Archive for February, 2010
Image of the week
Become fat to become lean!
Placed @ a retail outlet, the leaflet says first you eat then you win a discount coupon to join a weight loss program
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin@200 n.o
” Not much else in my mind for the rest of the day.” Walter Crocker, on Jawaharlal Nehru’s death in 1964
Same was my state after watching Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 n.o knock against South Africa on Feb 24, 2010 at Gwalior, India.
wall murals in chenna
Chennai- City of Wall Murals!
More and more wall murals are being commissioned in Chennai. This time its in Cathedral Road.
This stretch of beautiful paintings is at Nandanam, Mount Road, commissioned in 2009.
You see hottest tourist spots in Chennai, Paintings of Raja Ravi Varma.But the concern is how can we protect these paintings?
Here you see one mural, new and bright but,
Due to dust,rain and heat, have a look at the same mural after few months
its not even a year that these paintings were commissioned and Chennai didn’t get much rain last year
Then I saw one guy whitewashing the fence!
Lets hope its for the betterment! Unless some measures are not taken to maintain these paintings, there is not point in the effort made by various artists (and Chennai Corporation of course.)
Daily Dosage
Daily dosage from the world of books
“People who study others are wise but those who study themselves are enlightened.”
TED Tuesday
Its TED day again, this time Kevin Kelly talking about the evolution of Technology
Kevin Kelly tells technology's epic story | Video on TED.com
Image of the week
Image of the week
The Spraying Buddha!!
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The Buddha spraying Rose water with the help of an automated sprayer, found in a wedding!
TEDx Chennai
TED Active learnings for TEDX Chennai
This TEDX Chennai organisers’ meets I tell you, are always filled with ‘TED moment(s)’. Truck load of informations are shared,some times experiences too
So on 21 Feb 2010,Kiruba Shankar, who attended TED Active 2010,Palm Springs, California had some wonderful insights and experiences to share.Information that will surely help in making a great TEDX Chennai experience. Here are few to share
1.How one can get the best speakers through crowd sourcing- learning from TEDX Amsterdam
2. Not to treat TEDX Chennai as an event, but as the culmination of month/year long selection of great people and inturn great ideas
3. How vital the various pre TEDX events are, like TEDX conversations with TEDX Stars
4. The power of wish lists
5. To plan well in advance as if TEDX Chennai is happening in June and not in Oct and
6. (Not really applicable to TEDX Chennai)How to find a hotel with great difficulty in Palm springs, near to the TED Active venue, feel blessed, rush to the hotel then realise that its a Gay hotel!and experience the real TED moment(read TED shocker)
But our TED moment came when Kiruba showered all of us with
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Ted2010 limited edition Artist tote
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TEDX Chennai badges
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Chocolates
TED Pouch
Now its time to DO, to create a great TEDX Chennai moment!
Nine Lives
Nine interesting facts from Nine Lives!
Nine Lives by William Dalrymple is a wonderful read. Its an interesting travelogue, in search of sacred in modern India. The book inspired me to post 9 interesting facts I found in the book.
1. The Nun’s Tale- Prasannamati Mataji, Digambara jain nun
Buddhist ascetics shave their heads and beg for food, Jains pluck their hair out by the roots and have to have their food given to them without asking
2. The Dancer of Kannur- Hari Das;Theyyam dancer
Theyyams are believed to be a rare survival of pre-Aryan , non Brahminical Dravidian religious system
3. The Daughters of Yellamma- Rani Bai, the devadasi
There are around 2,50,000 devadasis in the state of Maharashtra and Karnataka, about half of them living around Belgaum
4. The Singer of Epics- Mohan Bhopa from Pabusar
The great Rajasthani medieval poem, The epic of Pabuji is 600 year old, has around 4000 lines and takes full five nights of eight hours to complete recitation
5. The Red Fairy- Lal Peri; Sufi of Sehwan
Sufis believe the use of music, poetry and dance as a path for remembering and reaching God
6. The Monk’s Tale- Tashi Passang;Tibetan Buddhist monk
Buddhist monks are expected to do around 4000 prostrations in a day
7. The Maker of Idols-Srikanda Stpathy
The idol’s eyes must be carved open between 4 a.m to 6 a.m, when there was no sound or disturbance which might upset the deity
8. The Lady Twilight- Manisha Ma Bhairavi;the Tarapith tantric
In order to cure the skull, bury it in the earth and then oil it
9. The Song of the Blind Minstrel-Kanai
Charvaka school rejected the idea of God and professed that no living creature was immortal
Daily Dosage
Daily dosage from the world of books
” Perfection, it is said, is in trifles, but perfection is no trifle.”
Statues
A slideshow of statues of Chennai
To start with the statue of the last Maharaja of Travancore, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma
The statue is at Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Adyar, Chennai.
