:
Road: Going by road you have the advantage of getting off the bus near the shrine. There are 2 options by road, either state transport which would cost you (Rs. 300 / head) or private buses (Rs. 380 / head) in an A/c bus. A private a/c taxi to and fro from Chennai would cost between 8000 -90000. The journey by bus usually takes about 6-8 hours. But this could vary. Our journey to Vailankanni by State Transport took us about 12 hours. The a/c bus broke down and we were put into a non a/c bus, each of us in different seats. The bus usually starts at 9 AM and reaches the shrine by around 7 PM.
Train: When you travel by train, you have to get off at Nagapttianam and then take a sharing auto or a taxi to the Shrine. This would take about 15-20 minutes.
Shrine Basilica: The main shrine is very huge and beautiful. It comprises of 3 churches where the masses take place. If you enter the gate coming from the Assisi Quarters side you have one church on the ground floor and one on the first. The church behind these two Churches has the main Statue of Our Lady housed in it. The statue faces the sea. Ideally, anyone walking from the beach towards the shrine would first enter and see this statue. Any religious articles like rosaries, books, scapulars, holy oil etc can be touched to the statue. Food items are not touched to the statue.
We attended the English Mass in the morning which was at 10 AM. There was adoration at 12 Noon.
Note: You have hawkers in the Church compound selling rosaries. It’s advisable not to buy anything from them because they charge more and do not sell quality things.
Outside the main shrine you would need to get into a line and buy tokens for Oil, Candles, coconuts, flowers and silver/gold offerings. You then take your receipt to the delivery counter and collect the items. The system is well organized and does not take very long. You can also buy scapulars and rosaries and all other holy pics and statues from the shop there in the same building.
Masses can be offered at the cost of Rs. 70 each.
On the road between the church and the path leading to Our Lady’s tank you have statues representing the sacraments. On one end of this road you have the Chapel of Confession (Adoration). You have a priest here who will hear your confession if you like. And, on the other end of that road you have the other Chapel where Mother Mary appeared the second time to a crippled boy.
The pathway leading to Our Lady’s tank from the Church has the Stations of the Cross on one side and the Mysteries of the Rosary on the other side. The path is filled with sand in the middle and is paved off on the sides. The distance of the path from one end to the other is about 300-400 meters. People who make promises or want some favors usually go on their knees from one end to the other on the sand.
Our Lady’s Tank – Sometime during the sixteenth century, Our Lady with her infant son appeared to a Hindu boy carrying milk to a customer’s home. The tank is now sealed off as you had people misusing the facility. You can now buy bottles and get into a Q beside the chapel where you have people who will fill the water for you. The water here is coming from the tank. The water from the tank tasted really different. There was no trace of salt and the water almost tasted sweet. It was completely different.
Museum: There is also a museum beside the church.
At the front of the Church on the street leading to the Sea there is a tonsure place for those who would like to have their head shaved. A lot of faithful who visit the Church have their heads shaved.
Accommodation: There are a lot of hotels / lodges located in the vicinity of the Shrine. They would also have restaurants serving food.
The Shrine has guest rooms namely Assisi Quarters. There is a booking counter for the rooms opposite the main bus stop. You would need to book a room here and take the receipt to the quarters. On handing over that receipt to the warden, you would be given a room. The standard rooms cost Rs. 300/- per day, Rs. 600/- (Delux Room) and Rs. 1000/- (A/c Room). You would need pay the room cost + 50% (room cost) as a deposit. When you are leaving, the warden checks the room and returns the receipt back to you. This receipt has to be taken back to the counter and you would be given back the deposit amount. Off season there is no need to book the rooms in advance. In case of travel during the holiday and festival time, it would be advisable to book the rooms in advance.
The standard rooms are smaller than the delux and a/c rooms. We booked the delux rooms. In the room, we got a nice big double bed, sheet, 2 pillows, 1 cupboard with hangars, a dressing table and one chair. The bath room (nice and clean) had a western WC and running water. Beware that the water that you get in the bathroom is very salty.
The coffee at the quarters in the morning is really good. It’s available for Rs. 10 per cup. The warden comes around taking the order. Once he comes with the coffee you pay him for it (Along with a tip off course).
Assisi Canteen: The Assisi canteen is located between the first and the second block of rooms. It’s a very nice canteen that serves up some really tasty food. The place is very clean and nice and the waiters are very friendly. Below mentioned are a few of the items that you could find on their menu.
Breakfast: Idly, Vada, Dosa, Plain uttapa, Egg Uttapa (Plain Uttapa with an egg fried on one side), coffee tea.
Lunch: Veg Meals, Fish Meals (Veg meals with a fish curry), Biryani, Fish fry (Nice big mackerel)
Dinner: Noodles, Veg Parota, Egg Parota, Bottled water, Cool drinks, Ice cream
The food at the canteen was very tasty and very reasonably priced also. It was a very nice place to eat at and was also very conveniently located. They also have an a/c section of the same restaurant. Those who would like to hire vessels and cook on their own can do so. You could hire the gas stove for 20Rs Half hour and 40 Rs for an Hour. The cost of the vessels would be additional.
You should also watch out for the kids selling stickers. All of them get to you with their stories about how they need money for school and books etc. And, all of them come to you selling the same kind of stickers.
Beach: The Street from the front of the Church leads to the beach. There are shops along the street that sell everything from toys to hats, caps, plates, cups, flowers Cd’s etc.
The sea shore is a bit messy with a lot of plastic packets and bottles lying around the place. You just have to look for a clean spot which you could find a bit away from the shops. The water is clean and you have a lot of people swimming. Always have someone watching you stuff or someone could walk away with it.
There was a small shop which sold one of the best fresh lime sodas that we had in a long time. After a swim its one of the best things that anyone can have. It’s really refreshing.
On the street corner just where the beach starts you have shops selling fish and rotis with gravy. The guys at the shop put up quite a show tossing the fish from one corner of the shop to the other and they also do the same with the rotis that are tossed around. We choose to go to Majestic Fish shop. They were selling mackerel, king fish, prawns, pomfret, catfish. This is one experience that you should never miss after coming to this place.
Best time to visit:
The best time to visit would be off season. During holiday times and the feast which is in September there would be a huge rush here. We visited the Shrine in the month of March and it was very peaceful. Not too many people around.
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