Chittur Kavu: A two-in-one temple

This is the older of the twin temples dedigated to Bhagavathi. We chose to visit Chittur Kavu on a Friday evening, because we were at Pollachi only for two clear days, and the other temples on our must-do list - Sulakkal or Masaniamman - were far too crowded on Fridays.
Chittur temple didn't have too many visitors, for a Friday evening. Which gave us a chance to get good darshan. Unlike in so many other temples, the priest here doesn't exert himself, carrying out rituals - chanting of archana or doing frequent aarthi everytime a devotee hands in an archana slip. All that the priest does here is read out names from the slips you give him, and he then places them at the feet of the deity.
At the main temple, across the lane, we were told the aarthi was not scheduled until 7.15 pm - when we could have payasam offered as prasadam. We were there an hour ealier, and could smell the flavour of prasadam in the making, at a corner of the temple compound. We moved on, satisfied with with a jar of pre-packed payasam, earlier offered in arthi at the other Bhagavathi temple .
This is the back entrance to the main temple. Visitors use a side door, and they have to cross a knee-high threshold to enter the sannadhi. Not particularly visitor-friendly, is it ? Especially, for devotees with knee trouble. Mine hasn't gone bad enough, not yet. So I could manage to cross the threshold. Male visitors need to remove their shirt before entry.
Chittur main street, leading to the temple. We can claim family connections with Chittur. Had we explored the agraharam after the temple visit, we could have run into someone remotely related to my mother's mother or my wife's elder sister Padhu. Chittur was the native place of Padhu's in-laws. Her husband Ramanathan was born and did his early schooling here.
The Ramanathan family was among the town's reputed residents. His father used to run a bank, and as a wealthier resident of the town he sent his only son Ramanathan to Madras to study law. When family fortunes took a turn for the worse, young Ramanathan, now married to Padhu (my wife's sister), settled in Madras and took a job as law officer in the Amalgamation Group. As a loyal employee, Ramanathan stayed with the same company till death.
After her husband's death, Padhu splits her time between Chennai and Los Angeles, where her only son Shivakumar is settled. The photo, of Padhu and daughter Shobi, was taken when we Skyped during her last US visit. She has since returned to Chennai. Following our Chittur visit, my wife phoned Padhu. She had fond memories of the place, of Ramanathan's ancestral house, which was not far from the temple.
My wife regretted that it didn't occur to us to go the extra-mile on this road, if only to bring back pictures of Padhu's family house. Ramanathan had sold it during his lifetime.
The temple, located in the town centre, is a convenient meeting place for elderly neighbourhood residents. The temple management have thoughtfully provided seating space, by way of concrete slabs laid along the front wall of the temple.