The Knight riders were run to the ground
Mumbai Leaguers have their touch found
Super King Khan was sporting though
He blew kisses to all, a great hero!
Though KKR got Sachin with his scorecard clean
They then ran into to ‘J’ that six machine
Who cleaned up the ground with his boom-boom broom
Jhoom baraabar jhoom khilaadi, jhoom baraabar jhoom.
Every morning welcomes us with a choice of terrible news… Last couple of days it has been the terrible blast at Jaipur, and the tragic earthquake at China…
And today, I happened to come across a small news item on BBC that said - “Wildlife Populations Plummeting “. (Click here for the news)…
Heres a quick summary…
The “Living Planet Index”, is a database that is compiled by Zoological Society of London in partnership with WWF. And heres what their data reveals…
- Pupulation of marine species in the world has gone down by 28% in just 10 years, between 1995 and 2005
- Populations of ocean birds have fallen by 30% since the mid 1990s
- Land-based populations have dropped by 25%
The news item says “Humans are wiping out about 1% of all other species every year, and one of the “great extinction episodes” in the Earth’s history is under way”…
Can you believe that?
And then add to this, the other plunders being committed by man - the destruction of forest areas, river waters, and natural resources of earth…
If this is the civilization ushered in by the modern world, then it is time that we put mankind in the dock…
Or better still…Stop the world, and push mankind off…
Tonight it was Jayasurya’s turn
Who bowled to him was no concern
He clobbered them all with utmost ease
Brought the super kings to their knees
He hit a century in just forty five
Hook, pull, cut, glance and drive
Six, six, six, six, everywhere,
The King Bat is back, O ball beware!
As I stepped into the massive foodcourt of one of the many software facilities of Chennai, I asked my host - “where are the cheerleaders?”
For nothing in the recent times has sunk so readily across the Indian psyche, as this concept of ‘cheerleaders’. They came, they flaunted, they conquered. The item girls have stepped off the silver screen and into everyone’s food court. What fun!
So much so, that someone said that they should become part of Indian Parliament…which would motivate parliamentarians to attend, and bring life to the league they (currently) represent…IPL….Indian Parliamentary League…
Jai Tamasha! Paise phenkh, tamasha dekh!
The dimensions, they are’a breakin’… The mirrors have decided to talk back… SRK to the right of you, Katrina to the left of you, Zinta in front of you, what volley, what wonder!
And its not just TV. Its taking over the whole mindspace. Take the recent blog of Big Bee. What a thing! The Big-bee’s buzz and sting blog! Chak de oye!
Sample this from his blog…A sting-in-cheek repartee to a review that apparently trashed his film “Bhootnath”…
*BEGIN BIG-BEE QUOTE*
“And Khalid Mohammed who reviews the film for Hindustan Times of date, who instead of reviewing writes a personal letter to me through a public document, who wishes that I go and learn how to act from the Pune Film Institute, who laments at the only dialogue he heard in the entire film, my oft repeated ‘Haiiiiiiii’, who as director made three of the most colossal bombs in the history of Indian Cinema and who now tries to educate others in the craft, who credits the cast of the film as AB,AB AB, disrespecting the other eminent star presence, who allegedly as Editor of Filmfare, coerced the talent of his directed films to work for him in lieu of the alleged consideration of an Award, titles his diatribe -
‘TO BOO OR NOT TO BOO’
Well KHALIDA ! And this is not a gender error, but a call you respond to lovingly, when Jaya addresses you, as you spread yourself across our dining table in Jalsa, sipping our, in your own words, ‘exclusive and expensive wine’, this is what I have to say to you -
‘BOO’ !!!”
*END BIG-BEE QUOTE*
Wow! Bahut Maza Aayaa! Mogambo khush hua!
For the whole big-bee post, see:
http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/2008/05/10/on-location-pix/
Enjoy!
But tell me, O Duniyawaalon! Has India become sufficiently Amreekanized or still has some way to go?
(contd from ‘First Day of Sarvadhari’…)
Back to Kozhiwakkam village…also called Kozipakkam, Koliwakkam, koziwakkam…referred in Sanskrit as Kukkutapuri…
Pralayam-kaatha-amman….the Goddess who saved all during the deluge…
Perhaps at one time the Palar must have burst its banks and flooded the village, and maybe this deity saved the people. Palar must have been a majestic river…Just the breadth of the dry river bed is awesome…Interestingly, there is a shrine to the same deity in the Ekamabranatha temple, the main Siva temple of Kanchipuram. As per mythology, when Kamakshi Amman was offering worship to Ekambranatha, the river rose in spate, and was about to wash away all of that place. When Durga, manifesting as Pralayam-kaattha-amman, came and halted the river….The same deity exists in Kozhiwakkam village.
As per the directions of the mystic, Sivakumar took it upon himself to build a new temple for the Goddess. He rallied his extended family, got in touch with all he could who hailed from that village ‘once upon any time’, mobilized the current village folks…He is a one man army…He got a new idol made, exactly along the lines of the idol at the Ekambaranatha temple…All this took a period of a few years….And on 16th April, 2008, the consecration (kudamuzhukkam) of that temple, as well as that of main village temple of Muktishwara and Muktambal, had been arranged….
The next few pictures were taken during the Kumbabhishekam (kudamuzhukkam) ceremony on Apr 16th.
Heres a picture of the newly made idol…
An elaborate ceremony was held for consecration of the koziwakkam village temples.
Vedic Yagya ceremonies were conducted in the simple yaaga-shaala made in the field. Several fire-altars were simultaneously being used for worship…A group of priests chanted mantras, energizing the waters kept in Kudams (kalashas…special vessels…).
Heres a picture of that yagya.
And after the purnahuti, the final offering made to the deities, through the medium of the fire-altar, the consecrated waters were carried, for ritual abhisheka of the metal kalashas on top of the temple domes, and on the idols themselves.
Heres a picture of the temple dome, of the new shrine of Pralayam-kattha-amman, taken during the consecration ceremony. Isnt it pretty….
So thats a brief tour of a typical kudamuzhukkam… First the divinity is transferred from the old idols onto a picture, which is kept in balalayam. temple is renovated.. new idols may be built… once all the preparation is done, kudamuzhukkam ceremonies begin… Divinity is transferred from the picture to waters kept in special vessels. Special ceremonies are held…Eye of the new idol is opened…Yagyas are conducted… The waters are charged with energy of Mantras… They are then poured in special Abhisheka ceremonies, on the kalashas on top of the temple domes, and on the idols themselves…divinity is now transferred to the idols in the new temple…
Heres a picture of Abisheka of Pralayam-katha-amman…
….. To be contd …
I was having a look at the Google Zeitgeist for March 2008…A window into what people are googling for in different parts of the world….Interesting insights into a world where borders matter…
Heres some samples….
Afghanistan is pretty straightforward…They are looking for stuff on Afghanistan, Kabul, katrina kaif…
Australia seems to think in pairs…two word searches…Duran Duran, Maori Tattoos, John Mayer, John Lennon, Eva Green…
Canada seems pretty random…with folks seeking info on stuff like Curly Hair, Hotel, Pluto, Smoke…what are they looking for?
French are more real, looking for stuff on local politicians, actresses, holiday resorts….
India is a predictable mix of politics, actors, and a heavy dose of educational institutions…Exam results, admissions etc seem to dominate the needs of the online seeker…
The Irish seem to have more patience, and are keying in long search items - like St Patricks Festival, Spiderwick Chronicles, venessa ann hudgens….
Italy seems to be quick and neat…Stuff like Festa della donna (womens day), dieta (diet) and aborto (abortion)…No long stuff there…
New Zealanders seem to be like the Irish…willing to type in long search items…like pokemon diamond, vodafone new zealand…
Singapore seems to be geeky with people looking for stuff on Cash convertor, Time Convertor, six sigma, and fonts…
UAE has a few surprises…With search items like NASA, Philipine News and Krishna appearing in the top 10…
Google lists this stuff every month…One category for ‘Zeitgeist by Country’ for all countries tracked, and a seperate one for ‘U.S. Zeitgeist’…Ho Hum…
The “K” in my grandfather’s name, “K Vaidyanathan”, stands for his native village - Kozhiwakkam, also referred to as Kozhipakkam. This is a village near Kanchipuram city, by that fossil-river, Palar. Like many Indians, the search for livelihood drove him out of his village… And now, seventy years later, none of his lineage has any real connection to that place.
My father did re-establish some connect some fifteen years ago, and renovated the village temple - of Lord Mukteeshwarar and Goddesss Muktambal. I had been there , sometime in early 1990s. Just once. And after all these years, the call came again. Sivakumar, another Kozhiwakkam descendent (who I have never met before), somehow got my number, and called me. To re-establish connect with that village.
And there we were, that very weekend. Saturday, 13, April. Tamil New Year, the beginning of the lunar year, Sarvadhari.
Started from Chennai at 6 a.m or so.
First stop Kanchi Kamakshi temple. What a magnificent temple.
Here is a picture of the outside Gopuram, taken from the inner courtyard.
And heres a picture of the temple tank, and the main temple towers in the background. The golden one in the middle is the gopuram on top of the sanctum-sanctorum of Kanchi Kamakshi amman.
After a good Darshan, circumambulated the temple, walking around the outer courtyard. Stopped at the elephants enclosure for a a trunk-call…
A word about Koziwakkam, and about this trip. To reach Kozhiwakkam, go across the bridge over Palar river. And turn right. You could go past Iyengarkulam, or Abdullapuram. Take one of the forks and reach the village, Kozhiwakkam. Must have been prime location at one time, when the Palar river was flowing. It used to be a perennial river a little over a hundred years ago. Dried up since. Now it is a tract of sand, that is mined…Hundreds and hundreds of trucks can be seen queueing up to carry the river-sand away….every day…
Sivakumar, is a businessman in Chennai. Some years ago, when he was facing some downhills of life, he consulted a mystic. That mystic told him that things would surely go better if he would revive the temple of his kula-deivam (family deity). Sivakumar, like most modern Indians, didnt have a clue about who that deity was. That mystic then told him that the deity was “Pralayam-kaatha-durgambikai” - “Goddess Durga, who had saved all during the deluge”. And gave general directions as to where the deity was to be found in the village. Sivakumar consulted some other mystic, and that oracle tallied. He went to Kozhiwakkam village, searched nook and corner, and couldnt find the temple. No one had heard of it. He spotted a Kali temple and called the mystic, and explained that he was at a Kali temple. “Does that idol have a broken leg?” asked the mystic, from Chennai. Sivakumar checked and found that to be right. “Thats not the one” said the mystic….”Go backwards….”…And guided by this remote seer, Sivakumar, came upon a little shrine, where there were three stones, worshipped by the villagers, as Mariamman. He called the mystic and described the idols, explained the location. “That the one” said the mystic.
Heres a picture of the idols in that shrine.
… To be contd …
Mumbai Indians versus the Deccan’s Charge
Gilchrist’s bat did kiss and tell
Hitting the fastest hundred of IPL
At first for home crowd it didnt jell
But then they stood, applauded, saying what the hell!
Ramey and I decide to visit Kurukshetra, which is a three hour drive or so from Delhi.
Kurukshtera - the land of Mahabharata battle…an ancient region that included Panipat, where three great battles were fought…A land that has absorbed so much blood…And also the land that gave the world the great wisdom of Song Celestial - The Bhagawat Gita…A land dotted by hundreds of Theerthas…A place visited by nine of the ten Sikh Gurus…
Ramey and I fixed to meet at 6 AM, at Rajghat, and drive from there. Rajghat, the resting place of the great Mahatma, seemed such an appropriate place to start from…The great Mahatma Gandhi, who was a living commentary on the Gita…The man who stood for Ahimsa…
Heres a picture taken at Rajghat…
It was a nice drive. Some two hours down the road, we stopped for breakast at a Dhaba. Everyone was eating Aaloo Parantha and Dahee. We did likewise. Ramey also bought some fresh milk cake.
Heres that dhaba.
Past Panipat, Karnal….we reach the turn to Kurukshetra.
An arch welcomes all to the holy land. A narrow busy bazaar road leads one to the heart of the town. Heres a picture of one of the statues that one saw on the road. A statue of the might Pandava, Arjuna.
Our first stop at Kurukshetra is the Brahma Saras, a.k.a Brahma Sarovar…the sacred water tank…We find a festive atmosphere, and lots of people…The Amavasya (new moon) is about to end…People come to Brahma Saras to do Shraaddha (offer libations to their forefathers), especially on Amavasya day…
We went to the Saras, and had a refreshing dip;
Heres a picture of Ramey in front of the lake.
This is my second visit to Kurukshetra. I was here a couple of years ago, for the first time. With Ramey and his sons…Now, the second time, courtesy Ramey too..Long live Ramey!
There is a small temple of Goddess Katyayani near the Saras. A traditional Veda Paathashaala was functioning here. A group of pilgrims were sitting around a fire, and some priests were conducting a Havan…It was a Chandi Homam…And they were chanting the Devi Mahatmyam…In chaste Sanskrit…The pronunciation was perfect…Amavasya, was moving on, and the first day of Vasanta Navaratri was commencing…
I wanted to do Shraaddha, but hadnt brought any Til (sesame seeds)…I asked one of the young Brahmachari lads at the temple, and he went in and brought a small packet of Til, which I gratefully accepted. Went to a nice, quiet part of the huge garden next to the Saras, and did the Shraaddha. Ramey did his Sandhyavandanam.
In that huge garden, we saw a big statue of the Gita Upadesha scene. This wasnt there the last time we had come here. Just been made, and not yet inaugurated…It was still half-wrapped in plastic sheets…
Heres a picture…
We then hired an Auto Rickshaw and visited a few places. We first went to Jyotisar, the place that marks where Sri Krishna is said to have given the exposition of Gita…A holy tree marks the sacred spot…A Sarovar (bathing tank) has been built here…We walked down the ghat steps and sprinkled some water on ourselves…
Heres a picture of the tree that marks the Gita Upadesha place.
A nice statue of Gita is enclosed in glass, behind the tree.
Heres a closeup picture.
From Jyotisar, we go to Baan-Ganga…A temple marking the place where the mighty Bhishma lay in the bed of arrows…From there we went to the Bhadrakali temple, one of the sacred Shakti Peethas in the subcontinent. The place where Sati’s ankle fell…As per the local lore, this was where Arjuna offered worship to Durga, just before the commencement of the great war…Just prior to the exposition of Gita…
The last time around, we had visited a few more places…the Sthaneshwar Siva temple, and also the tank where Duryodhana is said to have hidden, before his final mace battle with the mighty Bheema…
Heres a picture of the towers of one of the many temples of Kurukshetra…
We left Kurukshetra around noon. Had lunch at one of the hotels on the highway. Stopped for a quick visit to the lake Karnal…Karnal, named after Karna, one of the key heroes of Mahabharata…The man immortalized as Daan-Veer, the King of those who Give…The man who could not say no to any seeker of help…
From Karnal, back to Delhi…5 pm or so…With Ramey getting a message on his cell phone…”Aaj ghar aanaa hai ki naheen?”
 | gkamesh on Jayasurya comes to party… |
 | bala on Jayasurya comes to party… |
| gkamesh on One cup tamasha, cheenee … |
 | Srinivasa on One cup tamasha, cheenee … |
 | GJV Prasad on One cup tamasha, cheenee … |
