Just About Everything

With Ganesh Chaturthi, the festive season begins, and I simply wait for this season. Not because of religious reasons ...but because of the joy festivities generally bring... people are happier, the weather improves, there is delicious food, and there are so many reasons to wait for this season... Ganesha is worshipped for wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune. But what interests me more is the deeper spiritual meaning that Ganesha conveys, and celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi is a sort of a reminder to us about the true significance of Ganesha. To me it is very simple really...whenever there is a celebration of some kind; it brings in togetherness, happiness, joy, love, and well-being. If we were to look at Ganesha, who has an elephant head, is pot-bellied, and has a mouse as his vahan, what would anyone think? Not the best looking God, right? But if I were to describe Ganesha from a more spiritual perspective, I see Ganesha as one who epitomises inclusiveness, oneness, humili...

The flower show at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bengaluru is worth visiting. It usually happens in January and August every year, and incidentally the 2014 August flower show was the 200th show! It was indeed a wonderful treat to see such beautiful flowers displayed so creatively! We also saw a wonderful collection of medicinal and herbal plants!

Pataleshwar cave temple I am deviating a bit from my US and Europe trip, I have to share this unusual ancient temple in Pune, India. Even though I have been to Pune several times, I never visited this ancient temple before, I am happy I could visit it this time. If you like ancient temples, next time you are in Pune, or if you are visiting Pune in Maharshtra, India, for the first time, don't miss this temple. This is quite an unique temple. It is a rock cut temple dating back to the 8th century, dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is located on the Jungli Maharaj Road in Shivaji Nagar.It is easy to locate; any auto will take you since it is quite a popular temple. I found some very interesting carvings and drawings in the temple. Entrance to Pataleshwar temple Nandi Mandapa Nandi Passage inside the Pataleshwar temple Carvings on the wall Carvings on the wall of the temple Drawings on the floor of the temple Draw...

Niagara Falls  After getting a nice dose of history we went back to Niagara Falls. I had a few hours to spare before heading back to NYC. There is a convention center right across the State Park. And among other things, the convention center also hosts events and shows. I decided to watch a live performance show called the "Thundering Water Cultural Show" based on Niagara . This live performance used dance as a medium to depict how Niagara Falls impacted the lives of Native Americans and their culture. It was quite a good show, unfortunately, I could not get a seat in the front so the view was obstructed and I couldn't quite take snaps. But I was happy to catch the show. Areas around the Falls There was still a lot of snow in Niagara Falls in May I went back to the Niagara Falls to enjoy the Niagara Falls. I still had 2 hours since our bus was waiting for some passengers from Canada. I enjoyed spending time there. The best part was the S...

Old Fort Niagara This post is in continuation to my last post on Niagara Falls . The next morning was quite packed; we started off by visiting old Fort Niagara. Old Fort Niagara was well worth a visit. I am happy they included it in the trip. The old fort in Niagara is at the mouth of river Niagara, and was built there because of the location advantage (mainly to have some control on access to the lakes, and also the route that lead to the heart of the continent). However, the strategic importance of the location lessened after the construction of the Erie Canal. The history of the old Fort Niagara goes back to 300 years. It was built in 1678. The French were the first to build a post here. The Fort has been under the control of The French, the British, US Army, and it is now under the control of US coast guard. The history and the structures have been preserved so well that is certainly worth visiting.You may want to visit this site "http://www.oldfortniagara.org...

Niagara Falls I had always thought of visiting Niagara falls at some point and this time when I traveled to US it did look possible. Though it would have to be from the US side since I did not have a Canadian visa. Since I was staying at a friend's place in New Jersey, it was not so difficult for me to reach NYC. I just needed to take the NJ transit trains and reach Penn station. After checking out some tour packages, I settled for a two day, one night trip to Niagara falls which was being offered by Take Tours. The departure was from Chinatown at 8 am (Manhattan NYC). I reached Penn station around 7.10 am and in my excitement I thought it may be a good idea to walk to China town, it is around 3 miles from there quite doable but not when you have time constraints and I overestimated my fast walking capabilities. After walking close to 45 min, I found out that the destination was still far-far away and I just had 5 min left! I desperately started looking for a cab and it ...