Shree Attukal Amma Devi Temple

The Attukal Bhagavathy Temple is a famous temple at Attukal in Trivandrum, Kerala. Goddess Bhadrakali is the main deity in this temple. Bhadra means good and Kali means goddess of time. So, she is often referred as Goddess of prosperity, time and salvation.

Attukal Pongala is the main festival of this temple. It is a 10 day festival (Feb - Mar) months, which begins on Karthika star with the deity adorned with Kappu (Bangles). Millions of women gather and prepare Pongala (rice cooked with Jaggery, Ghee, Coconut etc.) in the open in small pots to please the mighty Goddess - Sri Attukal Amma. This annual festival has figured in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest gathering of women for a religious activity.

Attukal Devi is often worshipped in 3 forms :

Maha Saraswati (Goddess of Knowledge)
Maha Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth)
MahaKali/Durga/Parvathy (Goddess of Power)

Mythological Stories about Temple
The story of Kannagi, who was married to a wealthy merchant, Kovalan. After marriage, Kovalan spent all his riches on a dancer, forgetting his wife but later when we was penniless, he came back to his wife. Kannagi had 2 precious anklets, so they went to King of Madurai to sell one of the anklet. At the same time, the Queen's anklet was stolen, so when Kovalan tried to sell it to King, they mistook his for thief and killed him.

When Kannagi heard the news, she got very angry and went to King with the second anklet, and proved that the mistaken anklet was not of Queen. It is said that such was the anger of Kannagi that she burned the city of Madurai. It is said that Kannagi attained salvation later and resided on Attukal temple, as Goddess Kodungallooramma (bhadrakali/Kannagi).

Another story says that Sri Attukal Devi is Bhadrakali, born from the third eye of Lord Shiva to kill the demon king Daruka.

May Attukal Devi Amma bless all of us with her grace, divinity and ashirvadam, and help us conquer our inner demons so that we can always be blissful and righteous in our lives.

Mookambika Devi Temple

Mookambika Devi Temple is situated in Kollur village of Udupi of Karnataka state. The abode is situated in the foothills of Kodajadri Hills and surrounded by River Souparnika.

The mighty Goddess is revered by many Keralites and people of Tamil Nadu. She is called "Shree Adiparashakti" as she embodies powers of 3 Goddesses - MahaLakshmi, MahaSaraswati and MahaKali Devi. The ancient temple was built around 800 AD, which makes it one of the oldest temple.

Adi Shankaracharya, renowned spiritual guru, had done immense worship to Goddess Saraswati. When the Devi appeared, he asked her to come with him to Kerala, as there was no temple of her presence at that time. Goddess agreed on one condition and promised that he should take her to destination but while travelling, he should not look back.

While travelling, Shankaracharya was consistently hearing Devi's Padasaram (Anklet). Suddenly, the tingling sound stopped and out of confusion, he looked back, only to realise that the promise was broken. However, as Devi was very pleased with his worship, she agreed to come with him, as well.

It is said that Devi would come to Chottanikara Temple in Kerala every mornings and would return back to Kollur Mookambika Temple by midday.

Another story is Goddess Parvathy had killed a demon called Mookasura (Mooka means dumb - one who cannot speak) and hence, Devi attained the name Mookambika Devi.

May Goddess Mookambika Devi Amme bless us all with positivity and contentment in our mind, body and soul and assist us or make us adept in conquering our internal demons.

How to visit the temple ?

If you are coming from Kerala, you can take Intercity Express which goes till Mangalore Central. Then take Matsyagandha Express and get down on Mookambika Road Byndoor station. Take taxi to temple which costs approx 700rs as it is only 28 km from here.

Moviemaker Who Continued His Passion

He was born in Ohio, USA with a great passion for film making. At 10, he started shooting with his father's movie camera. But things at school weren't going well for him as he did poorly with grades. He was bullied and treated poorly at school because of his inability to read properly.

By the time he was 18, he had already made long films independently but all his dreams turned to ashes when he got rejected for film making from university of south California.

He was heartbroken & depressed because getting into that University was his dream but he kept on pursuing his passion. So he went to the theaters and saw every film that he could. He walked past the guards at "Universal Studios" & watched major projects being filmed. Soon he was offered a small unpaid intern job at Universal Studio.

And later with movies like 'Indiana Jones' and 'Jurassic Park', he eventually rose to fame. One day he was invited to get an honorary Degree from a university. It was the same university that rejected him years ago.

Yes, you guessed it right - Steven Spielberg

There is a fine line between pursuing your passion, despite hurdles and giving up on situational resistances. Its all about giving your best and joyfully living your passion.

Paid in full with one glass of milk

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a glass of water at the next house.

The lady who opened the door, thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it so slowly, and then asked, How much do I owe you?”

You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.”

He said … “Then I thank you from my heart.”

Many year’s later that same young woman became critically ill. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once.

He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. After a long struggle, the battle was won.

Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words …

“Paid in full with one glass of milk”

(Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly.

Dr. Howard Kelly was an exemplary doctor who was one of the founding doctors of John Hopkins University, the first US medical research university.

The Stalwart - Engineers Day Remembrance

It was well beyond midnight, during the British era in India. A train was travelling to its destination with a howl in the silence of the night. A man was sleeping with his head on the side window of the train. Suddenly, he woke up from his sleep.

He jumped from his seat an pulled the chain hanging just over his head. The train stopped immediately. The employees and other passengers in the train rushed to the compartment to know what had happened.

They were angry on this man. All surrounded the man and asked the reason behind chain pulling. The man told them that there was a crack in the railway tracks, a few metres ahead. The people did not believe him. The man asked them to go and check for themselves.The railway workers got down to the track to examine it. And yes, they found a crack in the track.

The man told them that he heard the sound from the track while sleeping and it changed at some place. The vibrating sound changed too heavily which the man recognized that it was due to the crack in the railway line.

Do you know who was the man who saved many lives on that day ? It was none other than the best engineer that India ever produced, Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvervaraya. This man is responsible for the building of India's irrigation structure and was instrumental in taming Hyderabad floods of 1908 for decades.

15 September is celebrated as Engineer's day in his memory.

“Remember, your work may be only to sweep a railway crossing, but it is your duty to keep it so clean that no other crossing in the world is as clean as yours.”

Sachin Tendulkar - The Name Says It All

 

The man who has engulfed the whole nations sports lovers life and who is no where less than an enigma, in himself. Sachin Tendulkar, the No. 10 jersey guy, who has shouldered one billion people's hopes and aspirations every single instance he went out to play in the middle.

Words are quite less and few to say about his achievements. I have collected some of the quotes told by the sports celebrities spanning different countries and eras which speaks volumes about him but alas still fall short to explain his greatness and magnanimity.

“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives."

                                                                -British broadcasting corporation (BBC)

"He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also."

 -Waqar Younis

"On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!"

                                                                  -Peter Rebouck, Australian journalist.

"To Sachin, the man we all want to be."

                  -Andrew Symonds signing a T shirt specially for Sachin.

"Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal."

-Brian Lara.

"The number of innings of his (Tendulkar's) I have been able to sit back and watch, I think he is an amazing player. Look at his stats and records and it's quite incredible for someone to have stayed in the game for more than 20 years.. He has set benchmarks for guys like me to chase him and get as close as we can. If I had to last 20 years, I would probably be batting in a wheelchair!!"

-Ricky Ponting

I'll see god when I die but till then I'll see Sachin.

                                                           -A banner during a match in Sharjah.

"I have seen god. he bats at no.4 for India."

-Mathew Hayden

"Commit all your sins when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the lord is watching!"

-A banner in UK.

"The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility - all make for a one-in-a-billion individual".

-Glenn McGrath

There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricketers were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the genius!!

-Shahrukh Khan

Sachin was so focused. He never looked like getting out. He was batting with single-minded devotion. It was truly remarkable. It was a lesson."

                                      -Martina Navratilova after watching Tendulkar bat at Sydney.

He is 99.5% Perfect...I think he is marvellous. He can play in any era and at any level.

- Viv Richards

I was fielding in the covers Tendulkar came out to bat in his debut test at Karachi. I still remember Waqar Younis was at his peak form at that time. Tendulkar tried to drive Waqar through the covers off his very first ball in Test cricket but was beaten all ends up. But I walked to captain Imran Khan and told him that this kid looks very good and Imran agreed with me.

- Abdul Qadir

During one Bangalore Test, Michael Kasprowicz frustrated went to Dennis Lillee and asked, "Mate, do you see any weaknesses ?". Lilee replied, "No Michael, as long as you walk off with your pride that's all you can do".

 

Shakuntala Devi - Human Calculator

One person who had been widely regarded as the human calculator, the one who stunned the world with her split second answering ability to mathematical questions, involving gigantic numbers was none other than Shakuntala Devi. It is said that there were no umm's and no urr's while she answered and certainly no errors.

Shakuntala Devi was born in Bangalore to a Brahmin family in 1929, where her father used to work in circus as a gymnast. She went to school uptil Class III after which her parents could not afford the school fees. It is said that by the age of 3, she was solving University Level Mathematics book. Age 6 - she held a Masters degree in Mathematics from University of Mysore. Age 8 - she had completed her Doctorate in Maths from Annamalai University.

Some famous happenings that took her to fame was when she was asked to derive 23rd root of a 201 digit number at Harvard University. She took 50 seconds to answer while for the same calculation, UNIVAC 1108 computer took 1 minute i.e. 10 seconds longer.

On June 18, 1980, Computer Department of University of Oxford asked her randomly to multiply 2 13-digit numbers. (7686369774870 X 2465099745779). She answered in 2 seconds flat , which was correct and the answer was : 18947668177995426462773730. This event was however mentioned in the 1995 Guiness Book of Records.

She believed that hers was a God's gift and hence she had opened an institute in Bangalore which teaches Vedic Mathematics which according to her had the correct ways of learning and loving the numbers. She has authored several maths and cookery books too and was a noted astrologist and numerologist.

How did Harry Potter Came Into Being

I know that the whole world has heard the word, Harry Potter, sometimes in their life. But I am sure not many of you would know about Harry Potter's originator...Yes I am talking about J.K.Rowling. She happens to be the author of all Harry Potter books.
Here's a brief excerpts about her rags to riches life :

She got the first idea of Harry Potter on a train trip from Manchestor to London in 1990. At that time, she had a small baby to look after and was surviving on the state benefits given to the unemployed. For the first Harry Potter book, the name being "Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone", she used a manual typewriter to write the whole manuscript.

Her script was rejected by 12 publishing houses and then a small publishing house from London, called Bloomsbury, gave the green signal to publish. The strange part was that the decison to publish the book owes much to an 8 year old, Alice Newton, the daughter of the publishing house owner, as she was given the first chapter to be read by her father. After reading it, she immediately asked for the second, which was ample proof that the script was good enough to engage the children in it.

And then, it is all history. Now she is one of the most richest woman to have walked on earth on her own merit.

That's why they say no matter what when the time comes, everything including the most jeopardized piece in your life would fall in place...Just go on living and rest would follow.