In the five decades (plus!) of my life, I have had the good fortune of getting the darshan of Guruvayurappan many times. As we approach the end of the year, I wanted to write about this wonderful, and powerful temple on this website, as we had the good fortune of travelling earlier this year in … Continue reading Temples around Thrissur, Kerala (Gurvayurappan temple, Mammiyur Mahadeva Temple, Vadakkunnathan temple) ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
Kerala
#Kochi Diaries: Kalady: The birthplace of Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
This article is dedicated to the memory of my father Col. K .S. Sachidanand (Corps of Engineers Madras Sappers, Indian Army) who left for his heavenly journey on May 27th, 2020 towards the Lotus Feet of the Paramatma “Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam,Punarapi janani jatare sayanam, Iha samsaare bahu dusthare,Krupayaa pare pahi murare.” “Bhaja Govindam; Bhaja … Continue reading #Kochi Diaries: Kalady: The birthplace of Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
#Kochi Diaries: Fort Kochi- a medley of cultures©Sangeeta Venkatesh
There are perhaps only few countries that tell more stories than this tiny town. Fort Kochi, 12 kilometres from Eranakulam town in Kerala tells the tales of Chinese sailors, Arab traders, Jewish merchants and European conquests. I have had the opportunity to visit Fort Kochi several times. And once during the Kochi Biennale to! Fort … Continue reading #Kochi Diaries: Fort Kochi- a medley of cultures©Sangeeta Venkatesh
#KochiDiaries; A Call to Prayer in God’s Own Country (part 2)- Thirumoozhikulam Divya Desam- ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
The Thirumoozhikulam Sree Lakshmanaperumal Temple is the other temple amongst the 108 Divya Desam situated in the Eranakulam area. The 108 Divya Desams as the reader would know are temples that have been praised by the Tamil Sri Vaishnava saints or Azhwars. The other temple Thikkakara or Thirukakarai has already been described in my previous post. … Continue reading #KochiDiaries; A Call to Prayer in God’s Own Country (part 2)- Thirumoozhikulam Divya Desam- ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
The Kumarakom Backwaters- #KochiDiaries ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
A ride in the ‘Shikara’ A ‘must do’ when in Kochi is a ride through the canals of the backwaters. Last time in February 2019, we (my spouse and I) had the houseboat experience on Lake Vembanad. So, the most recent visit to Kochi in November 2019, we decided to do the canals in the … Continue reading The Kumarakom Backwaters- #KochiDiaries ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
#KochiDiaries – Vignettes of the 4th Kochi Biennale (2019) ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
It is impossible to encapsulate the Kochi Biennale in one article. Last month, I tried to cover the fourth edition of India’s most ambitious and largest art exhibition, as much as I could in a day. The mission statement of the Biennale states “The Kochi-Muziris Biennale seeks to invoke the latent cosmopolitan spirit of the … Continue reading #KochiDiaries – Vignettes of the 4th Kochi Biennale (2019) ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
#KochiDiaries; A Call to Prayer in God’s Own Country (part 1)- ThiruKatkarai Divya Desam- ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
I was on a trip to Ernakulam/ Fort Kochi, last month and was happy to be there in time for the Kochi Muziris Biennale. However, no trip is complete, if I don’t seek out places of worship around the area. Having grown up on the tenets of Sri Vaishnavism, the husband and I made time … Continue reading #KochiDiaries; A Call to Prayer in God’s Own Country (part 1)- ThiruKatkarai Divya Desam- ©Sangeeta Venkatesh
sojourn-with-san 