Visit to Temples - Part 1

Whenever I come to Chennai I never fail to visit temples and there are a bunch of them as my favourites. Apart from which i also visit few new temples if time permits....so this time I started with Thiruverkadu SriDeviKarumariAmman Temple & as usual Mangadu Amman Temple.

Thiruverkadu:
This is the first time im visiting this Thiruverkadu temple; although i have been meaning to visit this since very long time (say about 6 yrs).This is very close to Koyembed (Where i stay with my parents).The temple has a busy street filled with shops selling garlands,statues and picture of god & goddess, some devotional things that people believe in like a miniature craddle to tie it on the sacred tree meant for devotees who aspire for child, and the sacred threads to tie it on the sacred tree again thinking that it will fulfill their wishes. You can see such a cute petty shop in the picture below.

The whole street filled with beautifull petty shops that sells similar items.

On entering the main entrance as usual vinayagar welcomes you into the temple,seated beneath the peepal tree along with nagaar statutes both sides of him,now moving to to visit the main deity karumaariamman's gopuram(temple tower) is covered with gold.

Amman is seen as her body being submerged in the earth, and is covered with silver Kavach(kavasam in tamil) which adds more beauty to the goddess.Godess parvati as Eswari just above the head of karumari is seated with four hands. kungumam,viboothi,theertham along with lemon is given as prasadam for the devotees.
Adjacent to the temple a huge anthill is present were people worship amman in from of naaga valli(snake form) . But i didnt happen to see that .

MAangaadu:
This is my favourite temple i have been visiting this temple for the past 10 yrs. Its a great temple and one of the most powerful too. Like others, this temple has a great legend too, you can learn it by googling.

Kamakshi Amman is the main goddess of this temple. Amman is seen in standing posture in the moolasthanam with a Ardhameru sri chakram.Also you can see tapas Kamakshi in the same temple on the other side.

This is the praharam surrounding the moolasthanam fully built with marble which becomes very easy for the people who does Pradhikshanam around the temple.

I have never asked for anything to the Goddess when I pray as per my mother's advise, not to ask for anything to the God , but just her grace. And she will take care of everything about you. I cant really explain how true my mother's words were.

Picture of my parents and my little one standing in the praharam.

Mangadu Amman has showered her graceful blessing on me in many ways for which i owe her so much.

Divine Thought

I have been watching all the tamil channels right since i came here last week. I was really astonished to see so many channels emerged over the past few years. Most of them offer the same kind of programs which seems a little boring after few days of watching them. Yet i do see few interesting programs in some channels.
One of my favourite is the latest TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam) Live Channel which telecasts some of the sevas at the temple live on the channel. The channel also features devotional programmes, bhajans and religious discourses. For people who cannot visit the temple due to various reasons, this channel is really a gift .

One cannot deny the fact that the divine aura attracts millions and millions of devotees across the globe towards Lord Balaji who is the main deity of this Temple. TTd is accredited for being the second richest temple (first being the vattican church) in the world. The devotional activities for the Lord is awe inspiring. The daily Thirumanjanam or Abishegam done to the Lord and his consorts is a feast to our eyes. All the ornaments set and the vessels used for the Lord are made of Gold.
You can see it from the pictures below. Tried to take a snapshot of the live Tv.

This wonderful service live on TV for viewers should be really appreciated. But somewhere in my mind hails a humble opinion that the Lord is being continuously restless. :)) throughout the day which starts as early as 4.00AM and goes till night, with all the pujas and abishegas and archanas; on top of which millions of devotess leaving their burdens at his feet. Poor Lord has so much of responsibilities in this world to take care of.His inconcievable mercy exhibited over this universe never fails to astonish millions of people including myself!

My typical day

Nothing feels good than seeing a sunrise, as the first thing in the morning with its vibrant color . Breathing the fresh air in the morning gives an unexplainable sense of great feeling that gets rid of sleepiness.

The sounds of birds chirping, along with our man made noises like the car reverse horns, are all the wake-up call for me, every morning. After which i can hear the devotional songs being played in the television by my mom. Ahh, such a simple yet great things which i really adore and i feel its the perfect thing to start my day!


First thing i do right after i get off from the bed is to set right my hair and brush my teeth.Well I know thats what every body does, but what i meant was, I never ever had a bed coffee , ever in my life. I hate it.
Im a morning tea person.(I dont like coffee.) One of the niciest thing in the world for me is the masala chai made by my mom. But today my mom made masala milk as i had some cold/caugh.

This is our flat - Arihant Majestic Tower Chennai, and lives upto its name!

This is the play area in front of our building where i usually take my L.O(little one) in the evenings. But i havent yet started taking him outside this time, as we havent yet recovered fully from illness.
I have briefly explained my typical day in chennai at our house. will post more detailed pics in days to come...

All that glitters are not gold!

Apples are coated with shellac and carnauba wax to improve their shine because consumers prefer to buy shiny apples. Also wax is used for a preservation purpose and then cold stored. A coating of wax helps seal in moisture and therefore extends storage life. You might be surprised especially the imported apples are more than one year old, though it would look fresh.

Food industry people claim that the wax is safe to eat and not harmful for our health.But doctors say that wax coating may cause some health problems as nausea, stomach upset and food poisoning. And if consumed it on a regular basis, it will lead to ulcers and gastric problems.

It might be so confusing to the ignorant people as to whom we should follow. If we think a little bit more about it , our commonsense will definitely ask us to follow the doctor's opinion because they are better persons with the health perspective.

Doesnt mean that you cant really comsume any wax coated fruit or vegetable at all. Or you do not want to really peel off the skin as it contains many good health attributes. It is just the fact. There is always a solution to any problem. Hence with this, you should always rinse your fruits/vegetables with soap and water or with vinegar or with hot or warm water real good, or use vegetable/fruit scrubber, before you eat them.

In case you wonder .....why no posts?

Im on vaccation to Chennai, my home town! And im pretty sure this trip is gonna be little busy with some important events ahead. Yet i would definitely be posting some aritcles as much as i can, whenever i get a chance.

Despite the fact that i hate the long travel to India , about 24 hours door to door! especially when you are sick( along with your little one, who is also sick) is the worst of all ...its good to see chennai again, as it has more than been home to me and so always has a special place.

Still in the process of recovering from Flu. Im all excited with my upcoming posts based on my chennai trip this time.

Fried Ice Cream

Fried Icecream is NO:1 in the list of my dessert favourites! I should seriously thank the one who found this delicious dessert. When i think of my favourite dishes, atleast more than half of them belong to the unhealthy or the so called guilty food category. Cant helpt it!

I happen to taste this at a Malaysian restaurant called 'Penang' , Old post rd, Edison, NJ. That was with my brother and sister-in-law when they visited us, the first time, soon after i got married. My sister-in-law introduced this to me, and thats the start of the story! :)

I havent tried this at home. But i browsed youtube for a video demo , and this is for those who are anxious about it may wanna see this interesting video, & an easy version of making fried icecream.

I know I shouldnt post this , when i am having flu. Actually i took this picture before i could get Flu! That is exactly last week! And that i might forget what to write about it, although the one that i have written here doesnt make much of sense. :))

Abi got Flu

I got Flu and its been 3 days now! its so severe this time that i couldnt get up from my bed. Severe sore throat & high temperature. My little kiddo has gotten it too. Hopefully we'll feel better next week.

And yea, you can create your own newspaper clipping through this link.

Laugh out loudly

Lately i started writing in my mother tongue - Tamil. I am having more fun these days by commiting lots of mistakes and correcting them . well thats how we learn! I'd laught at my self :))
when we talk about laughter, everybody knows it is the best medicine.
When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. In addition to the domino effect of joy and amusement, laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.
Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to a recent study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. The study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
Doctors offer a simple prescription that won't bankrupt you and could save your life. "Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system"
So folks laugh out loudly everyday atleast a few mins!

Image courtesy : Internet

என்ன கொடும சார் இது?

சாமியார் என்பவர், மக்களின் நம்பிக்கைக்கு பாத்திரமாக இருப்பவர். ஆனால் இந்த நம்பிக்கை நாளுக்கு நாள் குறைந்து கொண்டே வருகிறது ! அட நம்ப நித்யானந்தா சுவாமியை பத்தி தான் சொல்றேன். யாரை குத்தம் சொல்றது ? மக்களையா? நாமும் மக்களுக்குள் சார்ந்தவர்கள் தானே? ஏமாறுபவன் இருக்கும் வரை ஏமாற்றுபவன் இருந்து கொண்டு தானே இருப்பன். விழிப்புணர்ச்சி தேவை.

என்னத்த சொல்றது? கலி முத்திடுத்து! அவ்வளவுதான்! ஆனா ஒன்னு, இதை படம் பிடித்து சன் டிவி மூலமாக வெளிப்படுத்திய நடிகையின் தைரியத்தை பாராட்டியே தீர வேண்டும். "கெட்டிக்காரன் திருட்டு எட்டு நாளைக்கு தான்! " எவ்வளவு சரியா இருக்கு!

இபோழுது எல்லாம் நம் மீடியாக்களும் பத்திரிக்கையாளர்களும் மிகவும் துணிச்சலாக செய்தியை வெளிப்படுத்தி விடுவது பாராட்ட தக்க விஷயம் என்பேன். உள்ளதை உள்ளபடி படம் பிடித்து போட்டு விடுகின்றனர்! இதை எல்லாம் பார்த்து விட்டு , இது போன்ற மனிதர்களுக்கு வெட்கமோ அச்சமோ வந்து விடும் என்று நாம் நினைத்து விடக்கூடாது .

கௌண்டமணி ஸ்டைல சொல்லனும்னா "அரசியல்ல இதெல்லாம் சகஜமப்ப" அப்படின்னு போயிட்டே இருப்பாங்க!

ஹ்ம்ம்..... " இந்த சாமியாருங்க தொல்ல தாங்க முடியல பா "!!! (Again koundamani style).