Our wanderings and perceptions

Swami Narayanan is an Hindu saint belonging to the 17th century. He formed a sect called the  Swaminarayan Sampraday and all his followers go by his teachings. This sect have established their temples at several places in India and abroad. Looking at all the devotees at the temple it felt like we are in a north Indian city and not Nairobi. view from the fly-over One such temple is in Nairobi, built in 1945. In few of the travels around Nairobi, happened to see this huge temple structure from the near by fly over and got intrigued by it. So one fine evening on a weekend made a quick visit to the temple. It was a day when all the leaders of  East African  Swaminarayan Sampraday had gathered there. On seeing us as strangers the volunteers offered to help us. Mansi, a junior leader took us around the temple. In the first floor, Swami Narayanan temple has the idols of Ganesh, Hanuman on either side of the entrance. The main deity Krishna is with Radha along with...

Fourteen falls is an hour distance from the Nairobi city on a traffic less day. One fine Sunday we took a trip to fourteen falls for half a day. From the city we took the Thika road highway to reach here. River Athi falls as fourteen falls at a broad plateau hence the name. On reaching Makutano junction we had to turn to a rough road to reach the falls. On the way The entrance fee is quite costly, its $10 per head for non-residents, we felt it costly for this sight we felt at the end of the trip. The parking space is huge and one can see the river flowing before you while parking. Its a rocking land before we go for the river and the falls. The river flows smoothly while the falls make a rushing sound.   The water is full of foam, seem to be have been contaminated. Also the colour is pale yellowish and stinks too. A natural resource is on the verge of getting destroyed if not already. Just imagined how fresh and crystal clear it would hav...

During our trip to Nairobi we made a historical trip, yeah to the museum. That too, to the Railway museum. This museum comprises of locomotives and photos of ships which were part of the East African Railways which operated the railways and the harbours of Kenya and Uganda. As soon as you enter the museum campus, you can see its walls painted artistically. At first it is the art museum that welcomes you, numerous young art students are seen jamming and painting, what talents! Next is the reception to the museum. Entrance ticket is 600 shillings each for non-residents. In the same building we can go through the photographs of the locomotives and trains belonging to the early 20th century. All related items belonging to the British era can be seen as exhibits. We can also see the railway routes of East African Railways (EAR), Tanganyika Railways and Kenya Uganda Railways (KUR). Many artefacts are carefully chosen and can be seen here only. The bicycle designed for r...

Malls - a western culture which has caught on to our side of the world and has been a craze since its existence. With cinema theatres claiming their spots in these malls, the crowds seem to just pour in, paving way to closure of cinema halls through out the country as multiplexes have cemented themselves victoriously. The only hazardous issue with watching movies in malls is the parking charge levied, worse than taxes to be paid. Most of the malls seem to set their own charges for 4-wheeler and 2-wheeler without any norms from the government. Of course modern architecture provides ample parking space for thousands of vehicles during weekends but still cannot justify the charges.   The orthodox population which came out of their huts just for temples and marriages have long vanished. Even older generation now prefer to break the age old boundaries and dine out in these huge malls. Unlike restaurants catering to specific cuisines the malls offer different types o...

கல்யாணத்தை பண்ணிப்பார், வீட்டை கட்டிப்பார் says an age old Tamil saying denoting the tedious nature of both as duties. The house warming ceremony denotes the culmination of building a house and entering into it for living. In a typical Tamil house hold, buying or building a new house is a pride and a dream. Building a house involves lot of rituals. First comes the 'Adikal naattu', laying the foundation stone. On an auspicious day, Just before the sunrise Bhoomi Pooja is done and the first stones are layed by the family and the builders involved. All present are given Prasad or sweets from the Pooja. This marks the kick start of the house building project. Once the building skeleton comes up with walls built and rooms differentiated there comes a time to fix the frame and threshold of the doors. This requires Vaasakaal Pooja to bring up the Vaasal. A team of married ladies in odd numbers form the main part of this ceremony. Navaratnas are buried below the Vaasal and e...

தீர்த்தனை, சிவனை, சிவலோகனை,  மூர்த்தியை, முதல் ஆய ஒருவனை,  பார்த்தனுக்கு அருள்செய்த சிற்றம்பலக்  கூத்தனை, கொடியேன் மறந்து உய்வனோ? asks Devaram in praise of the Lord Sivan. Entrance While entering the temple premises we see a ground where music sessions happen during festival occasions and serves as parking lot during non-season. Through the main entrance of the temple we are greeted by the ancientness of the temple and the modern flooring. The outer praharam starts with Pillaiyar in the left most corner and Murugar in the right most corner. While walking further from Murugar, the outer praharam also houses Adi Sankarar, Anchaneya and finally a separate shrine for Ayyappan in the right side.  Kailayam carving Once you enter the inner sanctum, Kachaleeswarar gives his darshan long side Soundarambhigai in a separate shrine to his left. The navagraha are in the left side and in the path around this praharam we can worship Panchamuga Pillaiyar, Urcha...

In today's fast moving competitive world we have no time to even stop and look around us. A deluge of selfish tasks keeps us secluded from the outside world. Very few come down to fight for common cause and not many willing to participate in legal proceedings benefiting society. We need to go out of way sometimes for betterment of mankind. Our country has numerous social activists who are the above said few. Dont we need more people to join them at least on a part time basis? Every citizen of this country need to join hands with these like minded people for the betterment of our society and the greater India. Recently two of such citizens from our very own Chennai caught our attention for their selfless work.  Are we not capable of planning our work and provide enough time to the society? Arun Krishnamurthy who runs his own firm and does election analysis is an activist for restoring lakes.  Environmentalist Foundation of India is the NGO which does thi...