Kolam Competition (Rangoli) at the Apartment

During this year Deepavali, we had Kolam competition in our apartment. Above is the Kolam done by Agila for which she got 2nd Prize.

Kolam with lamps lighted

Another Kolam done by neighbour

Another one done by neighbour

Deepavali - The festival of lights

This is the second year we are celebrating Deepavali in Bangalore. The celebrations are very subdued in this cosmopolitan compared to Chennai and Trivandrum. Not the same kind of fervor and magnitude. May be the other places also has changed with time which I am not aware.

I used to have very modest celebration always. This year, didn't purchase any fireworks. Let's be a bit eco-friendly. We did put up some lamps in our balcony. And did some photographs which came refreshingly good.

Traditional lamps lighting the apartment balcony

India's Journey to Moon

Today morning I witnessed the launch of Chandrayaan-1 by ISRO from SHAR near Chennai. I had watched most of the televised launches by ISRO and some of them directly. This is again one of the proud moments when you think what India has achieved in the World. It was a perfect launch using PSLV the most trusted vehicle designed and build in Trivandrum. This is the 13th concecutive successful launch of PSLV.

Being part of ISRO's extended family, I feel proud and wish success to the the satellite's travel to the Moon orbit and ISRO's travel to the outer space.

ISKCON Temple, Bangalore

It is a very modern temple which a futuristic architecture. The ISKCON Temple is situated in North Bangalore near Mahalakshmi Layout and Rajaji Nagar. It is around 7 Kms from Majestic. They seems to have plans to build a new one in Kanakpura Road.

The temple is on a hill top having magnificent view of the surrounding which includes few other temples. Camera is not allowed inside the temple and hence some of those views (especially in the dawn and dusk) are to be seen directly. Before entering the temple you have an option (yes, you can bypass this) of going through a 108 stone passage chanting Krishna praise. Then you go up to the temple where there are some supplementary deities and they are simple and beautiful to see. Passing this level you reach the majestic center hall of the temple. The roof of the temple is decorated with paintings from Krishna's life. The deities are made of gold (I guess plated) and are beautiful to see. The enclosure is also covered with Gold. (Update provided by an anonymous reader: The deities of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna Candra; Sri Sri Krishna Balaram and Sri Nitai Gauranga are made of Panchaloha with brass outer layer.)

You can also see the statue of the founder of ISKCON and get to buy a wide range of literature on Krishna including the famous Bhagavat Gita is many languages.

Night view of ISKCON temple

Once you come down after darshan, the feeling of visiting a temple ends and you enter into a miniature "Mall" with all kind of shops selling artifacts, souvenirs and food. You do get different items to buy here normally not available in a shop outside. They also run a charitable organization towards which many of the sale proceedings go. When you get down from the temple, you are provided with a bowl of "Prasadam", normally very delicious porridge.

The CAR parking fee is Rs.10/- and they do security check before allowing people inside the temple. There is no religious affiliations required to enter the temple and people of all religions are welcomed there.

ISKCON also conducts a charity program called "Akshaya Patra". I came to know about the full scale of operations recently and was impressed at this. They do noon meal program for scores of school children in and around Bangalore. Meal for lakhs of children are prepared in very modern hygienic environment.

Read more on this at MustseeIndia.com

Light House, Lalbagh

The glass house situated at the central part of the Lalbagh and is a key attraction in the evenings. It seems very ordinary during the day, but lights up to a marvelous one after the dark. This magnificent glass house is built in line with London's Crystal Palace. The glass house is lit during weekend nights and a highlight for Lalbagh.


It is an ideal place to take good photographs. This one I capture from above the rock in Lalbagh and had come out well. I am guilty of not utilizing this venue enough to horn my photography skills.

During January and August, flowershow is held inside the Glass House around Republic Day and Independence Day. This is one of the best time to visit Lalbagh. Check out the flower show report below.