A passionate teacher turned Digital Marketer.
Thanks to Mr. Varadachari who is a walking encyclopaedia on Temples in South India, we reached the little hamlet in the Nagamangalam district of Karnataka, about 73 kms from Hassan and 130 kms from Bangalore. Our driver although a seasoned tourist traveller knew only the usual touristy places. We decided to rely on Google Maps to reach this temple. It took us about 1...
Did you know that an ancient musical instrument is still being played everyday at the Thiruvarur Thyagaraja temple? It is called the Panchamukha Vadyam. The musician in the Thiruvarur temple who is skilled in playing this instrument is a descendant of Tambiyappa, one of the disciples of the Composer, Muthuswami Dikshitar. While I haven’t had the fortune of...
Thirunaavukarasar, also called Appar, one of the 4 saints (naalvar) of South India (570 to 670 CE) travelled by foot to many holy shrines in Tamilnadu as well as North India. After having darshan of the Lord Shiva at Varanasi he yearned to move further North and visit the holy abode of Mount Kailash. He told his followers who were travelling with him to go back as he...
It’s been almost a year since I began reading the six-part series “Udaiyar” by Writer Balakumaran. This literary journey allowed me to escape into the Chola era, where I immersed myself in the intriguing account of the construction of the Big Temple at Thanjavur. Today, as I closed the sixth book, I cannot help but marvel at the intense research of...
Massachusetts is a beautiful state and we were lucky to visit in Fall…2019. One afternoon we (along with my sister’s family) decided to drive to Walden Pond, currently a tourist spot which has the fame of housing the great Transcendentalist thinker Henry David Thoreau for 2 years, 2 months and 2 days. Thoreau took this “exile” into the woods to internalize and this...
My paternal forefathers hailed from Thirupanandaal and later moved to Therazhandhur. That’s all I knew about this place. Since it was not a big deviation we chalked out our plan to visit during our #RoadtripJuly2023. An imposing seven storey Rajagopuram welcome us in. The temple had been recently renovated, because the Kumbabhishekam was said to be in August 2023...
When a recent bout of fever left me weakened and drained, the mere thought of cooking seemed like an insurmountable task. With my energy levels plummeting, I found myself scrolling through my phone’s contact list, where I had saved the numbers of several home-cooked meal delivery companies. The idea of savouring a “home cooked” meal from one of...
Circa 1975. It was the month of July, and my Pankajam paati (maternal grandmother) was staying with us. We were excited as my beloved Chithi was due to arrive that afternoon. Little did I know then that a secret midnight feast awaited us! Paati gently woke us (we 3 sisters) up in the dead of night and beckoned us to quietly slip into the sacred Pooja room. She...
Morning walks are something to look forward to not just for fresh air, brisk movement and the feeling of wellbeing afterward but also to listen to some chosen interesting tidbit for the 40 min stroll at Thiru Vi Ka Park. Mostly I listen to the curated playlist on my Youtube app, or a multipart discourse by Sudha Seshaiyyan or an Audio story narrated by a leading...
Time is 6 pm. All tasks done for the day. Time to shut the laptop down. Hunger pangs have already begun. Been a long hard day with lots of brain work. Must reward myself with a nice dinner. Hmmm. What to cook? Aha! Rice upma in a vengala paanai. Hey you upma haters! You are missing something in life if you have not tasted this simple yet fulfilling dish. It’s...