Bus Stop

Bus Stop 28032008-1, originally uploaded by Madhav13.

Bus Stop by Swati. You can see a girl waiting at the bus stop with a red roof. A couple of buses on the road facing a block of apartments.

We Five

We Five, originally uploaded by Madhav13.

This is a rare photo of the five brothers one of whom, I had the good fortune of having as my father in law (second from right - Sri. Lakshmi Kumaran)

Sudarshan-comic

Sudarshan-comic, originally uploaded by Madhav13.

Sudarshan, my nephew, has the unique capability to down the internet under two minutes. Sometimes much less. No one knows how he manages that.

Here is an attempt to depict him with a bit of photoshop touch to give it a retro comic look.

Have a try here.

To Meat the Sun

On the left hand side are father (me) and Shruti (the elder daughter) and on the right hand side are mother and the younger daughter (the artist). All of them are going to meet the sun just beyond the hills.

Ganesha is Alive

Sick of Hospitals

I hate hospitals. Who doesn't, except for those whose livelihood depend on hospitals. I hate the smell, the spartan atmosphere and the sombre mood. It is one place where the familiar words - 'How are you' takes an entirely different meaning.

And sometimes, there is humour. Here goes.

There was this guy who is from a neighbouring village. He was gored by a bull straight through his body. Writhing in pain, he is admitted to a hospital in Bangalore. The entire village is praying right outside the hospital with about 10-15 people trying to see if there is any progress every 15 minutes.

The doctor decides to operate on him the next day afternoon. The patient is very glad he is getting the attention he deserves and basks in the glory. Inspite of the deep trouble he is sporty and has a smile for every well wisher who comes in.

The doctor advises him what he needs to do and what he is not supposed to do in great detail. And one of the things was that he should not eat anything next day until the operation is over.

The attendants prepare him for the operation and just before 2 O'Clock they arrive to wheel him to the operation theatre. While going the doctor asks, "You seem to be cheerful. I like brave people. Hope you had a calm morning". The patient replied. "Yes. I had a nice morning, Bless my wife, who brought in my favourite dish, Masala Dosa. It was sumptuous - especially before the operation."

I would have expected the chewed up masala dosa to spew out of his back. But that is a different story.

They wheel him right back to the ward. The doctor was furious. The patient never understood why the doctor was angry.

Just the way he never understood why the bull gored him.

(As told by my dear friend).

Take it from me

Yesterday, I returned from yet another trip to Mumbai. As usual I started off the conversation with the auto driver to beat the traffic jam boredom. He was knowledgeable on all the latest cars that were passing by. He talked about intricate details of cars - this car has 8 cylinders, what cars were popular in which part of the world and so on. He said he gained knowledge on vehicles while he served as a driver in Saudi Arabia for 15 years.

I asked him why he took to driving auto after making money abroad for 15 years. He said that he lost the money over the last three years. He never gave me a direct answer. He said, "Please take it from me, give your woman only the money she needs - never all that you have".

As I was getting down, he said that he has plans to return to Saudi - not for a moment regretting that he had lost the money. He said he is happy he still has a woman who supports him through the years of separation - regardless what she may have done to protect his interests.

As I left I noted that I had forgotten to ask his name.

Who says relationships have died in India. This is the land of paradox.

No Child's Play

The other day I read an unbelievable piece of news.  A woman travelling by train attends to the nature's call.  There she accidentally delivers a premature baby.  The baby falls down the toilet chute of the running train.  She faints and when she regains consciousness, alerts her people on the train who stop the train and run back.  They find the baby alive.

On the other hand, I had a relative of mine who was pregnant.  She had the best of medical attention possible in the city.  Everything was fine and the date of delivery was just days away. The father is reassured that the baby is fine - he even listens to heartbeat.  The next day morning she delivers a still born - no reason.  The baby is just dead.

Now is this Survival of the Fit? Or is it some quirk of fate? Or is it just that it happens. 

Sripuram Narayani Temple

From Ambur, we reached Sripuram, the now famous Golden Temple of Narayani.

I have never seen a temple which evokes such strong reactions. It is positively opulent. It is ostentatious whereas most temples in India reflect austerity. Glazed granite, golden pillars and the dazzling lights leaves you not speechless but dumbfounded. Other temples make you fall silent.

The circumambulation path, is not square or circular but star shaped.

I was just wondering how anyone who enters this temple with fountains and pleasure evoking contraptions could instil a sense of bhakti and humility. Pictures of the man - however great he may have been in constructing this temple - he is still a man - not to be placed alongside Gods/Godesses.

I was just fuming and then had the darshan from 15 feet away even though we had paid a hefty Rs.100/- as entrance ticket.

Then I saw a villager, who normally gets more awed than us city dwellers, just praying there - no dazzling lights, no opulence and no amount of gold could deter him from praying.

So it is not what outside or in the temple that counts. What counts is what you have in you - that is bhakti.

I came out totally humbled from this extraordinary temple, just as I come out of any temple. Better learned and even more humbled.

I am a more chastisised person now.

Refer Wikipedia for more info on this place.

Just see a pic gleamed off the net.

Peria Anjaneyar Temple, Ambur

Ambur-Sripuram Mar 2008

Today we visited the Peria Anjaneyar Temple in Ambur. I and Sridharan, along with families set out in the afternoon and reached there by evening.

The temple is situated amidst the bustle of a small industrial town. Once you enter the temple you are transported to a different world altogether. Serene, quiet and calm.

This temple was built way back in the 15th century during Krishna Deva Raya's rule.

The sthala puranam (history of the temple) is very interesting.

While fighting the demon Ravana to take back the abducted Sita, Lakshmana, brother of Rama is injured in the battle hurt by a missile from Ravana's son. Jambhavan, the bear Advisor, says that he can be rescued by a herb called Sanjeevani. Hanuman is sent back to India to bring the herb. Hanuman sets out to the Himalayas, finds the hill where the herb grows but cannot recognise it. He uproots the entire mountains and returns. Meanwhile, Sukracharya, Ravana's Guru and the preceptor for all Rakshasas (demons) says that he needs to be stopped from returning. Ravana, sends Saturn one of the nine enslaved planets who form the nine steps to his throne to stop Hanuman. Sani (Saturn) accosts Hanuman. Hanuman asks Sani the reason for stopping him from returning. Sani says that he is now under the rule of Ravana and has come to stop Hanuman from proceeding to Sri Lanka. Hanuman places the entire mountain on Sani who is unabe to bear the weight. Sani surrenders. Hanuman then lifts the mountain and crushes Sani under his foot. Sani requests for forgiveness. Hanuman does so under the conditions that Sani is not to impede anyone's path who chants Rama's name. Hanuman then returns to Sri Lanka with herb and rest of the story is known. The temple idol of Hanuman here is in the posture of crushing Sani Bhagawan under his foot.

Since this is a ugra stance, nearby is another idol of Hanuman so that people can worship Him.

The temple tower contains some extremely beautiful scupltures of the Raya dynasty.

One can light lamps depending on the constellation to obtain peace and prosperity.

We saw the temple cow and calf - they appeared to be more peaceful than most people we see on the streets.

We also saw some students praying for a successful completion of their exams coming up just round the corner.

Have a look at some material on the net here.

The temple has website http://www.periyaanjaneyartemple.org/, but then I was not able to view it today.