Accept the Right Challenge

Pic of Gomateshwara at Dharmasthala by Arun Shanbhag

We consider our daily engagements with various aspects of the material world as beautiful, bringing us great joy (and sorrow). Consider our desires for ALL things and beings that can be described by our five senses. These temptations ever goad us to aspire more, more and more such beautiful material things. Neverendingly. This results in an endless cycle of desires, our machinations to attain them, eventual dissatisfaction and sadness. That same desire, which we aspired for so much, eventually leads to disappointment and sorrow. This continuous cycle of sprouting of desires and their death, is what we need to #Cancel. Continue reading “Accept the Right Challenge” →

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Manipal Covid Challenge

Announcing Manipal Covid Challenge, an opportunity for all creative minds to get off TikTok, or whatever else you are doing during this Lockdown, and contribute to solving important problems in our society.

Create Something Useful

Click here for Problems Statements

Click here for details and Registration.

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Mahalasa Narayani Devasthan, Goa

Pics of the entrance of the deepa samba at Mahalasa Narayani Devasthan, Mardol, Goa

On every visit to Goa, in addition to visiting our kuladevata, Ramnathi Shanteri Kamakshi in Ponda, I visit a few other nearby temples as well. On this short visit to Goa, a kulavi of the Mahalasa Narayani Devasthan invited me to participate in the Palki on Sunday evening. I am so thankful for the invite and the visit to this beautiful temple. See also, Palki at the Ramnathi Devasthan.

This Sunday evening, the temple was packed with devotees and the Devi in her finery came out to tour the temple grounds. Beautiful experience. Devi Narayani getting ready in her palki.
pic of the Devi in palki at the Narayani Devasthan, Goa by Arun Shanbhag

Palki waiting for puja in front of the Shantadurga Devalaya
pics of the palki at the Mahalasa Narayani Devasthan, Goa by Arun Shanbhag

LaxmiNarayan and Shantadurga Devalaya on the grounds of the Narayani Devasthan.
picture of Shantadurga Temple at Narayani Devasthan, Mardol Goa by Arun Shanbhag

picture of the Laxminarayan Shantadurga Devalaya within the narayan i Devasthan Goa by Arun Shanbhag

A few of my Posts Related to Konkani Temples in Goa:

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Devotion is … Flower Market, Dadar

Dadar Flower Market under the bridge by the Dadar Railway Station is one of my favorite places to visit in #Mumbai. It is verily a street photographer’s paradise. Stall owners are super nice, and the flowers are fresh heaped, fragrant and colorful. Loads of #Champae #plumeria (?) delicately woven, melt even the stingiest of heart. I surprised M’s family with a champae stringer.

Entire families of flower weavers live under this bridge. Many generations eat, sleep and weave here.

I love the symbolism in this pic.

What adorns the head of the greatest of Gods is woven on the dusty feet of the street women. She toils away her entire life, but knows deep down that her work is her most cherished offering.

She needn’t climb any mountains, needn’t enter any temple, she needn’t offer any prayers; her work is her most heartfelt and greatest offering. This is Bhakti, and not what cheap, two-bit, fame seeking activists peddle.

Thank you.

Dev barae karo.

#Bazaar #FlowerMarket #BestofMumbai #IncredibleIndia

#incrediblePeople

#Devotion #Bhakti

#LifeUnderABridge

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Wearable Device Hackathon 2018

Just concluded the biggest, baddest Wearable Device Hackathon evah, organized by the Innovation Center Manipal and the Kasturba Medical College Manipal.

We had over 150 participants from ten different institutions, 25 mentors, 17 volunteers and five judges. What an amazing event that was.

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Meera with a head full of flowers

pic of Meera with a head full of flowers by Arun Shanbhag

At a recent ‘munji’ Meera got an opportunity to have her head decked with this woven flower buds. Those are Jaai buds from a village called Shankarā-pur near Karkala. One of M’s cousins brought those flowers. Another relative spent nearly an hour carefully covering Meera’s hair with the flowers.

She was one happy kiddo.

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Grand Challenge Udupi

Grand Challenge Udupi organized by Udupi and Arun Shanbhag Innovation Centre Manipal

For Innovation to serve the people and move the country forward, we ultimately need to reach the most underprivileged in our society.  This was exactly our goal when we teamed up with the local government – Udupi District and developed this Grand Challenge.

The District officials under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner Smt Priyanka Mary Francis and Assistant Commissioner Shilpa Nag, picked issues they grappled with most.
Continue reading “Grand Challenge Udupi” →

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Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Dutch masterpieces from Rijksmuseum Netherlands by Arun Shanbhag

Rembrandt's Night Watch at Rijksmuseum Netherlands by Arun Shanbhag
For as long as I can remember, a visit to the Rijksmuseum was on my short list. For nearly a decade, it was closed for renovations. When it reopened a few years ago we started planning a long trip. We planned an entire day for the Rijksmuseum. Nothing else would do it justice.
Continue reading “Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam” →

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Banyan Tree at Sitā Cave, Panchavati

Banyan Tree at Sita Gufa cave in Panchavati, Nashik by Arun Shanbhag

Panchavati gets its name from the five giant banyan trees making up the forested area where Shri Rām, Sitā and Lakshman spent a large portion of their exile. This is the first of the five banyan trees situated in front of the Sitā Gufa (Sitā cave) where she spent a lot of time during her exile.

There is a tiny cave where you can slither along, but I wimped out and waited outside while the rest of the family did the honors.

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Keukenhof Gardens: Tulips Overdose

pic of tulips at Keukenhof Gardens Lisse Netherlands by Arun Shanbhag

pic of tulips at Keukenhof Gardens Lisse Netherlands by Arun Shanbhag
When we were planning a trip to The Netherlands, I was thinking of immersing myself at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, while M was dreaming of the tulips, i.e. the Keukenhof gardens in Lisse, a quick bus ride from Schiphol Airport. Of course we did both, and much more.

It was a bright, cool day in early May. Apparently they have more than 7 million tulips over ~80 acres of well maintained grounds, and they were all in bloom! The colors and fragrances were simply overwhelming. I was close to getting a “Tulip induced migraine!” For a break, we stepped into the gift shop(s) and of course, more tulips.
Continue reading “Keukenhof Gardens: Tulips Overdose” →

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TU Delft – Innovation Starts with Space

Arun Shanbhag TU Delft Industrial design pics

Arun Shanbhag TU Delft Industrial design pics

During a recent holiday in the Netherlands, we got a chance to visit the Industrial Design School of the Technical University of Delft, thanks to Prof Jan Carel Diehl. I was struck by the design of their open lobby space and how they had created various nooks and crannies with simply different styles of furniture and lighting. The school building was a reconverted warehouse, so they had maintained the cavernous interiors, high railings and steep metal stairs. Everything on the main floor is movable and yet provides a cozy work environment for student teams.

It was an average Thursday afternoon and you can sense the intensity of the students working. No doubt it’s one of the top design and innovation centers in the world.

Movable bleachers and a bar like atmosphere in the back. The mezzanine creates a nice niche
Long tables in the back for collaborative work
Love the cubicles on the floor. Even though they are in open space, they give a sense of privacy
Chilling
In one of the team rooms
This team was developing a solar water purifier for a village near Bengaluru. India students are likely doing water purification for space travel 😉
Post-its
Even on the glass partitions
Creatives at work. Even the mess on the table seems cool.
More desk spaces of busy creative types
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Video: Meera Loves Boxes

When we go for a walk and Meera sees a cardboard box in someone’s trash, she wants it.  One time she made me carry a big water-heater box back home.  With some box cutters, duck tape, paint, binder clips and a big dose of Meera’s creativity, we made a Rocket Ship!  She and her friends have more fun with this Rocket Ship and many, many expensive, store bought gifts.

This girl is ruling my life! Love her.

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Scott Galloway on Apple, Amazon, Facebook & Google

Scott Galloway on how this Gang of Four is going to rule the world and destroy jobs everywhere. Forget about the One percenters, we’ll need a new term – the one micro percenters who will own 99% of world GDP.

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Venkateshwara Temple Coloring Pages

Ganesh Coloring Book
Nearly twenty years ago, I had picked up this free coloring book from the Sri Venkateshwara Temple in Pittsburgh, PA. It lay unused till I found it a few weeks ago. I am sharing here all the scanned pages, so you all can enjoy the sublime joy of coloring.

Download the PDF of SVT Coloring Book.

Coloring Books IS the new rage for grown-up gifts. Over the last year I have received beautiful coloring books, as well as collections of drawing pencils, pastels, gel pens and fine sketching markers. Oh, what joy! Give it a try and please share your works.

Consider perusing this Tirupati: A Walk Enlightens

Shriyah kāntāy kalyān nidhaye nidhayérthinām
Shri Venkatanivāsāy Shrīnivāsāy mangalam

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Notes – Why does Anish Kapoor support delinquent NGOs

Saw an article in the Guardian by Anish Kapoor about “India being ruled by a Hindu Taliban.” In the article he mentions with great angst,

Nine thousand NGOs have been “de-registered” in a concerted effort to force out these “nuisance” groups … (quotation marks are from the article)

Every time I see a number being tossed around, I like to understand what the denominator is. That is, how many total NGOs are there in India, and what percentage do these 9,000 represent. Continue reading “Notes – Why does Anish Kapoor support delinquent NGOs” →

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Jñana Yoga or Karma Yoga, a difficult choice

pics of sadhu and lady at Panchavati Nashik by Arun Shanbhag

At the ghats in Panchavati, Nāshik, I was intrigued by this sādhu pondering the mysteries of sat and asat, while a lady was busy washing her cooking utensils. Verily a juxtaposition of the paths of Jñāna yoga and Karma Yoga. Which path to follow? This is a difficult decision for many to make. If you have not (yet) come across this quandary, consider yourself lucky.

See pics from, Neelkanteshwar Mahadev Mandir, in Panchavati, Nashik

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Colaba Ganapati @ Millburn NJ

pics of Colaba Ganapati @ Millburn by Arun Shanbhag

Friday Ratri Puja and Visarjan Puja
Bhatmaam has arrived and drinking hot Kaapi!

Friday Danapaar Puja
Live streaming of Friday afternoon puja

pics of Colaba Ganapati @ Millburn by Arun Shanbhag

Thursday Ratri Puja

Thursday morning Ganesh Chaturthi Puja
Here is the live stream of the Colaba Ganapati puja from Millburn, NJ.
Ganapati Bapa Morya!

Other Ganapati Posts:

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