Temple Traveling: Kapaleeswarar Temple

Kapaleeshwarar Temple, is located in chennai, Tamil nadu. The form of Shiva’s consort Parvati worshipped at this temple is called Karpagambal is from Tamil, (“Goddess of the Wish-Yielding Tree”). The temple was built around the 7th century CE in Dravidian architecture.

According to the Puranas, Shakti worshipped Shiva in the form of a peacock, giving the vernacular name Mylai (Mayilāi) to the area that developed around the temple – mayil is Tamil for “peacock”. Shiva is worshiped as Kapaleeswarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Karpagambal.

The present masonry structure was built during the Vijayanagar rulers of the Tuluva Dynasty (1491–1570 CE)

Infobits:

1. Temple opens at 5.00am and closes at 12.00 p.m. and again opens at 4.00pm closes at 9.00pm

2. Direct buses to Mylapore are available from all parts of the city.

3. Local trains are available for every 15mins.

4. It is around 6kms from chennai railway station.

Mystic Meghalaya: Faces

Dude why are you clicking me?

I told you not to click me, now go away!!

 you’ll get this for clicking me..

Click me again.. I’m posing already..;)

I don’t know how to pose,  let’s try this angle..

I don’t know why this fellow is behind us.. Anyways let’s just ignore . 😉 

I like getting clicked in different poses..

While the kids had so many different expressions.. Their mother was busy with the routine chores.

Silent Sunday: Landscapes From My Travels with Quotes

The Poetry on Earth is never dead. -John Keath

Nature is not a place to visit. It is home. -Gary Singler

Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come……..

Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars… and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers — for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are. ~Osho

The sky takes on shades of orange during sunrise and sunset, the color that gives you hope that the sun will set only to rise again

 

A traveller without observation is a bird without wings…

I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, “This is what it is to be happy. -Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

There’s nothing better than dying while doing what you love most.

Sunset is a wonderful opportunity for us to appreciate all the great things the sun gives us..

Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind. -Amit Ray

Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery.” -John Ruskin

“The earth has music for those who listen.” — William Shakespeare

When nature speaks one have to listen..

Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody. -Jane Jacobs

“The sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps. It defies all attempts to capture it with words and rejects all shackles. No matter what you say about it, there is always that which you can’t.”
—Christopher

Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations. ~Oliver Goldsmith

Dono Paulo: A Pristine beach with a Tragic Love story

The bay of Dona Paula in Goa lies at the meeting point of the Arabian Sea and the Goan rivers Mandovi and Zuari. Dona Paula is located in the suburbs of the capital Panjim. Originally a fishing village, Dona Paula attracts its fair share of visitors and tourists who come to marvel at its pristine beach, its natural beauty and the romantic legend associated with it.

The Dona Paula Beach is a pristine beach with a tragic love story to its name. It was named after the Portuguese Viceroy’s daughter Dona Paula de Menezes. This young, innocent girl fell in love with a local Goan fisherman. Of course, this match was unacceptable to the Viceroy who forbade his daughter Dona Paula to ever see her young lover again.

Distraught with love and sorrow, Dona Paula could not bear a life without her lover and threw herself off a cliff into the unforgiving Arabian Sea. Left with nothing but his daughter’s memory, the Portuguese Viceroy named the area Dona Paula, as an eternal tribute to his stubbornness and forbidden romance & love.

Today, there is a black stone statue of the young Dona Paula and her Goan lover on a rocky promontory jutting into the sea with a sweeping view of the Marmagoa Port in the background.

A Black stone statue of the young Dona Paula and her Goan lover on a rocky promontory jutting into the sea with a sweeping view of the Marmagoa Port.

A Black stone statue of the young Dona Paula and her Goan lover on a rocky promontory jutting into the sea with a sweeping view of the Marmagoa Port.

 

When you are in Dona Paula, you must visit the ruins of the Cabo Fort, erected in 1540. The Cabo Raj Niwas is one of the most elegant governor’s residences in the whole of Goa.There is also a 180 year old English cemetery, open to the public along with a chapel, which has a memorial tomb of Dona Paula de Menezes with her history engraved on the tombstone.

According to a local myth, Dona Paula is entombed in the Cabo Chapel, the residence of the Governor of Goa and is supposed to be seen during a full moon emerging from the moonlit waves wearing only a pearl necklace.

In Dona Paula, you also have the National Oceanography Institute which was opened in 1960 to study the local Goan marine life alongwith the Marine Biology Museum. A little further (around 9 kms from Dona Paula) is the famous Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, in the island of Choro by the side of the Mandovi river and named after the famous Indian ornithologist. The Bird Sanctuary is spread over an area of 2 sq km and is a delight for bird lovers.

The Dona Paula beach itself is one of Goa’s best beaches for water sports such as windsurfing, water skiing, para sailing, motor boat rides etc. There are also several organised water sports facilities on offer in Dona Paula. 

Source: Google

Discovering Telangana: A Fort Less Visited ‘Khilla Ghanpur’

On a bright Sunday morning, when we hit the roads to explore places around Mahabubnagar little did I know that it would mark a beginning to quite a few things in my life…. like my first outing with my new buddies while pursuing post graduation, my first time properly exploring Palamoor and getting lost in its mesmerizing beauty and then writing about it in my very first blog!!

The secluded green valleys of Khilla Ghanpur hold Palamoor’s best kept secrets

A quick weekend getaway to Khilla Ghanpur is best enjoyed when the sky is overcast, which makes the 30-km journey from Mahbubnagar delightful.

So we started our journey after finishing quick rounds at the Hospital we work at, around 12 noon ( yes you guessed it right, we are Docs!) and picking up some snacks and drinks for our journey to The Khilla Ghanpur, located at a distance of around 26km from mahabubnagar. We managed to cover the distance in about 30 mins with loads of enthusiasm and predictions about the place as we didn’t have much idea about it. Ghanpur is a small village and the roads were pretty narrow so we decided to park the car at a safe spot and start our trek to discover the fort. We managed to reach the top in another 40 mins with an amazing drizzly weather to increase the beauty of the hike.

The varied hues of Nature and fresh air rejuvenated our senses.

It was a magnificent view indeed from the top of the rocks with remnants of fort wall, and a lovely pond underneath. We passed through a giant fort door, saw some great Flora and Fauna an absolute treat for a nature lover to finally reach the top. We were a little distracted in between though by a group of wild monkeys far away making gruesome noises. All this was soon forgotten after reaching the hilltop and capturing the scenic beauty of the less trodden fort in the memories forever!!

“The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others” -St.John

Seethaphal

 A brief insight into the history of the fort…

The Ghanpur Fort is a hill fort built on a rocky hill by King Gona Ganapa Reddy in early 13th century. He ruled this area as a feudatory to Kakatiya rulers. Gona Ganapa Reddy is son of Gona Budda Reddy who was famous as the poet of Ranganatha Ramayana, a pioneering Telugu Literature. Khilla Ghanpur also known as Ghanpur, Ganapuram, was named after Kakatiya king Ganapathi Deva. Since this Ghanpur has a Khilla (fort). The name “Khilla Ghanpur” became much more popular. There are several towns in Kakatiya kingdom with its name as Ghanpur.

There are several caves on the hilltop and provide good opportunity for exploration.

The fort & monuments demand about 2-3 kms trek from Ghanpur village.

Khilla Ghanpur  was built by joining two mountains by Recharla Padma Nayakulu and Gona Ganapa reddy in 1224 A.D. This fort has witnessed many wars between Bahamanis, Vijayanagara Kings, Bijapur Kings and Qutub Shahi Kings etc. The cannons which still exist have been kept on the top most side of the fort.The fort is spread on rocky and hilly area of 4 Sq kilometers and though its dilapidated  there are several remains of the walls and building blocks inside the fort. The fort has beautiful rockscapes and greenery with 2 ponds which were used as drinking water supply for the fort army.

Take time to do what makes your soul happy..

There are several small temples inside the fort like Veerabhadra Temple, Narasimha Temple and Chowdeswari Temple.

People believe that there are two secret tunnels inside of the fort. One is connected with the village at the bottom of the mountain and the other one is connected to the Panagal fort. After Buddapuram war,this fort has witnessed a historical wedding of  Kakatiya’s last king Pratapa Rudra with Gona Ganna Reddy’s daughter.

Some of the beautiful Landscapes:

So that’s a take on its past but right now it’s a quiet and serene place which was a treat for the wanderlust in me and my buddies.

Perfect getaway from Mahbubnagar..

Yayie!! We did it…

Docs..

After spending a wonderful evening, when the sun was setting, we headed back to our car as the clouds were also getting darker indicating more rainfall. We Had dinner at our local favorite hotel 97 on the way back and reached our place to end the eventful day.

Guest post by Dr. Meghana Subhash

Tasty Tuesday: Juicy Jamrul fruit

Commonly known as Water Apple or Java Apple in the rest of the world, Bengal knows this fruit as the good old Jamrul.  It originated from the region between Malaysia and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, where they grow as wild trees in the coastal forests. But it has now been introduced in many Asian countries including India.

 This evergreen tree of the Myrtaceae family grows to a height of 5m to 12m. The fruit in itself is watery and slightly sweet. It has very thin skin with colorless juice. The fruit contains one or two seeds or no seed at all. The attractive fruits resemble bell-shaped berries.

When mature, the fruit will puff outwards with a slight concavity in the middle. The color of the fruits ranges from white to pale green. There are two types of Jamrul fruits one having white fruits and the other with pink fruits.

There are two types of jamrul fruits one having white fruits and the other with pink fruits.

Java Apple must be plucked carefully, because bruised fruits rots easily. The fruits are generally served uncut and eaten fresh. In some places the fruits are used to make pickles.

Medicinal value:

Their astringent flowers are said to stop fever and diarrhoea and they have low energy value. The carbohydrate level in ripe Jamruls is about 4g per 100g but there is fair amount of Vitamin C in it.

This Water Apple comes into bearing after three to five years of planting in the field and the plants bear fruit for about 20 years.

The red hard wood of the Water Apple tree is used for constructing huts in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The Saturday Night Market: An out of box experience

Arpora night market is a ‘must visit’ in Goa. It is a great place & is a fun way to pass several hours. It has many number of food stalls, live music, a cosmopolitan crowd and lots of stalls offering you a variety of stuff from fancy dresses and trinkets to articles for home decoration- the night market at Arpora seems to come out of the Arabian nights. The market has a lot of stalls selling similar goods, so shop around for the best prices; be prepared to haggle for a good deal. The place is worth revisiting.

Every Artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. -Henry Ward Beecher

All the shiny little trinkets of temptations..

Teas..

Spices…

Colorful lights …

It has the right mix of both local and international crowd, This market has something for everyone. A visit to this market will definitely make your trip to Goa complete..

Saturday night market is every food lover’s paradise.

Attar are non alcoholic, pure oriental perfumes extracted from exotic flowers..

Trinkets

If you go to Goa and miss this place, you might want to consider visiting Goa again. The place is also known for the parties which have very nice music. I absolutely loved this market and I can say it’s a MUST visit place.. Happy Sunday my dear bloggers..

Happy Sankranthi

On this occassion I would like to share about Makara Sankranti. Let us know, what is Makara Sankranti, Bhogi, Kanuma, Mukkunama, Why it is celebrated, Special foods made on this day, How it is cele…

Source: Makara Sankranthi

Happy Diwali

With gleam of Diyas
And the Echo of the Chants
May Happiness and Contentment Fill Ur life
Wishing you & your Family very Happy and Prosperous Diwali!

Click here to know more about Diwali: Festival of lights

Discovering Telangana: Mannemkonda-‘The Palamoor Tirupati’

Being a Hyderabadi, I always had this two questions from people during weekends…

• What do you guys do over your weekend?

• Don’t we have any weekend gateways around Hyderabad?

In fact, I used to share few places which most of them are aware of it, I don’t really have many places to share to go out for a drive over the weekends from Hyderabad.

My Beast: The car I drive say a lot about me

I could now realize the fact that most of us haven’t really explored the surreal beauty around Hyderabad. If you are nature lover, yes you have one now which is 2 hours drive from Hyderabad.

Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises. -Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. -Albert Einstein

Mannemkonda is best enjoyed when the sky is overcast, which makes the 20kms journey from Mahbubnagar delightful. The varied hues of Nature and fresh air rejuvenated my senses. The secluded green valley’s surrounding the hold this temple best kept secrets.

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.” – Kahlil Gibran

Before we arrived our destination, we had several stopovers to capture the nature at its best. I felt exactly like rolling greens spread like a carpet, floating clouds jealously hugged the Hillocks alongside and a seamless path ahead dotted with beautiful nature.

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree

“Nature itself is the best physician” – Hippocrates. “

Manyamkonda is the hill where the Lord Venkateshwara Swamy Temple is located. This place is very calm, mesmerizing, beautiful and of course a perfect destination for devotees and tourists. It is believed that this ancient temple is more than 500 years old. This temple is located in a cave which is reportedly balanced on top of the three hills. It is considered as one of the important spiritual centres in Mahbubnagar District. Here pilgrims can have a glimpse of the ancient caves where the sages were believed to have practiced penance.Hence this place was called as Munulakonda (Munulu means Saints and Konda means hill) and later as days passed by it has been referred as Mannemkonda or Manyamkonda.

Garuda Statue

A view from inside..

On the heart of the forest and on the hilltop, Lord Venkateshwara Swamy could be found majestically. The shrine is located on a hill which is 915 m high and at a distance of 2 Km from the village.

Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky..

  One can enjoy the nature’s splendour and scenic beauty at the temple. The temple has a beautiful Rajagopuram with the images of Gods and Goddesses carved on it. Very rarely we can find Lord Venkateshwara as a “Swayambhumurthi” which means self manifested. Seeing Lord Venkateshwara in the forest, with lush greens is truly a blissful experience.

Spending time in nature is healing energy..

Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven. -John Lubbock

If you are a nature lover and wanted to spend time peacefully plan for a trip to Manyamkonda. Have a nice week my dear friends!!