The Theosophical Society-Madras

The Theosophical Society was founded on 17 November 1875 by Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott. The founders travelled extensively in India & Ceylon. They established the Spiritual Centre at Adyar,Madras(Chennai). Mrs.Annie Besant played a pivotal role in the vigorous and steady growth of the Society. She gave a great lead in making Theosophy practical, urging members to theosophize the various fields: religious, social, economic, political. For this purpose she instituted the Theosophical Order of Service, and the Sons of India, 1908. The Headquarters at Adyar were enlarged by the purchase of Blavatsky and Olcott Gardens. During a recent visit to Chennai we took a walk around the beautiful campus of the Society spread over several acres. Some of the pictures taken on this tour are presented below:
The Temple of Light - foundation stone laid in 1920 by Annie Besant and consecrated in 1925 by J.Krishnamurthy.
Closeup of the The Temple of Light sanctum
Another View of the Temple The sprawling campus of the Theosophical Society Cactii
The glorious stone archway to the Banyan Cluster
Another Amazing Banyan Cluster (The biggest one in Asia is in Bangalore!) This one measures 250 ft by 238 ft and the total area measuring 59,500 sq.ft. it has been the centre of many notable gatherings of the Theosophical Society.
The beautiful Church inside the Society
Entrance to the Zoroastrian Temple - two majestic lions
The Zoroastrian Temple A grand old tree stump Butterflies helping themselves to delicious nectar

Glimpses of Kerala in Monsoon

On Sunday I took a trip to Palakkad district in Kerala. I drove from Coimbatore to Kozhinjampara, Chittor, Tattamangalam, Kollengode, Payyalore, Kunissery, Chathapuram,Kalpathy & Lakshminarayanapuram. I visited the Brahmin Agraharams in the villages in most of these places. The sky was heavily overcast & it was raining intermittently - in fact Kerala had been lashed by heavy rains for the past two weeks . The journey took me through interior Kerala countryside. There was lush greenery everywhere. One could see abundance of coconut palms, banana plantations, inundated paddy fields, rivers, ponds, paddy birds & glimpses of the Western Ghats (mountains). The atmosphere was exhilirating and energising. The scenery was magnificent & breathtaking. I could not resist the temptation of stopping my car ever so often to inhale the fresh air & take some memorable shots.

Beautiful Beaches of Kerala

Shown below are shots of the Mazhupillingad & Thalayi beaches on the Western Coast off Cannanore District of North Kerala. The beaches are clean and uncluttered and are seldom frequented except by fishermen. These are among the most beautiful beaches in India perhaps anywhere in the world. The State of Kerala is truly called Swamiyude Swantham Nadu (in Malayalam the language spoken in Kerala) or 'Gods Own Country". As per legend Kerala was formed when Lord Parasurama threw his axe northwards from Kanyakumari - the southern most tip of India. The area between the Kanyakumari and the point where the axe fell became Kerala. Parasurama was considered the sixth among the ten avatars (reincarnations) of Lord Mahavishnu one of the three major Hindu Gods. Kerala is also know in the legends as 'Parasurama Kshetram' or the place created by Lord Parasurama.

Mazhupillingad Beach

Mazhupillingad Breach

Waves breaking on Mazhupillingad Beach

Another shot of Mazhupillingad Beach

Muzhupillingad Beach - white sand and coconut grove

Waves on Thalayi Beach

Waves on Thalayi Beach

Boat with fishing net about to embark on fishing expedition

Thalayi Beach - Fishing Nets under repair

You may like to read an earlier blog on the subject of beaches - the Kapad beach where Vasco de Gama had landed and thought he had "discovered" America in 1498: http://sankriti.blogspot.com/2007/03/calicut.html

Tavarakere Village

On our return from Ramohalli to Bangalore, we decided to take a different but longer route via Tavarakere Village. This road was definitely superior. We briefly stopped over at the Tavarakere Sunday morning bazaar, a typical dusty village environment with a lot of hustle & bustle. On sale were vegetables, ground nuts,corn, fruits, meat, fish, poultry, sheep & a range of miscellaneous items. While the ladies were busy driving a good bargain and picking up farm fresh vegetables, I wandered around. My camera shutter kept clicking away and I succeeded in getting some delectable shots of a typical Indian countryside market.