Kandya temple

Author:Lakshmi      Blog :A travel blog of an Indian Backpacker    Date: 5/25/2008 2:35:00 AM

If the river Tunga flows peacefully, can the river Bhadra be far behind ..A couple of hours from Sringeri is Chikmagalur and as one climbs the western ghats across the hairpin bends, dense forests and coffee plantations , you come across an ancient temple called the Kandya temple, where the Bhadra flows quietly behind..The two rivers join to form the Tunga Bhadra which flows down the ruins of Vijayanagar empire in Hampi. I had been to this temple as a child when we had visited Sring(...)

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Come home and see my Golu

Author:Lakshmi      Blog :A travel blog of an Indian Backpacker    Date: 9/30/2008 2:56:00 PM

The divine court of Goddess Durga is going to be held in my house for the next nine days . I am celebrating Navaratri or Dassera as it is probably better known as. The slaying of Mahishasura by Durga is celebrated over the nine days. While most of India celebrates the Durga Puja in Bengali style, in South India - mainly in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, women celebrate Golu or Kolu as in Tamil Nadu or Gombei Habba as it is called in Karnataka . If anyone kno(...)

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Coorg -Bhagamandala and Talacauvery

Author:Lakshmi      Blog :A travel blog of an Indian Backpacker    Date: 7/1/2008 12:12:00 PM

Our journey took us on another spiritual quest as our next destination was Bhagamandala, which is sacred as there is the confluence or kudla or sangama of the three rivers, Cauvery and its tributaries Kanika and Sujyoti . Interestingly Sujyoti is largely mythical as its meant to be flowing underground and joining the main river as she spreads herself and flows along .Bhagamandala comes from the name Sri Bhagandeshwara temple, which houses the deities Bhagandeshwara (Lord Shiva), (...)

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The Mangala Devi of Mangalore

Author:Lakshmi      Blog :A travel blog of an Indian Backpacker    Date: 5/12/2008 8:37:00 AM

This is probably my nth trip to Mangalore . But as always, it has been a city in transit and never quite the destination. Except for a couple of official trips that I had made during my last job. It is a city that I've seen in bits and pieces and this time it was no exception. I had flown in from Bangalore - the trains were running full and I did not want to hazard a bus journey what with the status of roads . My parents were coming to Mangalore by train from Chennai on a beautiful (...)

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Yuganta by Irawati Karve

Author:Anuradha Goyal      Blog :Anuradha Goyal    Date: 5/15/2011 4:07:00 PM

This was one book that every Mahabharat lover recommended to me. Written almost 50 years back, this book was out of print for a long time till I recently found it at a bookstore. And what a gem it is! Author is a trained anthropologist and she uses that knowledge to analyze the key characters and relationships of Mahabharata. Thankfully, she does not take you through the complete story but refers to the incidents only as necessitated for her arguments.She starts by looking at Bhi(...)

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In search of Sita by Malashri Lal & Namita Gokhale

Author:Anuradha Goyal      Blog :Anuradha Goyal    Date: 1/4/2011 7:51:00 AM

 Sita, the central character in Ramayan and the consort of the main protagonist of the story is a subject in it self. If we look at the life of Sita in Ramayan, there are countable events that describe her life story. Her being found in field by King Janaka, her marriage to Ram who won her by breaking the bow, her insistence of accompanying her husband to forest, her stepping out of the limit set by her brother-in-law, her abduction by Ravana and living in Ashoka Vatika, her(...)

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R A M bles

Author:Usha      Blog :Agelessbonding    Date: 4/30/2008 1:54:00 PM

There is a new TV serial of the Ramayan. While channel surfing I arrived to watch it during a moment of intense drama and stopped. It was the moment when Bharath had come with about half the population of Ayodhya to request Ram to return and take charge of the kingdom. Ram looked extremely intrigued and fascinated by everything - you know the kind of expression that firangs have when you bring them to an Indian wedding? Somewhat lost but aware that the proceedings have enormous sign(...)

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Atlantis… found at last!

Author:Rinoo Rajesh      Blog :Rinoo Rajesh - about the universe and everything in it...    Date: 10/3/2009 6:24:00 PM

The romance associated with the lost city, island and civilization of Atlantis refuses to die down. During my recent visit to Dubai, I got a unique opportunity to visit the hotel Atlantis famed, among other things, for its “lost chambers” which portray the story of ancient civilization of Atlantis.The city of Atlantis is one of the most historical mysteries. Around 350 BC, Plato was the first to write about this somewhat magical island in two books. The Greek philosopher and teacher(...)

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Lemuria!

Author:Rinoo Rajesh      Blog :Rinoo Rajesh - about the universe and everything in it...    Date: 11/1/2008 3:32:00 PM

The other day, a television channel was showing the discovery of the now underwater palace of an ASUR king dating back to Ramayana period. The so called archeological “find” was in the Indian Ocean.Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical "lost land" variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The concept's 19th century origins lie in attempts to account for discontinuities in biogeography. The concept of Lemuria has been rendered obsolete by modern understanding of plate tecto(...)

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churning of the ocean of milk

Author:SUGANTHI      Blog :STORY COLLECTOR    Date: 2/20/2010 2:38:00 PM

Churning of the ocean of milk, How fascinating!!!!!!!This story is one of my favourite story among Hindu mythology stories.The story has never ceased to amaze me and I have always loved telling it.The devas(gods) and the asuras(demons) join together to churn the ocean of milk to obtain the nectar of immortality.The ocean being so huge is churned using the mountain Mandara as the churning staff and the serpent Vasuki as the churning rope. The mountain starts to sink in the huge ocean(...)

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Indian Hindu Baby Boy Names And Baby Girl Names Starting With E

Author:Swati Kamath      Blog :All About Parenting - A Guide to Groom your baby to happier healthier and smart child    Date: 8/19/2010 10:38:00 AM

Today every parent wishes to give his/her child a unique name, a name which is very different and very rare. A child with an uncommon name feels good that he/she has a unique but pleasant to hear name. Here is an exclusive rare collection of traditional mythological Hindu baby names and their meanings and origins. Most of these boy baby names and girl baby names are derived from beautiful Sanskrit words. This list for exotic Indian names for babies has a blend of both Mode(...)

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'ఆకాశం' పై 'చినుకు'లో సమీక్ష

Author:బివివి ప్రసాద్      Blog :BVV Prasad    Date: 6/20/2012 1:58:00 PM

 శ్రీ రెంటాల శ్రీ వెంకటెశ్వరరావు గారు, గజల్, హైకూ, వచన కవిత్వాల లోనూ, హాస్య రచనలలోనూ, సాహిత్య విమర్శలోనూ ప్రతిభావంతులు. చాలామంచి వక్త.   సున్నితమైన స్పందనలూ, సూక్ష్మమైన పరిశీలనా ఉన్నవారు. నిజానికి ఆయనను పరిచయం చేసే సందర్భం ఇది కాదు. కాని, ఆయన ఆకాశంపై రాసిన సమీక్ష మిత్రులతో చదివించేందుకు ఈ మాటలు అవసరమనిపించి రాసాను. చినుకులో వారి సమీక్ష చదవండి. 

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Sarafa Bazar, Indore - Gourmet's delight !

Author:Anil, the photo blogger      Blog :Hindustan ka dil dekho : Madhya Pradesh's blog    Date: 6/25/2012 9:46:00 PM

Sarafa Bazar at Indore is known for its jewellery shops, but when they close, at night it turns out to be street food delight. One can enjoy Mawa Bati, Mal Puaa, Bhutte ka Kis, types of Pani Puri, Indore style chinese, Dahi Bada , with Shikanji, or Milk Badam and off course top it with Kala Jamun or Ras malai..... _uacct = "UA-2334552-2"; urchinTracker(); _uacct = "UA-2334552-1"; urchinTracker();

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FANCY CANDLES

Author:Usha Srikumar      Blog :USHA SRIKUMAR'S MUSINGS...    Date: 7/3/2012 10:31:00 AM

Here are a few candles made by me...Candle making is a highly relaxing pasttimeand a great stress buster too...To make these candles you need the following things...Paraffin waxWickCandle mould(available in craft stores)Coconut oilWax colors (you can even use wax crayons)Vessel for melting the waxMseal or chappati doughA pencil or stick        MethodOil the inside it the candle mouldMelt the wax till it becomes clear and watery( do not let it smoke)Add the desire(...)

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Churning of Hindu Mythology : A Literary Analysis

Author:Vibha      Blog :Literary Sojourn    Date: 8/21/2012 5:46:00 AM

Belonging to the generation which is now parenting the new e-gen, we were fed the regular potions of stories from mythology as part of growing up. A righteous son,  brother, husband, prince and king, Lord Rama was always portrayed as being  anukaraneeye (ought to be followed) whereas Lord Krishna became vandaneeye (ought to be prayed and not to be followed) as his trickeries, manipulations, friendship with big gang of gopies were definitely some of the actions which should(...)

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Panchasati / panchakanya: some serious research

Author:Abhishek Mukherjee      Blog :Abhishek's blog অভিষেকের ব্লগ    Date: 10/17/2012 5:19:00 PM

As a Sanskrit shlok (which, given my limited memory, I obviously do not recall word-by-word) goes:Remembering the five satis destroys the greatest of sins.The Panchasati have also been referred to as Panchakanya; they basically stand for The Five Virgins, and are typically called so because, er, they were not virgins at all, and had multiple coital partners in their lives. This is probably akin to calling Fardeen Khan an actor because he cannot act, but then, we have seen stran(...)

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of divinity aerial

Author:parth joshi      Blog :travel, travails, and heck...    Date: 10/22/2012 3:41:00 PM

for the drumsand the dustmore often thannot, would be anaffair violent...for penchant of that fervourclear and pureof laughter, and anaudience amused...colour is anelegy of osmosisthrough a songsung high, ever soof those nights...for festivalshold up to the skyin specks of that dust, of what the humanconjures up of light...chhau always mesmerizes... trying to follow a story through a vernacular unknown... wincing through familiar gods in an unfamiliar tongue... creating&nb(...)

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of demons

Author:parth joshi      Blog :travel, travails, and heck...    Date: 10/24/2012 6:31:00 AM

राक्षस फ़िरएक और,चल पड़ाकिसी रातया तोकिस्मत का धनीहोगा एक भक्षकनही तो बनजाएगा, किसी कायनातका रक्षक...

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Book Review : Asura - Tale of the Vanquished

Author:Vibha      Blog :Literary Sojourn    Date: 11/15/2012 1:58:00 AM

Title : Asura - Tale of the VanquishedAuthor : Anand NeelakantanPublisher : Platinum PressISBN : 978-93-81576-05-2I enjoy reading retellings of our age old epics and do not mind how different authors enthuse their creativity and imagination in the same to bring out different perspectives. I guess I must have read and reviewed close to a dozen such books which are either purely fictional or are reporting of the original story with some twists here and there. However, 'Asura' is the f(...)

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A Tale of Two Eclipses

Author:Abhishek Mukherjee      Blog :Abhishek's blog অভিষেকের ব্লগ    Date: 12/3/2012 11:12:00 AM

A solar eclipse is one of the coolest spectacles the nature can offer us. I mean, this is not the useless coolness one typically associates with a chihuahua, but serious coolness that reminds you of Karan Kapoor in a Bombay Dyeing commercial.There were two solar eclipses mentioned in the epics. The first, an early morning one; the second, a late afternoon one. Both eclipses were crucial, instrumental in turning the course of the epics; it is up to the astronomers to find out the exa(...)

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Shalya: a serious biography

Author:Abhishek Mukherjee      Blog :Abhishek's blog অভিষেকের ব্লগ    Date: 12/10/2012 7:14:00 AM

I had promised the mysterious rgb, one of the few followers of my blog, that I will do a write-up on Shalya sometime soon. This, as you must have realised by the title of the post, is that post.Now that I have used two commas in each of my first two sentences, I might as well get along with it. Let me first put a disclaimer that Shalya was not a great surgeon by any means, and shalyachikitsha, a word generally used for surgery, has no relationship whatsoever with Shalya.No more(...)

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Shiva Trilogy 1- The Immortals of Meluha

Author:Pushpa Moorjani      Blog :Whispering Behind a Canvas Veil    Date: 1/23/2013 9:36:00 AM

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Short And Sweet Sanskrit Originated Modern Indian Hindu Baby Boy Names And Baby Girl Names Starting With D

Author:Swati Kamath      Blog :All About Parenting - A Guide to Groom your baby to happier healthier and smart child    Date: 2/14/2013 11:36:00 AM

Today every parent wishes to give his/her child a unique name, a name which is very different and very rare. A child with an uncommon name feels good that he/she has a unique but pleasant to hear name. Here is an exclusive rare collection of traditional mythological Hindu baby names and their meaning. Most of these boy baby names and girl baby names are derived from beautiful Sanskrit words. This list for exotic Indian names for babies has a blend of both Modern and tradit(...)

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A Dance Recital

Author:sudeshna hazra      Blog :REFLECTIONS....!    Date: 2/20/2013 4:40:00 AM

Geet Govind is an epic poem compiled by Jayadev of Kalinga.   In this poem he unabashedly describes the erotic love of Krishna and Radha, portraying the physical aspect with a candor and explicitness perhaps never done before. An ardent devotee of Krishna, Jayadev leveraged Radha as well as the Gopis. He brings to life Radha's unconventional beauty, jealousy, sorrow, bitterness, regret, loneliness, longing, companionship and ecstasy in this epic.Geet Govind part (...)

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Moving Hand Types 157

Author:Abinaya Surianarayanan      Blog :The Moving Hand Types    Date: 2/21/2013 6:15:00 PM

Moving Hand Types 1571) Connect PredictWise, Ben Zauzmer,Peter Gloor,The Social Oscars,Farsite Forecast?2) Connect William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield,William McKinley, Warren G Harding,Franklin Roosevelt, John F Kennedy, Ronald Reagen,George W Busy Jr.? 3) What is Marlyn Monroe holding and what is the object's claim to fame?4)Connect 105.6 ,Babur, Surya Bhagavan?5)The variations could be black or white smoke..but where?

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Reflections: Brahma's Hair

Author:Neeraja      Blog :The Mind's Language    Date: 2/26/2013 8:46:00 PM

If you are interested in flora and are into mythology, particularly Indian/Hindu mythology, you would like this book. It is a collection of mythological stories surrounding the origin and nature of several tropical plants of India. The stories are entertaining; quite reminiscent of Panchatantra tales. Kids who are interested in plants would love to read or hear these tales. It would be a nice collection of bedtime stories for them. Each tale is accompanied by a factual description o(...)

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Indian Milky Way

Author:krish      Blog :KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTIVITY    Date: 3/3/2013 4:52:00 AM

Our recently concluded programme on e-Governance had many senior executives from across various sectors participating and sharing their thoughts and experience. One of them, the executive of a famous Milk Dairy, had the following to say:"I am surprised at the portrayal of the consumption of 'milk' as a detestable and unhealthy practice by the mass media, in many of their publicity campaigns. Just in one of the advertisements by a multi-national health products' c(...)

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Victory or Valhalla

Author:Zardy      Blog :Ω The Equilibrium of Life Ω    Date: 3/7/2013 7:18:00 AM

Their evil descended upon our civilization Bringing an end to our peaceful days. They preached their invention they called ‘salvation’, Seeking to enslave us with their evil ways. But we refused to kneel to their lies and their steel. We chose to fight for honour until the end. They knew not what power our own weapons could conceal. They watched in horror as blood and metal did blend. The

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Book Review: The Oath of the Vayuputras

Author:rajk      Blog :my2cents    Date: 3/22/2013 6:30:00 PM

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first two books of the Shiva Trilogy by Amish, I was eagerly looking forward to reading the final book, "The Oath of the Vayuputras". First, the good part. I absolutely loved Sati's character. In fact, I'm so intrigued by her that I'm reading up all I can about her. Loved her last duel - very gory, very detailed, yet captivating. I also loved the way Amish has portrayed the relationship between Sati and Shiva; a partnership of two strong and c(...)

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S... is for Stirling!

Author:Udita Banerjee      Blog :Shreds & Shards    Date: 4/22/2013 8:36:00 PM

Stirling is the perfect day out from Edinburgh. It is a tiny town about and hour away by bus ans id packed with things to do! The Stirling Castle, for one, is an attraction that can easily take up all day! It is a big big castle, overlooking the city much like Edinburgh, except that it looks much bigger. The views onto the city and beyond are absolutely fabulous! And since I was lucky to have gone on a sunny day, you could see for miles until your eyes found the snow capped peaks in(...)

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