Country Side Snaps

Wondering whose house this is?? well, it's my grandpa's home in the village. Went there for my uncle's marriage. That brown painted house is my grandpa's. The place from where I had clicked the picture is the house where we stayed. I was soooooooo bored.... My cousins didn't have vacations that time.... & I was roaming around, doing no good.... So thought of clicking a snap..... This shot is taken from the same place only.... Can you notice those mountain-like structures?? Guess what?!?! It's the Western Ghats....!!!! The mighty ghats towering the whole village. Cool, right?? Western Ghats follow you wherever you go in that village....

No, no, no! These are not post cards!! I took the them with the digicam!! These are the western ghats... We had been to our family temple located inside the forest...... It was the most pleasant trip, I can say.... Surrounded by the mystical ghats, wide spreading farms, banyan trees every where and... you name it..!! This place would have been a dream for any artist...!!! Peace mixed with Beauty and Majesty.... If you approach the forest more deeper you can even find wild animals like elephants, lions etc. (don't worry, the temple was located in a safe place only)....This is the temple which I had earlier mentioned. A small and cute temple!! Not even a temple, just looks like a sanctum, huh?? It was just renovated. You should have seen it a year back!! You would have had a great trouble to near the temple!! Your legs would have been prickled by that time! Now that they have cut the trees and levelled the ground, the process has become easy.

A pure village snap, huh?? cutting a coconut!! hahaha!! Actually, it was sooo yummy. The only reason why I didn't eat a lot was that there was no drinking water around..... how sad..... what a pity....:(

Evening in the village........ Cool, right?? I really mean it! It was cool..... Kind of becoming cold..... Just a few minutes before clicking this picture, the sky was blue in colour... Bright & lively.... All of a sudden dark clouds replaced the pleasant sky and the temperature was dropping down. The sky was looking beautiful though... With mysterious violet clouds.... Either side of the road was vast spreading farms.... then, the forest and beyond everything was the western ghats..... The evening panorama was highly enjoyable and I wished I had my friends around.... It would have been soooooooo fun if my friends were there....... The herders were on their way back home with their herds. Soooo many goats, buffaloes and many other animals too. On our way back we happened to enter the sugar factory. Strong odour of the sugar wafted in the air. O my goodness.... I couldn't stand that smell........ So I made my way out of the factory...... It was a nice walk. Wide spreading farms, animals, mountains, trees, lakes..... What else would a man need??

Madurai, the Temple Town

The train pulled-off at Madurai station at 6AM. Being on the train, we could already hear the devotinal songs played in the temples. Getting down, we headed for the auto-stand and reached the Hotel, Madurai Residency in a few minutes.

The Hotel was very welcoming. In the reception, there was a large painting, depicting Jallikkattu (game of taming a wild bull), temples, Madura malligai and many things. We had our room on 4th floor. We took rest for sometime. The hotel room was so convinient and compact and after sometime, we got ready for the Tour.

We hired a car and headed for Azhagar Kovil (kovil means temple). The drive took nearly an hour and I was dozing in the car.

Looks cool right?? Got this great snap on the way to the temple. Must be some statue of a temple.

After an hour or so, we reached Azhagar Kovil. The sun was beaming strongly and it scorched my bare feet. The temple was very beautiful and it was located in a mountain area. It was completely madurai, full of rich tradition. There were innumerous road stalls selling many fancy items lik bangles, earrings etc. on the way to the temple. Monkeys were seen wherever we went. The idols of Gods were looking very beautiful and it was a sight to my sore eyes. In Japan, you never get to see all these.....

Shading my eyes because of the scorching sun.....

Not only the Azhagar Kovil, we visited many temples, rich in architecture. I do not actually remember how many temples we visited as I am writing about it after a month.

That evening we planned to visit the famous 'Meenakshi Amman' temple. On the way, we bought jasmine (you would know why, if you were a South Indian). The scent was sooooo sweet and kind of breath-taking. Madhura Malligai rocks!!

We went to the temple by a cycle-rickshaw and wow! It was sooooooooooooo exciting!!! We reached the temple - at last! The temple was so vast, large, extravagant, beautiful, rich with tradition and and you name it.... Fortunately it wasn't that crowded on that day. And we could see many foreign tourists. I was eavesdropping the tour guides who were explaining about the temple's history and architecture to the tourists.

The main tower

The temple tower was very very very beautiful.... It was covered with dark clouds hovering on its top (later on, it rained). I don't know how to put it into words. The place was like heaven (I haven't been to heaven yet... lol), with no trace of foreign tang (I mean, the ambience). It was purely a classical traditional INDIAN place.

This is the Golden Lotus Tank. Actually, it's supposed to be filled with water. Anyway, water can't survive in an Indian summer season. The air was filled with the strong scent of holy powders.

Coming to the main point, we had a good Dharshan of both Meenakshi Amman and Shivan. Foreigners and non-Hindus were not allowed inside the sanctum.

One of the major reasons why I like Indian temples is that it is full of gorgeous rich paintings. But the thing is that, you got to know the whole history, geography, civics & grammar of the temple, then only you can know what the picture conveys. Well, am not an expert in all these. Anyway I could figure a vague meaning out of it.How is that?? Can you notice the Jasmine on my hair?? I just fell in love with it....

Snap of the Vacation!! I just love this shot!!

It was such a nice trip. I love Madurai!! Madurai rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coutralam Falls

On 10Th August, we planned for a short trip to Coutralam with the whole family. I had been there before too, but never had a shower. Every time I head the falls with a thought to stand below the falls and get myself drenched. But....... As soon as I near the falls, when I feel the cold water on my hand, I back off immediately.

But this time I went with great confidence and promised that I would get myself under the falls at least for a minute. I had challenged myself. Soon, we were nearing the falls. The air had a wet and cold tang. I could the hear of sound of water hitting the ground forcefully. The great shower was divided into two sections, one for men and one for women. The falls allotted for women was very narrow and the water flow was not as forceful as the men's.

I queued up to get my chance. There were many women pushing each other in the narrow path. Its all common in India... pushing and pulling..... hahaha.......

No longer, it was my chance to enjoy the water. From far, the falls looked like it didn't have much force. But when standing under it, I could feel the pressure of water. Trust me..... It was terribly cold. I could feel my bones freeze..... I knew... I couldn't stand there any longer. I pushed myself out of the crowded falls. The wind was playing on my skin, giving me goosebumps.... I was completely drenched and started shivering terribly.

Soon after, I changed to dry clothes. We all met near our car. We were all drying our hair and taking pictures. One of my uncles had bought delicious mangoes and I was devouring it greedily.

With my uncles

It was such a nice trip. More people, more merrier. Nowadays, our lives have become so hectic that we don't have enough time to interact with our family. It is rare to find occasions to enjoy happily with everyone.

The Deadly Lightning

I have a collection of wallpapers of lightning bolts. I have even seen lightnings before. But only once, have I seen the lightning strike so near.

I was in the car, heading towards the Shankarangovil station to catch the train for Chennai. It was around 6 in the evening. Dark clouds chased away the bright orange evening clouds. I knew...... It was going to rain. It started with a drop, then two, three and within a few minutes it was pouring. The car was running on a crooked road, the surrounding was eerie yet pleasant. Either side of the road were fields, spreading far till my eyes could reach. I opened the window to feel the sandy tang in the air. The breeze was cool and the sky was dark blue in colour. The car was filled with people's chatters. But not so loud.

All of a sudden, a fierce bolt struck the vast field. It nearly touched the earth. The sky was divided into two and it was no longer blue, but was violet. The lightning almost blinded my eyes and for a second I couldn't see anything. Everyone was startled and the air was dead silent. No longer, a roaring sound broke the silence. The sky was still violet and the sound of the thunder was echoing in my ears. For a few minutes, no one did nothing in the car, except for the driver who slowed down the speed and we were moving in a rather low speed.

"What was that?" My sister ended the silence. Very soon, everything was back to normal, everybody was back to their chat. Except for me. I had never seen the lightning strike so near.

There were many lightnings even after the very first terrifying one but none was as scaring as the first strike.

Diamond Studded Sky

Night sky according to me was dark with a moon and few stars here and there. I had always wondered why night sky is not like the one I saw in the planetarium, though I knew the reason. I had always longed to see a sky, full of stars. My wish was fulfilled. Let me tell you how it was.

It was an as usual night. May be a bit different..... My five-year-old sister and my four-year-old cousin brother screaming in my ears. I was in India for my vacations. With a grammar book clutched in my hands, I lied down on my bed. My sis and bro were busy with video game. We were on the 2nd floor.

Suddenly everything was pitch dark. A power-cut. My little siblings started screaming. I dropped my book, went to them and assured that I was there with them. My father came up running, hearing my brother's relentless cry. It was impossible to console him and I was fed up. I was feeling hot and thought of getting some fresh air out in the veranda. There were two verandas on that floor. One at the front and the other at the back. The one at the front faced the street, so I opened the door and there I was out. The air was fresh and the surrounding was pleasant. Most of the people in the street were out, probably for getting fresh air.

Eventually, I happened to look up. It was an amazing sight. Zillions of stars scattered all over the sky and it was totally different from the boring sky which I usually see. Like the planetarium it was, may be there were even more stars in the sky then, though I couldn't spot any constellation except for the Orion belt....... So bright it was, like the fireworks. For the first time, I saw the sky crowded with so many stars. I never thought that sky had these many stars, each having a silvery gleam like diamond. White, its colour was, not black. The stars were jam-packed that there was apparently no space in between them. I sat there, on the veranda, admiring the sparkling sky.

I had totally forgotten about my siblings. There they were with my father narrating some story to them. In a few minutes, the power was back and the sky was also back to normal. Dark with a moon and few prominent stars here and there. It was a magic, all the stars had disappeared. It came from nowhere and vanished within a second......

Celebrating Freedom

Hi guys! There was a notice in Young World, a magazine by The Hindu for entries of articles on the topic 'What does freedom mean to you?'. This article is to be published on August 18Th for Independence day special. I liked the topic as it was about my Nation, India. Proud to be an Indian!! As I usually like to write, I wrote an article on the given topic also. The word limit was restricted to 100. So I found it very difficult to stick to the limit. Editing work was too tiring as my rough draft was very long, say, may be of 250 words? I think you can well imagine now that it was a really exhausting task for me to reduce it to 100 words. Now also I think it exceeds the limit by few words. I have tried my luck and have sent it to the editor. Wanted to share it with you people also. Hope you find it interesting! Please feel free to express your opinion.

True Freedom

Achievement of Independence by India is a true example of unity. Mahatma Gandhi, the Great Soul, along with many patriots devoted their life to restore independence from the British.

'Unity in Diversity' The patriots, despite of belonging to various religions and societies, had only one identity as 'Indians' which united them. Real freedom is to break away the chains of divisions and be one as a Nation.

But does independence mean merely political freedom? Communal violence, religious disparities, poverty........ All these still exist in India. Friends, let's shed all the difference among us in the name of faith, caste and language and truly unite from heart. Let India achieve her true freedom!

Sumita ma'am's birthday

On 13th May 2009, we celebrated Sumita ma'am's (homeroom teacher) birthday. It was a surprise & we surprised her with a great & terrific party. We came early to school that day & decorated the class. It was tough to explain the other teachers what we were actually doing!! But we managed it somehow. In the lunch break we celebrated the actual party................................ THE CAKE CUTTING!!

She was nearly in tears & told that she was very fortunate to have such wonderful students like us!! We gifted her with a keyholder which had her name on it, a photo frame and a beautiful bocquet. We enjoyed the party very much!! I am so fortunate to be in this wonderful & promising class!!

Kawaguchiko Lake

On 9th May, we went to Kawaguchiko Lake, near Mt.Fuji. It was really heavenly to see the Fuji so near. The white ice cap on the top looked like a vanilla ice-cream :-D We went to Kachikachi yama. This is a mountain where the event of a Japanese folk story of the Tanuki & the clever rabbit took place.

This is the view of the whole area from the cable car on the way to the top of the mountain.

Mt.Fuji from Mt.Kachikachi.

We had a cruise trip on the Kawaguchiko lake. It was very windy on the deck & I couldn't help my hair flying wildly :-D

Mt.Fuji from the deck.

With The Fuji!!

After the cruise, we had a ride on the motor boat!! It was terrrrrific!! I enjoyed a lot. It went on a high speed & the whole trip was full of bumps :-D

I wish I could visit this wonderful place once more.

Kurihama Flower Land

On 4th May, we went to Kurihama Flower Land. It was very beautiful to see the whole garden from a distance. We climbed the inclined slope by a monorail.

We went to this big park inside the land. My sister enjoyed a lot there. It was so funny to see this Godzilla statue in front of this huge balloon burger. When seen from a particular angle like the photo below, it seems as if the Godzilla is coming to devour the big burger !! :-D

This is the view of the vast flower garden. It had a great fragrance & was very colourful.

The view of the whole garden.

This photo is taken inside the herb garden.

It was a very enjoyable & a colourful visit.