Kapeleshwerar Temple Chennai

Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Kapileshwar is an ancient temple built by the Pallavas in the 8th century. It is located in Mylapore. It is believed that Karpagambal used to worship the lord in the form of a peacock(Mayil in Tamil), hence the place got its name as Mylapore. It is said that the original temple got submerged in the sea and later it was reconstructed. The mesmerizing Dravidian style of architecture of the temple draws tourists from far and wide.
There is an interesting legend attached to the temple. According to the legend, desirous to get married to Lord Shiva, goddess Parvati took the form of a peacock.
The temple houses bronze idols of around 63 Saivite saints who were the ardent devotees of lord Shiva. There are also many sannadhis of deities like Vinayagar, Annamalaiyar, Murugar, Durgai, Saneeswara, Chandikeswarar and Dakshinamurthy. All the idols in the temple are meticulously carved. There is also a tank in the temple, which lies at the opposite side of the structure. The temple becomes the venue of celebration every year during the Arupathumoovar festival. The devotees enthusiastically take part in this festival and take out procession, which is quite an attraction. It is during this festival when the temple attracts maximum number of devotees who come here to take Lord's blessings.

 Lord shiva:The temple's name is derived from the words kapalam (head) and eeshwarar an alias of Shiva. According to the Puranas, during the meeting of Brahma and Shiva at top of Mount Kailash Brahma failed to show the due respect to Shiva. Due to this, Shiva plucked of one of Brahma's heads (kapalams). In an act of penance, Brahma came down to the site of Mylapore and installed a Lingam to please Shiva.This place is known as Sukra puri, Veda puri and has so many other names including “Kailaye Mayilai and Mayilaye Kayilai “which means this place is equal to kailash. Goddess Karpagambal due to a curse became a peacock and did penance here to get back her original personality. Lord Muruga received the spear (Sakthi vel) for Sura Samharam from goddess Parvathi here. Brahma had worshipped here to get rid his ego back his power to create. The four Vedas have Worshipped here. Sukracharya worshiped the Lord here and got back his lost eye. Lord Sri Rama has worshiped here and won the war against Ravana and brought back Sita Devi from SriLanka. The daughter of Sivanesa Chettiar Angam Poompavai got her lost life here by the powers of Tirugnana Sambandar. Vaayilar Nayanar, a saiva saint, attained salvation here and mylapore is also the birth place of Thiruvalluvar who wrote Thirukkural. In Thevaram special mention is made about the beautiful Madaveedhi as “Malgun Mathri Thavazhum Maada Veedhi Mylappil Ullar”. Thiruganana Sambandar, Auunagirinathar have sung the Glory of Karpagambal, Singara Velar. The 10 day festival during March / April is a treat to watch and arubathu Moovar festival is attended by lakhs of devotees every year.

Shining a Light on Strategy by Aneeta Chakrabarty

Shining a Light on Strategy by Aneeta Chakrabarty

Shivaji Bhosale ( Feb 19 1627- April 3 1680) Coronated as Chhatrapati (Supreme Ruler) of Maratha Empire at Fort Raigad (which was his Capital) in 1674. It was during his rule that Maratha Empire was extended to new horizon and covered greater part of Western India and parts of South India. He was a competent and progressive ruler and gave the call for Hindavi Swaraj (Self rule for Hindus). His killing of Afzal Khan a Maratha General is a matter of research and an important part of tactical warfare. Shivaji pioneered the Guerilla warfare methods in India.He is much respected ICON of Maratha life style and people in Maharashtra worship him almost as a God. Every aspect of life in Maharashtra has the spirit of Shivaji Maharaj  behind it. The Mumbai Victoria Terminal Railway Station, a UNESCO site, has been renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji terminal and the Sahar Internation airport is also named as Chhatrapati Shivaji Air terminal. 

The Niagara Falls

 Niagara Falls, Ontario. The hub of tourism, including the casinos, are now in the Fallsview area shown in the background.

  Niagara Falls, a world-famous set of three large waterfalls on the Niagara River and benefits from the fact that both falls, the Americanand Horseshoe, can be best seen from the Canadian side of the river, thus giving the city one of the major tourist attractions of the world. The natural spectacle brings in millions of tourists yearly. The city permitted the development of a tourist area along the falls and the gorge. This area which stretches along the Niagara Parkway and tourist promenade is particularly concentrated at the brink of the falls and, apart from the natural attractions along the river, includes huge parking lots, souvenir shops, observation towers, high-rise hotels, casinos and theatres, mostly with colourful neon billboards and advertisements. Further to the north or south there are golf courses alongside historic sites from the War of 1

Cable Cars of San Francisco.

Waiting in a Q for the next Cable Car .Cable Car system of SFO is world's last manually operated cable car.But it is an ICON of Calfornia.

 The next car is due to arrive.This is a part of the San Francisco Municipal Railway "Muni" in short.

 23 lines started between 1873-1890 but only three remain.These pictures are of the route Union Square to Fisherman Wharf covering areas of China Town,North Beach,Nob Hill and Aquatic Park.The system is mainly used by Tourists but also by some commuters who live along the track.

 The system did face upheavals and for short time in 1951 they were closed too.It is expensive to run an old fashioned system but traditions keep the communities alive.

It is exciting to go up and down in some of the original trams that bring the old world charm back to the memory.The system is not without blemishes for in the last 10 years it had 126 accidents forcing SFO Muni to pay $8 million in compensation.

At the Golcunda Fort Hyderabad Jan 2013