All about the Ahobilam Trip : Part 1

So after much adue hype, hoopla, e-bookings, waiting lists and e-cancellations (I am yet to confirm whether IRCTC has reimbursed my moolah) we finally embarked on the trip that evaded us 2 times in a row. 3rd time lucky? Possibly.

On June 9th , exactly 2 days after I had shifted to my new residence - we were all set to leave the house for a week long trip that promised to be exiciting , exhausting , sweltering and scincillating all at the same time. I arrived home roughly 1 and half hours before the train's scheduled departure timings. We left home , hurriedly caught an auto and awaited the train at Chennai Central.

We took the Mumbai Mail to Cuddapah and reached Cuddapah at 4:30 am in the morning. (Unbelivably, I was up almost every morning that whole week at 4 or 4:30 am in the morning)

First stop - Ahobilam.

Ahobilam

Chennai -> Cuddapah (via train - this is where the train connectivity stopped)

Cuddapah -> Aaalagadda (via bus)

Aalagadda -> Ahobilam (via bus)

Significance: The Ahobila Mutt (which is very sacred for Vaishnavaites and Vishnu worshippers everywhere) and the Nava Narasimha sannidhis . It took us a day and half (almost 2 days) at Ahobilam to cover all the 9 Narasimha Shrines. Some snapshots of Ahobilam ~

The toughest shrines to reach are the Jwala Narasimha (be prepared for a steep 4-5 km uphill trek to reach the shrine itself) and the Pavana Narasimha (this is in the heart of the forest, as , in literally in the heart - our jeep got punctured 2 times and got stuck along the way and on the way back too!)

There is a spot uphill , further upward from the Jwala Narasimha shrine called the 'Ugra Stambham'. It is said that Lord Narasimha broke open from this spot when Prahlad called upon him. Here are some snaps of the Ugra stambham!

More to come ...

Kill(ed) Bill?

David Carradine of Kill Bill fame, was found dead in his Bangkok hotel room on June 04.

RIP.

Unwritten

I took an arbit quiz in Facebook - 'What is the theme song of your life?"and I got the result as 'Unwritten' by Natasha Bedingfield.

She happens to be the sister of Daniel Bedingfield (remember the one hit wonder "If you're not the one" from an album called 'Gotta get through this' ?) . I had heard this song of hers earlier that went something like "I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you " continously for like, 2 minutes (which, imho , was pretty moronic)

So I decided to lend a ear to this track. The tune is nothing out of the ordinary (typically pop)

but the words are pretty meaningful, and sung in a way that the words are stressed upon just as well.

Check out the track here.

Here are the lyrics - 

I am unwritten, 
Can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning
The pen's in my hand 
Ending unplanned 

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words 
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in 
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten, yeah

Oh, oh

I break tradition
Sometimes my tries
Are outside the lines, oh yeah yeah
We've been conditioned
To not make mistakes
But I can't live that way oh, oh

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words 
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in 
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips 
drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
the rest still unwritten

(Gospel)
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words 
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin 
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in 
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten

I sat, I saw , I survived!

The thought of RCB beating the CSK in the much awaited semi final was recurring for a quite a few days in my mind. And to watch the way we gave away boundaries and sixes oh so generously to the RCB folks (who came in 8th last season) was a touching sight indeed. We chennaites are warm and friendly, to the extent of exhibiting this trait overseas as well. Until it was 30 balls to go - the match seemed like a nail-biter till the end. When it came down to 17 balls - the writing was on the wall. 

The Super Kings have been sent back :-(

To get over the horror (err ..ummm ...I may be exaggerating here!) and the heartbreak of the IPL elimination in the semis , I pushed myself to the ultimate endurance test.

I happened to watch this masterpiece of one of the icons of Kollywood - The pasha of poetry , the lion of lyrics . The one and only - Vijaya .T.R Rajendharr. After relishing every bit of the sentiment , the plot , the carefully crafted screenplay , I pen this post out of sheer stupefaction.

I could not pull up a poster of this 3 hr thriller, anyways here are a few shots of the same!

I sat.

I saw.

I survived.

The passage of rite

There are 2 months in the whole year, I loathe beyond all comprehension. You bit your nails down to the very last moment and at the end , like Chester once yelled - "In the end, it doesnt even matter!" (WTF) Somethings have definitely changed this time around though. I've gotten an enlightement that I should have gotten a long time ago - I am planning to keep this gyaan guarded with my life. :-)  I have decided to look at , and focus on other facets of my life that I find enjoyable which I am sure will not dissappoint even if I vest 80% of my week on it (Since I find it joyful, hence proved?). I have started to write a lot of stuff within brackets (Seriously wondering why , though)

Aging is inescapable. The faster you brace it, shrug your shoulders , say F#$k it and carry on enjoying your life, the happier you will be. Most things in life are relative and nothing in the world is worth working you up or bringing you down.

2 of my friends got married on May 7th - I happen to have known these guys for sometime now. Wishing R and R all the happiness in the world.

Here is a song that I particularly loved during my final year of college. My i-pod just played this in shuffle mode. Enjoy.  My 3 readers would've come to terms with the fact that my creative streak is at an alltime low - so I need not bother elaborating why. :-D

PS: The action figures shown in the video - are they 'Mobile suit Gundam' ?

Poem #35

i have forgotten what a sunset looks like
i dont know what an evening feels like
all i see is day and night 
nothing in life, ever , seems quite right

this is the life with colours denied
all save the dreaded blue

Prussian, aqua , teal , any hue
Navy, ink or turquoised

Decisions and steps taken, sans poise
daily we rejoice on gaiety's demise
face the very faces that we despise
Grow rich and poor, with the price rise

I wrote this over a span of 3 minutes over a chat with a college mate , though I would not consider it anywhere near my usual standards of poetry, I still put it here anyway.

There's nothing like breaking the rut of a blogger block :-D

:)

This song never fails to bring a smile upon my face :-)