Back from kerala...

Just back from a trip to kerala…what a great time we had. I got to see three great temples of lord Vishnu. The Sri Vallabha temple at Tiruvalla, The Guruvayur temple and the Dhanvantari temple at coimbatore (which is tamil nadu actually).

We started our trip with a visit to the Sri Dhanvantari temple at Coimbatore. Located in the heart of the city amidst a beautiful and scenic ayurvedic hospital , this temple is supposed to be the only one in the world dedicated to lord Dhanvantari. Lord Dhanwantari is the Upasanamoorthy (Presiding Deity) of Vaidyas of Ayurveda and this temple gives a spiritual background to the Ayurvedic Tradition of Treatment in the Arya Vaidya Chikitsalayam located in the campus.

The Sri Vallabha temple at Tiruvalla enshrines a beautiful Idol of Lord Vishnu. Legend has it that this temple was not built by human hand but by spirits overnight. Whoever did it has done a great job. The name Tiruvalla originates from the presiding deity Vallabha.

Situated in Trichur district, The Guruvayur temple has a cute little Sri Krishna with a mischievous glint in his eyes. The Guruvayur temple has hordes of devotees flocking for a mere glimpse of the lord.

Scavenged from the internet:
GURUVAYUR’ -Dwaraka of south - is one of the most famous Sree Krishna temples in India. The divine idol installed here represents the world–enchanting form of Sree Krishna endowed with the four lustrous arms carrying the conch, the discus, the mace and the lotus. Adorned with the divine `Thulasi’ garland and pearls necklaces, the idol represents the majestic form of Maha Vishnu as revealed to Vasudeva and Devaki at the time of 'Krishnavathara'.

Thousands of devotees from all over the world visit this temple daily for darsan (worship). It is believed that the Lord revels here in the same majestic form as he would at 'Vaikunda' - his celestial abode. Thus Guruvayur is known as `Bhooloka Vaikunda'.

After the departure of Lord Sree Krishna to 'Vaikunda', Dwaraka was submerged in the sea but the image of 'Narayana' at Dwaraka was saved by Udhava the foremost disciple of Sree Krishna. Accordingly, Brihaspathi (preceptor of Gods) accompanied by his disciple, Vayu (the God of winds), arrived at Dwaraka. Sree Krishna had already departed to Vaikunda and Varuna,(the Sea-God), was in occupation of Dwaraka. The image of Narayana itself was being tossed in the sea by the surging waves . At the suggestion of Guru and Vayu, Varuna withdrew. The Wind God carried the image on his head and both began to search for a sacred place for its installation.

They wandered through lands in North and South and finally as they entered Kerala they met Parasurama, who had created Kerala. Parasurama led the way for Guru and Vayu and they all came near a beautiful lake full of lotuses. On one side of the lake were Siva and Parvathi to welcome them. They advised to install the image at this place and they themselves shifted to the opposite bank of the lake known as Mammiyoor temple.(It is belived that those devotees who come for Sree Krishna Temple must visit the Siva temple at Mammiyur). Since the installation was done by GURU and VAYU the place was named as GURVAYUPURA and later on as GURUVAYUR. The deity of Guruvayur is thus called Guruvayurappan, the Lord (APPAN) of Guruvayur.


One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to my dad’s birthplace where we had a great time meeting up with my cousins, uncles and aunts. I got to see the house where he was born, his school and stuff like that. It goes without saying that our trip was a fruitful one. But in dad’s eyes I could see something more than enjoyment. A feeling of joy , a sense of belonging and a certain serenity which could only stem from a deeper satisfaction.

SLEEPY EYES...

  The biggest enemy of my education ( after my fate and ‘open’ category status) has been my sleep. Just touching my books can lull me off to the deepest slumber. The tactile stimulation of those thin white pages coupled with the smell of printing ink does wonders to my nervous system. Instantly I feel as if someone has hit the 'switch off' button and i'm dozing even before I know it. Strangely enough, the effects do not seem to occur when I read novels and comics.
    
 This disease has tormented me to a great extent. I have tried so many methods that I could write an encyclopedia on that topic. “Thousand unsuccessful ways to avoid sleep.” To think that there are people who suffer from insomnia. I would die to suffer from that for a change.

Coffee???? I have already been so overdosed on coffee during my medical college days that nowadays even a intravenous infusion of the best Italian black coffee could do no more than incite a twitch…..a feeble one that too.

Sticking my eyelids with cellotape - That worked for a while until I realised that I could fall asleep with my eyes open too. I tried studying upside down so that the eyelids would droop the other way. Nature showed me that my lower eyelids could just as well droop down. (now I know how bats sleep). Yeah standing helps for sometime, but only till I fall flat on my face and end up with a broken nose.

That’s when realization dawns on me and I find the ultimate solution to my narcolepsy. I throw away my books and grab the pillow and snore away to glory.

……..but wait ….why don’t I fall asleep now? ..here we go again…..

21 Quotes by Swami Vivekananda

This post has been shamelessly plagiarised from the net....i take no credit whatsoever for compiling or posting it....it has been posted by my alter ego ( the pirate)



1.  Choose the highest ideal and live your life upto that. Look at the "ocean" and not at the wave.
2.  That which tends to increase the divinity in you is virtue, and that which tends to increase brutality in you is vice.
3.  He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really worships Shiva.
4.  Purity in thought, speech, and act is absolutely necessary for anyone to be religious. Purity is strength. Spiritual truth is purity.
5.  The ideal of the man is to see God in everything. The real evil is idleness which is the principal cause of our poverty.
6.  Everyone should know that there is no salvation except through the conquering of desires.
7.  Death being so certain, it is better to die for a good cause.
8.  Religion is the manifestation of the Divinity already in man.
9.  Your country reqires heroes, be heroes!
10.  To me the very essence of education is concentration of the mind, not the collecting of facts.
11.  Each soul is potentially divine.
12.  Religion is the idea which is raising the brute unto man, and man unto God.
13.  All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that .
14.  Work, work, work - let this be your motto.
15.  Now the only way out is to listen to the words of the Lord in the Gita.
16.  Be a hero. Always say, "I have no fear".
17.  Struggle hard to get money, but don't get attached to it.
18.  Feel that you are great and you become great.
19.  To devote your life to the good of all and to the happiness of all is religion. Whatever you do for your own sake is not religion.
20.  At my will mountains will crumble up. Have that sort of energy, that sort of will; work hard, and you will reach the goal.
21.  It is those foolish people who identify themselves with their bodies that piteously cry, 'Weak, weak, we are weak'.

Another world title for India

for all those who dont catch up on the news very often , heres another good news . Viswanathan Anand crowned himself as the new World chess champion with a short 20-move draw against Peter Leko of Hungary in the 14th and final round of the Championships in Mexico City on Saturday night.
             Vishy is definitely a great star as far as indian sports are concerned. Sadly though , we all know he is likely to get a small mention in the news columns and nothing more...

Anyway lets leave politics to the politicians.

meanwhile i would like to share a small pic. This , ladies and gentlemen , are the very best pair of eyes i have ever seen....hope u agree...its of a very good friend, hope she forgives me for using the pic without her permission.

       After torrential rains for what seemed like an eternity, the skies have finally cleared up.
Im taking a much needed break from my drab study routine, and it has paid off well. I bet the moon has never looked so good on a spotless sky. Or maybe I haven’t seen anything beyond my textbooks for a while so maybe even a wada sambar would look cool.



The euphoria of the 20 20 win has not yet settled down. Maybe it will take another drubbing by Australia to get us back down to earth.

Meanwhile shoaib malik has officially proclaimed that all muslims are only fans of Pakistan and vice versa (or whatever he meant in his rotten screwed up English) during the presentation ceremony. So all non muslims who are fans of Pakistani cricketers, sorry to let u know that u are not really worthy of being a fan. ( maybe a fanatic …but not a fan). So maybe you guys can go yousuf youhana’s way …oops I mean mohammed yousuf.

meanwhile...a very good pic to savour for a while....

SAY NO TO COLAS

How many times have we reached out for that can of pepsi to beat the sweltering heat. But all we got was a bottle full of cancer causing pesticides, empty calories and brittle bones. Not to mention being ripped off ( it costs only around ten paise per bottle for the manufacturer).

I am no saint and I admit I was a fizz addict ( at least 2 cans per day), but I have successfully weaned myself of those bubblys ( its been 2 years now) and have resorted to natural stuff instead.

There is nothing like a cool fresh coconut water right out of its natural vessel. Can we even think of something as fresh as a glass of limbu paani ( masala marke). For those who crave even sweeter pleasures, we have our sucrose laced sugarcane juice. How can you resist a cold chiku milkshake in any season ?

Let us not fall into the trap of these cola giants. Its time to usher in a healthy new age.

So the next time you think of having that PESTI or CHOKE A COLA, think for a second….drop the idea …and go natural.

The Night

The night so dark and vicious
deep into it I stare
They pull me with a force so great,
Im too weak to bear

Its beckons me and I know,
I shall find peace at its bosom
A fresh breath of life,
A fragrance of eternity

I try to hold out my hand
to touch the deep darkness
but it shrugs away shyly

im blinded even more
and i wait ....
and i wait .....

My Mystery pal

Some incidents in life are bound to stick to your memory forever. One of the craziest thingsI did was "bench chatting" with a mysterious female from my college. Now dont go look up google on 'bench chatting'.
The story goes thus.....

It was one of the boring chemistry lectures ( one of the very few that I graced with my honourable presence),
I was somewhere between a oxidation reaction and my dreamy state, when my eyes fell
 upon a small comment on the bench.

I dont really remember what was written , but I replied to it with a pathetic comment of my own. 

Next day , Funnily enough, someone as crazy as me took pains to write a reply to it on the same bench again.
This really started me up and then onwards it became a routine, we ended up spoiling all the benches in our class ( we wrote with a permanent marker).
I never knew her real identity, nor did  she know mine. But all good things have to end, and one day we just stopped....just like that......

maybe I should dedicate a song to her.....
still better, I rather sing it ....

Im no peter andre but ill try

"Mysterious Girl"

I stop and stare at you,Walking on the shore
I try to concentrate, My mind wants to explore
The tropical scent of you
(...did i just hear the sound of breaking glass???)
Takes me up above
And girl when i look at you, Oh i fall in love
No doubt you look so fine
Girl i wanna make you mine
 (..... my neighbour is threatening to call the police ...)
I want to be with a woman just like you
No doubt i'm the only man
Who can love you like i can 
   ( .. my pet dog just jumped off the roof....)
So just let me be with the woman that i love
Baby girl... Shine like a looking glass
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh  
(....theres a awful lot of banging on my bedroom door...)
Mysterious girl
I wanna get close to you
Oh, oh, oh, oh ,oh, oh.
..( people are so jealous of my talent...)
Mysterious girl
Move your body close to mine
oh, oh oh,
mysterious gi...(thwack  ,thwack)...........
......... ... ........ ............ ..........   ..........

( Owing to his  incessant screeching , the author of this blog had to be restrained and sedated, he now sleeps peacefully and will continue to sleep for a few days .. we gave him enough sedative to kill a horse. . . . . we can now rest in peace)

HOW TO TORTURE A BARBER

My hair stylist probably winces upon my arrival at his salon. Most often than not, I have to drag him out of the table he is hiding under and issue a few verbal threats . That is generally followed by a couple of whacks on his pathetic
 face to force him to give me a haircut.
 Before you start wondering about the endearing relationship 
between me and my hair stylist , let me tell you a story.....

It was one of those winters when u like to grow your hair long and thick
 to provide a much needed insulation (for my head of course)
 from the december chill . 
No, nothing happened during that winter.....It all started after that . 
My parents disapproved of my long locks as boys are not allowed to grow their hair this long.

Things became worse when the neighbourhood stray cat disappeared and was found dead days later in my hair ( Due to asphyxia). Dad virtually points a flamethrower at my head  
and I am forced to submit. ( better cut it than get it burnt)

I entered into the salon dragging my hair along . The barber gave me one of his usual cordial smiles and beckoned me on to his chair.
"and how would you like it sir?" the gentleman asked. 
With a evil grin I said "cut it short maestro". 
He picked up his tools like a tenor would pick up his baton and with a  customary 'snip snip ' in the air, he began. A clank was the next sound
 ...if it was the right way to describe it. The barber looked at me with 
dismay and probably shock as he held his now broken  scissors in his nimble fingers. What an inauspicious start. 
He composed himself soon enough and picked up his next pair and restarted.... albeit cautiously. The new pair of scissors met with a similar fate...and the barber wrung his hair with anger. Slowly he wheeled my chair closer to the sink and began a series of washing and scrubbing and shampooing and scrubbing again.  Finally after what seemed to be an eternity , i was back facing my own reflection along with that of an exasperated man. Slowly and carefully he began snipping away at my wonderful locks till they lay all around me 
like the dead soldiers protecting their king. He was like a crazy despot who sought to lay bare all the fields he set his foot upon
Halfway through the ordeal, my perfectionist alter ego woke up and halted his progress with
 a raised hand. 
His inertia nearly cut off my ear.
I now started instructing him ..." cut it this way ...and that way, a little here and a little there, not too short , a little long here, leave this part intact,... take care of my side locks......, no no no .. wait ill show you" .. and I grab his scissors and chase him all around town till he is subdued. I then demonstrate a bit of my finesse on his hair. (It ends up looking somewhat like a cross between a
 sheared sheep and a wet dog.) 
I am finally chained to my chair and blinfolded too. Then for a time (which seems like ages) I am oblivious to my surroundings ( I may have been drugged too, I dont blame the barber though).
Finally and finally I see a strange looking man in the mirror and after a while recognise myself. "Hmmm not bad at all" I remark. But the barber is no longer to be seen . I later learnt that he was rushed to the nearest hospital for stress related fatigue syndrome.

I  dust away the leftover hair on my face and shoulders and walk home to my happy parents.

I eagerly await the end of the next winter........while my barber plans a vacation at that time .....probably to a far off place where my dreadlocks dont reach.......

An ode to Minal Panchal

We lost...
an angel....
among the very few that exist on this wretched earth

We lost...
a smile....
that could never be erased from our memories

we lost...
a friend ....
whom we can never see again.


lost  forever in a foreign land...
 loved by all and she will be forever....
even when she has gone..
to a place where there would be no guns...
no stray bullet from a stranger 
to whom she meant no harm...
to a place of love, peace and bliss..

Rest my dear,
rest in peace...
No tears will be enough shed....
not more can one's heart have bled....

rest my dear ,
rest in peace.

BYE BYE JUMBO

Full Name : Anil Radhakrishna Kumble
Birthday : Oct 17, 1970
Birth Place : Bangalore
Country : India
Batting : Right hand batsman
Bowling : Right arm leg-break googly bowler
ODI Debut : India vs Sri Lanka, at Sharjah, on 25/4/90
Test Debut : India v England at Manchester, 2nd Test, 1990



An unorthodox, right arm leg spin bowler, not a great turner of the ball but exceptional with his line and length.
One of the most Unforgettable scenes from his great career is when he bowled 14 overs with a broken jaw against the West Indies. India of course did not win the test match, but Kumble's committment will always be reminisced for the years to come.
And who can ever forget the Magnificient Ten wickets against pakistan.

The relentess fighter, humble to the core, was however dropped from the finals of the last World cup and India paid a heavy price for it. 

His ever so famous  googly and flipper, along with his faster balls won many a matches for India besides reviving the art of leg spin.

Adios JUMBO ,..YOU WILL BE MISSED 

The unheard melody

Oh howI long to hear the nightingale sing...
how I long to hear the sweet chime...
How I yearn for that eternal music...
that which echoes through my heart...
embedding itself in my existence.....

Oh how I long to hear that celestial laughter ,
that divine assonance....
the chants of joy...
 
ah but it eludes me .....
...it eludes me...

Coffee

It was one of those great winters in nasik. By a quirk of fate, I got to have coffee with Anupama* ,one of the smartest girls alive. The college canteen wasn't really a romantic spot , but coffee is a strange brew.....The right dose of sugar and milk and it turns out to be a bittersweet experience....just like love......it can turn the most boring situations to wonderful joyous episode worth remembering throughout life.

It was something just like that , when i had my first coffee with Anupama*. The fact that she was only bitching about the place didnt matter at all, because I was just besotted ( if thats the right word) by her talk. She seemed to have an amazing enthusiasm ( which I later learnt that it was due to coffee addiction) , and her intelligence superadded to her awe inspiring persona. Oh and did I mention that she was cute too? Many such  coffee sessions followed where we discussed things , bitch about people, made fun of each other...and things like that...
Alas but all good things have to end and so did my aquaintance with Anupama* ( dont ask me how)....hope we meet up some day....somewhere on a cool winter evening ...for a cup of coffee.....

(*name changed to protect indentity...not that my friends dont know about it)