Kaushik's Blog
As the prayers, rituals, celebrations of the holy month of Maargazhi are on in full swing, and as one melts to the recitations of the divine Thirupaavai, we come across this line – Ongi Ulagalandha Uthaman Paer Paadi.. (Singing the name of the Lord, who grew and, who conquered the worlds..), which is in reference to […]
Body – Mind – Soul
Revisiting the posts, 8 years since, still relevant, and grateful!
Cheers
God Bless
Things around are bright and beautiful yet keeping me busy. And I attribute that for not posting for a year! There have been many changes going around, good and some not-so-good, which keeps away from blogging! Well, my other hobbies i.e., doodling, sketching and gardening have taken a hit too, but I’m not complaining (But let me complain a bit 😀 )
On this random Saturday afternoon sitting at my workplace (uff, weekend working for urgent completion of tasks, and of-course completed!) suddenly I realise that I haven’t blogged for a long while. Hilarious!
And that prompted me to put up this short post.
Blogging was also a great thing for me. It gave me peace, brought me good friends, helped me keep busy at dire situations, and several more, being a lucky charm too (Believe me, blogging worked as a lucky thing for me. There were days which turned from bad to good, on posting some content!)
Often I’ve gone on exile and come back, as can be seen through my posts! While this can be considered another hiatus from the present exile, I wish to strive to blog regularly (fingers crossed!)
Cheers
God Bless
It’s a wonderful Saturday and I’m happy to post on the third consecutive day! (Given my recent records, it’s definitely an ‘achievement’ to boast!)
Pondering about food, there’s an important aspect involved in it, which is abstinence from partaking food, or simply put as fasting.
Fasting from food is a very dominant practice/ritual found in most cultures, societies around in the world, in the guise of prayer, self control, protest, gratification, health consciousness or anything that one would love to term it!
Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha included massive fasting protests, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that these protests had a great impact on the British regime in India and paved way for our Independence!
On a personal note, I fast on a single day in the whole year; on the day of Vaikunda Ekadasi. I have quite adorance and reverence for this day, which makes me undertake this form of prayer.
Well, more to come and more to write. Will get back with more on food!
Cheers
God Bless
Going ahead with SS Challenge, day 2 is for duo merry! Food, when shared, is always fun. Exceptions do exist, when solitude gives good company while having food.
Sharing good times, along with a good friend, with good food for company, remains etched in our memory for a lifetime!
Gaining a friend, who has same taste in food as self, is a boon, rather a blessing! I’m sure not everyone is going to disagree with me here!
With these thoughts and pictures, let me conclude the second post on the SS Challenge! And gear up for the third post!
Cheers
God Bless
It’s a new month, a new coach added to the rollercoaster of 2022! With my A to Z April Challenge still struggling to go ahead, I thought of undertaking a simpler challenge for September, and decided to carry out the Savour of September Challenge!
Well, I’m going to just post some colourful pics, some memoirs, some info, some thoughts on Food, throughout the 30 September days, and that’s going to be my Savour of September Challenge!
Food, has always been quite an intriguing topic of conversation, throughout the history of mankind. Being a basic necessity for survival, food is quite an important part in every living being’s life on earth (and beyond too, probably!)
Food, being a necessity to everyone, is a luxury to many, a commodity, fun, topic of debate, thrill, and lot more..
Quoting my own quote, I wish people be conscious of what one self eats, and not be conscious (well, not bothered) of what others eat! (that’s a huge topic of debate, for another day!)
Thus saying, let me start the SS Challenge and conclude the post for the day!
Cheers
God Bless
The Devil wears Prada – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_Wears_Prada_(film)
Ah! One my favourite movies in the list which I prepared to post! And had been waiting to post about!
I hadn’t and still haven’t read the novel based on which the movie had been made, though watched the movie several times. I’d say this is my comfort movie. When bored or something, I’d search for some scenes of this movie in YouTube and spend the time watching it. Well, my favourite colour has been ‘cerulean’ since watching this movie! Oh, for the uninitiated, Miranda Priestley gives a monologue on cerulean.
Miranda Priestley, a tough task master (assumingly, the ‘devil’ in the devil wears prada) is the chief editor of Runway, a popular fashion magazine. Andrea Sachs gets recruited as the second personal assistant of the devil and movie revolves around them, with a marvellous cast abounding around!
What makes the movie seem great, in my opinion, is the way the character arc is portrayed. There are multiple shades of every character, in here, and they get into our mind, with ease. (Probably the effect of me watching it several times!) In spite of these, the story doesn’t get deep into the lives of the people in it, showing just the outer, glamourous facade, albeit a beautiful one.
Thus saying, I’d always suggest this movie, to anyone who haven’t watched it. And also to someone who wishes to re-watch any movie!
More to come! Tight schedules and work demands have pushed the April Challenge right into August! Yet, would strive to complete the A to Z Challenge!
Cheers
God Bless
Chandramukhi – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandramukhi
Chandramukhi is a perfect example of a ‘masala’ movie, which has elements of stardom, fandom, drama, comedy, fun, music, thrill, myth, suspense, and some out-of-world-sense! A perfect get away, where one could lose from the ramblings of the world and immerse into a fantasy!
Often I’ve read and heard movie ‘reviwers’ that logic isn’t included in movies. Aren’t movies supposed to not be so?! Not every movie is meant to be a documentary film portraying true events with scientific accuracy. There are movies which take us away from reality, for a while, with some not very exaggerated logic/suspense, yet keeps us engaged in a simple manner. Chandramukhi was intended to be one such movie and it indeed succeeded in being so!
The plot of the movie is quite simple – a ghost occupies the mind of a woman and creates havoc. And comes our savior who saves the day! All this said with drama, music, and colours! And of course a good dose of suspense too!
The movie is the remake of a Malayalam movie, which was also remade in Kannada too earlier, with suitable modifications to the respective tastes of the states.
This has been one of my favourite movie, which can be occasionally watched. I can still remember watching the movie in Satyam with family. It’s no exaggeration to say, this movie attained an iconic status, with it being the favourite movie of many!
Cheers
God Bless
Bala – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bala_(2019_film)
Bala is a feel good, light hearted movie, revolving around the life of Balmukund, who is being addressed as Bala. Well, ironically Bal means hair, and our hero is facing the issue of premature balding.
The movie starts with how Bala is proud of his hairstyle in his teenage, how devastated he feels while he discovers the premature balding issue, the methods he uses to overcome the same, the problems (internal and external) he faces, and so on.
Ayushmann Khurrana plays the role of Bala vety well. Playing such comically serious characters, of course isn’t new for him! He is ably supported by Bhumi Pednekar, Yami Gautam and others in Bala.
The movie doesn’t get preachy, or some sort of one, which tries to send some ‘message to the society’ It just goes around the life of Bala, who faces a very common and relatable issue, in a light hearted manner. That is quite a positive aspect of the movie.
I remember the experience, watching this movie, very well, coz it was on a particular day, during an outing, there was no idea of watching movie, yet as an ad-hoc plan this movie was watched (Well, I did sleep through a small portion of the movie! 😀 This story is for another day!)
The experience and company while watching a movie plays a major a part in the movie being one of our favourite one! I feel so 🙂
Cheers
God Bless
I took a lane to nostalgia and was browsing through my old blog posts and landed upon this post on Mahabharata and Perspectives. It’s quite amusing to find that the perspective as mentioned earlier has changed, indeed (developed, rather!) into another form. Given the path that I had to travel over the years after the post, it’s no wonder that perspectives change.
Reblogging! And new post in draft. To be posted at the earliest!
Mahabharata is one of my all time favourite ‘experience’. I term it an experience because, quite often when I get to read/hear/watch retellings of the great epic, a thought process occurs, which gives rise to new perspectives, new vistas, new ideas, which are experiences that need to be savoured deeply! I had grown up listening to Mahabharata […]
Mahabharata ~ Changing Perspectives
Alone he sat, galloping in the vast realm residing within his head
Breathing in the cold air, that reached his heart within
Counting every beat it made, trying to grasp the wilderness of the realm
Dreaded it seemed, or was it really so?
Eyes saw many things, but did it see what were meant to be seen?
Flashed the thoughts, as sailing was he, trying to sight the shore.
Good things, and the people around and also the not ones
Having made an impact, strong and hard over him,
Inundated by the several thoughts, wishes and un-explainables
Justifying the events happened to him, and happened by him
Kinetic energy kicked from the soles to the last strand over him.
Lasting scars that remind him of his sins and un-sins
Memories that ought to be remembered and those to be erased,
Now made sense, sailing through, in the inverse speed of light.
Open was his mind, but not in the past and the past of that past
Present, indeed, was a gift bought from tbe past and the future maybe,
Quenching the thirst for knowledge, and more and more.
Rattled by the gush of thoughts that frothed like the ocean’s waves
Sat he, watching the dark, illuminated by the moon.
There were several dots scattered around, flickering and some not
Under which he blinked, watching the twinkles
Various and countable not, they were
Which reminded of the full stops, that were meant to be made.
X ray vision was the need, though the wishes were unfulfilled indeed.
Yearning for the grasp, that were to fill in the void
Zealous as ever, wandering like never,
Alone he sat…
Cheers
God Bless
PhoBlost i.e., Photo-Blog-Post is a series of posts with pictures, taken by me, pertaining to a topic, place, or event.
Dandeli
Dandeli is green little, rocky town along the banks of the swift Kali river, in northern Karnataka. These pictures were taken by me, during a short visit to Dandeli.
God Bless
Every ‘soul’ that owes its existence on this earth, would yearn to wander i.e, roam around, at times, and soujourn i.e, stay calm, at times. The definition of soul, is at times, beyond what can be comprehended by our mind. One such beautiful soul, is the river Cauvery, also spelled as Kaveri, who has captivated many other souls, by her grace and bounty.
This blog post, is more of a photo blog, travelling along the river Kaveri, from its source at Talakaveri to its ultimate destination, the great Bay of Bengal.
I have had the opportunity to visit many significant spots along the river, and capture some beautiful moments, which I wish to post here!
A previous blogpost, explains much in detail, about Pichavaram – “Travelogue – Pichavaram“
God Bless
Thanjavur
The erstwhile grand capital of the Chola Kingdom, Thanjavur is an important trade and cultural hub of Tamil Nadu. With the river Kaveri flowing through the heart of it, surrounded by lush green paddy fields, doted by many temples, Thanjavur has so much to offer!
The most prominent, iconic identity of Thanjavur is the grand Brihadeeshwara Temple. This temple was constructed by Raja Raja Chola, the most illustrious among the Chola Dynasty. The temple, which is a magnificent and beautiful granite structure, is dedicated to Lord Shiva, as Brihadeeshwarar.
Here I go, with the pictorial description of the temple, the grandness of which, cannot be justified with any mere words!
The grandness of the temple can be realized, only by paying a visit and respect to the vision and labor of the several hands, that made this wonder, stand the test of time, over a millennium, and going strong!
More about Thanjavur, coming up in the following post.
Cheers. God Bless.
In continuation of the previous post about Chidambaram, let’s travel to the Pichavaram mangrove forest!
Pichavaram is small coastal village, situated to the east of Chidambaram. The huge Kollidam river and the Vellar river pour into the Bay of Bengal here, forming two massive estuaries. Several sand bars are formed between these two estuaries, over which the mangrove trees flourish. The mangrove forest here, is the second largest in the world, with the Sundarbans being the largest.
There are many state and private operated boats, steamer and rowable, that take us for a ride through the mangrove forests, over the shallow waters.
The mangrove trees are quite hard and strong, than they appear to be. They support a variety of life forms within them, forming a major eco system of their own, within the marshland. There are also occasional trees of other variety nestled within these mangrove shrubs.
The boat operators are well versed with the routes, and they maneuver the boat smoothly. The water ways are quite shallow a places, with knee deep water, and deep at other places.
Thus said, Pichavaram is a must visit, for any adventure seeking traveler!
Cheers. God Bless.
Chidambaram
Our next destination, in the pilgrimage of Temple Tales would be Chidambaram. Being quite famous, Chidambaram doesn’t need any specific introduction at all!
The Thillai Nataraja Temple situated here, is one of the holiest shrines in Shaivite tradition. The generic term kovil (meaning temple) refers to this temple, in Shaivite tradition. Such is the importance and reverence attributed to this divine destination!
This temple, where Lord Vishnu resides as Govindaraja, is equally celebrated in the Vaishnavite tradition, with this place also referred to as Thiruchitrakoodam.
Chidambaram is an ancient town, situated on the northern bank of the mighty Kollidam river, which is a tributary of the river Kaveri.
This place is said to have been covered with Thillai (a variety of mangrove) trees, from which the name, Thillai Nataraja is derived.
The Thillai Nataraja Temple complex, is one of the largest temple complex in the world! The main shrine is dedicated to Lord Shiva, in his dancing form, Nataraja. Adjacent to this shrine, is that of Lord Vishnu, as Govindaraja. Goddess Parvathi is present here as Shivakamasundari, with a huge dedicated shrine. There are several other shrines within the temple complex for various other deities, and several mandapams (processional halls) where the several rituals are conducted.
Lord Shiva is worshiped here as the Lord of the Nether, among the Panchabootha (Five Elements of Nature – Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Nether) Shiva Temples. Attributing to this reason, there are vast open spaces in the temple complex.
The sanctum shrines of Nataraja and Govindaraja are constructed in the way of a high rise stage. Hence we are blessed with the vision of the Lordships from a distance. This set up is a unique beauty of this temple.
Speaking about the most important feature of this temple, there is an empty space next to Lord Nataraja in His sanctum. This space is referred to as Chidambara Ragasiyam (Secret of Chidambaram) As mentioned earlier, Shiva is worshiped as the Nether Lord in this shrine, and hence he is represented in this nether form.
Is it the Lord, who is present in every form, in our vision and apart? Or is it none, whom we refer to as God, present in the sanctum of the grandest of shrines? What do we see? What do we unsee? Whom do we see or unsee?………
The Chidambara Ragasiyam is quite elusive, which makes us rise more questions, that ultimately lead us to the answers, even for the questions unasked! No wonder, Chidambaram gets its name from the term Chit-Ambalam (Hall of Consciousness)
Resting over the strong stone pillars that support the equally strong columns, and pondering over the thoughts, take us to a trance, that cannot be described by words!
A few kilometers away from Chidambaram, is the mangrove forest of Pichavaram. This is the place, where the mighty Kollidam river pours into the Bay of Bengal. The mouth of the river is interspersed by several sand bars, with a dense mangrove forest, which is one of the largest mangrove sanctuary in the world. The sojourn at Pichavaram to be continued in the next post.
Cheers. God Bless.
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