Mes Secrets Inconnus

Since we had seen the major attraction – The Lama temple yesterday itself , we were running ahead of the planned schedule. So i looked a few more places of interest and found that the Kangra fort was worth watching.

So we set for – Dal lake ( the largest man made lake in Himachal), since the lake had dried up , we just ended up watching the tall pine trees which otherwise would have made a very good back drop. Again we were ahead of schedule as i had planned for a boat ride and some quite moment’s beside the lake. We then headed to Bhagsunath. This place is located at the outskirts of Mcleodganj. The temple here is said to have great healing powers. Another attraction here are a serene spring and a small but majestic waterfall. The region offers breathtaking views of the surrounding hilly ranges and woody forests. The ambiance of the place is dynamic and the atmosphere is cool and pleasant. One can feel the cool breeze from the Himalayan ranges.

After this we had a good time at the Kangra fort. It was a very old fort and also scary. There weren’t any takers and looked like we were the only one interested in the fort. The fort was well maintained though. We then reached Kangra’s most famous temple – Brajeshwari temple. The temple is one of the shakti peeta’s.

Since we had time and as per plan we headed to Wagah border to watch the retreat ceremony. I must tell you, for what our jawan’s have sacrificed you must watch this ceremony and shed atleast your sweat. I was totally drenched with my own sweat and dripping. The ceremony lasted 45 mins and the crowd was uncontrollable. The PRO was the highlight who infused us with the required “Josh” to boo the Pakistani’s who were just a handful at their border. The sight was terrific, but we were sorry of our state. The great heat of Punjab was acting on us.

Sati’s tongue fell at Jwalaji and the goddess is manifest as tiny flame that burns flawless blue through fissures in the age old rock. Time and again scientists have tried to figure out the reason for this flames and even tried to douse the flame with thousands of gallons of water only to conclude this as a miracle by god. I was also spell bound by this. The complex as a whole is big one with Devi’s bed chamber across the courtyard and above the temple is the shrine of baba Gorakhnath. We are all still reeling under this beautiful scene while we left the Shaktipeeta to move to towards Chamunda devi.

Chamunda devi is another beautiful temple on the banks of Baner river. Though the river had dried up, there was enough for us to play and have fun. Chamunda devi is considered as the wrathful form of Durga. The word “Chamunda” has been derived from 2 words – Chanda & Munda who as per mythological legends were demons and Durga with her immense power made Chamundi to slay them.

My lil one as usual had enough fun for herself at the banks of Baner river. I get a feeling that she loves water sports.

Since we had some more time before the day ended, we decided we take a shot and move to Dharmshala. Once there, we stayed at the hotel for himachal tourism. The receptionist was courteous enough to give us directions and places of interest in the neighborhood. After quickly refreshing ourselves, we headed to the Dalai lama temple. I was flabbergasted when i saw the amount of foreign nationals. This place had more non- indians . The whole place looked gave me a feel that i was not in India – from the people, the restaurants, the shopping items for sale.  Some how we headed straight to the temple and had a good look. Some how i felt the Tibetan settlement at Bylakuppe a much better place.

The trip to the temple turned fruitful to us as we got a chance to meet Dalai Lama himself who had come to address the monks. We were lucky to get a real close glimpse at him as he walked past us.

After a 2 day hiatus at the resort, we were rejuvenated and it was time to leave the beautiful place. En route we decided to visit Halebid and Belur

Halebid is around 37 km from Chikmagalur. We went along the Chikmagalur highway towards the Capital of Hoysala empire. While travelling towards Bangalore, you might be likely to miss the Halebid turn. There are Karanataka tourism boards at a lot of places before, but just when you have to take the turn, the signboard is actually in the opposite direction – so that people coming from Bangalore can see it, but not the ones from Chikmagalur. We had seen this while going to Chikmagalur and were on the lookout for the turn. But for others, I would like to mention that make a note of the signboard which mentions Halebid 37 kms. The left turn comes at around 22 kms from the signboard. From the turn, Halebid is 15 kms on the inside and the view towards the place is magnificent. The road has gulmohar trees on both sides. This time of the year they were all flowering with the petals falling on the road giving it a divine look. The temple is still incomplete but you would not notice this in front of the beautiful carvings.
This shrine is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is the largest of Hoysala temples. The construction of this temple was during the 1121 – 1207 AD period, and is very similar to the Belur temple. The temple complex consists of two identical temples with shivalinga and nandi mantaps facing the lord. The nandi mantaps have huge nandis carved equally beautifully. Outside the shrine are intricately carved figures from mythological epics – Ramayan, Mahabharata and puranic legends of beasts. The carvings on the outside consist of – elephants, Hoysala royal emblem of a man killing a tiger,lions, charging horsemen, epics sculptures and mythical beasts (from bottom up).
Outside the shrine, locals sell stone sculptures and panchdhatu handiwork. They try to con you by selling the crafts work at huge prices. Beware of these, even though you would agree that the people are doing so much work for these sitting in the sun and polishing the stone to give them the required shape, shelling out your hard earned money and being conned is still not agreeable. Hence for these people – small Ganapati stone idol – 20 Rs, medium Buddha head piece – 50 Rs, Sitting lamps medium size – 10 Rs. Panchadhatu murtis – 40 Rs each. If you can bargain and get for less, well good luck….

Greetings of Chaitra Shukla Pratipada (Samvatsararambh) : Hindu new year

The wheel of Time that begins on Samvatsararambh day is related to the Origin of the Universe and is beneficial for mankind. The period commencing on 1st January is related to the Dissolution of the Universe and is harmful. Hence, celebrate the Samvatsararambh day as the New Year day! The first Holy festival which marks the beginning of the New Year, new month and new day for Hindus falls on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. It is known as Gudi Padwa (in Maharashtra), Yugadi (in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh), Vishu in Kerala and many different name in various states of India.

This Hindu New Year Day is celebrated by worshiping and hoisting the 'Dharmadhwaj' (flag) immediately after sunrise. On this day, Prajapati frequencies arrive on Earth in larger proportions. The 'kalash' on the Dharmadhwaj facilitates the entry of these frequencies into the house. Neem leaves have greater ability to absorb Prajapati frequencies, hence we should take this as prasad. The 'Dharmadhwaj' should be lowered before sunset. Using the 'dhwaj-kalash' for drinking water helps us avail of these frequencies the entire year.

For more details visit HERE

Finally the new blog is up. You can visit DHARMASHIKSHAN.  It's a product of hours of discussionof like minded people and born on Krishna Janmashtmi

BTW, what is DharmaShikshan?

Dharma is not religion but righteousness

Shikshan is awareness coupled with understanding

What is the name of our Moon? Wondering right? When there is only one Moon, then why names?

Similarly Righteousness cannot be named. Truth is only one and never two, but it can be deeper and wider.

Righteousness as a whole is for the proper working of universe and overall upliftment of mankind towards the ever wanted BLISS!!!!

For more such info, rush to that site

Today is Guru Poornima and here is a open invitation for all. Hope you make it...

Hornadu-->Sringeri-->Kollur-->Gokarna-->Murdeshwara-->Udupi-->Idgunji-->Annegudda-->Kateel-->Dharmasthala-->Kukke Subramania

Phew!!! that was october bonus for me. I was more like SharavanaKumar taking mom and dad to all places... a modern day ....

And i guess all gods and godesses have been extremely happy with my devotion.. I just got promoted :-)

When the lesson of virtue and devotion is layered with wholesome adventure and colourful episodes, finding attentive disciples shouldn't be such a problem. And if it happens to come in animation, then the outcome cannot be but entertaining.
I don't know how much today's generation knows about this adorable god, known by various names like Mahaveer, Pavanputra, Maruti, Ramdoot, Anjaniputra,Vayuputra,Hanuman and Bajrangbali. Without trying to sound too smug, I must admit, my generation was clearly better off. Thanks to good old grandma, Amar Chitra Katha comics and Ramanand Sagar's long-running television saga Ramayan, we are well versed with Lord Hanuman and his feats of unsurpassable bravery
Whether it was his desire to uproot the sun from the sky mistaking it for a fruit as an infant or putting the golden nation of Lanka afire with his tail, Hanuman's unconventional godliness makes him an eternal favourite. But the triumph lies in the fact that the animation is truly good [it should prove to be a novel experience for Indian moviegoers] and the narrative has the power to keep you hooked to the proceedings for the entire 90 minutes.
On the whole, HANUMAN comes at a time when Bollywood is truly going through a major transition and the moviegoers are ready for challenges. After having watched the animation version, one can only feel proud that at least someone has had the courage to invest time, effort and resources in a project that can easily compete with the West. All said, HANUMAN will appeal to children from 6 to 60.
Overall, I'd say Hanuman is worth a watch, age notwithstanding, not for the animation but its timeless history and absorbing narrative.