Live Life Everyday

Picture 1: Boats lined up at the Triveni Sangam, Prayag, Allahabad with pilgrims and tourists.  I have been to Allahabad last week and saw the site of the famous Kumba Mela at Prayag, also known as the Triveni Sangam. Hundreds of thousands of people come, as their forebears had come for thousands of years from all over India, to bathe at the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical river, Saraswathi. Having visited in the winter season, I was fortunate enough to see migratory birds from Siberia playing and feeding in the Yamuna (See Picture 4). A dip at the Triveni Sangam is believed to break the cycle of rebirth and save one's soul. References to these ceremonial baths can be found in the accounts of Chinese Pilgrims who visited India some thirteen hundred years ago and even then these Melas were ancient and lost in an unknown antiquity. When you approach the Sangam from land, what welcomes you is a massive fort built by the great emperor Akbar. T...

Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Temple  was built during the reign of the second Chera Empire in 800 AD. There is a stone fortress called  Bhoodathan Kotta  around this temple. According to local legends, the fortress was built out of a single stone, overnight, by a spirit ( bhoodam ). There is also a beautiful lake in front of the temple. Devoted to Lord Vishnu, Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Kshetram, alias Adbhuta Narayanan Temple, is one of the five Pancha-Pandava temples in Kerala and among the 108 Vishnu temples in India. This 9th-century temple is located at Thrikodithanam in Changanacherry, 25 km from Kottayam. Adbhuta Narayanan is the chief deity and his idol along with consort Karpagavalli, in standing posture, is made of an unusual black stone called Aanjana-kallu. The temple also houses the idols of Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna, Ganapathi, Narasimha, Nagadevas, and Kshetrapala.The temple structure is an architectural excellence adorned with beautiful mural paintings....

 It was in 1805 AD, that the famed Diwan of Travancore Veluthampy Dalava made a market place at Changanacherry. The market was inaugurated by the exchange of an elephant. Now this market is one of the largest markets in Kerala and is the best attended in all of North Travancore. The chief trade is in rice, pepper, dry ginger, areca nuts and piece goods. Towards the memory of the centennial celebrations of the place in 1905, the people installed the " Anchu Vilakku" (Five Lamps) seen near the Boat Jetty at Market Road.      The lamp signifies the 'unity in diversity' of the local ethnic and religious sects - a truly fitting tribute to the ethos of Changanacherry.       Anjuvilakk                               

“Travel is an obsession Embrace the richness        Fall in love by all forms " Imagine, how you will feel, to sit alone near a pond in midst of crowd, breeze blowing over your body, and your face and mind filled with a sense of peace and tranquillity. I will call it as an overwhelming, breathtaking and soothing experience. That was the feeling I gathered in one of the Ancient temples of India, Madurai Meenakshi temple. So it all happened overnight. Ashwin, my travel mate and I were planning a journey and Madurai , Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi came to our heads. Obviously, it was not a pilgrimage. The place came to us randomly and we decided. That was it. Our country is blessed with a very good railway network. It is the third largest railway network in the world. It connects every corner of the country with the other. The journey started from Trivandrum. We went to Punalur to catch the Punalur-Madurai passenger train . We reached Madurai around 5.30 am....

"There is a trekking program coming up," said Thomas. "Where to?" I asked. "Elaveezha poochira, it is organized by Youth Hostel Association of India and the fee is just INR 200" It was my first experience with YHAI and Thomas was excited to introduce me to it. " That is very reasonable I guess," I said. Thus it was settled, we were going to Elaveezhapoochira. Elaveezha poochira is a tourist destination located in Melukavu village in Kottayam district near Kanjar. Elaveezha Poonchira is surrounded by three enchanting hillocks - Mankunnu, Kodayathoormala and Thonippara. This makes the place ideal for trekking. 20th May 2016 The morning had all the indication of a rain. We took a bus to Thodupuzha from Kanjirapally and got down at Kanjirammukk, the stop after Muttam. Took a three-wheeler from there to Mayapuri, just 2 kilometers from Kanjiramukk. We had our breakfast from a small tea shop there. It is from here that we start o...

29th July 2016 The Journey  5:20 am, Madagaon - The train halted at Madagaon for a few minutes in the early hours of the morning. I stepped out of the train and stretched myself. I very badly needed some black coffee but no coffee was available in black. Why don't Indian Railways provide black coffee?. Got back on the train and sat near the window, waiting for the Sun to come up so that I could enjoy the beauty of Maharashtra. I had completely missed Karnataka while I was asleep. 5:55 am - The train again stopped at Verna for about half an hour. The train moved. The Sun is slowly coming up. The landscape changed. Vast areas of flat land with lots of greenery. Small hills are also visible here and there. The roads here are flawless and beautiful. Streams are full of waters and have plenty of boats in them. The vegetation here mainly consists of bushes. I wanted to know which place it was and saw a board with ' Karmali' written on it. I have to check this place...

"Wandering one gathers honey"  Youth Hostel Association of India organized a two-day trekking program at Munnar on 3rd and 4th of December. About 50 trekkers and 10 guides participated in this program. Apart from Kerala, there were trekkers from Pondicherry, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Bangalore. I was fortunate enough to be a part of this experience. We explored shola forests, grasslands, and tea gardens. Climbing the steep hills were adventurous as well as rejuvenating. It was also a platform to get to know each other and share our experiences. Getting to know seasoned national trekkers like  Shaju Nellikkat  and others were both educational and fun. Day 1 We were asked to report at Track Finders, Old Munnar bus stand at 11 AM on 3rd December 2016. Trekking instructions were given by Mr. Mohan, director of Track Finders. Walking through tea gardens, listening to the guides explaining about the flora, fauna, and history of the place. ...