71. Force

I was in a small village in Tamil Nadu. 
We were on the hillock and while watching downwards, I saw this.

Who was guiding the direction? Whose will mattered? 
Who was really using force to pull the other?

70. Food 4: Kharwas

I don't know what Kharwas is in English. I do not know whether it is consumed beyond the world that I know of. What I know is: I like it and it is rarely available. 

So the other day when my friend offered it to me, I was glad to have it served couple of times. 

It is made of Colostrum milk, (normal) milk and Jaggery. 

This is Colostrum Milk.

After mixing normal milk (now, don't ask me the details of measurements etc.!) and adding Jaggery cook this in Pressure Cooker. It looks like this:

Tempting, isn't it? 

Cut it into pieces for ease of consumption.

And I had no hesitation in having it;

Actually I lost the count of plates :-) 

53. Kamakhya Temple

It was after almost twenty years, I was visiting Guwahati. 
I had visited Kamakhya temple then, but hardly remembered anything about it.

So, one evening, when couple of colleagues asked me to join, I happily went with them.
The entrance was like any other temple.

However, the first view of the temple was beautiful.

And as I watched it more closely, it was amazing.

Only the site of animal sacrifice was heart-breaking.

Why this in the name of religion? After all, the Goddess does not eat anything, we human beings only consume the food!! 

23. Return

Sometimes I wonder.
Wonder about past and present.
Wonder about present and future.
I was in Hyderabad.
And came across this.

Was I in the past?
Was it a future prediction?
Taking into consideration exploitation of natural resources, we would return to past in future?
Probably.

18. Rest

I was traveling from Nagpur to Amaravati.
On the way, saw this.

It was so peaceful and still .. for a moment, I thought  Time has stopped running. Looked more like  a painting than real.

A well deserved rest indeed!
What would be they thinking about? 

17. Bull Temple

I had half a day with me in Bangalore.
One friend advised me to visit Bull Temple. 
The view at the entrance was beautiful.

It was more visible when I actually approached the entrance door at the temple.

Very refreshing.
And the Bull idol is huge.

Well, if God is everywhere, no harm in worshiping IT in the form of a bull.
Outside the temple, the pillar carvings are great.

Overall, it was a very peaceful experience.

16. Subsidy for Mule?

Natadol is a …

Well, by habit I was going to write it is a small village.

But in the hilly area of Almora district in Uttarakhand, a village with 239 households is certainly not a small village.

The road from Almora had many turns and enchanting view. The road seemed good until we approached Natadol, then it changed dramatically.

It is easily about five to six kilometers. The dust makes walking difficult when it rains. On the way, I saw many Apple orchards – so , transport is absolute necessity of this village.

But nothing seems to have been done.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) – a prestigious scheme of Government of India – website mentions Natadol as a ‘Location with no approved Work’ – with many more villages. (Go to http://nrega.nic.in/netnrega/home.aspx, select Uttaranchal (is it the right name of the state?), select Almora district, select Lamgara block, in Alerts, click Locations with no approved work.)

I see a man with a Mule. Mule is the common means of transport.

Interestingly, the man has given a name to this Mule. It is Hira – beautiful, isn’t it? I mean the human touch to the relationship was a good aspect to know.

How much a good Mule costs? As much as Rs. 40000/-

No exaggeration.

In remote areas like Almora; Nano is not required, Mule is; Nano is not useful, Mule is!

The government  subsidizes Tata Nano – would it not be a good idea to subsidize cows, bullocks, horses, mules, donkeys too?
Why not?