The story of nag nrithya is very popular in Indian scriptures. Kaliya was said to be a multi-headed poisonous snake that had made Yamuna river in Vrindavan his home. The snake had spread its venom and poisoned the river, ensuring no living creature could use the water. Garuda, the foe of all serpents was cursed out of Vrindavana and…
Holy Unity
A few years ago, I had the chance to revisit the Chamunda Devi temple near Mysuru as an adult. It’s a beautiful temple on a high hill with well defined steps to take you to the destination. There, as a tourist you will be conned to buy stuff unassumingly. That’s how I ended up with…
Hello Kitty!
Gather kittens while you may, Time brings only sorrow; And the kittens of today; Will be old cats tomorrow. ~Oliver Herford
Transformation
Optimus Prime: “For now, the Decepticon legions are vanguished. And fate has yielded its reward- A new world to call home. We live amongst its people now, hiding in plain site…But watching over them in secret. Waiting. Protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage. And though we are worlds apart, like us, there is…
Mini Foods
The Chinatown Street market in Singapore is probably when I first fell in love with miniatures and trinkets. Every time you visit, you will see a new collection of fancy miniatures at jaw-dropping prices. Whatever regret I have of shopping at this place is not picking up enough variety of fake food bowls! Unit next…
Peace & Quiet
The ornate Chennakeshava temple is a fine representation of the Hoysala architecture; in fact historians suggest that this is one of the last temples to be built with this architecture. The main temple sits in the middle of a high star-shaped platform with three symmetrical sanctums (garbha-griha) for Kesava , Janardhana and Venugopala, all forms of Vishnu.The…
Troopers Alert
Horses and elephants were both a very essential part of the war cavalry in old India wars. While the use of horses with archers and swordsmen is quite popular, elephants were used in siege operations and bringing down doors and breaking into fortresses. If you visit old forts across India, guides will enlighten you about…
Numero Uno
Uno is one game that brings back so many memories of so many different stages of life! As kids it was being competitive and winning, but as grownups it’s more like revenge. You save up all the Draw 2 and Draw 4s to get back at people. Then there are the drunk games that made…
It’s Party Time!
Today is a special day, my lovely mother turns a year older. She’s already wise in many areas, so its going to get tough to handle her if she adds on to that wisdom. Like for most people, Ma is a role model, not just for me, but the scores of students who studied…
Mahishasura
Mahishasura is a combination of mahisha or a buffalo and asura or demon. Mahishasura was partly-immortal; no man could kill him. Mahishasura beat the god in a battle between Asuras and Devas, when the gods were led by Indra. Dejected, the Devas then combined divine energies bring goddess Durga to life. Riding a lion she…
Snapshots of my World 