World of Books and Travel

The colorful festival Onam is the biggest festival of Kerala, South India. Onam marks the homecoming of mythical King Mahabali. People of all communities of Kerala celebrate this harvest festival with great joy and enthusiasm. This year, the main Onam Thiruvonam falls on 2nd September. Learn more about it here. During Onam time, the rich heritage of Kerala comes out in its best form. Colorful Pookalam (floral carpet), Snake Boat Race (Vallamkali, Onasadhya (a grand vegetarian meal served on banana leaf) and Onakkodi (new traditional clothes bought for the occasion) are the main attractions of this festival.

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

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.

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

We reached the historical Bijapur city in Karnataka State, South India early in the morning and we had enough time to go around. The main attractions here are the Gol Gumbaz or Gola Gummata, which is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah. It is also the second largest tomb in the world. Other main attractions are Jumma Masjid and the Ibrahim Roza. Learn more about Bijapur here.

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

It was a great day for me to have a darshan of Lord Krishna at Udupi, in Karnataka State. Udupi is just 60 kms away from Mangalore in the coastal region of Western Ghats. According to legends, Sri Madhvacharya, the great Sanskrit Philosopher and saint, installed the idol of Lord Krishna and sanctified the place in 13th century. The temple is built in Dravidian architecture. Learn more about Udupi Krishna temple here. After our darshan we decided to spend some time in the nearby beach - Malpe Beach. This beautiful beach is just 6 kms away.