Trip to Chikka Tirupathi Temple

Good that after a lazy..long break I got some time to write this blog.

Yesterday I went to a Temple called Chikka Tirupathi Temple.

My friend Thenraj and myself started around 10 AM in the morning from my Bellandur house.
Route is like Bellandur - Sarjapur-ChikkaTirupathi Temple.
You can easily find it out using Google Maps. After Sarjapur you should take left, which will lead you to the Temple. If you take right, it will take you to Tamilnadu border.
After Sarjapur the road is pretty nice, it reminds me of my Village road with green.
We had tender-count on the way and spoke to the small guy who was selling it. He said, he can speak Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Urudu. I was astonished to hear this. I call my self as educated( who calls ???, may be myself).and One thing is the Tendercoconut was 12 Rs same as in Bellandur. I was happy that Iam not paying more even in Bellandur. We reached the temple around 11.20 AM.
The Temple was not very big , but a medium sized nice temple. It was very crowded as there were close to 10 marriages happening there. I saw groom wearing Mysore hat and some wearing andhra style hat ( which we wear in our marriages, I might wear one too in the coming year).
It took almost 30 minutes to pray the God who was resembling of Tirupathi Balaji. The deity was very good looking and I couldn't take my eyes off for couple of seconds. I wanted to stand there and get good glimpse of my beloved balaji.
We came out after a good darshan and bought couple of ladoo prasadam (Rs 10 per each). Laddoo was very good. Out side we bought some Pori + Mixture and we eat them later on the way at some place where we could sit comfortably.
We started back with a complete sense of fullness.

We also went to Tamilnadu border from Sarjapur and on the way back we bought some fresh Papaya on the road side.


We stopped at Iyer's Kitchen a new Tamil Style hotel opened on the road between ( Bellandur to Total Road). Though the food was not great, it was OK i felt. But my friend wasn't happy.


I really had a nice time yeterday. It is worth driving to Chikka Tirupathi Temple.

Even I heard there are few other temples we can visit. I will try next time.

Nalini's Marriage -Initial Process

Dear Friends,
I was off for the last 12 days due to my first younger sister Nalini's marriage on Feb 19th at Palani.
From Feb 18th to Feb 22nd Evening, lot of activities happened, which i couldn't foresee at all.

the list of stuff happens at a typical arranged Kammavar Naidu ( Naicker) marriage around Palani is listed here.

I would like to split this post in to two parts where i want to list out the rituals as well as my personal experiences.

The very first and important step is , If both Boy and Girl's Family agrees, Horoscope matching happens. If both the families are Ok with this then the marriage is almost over. But nobody can predict the surety. the background check also happens here from both the sides.

Then the procedures starts here
1.The Boys Family visits the Girls House ( Here around 100 people visited my house. it costed me Rs13,000 for food and other arrangements)
2. The Girl's Family visits the Boy's House. We were just 30 while visiting their house
3. Engagement(Nichayathartham) or Uppumatruthal ( Exchanging the salt) happens.
Uppumatruthal is the traditional ritual at naidu's marriage. We also did that. Both the families exchange the salt(along with Lemon , vetrilai, paaku) in front of a God like a confirmation that this girl is engaged to this boy. We did this ritual at Patathu vinayakar temple in Palani on January 18th.
4. Next printing the invitation cards happens.this also happened on the same day at a nearby press in palani.
5. The Boy's side buys muhurtham saree and Thaali ( Mangal sutra)
for the girl. these two processes too happened on the same day ( Jan 18th)
6. The invitation card is first kept prayed in front of the Family god and as well as in front of their favorite gods. We went to Kongapatti ( My family god's name is Maaviti Ellammal Temple) and prayed her.
7. The first invitation card is presented to the Maternal Uncle. We went to my maternal uncle's house at periyakottai and presented the card. then we can invite anybody with out any order. Usually this takes about 10 to 15 days of time. a very hectic activity. You need to eat or drink at every place you visit. so stomach and throat upset is a expected result out of this process.

once all this over the marriage process starts

War !!

Yes Its really a war.
Living in the world is really like a war. Am i ready for the war ? . not yet, but i am preparing myself for the war.
Some people feel, the life is gifted, some fools like me think it is a war.

somebody says if you don't have sandals, be relaxed by looking at somebody who doesn't have legs.

All these thoughts are coming to me for couple of weeks.
the reason???
My appraisal time and my sister's marriage.

My Appraisal is screwed up very well and can not expect a decent hike this time.
Money is flowing like water for my sister's marriage.

Even with all these I need to concentrate on the work.

Yeah.. I borned to do that.

As Geethai says, only doing is my job. nothing else.

I don't know what to say ....

I did much better than anybody. still i was told i need to do well.
Well others do have 2 brains, i have only half brain. I don't think so.
I can do four people job in a day. that is my strength.
I can plan better than anybody in the world and execute flawlessly better than anybody else in the world.That is my strength.

Iam second to none .
Why should i be questioned by some morons??

I can run a company of 10,000 engineers. I can create a company of that magnitude.
I can design solutions which are better than any company in the world

Iam complaining about somebody. is it so??

but still its worth a learning in the life.
At least I learnt to speak up my mind. I always learn from mistakes I make.
any one more thing is Iam always reactive. not proactive.I must change this.
Iam 26 now.
still i have 34 years of time before i turn 60.
I honestly believe i have more time in career than my age right now.
Let me see what I can achieve in that.

ஆயிரத்தில் ஒருவன்

அன்பு நண்பர்களே,
நேற்று Tamilish Blog-இல் ஆயிரத்தில் ஒருவன் பற்றி நிறைய விமர்சனங்கள்.
சிலவை போற்றி - சிலவை தூற்றி .நான் எனக்கு நானே விமர்சகன்.
இரவு காட்சி பார்க்க நண்பர் ஜெயகணேஷ்-உடன் Multiplex சென்றேன்.

படம் 3 மணி நேரம் - 15 நிமிடம்.

ஒரு மிகச் சிறப்பான படம் பார்த்த சந்தோசம்.

Hats off to செல்வராகவன்.

S.P. பாலசந்தர், பாரதிராஜா, மணிரத்னம் வரிசையில் தமிழ் சினிமாவை அடுத்த நிலைக்கு கொண்டு செல்ல ஒரு டைரக்டர் வந்து விட்டான் என்ற சந்தோசம் இருந்தது படம் முடிந்த பிறகு.

நான் பாண்டியன், இருந்தும் நேற்று சோழன் வாழ விருப்பப்பட்டேன்.
அவ்வளவு உயிரோட்டமாக இருந்தது.

பார்த்திபன் நடிப்பு மிக அருமை. அவர் நிறைய கேரக்டர் ரோல்கள் செய்ய வேண்டும். தமிழ் சினிமா ஒரு நல்ல நடிகரை மீண்டும் பயன்படுத்திக் கொள்ள வேண்டும்.
கார்த்தி ஒரு அற்புதமான நடிகர். மீண்டும் அதை நிருபித்து விட்டார்.
என்ன அருமையான முக பாவனைகள். அவர் கமலின் வாரிசாக வருவார் என்று நம்புகிறேன்.

ஆண்ட்ரியா கொள்ளை அழகு. செல்வராகவன் சோனியா அகர்வாலை divorce -செய்ததில் ஒரு நியாயம் இருக்கத்தானே செய்கிறது.

ஒரு ஆங்கில படத்தை மிஞ்சிய தமிழ் படம்.
சமீபத்தில் வந்த பேராண்மை மற்றும் ஆயிரத்தில் ஒருவன் ஆகிய படங்கள் தமிழ் சினிமாவை நிச்சயம் ஒரு புதிய பாதையில் கொண்டு செல்லும் என்பதில் ஐயமில்லை.

மறந்து விட்டேன் G.V.பிரகாஷ் music பற்றி எழுத.
இன்னொரு ஆஸ்கார் நிச்சயம் இந்த பையனுக்கு கிடைக்கும் எதிர்காலத்தில்.

எல்லோரும் சென்று படத்தை நல்ல theatre-இல் பாருங்கள்.

Hogenakkal Trip

Wish you all a Very Happy New Year !!!. May all your dreams come true in the New Year !!
So here is my first post in 2010. Though Some of posts are becoming like a Travelogue i believe its worth writing because of the enjoyment I had in theses places.
Last Thursday I was just mentioning about Hogenakkal to Stalin( My Colleague and Friend) at . He immediately asked me, " shall we go tomorrow?". I readily agreed.
We started around 8 .30 AM in Bangalore ( in Bus) and we took the route which should not be taken in the bus. We reached Hogenakkal around 1.30 PM.
Usually the way is Bangalore - Hosur- Krishnagiri- Dharmapuri- Pennagaram- Hogenakkal.
It takes around 4 to 4.30 Hrs to reach the place.
We took the way like Bangalore- Hosur-Royakottai-Palakodu-Pennagaram-Hogenakkal.
Though this route is shorter the buses usually stops at all these places for unusual time and makes your trip boring. The Former one is a NH7 till Dharmapuri, so you can have a comfortable ride in Car or in a Bus.
I believe we must have our own vehicle to reach there and it won't take more than 3 hours.

Things to do:
1. Coracle Ride: You should go for Coracle Ride . You can have a unforgettable time there if you are a first time visitor.
2. View from Hanging Bridge: You can have a fantastic view of the falls from the Hanging Bridge.
3. Oil Massage: You can try Oil Massage if you feel comfortable.
4. Bath: Main Falls and Cine Falls: these are the two falls available there. Main falls is fantastic. Cine falls is also good.
5. Fish Food: You can ask the Local women there to prepare Fish Fry and Fish Curry with
Rasam and Rice.

All the Five above mentioned items are must to do according to me.
As soon as you reach , People will start circling you for Coracle Ride, Oil Massage and Food Preparation. You should have good negotiating skills to get a better deal.
For coracle Ride settle for 60 Rs or 70 Rs per head for the full ride ( till Karnataka border).
You should also get tickets for Rs 10 per head. I believe you should not pay more. We did settle for Rs 60 , but at last we paid Rs 70 ourselves.

For Normal Massage it is 50 and for special Massage it is Rs 100. I went for special Massage for 100. If you are a group 4 or 5, you can negotiate. you may get 80 Rs per Head.

There will be many Local Women preparing Fish Fry and Food. You can ask them to prepare Fish Fry as well as Fish Curry. You can choose the fish you like in the market and hand over it to those women to prepare food. We bought 2.5 Kg of Fish for around Rs 300 and paid Rs 4o0 for the Rice, Fish Curry, Fish Fry and Rasam . This we paid for 5 people.They will buy the ingredients and prepare. this is not only for preparation.
I believe if you are visiting Hogenakkal, If you don't eat fish there, I would say its like visiting a temple, but not praying the presiding deity of the temple.
The place is not really hygienic, but it is a must to do at Hogenakkal.You can find a better place there to sit and eat
Some people complain that the place is not really hygenic. I also agree with it. Even I had this Question till I took bath.
Once I took a refreshing bath, I felt, If I keep talking like this, then Whats the fun in life??.
Explore and Enjoy whats available at any place instead of complaining.

My Itinerary would be:
1.Start Banagalore by 6 AM & reach Dharmapuri around 9 PM.
2.Please find Hotel Ponni near the Bus stand for Breakfast for Real Tamilnadu Style Idli, Dosai, Poori and Pongal. If you go by bus this is a must to do.
3.There are plenty of buses to reach Hogenakkal from there.Reach Hogenakkal around 11 AM.
4. Go for Coracle Ride .This would take around 1 to 1.30 hours ( Pics and Views on the way)
5. In the mean time , you should also find a women to prepare Fish Food.Negotiate a deal, buy fish and ask her to prepare food. This I believe you should even before you go for coracle ride.
6. Once the coracle ride is over, Go for Oil Massage, Wait for more than 30 Min to get the full benefit of Oil massage, and take bath.
7. So around 2 to 3 PM, you can go for Lunch.
8. Then you can go for Hanging Bridge and also walk to the other side of the bridge if you wish too.
9. You can leave the place by around 6 PM.
10. You can come home for Dinner.

Take as much as time you wish to do every single Activity

When I went there first time, My friend in Hosur arranged everything. Fish Fry was ready and a man was waiting there to take us for the coracle ride. It was so good. As soon as we reached there, we bought Fish for curry and handed over it to the women. Fish fry was already ready and took the fish fry for coracle ride, while riding we also enjoyed the fish.

This time, My friend reached there an hour earlier and had a deal for Fish Food with the help of a Local Friend.
I took a wonderful bath and prayed My Favorite GOD "Lord Murugan" there on river shore near the falls ( there was a small temple).

I started my New Year with refreshing thoughts and full energy.

I wish I go there at least once in every 6 months.

You will never forget the fish food there and It will make you to visit the place next time.

People will never get bored there and always wants to go there next time.


Have a Happy trip to Hogenakkal !!!

-R.Gurusamy