tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65781884113736103832024-03-13T20:30:51.971-07:00World of Books and TravelI share some of my travels and writing here. Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.comBlogger263125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-83209409111900521002023-01-22T21:37:00.001-08:002023-02-07T02:11:09.170-08:00An afternoon at Model Village at Jakkur, Bangalore<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #002060;"><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="background: white; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We had visited The new Model Village set
at Jakkur when my grandchildren came on holidays last month. The new model village is a very popular tourist attraction in Bangalore. It is spread
across four acres of land </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="background: rgb(248, 250, 252); font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">within
Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Rural Education and opened to the public in late 2020. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="background: rgb(248, 250, 252); color: #002060; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="background: rgb(248, 250, 252); color: #002060; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7xhh64f1F0d7xfNx8ph_y07XxquqxJgh6o1_hpHxuRoGP6O0wuLT0FKKBErlUfRbG6zv5cBKF3O3i5-FqtwAyIHK8G6yrvUmPBlFfXlojpJ9J9gc2EKgnFwrbx2ZUnKbRIcOA8jGKEzx80v0f3iM_MjQ1cbGdtOhRufTDZWWkPtxqQs1cD0o5G1l1aQ/s4000/20221229_172612.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1844" data-original-width="4000" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7xhh64f1F0d7xfNx8ph_y07XxquqxJgh6o1_hpHxuRoGP6O0wuLT0FKKBErlUfRbG6zv5cBKF3O3i5-FqtwAyIHK8G6yrvUmPBlFfXlojpJ9J9gc2EKgnFwrbx2ZUnKbRIcOA8jGKEzx80v0f3iM_MjQ1cbGdtOhRufTDZWWkPtxqQs1cD0o5G1l1aQ/w553-h256/20221229_172612.jpg" width="553" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-vRDoOS1P133bfYizx3vFXgmhy74Nc2UUsbGPjRzL1_4TXLGIW-AN5RYUG3i5r8ggjT-i7Wl3BT_SN8nMXCDifivYgxLqNF-4zrLCXEARQ6TyKLIKSq1F-Uiv9vpW1hoAiud7ER5SmKn5uzwZaPDUbgU6aZO8AMvEB42_CSt41k75yYSQpqMo1hDPDA/s4000/20221229_172816.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1844" data-original-width="4000" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-vRDoOS1P133bfYizx3vFXgmhy74Nc2UUsbGPjRzL1_4TXLGIW-AN5RYUG3i5r8ggjT-i7Wl3BT_SN8nMXCDifivYgxLqNF-4zrLCXEARQ6TyKLIKSq1F-Uiv9vpW1hoAiud7ER5SmKn5uzwZaPDUbgU6aZO8AMvEB42_CSt41k75yYSQpqMo1hDPDA/w512-h237/20221229_172816.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><p></p>
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this model village, you may wonder. A visit to this place will give you a
glimpse to village life<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>how </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #002060; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">the villages function. It is a close to reality <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sculptural journey with more than 1000
sculptures, into the cultural heritage of Karnataka's villages. You can see
various depictions of village life like siblings playing in a house, classes
conducted in a village school, the role of domestic animals in the life of
villagers, how the letters are delivered by a postman, how a panchayat works,
and home scenes from a regular day in a village and more. It is a great place to take
your city born children to know about the village life. Apart from this, they
can also enjoy live pottery, mehendi and tanga.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #002060; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">They also have a vegetarian
restaurant where you can get various types of village food.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #002060; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There is also a gift shop
where you can buy some village stuff such as pure honey, ghee, coconut oil,
soap, papads and more items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="background: rgb(248, 250, 252); color: #002060; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This model village theme park is like a
statue museum with stations arranged in series that depicts various themes in a
typical village life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Helvetica","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #002060; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Admission fee for
adults </b>– <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Helvetica","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #002060; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 115%;">Rs.150/- on weekdays,
and Rs.200/- on Saturdays, Sundays & Govt holidays.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Helvetica","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #002060; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 115%;">For children<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(3 to 14 years) – Rs.100/- <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Helvetica","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #002060; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 115%;">Ample parking space is also available. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Helvetica","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #002060; font-size: 20px; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://youtu.be/NOVhrHtZuJ0">Model Village Video</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Helvetica","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #002060; font-size: 20px; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p>Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-58724201823029373412021-02-09T21:20:00.000-08:002021-02-09T21:20:43.738-08:00The Cell Phone - A Short Story<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/dhAokHiP20I" frameborder="0"></iframe>Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-67675392209695320572020-02-14T04:02:00.003-08:002020-02-14T04:02:47.059-08:00A beautiful morning at Airavatesvara Temple<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Recently I had visited an amazing Chola temple. It is called Airavatesvara Temple, located in Dharusanam (previously called Rajarajapuruam) near Kumbakonam in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7bu-M2W8Ikc/XkaINdZ9W1I/AAAAAAAAGTM/JtGHfX0SWQsz7JzqLt4V8_lGTgJ6Ab2MgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_6607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7bu-M2W8Ikc/XkaINdZ9W1I/AAAAAAAAGTM/JtGHfX0SWQsz7JzqLt4V8_lGTgJ6Ab2MgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_6607.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Airavatesvara temple is one of the three great living Chola temples in India, the other two temples being <a href="https://www.enchanting-south-india-vacations.com/brihadeeswara-temple.html">Brihadeeswara Temple</a> and <a href="https://www.enchanting-south-india-vacations.com/gangaikonda-cholapuram-temple.html">Gangaikonda Choleswara Temple </a>in Tamil Nadu. It was built by Raja Raja Chola II in 12th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.<br />
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The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, here worshipped as Airavatesvara because he was worshipped at this temple Airavata, the white elephant of the Indra, King of the Gods. <br />
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It is also said that Yama, the King of Death, took bath in the sacred tank here and got rid of his curse and hence the tank has been known as Yamateertham. </div>
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The main tower is called Raja Gambira. At the very entrance to the temple two Dwarapalakas, Sankhanidhi and Padmanidhi, are seen in imposing figures. In front of the temple, there is a small mandapa, which can be reached by three steps in the form of a ladder. The steps are in stones, which give different musical sounds when tapped. All the seven swaras can be had at different points. </div>
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The <a href="https://www.enchanting-south-india-vacations.com/airavatesvara-temple.html">Airavatesvara temple</a> was much larger than what it is now. The Nandi mandapa and the stambha are found outside of this main temple courtyard. All the Chola temples have a Shiva figure coming out of the Linga at the rear wall of the temple so does this one.<br />
<img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YzbfhnjEjUE/XkaIJ5O0riI/AAAAAAAAGTU/l6jlVOF-OKsiKKtKmm0WIlKJHiHBl4rPgCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_6619.JPG" width="320" /><br />
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Regular pujas are still performed here.<br />
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After the temple visit, we had visited a weaver's place, which was just 5 minutes walking distance. for the purchase of two Kumbakonam Silk Saris. They were almost 40% discount than the shop price. The only problem we faced with them was we had to pay in cash.<br />
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-10551974503137812352019-12-24T00:44:00.000-08:002019-12-24T00:55:27.176-08:00Visit to Sri Sai Old Age Home <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Recently I
was invited by my neighbours to attend a birthday party of their grandson. I
was eager to attend it since it was an unusual type of birthday celebration. It
was not celebrated at home in a conventional way, but the celebration was with
the inmates of an old age home - Sri Sai Old Age Home Orphanage, Magadi Main Road, Sunkadakatte, Bangalore.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> It was
an overwhelming experience for everyone.
As we stepped in we saw two aged women walking in the veranda. Seeing our
unfamiliar faces they paused and stared at us. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Their eyes looked tired and empty, and greeted us with
a faint smile.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Sri Sai Old Age Home Orphanage is located in Magadi Main Road, Sunkadakatte, Bangalore.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> serving the elderly senior citizens and destitutes. It was started by late K.L. Ravi Kumar, who was in scrap business, 17 years ago and since his death 5 years ago, his sons Pradeep Kumar and Sashi Kumar continue this noble work. These young brothers spend their whole time in taking care of the aged and orphaned people, who have no one to care for them. When we entered there Pradeep was busy in cooking their lunch on firewood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">Pradeep told us that most of them are brought there by the police who found them on roads and some others are left by their children who have either no time or money to take care of </span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">their aged parents. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Sri Sai Old Age Home Orphanage</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> is a regd charity home, but they do not get any government aid, and it is run purely with the private donations from the kind hearted people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">We were curious to know whether all inmates are looked after for free or whether any paid members are there. “Though we have few (5-6) paid members of Rs.4000/- month, after a few payments their children stopped paying and they even refuse to attend to our phone calls. But we can’t neglect them, we have to continue taking care of them, including their medical needs, whether their children pay us or not,” says Pradeep with a compassionate smile. Presently they have 49 inmates, including one young destitute woman with a kid. Earlier they had a separate section for the orphaned children too, but because of the change in the rule, they discontinued them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We interacted with some of the inmates. Everyone said they are happy over there and they get love and affection which otherwise are denied with their dear ones. Though they said they were happy I could see their sorrow of their rejection by their families in their eyes. For some, they had none of their own in the world, and they were happy at least they have a place to live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">They have a huge monthly expenditure to be met. There are about 4-5 staff employed to assist them in the work, and their expenditure also need to be met. Besides, a monthly rent of Rs.34,000/- for the home where these inmates are housed and an office room in … for a monthly rent of Rs.12,000/-. Expenses for food (except rice which is supplied by a donor) , medical care of the patients, and all other regular expenses are to be met. Though they had tried several times to get government aid they have not yet got anything, and running it purely with the help of private donors. Sri Sai Orphanage for the old is a regd charity home and the donors get income tax benefits under 80G as per the govt rules. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">“Some days people like you, will donate a day’s lunch or dinner on occasions like birthdays, wedding anniversaries etc. which is a great help to us,” says Pradeep. “Some donate in things which is also greatly appreciated. We want to give better facilities for our inmates, but we can’t afford it.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">If they had their own building they could have saved these huge monthly rent, I thought while leaving the place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;"> I feel that we must visit this type of orphanages whenever possible and only then we appreciate our own blessings in life than crying for the material things that we don’t have. This type of visit fills our mind with more compassion and humanity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">Please check <a href="http://www.srisaioldagehomeorphanage.org/index.html">their website</a> for more details. </span><br />
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-31306087822711212532019-11-30T20:25:00.000-08:002019-11-30T20:25:03.383-08:00Visit to Swananda Loka - Bala Ganapathi Temple in Hoyasala style<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I had an opportunity to visit Swananda Loka, an upcoming Ganapathi Temple in Hoyasala style of architecture, housed in the Swananda Ashrama complex located in the Agara village in Tataguni, 3 km off Kanakapura Road.<br />
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Swananda Loka is believed to be the heavenly abode of Lord Ganesha.<br />
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The 9-acre temple complex area with lush green gardens is a feast to the eyes and mind. The piolet project was completed successfully and the model called Ganapathi Panchayathana is open to visitors. Around the main shrine, the temple would have 4 shrines for the 4 Yuga Ganapathis and idols of 32 manifestations of Lord Ganapathi.<br />
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In this Swanandashrama complex, there is also a temple for Lord Subramanya and another one for Devi. In this Devi temple, Goddess is sitting on the snake.<br />
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A goshala is also there where cows are taken care of.<br />
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The Ashram also promotes education of rural children and organizes socio cultural events.<br />
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I was blessed to attend a Mangalarthi puja in the temple which was followed by a great lunch.<br />
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Temple time -<br />
8 am to 12 noon and<br />
5 pm to 8 pm<br />
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-53486329873847063812019-11-08T05:54:00.000-08:002019-11-08T05:54:38.687-08:00Enchanting Beauty in the Stones of Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">We had been thinking of visiting Mamallapuram for a very long time and finally it worked out last month. (Oct 2019).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is an old town along the
Coramandal coast of Bay of Bengal and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is
located in Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu. Mamallapuram and is famous for the
stone-cut work of a group of monuments, made by the Pallava kings who ruled this place between 5<sup>th</sup>
and 8<sup>th</sup> centuries. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After checking in to the hotel, we had our lunch and immediately after that we hired an autorikshaw for the afternoon to take us around all the important tourist places there. Actually most of them were in walkable distance only. Since we had only half-a-day there, we preferred to save time. The autorikshaw driver was friendly and knowledgable person. His details are given below.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shore Temple </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tIVijsAxDSU/Xb6mBfWZQYI/AAAAAAAAGGg/XxQaHqvwwQsMSqY7kQuwgAUECFXc5kk_wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/mamalla-krishna-butterball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tIVijsAxDSU/Xb6mBfWZQYI/AAAAAAAAGGg/XxQaHqvwwQsMSqY7kQuwgAUECFXc5kk_wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/mamalla-krishna-butterball.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Krishna's Butter Ball</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G_A1egYonp8/Xb6mohT6z9I/AAAAAAAAGGs/AB4vE_19cJoadgevWTtpOGnsP6w3mpstQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/mamalla-arjunas-penance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G_A1egYonp8/Xb6mohT6z9I/AAAAAAAAGGs/AB4vE_19cJoadgevWTtpOGnsP6w3mpstQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/mamalla-arjunas-penance.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arjuna's Penance</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BeyYm8lyusg/Xb6nofftiTI/AAAAAAAAGG4/PF-xdvO3Ct4kPzIDtldxv5l7ANo5yOjDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG-20191103-WA0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BeyYm8lyusg/Xb6nofftiTI/AAAAAAAAGG4/PF-xdvO3Ct4kPzIDtldxv5l7ANo5yOjDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-20191103-WA0005.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr.Raju, Mobile No.9003852715</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When I told him I will be giving his photo and mobile number in my travelogue he was mighty thrilled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">I can't write the full beauty of the place in words. One should see the place to know its real beauty. For the time being you can see the video of our trip here -</span></span><br />
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-40029716829896073742019-11-01T21:52:00.000-07:002019-11-01T22:16:58.259-07:00Passing through Pamban Road Bridge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">During our recent trip to Dhanushkodi we had to pass through Rameswaram, which is connected with </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge (</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pamban Road Bridge.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge is the longest sea bridge in
southern India</span><span style="background: #fdfdfc; color: #2a2c26; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> measuring nearly 2.2 kms in length. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It connects the National Highway (NH 49) with
Rameswaram on Pamban Island, and stands parallel to Pamban Rail Bridge. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rameswaram is located in Tamil nadu and is <span style="background: #fcfcfc; color: #333333;">steeped in Ramayana legends.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: #fdfdfc; color: #2a2c26; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">This road bridge is also popularly known as Pamban Road
Bridge. This is an engineering marvel and is one of the first sea bridges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is surrounded by blue water from all
sides and offering beautiful views of the Railway Bridge and Rameshwaram Island.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The new visitors to Rameswaram stop over
here to have an amazing view of the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pamban Rail bridge over which the train passes
to Rameswaram. They can also see innumerable fishing boats scattered in the
sea. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ships also pass under this
bridge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #fdfdfc; color: #2a2c26; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">After the cyclone of 1964, there was a need for
a road bridge to connect between the main land and Rameswaram and it took
almost 14 years of hard work to complete this bridge. This road bridge was
inaugurated by the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi On October 2, 1988.</span><span style="background: #fdfdfc; color: #2a2c26; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PI76AxfPrF4/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PI76AxfPrF4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Many new visitors to Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi stop over here to have a beautiful view of the bridge and the sea. If you are lucky you can see the train passing over the Pamban rail bridge.<br />
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-46069721932324436372019-10-14T00:30:00.000-07:002019-10-14T00:30:31.425-07:00Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal of Madurai is one of the important historic places in Tamil Nadu. It is located just 1.2 kms away from Madurai Meenakshi Temple (Meenakshi Amman Temple) and hence it is easy to visit this place to those people who visit Meenakshi Temple.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P_r140igKdQ/XaQeS3UCEeI/AAAAAAAAGEM/Nz30_iPILzsYO8XwhBph--cb5AcVziUqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/thirumalai-nayakar-mahal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1177" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P_r140igKdQ/XaQeS3UCEeI/AAAAAAAAGEM/Nz30_iPILzsYO8XwhBph--cb5AcVziUqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/thirumalai-nayakar-mahal.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
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It was built in 1636 AD by the Nayakar Dynasty king Thirumalai Nayaakkar, by an Italian architect. It was four times bigger to what we see today as many things including ornaments have been removed from here. </div>
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There is a light and sound musical programme in the evenings, both in English and in Tamil, the local language. </div>
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Please see the video to get a proper view of this historic and architectural beauty and further details. </div>
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There is also a museum inside which should not be missed. </div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-3295937153608565902019-10-10T06:53:00.000-07:002019-10-11T08:37:18.024-07:00A Trip to Dhanushkodi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Dhanushkodi is located at the southern tip of Rameswaram on the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
is also the place for the <span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">union of two mighty
oceans<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean,
and is <span style="background: white; color: black; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">elongated
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in shape.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also the end of India <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and we felt we are at the end<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of the earth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can also check out this video on <a href="https://youtu.be/vxUwiHPBd0g">Dhanushkodi</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As we were driving closer to this place a
frightening silence came upon us. However, surprisingly we began to get Simhalese
language on our car radio . In the next few minutes, we got a welcoming message
on our mobile from Airtel Srilanka. Sri Lanka is just 31 km away from here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Finally we reached our destination where a
post is standing erect, to mark the end point of the land and we got a feeling that
we are at the end of the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Tragic History
of this place -<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It was once a flourishing
trade hub with Sri Lanka, (then called Ceylon)
but today it is an abandoned
city, also called as ghost city, with the ruins. There was a ferocious cyclone
on the midnight of 22<sup>nd</sup> December 1964 which took away the train No.653,
Pamban Dhanushkodi Passenger with all its passengers. Most of them were school children coming home
for Christmas vacation. The ill-fated train was coming from Chennai (then
called Madras) which was almost reaching there, the last stop, with 115 people on board. The
cyclone washed away all the passengers and the train itself. Being not
satisfied yet, the ferocious cyclone took away the lives of almost 1800 people
of Dhanushkodi and all the buildings, washing away the whole town.. Since
then it was declared as unfit for humans to stay there by the Govt. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today it is slowly becoming a tourist spot.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For this, <span style="background: white; color: black; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">a new road connecting Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi
to the land's end is built in 2017. Before that, it was totally cut off from
civilization. Now, you can drive there directly in your own vehicle or a rented
vehicle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #3c4858;">Reaching there you will be welcomed with spectacular high
tides of the blue sea.</span> </span><span style="background: white; color: black; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">It is an awesome sight to stand at this point enclosed
both the sides by oceans.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 107%;">This is also a historic place where Lord Ram with the help of Lord
Hanuman and his army of monkeys built a rock bridge to Sri Lanka, to rescue
Sita Devi from the evil clutches of demon king Ravan. It is called Ram Sethu.
Lord Ram marked the spot where the bridge was to be built with an end of his
bow and this place got the name Dhanushkodi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 107%;">What to do there<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If you reach there early in
the morning you can catch the bewitching sunrise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can stand there and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>experience the rare feeling of reaching at the
end point of the land, and look around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can silently offer a
prayer for the unfortunate victims who lost their lives on that fateful night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can simply soak in the sun
walking on the white sand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can experience the water
touching your feet and take photographs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can get some basic items
like tea, juice and fruits here. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can visit the thatched
shops and buy something made with shells which will be a great help to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can visit the ruins there
and imagine how that place used to be during its flourishing period. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We bought some items from
one of the shops just to make a conversation with the owner, a fisher
woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her husband, along with other
friends, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>goes to the sea for fishing by
4 a.m. and returns by 10 a.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it is a
holiday he will sell all the fish and she too will have some good sale. Other
days they make hardly anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told
me that there are about 100 such shops in Dhanushkodi and they live there only .
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 107%;">You can visit Kothandaramaswamy temple, located off the
highway about 10 minutes before Dhanushkodi. </span><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 107%;">You may be able to spot some
migratory birds there on the way. </span><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "franklin gothic book" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="background: white; color: #3c4858; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">As we were leaving
the place, thinking of the destruction the nature’s fury caused to this once
bustling town and the people here, a melancholic feeling engulfed me. Each
moment we lived we must feel blessed because the life is very short, it teaches us. </span></span></div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-79521275486734548982019-10-01T02:37:00.000-07:002019-10-01T02:37:03.777-07:00An afternoon at 1980s games <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A friend recommended us a new place to have a lovely day. She reached there first and waited for us. It is a wonderful place in the heart of Bangalore city to chill out with your friends playing some childhood board games, such as Alagulimane game, chowka bara etc. and enjoying wonderful vegetarian food.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hKFXkyKjBn0/XZMdwkwmaII/AAAAAAAAGCQ/k0So_ipkWYUQKahWD6XGtCkjChPFYN2ZACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/20190504_151830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hKFXkyKjBn0/XZMdwkwmaII/AAAAAAAAGCQ/k0So_ipkWYUQKahWD6XGtCkjChPFYN2ZACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/20190504_151830.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another interesting thing is the ambience is so homely. It is definitely a hidden gem in the heart of the city. The food will be served only after the games are over. <br />
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<br />
<br />
Address -<br />
<br />
1980s Games Cafe<br />
63, Kanakapura Road, (Upstairs)<br />
Basavangudi<br />
Bangalore 560004</div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-80084061233154537482019-09-26T03:09:00.000-07:002019-09-26T03:09:41.590-07:00A Pilgrimage tour to Kodumudi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kodumudi is
a small town in Erode, 40 km away from Erode city, in the State of Tamil Nadu. This place is also known as Thiruppandikodumudi.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">The popular Magudeswar Temple is located here on the bank of River Kaveri,
which is <span style="background: white; color: #222222;">coming from the
northwest and turns to the east at Kodumudi.</span></span> Standing before the
temple, it is so beautiful to watch the wide Kaveri River flowing untiringly. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g9I8adcF8-Q/XYyD95d5f6I/AAAAAAAAGAQ/a3od-Q3wl2UWhcVdRR_0TDtMAhQt0DEHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/kodumudi-kaveri-river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g9I8adcF8-Q/XYyD95d5f6I/AAAAAAAAGAQ/a3od-Q3wl2UWhcVdRR_0TDtMAhQt0DEHACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/kodumudi-kaveri-river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><b>The main
features of this temple </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "symbol";">·</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kodumudi is the abode of the three moorthies – Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. Lord
Shiva is known here as Magudeswar with his wife Soudaryavalli, Lord Vishnu as
Veera <span style="background: white; color: #404040;">Narayana Perumal</span> in reclining position, with his wife <span style="background: white; color: #404040;"> Goddess
Thirumangai Nachiyar</span>, and Adisesha offering protective hood over him,
and <span style="background: white; color: #404040;">Lord Brahma </span> with
three faces and a tree called Vanni tree
as his 4<sup>th</sup> face, without his consort. </span></span><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; color: #404040; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The temple has 3 entrances on the east
side and through each gate one can enter the shrines of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu
and Lord Brahma.</span></span> <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Pilgrims take bath in River Kaveri before entering
the temple.</span></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Dress changing rooms are available there. </span><span style="background: white; color: #404040; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; color: #404040; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; color: #404040; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The temple complex is vast and is located
on the tip of a hill (Kodumudi is 482 feet above sea level)</span> on the banks
of River Kaveri, and has vast parking space in the front. . <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -18pt;">The
river Cauvery which flows Southward from Karnataka, turns 90 degrees in front
of the temple and flows Eastward.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -18pt;">During
the last week of Tamil Month Aavani and the first week of Panguni, the sun
light enters through the aperture of the Rajagopuram and falls on Lord
Magudeshwara.</span><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; color: #404040; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the Mandapam, some of the Ramayana
scenes like Viswamitra yagna, Thadakai vadham, Removal of Ahalya Shapam, and
Pattabhishekam are depicted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W5icEPGm3PY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W5icEPGm3PY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Many people come here to do remedial puja to Lord
Brahma to remove Naga Dhosham. </span><span style="background: white; color: #404040; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; color: #404040; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Vanni tree in Lord Brahma’s temple never
flowers or offers any fruits. Going
around this Vanni tree for 12 times is considered auspicious. </span><span style="background: white; color: #404040; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Legends of the Temple</b></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was a competition between
Adiseshan (the serpent on whom Sr Mahavishnu rests) and Vayu (Lord of the
Winds) to determine who is stronge<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">r. </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">In the struggle, Meru’s peak
(Magudam) split into 5 gems and fell in five different places. The
Diamond gem fell in Kodumudi. Since the origin of the lingam is from the Meru,
the lord is called here Magudeswarar. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is also believed that Kodumudi is the place where Lord Shiva
performed a dance for Sage Bharadwajar.</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 248, 248); color: #333333; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;">Another belief is </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;">that Sage
Agasthiyar installed and worshiped the idol of Lord Shiva here and his finger
prints can be seen on the deity.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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</span></span><span style="background: rgb(255 , 248 , 248); color: #333333; font-size: 14.5pt; line-height: 107%; text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Other essential information</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> – <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The temple
is open from 6 am to 12 noon and 4 to 9 pm. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Main
festival of this temple is 11 day Chittira Tirunal festival in April-May</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Pujas for Lord
Brahma are done on Mondays.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">All the
required puja items are available there. </span></li>
<li><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The temple is very near to Kodumudi railway station which is
on the Erode - Tiruchy section of the Southern Railway.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;">For
accommodation, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;">small lodges are available
in Kodumudi, but for good hotels it is better to book in Erode which is 40 kms
away from here. Small eateries are available in Kodumudi. </span></li>
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-62477070924807952782019-09-20T07:40:00.001-07:002019-09-20T07:40:06.223-07:00An Evening in an Orphanage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I was invited for a birthday party of my little friend Aniket. It was not a birthday party like other little children. A cake was cut at home with his friends and later the celebration was in an Orphanage. I was one of the few friends who were invited for the dinner. The dinner was with the children of the Orphanage. Every year his birthday is celebrated this way, said his mother.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-282OvReD6kc/XYSOKmlEiaI/AAAAAAAAF_4/70lV2FoDNYEKCsn6rOV9H8gV_7CYP_9sQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/20190919_204607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-282OvReD6kc/XYSOKmlEiaI/AAAAAAAAF_4/70lV2FoDNYEKCsn6rOV9H8gV_7CYP_9sQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/20190919_204607.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aniket</td></tr>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2nAqYOw9jaM/XYSOK10ciDI/AAAAAAAAF_8/1B7j90MelsYdt8kxa8iSGfBQfcIbWnv1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/20190919_201616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2nAqYOw9jaM/XYSOK10ciDI/AAAAAAAAF_8/1B7j90MelsYdt8kxa8iSGfBQfcIbWnv1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/20190919_201616.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PJsiWHByvf0/XYSNyTSkj4I/AAAAAAAAF_g/sCCx6PL8rCcWOg4mYRi3kmGHe7pdOUbaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/20190919_204333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PJsiWHByvf0/XYSNyTSkj4I/AAAAAAAAF_g/sCCx6PL8rCcWOg4mYRi3kmGHe7pdOUbaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/20190919_204333.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aniket's parents with the staff and invitees</td></tr>
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The children of this institution were very happy to pray for Aniket and to enjoy their special dinner with him. They were mentally disabled, coming from poor families, and some with no one to care for them. The children belonged to different age groups. An innocent smile played on their lips. They are looked after and educated here till the age of 25, and the minimum age for admission is 5 years, said the administrator.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ktxNNh9J3uo/XYSNyFlJgJI/AAAAAAAAF_c/NQe9ljlJ31A6hrM9otgGUWHNnqcaQT9WwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/20190919_203350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ktxNNh9J3uo/XYSNyFlJgJI/AAAAAAAAF_c/NQe9ljlJ31A6hrM9otgGUWHNnqcaQT9WwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/20190919_203350.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0_snvcMhMfY/XYSNyX7-NHI/AAAAAAAAF_Y/_Ql7XNKXVcA4n1pvBv6U2fjV2ZkFV0FngCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/20190919_203914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0_snvcMhMfY/XYSNyX7-NHI/AAAAAAAAF_Y/_Ql7XNKXVcA4n1pvBv6U2fjV2ZkFV0FngCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/20190919_203914.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After food, some children came forward to express their talents. Some of them sang songs, one boy acted as a politician giving speech, another one acted as a doctor, and some shied away. <br />
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Instead of spending money in celebrating Aniket's birthday in a grand way at home, it is celebrated every year by feeding these less fortunate kids and spending valuable time with them, is certainly a great idea, I thought. <br />
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A big salute to Aniket's parents for such beautiful thoughts of giving these kids a wonderful evening. May their tribe increase!!<br />
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-38135601977358914102019-05-13T01:59:00.000-07:002019-05-13T01:59:34.503-07:00Before the Sunset <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Have you bought your copy of this book - Before the Sunset? Do you want to read the first two chapters? <br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6hnGlI15om8/XNkxaU1pT3I/AAAAAAAAFx4/TLkm0RKDDMYSns4ocKHUsrHqZYi2SswyACLcBGAs/s1600/before-the-sunset-ecover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="195" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6hnGlI15om8/XNkxaU1pT3I/AAAAAAAAFx4/TLkm0RKDDMYSns4ocKHUsrHqZYi2SswyACLcBGAs/s1600/before-the-sunset-ecover.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #32373c; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The lights shone brightly in all the houses on the 3rd street, except in the fourth house. It was half past seven and why has she not switched on the light yet, Raju wondered. Usually, when he returned home after work, his wife would be anxiously waiting for him at the door. All his weariness would disappear on seeing her warm smile and listening to her sweet words. He hoped nothing was amiss.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #32373c; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #32373c; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #32373c; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Raju knocked on the door repeatedly, but there was no response. He banged again, this time with a little bit of urgency, and still, there was no reply. He panicked when his wife didn’t open the door even after continuously knocking at the door and calling out her name. ...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #32373c; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Read the remaining here..</span><br />
Check this <a href="https://www.induswomanwriting.com/before-the-sunset-1.html">link </a>. You can also find the liks to purchase this book. </div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-4307660283999884452019-04-28T04:19:00.000-07:002019-04-28T21:03:10.833-07:00Trip to Goa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Part I -<br />
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It was about our travel to Goa through the Western Ghats and the beautiful beaches of Goa.<br />
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Dinner at one of the Oceanfront Restaurants -<br />
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Watch this video</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GB_PgEzP9I8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GB_PgEzP9I8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Part - II<br />
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About our visit to Abyss Marine Fish Aquarium<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dCbqotwZ9Gc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dCbqotwZ9Gc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
Watch this video<br />
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Part III - is our Visit to Ancestral Goa Museum in South Goa.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FUN7Ooiivq8/XMWLa1UfAXI/AAAAAAAAFvU/o5SoWw9EJSkeTN-CC68pLpD1fEqG8ihcgCLcBGAs/s1600/goa-ancestral-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FUN7Ooiivq8/XMWLa1UfAXI/AAAAAAAAFvU/o5SoWw9EJSkeTN-CC68pLpD1fEqG8ihcgCLcBGAs/s320/goa-ancestral-13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JgiByeDzZmA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JgiByeDzZmA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Before planning your trip to Goa, it is worth checkisng out these videos. </div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-43434721896378782632019-04-21T02:31:00.000-07:002019-04-21T02:31:07.939-07:00A Spiritual Trip to Villupuram, near Pondicherry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Four of us women decided to travel to Pondicherry. Two of them wanted to visit 3 Lakshmi Narasimhar Temples in Villupuram dist. in Tamil Nadu and we too joined them. We had booked our accommodation in Pondicherry. We reached there around 12.30 pm and had our lunch and some rest. Then we decided to visit these three temples on the same day. The are at Parakkal, Poovanasankuppam and Singirikudi.<br />
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We hired a taxi and the driver took us first to Parikkal, which was the farthest. We took about 2 hours to reach there.<br />
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After our darshan, we rushed to our second destination - Poovarasankuppam. It took almost an hour to reach there.<br />
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It was dark by then, and the temple lights were on.<br />
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Soon after our darshan there, we left for Singirikudi in Cuddal Dist, but closer to Pondicherry. It was Swati Nakshathra day and there were many people. It was always a busy day on this day, we were told.<br />
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Early morning, we headed to Auroville Park to see the sunrise.<br />
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The next morning we visited Manalu Vinayakar Temple, which is in the heart of the city of Pondicherry. We opted for special darshan and finished our darshan soon.<br />
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After brunch, we left for Bangalore. On the way we got good variety of water melon.<br />
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Please watch our video to know more about it.<br />
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-957199203299454792019-03-22T09:09:00.002-07:002019-03-22T09:09:56.379-07:00My Trip to Kodaikanal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Kodaikanal is located at an
altitude of 6,998 ft above sea level, referred to as ‘Princess of Hill Stations’. </span><span style="background: white; color: #3b444e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> It is a place full of wilderness. </span><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> We visited
this beautiful hill station in January. We were thrilled to see some of the
most popular tourist attractions and some not so known places and we want to
share our experience with you. Greenery was all over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">We had booked our
accommodation in a homestay called Maruthi Villa, found through Air BnB, closer
to the most famous place – the Kodai Lake. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 21.3333px;">Our first visit was to Kodai lake which was very closer to our stay. </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Kodai Lake</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">
– All first comers visit this place since it is located in the heart of the
city and one of the most sought after tourist spots in Kodaikanal. The main
attraction is a boat ride and shopping in front of the lake. We had a memorable
boatride watching the picturesque view of the sunset. You can hire a boat and
paddle your own or a boatman will take you. Besides, Cycles are available on
rent to go around and we saw many young boys and girls riding the bicycle
around the star shaped lake. The lake is clean and well maintained. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Timing – 8.30 to 6 p.m<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Bryant Park</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> - It is a botanical
garden located in the eastern side of Kodai lake, spread across in 20.5 acres. There
is a small entry fee. We were told that
every year in the month of May, a flower and vegetable show is organized here
and the Park will be a rainbow of stunning flowers and plants. So if you happen
to go there during that time in summer you can see this flower show also. But
during our visit in winter there weren’t many flowers. </span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Observatory</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> – Located 4 kms away from Kodai town, (open from 10 am to 12
noon and 2 to 4 pm, with free entry.) Admission is strict with absolutely no
photography. Not even the mobile phone is allowed inside.. We can only see the
museum there. Many models and pictures of planets and the scientists are
displayed there. A staff explained to us in a computer with an image of the sun
through a reflector and a lens to see the reflective movement of the sun. It is a nice place for the children to learn
about planetary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">The premise is so serene
with long pine trees and shrubs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Pillar Rocks</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> – It is a set of 3 rock pillars standing 400 ft high
partially covered by mist. Tourists throng this place to see the beautiful view
from here. There is also an excellent public garden adjacent to the view point.
Stalls selling snacks and drinks are available. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Silver Cascade Falls</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> – This beautiful waterfall is located in
Madurai-Kodaikanal road. This waterfall is the result of excess water in the
Kodai lake, which comes down as a fall. . <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 22.8267px;">Pine forest</span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 22.8267px;"> - Away from the city, this large stretch of place is always crowded to enjoy its sheer beauty. This place is filled with thousands of pine trees. Long, clean geometrically aligned pine trees with their slender trunks going all the way to the sky – a great place to stroll and click photos and a favourite place for movie makers.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Perumal Peak</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> - Located at a
distance of 8005 ft above sea level, it is a trekker’s paradise. You can view a
sweeping view of the valley here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Moir Point</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">
- It is one of the popular view points
in Kodaikanal. Located at the entrance of the forest area, leading to the
beautiful Berijam lake. The place is named after Sir Thomas Moir who began the
construction of Goschen Road in 1929 CE. There is a monument on the road
dedicated to him and it is one of the busiest view points to see the stunning
beauty of the surrounding area of valley on a clear day. Even on a foggy day it
is still beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Colorful dried flowers</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> – Our driver told us that these colourful
flowers will stay for 4-5 years without fading. We bought these flowers hoping
that they may stay for at least one year if kept properly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Upper Lake view</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> – Located 4 kms away from Kodai lake, it is a beautiful place
to have an arial view of the star shaped, man made lake, atop a hill. Shops
selling tea, toys and souvenir are available here. A good place to click
photos. It was a pleasant experience for us drinking tea standing there, in the
misty weather, while cold air brushing against our face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> ( View of the lake from Upper Lake View point)</o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Due to lack of time we
didn’t visit Coaker’s walk, Guna Caves and Dolphin nose, although our taxi
passed through these places. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">We also visited Mannavanur. Please check out the video for more details. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">We had an opportunity to see the Eucalyptus oil making Distillary. The place was totally
dark and extremely hot because of the furnace. The owner showed us how the
leaves are stuffed to the machine, and steam is connected to the distiller and the steam vaporises oil.</span></div>
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-17097913421794449642019-03-16T22:41:00.000-07:002019-03-16T22:55:49.292-07:00My Trip to Palani<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #32373c; font-family: "lucida sans unicode" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Palani Murugan Temple is located on top of the Palani Hills in Tamil Nadu, South India. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lucida sans unicode" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">The idol of Palani Andavar is said to have been made of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0000a0; font-family: "lucida sans unicode" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0e0f0f;">Navapashanam ( a combination of Veeram, Pooram, Rasam, Jathilingam, Kandagam, Gauri Pasanam, Vellai Pasanam, Mridharsingh, Silasat)</span>,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lucida sans unicode" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"> by a siddhar called Bhogar. H</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lucida sans unicode" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">e is considered as one of the 18 siddhars born in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #32373c; font-family: "lucida sans unicode" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">We left home at 7 a.m planning a long journey, and our first destination was Palani. We had booked an accommodation in a budget hotel, Soundarya, after reading many reviews by Tripadvisor travellers. It was just okay for a day. AC was a great relief and it was closer to the Palani Murugan temple. Food was also available. We reached there and had our lunch. </span></div>
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After taking some rest we proceeded towards the temple. We had reached the gate where tickets for winch are booked We wanted to travel in the rope car, but that was in another gate which is quite far, said the autorikshaw driver who took us there. The charge for the winch train was Rs.50/- each and the same charge for a rope car travel also. If we had known that we have to go to different place for the rope car we had gone there directly. Since we didn't have much time to spend we waited in the queue for the winch. After little more than half an hour, we were on the winch which took us up the hill where the temple is located. There were many ardent devotees going up by the steps (693 steps). </div>
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The view from top was mind blogging. </div>
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There were many people in the temple, also saw many young men and women with tonsured heads. Tonsuring head is one of the most important offerings of the temple by the devotees. We took a special ticket of Rs.100/- to get special darshan to save our time and we were able to have darshan of the deity soon. </div>
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After having spent some time in the temple we bought Panchamrutham, the prasadam of the temple. With a contented mind, we walked towards the winch station for our return journey from the hill. Some people were busy taking photos from the winch and others were enjoying the scenic beauty. Check out this video to see the winch train journey.<br />
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For our return journey, we preferred to walk to our hotel room in the almost setting sun, enjoying the scenery and the lake, after having an early dinner in a restaurant near the fruit market. </div>
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The next morning we left for <a href="https://www.induswomanwriting.com/trip-to-thandikudi.html">Thandikudi,</a> another less known destination. </div>
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-55152103708956429612018-11-25T06:29:00.000-08:002018-11-25T06:29:21.874-08:00My newst novel - Vanished Girl<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Vanished Girl is my newest novel (4th one). It is a suspense novel and it took a very long time to get published. The book is published by Quintus, a reprint of Roman Books.<br />
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The story goes like this - A young girl boards the night train to go to her hometown in Kerala, to see her dying father. The next day around 4 p.m. the train reaches her destination, but she was not there. Everyone is wondering what has happened to her and where did she disappear all of a sudden.<br />
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You can see the first few pages here - <a href="https://www.induswomanwriting.com/vanished-girl-chapter-1.html"><b>Vanished Girl</b> </a>. I'm sure it will keep you busy and anxious until the last page. After reading the full novel please remember to post your opinion in the comment box<br />
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This is the amazon link <a href="https://www.amazon.in/dp/9383868325">https://www.amazon.in/dp/9383868325</a></div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-64041368430706360602018-09-10T09:25:00.000-07:002018-09-10T09:25:07.464-07:00My Kancheepuram Temple tour - 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm sorry for such a long gap to post the remaining part. I had some personal commitments and was out of the country..<br />
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<a href="http://travel-muse.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-weekend-in-city-of-temples.html">Back to Kancheepuram</a></div>
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Our next visit was to Kanchi Varadaraja Perumal temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This temple is also known as Thiru Parameswara Vinnagaram Temple, which was about 6 kms away from Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple. Prakash, our auto driver, suggested that we should reach there before its closure time. (8 pm). Though there was some rush we made it for the darshan and it was some special day (Ekadashi) in the temple. Since it was evening I couldn't get some good pictures to post here.<br />
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This is also an ancient temple built by Pallavas in the 8th century. The devotees have to climb a couple of steps to reach the sanctum sanctorum. </div>
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After having a light dinner in one of the restaurants on the way we returned to our hotel.<br />
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The next day, Prakash was there at sharp 6 a.m. to take us to start our temple tours. Our first visit was to Sri Ekambareswarar Temple, another ancient temple, built by Pallavas and later modified by Vijayanagara kings.</div>
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This is one of the Pancha Bootha Sthalangal of Lord Shiva. The temple is very huge with high rising gopurams and covers an area of about 40 acres. Prakash told us that this is the largest temple in Kancheepuram. There is a sacred mango tree inside the temple compound which is believed to be more than 3000 years old. This tree has 4 branches representing 4 vedas, and bears 4 different types of fruits in 4 different seasons. It was amazing to watch the beautiful architecture of the temple. After having darshan and prasadam, we left there to reach the next temple. </div>
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Prakash took us to Sri Kanchi Kamakshi Temple, which was very close. <span style="background-color: white; color: #282625; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px;">The highlights of the temple are the gold plated main gopuram and a golden chariot. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #282625; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px;">It is one of three important Shakthi Peetams, the other two being Madurai and Kashi. The beautiful deity of Devi is in the Padmasana posture, holding a bow of sugarcane and arrows of flowers. The Kamakoti Peetam or Sri Chakram, established by Sri Adi Shankara, is in front of the Goddess. </span><br />
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The Kanchi Kamakshi temple is the only temple traditionally dedicated to Shakthi in Kanchipuram. </div>
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Like many other visitors, I was also awestruck seeing the highly intricate and embellished design all over the temple, with its glided sanctum being the most eye-catching aspect of its being.<br />
The temple has a golden chariot of which the procession takes place during festive seasons.<br />
<b>The temple is open from 6 A.M. to 12 noon and again 4 P.M. t 8.30 P.M.</b><br />
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Since we had to cover all the main temples without spending much time there we proceeded to our next temple in the list.<br />
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Kancheepuram tour will be continued...</div>
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-20131006552333869652018-02-21T18:39:00.001-08:002018-02-21T18:39:26.709-08:00Kanchipuram Visit - Kailasanatha Temple <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://travel-muse.blogspot.in/2018/02/a-weekend-in-city-of-temples.html">Back to Kanchipuram</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We wanted to cover one or two temples in the evening of the same day we arrived at Kanchipuram. Our autorikshaw driver was only too glad to take us around. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He first took us to Kanchi Kailasanatha temple located in the west of Kanchipuram. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He dropped us just in front of the temple. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The temple has a high rising tower at the entrance. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The temple, built in Dravidian style architecture, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">is dedicated to Lord Shiva</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Built in 650 AD-705 AD, by the Pallavas, it is the oldest temple of Kanchipuram. Currently it is looked after by the Archeological Survey of India. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Numerous carved images of Gods and Goddesses are seen on the inner and outer walls of the temple. One of the unique features of this temple is the 16 sided Shivalingam made up of black granite at the main shrine. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Since it was in the evening we could not capture photos properly. However, I am posting one photo which I actually took the next morning while passing that way. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the only temple in Kancheepuram which retained its originality after being built by the Pallavas. All the other temples have been modified by the other rulers. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the darshan, we came out and sat on the steps for a while watching the temple architecture and the pond. I wished if it was day time we could have enjoyed the architecture better. Without spending more time there we came out and got into the autorikshaw to reach the next temple before it is closed. </span></span></div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-1370388613443986532018-02-04T07:24:00.000-08:002018-02-04T07:24:30.737-08:00A Weekend in the City of Temples <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last week we had a week end trip from Bangalore to Kanchipuram, one of the seven sacred cities of India. Kanchipuram is also known as the City of Temples and the Silk City, located in Tamil Nadu, South India. <br />
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Kanchipuram is a historical, cultural and religious city located on the banks of River Vedavadi. Kanchipuram (Kancheepuram) is also one of the most important spiritual centres of Hinduism and a major pilgrim destination. The ancient temples located here are built by Pallava and Chola kings. <br />
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<b>Getting into Kancheepuram - </b><br />
Kanchipuram can be accessed by train, bus, and car. From Chennai, it is only 75 kms away and from Bangalore 278 kms. We went by car and it took us nearly 4 hours. The roads were excellent and the drive was pleasant.<br />
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<b>Accommodation</b> - We had booked our accommodation in Pine Tree, one of the good hotels in Kanchipuram. We had a comfortable stay in Pine Tree. On reaching there we enquired about visiting the temples; they had advised us that it is better to take a local autorikshaw instead of taking our car to save our time. We too felt that it was good to have a local help who can take us to the right places at the right time. They had a special package of Rs.600/- for which an auto driver was arranged who would take us to these temples and any other places such as traditional and good silk sari shops as per our requirement. <br />
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The auto driver (Vijay) was very nice with us and took us wherever we wanted and even told us the history of the temples.<br />
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I will write more about these temples in the subsequent posts. </div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-92094620540298842392018-01-17T02:27:00.001-08:002018-01-17T02:27:46.444-08:00A short trip to Lepakshi Temple, Andhra Pradesh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We made a sudden plan for a short trip to Lepakshi Temple in Ananthapur Dist of Andhra Pradesh. It was a weekend, and it happened to be on a Sankranthi Festival Day. We left early morning by 7.00 from Bangalore. It was a foggy morning and the drive was pleasant. We took 3 hours to reach there which is inclusive of our break for breakfast on the way.<br />
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First we stopped at the huge monolithic Nandi, and clicked some snaps. This structure is carved out of a single granite with finely carved ornaments, and smooth contours. The colossal structure is 27ft in length and 15 ft in height and is the largest monolithic of Nandi in India.<br />
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After a few feet away, lies the main ancient Lepakshi temple on a rocky hill.<br />
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Veerabhadra Swamy temple at Lepakshi was built in 16th century by two brothers (Virupanna and Veeranna) during the period of King Aliya Rama Raya of Vijayanagar kingdom. The temples of Papanatheswara, Raghunatha, Srirama, Veerabhadra and Devi Durga are located in the same complex on a hillock named as Kurma Saila (tortoise shaped hill). </span></div>
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Since we reached in the morning it was pleasant to walk around; otherwise usually this place is very hot, and walking around would have been little difficult.<br />
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Lepakshi is famous for its hanging pillar which does not rest on the ground fully. It is the best known and a tribute to the engineering experts of the ancient and medieval temple builders of India. However, it is a bit dislodged from its original position because of an unsuccessful attempt of an engineer during the British period, who had tried to move it to find out the secret of its support.<br />
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The main things for a visitor to see there are the large grey pillars and the finest architecture in Dravidian style and paintings depicting stories from wars, marriage and fascinating tales of the bygone era.<br />
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There are many good restaurants on the way. We stopped at Udupi Swada for our breakfast (mouth watering idli and vada).<br />
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Since it was Sankranthi day few women were making the beautiful kolam designs on the floor before the temple steps.<br /><br />
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On our way back, we had lunch at Nandi Upchar, a vegetarian Restaurant on NH7 near the International airport. The food was quite nice and reasonably priced.<br />
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Those who have not been to Nandi Hills, can take a turn there and visit the beautiful place.<br />
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If you have time in your hand and is interested in visiting another religious place, Puttaparthy temple is just one hour drive from Lepakshi.<br />
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Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-78626476561171317512017-12-24T09:34:00.000-08:002017-12-24T09:34:20.489-08:00Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2018.<br />
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I'm sorry I could not post anything during the last 3 months. I shall try to be more regular during 2018. </div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-60114907307018140782017-09-03T08:59:00.002-07:002017-09-03T08:59:55.239-07:00Happy Onam - 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Happy Onam to all.<br />
Onam is the greatest festival of Kerala. Keralites all over the world celebrate this festival. This year, Onam falls on Monday, the 4th of September 2017.<br />
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If you want to know more about Onam, please visit this <a href="http://page./">page.</a> </div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578188411373610383.post-27078032496687218962017-07-27T22:29:00.000-07:002017-07-27T22:29:14.426-07:00A visit to Panchavadi Ayurveda Kendra<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It was a bright and pleasant morning. Our neighbour invited us to join her during her visit to Panchavadi Ayurveda Kendra. Needless to say I was excited to join her.<br />
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Panchavadi is an Ayurveda Kendra located at Marasur Gate, on Chandapura-Anekal Road in Bangalore. I was amazed to find so many medicinal plants grown in the 2 1/2 acres of land which are used in Ayurveda treatment. Presently Chandapura-Anekal Road is a fast growing area with so many new villas and flats mushrooming up every day. In such a situation, it is amazing to see a pristine place which is still preserved, untouched by tourists. <br />
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They also have a Yoga Centre in the property where regular yoga classes are held. Complete silence is maintained there. Inside the Yoga centre, there is also a small Library with Kannada and English books pertaining to spirituality.<br />
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They are also growing some ducks there. It will be a great entertainment for the kids.<br />
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As you enter the gate the first thing you will see is a small temple with a huge statue of Lord Shiva.<br />
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For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to see a Rudraksha tree in this Ayurveda Kendra. As per Ayurveda, Rudraksha evokes power in the body, which fights against diseases, and as a result it helps in the improvement of overall health.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Some of the names of trees and plants I saw there still remain in my mind are Bilwa tree, Krishna Kamal (Sudarshana Chakra plant-</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;">Crinum latifolium</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">), Nandyarvattam (East Indian Rosebay) plant, Hibiscus in various colours, Shatavari (</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;">Asparagus racemosus), plant, Ashoka (</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;">Saraca asoca), Palas (Butea monosperma) tree, Hing (Asafoetida) tree, Bay Leaf tree, Aloe vera plant, Arrow root plant, Turmeric plant, Nilappana (Black musale - Curculigo orchioides) plant, Curry leaf tree, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Passion fruit plant, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;">Lemon grass plant, and Areca palm tree. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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(Bilwa fruits)<br />
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Presently, there is no entrance fee of any kind. Visitors are allowed between 8 am to 6 p.m.<br />
Contact person: Mr. Anand (Mobile 8310555736)</div>
Lakshmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05561998577643000674noreply@blogger.com0