Krishna Pushkaralu 2016

we planned to go on the second day of pushkaralu since the first day falls on friday which is celebrated as varalakshmi vratham. after performing pooja at home on friday. we started from Chennai central railway station on saturday morning by Lucknow express and reached the Vijayawada station by late noon. my uncle and niece were waiting for us in station. when  we got down in the railway station two young (girls) volunteers came to help us. they escorted us till we got an auto to the bathing ghats. we thanked the lovely girls and left for the river Krishnaveni.

Exit from the Railway station in Vijayawada

Pushkaram is festival of river that occurs once in 12 years and celebrated for 12 days and is celebrated with much glory.  Like we celebrated Godavari pushkaralu last year at Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, this year Krishna Pushkaralu welcomes us to vijayawada district the hub of Krishna pushkaralu in the state of  Andhra pradesh. we reserved the tickets for my family for the pushkaralu luckily i have holidays since it falls on weekend and independence day follows the weekend. so we felt it is the best time for the holy trip.

Dad and Uncle at Durga Ghat

Pushkar Staff are maintaining the cleanliness

Pushkaralu is a festival of River Krishna which normally occurs once in every 12 years The Pushkaram is observed for a period of 12 days from the time of entry of Jupiter into Virgo (Kanya rasi). The festival is "theoretically" observed throughout the twelve months that the planet remains in that sign, but the first 12 days are considered most sacred as pushkarudu takes holy dip in the river in those days. this year (2016), the celebration of pushkaralu starts on 12 August and lasts upto 23 August 2016.

Mom at Durga Ghat after holy dip

boating in the Krishna river

Media people are covering the Pushkar

people taking holy dip

River krishna from Durga Ghat 

Look at the crowd

waiting for the cab to clim the hill top

after the holy bath in the river, we left the luggages with dad and uncle and went to take the blessings of the holy maa kanaga durga. The Goddess (Maa) is beautifully decorated with glittering ornaments and looks so gracefully holding the trident in the standing posture opposite to the durga ghat. After the having darshan we are thinking how to climb the hill for the darshan of Kanaka Durga Maathaji.The river and surroundings of all the ghats and temple are  neatly maintained.Arrangements are neatly maintained by Andhra Government. Security arrangements are well planned and  executed.

Entrance for climbing the hill 

Colourful lights ready to lit up the river

Lights decoration near the river bank.

Venkatesh and his friends

The PVP Siddartha college students who helped me in climbing the hill.

Stalls on the road opposite to Durga Ghat

Balloonwala stood on the road to sell in big and colourful fancy balloons and dresswala stood next to him.

Drummer

The drummer is waiting to sell his wares by playing the drums whenever children cross that way.

the city of Vijayawada is fully decorated with colourful lights which made the city to glitter the whole 12 days and its a feast for eyes.

All in all, it was a memorable trip, which will forever be framed in our hearts for a long time. My first trip to vijayawada was wonderful and i will cherish every moment of it because of the lovely volunteers. Thank you guys.you made my trip the most cherishable one.

Did You Know....?

1. Your shoes are the first thing people subconsciously notice about you. Wear nice shoes.

2. If you sit for more than 11 hours a day, there's a 50% chance you'll die within the next 3 years

3. There are at least 6 people in the world who look exactly like you. There's a 9% chance that you'll meet one of them in your lifetime.

4. Sleeping without a pillow reduces back pain and keeps your spine stronger.

5. A person's height is determined by their father, and their weight is determined by their mother.

6. If a part of your body "falls asleep", you can almost always "wake it up" by shaking your head.

7. There are three things the human brain cannot resist noticing - Food, attractive people and danger

8. Right-handed people tend to chew food on their right side

9. Putting dry tea bags in gym bags or smelly shoes will absorb the unpleasant odour.

10. According to Albert Einstein, if honey bees were to disappear from earth, humans would be dead within 4 years.

11. There are so many kind of apples, that if you ate a new one everyday, it would take over 20 years to try them all.

12. You can survive without eating for weeks, but you will only live 11 days without sleeping.

13. People who laugh a lot are healthier than those who don't.

14. Laziness and inactivity kills just as many people as smoking.

15. A human brain has a capacity to store 5 times as much information as Wikipedia

16. Our brain uses same amount power as 10-watt light bulb!!

17. Our body gives enough heat in 30 mins to boil 1.5 litres of water!!

18. Stomach acid (conc. HCl) is strong enough to dissolve razor blades!!

19. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. & while you walk, SMILE. It is the ultimate antidepressant.

Le Royal Meridian Hotel

Painting that adored the wall of Le Royal Meridian hotel

Black forest is ready to bite

saffron dashed Rasmalai

Colourful arrangements

few clicks at Le Royal Meridian, Chennai

Chennai - Area names

Some history about various  area names in Chennai 

* Syed Shah Pettai has become “Saidapet”

* In 17,18-th centuries this area was under control of a Nawab and this was the garden were his horses were resting and getting fed. So it was called "Ghoda bagh"  (Horse Garden). It later became “Kodambakkam”

* Armoured Vehicles And Depot of India became “Avadi” (AVADI)

* Several Chrome leather factories in the region resulted in this area being called “Chrompet”

* This area was full of coconut trees. Therefore named as “tennampettai”. It was later changed as “Teynampet”

* Urdu word “che baug” (six gardens) became “Chepauk”.

* Saundara Pandian bazaar became “Pondy Bazaar”

* “vilva marankal” area with the flowers used for the Lord known as Mahavilvam over time has become “Mambalam”

* pallavapuram became “Pallavaram”.

* Madras Presidency head was Panagal Raja at one point and based on his name, the park was named as “Panagal Park”

* Based on name of Justice party leader Sir. Thiagarajan Chettiar, the area is known as “T Nagar”

* “Purasai” trees were in abundance in the region, leading it to be called “Purasaiwalkam”

* “Puspakavalli” in Sanskrit due to the large amount of Jasmine plants / trees in the region became “puviruntavalli” in tamil to get transformed as “Poondamali” now.

* In the 17th century, a Muslim saint who lived here 'kunankuti Mastan Sahib'. Thondi was his native town in Ramanathapuram district. Therefore, the local people called him tontiyar. That's the current areas known as “Tondiarpet”.

* Before the area was used for feeding cattle. So called as Mandai veli before becoming “Mandaveli”

* Peacock were roaming freely in the area leading it to be called Mayilai puram and later becoming “Mylapore”

* Pallavas used to conduct or wage wars in the region now known as “Porur”

* Bamboo (Perambu) trees were throughout the region was a few hundred years ago, now known as “Perambur”.

* Based on Thirusula nathar temple area became “Thirusulam”. (BTW Trident hotel name came from the same source.. Trident means Thirusulam).

* The pond with lots of lilies opposite to Parthasarathy temple was known as Thiru allikkeni  transformed itself to “Triplicane”

* Thomas Parry used to do business in this area. He gained the respect from people resulting in the name “Parry’s Corner”. That is also why it is not “Paris Corner”  

*This area had many Neem trees around a big lake in Tamil Neem+Lake is Veepa+yeri this is now called Vepery

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