Tanjore's Temple- India's Unheralded World Wonder

I love the temples of south India, not just because of religious significance but also because you can relive history at these sites. I miss these treasures even more as I live away from my homeland.

One of the most famous and the most grandeur temple of its kind in Tamil Nadu is the Brihadeeswara temple in Tanjore (erstwhile capital of the Chola's). It is a beautiful temple built by Raja Raja Chola 1 at the height of the Tamil kingdom's golden period. The temple was consecrated in the year 1010 AD. Coincidentally the year 2010 marked the 1000th year of the temple. I had the fortune of visiting the temple in the year 2009 and all these photographs were taken at that time.
To know more about the temple please visit th wikipedia location at :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brihadeeswarar_Temple

All Indians can be really proud of heritage sites like this one. In every Indian city or town there are numerous such temples and heritage sites that announce to the world about the greatness of our civilization. I do feel that our generation needs to cherish and preserve this history and heritage and pass on to our future generation. As far as I see it, the Brihadeeshwara temple is no less significant than Taj Mahal or the other wonders in the world. There are numerous documentaries that detail how the great Brihadeeshwara temple was built. It is fascinating to know these details and the commentary about that day and age.

At last if you want have a virtual visit to the temple here is a useful link:
http://view360.in/virtualtour/thanjavur

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The Coming of Age of Tamil Cinema

I grew up in Mumbai and in my childhood I used to watch Hindi and English movies. My family shifted to Chennai when I was 17 and still Tamil movies were not a big part of my life. I used to watch one movie here and there but was never a big fan of Tamil movies. The last 4-5 years have been a dramatic turnaround and I find myself watching Tamil movies more often than English movies and I seriously feel that the industry itself is delivering some top notch, hard hitting sensible movies that are tugging heart strings.

Tamil movies have come of age due to the following reasons:

•  Songs and music in movies are of international quality. Maestros like ARR, gen-x music directors have established a very high bench mark that have increased the popularity of the movies among audiences globally.
• A very good mix of rural and urban audiences who provide the impetus to movie makers to make both rural and urban theme based movies. This is a very healthy trend and this aspect adds variety to the plethora of movie releases throughout the year.
• Talented filmmakers are abundant and the passion for cinema in Tamil Nadu is unparelled and this ensures steady supply of passionate filmmakers. Experienced and new filmmakers together are setting the bar higher with every movie release.
• Actors, who are ready to experiment.
• Above all, passion for movies from the movie going public and the society in general. Movies are very much a part of the culture and forms a big part of every one's life, young and old.
• World class technicians like cinematographers, editors, music directors, playback singers are available and can be tapped by even medium budget movie makers.
• Strong production houses are big drivers. Both big production houses and producers who are passionate about producing impactful movies are on the rise.
• Government patronage of the industry and subsidies is also a very big driver for the industry.

It is really a golden age for Tamil cinema industry and what one expects in the future is that this passion 

will continue and the industry will keep delivering smart movies. It is not only a endearing hope from a Tamil movie fan but also a realistic expectation that the industry will deliver on its promise.

Light rail on Jersey City (photo) and nostalgia about trains and my childhood

http://instagr.am/p/JTFf9CmKlj/

This is where I take the train home from work everyday. Really something magical about trains... used to love them as a kid.

I used to be on  trains running across the country from Mumbai to Chennai and further south every year as a kid during summer holidays. I used to count the carriages (compartments) of trains passing by and used to get terribly disappointed if the train I was traveling was had lesser carriages. Invariably I used to be happy most of the times because our train used to be the Mumbai- Chennai mail the slowest and the longest.

Miss the trains and those long journeys across winding mountains, rivers and innumerable villages and hundreds of stations across rural India. Miss those hot coffee, teas and vadas... miss the thrill of standing on the train door and looking at vast swathes of empty  land with the wind gushing ...
Really miss the magical Indian railways....

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A spring morning on Exchange Place

http://instagr.am/p/JQ7NPPGKps/

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