Musings from Antique Origins

Amazing figurine from the Museum complex, Meenakshi temple, Madurai Chola bronzes at the Museum complex Inside the Museum complex, Meenakshi temple Shiva Parvati , Inside temple complex, Madurai Another statuette North gate , from the temple complex Old painting from museum complex View of Thirumala Naicker's Palace built in 1636 AD designed by an Italian architect Madurai is famous for hand made cotton Sungudi sarees. Sunset over Madurai skyline Roman Catholic, Sacred Heart church at Idaikattur, built in 1888 Stained glass paintings of angels at the church, made in France Royal Emblem at the entrance to Ramnad Palace , Ramanathapuram Entrance to Ramnad Palace , Ramanathapuram Tripunithura,South India 31st July 2011

Matsya Avatar of Vishnu- Dasavatharam Temple, Srirangam- O fficial trips often take me to different parts of South India, outside Kerala. If a Sunday falls in between during the visit, I generally look out for places of historical interests. Last month, I was among the ruins of Hampi, in Karnataka on the Anniversary Day our wedding and after a fortnight when my birthday came, I was at the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad. Obviously, these were taken with a pinch of salt by Sindhu, my wife of 28 years. This time it was my turn to visit various places in Trichy- Tiruchirappalli - and Tanjore – Thanjavur- in Tamil Nadu. While the full fury of the south west monsoon lashed across Kerala, I was in the hotter climate of Tanjore on the summer solstice day of 21 st June when the rays of the sun were perpendicular heralding the summer in the northern hemisphere. Timeless sculptures of Srirangam Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple, Srirangam: Its history dating back to millennia, Srirangam t...

Virupaksha Temple, Hampi, Karnataka W ork takes me to different parts of south India outside Kerala. Last week, I went to Goa, travelled to Hubli and then to Hospet. Then it was to Kurnool via Bellary and to Guntakkal from where a train brings me back to Tripunithura. Each of these places is different from the other. Summer is quite felt all over but the liveliness of the country is all pervading. Virupaksha Inside Virupaksha Temple Complex One Saturday night I reached Hospet from Hubli. The next day being holiday, I decided to spend the time in Hampi, among the ruins of the forgotten empire, Vijayanagara. Mohan, an employee of our company is a local lad and he was to be my guide. He arranged an auto rickshaw for a day so that we could leisurely move around in this UNESCO world heritage site at Hampi spread over many square kilometers. This village was the site of the last great Hindu empire of Vijayanagara which was fabulously prosperous as described in the writings of travelers of t...

At Le Meredien Kochi , 29th April 2011 I have been to the famous cricket grounds of Firoz Shah Kotla in Delhi, The Wanderers in Johannesburg and the lesser known Chandrasekharan Nair stadium in Trivandrum to watch Test matches during different times of my life. However, an occasion to see some of the great players in close quarters came rather recently; to be precise yesterday. The company, for which I work now, came out with its IPO during this month which met with stupendous success getting subscribed 25 times! We also happen to be the principal sponsors for the “Delhi Dare Devils “, one of the teams of the Indian Premier League which has popularized cricket among people across the country while making itself a big money spinner. So it was an occasion for the company to invite members of the senior management with their spouses to a dinner in honour of the Delhi team at the Le Meridien Kochi on 29th April 2011. The following day, the Delhi Dare Devils were to meet Kerala Tuskers, K...