Ride In Search of Ancient Temples

Place Name: Magadi

Distance from Bangalore: approx 40-50 KM from Majestic

Route: Vijayanagara Tolgate, Magadi road

Duration: Half day Trip

Road Condition: Good

Best time to visit: October to Feb
Eateries : No eateries available on the way .. small hotels are available.

It was 4 months of projects, back to back, and all weekends were pre-occupied, with no room for leisure. The prolonged working hours and project deadlines was making me feel sick and I really longed for a break. Though the time constraint did not permit me to plan for a long trip, a half day trip was definitely feasible. In pursuit of looking for places around, idea struck me - to explore the ancient temples around Bangalore. I had heard of the "Pachima murthy Ranganatha swamy temple" near Magadi, and was eager to explore it. Also, since it was closer to my residence, I zeroed in on this visit to the temple. I roped in my friends but unfortunately, they coud'nt make it due to other commitments. It was a sunny morning but the trees along the path made the ride a pleasant one. I reached the destination by 10 a.m. Though the 1st glimpse of the temple didn’t strike to me that this temple belonged to chola dynasty. As I paved my way through, I was marveled at the architecture. I had a good darshan of the main deity and the temple was less crowded.  I enquired on the history of the temple with the local priest and took the necessary permission from the authorities to capture the pictures. I also got to know that there was another temple in the vicinity, called the “Prassana someshwara temple”. I rode to my next destination, equipped with the whereabouts of the place. Interestingly the temple is open only on Mondays and Thursdays. As I entered the temple a sense of tranquility gripped me.  The main deity was resplendent with all the grandeur. I loved the temple of Bramarambika and the Satyanarayana idols. The place seemed a perfect spot for meditation. As I moved around the "Kempegowda hajara"(Kempe gowda hall) and also " Kempegowda judgement place” made my imagination run through the chronicles of history. An old pulley caught my attention. It was made of hard iron that is rarely found these days. Also, the pulley had bends which showed that the well had been extensively used by the people.

I went around the place capturing the details on the camera. As I rode back, I went past the Swaymboo Ganesha temple, which is 31 year old and the Tippagondanahalli dam which is also called Chamarajasagar located at the confluence of Arkavathy river and Kumudavathi River. It was built way back in 1933 by Sir M V, one of the magnificent Engineer works till date.  This is one of the man made reservoir, which pumps drinking water for most parts of Bangalore.

 

With a feeling of contentment and rejoice of exploring the ancient temple, I rode back home with the memories of Magadi lingering in my mind and heart.

Few pics of my ride below 

Road leading to magadi

Road near T G halli

ChamarajSagar built in 1933 by Sir M V

Enterance

Gopuram of Paschima Ranganatha temple

Carving across the Pillar

Inside the Temple

Madhvacharya

Someshwara Temple

Swayamboo vinayaka

Ruins of the Fort

Different design Bus captured me

Water Resource at ChamarajaSagar

Never judge anyone

A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call asap, changed his clothes & went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy’s father pacing in the hall waiting for the doctor.

On seeing him, the dad yelled: “Why did you take all this time to come? Don’t you know that my son’s life is in danger? Don’t you have any sense of responsibility?” 

The doctor smiled & said: “I am sorry, I wasn’t in the hospital & I came as fast as I could after receiving the call…… And now, I wish you’d calm down so that I can do my work".

“Calm down?! What if your son was in this room right now, would you calm down? If your own son dies now what will you do??” said the father angrily.

The doctor smiled again & replied: “I will say what Job said in the Holy Book “From dust we came & to dust we return, blessed be the name of God”. Doctors cannot prolong lives. Go & intercede for your son, we will do our best by God’s grace” 

“Giving advises when we’re not concerned is so easy” Murmured the father. 

The surgery took some hours after which the doctor went out happy, “Thank goodness!, your son is saved!” And without waiting for the father’s reply he carried on his way running. “If you have any questions, ask the nurse!!”

“Why is he so arrogant? He couldn’t wait some minutes so that I ask about my son’s state” Commented the father when seeing the nurse minutes after the doctor left. 

The nurse answered, tears coming down her face: “His son died yesterday in a road accident, he was at the burial when we called him for your son’s surgery. And now that he saved your son’s life, he left running to finish his son’s burial.” 

MORAL : Never be impulsive to judge anyone ….. because you never understand their situation & what they have been going through.

Kindness Pays

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. 

He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. 

She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied “Mother has taught us never to accept payment for a kindness.” 

He said… “Then I thank you from my heart.” 

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt; stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. 

When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. 

He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case. 

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.

He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally, she looked, and something caught her attention on the side as she read these words…… ” Paid in full with one glass of milk.” (Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly. 

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: “Thank You, GOD, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands. 

Moral : Your Good deeds always pay you back, though not immediately but surely. If you have a good heart, good life will follow.

Burned toast

When I was a kid, my Mom liked to cook food and every now & then I remember she used to cook for us.
One night in particular when she had made dinner after a long hard day at work, Mom placed a plate of bread jam and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I was waiting to see if anyone noticed the burnt toast.
But Dad just ate his toast and asked me how was my day at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember I heard Mom apologizing to dad for burning the toast.

And I’ll never forget what he said: “Honey, I love burned toast.” Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your mamma put in a long hard day at work today and she was really tired. And besides, A burnt toast never hurts anyone but harsh words do!”

You know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people I’m not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else.

What I’ve learned over the years, is that learning to accept each other’s faults and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences, is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

Life is not a Sharp Knife to Cut all those Bad Memories. But Life is a Needle to Weave Golden Thread of Sweet Memories … Love your Life … Live your Life ..

It’s the only one you have…. ….ENJOY LIFE NOW. It has an expiry date.
 

Love never dies

There lived an old couple who was poor , but the love for each other was never less, both lived together irrespective of the odds they faced in life, their love and care to each other was the only wealth they had and they were happy and contented with it.

One day, his wife, who had very long hair asked him to buy her a comb for her hair to grow well and to be well-groomed. The man felt very sorry and said no. He explained that he did not even have enough money to fix the strap of his watch he had just broken. She did not insist on her request.

The man went to work and passed by a watch shop, sold his damaged watch at a low price and went to buy a comb for his wife. He came home in the evening with the comb in his hand ready to give to his wife. He was surprised when he saw his wife with a very short hair cut.

She had sold her hair and was holding a new watch band.

Tears flowed simultaneously from their eyes, not for the futility of their actions, but for the reciprocity of their love.

MORAL: To love is nothing, to be loved is something but to love and to be loved by the one you love, that is EVERYTHING.


Winning is not Everything

It was a sports stadium.

Eight Children were standing on the track to participate in the running event. * Ready! * Steady! * Bang!!!

With the sound of Toy pistol, all eight Kids started running. Hardly have they covered ten to fifteen steps, one of the smaller girls slipped and fell down, due to bruises and pain she started crying. When other kids heard this sound, stopped running, stood for a while and turned back, they all ran back to the place where the girl fell down. One among them bent, picked and kissed the girl gently and enquired 'Now pain must have reduced'. All kids lifted the fallen girl, pacified her, two of them held the girl firmly and they all seven joined hands together and walked together and reached the winning post. Officials were shocked. Clapping of thousands of spectators filled the stadium. Many eyes were filled with tears and perhaps it had reached the GOD even! YES.

This happened in Hyderabad [INDIA], recently! The sport was conducted by National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH]. All these special Kids had come to participate in this event and they are spastic children. Yes, they were mentally retarded.

What did they teach this world? Teamwork! Humanity!! Equality!!! and LOVE!!!!

Successful people help others who are slow in learning so that they are not left far behind.

Thoughts to Ponder: Winning is not everything. Everybody has a desire to be the top and be the best, and it comes to us naturally because we do not want to face failure, or be ranked as the bottom few. Winning not only brings mental satisfaction, but also boosts our confidence and proves our ability which encourages us to improve. Winning is the result of our efforts !

However, if the effort is not the full commitment from oneself but through an approach that is against moral values, the victory is of no value. The process is the most important learning to enable us to not only win once, but keep winning. Human values such as humanity, compassion, kindness should not be forgotten. Sometimes, failure is vital to prevent arrogance and allow us to reflect ourselves. At the same time, we learn to accept failure and pull oneself together. Therefore we should not see winning as everything !

The house with the golden windows

The little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden and as she grew she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill - and this house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers.

And although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.

When she got to an age where she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother is she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she kept close to the house and didn't wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.

As she dismounted her bike and lent it against the gate post, she focused on the path that lead to the house and then on the house itself...and was so disappointed as she realised all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that stood derelict.

So sad she didn't go any further and turned, heart broken as she remounted her bike ... As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her...there across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden ...as the sun shone on her little home.

She realised that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the 'golden house'. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose!

Russell H. Conwell tells a similar story about a farmer in Africa who heard about people getting rich finding diamonds. So, he sold his farm and spent his life searching for diamonds. Meanwhile, the man who purchased his farm was one day out by the river and saw a stone sparkle in the sun. He picked it up and brought it home. Later a visitor commented on the beautiful stone and suggested that it might be a diamond. “Couldn’t be,” the man said, “my stream bottom is filled with such stones.” Well, you guessed it, the farmer’s land turned out to contain one of the largest, most productive diamond mines in history. This farmer searched everywhere looking for diamonds, when he already owned acres of diamonds. He just didn’t look in his own back yard.

Thought to Ponder:

            When things get difficult, we tend to look at other people and assume that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. When viewed from a distance, their opportunities often look richer, their problems seem fewer, and success looks easier. The temptation is to run here and there looking for better, easier opportunities. We sometimes wishfully look at other people and wish things were that easy for us. But, it is often an illusion.Prepare the ground, enrich the soil, nurture and water the grass until it thrives. Put your time, energy and effort into making your current opportunities blossom into success. When things get a little tough, resist the temptation to immediately look elsewhere for opportunities and the prospect of easier success. Focus your energy on thriving where you stand. Look for opportunities that you may already have, but might not have recognized. Rise to the top in whatever situation you find yourself. From there, you will be able to more clearly discern the true color of the grass.