Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Srikalahasti Temple is one the most renowned Hindu temple with the main deity Lord Shiva and Goddess Prasoonambika. It is approximately 6 hours on train from Bangalore. Srikalahasti has been well connected by buses and trains. If you don't find a direct train, then hop off at Tirupati and board a bus to Srikalahasti.
The place has an interesting tale on how it got its name. The spider (Sri), snake (Kala) and elephant (hasti) worshipped Lord Shiva, with selfless devotion and offerings. The spider protected the Shiva Ling from the wind and it sacrificed its life during the fire. The snake prayed offering various gemstones to the Lord. Whilst the elephant would shower the Lord with the water it carried in its truck and place the leaves pushing the gemstones aside. This continued everyday which made the snake angry.
the duo died quarreling with each other whilst.
Another story is about the great devotee, Kannappa, who was a hunter. He offered the water from his mouth and also the flesh that he hunt. When the temple roof collapsed on the idol, the Lord's eyes were hurt and bleed. Kannappa removes one eye and places on the Lord's eye,
The tea staller narrated the story of Bedara Kanappa and how
One would come across the street sellers and shop owners narrating these stories.
The temple is vast and the devotees have to be in queues for a long time.
Place is well connected
Next station after Tirupati - can visit both the places
Lunch is free -
You can buy prasadam after the darshan at a nominal price - laddu
Accomodation
The temple provides the room to the devotees at a nominal price for 24 hours ONLY. In case you wish to stay for two days, then you have to request the receptionist for the extension on a daily basis. You cannot book the room for one week at once. Please note there is no reservation and you would get a room on first come first serve basis only.
Autos - several but remember to bargain
Leave your phones at the room or you can park your phone for Rs 5 at the store. Photography and videography are prohibited at the temple.
The place has an interesting tale on how it got its name. The spider (Sri), snake (Kala) and elephant (hasti) worshipped Lord Shiva, with selfless devotion and offerings. The spider protected the Shiva Ling from the wind and it sacrificed its life during the fire. The snake prayed offering various gemstones to the Lord. Whilst the elephant would shower the Lord with the water it carried in its truck and place the leaves pushing the gemstones aside. This continued everyday which made the snake angry.
the duo died quarreling with each other whilst.
Another story is about the great devotee, Kannappa, who was a hunter. He offered the water from his mouth and also the flesh that he hunt. When the temple roof collapsed on the idol, the Lord's eyes were hurt and bleed. Kannappa removes one eye and places on the Lord's eye,
The tea staller narrated the story of Bedara Kanappa and how
One would come across the street sellers and shop owners narrating these stories.
The temple is vast and the devotees have to be in queues for a long time.
Place is well connected
Next station after Tirupati - can visit both the places
Lunch is free -
You can buy prasadam after the darshan at a nominal price - laddu
Accomodation
The temple provides the room to the devotees at a nominal price for 24 hours ONLY. In case you wish to stay for two days, then you have to request the receptionist for the extension on a daily basis. You cannot book the room for one week at once. Please note there is no reservation and you would get a room on first come first serve basis only.
Autos - several but remember to bargain
Leave your phones at the room or you can park your phone for Rs 5 at the store. Photography and videography are prohibited at the temple.
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The picture frame of the Lord Shiva and Goddess Prasoonambika on the wall at the hotel room |
Thirunallar, located in Puducherry or earlier called Pondicherry, is a famous town known for Lord Shani and Shiva Temple. The temple has devotees visiting all round the year, especially on Saturdays and one has to wait for 3-4 hours in the queue to see the deity. It is believed as per Hindu myth, people who have their saade saati or Lord Shani's cycle going on, are advised to visit the temple to reduce or ward off the ill effects. It is said, Lord Nala Maharaja, got Moksha or salvation post visiting this temple.
Way to Nala Theertham |
My first travel trip this year started whilst visiting Hyderabad city and the much appraised Lord Balaji of Chilkur, which is more often popular "Visa Balaji Temple" or "Visala Devudu" (in Telugu, it means, Visa granting God). It was a Monday morning, 10th Feb 2014, I changed 3 buses to see the lord and Hyderabad being unfriendly in terms of weather, around 40 degrees centigrade. Having traveled handful places, sometimes alone, this too was on my wishlist for a long time and the time had come to visit alone.
I reached the temple around 12 noon and was taken by surprise to see the rush. The devotees have to leave behind their mobile phones and cameras, any other belongings if you wish, in the locker before entering the temple. You have to deposit a small fee, as less as Rs 5 or Rs 10 to obtain the locker. As I entered the temple, I made a struggle to enter the Garbha Gudi to see the idol. The boards display that the devotee should make a wish without closing the eyes. You would also notice that there is no Hundi here. Lakhs of people visit the temple everyday and make a single wish by making 11 rounds and once the wish is fulfilled, you have to visit the temple and make 108 rounds. The temple provides the printed sheets from 1 to 108. Remember to take a pen to strike off the number as you complete a round.
I was mesmerized seeing the Bhakti of the devotees, young and old, men and women, rich and poor, busy making rounds and chanting "Govinda Govinda" with the palms joined. The Lord does not demand anything except 108 rounds, not even a Hundi as you see in other temples.
It is believed that, a decade ago, when the visas were being rejected by the US embassy, people would visit the temple and then there were no rejections at all. I would definitely visit this temple again for its ambiance and divinity, though its not for a Visa. :)
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Shops at Chilkur, on the way to temple |
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Shops at Chilkur, on the way to temple |
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Entrance to the Balaji temple |
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Entrance to the temple |
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Balaji Temple Gopuram |
I was mesmerized seeing the Bhakti of the devotees, young and old, men and women, rich and poor, busy making rounds and chanting "Govinda Govinda" with the palms joined. The Lord does not demand anything except 108 rounds, not even a Hundi as you see in other temples.
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Street side shop selling bangles |
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Shops on the way to the temple. |
I was at Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh (which is now Seemandhra!) in April to visit a friend. Chittoor is a stop before Tirupati and 1 hour on road to Vellore, Tamil Nadu. The temperature here goes as high as 40 degree Centigrade during summer and frequent power cuts. The nearby places to visit are a few temples at Tirupati, Kanipkam Vinayaka Temple, ArdhaGiri Anjaneya and Mahalakshmi temple at Vellore.
Having less time and considering the climate, Kanipakam was the nearest place to visit from Chittoor which is 30 minutes on bus. On reaching the temple premises, we deposited the cell phones and cameras at the counter. Note that the phones and cameras are not allowed and you might end up paying huge fines if you take them along inside.
The temple has a pond or "sarovar" at the entrance where you can wash the feet before entering the temple and few people also float the "deepa" or light.
We bought a quick Darshana ticket costing Rs 51 thinking that we will see the god in no time, but stood in the queue for a long time and finally the Darshana lasted only a few minutes as there were many devotees in the queue. The Ganesha idol is a small one which is believed to be emerged out of waters and keeps growing in size. The temple is vast and well-maintained. Many men and women shave their head once their wish is fulfilled and many young new married couples, still in their wedding attire, come to the temple to seek the Lord's blessings.
There are many shops at the temple premises selling the "malas" worn around the neck, Ganesha idols and what not.
As we had traveled in the hot summer, we had the popular "goli soda" for Rs 10 which is sold everywhere.
I bought the Ganesha cards that easily fit in my wallet for Rs 5.
Last but not the least, how could I miss the souvenir and bought this cute little Ganesh, with the "Spatika" and "Rudraksha" mala around the neck.
If you're visiting Chittoor, Tirupati or Vellore, do not miss to visit Kanipakam and bow to Ganesha and seek his blessings.
Having less time and considering the climate, Kanipakam was the nearest place to visit from Chittoor which is 30 minutes on bus. On reaching the temple premises, we deposited the cell phones and cameras at the counter. Note that the phones and cameras are not allowed and you might end up paying huge fines if you take them along inside.
The temple has a pond or "sarovar" at the entrance where you can wash the feet before entering the temple and few people also float the "deepa" or light.
Entrance of Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple |
There are many shops at the temple premises selling the "malas" worn around the neck, Ganesha idols and what not.
Shops at the temple |
Shops at the temple |
Goli Soda |
Goli Soda |
Goli Soda |
Fruit seller |
Various items for display by the seller |
Kan-drusthi Ganapathi Card |
Ganesha cards for sale Rs 5 |
Not to miss the bringing home a Ganesha idol made of stone. |
Ganesha placed in the waters |
Ganesha idols with the Rudraksha and Spatika mala |
Ganesha in the water |
It was a rainy day and P~ was back to from Horanadu that morning, still tired. Horanadu is 100 kms south-west of Chickmagalur district in Karnataka state. The holy place is known for Goddess Annapoorneshwari who is an incarnation of Goddess Parvati. In Kannada language, "Anna" means rice; "poorna" means full. Hence, Annapoorna known to be feeding without one being hungry until your tummy is full. :)
My friend, P~, narrated the hospitality one could receive at the Annapoorna Temple, the way the premises are maintained, lunch and breakfast served with hot steaming coffee, sleeping mats and blankets provided in the night, one would never want to come back. The crystal clear water at the hola (river) where visitors would bathe during the dawn.
The temple is never short of devotees coming from various parts of the state. Some pray with offerings they promised to the goddess when their mannat( or wish) come true.
Unlike, other holy place in the whole of India, "photography is prohibited" here, too. Huge boards in Kannada and English are hung in temple premises reminding - "You are not supposed to click here. Be it with a mobile phone or a soap box camera. You would never know the consequences." P~ narrated one such incidence which stunned me. A well-educated guy just came out of the sanctum, took his mobile phone, zoomed in and click!.
A security personnel, in his mid forties, noticed and came to him, "show me your mobile phone."
Guy: "huh? why?"
Security:"It looks good. I wanna see it once."
**Security sees the photo of the idol.**
"Sir, photography is prohibited here. You look well-educated, can't you read Kannada or English?"
Guy: Looks shocked.
"I was checking some sms on my mobile phone, it was clicked by mistake."
Security: Grabs the mobile phone from him and drops it into the huge HUNDI. ;)
The best offering the goddess would have received. :D
Now, guess who the loyal devotee is! ;)
© Manasa. All rights reserved.
My friend, P~, narrated the hospitality one could receive at the Annapoorna Temple, the way the premises are maintained, lunch and breakfast served with hot steaming coffee, sleeping mats and blankets provided in the night, one would never want to come back. The crystal clear water at the hola (river) where visitors would bathe during the dawn.
The temple is never short of devotees coming from various parts of the state. Some pray with offerings they promised to the goddess when their mannat( or wish) come true.
Unlike, other holy place in the whole of India, "photography is prohibited" here, too. Huge boards in Kannada and English are hung in temple premises reminding - "You are not supposed to click here. Be it with a mobile phone or a soap box camera. You would never know the consequences." P~ narrated one such incidence which stunned me. A well-educated guy just came out of the sanctum, took his mobile phone, zoomed in and click!.
A security personnel, in his mid forties, noticed and came to him, "show me your mobile phone."
Guy: "huh? why?"
Security:"It looks good. I wanna see it once."
**Security sees the photo of the idol.**
"Sir, photography is prohibited here. You look well-educated, can't you read Kannada or English?"
Guy: Looks shocked.
"I was checking some sms on my mobile phone, it was clicked by mistake."
Security: Grabs the mobile phone from him and drops it into the huge HUNDI. ;)
The best offering the goddess would have received. :D
Now, guess who the loyal devotee is! ;)
© Manasa. All rights reserved.
Yesterday evening, I visited SP Road, one of the busiest street in Bangalore well-known for the electronic gadgets available for reasonable prices. In other words, you name it, they have it! Its narrow road and One way with people commuting at any hour of the day.
I wanted to buy 500gb HDD and was lurking to find a shop which would offer the best deal. In less than an hour, bought it for the best deal.
Meanwhile, my attention was caught by roadside vendor who was selling lassi, badam milk etc in a plastic tumblers. The lassi, milk was packed in a huge steel container inside a box on his cycle. To the huge box, a plastic cover was tied which was used as a dust bin.
I was amused by his wit. I appreciated him telling him that his idea was great and people didn't throw the used plastic tumblers on the road...and yes, I couldn't stop clicking this. :D
Though, he didn't have a dust bin, he had at least found a substitute. If each one of us contribute, we can have a clean and tidier place. Each of us can make a difference.
© Manasa. All rights reserved.
I wanted to buy 500gb HDD and was lurking to find a shop which would offer the best deal. In less than an hour, bought it for the best deal.
Meanwhile, my attention was caught by roadside vendor who was selling lassi, badam milk etc in a plastic tumblers. The lassi, milk was packed in a huge steel container inside a box on his cycle. To the huge box, a plastic cover was tied which was used as a dust bin.
I was amused by his wit. I appreciated him telling him that his idea was great and people didn't throw the used plastic tumblers on the road...and yes, I couldn't stop clicking this. :D
Though, he didn't have a dust bin, he had at least found a substitute. If each one of us contribute, we can have a clean and tidier place. Each of us can make a difference.
© Manasa. All rights reserved.
A forwarded email.
Hi,
Many of us forget that we have one right (rather weapon) bestowed upon us by our constitution to choose those people who can shape our future, make our living place a better one. But we simply can't exercise this right of ours because we don't have our name registered in the electoral rolls (to clarify, u can vote even if u don't have voter id card, only ur name should be in the voter list). So, this Jaagore initiative helps us to register ourselves in the voter list, so that we will be able to choose our leaders. It just takes 5 minutes to register and the website is very user-friendly.
Jaago Re is started by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy and members are all scholars from premium institutes like IIT who left their lucrative jobs… do visit www.jaagore.com once. They r doing some real good stuff. Register for voting online, in 5 min, n they'll keep you updated on mails n SMS about elections dates, your nearest polling booth and other stuff. They have many eminent persons in their advisory panel including our own revered NRN, Rakeyesh Omprakash Mehra(Director of Rang De Basanti) etc.
About Jaago Re-One Billion votes:
Jaago Re! One billion Votes is a nation-wide movement launched by Janaagraha in association with Tata Tea to enable the citizens of India, especially the youth, to register for voting. The mission is to register the entire of India (one billion voters) for voting in the next five years; in order to benefit Indian democracy. The campaign focuses on empowering the Indian youth to lead this change.
In launch year(2008-09), the campaign is targeting urban voters in India's top 35 cities, which represent one-third of India's urban population. The campaign is targeting to register 4 million voters to register before April 2009 elections. From next year onwards, the campaign plans to target Tier-2 cities and eventually rural India.
Read more here: http://jaagore.com/main.php
© Manasa. All rights reserved.
Hi,
Many of us forget that we have one right (rather weapon) bestowed upon us by our constitution to choose those people who can shape our future, make our living place a better one. But we simply can't exercise this right of ours because we don't have our name registered in the electoral rolls (to clarify, u can vote even if u don't have voter id card, only ur name should be in the voter list). So, this Jaagore initiative helps us to register ourselves in the voter list, so that we will be able to choose our leaders. It just takes 5 minutes to register and the website is very user-friendly.
Jaago Re is started by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy and members are all scholars from premium institutes like IIT who left their lucrative jobs… do visit www.jaagore.com once. They r doing some real good stuff. Register for voting online, in 5 min, n they'll keep you updated on mails n SMS about elections dates, your nearest polling booth and other stuff. They have many eminent persons in their advisory panel including our own revered NRN, Rakeyesh Omprakash Mehra(Director of Rang De Basanti) etc.
About Jaago Re-One Billion votes:
Jaago Re! One billion Votes is a nation-wide movement launched by Janaagraha in association with Tata Tea to enable the citizens of India, especially the youth, to register for voting. The mission is to register the entire of India (one billion voters) for voting in the next five years; in order to benefit Indian democracy. The campaign focuses on empowering the Indian youth to lead this change.
In launch year(2008-09), the campaign is targeting urban voters in India's top 35 cities, which represent one-third of India's urban population. The campaign is targeting to register 4 million voters to register before April 2009 elections. From next year onwards, the campaign plans to target Tier-2 cities and eventually rural India.
Read more here: http://jaagore.com/main.php
© Manasa. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: This post reflects my opinion only. It is not posted to hurt anybody.
I sometimes wonder, what makes a country strong: is it the huge buildings, posh roads, etc or the strong wise men to build a nation? Is it not that both the former and latter are equally essential? Is it so the former can be accomplished only if we have the latter ones??? The latter ones say that there is no reason to be here since there is no career and recognition for merit. The latter ones remember that they once belonged to this land and come back when their kids begin to grow up in a foreign land. As for me, just because the neighbouring house aunty is modern and gorgeous, I can't stay at her house as a guest for a long time and can't love her as much as I love my mother. No matter how ever my mother is, I love her and the love is eternal.
On thursday morning, while I was stuck up in a traffic jam as usual, my attention was caught by the two little kids aged around 10-12 years who were asking the car owners or the bike riders at the traffic signal to buy the tricolor flags or the badges. But nobody even bothered to look at them. I was watching this through the window of the bus which was far away from those kids. Many people speak of abolishment of child labour and lengthy speeches on it, if they are so concerned why wouldn't they help those kids by buying a flag/badge which would cost them less than Rs 10/- or did they think it was a waste of money buying them? The child wasn't begging or stealing. He had chosen a path of decent living.
At office, grand celebrations went on in the evening which included cultural dances and finally concluded by National Anthem. All of us stood up, no matter we were eating or hurrying for the bus. There was some sort of oneness to which all of us are bound to.
For those people, who work on daily wages. Those who sustain eating once a day or thrive with hunger for days together, who don't even have voters card nor a shelter to protect them, it was just another day in their life.
Janani janmabhoomisch, Swargadapi gariyasi (the mother and motherland are dearer than heaven)
I sometimes wonder, what makes a country strong: is it the huge buildings, posh roads, etc or the strong wise men to build a nation? Is it not that both the former and latter are equally essential? Is it so the former can be accomplished only if we have the latter ones??? The latter ones say that there is no reason to be here since there is no career and recognition for merit. The latter ones remember that they once belonged to this land and come back when their kids begin to grow up in a foreign land. As for me, just because the neighbouring house aunty is modern and gorgeous, I can't stay at her house as a guest for a long time and can't love her as much as I love my mother. No matter how ever my mother is, I love her and the love is eternal.
On thursday morning, while I was stuck up in a traffic jam as usual, my attention was caught by the two little kids aged around 10-12 years who were asking the car owners or the bike riders at the traffic signal to buy the tricolor flags or the badges. But nobody even bothered to look at them. I was watching this through the window of the bus which was far away from those kids. Many people speak of abolishment of child labour and lengthy speeches on it, if they are so concerned why wouldn't they help those kids by buying a flag/badge which would cost them less than Rs 10/- or did they think it was a waste of money buying them? The child wasn't begging or stealing. He had chosen a path of decent living.
At office, grand celebrations went on in the evening which included cultural dances and finally concluded by National Anthem. All of us stood up, no matter we were eating or hurrying for the bus. There was some sort of oneness to which all of us are bound to.
For those people, who work on daily wages. Those who sustain eating once a day or thrive with hunger for days together, who don't even have voters card nor a shelter to protect them, it was just another day in their life.
Janani janmabhoomisch, Swargadapi gariyasi (the mother and motherland are dearer than heaven)
I was on a two day vacation to Udupi, coastal Karnataka, located 60km from Mangalore and 415km from Bangalore.
May 16:
We started our journey along with ten more people at 7:30pm on Friday night via Tumkur, Shimoga to reach Udupi by 5:30am the next day. Though, we prayed we reach Tumkur at the earliest, it took us 2.5 hours due to the heavy traffic vehicles. Others at Tumkur had been eagerly waiting to occupy their seats in the tempo traveller(TT) and we had a mini-dinner during the journey. The TT had a TV and the little devils pestered the driver for a movie which ruined everyone's sleep :( Sometime later, everyone dozed off, except the driver and the TV was still ON.
May 17:
At 3am, the headlights conked off on the highway and made our journey pathetic. The driver could no longer take risk and drive, since Agumbe(Western Ghat section) was too near and too dangerous to drive without headlight. We reached Thirthahalli. The driver waited until the first rays of sun hit the earth and then started. By this time, I had slept off. Suddenly, I felt the chill air blowing my face and I opened my eyes to see what was happening. Oh My!!! Scenic beauty of Agumbe. Why are all beautiful places so dangerous, located so high and one has to take so much risk to relish the joy of a lifetime?? I took out my camera to capture from the window and the driver accelerated. I missed a beautiful shot :( Down the ghats, there were lush green fields, chill air, and I covered myself with a blanket.
At 9am, we reached Udupi, finally. It was a long and tiring journey. My knees and neck were aching as I moved them. As we occupied the rooms, I dropped my luggage thud on the floor and dozed off for a while.
Everyone got ready and reached the Sri Krishna Temple/Mutt. Udupi is famous for Lord Krishna Temple. There is an interesting story behind it: In the earlier days, only the upper caste people were allowed to enter the temple premise. A devotee named Kanakadasa who did not belong to the upper caste was forbidden to enter the temple and see the lord. His both the hands were tied to the pillar and he sings with utmost devotion. The lord, pleased with the devotion, turns the idol such that Kanaka dasa could catch a glimpse of him. Hence, the name Kanakana Kindi is given to the small opening on the wall.
The temple is well maintained. At the garba gudi(garba=main, gudi=temple), the chill air AC blows and I never wanted to leave the place. The idol of the Lord is small and yet attractive! Photography, inside main temple where the idol is, prohibited. I appreciate the devotees, including me, who obediently followed the rule and didn't dare to click :)
Bangalore's weather is so pleasant and chill that I am hardly hungry. While Udupi, on coastal Karnataka, brings sweat in a while.
I woke up at 5:30am. Though, it was early, I was the last person to wake up and reach the temple. Never mind!
After the darshana(seeing), we visited the temples near by in Car Street. These temples are very old, spacious and well maintained. The area where the Eight Mutts are located is called: Car Street. Since I was very hungry, my mother and I went to a clean and popular restaurant, Mitra Samaj, and had delicious Udupi special sweet dish-Buns. Another famous Udupi dish is Patrode.
I set the camera in continuous mode and kept shooting whatever I could. Man, you don't get to see such events everyday and what for a camera meant? My mother who did not spot me for a long time from the beginning to end of the event got tensed and worried. She thought I might be lost as commonly seen in Hindi movies. All mothers are same. No matter I am a grown up and even if I reach her age, she would still treat me a kid :) Later, when she saw me, she was relieved and adviced me to stay with her.
Now, we packed our bags and took a short route to our destination.
May 19:
Back to concrete jungle.
More pics: here.
May 16:
We started our journey along with ten more people at 7:30pm on Friday night via Tumkur, Shimoga to reach Udupi by 5:30am the next day. Though, we prayed we reach Tumkur at the earliest, it took us 2.5 hours due to the heavy traffic vehicles. Others at Tumkur had been eagerly waiting to occupy their seats in the tempo traveller(TT) and we had a mini-dinner during the journey. The TT had a TV and the little devils pestered the driver for a movie which ruined everyone's sleep :( Sometime later, everyone dozed off, except the driver and the TV was still ON.
May 17:
At 3am, the headlights conked off on the highway and made our journey pathetic. The driver could no longer take risk and drive, since Agumbe(Western Ghat section) was too near and too dangerous to drive without headlight. We reached Thirthahalli. The driver waited until the first rays of sun hit the earth and then started. By this time, I had slept off. Suddenly, I felt the chill air blowing my face and I opened my eyes to see what was happening. Oh My!!! Scenic beauty of Agumbe. Why are all beautiful places so dangerous, located so high and one has to take so much risk to relish the joy of a lifetime?? I took out my camera to capture from the window and the driver accelerated. I missed a beautiful shot :( Down the ghats, there were lush green fields, chill air, and I covered myself with a blanket.
At 9am, we reached Udupi, finally. It was a long and tiring journey. My knees and neck were aching as I moved them. As we occupied the rooms, I dropped my luggage thud on the floor and dozed off for a while.
Everyone got ready and reached the Sri Krishna Temple/Mutt. Udupi is famous for Lord Krishna Temple. There is an interesting story behind it: In the earlier days, only the upper caste people were allowed to enter the temple premise. A devotee named Kanakadasa who did not belong to the upper caste was forbidden to enter the temple and see the lord. His both the hands were tied to the pillar and he sings with utmost devotion. The lord, pleased with the devotion, turns the idol such that Kanaka dasa could catch a glimpse of him. Hence, the name Kanakana Kindi is given to the small opening on the wall.
The temple is well maintained. At the garba gudi(garba=main, gudi=temple), the chill air AC blows and I never wanted to leave the place. The idol of the Lord is small and yet attractive! Photography, inside main temple where the idol is, prohibited. I appreciate the devotees, including me, who obediently followed the rule and didn't dare to click :)
Bangalore's weather is so pleasant and chill that I am hardly hungry. While Udupi, on coastal Karnataka, brings sweat in a while.
Udupi Heat + Constant roaming + Heavy sweating = Hunger.
It was noon time=lunch time. The Krishna Mutt are always on time, be it Pooja or serving lunch. At 12, we occupied ourselves in front of the huge plaintain leaf which are used during festivals or functions. We had chowki oota(Lunch) after thanking god for the food we eat. The food was delicious, yummy.... and I was virtually drooling over it :D I relished the jack fruit payasa for the first time and it was yumm...
Udupi Heat + Yummy Food + Sleepy eyes = ....zzzzzzzzzz.
Post lunch, we rested for 2 hours and headed to Pajaka, 10km from Udupi. One of the Acharyas-Madhwa acharya, the founder of Dwaita philosophy, was born and brought up at Pajaka. It has a temple and several stories of Acharya are told.
An old house at Pajaka. I love old houses :)
On the way, we visited the Durga Temple on the hill top of Kunjaragiri. The place is a shelter for several monkeys, too. The previous post, Monkey Business, was shot here.
Hill Top at Kunjaragiri
Dhol at a temple
We reached Malpe at 5pm. The beach was crowded with all sorts of people, right from small kids to aged ones. There were few vendors selling balloons, ice creams, kites, partners holding each others hand while walking, kids building their dream palace out of sand, bhel puri....:D Small kids pestered their parent for a camel ride. This was the first time, I ever saw a camel at a beach :-| I lived with an illusion that camels should be only in desert, I was wrong! The boat ride was also there. St Mary's Island is a beautiful place which missed at Malpe due to time constraints. We left the beach at 7:30pm. I was half-hearted to leave beach. I wish Bangalore had a beach too :(
Camel ride at Malpe Beach
May 18:I woke up at 5:30am. Though, it was early, I was the last person to wake up and reach the temple. Never mind!
After the darshana(seeing), we visited the temples near by in Car Street. These temples are very old, spacious and well maintained. The area where the Eight Mutts are located is called: Car Street. Since I was very hungry, my mother and I went to a clean and popular restaurant, Mitra Samaj, and had delicious Udupi special sweet dish-Buns. Another famous Udupi dish is Patrode.
Rangoli designs were sold near the temple
Post breakfast, a small nap, refreshed our-selves and back to temple. Again, the lunch was yummy and I was drooling over it. Ate my tummy was happy.....zzzzz. I woke up in the evening and got ready on time for the Brahma Ratostava. Wheew, what an event! Evening Aarti, fireworks, dhols, devotees pulling the huge chariot with their energy and I was clicking them all :D The chariot is pulled such that it crosses all the eight Mutts in a single round in Car Street. Few people believed that I was from some newspaper and asked if it would be published the next day ;-)I set the camera in continuous mode and kept shooting whatever I could. Man, you don't get to see such events everyday and what for a camera meant? My mother who did not spot me for a long time from the beginning to end of the event got tensed and worried. She thought I might be lost as commonly seen in Hindi movies. All mothers are same. No matter I am a grown up and even if I reach her age, she would still treat me a kid :) Later, when she saw me, she was relieved and adviced me to stay with her.
Now, we packed our bags and took a short route to our destination.
May 19:
Back to concrete jungle.
More pics: here.
13 April 08:
I visited the Veerabhadra temple at Lepakshi along with six shutterbugs. I had heard that Lepakshi is also famous for the saree prints. Location:
Lepakshi, situated in Ananthapur District, is around 15km from Hindupur and 100km North from Bangalore. The route to Lepakshi is very bad, NH being a dusty bad road along a stretch of 20km+ in the midway.
Journey begins:
As planned before, we had an intention of reaching Lepakshi we started off at 5am, reached there only at 9:30. On the way, at Devanahalli, we were able to capture the sunrise. Due to the badly maintained National Highway, we were able to reach the temple at 9:30 which indeed is a long journey duration for 100km. While we had almost reached, on the way we had poori with saagoo and chutney as our breakfast at a small hotel.
History:
Story 1:
Jataayu meets Lord Rama in Aranya Kanda of Ramayana, when Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are heading towards Panchvatee to stay there after visiting Agastya Muni. In fact Agastya Muni advised them to go and stay there.
Jataayu was a vulture and was Raja Dashratha's friend. He helped Rama by fighting Ravana when he was abducting Sita. While fighting with Ravana, Ravana cut his wings and he fell down helpless. He could not do anything more to Ravana since he couldn't fly any more. Lord Rama says,"Le, pakshi" (Le-get up, pakshi-bird in Telugu). Later he lost his life after telling the incident of abduction of Sita by Ravana to Rama.
Hence the name, Lepakshi.
Story 2:
The temple is considered to belong to the Viayanagar style of architecture. It is also believed that 'Virupanna', the treasurer of the Vijayanagar Kings, constructed the temple in the absence of the king and used the all the treasure while the king was away at Vijayanagar.At the temple:
Later, when the construction was almost finished and it was being supervised, the king returned and found the treasure empty. The king ordered, as a punishment to this heinous crime, that he should be blinded.
Virupanna blinded himself by dashing against the wall and hence the name "Lepa-akshi", a village of the blinded eye.
Photography is allowed without any fee in the temple premise provided that its not used for commercial purpose. One finds pillars lined up including and without the roofs, mural paintings on the roof, Lord Ganesh, Lord Shiva with a big snake over his head, huge Basava(bull) .. and the amusing floating pillar which supports the ceiling. The carvings on each stone pillar had a unique story if carefully observed.
The pillars without the roof is the Kalyana Mantap and believed that Lord Shiva and Parvati were married here. You find thousands of carvings on the stone pillars like "Thula Bhara", "ladies looking into the mirror", "Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshmana", et cetera.
On the way to the temple, there's a huge Nandi which is considered to be monolith. Other monolith is Lord Shiva at the temple.
People say that we should enter the main temple to which Lord Virabhadra faces the entrace. Instead, side way entrance is recommended. Well, I don't know the reason for this!
Other places on the way:
At 2:30pm, we left the temple premise had snacks as our lunch since there are no good restaurants near-by. If you wish to have delicious lunch, then you should head towards Hindupur which is 15km from Lepakshi.
Later, we headed headed towards Sultanpet-British Cemetry and Pottery which are on the way. Nandi Hills was the other option. The impression I had of British Cemetry was that it was a very huge graveyard, as I had seen in a few English or Hindi movies. When I reached there, there were less than ten graves who were resting in peace :) The very first tomb was Queen Elizabeth followed by few others. The graves are two century old. I kinda liked it. It wasn't scray at all :)) In fact, they were friendly to us..
There is a pottery town next to the cemetry. Since it was already 5pm, due to low light, I was not able to capture pot making very well.
At 6:30pm, we left the place and headed to Namma Bengaluru. We had evening snacks at a hotel on the high way. I reached home at 9 in the night due to heavy traffic.
More pics: here
29th March:
I was here at Melukote, a month ago. I had heard a lot about Iyengar Puliyogare than the temple at Melkote/Melukote :) Melukote means Fort on the Top; Melu(top) Kote(Fort). Being born in Karnataka, I considered myself unlucky that I haven't visited most of the historic heritages here. Thanks to few of the fellow shutterbugs who planned to visit Melkote on a weekend. This time I went there as a traveller and photographer.
Journey begins: We, a group of 15-18 people, were supposed to meet at 6:00 am in the morning at common place. To be there by 5:30 or 6:00 am, I had to get up at 4:00 am atleast. For over 3-4 days, though I had fever, reached home earlier, prepared coffee and had a small nap. I was relaxed and woke up at 9:45pm for dinner and slept off after an hour. At 2:00am in the morning, I woke up and would stare at the time display of my mobile phone, now and then. I couldn't close my eyes to sleep and got up to check if I had packed the necessary stuffs like water bottle filled, memory card, batterries charged, and most important:wallet with money :)
At 5:40am, one of the shutterbugs picked me up. I'm thankful to him for the lift. We joined others at 5:55am. Few of them had come by car and most of them on their bikes. After saying "hello" and "hi" to a few of them present, we headed towards Mysore Road and then Mandya. Since we had started during early mornings hours, all of us were hungry and few had breakfast at Kamat, Mysore Road and few others at other places. Though Melkote is 150 kms from Bangalore, it tooks us 3 hours to reach the main temple by car. The road to Melkote from Mandya diversion is well-maintained. One could find the fresh greenery and fileds on both sides of the road, dhobis washing clothes, bullock cart... And don't be surprised to see them :)
At 9am, we reached Melkote. The first thing we notice is a Kalyani(Pond) where most people take bath before entering the temple. We entered the pond and captured the Mantap, pillars, the pond etc. Later, along with few others explored the streets and found many old houses. Yes, you may never find such simple spacious houses in this city! I did a lot of street photography and the locals welcomed us.
It was lunch time, we were searching for restaurant. Luckily, we found an Iyengar Chatra who offered us the lunch. We donated a considerable amount to them. Then we headed to Gopalarayas or Rayagopuras- The doorway-four tall pillars and no towers above it, is an incomplete architecture of the Hoysala dynasty. There are twin ponds next to Rayagopuras which are also called as sister ponds or akka-tangi ponds. The place is also famous for Dhanush Koti-Rock is the shape of an arrow. I couldn't visit Dhanush Koti due to time constraint.
Finally, we came back to the main temple. One has to climb around 400-500 stairs made of stone to reach. The main god worshipped is Yoga Narasimha / Chaluvanarayana swamy installed by Acharya Ramanuja. It is said that King Vishnuvardhana of Hoysala dynasty was a follower of Ramanujacharya. I went to the temple at 3pm which was closed and would open only at 5:30pm, I missed Iyengar Puliyogare and seeing the Lord :( Oh, I shouldn't be saying that! I hope I visit this place next time and click better snaps :)
If you are planning to visit Melkote, its worth it!
Have you ever been to a city where you find an idol of Hindu god/goddess in every nook and corner of the city? Where you find atleast 2-3 temples a lane? If not, visit the City of Temples: Madurai, known for the famous Meenakshi Temple.
Other places to see at Rameswaram are Dhanushkodi, Ramarpadam, Floating Stones, Rama Theertham, Lakshmana Theertham, Sita Theertham, Agni Theertham. Bridge is no longer visible.
One disadvantage is that we don't find any boards in Hindi or English. If you are well versed in Tamil, you can enjoy a lot. By the end of your journey or yaatra, one becomes familar with the words-thambi(brother) and amman koyil(Goddess Temple) :)
Gopuram at Meenakshi Temple.
Pond at the temple.
Top of Gopuram
I could just visit only three temples: Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madana Gopala Temple and Perumal Temple. The story of Goddess Meenakshi and her husband Sundareswaran's wedding is depicted through the carvings on the walls of the temple. You may find Lord Ganesha's idol or carving in every corner of the temple.
The following day we set ahead to Rameswaram well known for Setu Bridge. The temple here also shares a story: Lord Rama had to worship Lord Shiva's idol for the forgiveness of sin by killing a human. Lord Hanuman leaves in search of Lord Shiva's idol. By the time Hanuman arrives, Sita is done with Shiva's idol with sand. Angry over this, Hanuman pulls it. Rama Promises that the idol brought by Hanuman is always worshipped first. The idol made by Sita is called Spatika Linga.
Sands at the beach
Also said that there is a sangam of 2 seas.
LightHouse from Rama Temple.
On the way from DhanushKodi.
On the way from DhanushKodi.
One disadvantage is that we don't find any boards in Hindi or English. If you are well versed in Tamil, you can enjoy a lot. By the end of your journey or yaatra, one becomes familar with the words-thambi(brother) and amman koyil(Goddess Temple) :)
I visited Lalbagh on August 11th with my friend. I remembered not to forget to take my camera with me. As we entered, I clicked with my camera. IT was an amazing experience to click and captured several pictures of flowers :) If you have missed Flowershow, then you have missed a wonder. No editing done on the pics. Shot with Canon S3 IS.












Some more pics here.
Some more pics here.
ABOUT ME


I'm a quintessential Bangalorean living in Sydney, Australia. I love photography and blogging that goes very well while I trek or travel. I'm an outdoor person and play tennis and swim whenever I find time. I enjoy reading books during daily commute. I enjoy cooking and prefer spice over sweet. I do love music and blessed to play divine Veena. I'm an amateur flautist.
...I have been blogging since 2005.
I update blog every Monday and Thursday
...I have been blogging since 2005.
I update blog every Monday and Thursday

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