Happy Life.........................

Couple of weeks ago, my cousin rang me up andasked if i was interested in joining him to watch padayani - a traditional performing art of kerala that is celebrated in few Kaali temples in southern kerala. I had heard a bit about padayani from my father and other friends but did not havetoo much idea about it. Hence decided to explore it. And Boy, Had i not been there, it would have been a huge loss. The history behind padayani goes something like t his. There was a daemon called Daarikan who was an ardent follower of Lord Brahma.He got a boon from the god that he could never be killed by a man and if a drop of his bloo d is spilled into the ground , a thousand daemons would rise from that. The daemon became so powerful because of this boon and he started creating havoc.Lord Shiv a opened his third eye and created goddess Maha Kaali to save the people from Daarikan.She travelled on the back of a daemon called Vethala and confronted Daarikan After a few setbacks, Maha Kaali was fi

- Documentary/66 minutes/2010/English,Malayalam,Tulu, Hindi, Punjabi Director K R Manoj's well-paced journey through the remnants of two Pesticide tragedies in India leaves the viewers with distrubing images of the long term effects of using harmful chemicals for farming. In addition, it also provides the people with a new found energy to fight for their earth.The documentary, which will be screened outside the 2011 Geneva convention in Stockholm (Conference Of Parties), is an invaluable asset to the Indian environmentalists who are fighting the indian politicians in an effort to enforce a global ban on harmful pesticides like endosulfan. The movie first explores the "Cancer Train"- A train whose majority of passengers are patients who travel back and forth from Bhatinda to Bikaner for their cancer treatments. As a part of Green Revolution, a large amount of chemical pesticides were used in the southern Punjab in its cotton belt. Over a period of time, continuous expo

Day 1 - Leave Bangalore by 8 AM - Go to Tibetan Monastry , Bylakuppe ( on the way from Mysore to Madikeri, Just before Kushal Nagar) Place to Visit : Namrodoling Monastery ( Golden Temple ) - Have lunch at Tibetan Monastry , Bylakuppa - Go to the HomeStay - Homestay details o Address: Suntikoppa , On the way to Madikeri from Kushal Nagar o Cost : 2750 /- ( including Dinner / Breakfast ) o Contact person Kariappa o Contact Phone : 9448380234 - Evening Madikeri/Coorg tour ( Leave around 3) - Madikeri Fort Madikeri fort was first built by Mudduraja in the last quarter of the 17th century. He also built a palace inside the fort. It was eventually rebuilt in granite by Tipu Sultan who named the site as Jaffarabad. In 1790, Doddavira Rajendra took control of the fort.The palace was renovated by Lingarajendra Wodeyar II in 1812-1814. One can find

Roaming around the books section in Landmark in a mood of trying something new, this book caught my attention mainly due to its colorful coverpage and captivating title. A glance through the acknowledgments section gave me a feel of a fresh writing style and I decided to give the book a try. Back Home, I got immersed in the book and soon I was happy that I bought it. The book revolves around the life of four retired men who lives in an old neighborhood in Calcutta, the protagonist being a chief Justice who just ventured into his retired life. The author(Suparna Chatterjee – her first book) has very smartly intertwined the storyline with the life and lifestyle of people in Calcutta. It is quite obvious that she is in love with the city and its culture and very little into the book she drags the readers as well into the city. The four gentlemen get invited to a house for a dinner and a theft happens at that place. The heroes gang, christened ABCD’s ( formed by adding together the firs