Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Mangalore - 2

Continued from here.

So, like I said, we travelled to a lot of places from Mulki. And the first of them was Moodabidri.

Moodabidri is a Jain populated place and it has a lot of Jain temples, schools and community centres. Saavira Kambada Basadi is one such Jain temple renowned for it's structure.

"Saavira" means 1000 in Kannada, "Kambada" means "pillar" and "Basadi" means "temple". So, it's a temple that has 1000 pillars.

No pillar is similar to the other i.e. all of these pillars are unique and they have been placed with the help of elephants alone.




The fact sheet outside the temple also said there are 1000 pillars but I didn't think there were as many. 

(You may open the image in a new window and zoom to read the entire script.)

Then again, I didn't count but it didn't seem like there were so many!!


If you look closely, you will find that all these pillars are different from one another.

The ceiling was done up very well too..



And that's my sister Anagha :)



List of Jain temples and community centres in Moodabidri :


Our next destination was also a Jain place of worship in Karkala, a little away from Moodabidri.. Will cover that shortly :)

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Mangalore - 1

Back from Mangalore on Sunday and it was one relaxing week. It's funny doing a travelogue on Mangalore considering it's my own hometown.. I just never spent a lot of time there as three generations of our family have settled here in Bombay. But this time, I stayed for a whole week and I really liked the place & the people there. Clean beaches and pretty, pretty (though in a traditional kind of way) women! Eye candy for a lot of guys planning a trip there..

Tell you the truth, I was a little apprehensive on the day I left for Mangalore. Something had really gone wrong back here and I was scared of spending 15-16 hours on the train, not doing anything, allowing my idle mind to think.. think about all that had gone wrong that morning! That too, I was accompanied by  dad and uncle (his friend) .. people I couldn't talk about my troubles with. I decided to go along anyway because it was too late to cancel then. And I am so glad I did. The train journey wasn't troublesome at all. In fact it was fun. I met a really interesting person on the train because all of our seats were different. Her name was Izabela and we had such a lot in common. The conversation was really relieving and gave me a lot of insight. She kept me company all the way to Goa and I went to sleep only after that. Needless to say, I slept quite peacefully. I really think God has a way of making the most scariest of situations a lot more liveable.

Mangalore was awesome too. I would have missed meeting such wonderful people had I cancelled my trip. I met my second cousin Anagha for the first time and she was such a delight. Though I love children, there are a few kids I realllllllyyyy enjoy spending time with (spending time = playing) and she was one of them. Just the sight of her makes me forget all my troubles. Here's presenting Anagha and her crazy/cuteness :


Note: These pictures were all her idea.. clicked by herself. I came only later. This reminded me so much of my own self!! Sometimes, when I am really bored, I click random pics of myself in weird expressions :P

and this is us:

I'm totally in love with her!!!

I stayed at Mulki (about an hour from Mangalore) and travelled to Mangalore, Moodabidri, Karkala and Udipi.

I will write a little about these places in the following posts to come.. so stay tuned!!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

2013

New Year!! The day was just like any other day except that I really liked spending time with a friend today ..it feels nice when you go out with one of your everyday friends.. because you don't really *talk* to them as they're always around anyway.

2012 was a bad year for me in terms of relationships and personal growth. I do have some regrets and it feels like I have been seeking closure for the longest time now.

I did experience what it was like to stay away from home though and though it did get lonely a few times, I would say it was a good learning experience.

This year, I just want to be able to let go.. and feel free. I want to cry my heart out.. and FORGET.
I want to be able to think for myself again and look forward to newer things. I want to be able to trust again, to love again, and just be happy.

I miss being me.