USS Constellation at Baltimore

Heritage walk at Baltimore

Stars tell all at Nakshatra-2013

Info on Yantras at display during Nakshatra-2013

India is a country of many faiths and religions. Most of the people here have some belief in faiths and they also believe in astrological predictions. To address the needs of such people, a unique fair and exhibition on astrology and related stuff has commenced today at New Delhi. The exhibition called Nakshatra-2013 will be on till next week up to Feb 10th, 2013. A wide range of astrological and faith products are being showcased and sold at various stalls at Hall No. 15 of Pragati Maidan. While majority of the stalls have learned people who are helping people with predictions about past, present and future against discounted fees, other stalls have some interesting products which are little known at least to me in northern part of India. The participants hail from different parts of India.

Advertisement of Nakshatra in a local newspaper

The fair has numerous options for the body, mind, home and business to promote health, happiness, energy and peace. Astrologers, palmists, Numerologists, Signature analysts, Feng Shui & Reiki experts, Tarot readers, Acupressure specialists, Vaastu consultants, Face and Thumb reading experts etc. have been keeping the visitors engaged with spell-bound  predictions about their life and life styles. There are gems, precious & semi-precious stones, Rudrakshas,  Crystal and many other sacred material products on show and sale.  There are  beads, decoratives, jewellery items like necklaces, rings, bracelets, pendents and many other items for warding off negetive energy and for conversion to positive energy. Some stall owners are gifting items like panchmukhi rudrakshas, Neelkanth Raksha Kavach, Janam Patri for kids etc. to encourage visitors to show keen interest in their products.  Rudrakshas are available with one mukhi to eighteen muchi types, many of which have come from the neighbouring country Nepal.

Participants from Gujarat and Rajasthan have unique items like pendents made from Gomati Chakra, Fish Fossils, Meteorite stone, Agate stone etc. Many relevant books, periodicals and magazines at certain stalls give first hand inputs about the insight of body and mind, future predictions, birth defect rectification, miedical astrology, horoscope matching, remedial consultancy etc. The stalls from training institutes like Institute of Alternative Energy Sciences provide an opportunity to learn and adopt various alternative healing techniques as a hobby or a career for like minded. Softwares and sharewares of related therapies and  activities provide useful and quick information to help the visitors.
   
The fair is guaranteed to provide answers to various routine and specific problems encountered by the visitors to lead them from darkness to light with complete fulfillment,  satisfaction and contentment.

Ooty's Homemade Chocolates-A Treat for Tastebuds

Wealth of Ayurvedic Oils from Nilgiri Hills

Tea Gardens of Coonoor

 

Amazing Monolithic Statue of 'Bahubali'

The world was believed by certain section to be doomed in December of 2012, however, survived. And, what a way it was for us to start the next year 2013 as on the first day of the new year we trekked to the amazing monolithic statue of Bahubali. The statue is located at Shravanbelagola, a small town in Karnataka state of India. the town is approx. 160 km from Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka state. The journey from Bangalore through a highway, which is being widened and had many diversions, took three hours to reach by KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) bus. We were told that the town is not connected by railway. The bus ticket costed only Rs. 124 per head upto Chennarayapatna and Rs. 11 per head from Chennarayapatna to Shravanbelagola.

Bahubali monolith standing firm and tall

Bahubali is a jain siddha who is believed by Jain Digambars to be the first human who has attained liberation. He is believed to be one of the two sons of the first Jain Tirthankar namely Rishabh, who is referred to as the founder of Jainism, a popular religion in India. His monolithic statue at Shravanbelagola is an amazing figure neatly carved out of a single granite stone more than a 1000 years back during 978-993 AD. The approx. 18m (60 ft) tall statue is also known as Gommateshvara. Built by  Chamundaraya, a minister and commander in ancient Western Ganga dynasty which is believed to rule the area from about 350 to 1000 AD, the statue is located on top of a hill. The majestic statue shows a standing Bahubali in meditation with closed eyes and without any clothes. The distinct carvings  of creeper plants on the legs and arms indicate the expertise of artisans during that period. The quality of work with intact features even after 1000 years is considered unparalled.

A coconut offering on toe of Bahubali monolith

During school, I had read about Bahubali statue with amazement and keenly followed news items in magazines and newspaper about Bahubali's Mahamastakabhishekam, an event which is held every 12 years. The photographs of huge statue being washed or bathed in pure milk, ghee, curd, turmeric, saffron etc. during this event not only used to impress me as a child but also filled me with curiosity to know more about the statue. The visit on the new year to the statue filled me with a sense of satisfaction, though I never dreamt of visiting the place.

Vindhyagiri hill  with Bahubali  atop

The gate at the entrance to the stairway at the start of the trek mentions the name of the hill as Vindhyagiri. The trek, which includes climbing 680 steps carved neatly on the hill, was completed in half an hour. There are separate stairs for pilgrims for coming and going separated by a ramp like structure. During climbing down, my wife found it easier and faster to climb down which we could do in just 10 minutes flat. During climb up, we enjoyed the view at different levels of the hill as various distant places unfolded from the height to give a panoramic view of Chandragiri hill and surrounding areas.  There were hundreds of people including children, ladies and elderly trekking up and down the hill. It is learnt that millions of pilgrims and tourists visit the place every year.

While writing this entry to the blog, I learnt that Bahubali statue at Shravanbelagola was voted as the first of seven wonders of India in Aug 2007 with 49% votes in a poll conducted by The Times of India, a top English newspaper in India. There are other Bahubali statues at other places like Venur, Dharmasthala, Karkala and Gommatagiri in Karnataka state and Kumbhoj in Maharashtra state of India. All of these statues are of lesser height as compared to the one at Shravanbelagola.

We were overwhelmed by this chance visit to the statue and happy to see a neat and clean religious place with no one harassing in the name of religion.   

Rock Art of South America

Rock Art sites in Peru

The International Rock Art Exhibition at New Delhi intimates following regarding rock art of South America.

 

'Rock art sites are found from almost all the countries like Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru and Argentina. Major concentrations are in Toro Muerto and Lima region site complex in Peru, Serra da Capivara in Brazil, Cueva de las Manos (Cave of the Hands) in Argentina. Among them Serra da Capivara in Brazil is the oldest rock painting site where the earliest evidence of paintiing goes back to more than 25,000 years. The stylized human figures depicted on the Volcanic Tufa blocks of the huge site Toro Muerto and the complex motifs from the sites of the Lima region are the significant examples from Peru. Recently, emphasis has given into the study of the Bolivian rock art. Mask like motifs from Santa Cruz, Bolivia are unique in nature. Besides, animal and human figures, hunting scenes and geometric designs, there are numerous hand stencils executed at the same place continuously for thousands of years on the walls of the 'Cave of the Hands' from Patagonia in Argentina. These are fascinating indeed'.

 

Rock art depicting human figures in Argentina

 

 

Rock Art of North America

The visit to International Rock Art Exhibition, which is currently running in New Delhi, has been a great effort where rock art formations from across the world have been displayed. The amount of information displayed indicates the depth of research which has gone into organising such an exhibition.

Major Rock Art sites in North America

 

The following has been displayed at the exhibition regarding rock art of North America.

"It has been displayed The North America is very rich in Rock Art distributed throughout the continent. Rock art sites are known to occur from the northern most point at Bering Strait in Central Alaska to Panama, the southernmost country of the Latin America. All these countries have rock art sites but the richest concentration is in the south western part of the USA. The states include California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. The traditions practised here have great variations in subject matter, style and technique reflecting diverse thought processes of the early inhabitants of America. The colourful and complicated geometric images of Chumash people in Western California are believed to be done in trance or in intoxicated condition. Thousands of petroglyphs in the canyons of Coso Range are one of the richest concentrations of rock art. The noteworthy among them are Patterned Body of Anthropomorphic figures, sometimes associated with animals and depictions of 'Big Horn sheep'. The delicate Fremont Style and large mummy like figures of Barrier Canyon in Utah, the mysterious shamanistic representations of Texas etc. are the other notable traditions". 

Rock Art geometrical designs in Arizona