Hello everyone. Our trip is over. We are back in Hyderabad, very tired and sleep deprived. The yatra went very well. We covered all that I listed before and had wonderful time. Balaji in Tirupathi, Saibaba in Puttaparthi,Kolhapur Mahalakshmi, Ashta vinayakas, 10 Jyothir lingams in this trip alone, Shiridi, Somanath, Dwaraka, Varanasi on 22nd, 23rd and 24th, Ayaodhya, Naimish forest, Puri Jagannath, again Tirupathi.
I really can't believe we did this trip!!!
Will be in Cleveland by March 15th and give you all the details and will write about dos and donts also. Many of you have been very patient with me.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The list!!!!
I have limited time for my posts. So, I have decided to just list the places we plan to visit.
Jan 23, 24 Tirumalai
For 3 days between 25th and Feb 3rd, for Sulochana's sake we will be visiting Srirangam, Trichy, Tanjore, Thiruvayur, Samayapuram area by car. Some are repeats for the rest of the three.
Feb 4th thru Feb 27th we plan to cover the following.Kolhapur, Pune, Bhimeswar, Asta Vinayakas, Aurangabad, Birla, nasik, Dwaraka, Nageswar, Ujjain, Omkareswar, Khandwa, Naimisha aranya, Ayodhya, Puri Jagannatha.
I just listed the names. Some are towns and some are the actual names of the divine forms.
I will go through one by one later. This time, I am unable to take my cameras even around the temples, let alone inside. May not be able to add photos.
Jan 23, 24 Tirumalai
For 3 days between 25th and Feb 3rd, for Sulochana's sake we will be visiting Srirangam, Trichy, Tanjore, Thiruvayur, Samayapuram area by car. Some are repeats for the rest of the three.
Feb 4th thru Feb 27th we plan to cover the following.Kolhapur, Pune, Bhimeswar, Asta Vinayakas, Aurangabad, Birla, nasik, Dwaraka, Nageswar, Ujjain, Omkareswar, Khandwa, Naimisha aranya, Ayodhya, Puri Jagannatha.
I just listed the names. Some are towns and some are the actual names of the divine forms.
I will go through one by one later. This time, I am unable to take my cameras even around the temples, let alone inside. May not be able to add photos.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Co-existance and more.....
Sorry it took me so long to access the internet. The coexistance (aka sahajeevanam) was with flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, mice, cats (are allowed inside the house to hunt the mice), squirrels and more in and around the house. The broader view covered dogs, pigs, birds, cows, water buffaloes. donkeys, horses, monkeys - all stray one. I thought of my backyard in Cleveland visited by deers, pheasants, robins, one cardinal, bluebirds, rabbits, geese, other misc. little birds and squirrels.
Now coming to the first leg of our yatra, we have visited Mantralayam and Srisailam and Puttaparthi (Dec 31st)in December. Had a dip in Tungabhadra river in Mantralayam for the pushkaram. I will write the specifics later.
We attended my grand daughter's first birthday Aayushhomam function celebrated by Srikanth, Gayatri and their family. This is the first experience for me attending such a wonderful religious and spiritual function. Sharanya thoroughly enjoyed herself. Soon she will be making her first visit to Tirupathi with her parents and grand parents. I will send photos later.
Rao and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding day on Jan 24th in Tirumalai by sponsoring the wedding ceremony (Kalyanam) of Lord Venkateswara and Padmavathi.
Will try to write more soon.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Reached Hyderabad
Yes, we are in Hyderabad. The flight from Boston to London was quiet. The service as usual was good. Food was so so. Srikanth suggested that I have a Bagel before we boarded. Gayatri packed a Chappathi. We had both - so the Airline's food was not enjoyed. The middle seat was vacant, hence we could stretch our legs better. The lay over in London was 6 hours. It felt very long. Rao was watching TV whenever he could.
Once we boarded the flight to Hyderabad, we sat in the plane on the runway for a long time. The plane was filled with noisy Indians (!!!). Many infants and toddlers. Continuos crying and restlessness. I was thinking od Sharanya who will be travelling soon. But she being a gem of a baby, may not cry and instead may charm everyone - these were my thoughts. The pilot announced many times that there was a problem in loading the luggage and hence there was going to be a few minutes delay. Those many apologies and announcements added upto a 2 hour delay.
We reached Hyd. 1 1/2 hours late. The food was great. Juices and water were continuously served. The staff was charming. My next seat was occupied by a young woman from Chicago. Her parents and siblings all live in Hyd. We had great conversation and I took her e-mail address.
The new airport is huge, but due to thick fog, I could not see the surroundings much. We took a Taxi to Secunderabad. The first 10 kms, everything looked clean and beautiful. Suddenly, it hit reality. Stray pigs pulling garbage out from corners, people dumping their household garbage on to the streets etc. The civic sense, I felt, was the same as it was 40 years ago. As long as the garbage left your house, you don't worry about it's destination. My next post will be about co-existance in Hyerabad.
Once we boarded the flight to Hyderabad, we sat in the plane on the runway for a long time. The plane was filled with noisy Indians (!!!). Many infants and toddlers. Continuos crying and restlessness. I was thinking od Sharanya who will be travelling soon. But she being a gem of a baby, may not cry and instead may charm everyone - these were my thoughts. The pilot announced many times that there was a problem in loading the luggage and hence there was going to be a few minutes delay. Those many apologies and announcements added upto a 2 hour delay.
We reached Hyd. 1 1/2 hours late. The food was great. Juices and water were continuously served. The staff was charming. My next seat was occupied by a young woman from Chicago. Her parents and siblings all live in Hyd. We had great conversation and I took her e-mail address.
The new airport is huge, but due to thick fog, I could not see the surroundings much. We took a Taxi to Secunderabad. The first 10 kms, everything looked clean and beautiful. Suddenly, it hit reality. Stray pigs pulling garbage out from corners, people dumping their household garbage on to the streets etc. The civic sense, I felt, was the same as it was 40 years ago. As long as the garbage left your house, you don't worry about it's destination. My next post will be about co-existance in Hyerabad.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Yatra 3 - preface
This time, we plan to see Mahalakshmi in Kolhapur, the other 8 Jyothirlingams and Ashta Vinayakas in Maharashtra, Dwaraka in Gujarat, Ayodhya, Naimisharanya, Varanasi and Puri Jagannatha. On Sivarathri, we plan to be ibn Varanasi. We collected the sands from Rameswaram and it will taken to the Visweswara in Varanasi.
In addition, Nirmala's wish is to go to Srisailam again. That we will do first since it would make the three of us visiting all the 12 Jyothirlingams together. The Tungabhadra pusharams begin on Dec 10th or so. We want to have a dip in that river at that time. We plan to meet Nirmala in Kurnool and proceed on our journey from there. This time, we have some wonderful people taking care of our house in our absence.
As usual, our trip began with our driving to Boston area to be with our daughter and family for a few days and fly to Hyderabad from Boston. On the way we visited the Rajarajeswari Temple in Rush, NY briefly. Visit the site at www.srividya.org for details about the Temple.
In addition, Nirmala's wish is to go to Srisailam again. That we will do first since it would make the three of us visiting all the 12 Jyothirlingams together. The Tungabhadra pusharams begin on Dec 10th or so. We want to have a dip in that river at that time. We plan to meet Nirmala in Kurnool and proceed on our journey from there. This time, we have some wonderful people taking care of our house in our absence.
As usual, our trip began with our driving to Boston area to be with our daughter and family for a few days and fly to Hyderabad from Boston. On the way we visited the Rajarajeswari Temple in Rush, NY briefly. Visit the site at www.srividya.org for details about the Temple.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Saying hello between yatras
Not much progress with our planning for yatra 3 yet. In the meantime, let me just mention the following:
During the last trip, I saw the most Banyan trees along the road in parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. I found the link to banyan tree from Google search, but the photos are unlimited. Since it is in Google, I assumed that I could show it in blog.
In my high school, there was a huge tree at the back end of the 22 acre school compound. We used to tie the sturdy hanging roots tightly, make it into a swing and take turns in sitting on it pushing one another. The red ants would be crawling and sometimes biting us. As I watched each banyan tree on the road, I went back to my school days.
We had no TVs to watch. Every evening, we would go to the local Temple, after the regular pradakshinams and all, we would play outside until dusk, bring home some Vibhuti and Kumkumam (given by the priest) as a proof to show my grandmother that we really went inside the Temple. Then, after supper, finish the home work, sing some songs and doze off on the beds. The beds were cots with a light mattresses. We enjoyed sleeping outdoors on them, looking at the sky, the Moon and the stars. We could smell the jasmine and other flower fragrances from the yard whenever there was a breeze. If it rained, we all would run indoors with our cots and beds. Each of those events were very exciting. Now, we always sleep indoors, with closed doors and ceiling fans going at full blast.
Everywhere, people are very busy these days. All the luxuries of those times have become neccessities of the present. So,we are busy making money and working hard to fulfil all those needs. Not much time left to spend with family and friends, unless you are retired. I am so happy that I have friends and family who are looking forward to spending their precious time with us when we visit India. Not everyone is so lucky. Save some time each day for your close family and friends.
During the last trip, I saw the most Banyan trees along the road in parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. I found the link to banyan tree from Google search, but the photos are unlimited. Since it is in Google, I assumed that I could show it in blog.
In my high school, there was a huge tree at the back end of the 22 acre school compound. We used to tie the sturdy hanging roots tightly, make it into a swing and take turns in sitting on it pushing one another. The red ants would be crawling and sometimes biting us. As I watched each banyan tree on the road, I went back to my school days.
We had no TVs to watch. Every evening, we would go to the local Temple, after the regular pradakshinams and all, we would play outside until dusk, bring home some Vibhuti and Kumkumam (given by the priest) as a proof to show my grandmother that we really went inside the Temple. Then, after supper, finish the home work, sing some songs and doze off on the beds. The beds were cots with a light mattresses. We enjoyed sleeping outdoors on them, looking at the sky, the Moon and the stars. We could smell the jasmine and other flower fragrances from the yard whenever there was a breeze. If it rained, we all would run indoors with our cots and beds. Each of those events were very exciting. Now, we always sleep indoors, with closed doors and ceiling fans going at full blast.
Everywhere, people are very busy these days. All the luxuries of those times have become neccessities of the present. So,we are busy making money and working hard to fulfil all those needs. Not much time left to spend with family and friends, unless you are retired. I am so happy that I have friends and family who are looking forward to spending their precious time with us when we visit India. Not everyone is so lucky. Save some time each day for your close family and friends.
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