A morning in Ulsoor Someshwara Temple, Bangalore

I always prefer to visit the temples in the morning. Someshwara Temple in Ulsoor, Bangalore is one of the temples I visit as and when possible. It is not close to my house, but still I like to visit this ancient temple whenever possible. I had already planned something else for the day, but when my daughter wanted to visit this temple, I kept away all my other engagements and decided to accompany her.

Someshwara Temple was built in Chola dynasty and is a splendid architecture of southern India.





As you enter inside you can see the flower vendors ready with various types of flowers and bhelva leaves, (Lord Shiva's favorite), and Basil leaves. After purchasing the pooja flowers and leaving your footsteps outside in the footstep stand for a token, you can enter inside through the huge rajagopuram.

Just before we reached there, a wedding ceremony was conducted in the temple, and the scattered rice grains and the newly wedded couple pausing for photos were our evidence. The bride was feeling shy, appeared to be a traditional bharatheeya madhumakalu, and covering her face with one hand, yet peeping through the left out space watching what is going on, to escape from the teasing friends.

A man sitting at the temple platform issues the tickets for archana and other pujas, and people enter inside with their tickets, after touching and taking the blessings of the huge idol of Nandi in front of it.

Once their prayer is over they come out with the prasadams and do the pradhakshina. Most of the devotees sit for a while. We too sat there enjoying around.

On Mahashivaratri Festival day, the crowd will be too much to get a glimpse of darshan.

An evening in Cochin Marine Drive

I had been to Cochin recently, to visit a relative's house. During my short stay there, we were able to make a visit to the beautiful Marine Drive, and spend a wonderful evening there watching the mesmerizing beauty. Get more details here.

Deepavali (Diwali) Festival

Deepavali is round the corner. Everywhere in the market side you can see diyas and special Diwali sale items for sale. People are busy shopping to make their Deepavali the best. Get more details about this Festival of Lights here. Wish you all a Happy Diwali.

Happy Dasara!

Wish you all a very Happy Navratri, Durga Puja and Dasara!

In some areas it is called Ayudha Pooja today. People do puja on this day to the tools and equipment used in our daily life with flowers, banana trunks, and other puja items as a mark of honor and respect. Sweets form an another important part of this festival. Tomorrow is Vijayadashami and the children are initiated to writing on this auspicious day.

A visit to our family temple in Kerala

The big banyan tree in the temple compound.


Kunnath Kavu, a temple in Mundakkottukurissi village in Shoranur, Palakkad Dist, Kerala. This is our "kudumba kshetram" (family temple). I clicked these shots during my recent visit to my native place, where we had our large family meet, to which people came from all parts of the country.

Get more Palakkad Attractions here.



Our family members are lighting the lamps.




The temple pool.
The main festival here is called Vela which takes place in March every year. It is a chariot festival. Chariots will be coming from the neighboring villages also during this festival. We shared our nostalgic memories of the festival, going around the temple.






The entrance to the temple.






Our family members are lighting the lamps around the temple, called Chuttu vilakku, after having a get together of our extended family.

Onam celebration

This year I had a wonderful Onam in our ancestral home. I really enjoyed being with my family members who had come from different places to celebrate the great festival.





(The ancestral home welcomes us all)


(Vegetables are kept ready for chopping)


(The dishes are being served one by one on the banana leaf, before the rice is served).

Onam - Kerala's biggest festival

The colorful festival Onam is the biggest festival of Kerala, South India. Onam marks the homecoming of mythical King Mahabali. People of all communities of Kerala celebrate this harvest festival with great joy and enthusiasm. This year, the main Onam Thiruvonam falls on 2nd September. Learn more about it here.

During Onam time, the rich heritage of Kerala comes out in its best form. Colorful Pookalam (floral carpet), Snake Boat Race (Vallamkali, Onasadhya (a grand vegetarian meal served on banana leaf) and Onakkodi (new traditional clothes bought for the occasion) are the main attractions of this festival.

Happy Vinayaka Chaturthi

India is celebrating Vinayaka Chaturthi Festival today. To know more details about this festival click here.

Lalbagh Flower Show 2009

This year (August 2009) children will have more fun at Lalbagh Flower Show in Bangalore (Bengaluru), South India. Some of the pictures during my visit. More pictures and info are available here.

A glimpse of Coimbatore

Coimbatore is an industrial city in Tamil Nadu, South India, located at the foot hills of the Nilgiri Hills. Read more about Coimbatore here.

Bijapur visit

We reached the historical Bijapur city in Karnataka State, South India early in the morning and we had enough time to go around.



The main attractions here are the Gol Gumbaz or Gola Gummata, which is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah. It is also the second largest tomb in the world. Other main attractions are Jumma Masjid and the Ibrahim Roza. Learn more about Bijapur here.

Flights to India

There are several flights to India, from different parts of the world. To know more about this please check here. They often have great deals. See the fantastic deal of yatra.

Udupi Krishna Temple

It was a great day for me to have a darshan of Lord Krishna at Udupi, in Karnataka State. Udupi is just 60 kms away from Mangalore in the coastal region of Western Ghats.





According to legends, Sri Madhvacharya, the great Sanskrit Philosopher and saint, installed the idol of Lord Krishna and sanctified the place in 13th century. The temple is built in Dravidian architecture. Learn more about Udupi Krishna temple here.









After our darshan we decided to spend some time in the nearby beach - Malpe Beach. This beautiful beach is just 6 kms away.

At the feet of Lord Murudeshwara

Recently I had a visit to the famous Murudeshwara Temple of Karnataka. The huge idol of Lord Shiva and the tall rajagopura are amazing.







Murudeshwara beach is another great tourist attraction there. This picturesque place is a marvelous tourist destination.

A cool morning in the cave temple

We reached Narasimha Jhara Cave temple Bidar (Karnataka) as early as 7.00 a.m. and waited there to open until 8 a.m.


The shrine inside the temple (immediately after you get in)




Inside the cave

The cave is electrified and air-conditioned. We had to walk through water (above waist length) for about 300 meters, to have a darshan of the Lord at the end of the cave, which is believed to be swayamboo. It was really a thrilling experience. Lots of bats were flyling on the roof top of the cave. We were told that they do no harm to the devotees.



Outside the temple - People waiting to have a holy bath in the spring which comes out through the Nandi's mouth.



Entrance to the temple

If proper maintenance is done this unique place can be developed into a great tourist spot and more people can have the thrilling experience of walking through the water, in the cave.