Majestic TS on the move...

Clouds rolling down for a evening Thunder Shower - 10th Aug 2015

M.S.Viswanathan: Remembering the veteran music director - The Hindu

M.S.Viswanathan: Remembering the veteran music director - The Hindu



There cannot be a better tribute than this for the great MSV...

quotes on Forgive

a tribute

14 July 2015- I am very sad to hear the demise of the king of melodies- the great MSV...

May his soul rest in peace. His music gave peace and solance to many and his music will live for ever.

Some of his songs as per this news article are my favourite too..

http://www.firstpost.com/video-views-home/entertainment-video-views-home/king-of-melodies-listen-to-these-five-great-tamil-songs-from-mellisai-mannar-msv-2341102.html?utm_source=fp_hp

Many of his songs are in my favorite list.. but I like the songs MSV -Ramamurthy combination in Bhagyalakshmi- Malaipoyithin mayakatila.. the most liked songs...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKjzzxsZSvE ( MSV Ramamurthy combo)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlocUamrLqQ (KVM)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WGVo1Zh3Yw (Viswanathan - Ramamurthy combo)

http://www.msvtimes.com/gallery/gallerymain.html

visit to NN

Visit to Chikmangalur

Around 260 kms from Bangalore- fabulous Hill station. Mulangiri Peak:  Highest peak in Karnataka is located nearby.

I stayed at "Nature Nirvana" - a retreat where one can discover the true beauty and splendour of this enchanting land. For more details please visit  http://www.naturenirvana.com.

Bhadra Game Santuary in Muthodi (rustic and unspolit game santuary) Hosts Gaur, Chital, elephants, sambar,wild bear and tiger.

visit to SVNP

Silent Valley National Park.

Visited SVNP during first week of  May 2015

It is located 58 kms away from Palakkad. There are trains from Bangalore to Palakkad. From Palakkad one can reach there by a car within a hour.

I stayed at Kerala tourism development corporation Guest house at Mannarkkad. It is a good resort, from there SVNP is around 20 kms to reach Mukkali.

From Mukkali SVNP forest vehicles would take us in their jeep 4x4 wheel drive to the interiors of the national park. Overall it is around five hours journey, Approx 25kms travel in the mud road through the jungle. 

It is a rewarding journey for nature lovers, however, for those who have back pain or back problems, think twice, as the journey is bumpy.

 Silent VallyNational Park is rich in faunal diversity and harbours 34 species of mammals, 292 species of birds, 31 species of reptiles, 22 species of amphibians, 13 species of fishes, 500 species of butterflies and moths, besides a multitude of lower forms of animal life most of which are yet to be documented. The valley has a fair representation of all peninsular mammals. 

They are Lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Bonnet Macaque, Tiger, Leopard (Panther), Leopard Cat, Jungle Cat, Fishing Cat, Common Palm Civet, Small Indian Civet, Brown Palm Civet, Ruddy Mongoose, Stripe necked Mongoose, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Otter, Flying Squirrel, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Indian Pangolin (Scaly anteater), Porcupine, Wild Boar, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, Mouse Deer, Gaur and Elephant.

Some snaps:-

SVNP Trip begins at Mukkali

Entrance to SVNP

Rich biodiversity

Jeep travel through mud road- Wild bamboo 

Fabulous weather, dark clouds pumping from the pristine forest

Nature at its best

Real jungle feel

one of the oldest tree in the forest

See the ground.. full of fallen leaves

The centre circle- jeep drive upto this point / a tall tower nearby

two fallen tress?

call of the wild!!

Me too- Mushroom!!

Mukali- SVNP Forest office- entry point, where you can book for Jeep / accomodation 

Palakkad village

I am always have a fascination for Villages, the serne and laid back life in villages. During my recent visit to Palakkad, I could click couple of villages around Palakkad. Palakkad lies at the foot of the gigantic Western ghats , on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This district with its mountains, forests and fertile valleys, rivers and mountain streams, are rich in flora and fona.

The  Kalpathy river, a tributary of the Bharathapuzha is flowing through Palakkad. Many famous villages are located in Palakkad, one of them is  Kalpathy village, which is acclaimed as the oldest agraharam or Brahmin settlement in the heart of Palakkad.

One can observe  houses in rows with wooden shutters and metal grills in each lane leading to a temple. I could find some of the villages as heritage village. Kalpathi is one of the heritage village.

I think this is to Preserve our culture: Realising that old village houses were fast giving way to modern architecture by a younger generation, the state government of Kerala declared Kalpathy a Heritage Village to conserve its unique culture, tradition and lifestyle. The agraharams are now recognised as heritage sites and major architectural changes or rebuilding are banned.

Kalpathy agraharam, a Brahmin settlement, consists of five villages – Chathapuram, Old Kalpathy, New Kalpathy, Govindarajapuram and Vaidhyanathapuram. It was founded in the 12th century by migrant Brahmins from Thanjavur. A rich amalgamation of Tamil and Keralite culture is palpable.

The streets, with houses abutting on both sides and a temple for each settlement, are a typical feature of agraharams. some snaps of villages around.

Car festival is one of the important celebration in the villages for which people come and enthusiastically participate. Thousands of devotees drag the huge, intricately carved, bulbous domed chariots bedecked with flowers and flags through the streets to the sound of Vedic recitals and chants. Nellicherry village also celebrate Car festival and I attended and witness last year the car event. Some more snaps from Nellicherry village.

 Nellicherry Sri Venkatachalapathy Temple- Car festival is the highlight and there is a beautiful tank at the back of the temple. New Car for this year festival is under progress.

Nellicherry village from the entrance view.. the big pipal tree - arasa maram is one of the landmark in this village.

A PANARAMIC VIEW OF THE NELLICHERRY VILLAGE- from my nokia mobile...