World of Books and Travel

  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 within Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Rural Education and opened to the public in late 2020.   What is so special about this model village, you may wonder. A visit to this place will give you a glimpse to village life   and   how the villages function. It is a close to reality   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 ...

Just three days back (23rd Sept) my new book Cherished was released and had a book reading at Bookstop, Koramangala, Bangalore. The book store was a small place and I had invited just a couple of friends. Since it was a working day some of them who had promised to come, couldn't reach on time. Still it went off well. Dr. Jennifer introduced me to the audience and then the book was released. Two of them read some of the pages from the book. Dr. Eva Bell, who had already read the book, asked me some thought provoking questions about the book. Then another person from the audience also asked me some questions about my journey of writing. On the whole, We had a very active discussion about the book. The next session was book signing. The audience asked for autographed copies of the book. Almost all of them bought the book. They were also readers of my earlier book, The Second Choice. Next was my turn. I thanked them for taking the trouble of coming from far,...

Recently I had been to Cubbon Park, one of the best places to take children in Bangalore. Cubbon Park, one of the lungs of Bangalore city, is located right in the middle of the city, spread into about 300 acres. It was originally created by Major General Richard Sankey in 1884 in 100 acres, and it was subsequently expanded to the present 300 acres, with abundance of flora and fauna. Apart from this, the Central Library of the State, Archaeological Museum, High Court of Karnataka and impressive statues of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and Sir Mark Cubbon are also housed in this large Park. The park was originally named as “Meade’s Park” after Sir John Meade, the acting Commissioner of Mysore in 1870, and later renamed as Cubbon Park after the longest serving commissioner of the time, Sir Mark Cubbon. Once you enter inside and walk through the sprawling park under the well laid out trees, breathing clear air, and watching the beautifully manicured garden, you will feel like yo...

Today we went early morning to Sri Nagareshwara Temple at Begur. We had reached there by 7.20 a.m. By then there was already a a long queue. Still it was nice to wait and have a darshan of Lord Shiva on this important day of Shivaratri. The gopuram constructions are still going on. We left there by 8.40 a.m.

I recently launched "The Second Choice", my debut novel in English. Though it was started long ago, it was completed recently, and got it published by a small publisher Songbyrde Publications. I didn't want to spend further time by sending it to several big publishers and wait indefinitely for a response. Since publishing has become much easier now I took the shorter route. It is also available as ebook. For more info - check here.

Yesterday's downpour, lasted just half an hour, but uprooted many trees and the hailstones that followed the hailstorm-

I always prefer to visit the temples in the morning. Someshwara Temple in Ulsoor, Bangalore is one of the temples I visit as and when possible. It is not close to my house, but still I like to visit this ancient temple whenever possible. I had already planned something else for the day, but when my daughter wanted to visit this temple, I kept away all my other engagements and decided to accompany her. Someshwara Temple was built in Chola dynasty and is a splendid architecture of southern India. As you enter inside you can see the flower vendors ready with various types of flowers and bhelva leaves, (Lord Shiva's favorite), and Basil leaves. After purchasing the pooja flowers and leaving your footsteps outside in the footstep stand for a token, you can enter inside through the huge rajagopuram. Just before we reached there, a wedding ceremony was conducted in the temple, and the scattered rice grains and the newly wedded couple pausing for photos were our evidence. The bride wa...

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

Some of the beautiful Gerbera flowers of Bangalore, capital city of Karnataka in South India.

I happened to visit a relative in a rural area of Bangalore. On the way I had the chance to visit the Agro Fruit market in Huskur. I found the fruits were cheaper here, and the minimum purchase is of 5 kilos. On the way I stopped seeing a lake, to click a photograph. The wide and beautiful Hosur Road.

On Shivaratri Day, we wanted to visit another Shiva temple, and hence decided to visit the ancient Shiva temple at Begur, off Bomanhalli on the Hosur highway. We reached there very early in the morning, by then the devotees were just arriving in singles and groups. I was amazed to see the 1200 year old Shiva temple, built in granite, by the Cholas. (Raja Raja Chola). The temple is not tall, but spread across. I chose another day to go there leisurely to take some photos and get some details of the age old temple, from the people who knew about it. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, Panchalingeswara. The main deity is Sri Parvati Sametha Nagaeshwara Swamy Linga. The temple complex enshrines Panchalingas i.e.Nageswara, Kaleswara, Nagareswara, Karneswara, and Choleswara. Sculptures depicting stories from the Panchatantra are carved all around the garbagriha wall. I was told that this place had got the name Bengaluru, much before the Bangalore city got its name. Nageshwara temple a...

Last Saturday evening (28th Feb 2009) was not like any other evening. It was special for many of us who regard yoga as a part of our life. We were lucky to attend the second Anniversary celebration organized by the Lal Bagh Branch Yoga students, of Sri Pathanjali Yoga Sikshane Samithi (R) Karnataka. The two-days program gave the participants an opportunity to enrich their knowledge in Yoga from the Gurus. (Gurus and dignitaries at the function) (Yoga students performing Bharathanatya) (Yoga students demonstrating other asanas) (Yoga students demonstrating Suryanamskara) (Prayer before food) (Idu ootada samaya - Time for food) Yoga is a gift of our culture for a healthy and happy life. If interested to learn more about Yoga, click here.

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

Bangalore is getting ready for the celebration of Gowri Ganesha Habba. September 3rd is not far for the people to rejoice in this celebration. Gowri Festival is celebrated on the previous day of Ganesh Festival. The prices of flowers, fruits and the beautifully carved idols in various sizes and shades, have already gone up. The shopkeepers both in the big shops as well as in the roadside, are trying to exhibit their best forms of Ganesha idols for the prospective buyers.