cheerful attitude – Page 88 – Take off with Natarajan

HAMPI….A Place For Architectural Beauties and Heritage Sites …

January 7, 2015January 7, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

If you are seeking an opportunity to virtually transport yourself to the times of kings and their kingdoms, to the times of heroic battles and battlefields and to the times of long forgotten wonders that hand carved this land for you to unravel, then this is the place for you. Furthermore, Hampi is one of the most safest places to be at.

Hampi calls you to witness the eccentric charm of valued monuments, of its beauty, that lies in the ruins of its UNESCO recognized sights. Located at the distance of 341 k.m. from Bengaluru, the easiest way to reach Hampi is either to take a bus or train, which is easily available from major towns and cities. The nearest railway station is Hospet.

1. Go fancy or go local, it’s totally upto you!

A five million star hut over a five star hotel. What TO say ?

2. Hire a cycle or a bike, maybe?

This is undoubtedly the cheapest and the most recommenced means of transport. This way you’ll cover all the stretches closely.

3. The glorious step well

Another great architectural beauty !

4. The Virupaksha temple

Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this temple is going to be a delight for your eyes.

5. The coracle boats

Tungabhadra River wouldn’t be the same without coracle boats. You’ll have a great time using them.

6. The boulder-strewn landscapes

Regardless of how much I say, Hampi’s monuments will always possess more charm than the one expressed in words.

7. Matanga Hill

This is one of the most talked about places in Hampi. You just have to be here.

8. Vittala temple

Rediscover your love amid this stone chariot of Vittala Temple.

9. Krishna Temple Complex

The majestic pillars of this temple will leave you mesmerized for longer than usual.

10. Bukka’s aqueduct

Nothing fancy about this place, just some beauty lying unnoticed.

11. Farms as seen from Anjaneyadri Hill

…and you’d wonder! Since when there was so much godliness around?

12. Zanana Enclosure

Numerous intriguing fables took birth here. A secluded place which was left for the royal women.

13. Tungabhadra River in Hampi

Ahuh! What a delight.

14. Elephant Stables

This is one of the least destroyed structures of Hampi. This oblong is demanding you to pay a visit.

15. Pampa Sarovar

This sarovar made to sacred ponds mentioned in the Hindu epics and scriptures.

16. South India Unplugged

Every shopper’s delight; the markets here, will leave you wanting for more. Just Shop.

17. Rock Climbing

Two steps up and one step down. That’s how you do it here. Hampi is a highly regarded rock climbing destination.

18. Watch as the Sun goes down

Just breathe and watch the beauty turning its face towards the lunar light.

19. Hampi’s Hippie Island

You always wanted to see that. Always. A part of you that rebelled enough to rebel will find solace here.

20. Discover your secret hideout

For your friends. Just for them.

The architectural aura of Hampi is akin to numerous fantasies. It is sure to take you back to the times of imperial beauty and legacy. Once you’re there, you are bound to get mesmerized amid the ruins.

SOURCE:::: Shewali Tiwari in www.storypick.com

Natarajan

Jan 8 2015

Start This Day With a Smile on your Face … !!!…and Keep Smiling !!!

January 7, 2015January 7, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

While I sat in the reception area of my doctor’s office, a woman rolled an elderly man in a wheelchair into the room. As she went to the receptionist’s desk, the man sat there, alone and silent. Just as I was thinking I should make small talk with him, a little boy slipped off his mother’s lap and walked over to the wheelchair. Placing his hand on the man’s, he said, “I know how you feel. My Mom makes me ride in the stroller too.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Out bicycling one day with my eight-year-old granddaughter, Carolyn, I got a little wistful. “In ten years,” I said, “you’ll want to be with your friends and you won’t go walking, biking, and swimming with me like you do now.

Carolyn shrugged. “In ten years you’ll be too old to do all those things anyway.”

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Working as a pediatric nurse, I had the difficult assignment of giving immunization shots to children.
One day, I entered the examining room to give four-year-old Lizzie her injection.

“No, no, no!” she screamed.

“Lizzie,” scolded by her mother, “that’s not polite behavior.”

With that, the girl yelled even louder, “No, thank you! No, thank you!”

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

On the way back from a Cub Scout meeting, my grandson innocently said to my son, “Dad, I know babies come from mommie’s tummies, but how do they get there in the first place?”

After my son hemmed and hawed a while, my grandson finally spoke up in disgust, “You don’t have to make up something, Dad. It is okay if you don’t know the answer.”

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

Just before I was deployed to Iraq, I sat my eight-year-old son down and broke the news to him. “I’m going to be away for a long time,” I told him. “I’m going to Iraq.”

“Why?” he asked. “Don’t you know there’s a war going on over there?”

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

*****
As I was nursing my baby, my cousin’s six-year-old daughter, Krissy, came into the room. Never having seen anyone breast feed before, she was intrigued and full of all kinds of questions about what I was doing. After mulling over my answers, she remarked, “My mom has some of those, but I don’t think she knows how to use them.”

*****
Out bicycling one day with my eight-year-old granddaughter, Carolyn, I got a little wistful. “In ten years,” I said, “you’ll want to be with your friends and you won’t go walking, biking, and swimming with me like you do now.

Carolyn shrugged. “In ten years you’ll be too old to do all those things anyway.”

******
Working as a pediatric nurse, I had the difficult assignment of giving immunization shots to children.
One day, I entered the examining room to give four-year-old Lizzie her injection.

“No, no, no!” she screamed.

“Lizzie,” scolded by her mother, “that’s not polite behavior.”

With that, the girl yelled even louder, “No, thank you! No, thank you!”

******
On the way back from a Cub Scout meeting, my grandson innocently said to my son, “Dad, I know babies come from mommie’s tummies, but how do they get there in the first place?”

After my son hemmed and hawed a while, my grandson finally spoke up in disgust, “You don’t have to make up something, Dad. It is okay if you don’t know the answer.”

*****
Just before I was deployed to Iraq, I sat my eight-year-old son down and broke the news to him. “I’m going to be away for a long time,” I told him. “I’m going to Iraq.”

“Why?” he asked. “Don’t you know there’s a war going on over there?”

*****
Paul Newman founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children stricken with cancer, AIDS, and blood diseases. One afternoon, he and his wife, Joanne Woodward, stopped by to have lunch with the kids. A counselor at a nearby table, suspecting the young patients wouldn’t know Newman was a famous movie star, explained, “That is the man who made this camp possible. Maybe you’ve seen his picture on his salad dressing bottle?”

Blank stares.

“Well, you’ve probably seen his face on his lemonade carton.”

An eight-year-old girl perked up. “How long was he missing?”

:::::::::::::::::::::

SOURCE:::: iNPUT FROM A FRIEND OF MINE

Natarajan

JAN 8 2015

Point to Ponder…”When you Own Responsibility , Nothing is Impossible “

January 7, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

There were two warring tribes in Andes, one that lived in the lowlands and the other in the mountains. The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day, and, as part of their plundering, they kidnapped a baby of one of the lowlander families and took the infant back up into the mountains.

The lowlanders didn’t know how to climb the mountain. They didn’t know any of the trails that the mountain people used, and they didn’t know where to find the mountain people or how to track them in the steep terrain.

Even so, they sent their best party of fighting men to climb the mountain and bring the baby home.

The men tried first one method of climbing and then, another. They tried one trail and then, another. After several days of effort, however, they had climbed only about 50 meters.

Feeling helpless and helpless, the lowlanders decided that the cause was lost, and they prepared to return to their village below.

As they were packing their gear for the descent, they saw the baby’s mother walking towards them. They realized that she was coming down from the mountain that they hadn’t figured out how to climb.

And then they saw that she had the baby strapped to her back. How could that be?

One man greeted her and said, ‘We couldn’t climb this mountain. How did you do this when we, the strongest and the most able men in our tribe couldn’t do it?’

She shrugged her shoulders and said, ‘It wasn’t your baby.’

WHEN YOU OWN YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, NO HURDLE IS INSURMOUNTABLE.!!

SOURCE:::: unknown… Input from a friend of mine

Natarajan

Jan 8 2015

Cartoon of the Day….!!!

January 7, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

SOURCE:::: http://www.glasbergen.com

Natarajan

Jan 8 2015

Joke of the Day…” Just Pull the Plug …

January 7, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

A man and his wife were sitting in the living room discussing a

“Living Will”

“Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine

and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.”

His wife got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all the beer.!!!

SOURCE::::: http://www.joke a day.com

Natarajan

Jan 8 2015

ரமணர் வாழ்வில்….சுவையான நிகழ்ச்சிகள்…Part 7

January 7, 2015January 7, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

அப்படி என்னதான் இருக்கிறது திருவண்ணாமலையில்? கிரிவலம் வருவது எதனால்? என்பதைத் தெரிந்துகொள்ள இந்தக் கதையைப் படித்தாலே போதும்.

படைக்கும் கடவுளான பிரம்மாவுக்கும், காக்கும் கடவுளான விஷ்ணுவுக்கும் தங்களில் யார் பெரியவர்? என்ற வாக்குவாதம் எழுந்தது.

அதற்குத் தீர்வு தர, சிவபெருமான் ஓர் ஒளிப் பிழம்பாக, விஸ்வரூபம் காட்டி விண்ணுக்கும் மண்ணுக்கும் பெரிதாய் நின்றார். அன்றைய தினம்தான் சிவராத்திரி.

“என்னுடைய பாதத்தையோ, சிரசையோ யார் முதலில் காண்கிறார்களோ அவர்களே பெரியவர்.’’ என்றார் ஈசன்.

மகாவிஷ்ணு, வராக அவதாரம் எடுத்து பாதம் காண பாதாளம் நோக்கிப் பாய்ந்தார்.

பிரம்மனோ, தலை காண, அன்னப் பறவையாய் ஆரவாரமாய்ப் பறந்தார்.

காலங்கள் கடந்தன. விஷ்ணுவால் இறைவனின் பாதத்தைக் காண முடியவில்லை.

ஆதி அந்தம் இல்லாத சிவபெருமான்தான் மிகப் பெரியவர் என்பதை உணர்ந்த விஷ்ணு, தன் பிழையை உணர்ந்து தியானத்தில் ஆழ்ந்தார்.

பிரம்மா மட்டும் தோல்வியை ஒப்புக் கொள்ளவில்லை. யுகம் யுகமாய் சிவனின் தலையிலிருந்து விழுந்து கொண்டிருந்த ஒரு தாழம்பூவின் உதவியுடன், ‘நான் சிவனின் தலையைக் கண்டுவிட்டேன்’ என்று பொய்யுரைத்தார்.

அப்புறம் என்ன? பொய் சொன்ன பிரம்மாவுக்கு பூவுலகில் பெரிதாய் வழிபாடு எங்கும் இல்லை. தாழம்பூவும் பூஜைக்குப் பயன்படாத மலர் ஆயிற்று.

நெருப்புத்தூணாக, பிரம்மாண்டமாக ஆரம்பமும் முடிவும் கண்டுபிடிக்க முடியாதவாறு பிரம்மாவுக்கும், விஷ்ணுவுக்கும் காட்சி தந்த இறைவன், பக்தர்களுக்கும் காட்சி தர வேண்டும் என்பதற்காக, குளிர்ந்து, தன் உருவத்தை உள்ளடக்கி, அருணாசலமாக, திருவண்ணாமலையாக மாறினார்.

எல்லாம் வல்ல சிவபெருமானே இந்தத் திருவண்ணாமலை பற்றி என்ன சொல்கிறார் தெரியுமா?

”சூரியனிடமிருந்து சந்திரன் ஒளி பெறுவது போல பூமியில் உள்ள எல்லாத் தலங்களும் இந்தத் திருவண்ணாமலையால் ஒளி பெறுகின்றன. திருவண்ணாமலைதான் ஓம்காரத்தின் உறைவிடம். ஒளி வெள்ளமாக நான் உரு எடுத்ததை பக்தர்களுக்கு நினைவூட்ட, கார்த்திகை தினத்தில் மலை உச்சியில் தீபமாகக் காட்சி தருவேன். இந்தத் திருவண்ணாமலையை நினைத்தாலே முக்தி தருவேன்.’’ என்று ஆனந்தமாகக் கூறியிருக்கிறார் சிவபெருமான்.

காசியில் இறக்க முக்தி, திருவாரூரில் பிறக்க முக்தி, சிதம்பரத்தைத் தரிசித்தால் முக்தி. ஆனால் நினைத்தாலே முக்தி தரும் தலம் திருவண்ணாமலை. காசியில் இறப்பது எல்லோருக்கும் வாய்க்காது. திருவாரூரில் பிறப்பது நம் செயல் அன்று. சிதம்பரத்திற்கு நேரில் சென்று தரிசிப்பது என்பது எல்லோராலும் இயலாது. ஆனால் திருவண்ணாமலையை ஒரு முறையேனும் நினைப்பது யாவருக்கும் எளிதான செயலே. அவ்வாறு ஒரு முறை நினைத்தாலும் முக்தி எளிதில் வாய்க்கும் என்ற சிறப்பை உடையது திருவண்ணாமலை தலம்.

எங்கோ திருச்சுழியில் பிறந்த பகவான், திருவண்ணாமலை நாடி வந்த மகத்துவம் புரிகிறதா உங்களுக்கு? அது மட்டும் அல்ல, மனம், அறிவு, ஆன்மா ஆகிய மூன்றும்தான் விஷ்ணு, பிரம்மா, சிவன் என்று உருவகப்படுத்தி உணர்ந்தால் வாழ்க்கையின் தத்துவம் புரிபடும்!

ஓம் நமோ பகவதே ஸ்ரீ ரமணாய!!

SOURCE::::: http://www.balhanuman.wordpress.com

Natarajan

7 Jan 2015

” இட்லிக்கு உண்டோ இணை …. ” !!!

January 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The greatness of idlis!During the pre-independence days, an Iyer and a Britisher were travelling by the Howrah Express train, from Madras to Calcutta. The train left Madras Central railway station at 8 p.m. sharp, and the next morning at 7 a.m., it was at Vijayawada.The Britisher had a sumptuous Spencer’s breakfast, delivered to him by a butler, in livery. But the Iyer opened the top box of his 4-compartment, steel tiffin carrier, and ate two idlis.Lunch at Waltair station (asVisakhapatnam was then called), was a heavy meal served to the Britisher, by the Railway Refreshment stall. But the Iyer only opened the second box of his tiffin carrier, pulled out 4 idlis, and ate them with relish. The Britisher was curious, as to what was happening. But being a Britisher, kept his stiff-upper-lip posture on.

But when the scene repeated, during dinner at Berhampur, the Britisher could no longer contain himself, and enquired from the Iyer, ” Sir, what are those white things you have been eating, all along? ”

The Iyer replied, ” Sir, these are called intelligence tablets. We South Indians, can live on them for days, together. ”

Britisher: ” But how do you make them ? ”

The Iyer went into an elaborate description, of the raw materials and processes, of making idlis.

Britisher : ” Can you please give me a couple of them? But you need not give them to me free of charge. I’ll be happy to pay you, whatever price you quote. “The Iyer thought for a while, and said, “Actually, I have only three more of them left, for tomorrow morning’s breakfast. But since I am going to my relative’s place, I can spare them for you. But they will cost you, 20 Indian Rupees each “.The Britisher paid up immediately, happy that he was so lucky. The next morning, at the Howrah railway station in Calcutta, as they were about to part ways, the Britisher asked the Iyer, “But tell me sir, are you sure you have told me the entire process, without leaving out any details? “.Iyer replied, “Yes, I told you all the details”.

Britisher: “Then why were those intelligence tablets, so costly?”

The Iyer replied,”See?! You ate only 3 of them last night, and they have already started working?!”

SOURCE::::: input from a friend of mine

Natarajan

Bonus :::: An Instant Kavithai on our Great Idli …. Penned by me when i was 14 years old… Now I am 65 !!!

மதியம் போல் வெண்மை பொதிய மலை தமிழின் தன்மை

விதி முறையால் சட்டினியும் சாம்பாரும் சார சுவை அளிக்கும்

அந்த இட்டிலுக்கு உண்டோ இணை !!!

நடராஜன்

JAN 7 2015

Joke of the Day… ” Where is the Lawyer with you … ” ? !!!

January 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

An engineer dies and reports to the pearly gates. St. Peter checks his dossier and says, “Ah, you’re an engineer — you’re in the wrong place.” So the engineer reports to the gates of hell and is let in. Pretty soon, the engineer gets dissatisfied with the level of comfort in hell, and starts designing and building improvements. After a while, they’ve got air conditioning, flush toilets and escalators, and the engineer is becoming a pretty popular guy. One day God calls Satan up on the telephone and asks with a sneer, “So, how’s it going down there in hell?” Satan replies, “Hey, things are going great. We’ve got air conditioning, flush toilets and escalators, and there’s no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next.” God replies, “What??? You’ve got an engineer? That’s a mistake — he should never have gotten down there; send him up here.” Satan says, “No way! I like having an engineer on the staff, and I’m keeping him.” God says, “Send him back up here or I’ll sue.” Satan laughs uproariously and answers, “Yeah right. And just where are YOU going to get a lawyer?”

SOURCE:::: http://www.joke a day.com

Natarajan

Jan 7 2015

It may look like Snow covered Alps… But ….

January 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Incredibly deceiving images of what can easily be mistaken for snow-covered Australian mountains have been released.

But do not be fooled. Instead, what the pictures really show are stunning pyramids of plain, white salt.

These were taken five years ago, when Emma Phillips was on a mission to find the perfect location for her final assignment to wrap up her photography course.

Her vision was to capture images of an industrial location near the city of Melbourne but this proved to be quite an arduous process.

Instead, she left her hometown and spent two months in the Nullabor Plain out in the Western Australian desert.

There she came across an abandoned salt refinery and found exactly what she was looking for

For the first time, the photographer has published the photos in her book 'Salt' which shows the vastly treeless landscape of the Nullabor Plain

During her time in the desert, she paid a visit to an abandoned salt refinery and found the perfect location for her final assignment

The whole experience was 'desolate, eerie and beautiful', the 25-year-old told Daily Mail Australia

For the first time, the photographer has published the photos in her book ‘Salt’ which shows the vastly treeless landscape of the Nullabor Plain.

The whole experience was ‘desolate, eerie and beautiful’, the 25-year-old told Daily Mail Australia.

She was particularly impressed with the way ‘the buildings seemed to disappear and the way the salt shimmered in the sun’.

About 18 images have been published in ‘Salt’, which is available online.

SOURCE:::: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Natarajan

6 Jan 2015

Cartoon of the Day… !!!

January 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

SOURCE:::: http://www.glasbergen.com

Natarajan