Beautiful View of Boston Harbor/Bay from the Seaport Hotel Boston, MA; while we stayed inside darkened rooms and poured over powerpoint slides. (pic taken with my iPhone 4, cropped and saturation adjusted in PS Express). [Read more...]
View of Boston Harbor
June 6, 2012 By 3 Comments
On Walden Pond
February 2, 2012 By 19 Comments
I started the New Year chanting Lokāh Samastāh Sukino Bhavantū at an Amma Satsang. Then after a short nap, drove over to a friend’s and chanted the Hanuman Chalisa, seven times; then walked around Walden Pond. What a beautiful day to experience the magnificent.
Walking Yoga, circumambulating the emerald blue stillness. A time to quiet the mind and observe thoughts in action (or inaction). Don’t try to understand, don’t judge, just be the silent observer. Like the still waters, tall trees and blue sky. Just be. The Universe will carry on. Om!
Lokāh Samastāh Sukino Bhavantū
May all be at Peace
Charyl Weissbach: Balsam Poplars
January 7, 2010 By 14 Comments
Something about artists, they just blow me away. Look at this beautiful piece called Balsam Poplars! Not only is it pleasing to the eye, but as you dwell on the image, it draws you in. Did you notice the depth created by different media the artist uses? As I look carefully, I see more fascinating details. The colors play games with my eyes, and soon, I am in the midst of this psychedelic forest. I am expecting a tiny bird to take flight from amongst the trees and I watch intently to catch it flit away. [Read more...]
Goa: Visiting Ramnathi
February 18, 2009 By 47 Comments
After celebrating Meera’s birthday, I make a quick, day trip to visit our Kuladevata (family temple) at the Ramnathi Devasthan in Goa.
The early morning flight brought me to Ramnathi at the crack of dawn. The temple was open and I paid my respects to Ramnath as “Dhool bhaet”.
From my earlier post on the Ramnathi Devasthan
It is the tradition at Ramnathi and other Konkani temples, for kulavis to visit the deity as soon as we arrive – even before we wash our feet. We leave our footwear at the door and with dusty feet rush inside to pay homage to our father protector, guardian and closest confidant. Akin to the return of a prodigal son (or daughter); our father wants to see us ASAP, even before we wash our feet. This first visit is thus called “dhool bhaet” (dusty meeting). Only after we have visited the temple, do we visit the office, rent a room, freshen up and come back into the temple for a proper service.
This early, the office was still closed. So camera in hand, I walked across the road to a series of rice fields (see picture above). The early morning light bathed them in an ethereal glow. I felt my burdens lifted: This is the life! I could spend the rest of our days here, and Meera and M would love it here [Read more...]
Yoga and Vaastu Workshop
May 20, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Over the weekend I attended a fabulously enriching workshop on Yoga and Vaastu at Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA. It was taught by Sashikala Ananth a noted Vaastu practitioner from Chennai, India. She is also a yoga instructor trained under the legendary Krishnamacharya.
Going into this workshop, I knew zilch about both, but by the end of the weekend I was thoroughly enlightened. I have always done Pilates to help with my running and I find that it is nothing but yoga with the Hindu aspects of breathing and saying AUM erased. 
Shashikala Ananth is a wonderful teacher, very patient, full of energy and imminently qualified in all aspects of practical yoga and its integration within our lifestyle. Here is a little blurp from her website:
In the ordinary every day existence of the householder amidst his (and her) commonplace concerns there must be a quality of transcendence and an inner unfolding. Dharma must be discovered and lived in the family and the market place in the midst of a community, in the here and now.
and, she continues:
In a recent interaction with some Feng Shui experts, I was asked this question ‘why do Indians let go of all their traditions without adequate study?’ I was forced to accept this about us – that we do not respect our own past without assurances and encouragement from our colonial masters. Perhaps this is a necessary residue of being a conquered people, or a lacuna in our own psychical makeup.
I was disappointed that I came to learn of this so late in life. Well, its never too late. So, we are planning a two week personalized course with Sashikala Ananth in Chennai, India. In addition to yoga, she will also take us on a tour of the Tamil Nadu temples. With her grounding in Vaastu and general architecture, she will be the perfect guide. We are planning this for early December, in Chennai, India.
And here: M walking leisurely during our hike from Grindelwald in the Swiss Alps (2006). A blissfully wonderful time!
Visiting Innsbruck
April 22, 2007 By 10 Comments
A shop window in Innsbruck. Creative and colorful!
View from atop Patscherkofel. In the valley below is the town of Innsbruck.
(click image for larger version)
The Complete Travelogue from Austria:
Kailash Manasarovar: Respite in Nyalama
December 3, 2006 By 2 Comments
(revised and updated, Jan 21, 2012)
Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra continues: Respite in Nyalama, Day 4
Nyalama Elevation: 3750 m (12,303 ft)
After the terrifyingly bizarre events in Kodari, we eagerly continued on our yatra. After crossing the border outpost in Kodari, we got in pre-arranged land-cruisers and our convoy of about 17 land-cruisers, cut through the Himalayas, climbed the mountain range to the town of Zhang-Mu, and onwards towards the Tibetan plateau. [Read more...]
Colva Beach – Serenely Beautiful
July 23, 2006 By 3 Comments
On our visit to India in June, we paid a short visit to Goa. Starting on the early morning flight from Mumbai and after visiting the Ramnathi Devasthan, we arrived at the beach-front resort in Colva, early in the afternoon. We were so fatigued, both of us promptly fell asleep. The drumming of the heavy rains outside pushed us deeper in sleep. On waking up around 5 pm, and a leisurely coffee, we ambled onto the beach. The rains had stopped but the skies were still overcast.
[Read more...]
Boston Public Garden in the Spring – A panorama
April 25, 2005 By 5 Comments
click image for larger version
On Friday, I stopped by the Boston Public Garden. Blooming cherry trees, and sprouting willows, chestnuts and maples left me breathless. Like if I stepped into a magical world. Spring leaves are lighter and so much more enjoyable than the dark greens of late summer. The SwanBoats paddle tourists around the gardens and are a historic feature of the Gardens since 1877. On the right, notice the Park Rangers patrol the garden on horseback!
Previous pics from the Boston Public Garden:
Goa Snippets
March 13, 2005 By 3 Comments
When in India last September, I made a short trip to visit our ancestral temple Ramnathi Devasthan near Ponda, Goa. The early morning flight reached Goa before 8:00. Enroute to the temple I saw this quintessential Goan field, and had the driver stop. It was a partly cloudy day and the overnight rains had soaked through.
And to the right, this!
And turning back on the road, this!
This tiny store is across from the Ramnathi Temple. Even as a kid, I remember this “Maama” (uncle in konkani) tending this store. Years ago, it was a tiny metal box about 4 feet across, now he has a much larger, sturdy laterite construction. I make a beeline for those bananas, still hanging on the ghadaay. You pluck which ever you want. Reminded me of my abbu's home in Bhatkal. Such ghadaay were always hanging in the veranda, and as we kids ran by, we'd pluck one and feed the skin to the cows. Such fun!
Here's a close crop. Pick one.
© 2005 Arun Shanbhag
Marathoner, Professor, Author, Citizen Journalist, Fitness Nut, Foodie, Meera's father, Hindu, Scientist, Photographer.
