Ahobilam Day 1

We had a couple of days of holidays for diwali so we decided some time back to travel to Ahobilam. The schedule was for 3 days (22/10 sun , 23/10 Mon and 24/10 Tues ) . All Set for the travel , I would post the travelogue in abt 4 posts to give a picturesque description of our trip.
The first post would contain a general description covering the details abt the place, how tor each etc . Each forthcoming post woudl contain details on my stay in Ahobilam .

Aho+Balam= Oh What a strength ! is the etymological meaning of the place.
Lord Nrsimha is the presiding deity of the place. This avatara a noteworthy avatara in the dasavatara. This avatara was to show the omni present nature of the divine supreme. This also was to prove that belief and Sharanagathi ( principle doctorine of Sri Vaishanavism) to the supreme would never go astray.

This place is also known as Simham vel kundram which is a then(north) naatu thirapuathi (mangalasasanam by Thirumangai Azhwar).

How to Reach Ahobilam

For detail travel and maps , please mail me or I would plan to put them in the forthcoming post

If you are travelling from Chennai . Cuddapah should be the closest city (abt 400-420 kms frm Chn ) . Cuddapah -> Allagada -> Ahobilam (23 Kms).

For bus bookings try this link Bus tickets and for hotel bookings in Ahobilam you might want to try Hotels

From Hyd :
Take NH7 -
Hyd -> Kurnool -> Take a diversion here -> travel towards Cuddapah ->Nandhyal -> Allagada ->Lower Ahobilam .


Having Reached Ahobilam , You should be prepared to visit all the nine temples spanning lower Ahobilam and Upper Ahobilam .

Lower Ahobilam has

1. Prahlada Nrsmha (Not counted in the 9 )
2. Chatravata
3. Bargava
4. Yogananda

While you travel to upper Ahobilam you will visit

1. Karunja

Remaining 5 ..( note that as already mentioned Prahlada Nrsimhar is not in the nava nrsmhars )

1. Ahobilam
2. Varaha a.k.a Kroda
3. Malola
4. Jwala
5. Pavana
   

Other 2 important places one must not miss is Prahlada Padi and Ugra Stambam.

The point to be noted is each Nrsmha is a Swayambu.
Let me take you an overview of each Nrsmha one by one . How one can reach the stalam ..specialities of the stalam as told by a battar( Mr.Phani Raghava 94417 60871).This would also contain in the order we visited.

1) Prahalada Varadan :
Prahalad Varadan sannidhi is in the lower Ahobilam. As I mentioned before this is not counted in the nava Nrsmha sthalam. Moolavar Prahlad varadan stays with his consort Chenchu lakshmi thayar. This is a small temple. The Lord married Chenchu lakshmi thayar here and hence kalyanotsavam is a very common occurence as it is in Thiruvinnagaram.There is a ahobilam mutt close to this temple and this should be your base.

2) Yogananda Nrsmha :
From 1) this temple is about 1-2 kms . One can walk this distance easily. This is located in a very small hillock very similar to the varadan at Kanchi. Yoganada Nrsmha sanidhi is a small sannidhi and I dont remember having seen a thayar sanidhi . This nrsmha is presiding deity of Lord Shanaicharan ( Shani bhagawan ) . All Shani Doshams would be gone if we pray this lord. The battar was kind enough to open the sannidhi for us alone at 7:00 pm.

3) Chatra Vata Nrsmha :
While on the way back from (2) to (1) we can reach this sannidhi . Amma told me these sanidhi's have been renovated and have got much better than what it was before 7-8 years.
Chatra - Umbrella Vata -tree .As it is clear the nrshma is said to be under a tree which was like an umbrella.
The is a kethu Stalam and Nrsmha is "Sangeetha priyan" meaning he likes his devotees to sing songs to please him which the kuttis did by singing Varaveena ( mohanam) and Shree gananatha (malahari) .
I started my SVS rendition as is my usual practise as it was almot 7:30 then. We came back to our base for our night stay where the battar said we could go to (1) for satrumurai ( a special pooja performed in Sri Vaishnava temples ) .
We rushed and myself , Janesh and Puru anna had the divine blessings to be as a part of the Goshti that night.
The best part of the whole trip was that trip fell on Swathi thirunakshtram . Now Swati is the avatar nakshatram of The Lord. The nava kshetras being in remote locations are all open for this Swathi and thirumanjanams are performed on this day. When we ppl were in the goshti amma, manni had booked for Tirumanjanams for Jwala and Kroda.

To add the icing in the cake this Swathi was the 100 th Swathi ..what is 100 th Swathi ? Lord has been in this ddivyastalam for several yugams and is he only 100 swathi's old .. I will tell you what this 100 swathi is about in the next post.
Be ready to trek with me to all the other kshetras ...

Madhu
NB: I dont want to post the fotos as I would suggest you ppl to visit the place to see the beauty of the place for yourself where in you can enjoy the beauty of the places and get the blessings of the divine Supreme.

Lot to write

I have a lot to write .. But stuck with some work .
Please wait for

• Ahobila - Nava Nrsimha stalam
• Bangolrean traffic
• Home Alone

Just have got a few of them ready ..but need to post it

Ciao Soon

Madhu

Nobel Prizes

Its nobel prize time. All nobels have been awarded. If you are a scientist then you want to have the coveted prize for sure. The prize winners in various categories are

Physics
=======
John C. Mather
George F. Smoot
for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation .
From what I understand their discovery has supported the big bang . Bozz why do only big bang supporters get Nobels .. There are other theories... Come on profs work on them and get the nobels .

Medicine
=========
Andrew Z. Fire
Craig C. Mello for their discovery of RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA

I need to read through their lecture to understand what exactly have they done . Onnum puriliya ..Didnt understand head or tail of the work . Only the key words could i understand .

Chemistry
==========
Roger D. Kornberg
for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription.
FYI , Eukaryotes are multicellular organisms like us and prokaryotes are single cellular organisms.
Chemistry and Eukaryotes ....mmhmm must be a biochemical discovery .

Economics
=========
Edmund S. Phelps for his work on macroeconomic policies . Seems his work is on tradeoffs between inflation and employment .
If only his work aids in reducing inflation and increasing emplyment it shd be great...God knows the other way arnd could happen too ..Coz I dont believe economists .

Literature
=======
Orhan Pamuk has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures ..
What ? discovered symbols and got the Nobel .. I too can do this right .

Peace prize
========
Muhammad Yunus
Grameen bank ( Strated by Mohammed Yunus )
Mohammed Yunus started the Grameen bank which works on microcredit to female population of Bangladesh . We in India too should follow this to eradicate poverty . Not that bangladesh is a rich country, But seems this is a good process for the development of the economy .
Agreed but should he not be given a nobel for economics and not for peace .
The logic is Peace can be attained only if poverty is gone. and mr yunus has worked towards the social economic development of the poor .

Source

Last but not least , if at all therz a nobel for Bug fixing.. We SW developers should get it . Aint it ?

Madhu
Nobel prize winner in 2030 ( thinking which category would i get a nobel in ) ..Vote or it and let me know which i best suit for.

Google ...First penny

Its about a month since i have restarted my blogging and I added the adsense in my page. I keep track of my adsense login too .. I always thought adsense was just a gimmick and google would never give me any money . But today I see some money in adsense account . mm thats a good progress .From what I understand its based on
Payperclick and impressions on page. More number of clicks more pay.
So makkale in case you happen to pass by my blog , click on one of the advts so that I get some money . It seems Google pays the user only if $100 are accounted for . Its a long way now but I assure you that once i get my $100 , i would throw a party for all the regular visitors .
I have added another feature , You can do a google search from my blog . So , In case you want to do a google search , come to blog , search .
Keep coming , Keep clicking and keep searching .

Madhu
the googler

WIFI is working

Wireless is finally working ..Probably is that why it is called WiFi (wireless finally)

Madhu

Seethamma Mayamma

I listen to a lot of carnatic music ..Not that I cant sing.But listening aspect is far superior to singing capability :( . Mostly all of the songs are in Telugu as most of the musicians sing the great saint Thyagayyar's krithis .
The great Saint has composed all his krithis in Bakthi Rasa and the only God he knew was Lord Rama. Lord Rama was his father and Seeta was his Mother . In this aspect I would post the song which brings out the meaning . Once in a while I would also try to put in songs which I have enjoyed listening and want others to enjoy as well . I would also try to put the meaning along side the song.
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/


Sithamma maayamma

Raagam: vasantaa

Aa: S M1 G3 M1 D2 N3 S
Av: S N3 D2 M1 G3 R1 S

TaaLam: roopakam
Composer: Tyaagaraaja
Language: Telugu

Pallavi

sItamma mAyamma shrI rAmuDu mA taNDri


Anupallavi

vAtAtmaja saumitri vainatEya ripu mardana
dhAta bharatAdulu sOdraulu mAku O manasa

CharaNam

paramEsha vashiSTha parAshara nArada shaunaka suka surapati gautama lambOdara guha sanakAdulu
dharaija bhAgavatA-grEsaru levvarO vArellaru vara tyAgarAjuniki parama bAndhavulu manasA

Transliterating the song is not a good job..I think Tamil version shd be better..

சீதம்மா மாயம்மா

ராகம் : வசந்தா

சீதம்ம மாயம்மா ஸ்ரி ராமுடு மா தன்றி

Anupallavi

வாதாத்மஜ சௌமித்ரி வைனதேய ரிபு மர்தண
தாத பரதடுலு சோத்ருலு மாக்கு ஓ மனசா

சரனம்

பரமேஷ வஷிஷ்டா பராஷர நாரத ஷௌனக சுக
சுரபதி கௌதம லம்போதர குஹ சனகாடுலு
தரைஜ பாகவதாக்ரேசருலு எவ்வரோ
வாரெல்லரு வர த்யாகராஜுனிகி பரம பாந்தவுலு மனசா

Now the meaning :
Pallavi

சீதம்ம மாயம்மா ஸ்ரி ராமுடு மா தன்றி

சீதம்ம - Sita மாயம்மா - My mother ஸ்ரி ராமுடு - Sri Rama மா - my தன்றி - Father
Sita is my mother , Lord Rama is my father

Anupallavi

வாதாத்மஜ சௌமித்ரி வைனதேய ரிபுமர்தண தாத பரதடுலு சோத்ருலு மாக்கு ஓ மனசா

வாதாத்மஜ - Lord Anjaneya சௌமித்ரி - Lakshmana வைனதேய - Garuda ரிபுமர்தண - Shatrugna தாத( thatha ) - Jambavan பரதடுலு - Bharatha சோத்ருலு மாக்கு - My brothers ஓ மனசா - O mind

All the mentioned above are my friends .

சரனம்

பரமேஷ வஷிஷ்டா பராஷர நாரத ஷௌனக சுக சுரபதி கௌதம லம்போதர குஹ சனகாடுலு தரைஜ பாகவதாக்ரேசருலு எவ்வரோ வாரெல்லரு வர த்யாகராஜுனிகி பரம பாந்தவுலு மனசா

பரமேஷ - Shiva , வஷிஷ்டா - Sage Vasishta

பராஷர நாரத ஷௌனக சுக சுரபதி கௌதம லம்போதர குஹ சனகாடுலு _ all rishis like Parashara , narada , Saunaka, Suka ,Gauthama , Lord Ganesh , muruga ,etc

தரைஜ - In this mother earth பாகவதாக்ரேசருலு - Great Bhagavatas எவ்வரோ - Who ever வாரெல்லரு - All those பரம பாந்தவுலு - Close relatives வர த்யாகராஜுனிகி - Thyagaraja's மனசா - mind

Oh My mind ..all the above mentioned are my relatives ..So beware ..

Thanks to my couple fo colleagues to decipher some of the telugu sandhis ..

Madhu

BSNL and DLink GLB-502T

I got a new BSNL broadband phone connection. Thanks to BSNL, i had to purchase my ADSL modem. I decided to purchase D-Link GLB-502T .Therz another story on why i got this modem. ( to be precise its arouter)
Now I will try and put some screenshots and step by step procedure to configure your comp (XP) and Ubuntu linux with the ADSL router .
Connect the ethernet cable , from the router to the Comp. This is all the the hardware setting you need to do .

• The modem has 2 ports, From 1 you need to connect the ethernet cable and from the other you need to connect to the fone line.
• start your modem
• Boot your comp.
• For XP
• open N/W Connections
• Enter the ip address as 192.168.1.2( Local LAN)( Infact last dgit cud be nething from 2 to 255)
  
• Enter subnet mask 255.255.255.0
• Enter default gateway 192.168.1.1
• Enter the DNS ips
• 61.1.96.69
  61.1.96.71
• Type http://192.168.1.1 in your browser
• It will open the following page
• 
• Enter admin/admin and log in
• You will see
• 
• Create a new connection as shown in the following screen
• 

Type = Bridge

PVC Settings VPi=0 , VCi=35

Click Apply and Go to tools menu and to System commands in the left menu

Now wait for 2 mins for the router to boot up . Alls done in the router's side .

Run a PPPOE dialer with your login and passwd provided by BSNL .

Open Sesame ...the whole of internet is waiting for you

Madhu

Indru Oru thagaval

"Inrou oru thagaval", was a popular AIR program on weekdays at 7:40 am during my school days. I am not sure if the program is being aired even today . its a 5 min program and the agenda was pretty straight forward. A small story with a big message and the program ended with a small joke.
Initially I started listening to the program to keep up my time. The broadcast was my breakfast time during school days. During the course of the time , I became a big fan of the program for its short and sweet stories. The hero of the program was Thenkachi Ko swaminathan whoz there in the foto right above. His voice suits a grandfather's voice who tells bedtime stories to his grand children. the morals and teachings in the program come a long way in ones life.Mr Swaminathan, seems to have retired from AIR and seems to have joined SUN TV . I just happened to see him in the morning show during my breakfast at 9:00 AM the other day and I was reminded of some of the stories narrated by him.

One of the nice stories that I still remember goes like this .

" There were 2 buddhists monks . They were crossing a river. They saw a beautiful woman who was struggling to cross the river. She asked the monks to help her cross the river by carrying her in their shoulder. One of the monks said it was a sin to carry woman. but the other monk carried her along and helped her cross the river. The woman thanked the monk and lleft on her own way. After abt 10 mins , the monk didnt help the female told the other."Our Guru has asked us not carry woman".
For this the monk just replied , "I have left the woman in the bank, but it seems you have carried all until here ". This monk realised his folly .

Sucha small story with a huge meaning aint it..

Madhu

Hair cutter...

Today is sunday. Enakku thalaikku melai velai irukku. adhu thaan ba hair cut pannanum. I have a lot of sentiments about choosing my saloons. Dont know how I picked up this habit. Barbers are unique and have a philosophical aspect . They are the ones who reduce your headweight :-) with your consent .
The first vivid memory of mine when ,I was taken to barber was in Kalpakkam wa "MADURAI Saloon" in the shopping store complex with my appa. The barber placed me in a swinging chair. Iwas small and hence he put a small wooden plank so that he was ok with settings.
He took out his pair of scissors and booooo... i started crying . I was thinking he was going to cut my head :-( and that cudnt happen . I didnt know what was happening , a couple of other barbers with my father tied me up and finished the act.
From then on I tell you till I came out of my town, I dont remember having got a hair cut from any other barber. Any Sunday , i went to the saloon , I would be given priority over others as I have been one of the regular customers. Even in my college days, I used to wait for my trip to kalpakkam to have a hair cut. the charges were special for me. The barber charged 5 rupees lesser for me . Its another matter that i would tip the barber wth the same 5 rupee.
I picked up the habit of reading sindbad in dinathanthi , varamalar ,etc in my wait for my turn. I have seen several small kids cry like what i did. I used to laugh at myself. Now I miss all the dinamalars adn the tunukkus . All i get to read is the telugu newspaper ...I dont read them , I just see the jalebis printed in the newspaper thinking if these are to be eaten.
i dont remember having a single freak incident with my barber. he was careful inhandling me . All that he wud ask me was "long" or "short". When I was introduced to C datatypes , iwas thinking kerninghan and Ritchie would have had a barber like mine. He just waited for my reply and started his artistic task of cutting the 60 adi koondhal of his highness. Poittu vaanga sir .
mission completed ..I would walk back home or drive in my champ as a victorious gladiator . After every hair cut Amma would say, innum konjam kooda cut panni irukalamay .."Amma idhukku mela cut panina mottai thaan adikanum " was my regular reply.
i was dictated to walk to the bathroom straight and poured water as if i had attended a funeral. After a quick bath my coffee and The hindu are ready and thalikku melai velai slowly accumlates till my next hair cut.

Madhu