Temple tour-2: On road to Srirangam

Maybe there are better ways, but we did the temples in and around Trichy in taxi - an Ambassador. We were five, which meant two of us had to share the front seat with the driver.
The choice for sharing the cramped front-seat fell on Baby and Raghu. Presumably, because Raghu, who has been under a special diet regime, has thinned out perceptibly in recent weeks. Beside, I wonder if they, as grand-parents, find very many occasions nowadays to be seated so close together.

Hiring tourist taxi in Trichy, like most other places, calls for negotiating skill. Our driver demanded Rs.750 for a six-hour hire, during which he would do 50 km. Every excess km. would be billed Rs.5 ; and,if the taxi is retained beyond seven hours, you pay for another six-hour segment. We hired him; so much for my negotiating skill.
On our way to Srirangam we got held up at a level crossing close to the railway station. Wonder how many pilgrims travel by train to this temple town. But a lot more of them using the road get held up at this level crossing. While waiting for the gate to open we witnessed a bout of domestic violence, involving two men and a woman, at a slum close to the railway crossing.

The incident was witnessed by a captive audience at the closed railway crossing. I joined others in the crowd in shouting at them to break it up, threatening to call the police, if they didn't. It didn't work. Nor did my threat to take a picture, in the hope that this would shame them into stopping their fight.
I took this picture, and moved on as the railway gate re-opened for road traffic. The photo prompted me to blog on domestic violence in another forum. Traffic hold-up at railway crossings help us get a glimpse of life around, if we pause to look around.

At another, quieter level crosssing, on way to Gunaseelam, an aged village cobbler is seen stretching it out. Apparantly,he doen't get very many customers. The likes of him face life-long recession;and they don't complain.
The lady in blue is the railway employee manning this level-crossing. I had never met a woman gate-keeper, though I had seen women employees at wayside stations. When I mentioned this the lady said she has been in railway service for 12 years. Asked if i could take her picture, the lady gate-keeper blushed and sat upright for the camera.
No such thing as over-taking on this bridge over Colladum river.The one ahead,be it a man or beast, has the right of way on this single-lane passage.

Skype ko salaam

Almost everyone who has dear ones staying abroad stays in touch through Skype. Ravi/Meera Skypes us twice or thrice a month to keep us current on the latest antics of Sidharth and Nikhil. We - my wife and I - have got so accustomed to it that we can't do without being Skyped. It lifts up our spirits;and gives us something fresh to talk about, with each other. We usually spend the days between Skypes doing our own things, often without exchanging as much as a word for hours together.
I am usually at the computer, when I am not reading a newspaper/book or watching TV. She is into neighbourhood temple visits. And watches TV as well, but our programme
preferences do not always tally. So a Skype from San Ramon is about the only quality time we spend together. It peps up our spirits; and gets us talking on a subject of shared interest - our grandsons. Skype has evidentally been invented for the likes of me and Karthik. And, presumably, there are millions of others, for whom Skype serves as an emotional life-line. The last time I checked there were 10,031,930 Skype users online the world over.
Karthik,a nephew doing MBA in Tuscon, Arizona, is very much a family person who likes to stay in close touch not just his parents but also his uncles and aunts. His father Babu,I found, is proficient in handling Skype and also G-video-chat.
When we visited his parents in Salem Karthk came on Skype, to be able to video-chat with aunts - Baby and Subbu. They talked about the temples we visited and the menu on offer at Salem Anand Bhavan. At our request Karthik gave us a video-tour of his Tuscon apartment that he shares with two other students. Before signing off Karthik promised to Skype us from Los Angelese, where he planned to spend his Spring break with cousins Shivakumar and Shobi, and Paddu periamma.

We must thank Karthik for taking the initiative to video-connect us with Paddu/Shobi who are visiting Shivakumar in the US. They are due back in Chennai early April. We haven't met one another for quite a while. And here we were, in Mysore, able to connect with them in L A.
My mother appears very pleased at the chance to video-chat with Paddu. Salaam to Skype, for making it possible.

London under snow

When I was about to land in London on assignment last year, I was told that climate here could get very cold.
But no one ever told me that I could see snowfall. It happenned one day, that I started for office, without knowing what lay in store for me, until I stepped out.

Well, I was shocked to say the least, but then I had some important meetings to attend and I did not have net connection at that time to work from home.

So I got dressed and adequately protected (at least that is what I thought and started to office).

The roads were full with snow with no one was actually seen on road.

Thankfully one lady, who was tying to scrap off snow from her car screen, told me to go home as there were no buses plying.

It seems this was the first time in last 15 years, that there was snowfall in London. All normal work came to a standstill and UK faced a lot of loss in this time of recession.

Well we enjoyed the unplanned holiday, and took some photos in and around our house.

Losing hair for a cause

Reading about school girls in the US sacrificing their locks to raise money for children's cancer research I recall what Geetha (Annakutty mama's daughter-in-law) told me when we visited her familly in Edison, New Jersey, last year. Both her daughters - Anjana,14, and Anushree,12 - came home from school one day with their locks cut short, said Geetha. Before she could give them a mouthful, the girls deadpaned, "Relax mom, we gave it to raise funds for cancer research".Geetha's Sreedharan's anger turned into pride; and she gave both girls a hug for their sense of sacrifice.

Recounting this incident Geetha said both girls had long and flowing locks that ran right down their backs. She said she would send us a photo of the girls, taken with their flowing locks. We are awaiting the picture, Geetha. Meanwhile, this picture of the mother and her girls was taken during our visit to their place.I have problem figuring out Anu from Anjana.

A recent media report says that the hair-for-cancer fund-raiser - St. Baldrick's Foundation - started 10 years ago as a challenge among three friends and replicated around the country. Since the foundation's inception, 72,000 people have had their heads shaved,raising $50 million.

Temple tour - A matter of belief

Belief is that visitors at Vekkaliamman temple would have their wishes fulfilled,if they make a written submission. Requisition sheets are available at the counter,at Rs.10 a sheet. They also give a yellow thread to roll-and-tie the sheet to a wooden frame at the sannadhi. The thick cluster of rolled up yellow sheets, like a flowering tree in full bloom, stands testimony to the multitude visiting the temple and the firmness of their belief.

I may not be a religious person, but I respect others belief; and particularly appreciate Prabhakaran's sentiments. He was our neighbour in Coonoor. As a cab-owner,he visits various places. During a Tiruchi visit Mr Prabhakaran made it a point to go to Vekkaliammankoil and tie a wish requesition slip on our behalf, with a prayer that we be blessed with a grand-child. This was four years ago. We have since had two grandsons.Siddarth,three years, and Nikhil, one plus.

A view from the road, as no photogrphy is allowed inside the temple. The Amman idol is lit up by natural daylight, for the presiding deity here is placed under open sky, right in the middle of the built-up area of the temple.
Baby and Raghu joined us from Mysore; and Chitra(my wife's youngest sister), from Salem, on our thanks-giving visit to Vekkaliamman.
The three Sulur sisters stayed at Gajapriya hotel to be able to do the temples around Tiruchi. Two days were too little time for them (all hardcore temple-goers) to do justice even to the core temples in Srirangam, Samayapuram, and Vayalur.
Legend has it that Vekkaliamman showed up at Uraiyur during the reign of Paraandhaga Chozhan. Kumudan Bhakti Special(Apl.15, 2005) carries an engaging article by Priya Kalyanaraman (image at the top of this post).
The article speaks of a grievance of a sage, who found flowers stolen from his nandavanam on a daily basis. He made a plea to the king, only to source the stolen flowers back to the palace. The king had deployed a flower-thief to rob the garden of its flowers before the saint could get there daily to pluck flowers for offering to his god. The Chozha king had the flowers stolen for his pregnant wife Bhuvanadevi. When the sage took up the issue with his deity, an enraged Shiva set off a sandstorm at Uraiyur, and set the Cauvery in spate. People fled the town. The king left his palace with his expectant wife.Queen Bhuvanadevi, as the story goes, fell off her horse and was swept away in the flooded Cauvery.
This was when Vekkaliamman showed up to save the queen from drowning. She soon gave birth to Karikala Chozhan.

The Shankars at Madam Tasssauds

Well, thought its been a long time since I provided any inputs to the blog, so started to write this post. but as with lot of people like me, we are not sure what to write to make the topic interesting.

I looked at my laptop and searched for some photos and found these. These were taken some two months back when I visited Madam Tasssauds museum.
To start with I am not the best person to face a camera and give poses.

Moreover I did not know that we need to give poses to make these stars look real.

So I just stood alongside "The Rock" - the WWF star as I knew him.

Though I did not like him much in my childhood, could not resist the chance to take a snap along with him.

More so when people were taking snaps with stars even without knowing who they were.

Guess they were hoping that when they show it around at least others will recognise them.

My Wife Purnima, who has learnt dancing in her childhood, tried to show me how to give pose with stars and make them look original.

Not sure how much she succeded in making ASH look original, but still I found the photo to be quite funny.

I know she is gong to kill me for putting this Photo.

Well, I also tried some and these were the results.

Some of Purnima's better photos...... Else she will not give me food.

Our wedding anniversary

The thing about being seniors is that we can afford to forget, or even pretend to each other not to have remembered our wedding anniversary.But then there are folks to remind you - such as Meera,Ravi, my sister Bhagya and her daughter Uma. Bhagya called us as we were on way to Bangalore. Within an hour Uma called to greet us.
We had celebration breakfast at Kamat, on Mysore-Bangalore highway. Baby, my wife's sister, wouldn't let us pay for it. We were heading to Bangalore for another celebration.
It was Shriya's birthday, Feb.22, in accordance with the birth star. The little one on the lap of grandma Gita is the birthday girl. Her mother, Shwetha, and brother Rishabh , are by her side, along with grandpa Narasimhan, who performed ayushoma under a 'power of attorney' from his US-based son-in-law Sajjan.
The birthday girl, with her elated mother, captured by my wife, Lakshmi, who takes better pictures than I do, occasionally.
Shriya's the four-year-old brother showed a proactive interest in the happenings, particularly in tossing flowers at the presiding deity. It was fun.
Rishabh was ready by 6 am.


Chitra,the youngest of Shriya's meternal pattis and grandma Gita's sister, was the designated camera person for the occasion. She was specially summoned from Salem for the job.
We dropped in at Shriya's cousin Krithik's place after the puja. A little drop, reminding one of the previous night's running nose, shows up for our photo. Krithik's mom Lakshmi.Father Arun.

We rounded off the Bangalore trip with a visit to Sita periamma, my wife's lone surviving super-senior on her maternal side. It was Chitra's idea that we make the extra effort to make it to periamma's place in Peenya. For us, we coudn't have wished for anything better than to have the blessings of Lakshmi's 94-year-old periamma, on our wedding anniversary.
Sita periamma was 38 years younger at our wedding - Feb.21, 1971.