THE WELL
I live in an apartment in Chennai, a city which is dependent on rains for recharging its water resources. Monsoon failures result in acute water scarcity and severe drought. A couple of years ago, Chennai experienced the rainfall of the century, followed next year by a cyclonic storm with very high wind speeds that uprooted […]
MAHA SAMPROKSHANAM PERFORMED AT PERUMAL TEMPLE IN KAPPUR WITH APLOMB
Maha Samprokshanam was conducted successfully at Sri Lakshmi Narayana Perumal Thirukoyil (temple) in Kappur on 12.9.22. We take this opportunity to urge you to join in this holy Kainkaryam and get the blessings of Perumal. The renowned temple is situated, adjacent to Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu. It is important to bear in mind that […]
BOOK REVIEW – THE NEW DAWN
The mother – daughter duo, Kamala Viswanathan and Sangeetha Subramanian have penned these fourteen short stories in “The New Dawn”, which dwells upon life in a Retirement Community.Each story is set at a steady pace, laced with emotions, introspection and clarity of purpose with a positive note. The unique feature of the layout is the […]
BAT CITY – AUSTIN
I had the pleasure of meeting my school mates, in Austin, USA, after forty five years, that brought nostalgic memories of our school days. It was evening and we decided to take a trek along the ‘Lady Bird Lake’, chatting happily. On our return, I was surprised to see people gathering in groups on the […]
Mahalaya Paksham
A word about Mahalaya Paksham (What is a paksha, Karunyaka pitrus, performing daily, Hiranya roopa sraaddha, Significant days, Mahalayam with homam, etc. etc.) A ‘paksha’ is 15 days. When the Sun enters ‘kanya rasi’ (Virgo) in Krishna paksha, the period is termed as ‘Mahalaya paksha’. It is said that our ancestors get Yama’s permission and […]
Kumbabhisheka Mahotsavam of Arulmigu Velmurugan Gnanamuneswarar Temple
The Kumbabhishekam of Arulmigu Velmurugan Gnanamuneswarar Koil, Singapore is set to take place on the 20th and 21st of August, 2022.On the first day of the program,Ganapati Homam, Poornahuti, Abhishekam, Deepa Aradhana, Vaastu Saanti and Prasadam distribution will take place in the morning session. In the evening, 1st Kala Yaga Pooja, Astadasa Kriyai, Netronmeelanam (Eye […]
GSPK: Propagating sanatana dharma
Many organisations have been propagating the Srivaishnava Sampradaya propounded by Srimad Ramanujacharya and Swami Vedanta Desika. Prominent among them is Global Stotra Parayana Kainkaryam (GSPK). Started in 2020, GSPK has brought together several scholars of Vedanta, 4000 Divya Prabhandam, Sanskrit texts, Puranas and Itihasas for conducting online lectures and discourse series to reach out to the future generations and […]
SIGNIFICANCE OF TAMIL NEW YEAR
Tamil New Year (Puthandu) according to the Hindu lunisolar calendar is the first day of the traditional Tamil New Year. It generally falls on April 14, and is a public holiday in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Interestingly, along with Tamilians across the world, many other Indian communities also celebrate their traditional new year around […]
Poetry on anger and pride – 1
This explains the psychology of anger. अन्धीकरोषि, वाग्बाणं सन्धीकरोषि, मे श्रुतिम् । मन्दीकरोषि, मन्यो!, मां बन्धीकरोषि सर्वदा ।। 1 ।। Anger! You impair my vision, shoot words like arrows, block my hearing and always bind me (to my emotions)! ———————– On ahamkara and anger. However good a person may be too much of ego and […]
Poetry on animals, birds and insects – part 3
Nakulan (a) Dr.Sreeram Jaganathan Setlur रजसाssवृतनेत्रं तु शरीरं तमसाssवृतम् । तथापि चावयोः सत्त्वे कदापि सुस्वरः पिक! ।। 1 Our eyes are enveloped by rajas (passion /redness), body is enveloped by tamas (ignorance /dark colour), even then due to our sattva (existence) sometimes there is good svara (poetry and cooing)! ——————————- With the same hands we embrace […]