Golkonda

This sunday we thought of visiting Golkonda as it is very near to Mehadipatnam where we are staying.

Golkonda a ruined city is situated west of Hyderabad.Though Kakatiyas built Golkonda in 13th century it is Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah who laid splendid monuments and designed a perfect acoustical system by which a hand clap sounded at the fort's main gates, the grand portico, was heard at the top of the citadel, situated on a 300-foot (91 m)-high granite hill.

According to a legend, the fort derives its name from Golla Konda, which is a Telugu word for Shepherd's Hill. It is believed that a shepherd boy came across an idol on the hill. This led to the construction of a mud fort by the then Kakatiya dynasty ruler of the kingdom around the site.The city and fortress are built on a granite hill that is 120 meters (400 ft) high.

Kancharla Gopanna, popularly known as Bhaktha Ramadaasu, a devout Hindu who constructed Bhadrachalm temple without informing the sultan at that time Tana Shah, was kept in a jail located inside the fort. It is also believed that there was a secret tunnel to Charminar.

Many famed diamonds are believed to have been excavated from the mines of Golconda like Kohinoor and Darya-ye Noor.

A new attraction at the fort is a sound and light show that brings the legend of Golconda to life. With a spectacular interplay of audio and visual effects, the story of Golconda unfolds over centuries of splendor. The show livens up the glorious past and it is an experience worth watching. The show is presented in English, Hindi and Telugu.

Vontimitta-Kadapa

For our first pongal celebrations we are invited to Kadapa. So we both started on wednesday from Hyderabad. As usual we celebrated with joy but Sri is getting bored so I planned him to take to nearby places around Kadapa. Mom suggested Vontimitta and we started on saturday afternoon.

Vontimitta is a mandal head quarters in Kadapa district famous for a 450 year old temple of Lord Rama.The great devotee and composer Tallapaka Annamacharyulu is associated with this legendary temple. His birth place Tallapaka is very near by to Vontimitta.Kishkindakanda, one of the 7 kandas of the Ramayanam, is believed to have happened in Vontimitta, Kadapa.The main mandapam, built by the Vijayanagar kings, has a dancing Vigneswara. 

The Sri Kodandarama temple at Vontimitta, is said to be the only Rama temple in the country without Anjaneya beside the main deity.It has idols of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana carved on a single rock. The idol is said to have been installed by Jambavantha.Mahakavi Bammera Pothana spent his life at Vontimitta and dedicated his Mahabhagavatham to the deity.

 Sri was fully satisfied and happy after visiting the temple.

Trip to Ooty

After marriage it was our first trip to both of us. Though it was the second time for me to visit Ooty(first with my mom and bro) i was excited to go along with Sri.

Ooty also known as Udhagamandalam is located in Nilgiris meaning "Blue Mountains". It is a land of picturesque picnic spots and had been a popular summer and weekend getaway for the British during the colonial days.

We started from Coimbatore on saturday morning. Its 1 hr journey from Coimbatore.  We hired a cab from local travels. The ghat road was really steep and the vehicle had trouble going up. With each hair pin bend we were going up by about 100 feets. Around mid way we could feel the chilling breeze.Mid way there is a small village named coonoor which was shot in the movie Roja by Mani Ratnam and not in Kashmir as people thought and Chaiyya Chaiyya song was also shot there.

After reaching Ooty we booked room in LakeView resort .After freshing up we planned to go to Filmi Chakkar spot which covers the usual film shooting spots in and around Ooty.

 

Our next destination was Pykara waterfall. Now this was something funny. We were climbing down the steps in search of waterfall and we could see none! Then a localite told us that the place we were standing itself was the waterfall.Have a glance at this so called waterfall..

We then proceeded towards Ooty golf course / Ooty Gymkhana club. This is located in Wenlock Downs, another meadow, and a famous shooting spot. After taking some more pictures, in the evening we did loads and loads of shopping.. i bought a sweater, a pure sandal perfume,a gunny bag of spices for us , in laws and for mom, 6 flavors of tea powder(green tea, chocloate, masala, elachi,lemon, black tea) and number of medicinal oils like eucalyptus, Gaultheria(oil for body pains and joint pains), lemon grass oil,oil made for cloves for teeth cleaning. Its worth buying of them , all are too concentrated and relieves from pains immediately..Finally we boughht a box of home made choclotaes for my bro and sis..

Next day we went to Govt. run botanical garden and were there till evening. The garden is good for evening time pass and worth visiting.We were never exhausted even after climbing up and walking along such a long way thanks to the aromatic space around. That made us the vigor to move to the second highest peak of South India, the Dodda Betta.Telescope and other observatory facilities are available at every highest point in Ooty hills.Later we went to tea factory where a demo was given how the leaves are dried, powdered and tea powder is made.

Finally we started our return journey. We both were depressed all the way for leaving back the rejuvenating hill station and coming down to the scorching native. While whirling round once again down the greatness of Nature, we were turning back to the parting Lavender flowers, blooming waysides, immeasurable fathoms and incredible valleys. Amazement was the only expression on our faces then.

Diwali with Sri's Grand Parents

5 months after our marriage Sri's grand parents are arriving here. So the first Dusshera and Diwali we celebrated with them. We thought of Sri's bro Ravi too joining us but he has to celebrate his Diwali in flight to US. As his tickets got confirmed on 16th midnight he has to fly.

Diwali or Dipavali , which translates into row of lamps . Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. I brought a number of lamps to lit on terrace. We brought new dresses to us and grand parents.

Diwali marks the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom of Ayodhya after defeating (the demon king) Ravana, the ruler of Lanka in the epic Ramayana. It also celebrates the slaying of the demon king Narakusara by Lord Krishna. Both signify the victory of good over evil. I remember my childhood days of celebrating Naraka Chaturdasi by blasting the edifice of Narakasura. We a group of children used to prepare an edifice of Narakusara from cardboards brought form nearby shops. We used to tie a cracker and thousandwala to the neck of edifice. One of us used to blast it and our celebration and playing crackers begin from that day till the 3rd day. 

On this happy occasion we wish u all and ur families a happy and safe Diwali.

BlackThunder;a water theme park in Nilgiris

First time mom is visiting our home after marriage. Sri and I planned to take mom and bro to Black Thunder on this weekend.    

 

Black Thunder Water Theme Park is Asia's No:1 Water Theme Park, nestled in natural beauty with the green hills of the Nilgiris for a backdrop and the cooling shelter of trees.This entertainment hub features a series of thrilling water rides. Wave pool, surf hill, wild river ride, lazy river ride, family raft, cannon ball ride, speed slide, shot gun slide, kiddies pool, dashing boat and thunder rain are some among them. Boating facility is available.

My brother Yaswanth is fond of visiting such parks and he is excited to go there. He played a lot in the all water games along with Sri. Here are some snaps of our trip.

Pelli Muchatlu

First of all I thank one and all who blessed us on this happiest moment.

on 10th April morning rituals started in my home and arrangements were going on to make me bridegroom. After nalugu and pellikuthuri snanam i performed the Gowri puja. Relatives were arriving and we started to Kalyana mandapam. The rituals of Vakka Sangyam and dinner were finished.

Pelli Peddalu

friends@my pelli

11th April .. the day came which we both were eager,tensed, happy and all types of feelings in mind. On muhartam time Sri tied the knot and now onwards i am the queen of his heart.

sweet mom

I once again thank my friends who shared this happiness along with us.

Pelli Pilupu

Its now my turn to invite for wedding. This is the most auspicious and happiest moment in my life. Please be there to share my happiness...

Our Wedding will be a fairy tale..

a dream without end

We'll be singing all day

as we set for fun

at our wedding in the sun!

We invite you to climb aboard our wedding cruise

on the yacht on APRIL 11th 2009

leaving port promptly at 7.45 AM

                                        Sri & Josh

Trip to South Tamil nadu

Its mom's passion to travel to all pilgrimage places in India. She has been very eager to visit temples of Tamilnadu. She knows and trusts astrology a lot. Inorder to perform Rahu puja by me we planned to TiruNageswaram , a town nearby Kumbakonam famous for Rahu bhagawan (one of the nine celestial bodies). I googled Maps of Tamilnadu and found that we can cover Srirangam of Trichy, Tanjore and Kumbakonam at one stretch.

We started and first reached Srirangam, an island and a zone in the city of Tiruchirpalli(Trichy) which is bounded by the Cauvery river on all sides. The Ranganathaswaamy temple is dedicated to Lord Ranganatha, a reclining form of Lord Vishnu.The temple occupies an area of 156 acres with a perimeter of 4,116m making it the largest temple in India and one of the largest religious complexes in the world. We were warned by the guide that if we loses the way its difficult to come out from the same door.We were in shocked mood to see such a big temple. At the entrance big elephants are present blessing the devotees who offers coin or banana. The deity here resembles of the deity in Dashavatram movie. We felt very pious to visit such a deity and temple.

Courtesy:Google The main deity of Srirangam

Ganesa(Tamilians call Elephant as Ganesa0

Next we planned to Tirunageswaram as we have to perform Rahu puja during Rahukalam. As it was sunday and Rahukalam was by 4:30 we started immediately. As we took 3000/- ticket we were made sit in front of the diety.Here milk abhishekam is performed daily during Rahukaalam. At this time, the milk that is poured on the statue turns blue when it passes over the body and once again to white after it reaches the floor. We watched this wonder. This is also the only place wherein one can view Rahu bhagawan with his consorts.

After performing puja we started to Tanjore. The famous Brihadeeswara temple is situated here.It is the world's first complete granite temple and a brilliant example of the major heights achieved by Cholas kingdom Vishwakarmas in temple architecture. It is a tribute and a reflection of the power of its patron RajaRaja Chola. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Greta Living Chola Temples". Here not only the main deity Siva Lingam is very huge but al other statues of nandi, Dakshinamurthy are also so huge. After seeing this temple we could not stop praising our Indian architecture.

Front view of Tanjore temple

Dakshina Murthy Temple of Tanjore