This song is loved by two generations of small children in our house.

Some songs stand the ‘Test of Time’, yet others fade into obscurity. I am making this statement with specific reference to Telugu and Hindi movie songs and I can guess same is the case with songs in all the languages of the world.

Elsewhere in the world everlasting songs may be forth coming copiously every year. But this is not the case with Telugu and Hindi movie songs, most modern day songs are not good. Without naming great lyricists, singers and music directors of bygone days; I can declare that songs of yesteryears, majority of them are very popular even today, very melodious and with great music and meaning.

Most modern songs, virtually all of them may have good singers but the lyrics are difficult to understand in one hearing, they are mostly meaningless and sometimes vulgar and always noisy with the cacophony of too many loud and unnecessary instruments and the accompanying dances are unethical with vulgar gyrations.

There are hundreds of old evergreen songs in Telugu and Hindi but here is one video song from the Hindi movie “Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi” of 1958, which my children, Srikanth and Srinath loved to see often and repeatedly as young children years ago, and then it was popular with my grandnephew, Vihaan and today it is with my one and a half year old grandson, Atharv. My children were never tired of listening to this song and today my grandson keeps coming to me few times every day when I am at my desktop asking me to play this song by uttering the words - Pom, pom, pom! And I have to obey him until he changes his mind for something better to do in the house. It is now so popular with him that he demands this song from his grandmother at the time of feeding him meals and she has to play it for him on her mobile phone.

The title of the song is ‘Babu Samjho Ishare’, and as I mentioned earlier it is from the movie ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’ of 1958. The singers are Ashok Kumar (a great actor), Kishore Kumar (actor and a great singer) and Manna Dey (another great singer). The Lyricist is Majrooh Sultanpuri and the Music Director is Sachin Dev Burman and the Movie Director is Satyen Bose. And the actors in this song are Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Anoop Kumar, all brothers!

Thanks to all these departed souls who continue to amuse our children!

You may now see and enjoy this video:

An Ode to A Traditional Gift!

Perfect gifts are plenty,

Available easily and amply,

For a birthday,

Or anniversary,

For every celebration,

And every occasion,

And for expressing appreciation,

And of course love and affection.

Any gift would make one happy,

For some time or eternally.

Gifts are necessary,

For relations lovely,

Here is a traditional gift,

For women,

Of our region,

A gift most honoured,

Most loved,

A ceremonious gift,

That is in continuation,

Since ancient times.

It is filled with love and good wishes,

Symbolizing happiness,

Well-being,

And prosperity.

Every item in this basket,

Summons love and respect!

Most sacred and splendid ‘Lingaraja Temple’, Bhubaneswar.

Bhubaneswar the capital of Odisha is a city of temples. Not only from a religious point of view, several of these temples are important from an architectural standpoint. The Lingaraja or Lingaraj temple - the largest of these is a highly revered Shiva temple and it is an outstanding specimen of the Orissa/Odisha style of temple building. It is over a thousand years old. Bhubaneswar, Konark and Puri; the three temple towns constitute the Golden triangle of Orissa. We are extremely happy to have visited these three significant, ancient and historic places of pilgrimage, very recently.

Bhubaneswar is a highly revered pilgrimage centre since ancient times. The Bramha Purana refers to Bhubaneswar as the Ekamra Kshetra enshrining countless Shivalingas. More than 400 temples, dated between the 7th and 13th centuries, remain here today out of the 7,000 that are once said to have dotted the city. The total number of temples included in this area at one time, as recorded in the hyperbolic language of Ekamra Purana, was a hundred thousand while the Shivalingas numbered ten million (one crore)!

The extant temples were built largely by rulers of the Shailobhava, Bhaumakara, Somavamshi and Ganga dynasties. The overwhelming sanctity of the region led the rulers, driven by the hope of eternal blessings, to vie with one another in building temples of all dimensions.

The Lingaraja temple is said to have been built first by the ruler Yayati Kesari in the 7th century who shifted his capital from Jaipur to Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar remained as the Kesari capital, till Nripati Kesari founded Cuttack in the 10th century. According to an inscription on the wall of jagamohana, Lingaraja temple is dated to the 11th century, to the reign of the Ganga king, Anantavarman Chodaganga.

Lingaraja temple was originally known as Krittivasas and from the very beginning, it has been the most revered temple in Bhubaneswar. The crowning glory of the temple is its 55 metre (180 feet) tall great tower or shikara of the deul that dominates not just the temple but also the town of Bhubaneswar. ‘In the elegance of its proportions and sculptural richness, it is one of the most finished and refined manifestations of temple architecture in India’.  The main temple consists of four structures, all in the same axial alignment, viz., deul or Sri Mandir or Vimana, jagamohana or the Hall (Mandapa), nata mandira or the Dancing Hall, and bhoga mandapa or bhoga mandira or the Hall of offerings. And surrounding the main temple are many minor temples in its vast courtyard covering over 2,50,000 square feet. The Shivalingam in the sanctum of the Lingaraja temple rises to a height of 8 inches above the floor level, and is 8 feet in diameter!

Legend has it that Shiva revealed to Parvati that Bhubaneswar - or Ekamra Thirtha was a resort favoured by him over Banaras. Parvati in the guise of a cowherd woman decided to look at the city herself. Two demons Kritti and Vasa desired to marry her. She requested them to carry her upon their shoulders and crushed them under her weight. Shiva, then created the Bindu Saras Lake to quench her thirst and took abode here as Krittivasas or Lingaraja. The vast Bindu Sagar Lake is the centre around which are located the multitude of temples of Bhubaneswar.  It is believed that a Hindu pilgrimage to Bhubaneswar must begin with a dip in its sacred waters followed by the worship of Lingaraja, to attain moksha or liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth.

A total of 22 worship services are offered here each day and there are several annual rituals. Once a year, an image of Lingaraja is taken to the Jalamandir in the centre of the Bindu Sagar Lake. Every day over 6,000 pilgrims visit the temple and on special occasions, it is in several thousands and on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri it touches 2 lakhs!

My Baked Pineapple Casserole!

Baked Pineapple Casserole!

A very delicious dessert,

So easy to make,

And sure to please,

Every one’s taste,

And when I make it,

It looks great,

And tastes best!

Our Wedding Anniversary Celebration – 2017.

Yesterday was our 38th Wedding Anniversary. The day went off well, very happily, with anniversary wishes coming from family and friends.

We had a lively and sumptuous family dinner with my brother and sister’s families at Absolute Barbecue Restaurant, Banjara Hills. It was a memorable get-together with all dear ones including my dear baby grandson. Some family members could not make it and we missed them. Thanks to every one for their greetings and wishes and for being so loving to us in the past, now, and touchwood forever.

My son hosted the party.  The bonhomie and happiness of the celebration can be seen from attached photographs and video.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Sahakari Spice Farm.

Nutmeg fruit, slit and explained to us. This explanation can be seen in the Video below. Similarly many other spices were explained to us at Sahakari Spice Farm:

VIDEO:

Sahakari Spice Farm is a 130 acres farm with a Goan Restaurant! It is located at Ponda along Belgaum Highway in the State of Goa. The entry fee includes Lunch Buffet consisting of best known Goan Food including Seafood and Chicken and also North Indian spread and a Guided Tour in their 5 acre especially grown dense Spice Farm with a variety of Spice plants and trees. This tourist - 5 acre area appears like a dense forest with crisscrossing mud pathways, water streams and bridges as you can see in the attached Video. As we are guided amidst these trees; detailed explanation is given about the Spices, their cultivation and medicinal values. Some of them are plucked to show us their flavor and taste. To name a few of the common Spices grown here and shown to us are Vanilla/Orchid Spice, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Pepper, Cloves, Chilli, Peri Peri , Turmeric, Ginger, Allspice, Curry leaves, Cashew and many more. There is also a Store where some of these Spices and Cashew Nuts are sold and even medicaments made from these Spices and Herbs are sold depending on a person’s ailments or requirement. Out of the enormous area of 130 acres, 60 acres is exclusively devoted to the cultivation of Spices, Fruits, Medicinal trees and Herbs.

It is a wonderful place for relaxation under the dense forest cover amidst the aroma of a variety of genuine spices coming from the trees grown around the farm. And the knowledge you gain in the guided tour is immense. And as I mentioned before the sumptuous buffet lunch in the Restaurant designed in a very rustic manner is very satisfying.

Most visitors to Goa visit this place as we have done. If you have not yet seen this place, you must during your next visit to Goa, you will like the place.

You may now see this Video filled with Spicy Greenery!...

Seafood along Marine drive and the beach in Puri.

VIDEO:

Normally in coastal towns it is easy to find a few seafood eateries. Puri is an exception; it appears that it has countless seafood outlets spread over the entire town. There are many restaurants serving excellent seafood in classic presentations, there are smaller ones too in plenty and there are many more street seafood stalls along Marine drive and on the beach. This article is about the street seafood stalls of Puri.

Here in these street seafood stalls along Marine drive and on the beach you get a large variety of seafood, cleaned, marinated to your taste and fried in front of you in few minutes. The variety varies from different types of fish including Pomfrets, different sizes of prawns, crabs and lobsters. There are few benches in front of such stalls for customers to sit and eat there. Otherwise one can carry the delicacies home or to the adjacent seashore and relish there. Obviously the prices are reasonable here in comparison to the high-end restaurants.

You may experience these seafood eateries of Puri in the attached photographs and video: