Observe and Absorb

Quite a long time am trying to improve my observation skill.Sometimes i try earnestly to observe things around me.It goes only for some hours let alone days.Then i got to know the reason why am failing to observe.If some people are good in observation then naturally everybody should have that innate quality.

Live in the present
It's the reason why am not able to concentrate on my surroundings.I tend to live in future or past.Thinking about past stresses you lot and after all its happened.Nobody could change the past.What future holds us for makes us anxious for no reason.I have read somewhere that most of the things which we fear that it will happen in future will not occur at all.If i dwell in either past or future where would be time for my brain to enjoy 'the moment'.

We should learn to appreciate the sun shine when you walk on the road because you got good sighted eyes NOW.Otherwise we will regret while trying to insert a thread in the needle when you are aged.
Point is let's try to live in the present.

Everything happens for a reason
Things will happen to us to teach a lesson.It keeps happening to us until we learnt that lesson.So,stop asking "Why it's happening only to me?".Nothing is new under the sun and everything is just a passing cloud.

Be Grounded
Be as strong as Ground.It bears everybody's weight though we stamp on it such harshly.

Absorb the qualities exerted by people around us to upgrade your inner self not to degrade yourself.Let Swan be an inspiration for us to absorb only good qualities although human beings are a mixture of good and bad qualities.

Power button in laptop

I have never given much thought about why power button in my mac or any laptop got this symbol or icon as in below pic until i read a post in quora.

In Binary we represent 1 for 'ON' and 0 for 'OFF'. As Power button goes for both on and off,it got the symbol as a blending of both 1 (On) and 0 (Off)

Binary 1

Binary 0

Source:

https://www.quora.com/Knowledge-1/What-is-the-most-interesting-fact-that-you-know-and-I-dont-but-I-should/answer/Yekanth-Ram?srid=3hEj

Barbarika-Bravest warrior in Mahabharata

Barbarika was the son of Ghatotkacha,grandson of Bhima and Hidimbi.He learnt the warfare from his mother.He possessed the three infallible arrows which he got from Ashtadeva gods.He had a principle of always fighting on the losing side.

How Krishna got to know about Barbarika?

Krishna asked each warrior about how many days he would take to finish the Mahabharata war alone.Bhisma said he would take 20 days to finish the war.When Dronacharya was asked he replied as he would need 26 days.Karna answered as he would take 27 days and Arjuna told krishna he would take 28 days to complete the war alone.

Having got the answers of all the warriors,krishna wanted to test the strength of Barbarika.Krishna disguised as a Brahmin and asked him how many days he would take up to complete the war alone.Barbarika said he would take only one minute.

Testing Barbarika's arrow

Krishna wanted to test the arrows.He asked Barbarika to tie all the leaves of the peepal tree under which he is standing,with those arrows.Barbarika went on meditating to release the arrows by closing his eyes.Using this moment krishna plucked one leaf and hid it under his foot.The first arrow was released,it started marking all the leaves and started revolving around krishna's leg.When krishna asked about it barbarika said there must be leaf under your foot.He advised krishna to lift his feet otherwise it would pierce the foot to mark the leaf.Krishna lifted his leg and was surprised to see that the first arrow marked that leaf also.Barbarika released his third arrow which collects all the leaves including the one which was under krishna's foot and ties them together.

Krishna learnt that these arrows are infallible and effective.He concluded as in the real battlefield even if he hides someone from Barbarika,these arrows would eventually trace and destory them. 

Consequences of a given word by Barbarika

Krishna asked whom barbarika will support in Mahabharata war,since pandavas have less army compared to kauravas,he considers pandavas as weak and said he will support Pandavas.Krishna questioned if he had given a thought about the consequences before giving such a word to his mom.Barbarika said his support to the weaker side will make them victorious.

Krishna revealed the real consequence of his promise to mom.Once he joins the weaker side the other side will become the weaker one due to his power.Then he will support the current weaker side.Nobody would be able to beat him and he keeps oscillating between two sides and destroys each  side until only he remains.

Barbarika's charity

The guised krishna wants to avoid this situation by seeking his head as charity.Barbarika shocked and asked him who he really is.Krishna revealed his form and told him that,before the beginning of war, bravest warrior's head needs to sacrificed to sanctify the battlefield.This way krishna can avoid his participation in the war.

In Compliance with krishna,barbarika gave his head as a charity.Before decapitating himself,barbarika expressed his desire to view the impending battle and requested krishna to facilitate the same.Krishna readily agreed and placed the head on top of a hill overlooking the battlefield.From the hill barbarika's head watched the entire battle.

Barbarika's head. PC:Google

Real hero of Mahabharata

When the war is over,pandavas were arguing among themselves about who was responsible for their victory.Krishna suggested that Barbarika's head should be allowed to judge as it had watched the whole battle.Barbarika's head said,"All i could see were two things: one is divine chakra and other is Goddess Mahakali.Mahakali was consuming the sinners who were killed by the spinning chakra which was killing all the people who were on the other side of dharma.

On hearing this,Pandavas realised that they are mere instruments to establish dharma in the world agin.

Get Set Go Andaman

Itinerary:

There are direct flights to Port Blair only from Chennai,Kolkatta and Delhi.We started from Kempegowda International Airport,Bangalore at around 7.30 AM and reached around 8.45 AM at Kamaraj International Airport,Chennai.Then we boarded in Spice jet Boeing flight around 12 PM from chennai and reached Port Blair around 1.45 PM.It takes approximately 90 minutes from the take off time to landing at Veersavarkar International Airport,Port Blair.

Andaman & Nicobar islands are close to Indonesia,Thailand than to Indian main land.It's situated in Bay of Bengal,South-East of Indian main land.

What Not-to-miss
Catch a glimpse of aerial view of Andaman Ialands while landing and take off.It's such a breathtaking lovely scene. Emerald green and blue color sea around the archipelago excites you to devour the whole island in one sight.

Glimpse of Andaman

Andaman island has some magic spell in it,once it casts upon us it takes quite some time to get over.The land is not flat so you can see houses constructed little over hill top from the land.Roads are tidy and wide.No traffic signals hence manual regulation by traffic police.I was taken back by not hearing any cuss words yelling by cab drivers.Quite contrary to Bangalore.We had a driver who was arranged by the travel agent,he had an ethics of not accepting the tips.Apparently native of Andamans has carefree attitude,living at this moment,time for everything.They are quite convinced over only one functioning ATM at some part of Island and not fretting over the things which are not easily available to them.But we tend to complain for not getting 4G,scheduled power cuts etc.Nicobar islands are inaccessible to tourists.This is mainly because people living in Nicobar islands are tribals.

Languages spoken:

In Port blair some people speak Tamil and saw a Kamaraj Statue on the way from Airport to Shompen Hotel,Port Blair.Few shops have Tamil names as well.Felt little proud on seeing this as am being a Tamilian.Port Blair is the capital and largest city in Andaman & Nicobar.Mainly people speak bengali and hindi.They do understand and speak English also.

Do you Know?
Islands in Andaman & Nicobar are named after British Generals.There is one Active volcano in India which is in Barren Island,Andaman.

Day 1:

Corbyn's Cove beach

We began with Corbyn's cove as we started around early evening and it was good time to get a glimpse of Sea.We embarked in Jet Sking as soon as our feet touched beach sands.Safety measures like wearing jackets in any of the water sports are followed strictly and guide accompany us all the time.Supervisors of guides also monitors for any faulty jackets imposed on tourist.They are quite scared for media as small bad incidents might affect their business.Though my jacket was not buckled  from the beginning i was composed through out the 10 minute journey of skimming through waters.

Those moments where water splashes on you and the taste of salt water makes you to let your hair down for few days.Those adrenaline rushes keeps you going for any adventure activities.

I sat front by keeping hands near to accelerator and clutched the front part.From the pillion guide rode one way from the shore till few metres away from Snakes island and allowed me to ride back to shore.Riding on sea waters is very tough as waves change incessantly and you keep jumping up and down as if you are dancing to waves with only one move.

Walking barefoot on beach sands piqued in and continued walking with slippers in hand.Lot of things happening around me,sun is setting at one end,lot of photo sessions going on,beach was thronged with honeymoon couples and family group.Children were too excited to get drenched fully in shallow  water in the shore.

Climb up the stairs of the compound wall around the beach and you can see lot of stalls for refreshments,decorative pieces made of shells,conch shells,tender coconut vendors,chaat items etc.There are benches on sides where you can lay down and enjoy doing nothing by paying Rs.10 per hour.

That's it for day 1 of Andaman trip.

Day 2:

Havelock Island

It's the most visited of the Andaman islands and is popular for its beaches and offers good scuba diving.

We set sail for Havelock island from port blair through Makruzz ferry at 8 AM.The ferry cost is bit high end compared to state run ferries but infrastructure is worth it.We got front row seats in the lower deck which gives more panoramic view around the sea.Obviously the view attracts photo maniac people and you get to see the madness around you.The Crowd was entertaining by itself.Lot of old couples in a group were very excited by taking videos of the whole journey,delved deeply in the mesmerizing videos of havelock island shown in Tv. Finally it reached Havelock around 9.30 AM .Beaches are named in numbers here.The arrival port is beach #1.

The resort was near by beach so after refreshment we took a stroll in the private beach.Had quite a time in hand as we planned to go Radhanagar beach by 3 PM.There were hammocks to take a nap,bamboo swings and the stretch of beach with lagoons.The scene begun to set in ourselves, the sun was scorching to get into water.Yet few people with kids were playing joyfully in little distant from shore.I was gazing around by sitting in swings and benches.A kid was building castle with the help of his sister,family was taking lunch in beach side,massage area with no customers on the other end.

Radha Nagar Beach

The Radha Nagar beach of Andamans was chosen as Asia’s best Beach in 2004.The beach is famous for sun set point.One can see the madness of honeymoon couples in this beach as well.There are small huts and paddock tree benches far away from the shore where you can relax.Foreigners were taking sun bath in the shore.Beach sands are pristine white and water is turquoise green.The beaches were very clean and its maintained very well.It's sin if you do not get drenched in the sea water.When beach calls you better answer it.Waves were getting higher and higher towards evening.No one is allowed inside water after 5 PM.There is a changing room and toilets if you want to use it.

Tender coconut stalls,chaat items,many eateries,souvenir shops are available on the road side for refreshments.

Andaman gets darker very early and day begins early as well.Sunset was as beautiful as in any other place but the difference is we have time here to witness.

There is only one ATM in the Havelock island and it runs out of cash super fast.Cash loads in only at scheduled time so park cash with you in port blair itself.

We went back to Resort by 6 PM.Got freshen up and took a stroll around the resort till dinner time.Bunches of stars were spreaded across the sky and its good place for star gazing.I could find little Dipper in the sky.Day 2 was wrapped up in complimentary dinner at the resort.Then we played cards at room before dozing off.

 Part II of the trip in the next post.

10k Steps a day

Start wearing pedometer or use any app like Pacer as we are tied to our mobile these days and monitor your steps  in the app at the end of the day.Most of the IT professionals will be having 2k to 3k steps at max must be recorded if you have cut down taking elevator.If you take stairs then you could have scored 500 steps more (Assume its 2 floors).

Schedule:
1.Walk for 30 mins in the morning 1.5k steps
2,Take stairs to reach your cubicle 0.5k steps
3.Take 20 mins walk after lunch 1k steps
4,Take stairs while leaving office 0.5k steps

5.Walk for 45 mins to 1 hour in the evening 2.5k steps

This way your sedentary style will be changed to little active and always  strive for 10k as a daily goal.You can break up your steps into any number of step increments that suits you.Monitor your steps in the pedometer or fitness app for a week and then introduce little changes in the way you move around at your work place and you will be surprised by how seemingly little changes have added up more steps in achieving 10k steps a day.

Walking is definitely not an exercise.Daily you should move around to avoid risking many diseases.Sitting more than 8 hours with very little walk land you into risk of falling for Type 2 diabetics.

Research says that Lifespan of people who walk 2 minutes every one hour will be increased by 33% than who do not.

What are you waiting for still? Just get up from your seat and walk around.

Pattadakal

Pattadakal stands as an epitome for Chalukyan architecture.It was once capital for Chalukyas.There are many small shrines along with major shrines in the Pattadakal complex.You can see four Nagara style temples as well as four Dravidian style temples and one a fusion of both styles.


1.Virupaksha temple


Style:Dravidian




Built by :Lokamahadevi


Reason:To commemorate the victory of her husband Vikramaditya II over pallavas of kanchi.


What one can see:It's mainly shaiva temple and all the pillars outside prahara are engraved with stories related to Shiva.Even some pillar has Vishnu,harihara,shiva and Parvathi reliefs etc.There is a large nandhi shrine facing the north of this temple.


2.Mallikarjuna temple


Style:Dravidian


Built by :TriLokyamahadevi


Reason:It's also built to commemorate the victory of her husband Vikramaditya II over pallavas of kanchi.


What one can see:Pillars inside mantapa has stories of Mahabharata,Ramayana and many moral stories.It's smaller in size compared to Virupaksha but inside temple speaks a lot with your eyes.Whereas Virupaksha temple's outer prahara speaks lot to us.


These are the two main temples am attracted to








3.Galaganatha Temple


Style:Nagara


This temple is incomplete but shows Nagara style


4.Jambulinga temple and Kadasiddheshwara temple


Situated behind the Galaganatha temple.


Style:Nagara


5.Sangameshwara temple

It's the oldest temple in Pattadakal.


To read more,please check out Ancient India page.

Ruins of Hampi

We stayed in Mayura Bhuvaneshwari Hotel which is Run by KSTDC in Kamalapur,located just 15kms from Hospet(Nearest Railway station to go around places like Hampi,Pattadakal,Aihole,Badami).

Hampi or Hampe was capital for Vijayanagara empire.These are ruins and with the help of guide,our imagination takes us to the kingdom once flourished in diamonds,gold,culture,literature and especially architectures.Vijayanagara empire chosen hampi as its capital which is a good strategy as one side surrounded by Tungabadra river,other side hemakutta hills.This is the reason why Hampi still has traces of its richness in land.

We booked KSTDC trip for one day to see all ruins of Hampi and started with visiting Virupakshi temple first.You can have guide as well as a part of this trip (Rs.600 per head and Guide cost-Rs.30/- per head).Through out the day we see many people go around in bicycles for checking these ruins.If you know the history and the places then you can prefer cycle otherwise its better to have a package with Auto (Rs.800-900/- for a day trip excluding Guide )

1.Virupakshi temple

   Sun,moon,pig and sword is an emblem of Vijayanagara empire and is engraved in a pillar after the entrance.There are many columns before the entrance which was bazaar during krishnaraja rayar era.Those shops used to sell diamonds,gold etc in litres. Our guide has good knowledge in History and interested in travelling to many places.He is good in narrating too. He is a multi linguist,speaks french as well.There are many french tourist flocking Hampi.

This temple was not affected by invaders as it was showing islamic style also inside the temple.And also pig in the emblem stopped them to damage any of the temple's parts.It's still used in Worship as it's the one which is not affected among the ruins.

Guide took us to show one mystery where you can see the shadow of main gopuram which is inverted.It's called pin hole effect(not sure how it was possible at that era).

2.Kadlekalu ganesha

A big ganesha monolithic statue built and there is a little damage in the belly so there is no worship.Belly is in chick pea shape hence its name(Kadle in kannada means Chick pea).There is a open mantappa before the sanctum and its pillars are carved with many characters and from here you can see the virpaksha temple in a different view and this is a point where you can take in a good view of Hampi Bazaar.

3.Sasuganesha

One more little ganesha statue and its well protected by guards so did not enjoy much there

4.Krishna temple

It was to mark the victory over orissa king  by Krishnaraja.This is partly collapsed temple and no functioning here as well.Bala Krishna statue of this temple is currently in Madras museum.There is  a pillared hall with many different Yali .Outside this temple complex there is a donation box made in a stone with inlet and outlet. 

5.Hampi museum-where u can see musical pillars which is in Vijaya Vittala temple but can't be touched by common people as its protected by guards to avoid much more damage to the ruins.There is model of hampi also.

6.Vijay vittala temple

Here is where you can see the beautiful stone chariot.It is one among 3 places in India (1.Konark temple,Orissa  2.Mahabalipuram,chennai 3.Vijaya vittala temple,Hampi)where you can see stone chariots.It takes atleast one hour to see all the pillars of the mantapa here.There are so many sub stories of Ramayana in each pillars and many yalis in the brackets of each pillar.Not one eye is enough to enjoy the beauty of this temple.Here is where you can see the musical pillars which you can touch and hear in Museum but not allowed in this temple to avoid further damage.The wheels of stone chariot were once movable but Government has put cement to block its movement to avoid damage by people.It is not a monolithic structure and built with many granite blocks.The joints are hidden by decorative carvings and still you can see fresco paintings with red,green color traces even after ages.There is a small vishnu statue inside shrine in the chariot.Elephant stone statues are positioned infant of chariot.These were brought from somewhere since there were horses originally positioned in that place whose legs are still visible.

This is completely ruins and your imagination is the guide plus boss to look around this place.There is a beautiful pushkarni-step well tank,the first step from top has a design repeated for 7 times then followed by second step with a repeated design for 5 times then next step with repeated design thrice and last step with repeated design once.

7.Queen's bath

Kingdoms were that rich hence they built a palace in Indo islamic style just for queen to take bath during summer time.There is a temple near to palace so that after taking bath queen can go to temple and dance over there.This palace is only for the present queen and not for any of the queens.

8.Elephant stable 

9.Lotus mahal

It's a summer palace which is surrounded by a water pool .Pillared hall whereas inside pillars are not void.Guide told us there would be small way inside pillar for the water to go around which makes it cool.Even pillars were constructed in such a way it would be cool throughout the summer.There would have been curtains made of pearls which also adds attribute for cool breeze.Such a care for Queen after all she is Queen.One can see Watch tower,well around this Lotus mahal.

10.Underground shiva temple-This was built for longevity of  parents of king krishnaraja.

Recommended Guide:

Mr.Shekar,reach him @ 91 94838 49255.He takes your imagination and you will thoroughly enjoy the history.