Tuljapur

Tulja Bhavani. In today's world, the name rings a bell n reminds of the great Chatrapati Shivaji. 

History states that before going to war with Mughals, Shivaji, went to seek MA Bhavani's blessings. Ma Bhavani appeared n presented a sword to Shivaji n with that sword Shivaji won many wars. 

The legend says MA Bhavani came to Earth n since ancient times resided at Tuljapur.  A beautiful small black stone idol represents Her. 

The temple is located about three or four floors below street level. At street level, from outside, it looks like a fortress. Early morning Bhishekam n throughout the day Aarati are renowned rituals. General darshan is available throughout the day. Prior arrangements gives a peaceful darshan. The long walk n steep stairs to main alter are for good physically fit people. However couple of dollies are available for physically challenged and senior citizens. 

Tuljapur is  temple city. Current city entirely depends on the temple. The city's n residents' existence is on the temple tourists. Hundreds of businesses of different nature's thrive in the name of MaBhavani. 

Keeping aside the pilgrimage n devotional attributes n personal feeling, the place is a dump. It's been ages since the city got a good basic sweep. We felt so disgusted walking to the temple as we hand to cruise through trash. To enter city, Money is collected by local municipality. What they do with the funds is a mystery.  There is no sense of responsibility.  People bring out trash of all sorts from their houses n establishments n dump on roads. A simple feeling that the city is the home of their beloved MaBhavani, and they should keep their Ma's abode physically clean before seeking spiritual blessings, is just enough to get a change. There is no spiritual feeling.

We stayed at Hotel Darshan, Near new Carpark. Staff are very helpful. Rooms are clean. Sanitized. Clean bedsheets. Good bathroom. Our dog was accommodated on conditions. They are getting their restaurant ready. Since the food was generally very bad every where, in other restaurants,  we hope theirs will be different.

Indian Burger King

My visit to Burger King in India was delightful.  Hash brown was spiced with red chilli flakes.  Ice lemon tea felt very local.  So much of vegetarian choice with local flavours!!  

Chennai, Grand Park - a Boutique Hotel

We had to stay around this area for convenience. With so much of road works around area, getting stuck in the traffic was pretty easy. We were very happy to chose this hotel.

A small hotel we found on agoda.com with a couple of reviews. We were hesitant. We were sceptical. We checked-in middle of the night with very little expectation of any quality of food or service. However, as our couple of days work stay stretched to almost couple of weeks,  we didn't even think of finding another place.

The food was good! My most favourite was South Indian thali at lunch. Simple. But very tasty, healthy and truly Tamil. Breakfast was sumptuous. Soups, pastas were more tastier than expected.

The staff were attentive prompt and helpful. The ambience is good. The rooms were kept clean and tidy.  The linen were crispy.  I truly relaxed in the room after a tired day's work.

The attitude of the management is remarkable.  They seek constructive feedback.

All in all, good positive vibes and I recommend to anyone who are not brand and star conscious and f

ussy to try their hospitality. 

Shopping in Ahmedabad

My daughter always wanted to buy something very traditional in Gujarat. We went looking for some nice gaghras, something bandhini or bandhani work material etc etc and some jewellery specially metal.

Our friends, arrived a couple of months earlier in Ahmedabad, called two autos for all nine of us and we were bit skeptical. My husband even insisted for an aircon taxi to be safe from all the dust. But our friend insisted that we go by auto.

As we reached Relief Road, I completely understood my friend's point. This part of Ahmedabad was so crowded that if left alone, I will prefer to walk. I was told that because of the holiday (24th Dec) the crowd is a little bit more.

Very skillfully the auto fellow drove us to Central Bank of India and asked us to get down to take a walk. I was too scared even to think of getting out of the auto. He pointed to the road opposite and asked us to walk around and look for everything and anything we want to buy. He promised to pick us up when we finish our shopping. He gave us his number.

As we crossed the road, I started seeing colourful sarees, dress materials hung on the shops. The street is so full of shops with displays that we barely saw any physical barrier between the shops! The walk was pretty interesting with vehicles on both the sides AND pedestrians trying to make their way.

This place along the Ratan Pole Road, Tankshal, has variety of fancy material. However, when we asked for something more authentic, with a touch of ethnicity, we were told to go to Rani no Hajiro. For me, who has no knowledge of Gujrati, all I could I understand was Rani and Haji. Where is it? Non of us understood how to go there.

We said many thanks to a kind shop fellow (he is kind and angel because he spoke to us even after we told him we are not interested in his merchandise. Others just ignored us)  who told us in clear Hindi to move forward and go to the end of the road.

We reached the end of the road to Gandhi Road. We asked a few around and didn't get any reply. May be they didn't understand our Hindi. We marched ahead past a huge 'Mukhwas' shop into a smaller lane. Here, NOBODY knew where is Rani no Hajiro!!!!!

We all started getting tired and irritated. Then an old man pointed his finger towards a small lane, which in normal circumstances we would have walked past without a second thought. 

Whola!!!! There inside this small lane, we found what we wanted!!! Hand made jewellery, very ethnic style gaghra cholies, and shoes. Lovely collection and reasonably priced. The shop owners were not at all pushy in their sales. They were very patient to show us almost everything they have!!

Citizen safety taken seriously - TamilNadu, India

Shopping & security checks in Indian Airports

Two days ago I was at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and when I boarded the flight, finally made a decision NEVER to shop in any of the airports in India especially in Hyderabad.

Previously once I had a very tiring experience with the security staff and felt that the last minute shopping at the airport was a mistake. This time I thought I may just pass through the nonsense of security check at the gate but didn't. However felt good as I was not the only one sailing in the boat :-)

What happens at the gate?

Hmmmm , the security staff at the gate will ask for a receipt to show to them for the purchases you made in the airport. Good they are being very vigilant on any packs which were smuggled into the airport.

But the funny part is, they are happy as long as you show them a receipt and that too if you are holding a pack!!!! Once before I did and When I expressed my irritation on the routine check, this time, passenger sitting next to me said he did that! He lost the receipt (he cannot remember where) and he just happen to have a receipt which he 'flashed' at the security and walked away.

If you have lost the receipt or just want to walk through, stuff the packet inside your backpack. You will just breeze through the security as they don't see a pack in your hand and you don't have to show a receipt.

OK. this is not at all irritating. This is a routine check. The headache comes when you are travelling for the first time or in a hurry or the flight got delayed.

We sometimes see some nice gentlemen buy liquor at duty free and in their enthu misplaces the receipt. There it is!! the long lengthy irritating frustrating que waiting behind him while he searches all his pockets (inside & outside) for the small receipt.

In this scenario I really appreciate the ladies' patience and abstinence  in shopping at airport. They know that all that glitters is not of value to pay.

What a security check!!! I always wonder the purpose of these checks. So many loop holes and so much of inconvenience caused to the passengers and so much of nonsense!!!

Let me highlight a few points for you to decide if it is worth shopping in Hyderabad International Airport.

1. The staff's (airport's and the stalls' ) rating on Customer Service is -0 (minus zero. not just zero)

     They argue, they show their dumbness in not paying attention to what you are saying but in telling you what they feel that you want to listen!!!!

   You ask for directions or guidance, they say, they are not responsible (!?!) They are lost in their own world.

2.  Except for liquor non of the goods are worth buying. The food you buy and consume is good. The food you want to buy and take home is not at all worth. The sad part is, you cannot even complain if it is stale as you will be already miles away and don't know whom to complain to.

3. The prices are so high for the handicrafts that you can buy online from the comfort of your house and have a hassle free journey.

4. The quality of many goods are below average. You can get better value for money products online.

Tirumala - Nityanna daanam - తిరుపతి నిత్యాన్నదాన సత్రం

 

First week of January 2013, I visited Tirupati along with my daughter. Previously, annadaana or free meals tickets were distributed in the darshan Q on our way out. There were limited tickets and the distribution of the food was at certain times only. Thousands of pilgrims visit Balaji everyday. There used to be and even today there are families from lower income who come to the temple walking hundreds of kilometers with their kin and kith. For some it is a visit of lifetime dream. Though we had lots of respect for the nityaannadaanam, we gave out our tickets to such families and people in the que who, we thought deserve them more than we do because of their dedication, faith. We always respected such people who, overlooking their limited resources came for darshan along with their families.

 However, this time, our taxi driver took us to Tarigonda Vengamamba Satram to show us that the 'prasadam' is unlimited. We hesitated a lot and even offered to pay for the taxi driver's meal in Tirupati. But he kept saying how we are saying no to the prasadam. Reluctantly we agreed to follow him, went inside and experienced a divine bliss sharing prasadam with thousands of other devotees.

The place was clean and well organized. The halls were huge and we were told that at one go one thousand people can eat. The building has four such halls. Once a hall is used, it will be closed for cleaning purposes while another hall will be opened for devotees to receive prasadam. The halls and washing areas are cleaned and well maintained. Most of the time, devotees need not have to wait for long times. However, during less peak period, devotees have to que up to enter the hall.

All the people who serve the food are volunteers for the day. Rice, dal, one vegetable, sambar and pickle, majiga were served. The rice was of good quality and the drinking water was clean and sparkling. The food was served with utmost respect. The volunteers were pleasant and very helpful. After many years, I got a chance to witness and experience divinity in one of Tirumala's activities.

Introduction to Bhagavatula Charitable Trust, Visakhapatnam, India

Last year I visited Visakhapatnam and fell in love with the simplicity of its life. I strolled along the lively beach road, visited the Kali temple, sipped hot chocolate on Novatel's roof garden, and simply spent time roaming around the famous Andhra University, looking at the Raj era stone buildings and their dark corridors. 

Whatever it is, the city called me again and again to share its priceless values and unbeatable moments. I enrolled in the university to study (don't ask me what) and went to stay there for months.

During my time in Visakhapatnam, I happen to meet many wonderful people. They are all of different ages but dynamic and vibrant just like their city!

One of such wonderful people was Mr. Bhagavatula Srinivasa Rao garu. In one occassion, he told me the story of a boy named Parameswara Rao, who, all his life, dreamed of building a school in their village Dimili near Achutapuram in Visakhapatnam. 

Here is the simple version of the story. When Parameswar Rao was a young boy, he traveled a few kilometers to the school with his brothers. As he grew older, he started thinking why they don't have a school in their own village. When he completed school, he went to ask his father's permission to start a school, father told him to finish his college and get some knowledge before he do any such thing. After finishing college, he went to father for his permission. This time father said, go get some experience. He went to become a scientist in Bhabha Atomic research. Along the way got married to a wonderful woman. He approached father to see if he is eligible to start a school now. Father told him that he will think about it.

Meanwhile, he got an offer to do his PhD in US. He moved there along with his wife and stayed to get more experience. When he was offered the best place in one of the top US universities, he approached his father again to find if he can start his dream school. Father said, he should ask his wife's permission as he is now more responsible to her as it is his wife who has to make more adjustments than anybody in his life.

Finally Parameswar Rao moved to India and to his village where he made his dreams come true. He invited his brothers to join him to make a difference in this materialistic world by giving real meaning to education and to the preachings of Gandhiji. Srinivas Rao is one of the Parameswar Rao's brothers.

Now the entire family is involved in the service of the villages around Yellamanchili in Visakhapatnam. Parameswara Rao started a school not just to educate the future citizens, but also to give them a sense of self worth and develop self dependency. 

The family started Bhagavatula Charitable Trust (BCT) to support their noble cause. As they believed that it is not just kids who should be educated, they started programmes to empower rural women and farmers. Over the years they made a difference in the lives of thousands of people. 

                         

See the video below to get a glimpse into the BCT and visit their website to see the reality in making a society self dependent. 

      

 



Click http://youtu.be/5P81yJtvPHA to watch the same.

Bhagavatula Charitable Trust - http://bctindia.org/