the journey continues…

Whenever I attend my cousin’s or friend’s marriage my point of interest would be the interior decorations done and the coconut carvings which they will make it for Varapooja (one of the main ritual in the karnataka weddings).In olden days (as my granny used to say) wedding preparations will start 2 months earlier.Apart from shopping,they would make all these nice decorative items to gift to groom.
Nowadays no time to do all these on your own but people buy it from shops.In Malleshwaram,Bangalore most of the shops sell all these wedding decorative items.You need to give them order in advance and you can specify what you want to carve on them.
I really like these carvings which shows Indian Women’s Art Sense and how delicately nicely they can carve a coconut in to a beautiful picture.

(Small krishna which is usually given to bride)

(Gauri,Lakshmi and Hanumaan..check out the nicely carved eyes,nose and nose rings and jewels of lakshmi)

(Radha & krishna a romantic pose)

(The ganesha here is inside the coconut.The coconut is split in to halves and then its carved)

(all together nicely done)

This post comes to celebrate MahaShivaratri.Shivam means shubham..so as we celebrate shivaratri lets good things come to us..
I am sharing the details of one of my favt shiva temple here.
TamilNadu has a majority of Shiva Temples comapred to any other parts of India.Every king who ruled TamilNadu has built atleast one shiva temple.
One of the must visit temples is Brahadeeshwara ( Brahat = very big + Iswara) Temple in Tanjavur.Build by Chola King Shri Raja Raja Chola this temple is also called as Rajarajeswaram Temple.Completely built in granite stone this temple is a marvellous example for the efficieny of architechts of the Chola’s period.
The Vimana or the RajaGopuram of the temple is around 216 feet which is one among the tallest of its kind in the world.Its believed that the gopuram was built so tall to resemble the mount Kailash.
Main deity of the temple is Lord Shiva which is in the form of a Lingam inside the garbha graha/sanctum sanctorum.The inner wall of the sanctum sanctorum has sculptures of 108 dance poses called karmas performed by Lord Shiva himself.
Only main temple was built during the period of Cholas.The other temple like Murugan temple,Nandi and Ganesha Temple which are in the wide corridar were built during Nayaka’s period who ruled the Tanjavur during 18th century.

A big Nandi in front carved in single black granite stone [which is as tall as the Shiva Lingam].

( The sculpture of Raja Raja Chola..You can see that nose is chopped off [the attack of Mallikafar])

(painting showing the king raja raja chola and his wives)

(the Murugan temple which is inside)
Sculpture of the above temple is similar to what you can see in Belur/Halebeedu Temple in Karnataka.but here they have used hard granite stones compared to soap stones in Belur.
TamilNadu Tourism board has introduced this 360 degree virtual tour of most of the famous temples.Check out this link [They can work on the background music though:) ]
I like this temple for few reasons..Inside the temple corridor is very wide,open and main Lingam/idol is on high altitude so there is no queue or rush to see the god.The architechure of the temple is very astonishing.History says that this temple has inspired many artisits,dancers as well as the next generation kings to build something similar to this.Inside the temple corridor its very peaceful, no shops,no beggars and no nonsense.
More over big things make me to think big,dream big and achieve big !!.
Try to avoid the summers [ april-june] and especially school holiday seasons if you would like to do some serious photography.
Happy Shivaratri!!

This is supposed to be a post for Diwali Festival but as usual I am bit late.
In India celebrating festivals is always nice and fun.New clothes,sweets,crackers and family get togethers.It has its own way of being happy.I believe festivals mark the beginnings of new things in life.New hopes,new plans,new aspirations all these should start with festivals.
I have this habit of making a list of new goals,new tasks and new plans for every festival.
I was exposed to professional life immediately after coming out of college.The work schedule there was so hectic that I was not able to manage anything.It started ruining my personal life as well as professional life.So during that time I started making my list of tasks and when ever a big festival comes I will update it and revise it.During diwali if I go home,I used to make a list of friends to meet, few relatives to call personally to say Hi,check out my little garden at home,get new fish for aquarium,teach small drama to my niece like this…I somehow enjoyed making this list and completing it one by one which also helped me to bring a balance in my professional-personal life.I believe everyone should have small plans or goals in life which makes life easier.
When you are a final year student at college you should think about your career.Which career I will choose,where I would be working and what actually I want to do in life.Once you start your career,within a year, you should choose which technology fits you and what kind of work you can do etc.Most of the students who come to software field especially from REC’c,IIT’s would be thinking of going abroad for MS/MTech but they don’t make any constant decisions till 2 years of their career.So for 2 years they will try their hand in many technologies or reading GMAT,GRE ( all half-half) and still asking friends about what to do…
I have seen many software professionals who will be in mid-thirties and still struggling to become leads..They know that they need to upgrade their skills,do some certifications,update their resumes..but somehow they are not good at planning things.
Its the same with personal life also.When you are bachelor you should have some plans for your married life.It might be investments,work-life balance or handling relationships.
When it comes to relationships,festivals play really an important role.I try to patch up with my friends/relatives with whom I fought for some silly reasons or no reasons at all.Give up my egos and unnecessary self-esteems.Forgiving some people who hurt me.I always wanted to forgive my company which laid me off.Though I have tried many times, I was not able to do that.So whenever I want to start something new it comes as barrier for my effort. It makes me low, sometimes angry, sometimes helpless and sometimes a feeling of loosing myself.This Diwali I have actually and really forgiven my company.

There is a saying in sanskrit “Tamosama Jyotirgamaya” which means lets walk from darkness towards light.
So this diwali as we lit lamps,lets walk towards life which is full new hopes,aspirations,peace and love.

This post comes as a second part of my post on California.First day I landed in America,only thing I saw was cars ,cars and some more cars!!!

Owning a car is one among the priority things here as you can’t rely on public transports much.Few tips I have written down for first time buyers.
Drivers’ License
You need to have a driver’s license before buying any vehicle.DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) is the government office where you need to take a written test,then behind the wheels test to get a license.Most of the car companies ask for driver’s license before selling a car to you.So without a valid license you can not buy a car.Period.
Craiglist/Dealers?
Next is searching for a car.People buy used-cards here which are cheaper compared to new cars.Honda,Toyota,Nissan are the popular ones and they have big show rooms of used cars.You can also find a vast range of used cars in craiglist.But most of them would be scams and best option is to go for dealers than craiglist.Also most of the cars in craiglist would be salvage cars which is hard to find.
We experienced few incidents like that..we saw a good ford which turned out to be a salvage one.few mails like people are travelling outside country for military work and they are selling car for cheap rate..all big time scams.
In case if you find a good car in craiglist, ask for the VIN number of the car.VIN number is a unique identification number of the car and it gives the entire car fax report like when it is bought,any accidents it met,when its last serviced etc.
Dealers are comparatively costlier than individual owners but they are much more reliable.One more thing is they will do all the DMV(Dept.Motor Vehicles) work which you need not do.
Dealers or Craiglist,while finalizing the car go for a best deal. Make a note of the year,total mileages and price of the vehicle.If its driven more thank 70K miles then you need to service it very soon (which is a bad option).
If its very old,then definitely you are going to shell some bucks on tyres,engine etc.(which is pain). The best thing is you can own a certified used car from the dealer.If it is a certified car,mostly mileage would be less than 30k and the company would have verified all the auto parts.
Major thing is money !!
Car Loan is a good option for money as it will not put much stress and would build a credit history for you which is good for future buying.Credit History is a record which shows that you have taken a loan and you have repaid it successfully.For each re-payment you made there would be scores and it builds your credit score.
Once you finalize a car you can apply for a car loan.Interest rates mainly depend on your credit history.You should have a good credit history to get 0% interest on any loan.Most of the banks offer loans (ex:Credit Union) with high rates.But it is comparatively lesser than what a car-dealer would give you.
Insurance for car
Next and final part is Car Insurance.Insurance is must here and without the insurance docs,your car or car loan will not be approved.There are so many insurance companies which offer varieties of insurances.
geico.com,progressive.com ( costliest ones but covers most of the needs),statefarm.com,AAA.com,21st.com are moderate and you can customize based on your needs.
Happy Buying

I wanted to publish this during Navaratri,but got messed up with something else..Better late than never .
“Nava-raatri” means “nine nights.” So all the 9 days we worship goddess Durga in 9 different forms.Hindus believe that Durga also referred as Devi/Shakti, is the universal mother and she created the whole world.She is the energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction.Most of our traditions are associated with Shakti Pooja and this festival signifies that.
During Navaratri,first three days are dedicated to Goddess Durga, the Goddess of courage, next three days to Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, and the final three days are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of wisdom and knowledge.The festival ends with Vijaya Dashami on the tenth day.

Saraswati Pooja
We perform Saraswati Pooja on 6th day of Navaratri.That day usually school going kids will keep their books in the pooja room and pray god Saraswati.I remember all us kids will discuss seriously about which books to keep for pooja so that we will get good marks (without reading!).

Though all the days are significant,we celebrate last 3 days of Navaratri with great devotion.
8th day – Durgashtami
9th day – Mahanavami
10th day – Vijayadsashami

Durgashtami
On Durgashtami Goddess Durga killed the demon Durgasura, the son of Ruru and made the Earth free from evil forces.Its an important day to any devotee to worship the Goddess and be blessed with her grace.

Mahanavami
Mahanavami is day of Ayudha Pooja.Ayudha Pooja literally means worship of weapons.Kings used to worship their weapons so that they will get victory in the wars.So continuing with the same tradition we worship things which are bread and butter to us.People decorate vehicles,garages and perform puja.For automobile workers, carpenters its a beginning of new year.They clean everything,perform puja and start their business from the next day i.e, vijayadashami.

Vijayadsashami
Vijayadashami has great importance as its believed that on this day Rama killed Ravana and Durga Devi killed the demon Mahishasura.This day many people perform Shami Pooja also.
As mentioned in the legend Mahabharata,Panadavas kept their weapons in Shami Tree and went to exile incognito.After one year when they return they found their weapons safe in the Shami tree.They again worshipped Shami tree for guarding their weapons.the Shami Puja became a main ritual during Vijayadashami. On this day, leaves of Shami tree are exchanged among friends and relatives as gold. They wish their friends and relatives to get success in every aspect of life.”ಬನ್ನಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಬಂಗಾರದಂತ ಮಾತಾಡಿ ”
(Give banni(shami leaves) and speak golden worlds).

There is also a tradition of keeping dolls and giving bombe bagina to ladies.Largely practiced in TamilNadu it is called as Navaratri Kolu/Golu.Kolu in Tamil means sovereign sitting in his royal durbar.So the concept of arranging these Navrathri dolls on the plank is to depict that Goddess Mahishasuramardini is sitting in her Kolu, prior to the slaying of the demon Mahishasura.Though dolls are kept for only 10 days the collection starts begins from years.You can keep any number of tiers but it has to be odd like 3,5,7 up to 9.

There is a rule to arrange these dolls in Kolu.First there should be Kalasha in the center for which all the nine days they will perform pooja.Pattada Gombe ( King & Queen dolls ) are the main attractions and they are kept at the summit above all the dolls.Its practice in Kannada families that when their daughter gets married and goes to other house they will send these 2 dolls with her.

Other main things I see are Dashavatara (10 forms of Vishnu), Lakshmi,Saraswati,Ram,Laxman,Sita and Hanuman,wedding ceremony and other idols.I liked few which was in the internet like this store,grinding stones etc which are really pretty.

People start collecting dolls for this from many days back and women in the house take months to decorate all the dolls.There would be healthy competition among ladies while doing this arrangement.
They also give Bombe Bagina to women and girls during all the nine days.Bagina consists of some fruits,betel leaves,nuts and small doll.Its more of women’s festival.

If you are in or near Mysore,try to visit Bombe Mane which will be very good.Its a doll house full of dolls arranged very nicely.
Every year they come with new concepts and nice decorating ideas of dolls.Its a real treat for everybody.
Below pictures from last years.

Dasara Procession

In South Canata,navaratri celebrations are little different.It would be celebrated by performing different homas in the Durga Devi temples.On the day of Mahanavami, Chandika Yaga and Maha Rathotsava are organised in temples.People participate in huge number to get blessing of Duga Devi.Mangalore Dassera/Kudroli Dasara is a popular attraction during Navaratri.In kudroli gokarnatha temple they keep 9 different forms Shri Durga Devi and on the last day they will organize a grand procession before immersing the idols in water.This is one of the biggest celebration held in Mangalore and it attracts a huge crowd.Below picture shows Mangalore Sharada during procession.

Lastly all the days of Navaratri,the Lord Krishna in Udupi temple glows in different forms of Shri DurgaDevi.Shri Swamiji of Udupi Mutt,will do Saraswati,Lakshmi,Mahishasura Mardini alankaras to krishna which is a real treat for the devotees.This years pictures are still more gorgeous.