World of Books and Travel

Tippu's Palace is one of the historic buildings of Bangalore, situated in the Fort area near the City Market. The construction of this ornate building was started by Hyder Ali, and subsequently it was completed by his son Tippu Sultan in 1789. This building is built in Islamic style with lots of pillars. The Bangalore Fort was first built by Kempegowda in mud in the year 1537, and later after passing through the Bijapur Sultans, and later was extended by Tippu Sultan. Adjacent to the Palace is an ancient temple of Kote Venkataramana, as a mute testimony to the Bangalore City's history. This 300-year old temple was built by Maharajah Chikka Devaraya Wodeyar. There is a small entrance fee of Rs.5/-. The other buildings in the Fort area are Victoria Hospital and Vani Vilas Hospital for Women and Children. Bangalore Medical College is also nearby.

Getting ready for an afternoon siesta at the busy Paravur Kavala near Cochin!!

This year I had to attend two marriages in Kerala during the first and second weeks of September, which also happened to be Onam season. The nostalgic memories of my childhood days Onam came rushing into my mind as I helped my niece to make the pookalam.We used to wait for the Atham day to start collecting various flowers to make beautiful pookalams. It was a time of great thrill and excitement. By 4.30 a.m we used to get out of our beds without making any noise and rush to the garden to pluck the flowers. Each one of us used to return with handful of flowers, sometimes lapful of flowers, to sit in circle and make the best pookalams, fighting each other as to the order of flowers in the pookalam . Once the pookalam is complete, we used to run to our cousins' houses to compare their pookalams with ours, and to make suitable comments. Sometimes we even exchange the flowers with them. When our parents look for us none of us would be available at home, as we were deeply involved in our