A trip to God's own country.. :)
Wow!!! What a week it was. Can't remember the last time when I took a break for a week away from work, and such a refreshing one at that!!! And the place I visited? Kerala - God's own country. I know, I should be ashamed of the fact that in spite of belonging to the same state, I haven't been to all the great destinations Kerala has to offer. Well, I certainly made some amends last week. :)
Stayed in Guruvayur for 2 days. There are many temples here, the most notable one being - The Guruvayur Temple. It is a sight to behold. The temple is asthetically very beautiful and is well equipped to manage the lakhs of devotees who visit it everyday. The deity here is Lord Shree Krishna - Guruvayurappan (the Lord of Guruvayur). The temple is a beautiful one and one just can't help avoid the beautiful feeling of being close to a supreme power, when you reach this place. This temple has a great history and has been a haven of faith for the people of Kerala for many generations.
Standing in a line of thousands of people and awaiting your turn to see the divine idol, one can easily understand how significant or insignificant we really are in this world. Physically, we are just a minuscule dot on this planet, yet we feel significant being the center of our own world - a world of everything within us and everyone around us. Here, when we stand in the queue of thousands, we involuntarily allow each other to be a part of our own world, forgetting the differences between us. The rich and the poor unite, people from all caste and creed stand together in the same queue for just one common reason - faith. Religion may have deviated from the purpose it was devised for, but it still does a great job of reminding us all of belonging to the same family, where we are connected by reasons more substantial than our bloodlines. :)
After standing for hours in the line, when I finally saw Guruvayurappan in all his enchanting beauty in the heart of the temple, I realized the power the idol and the moment really holds. It is the point and it is the moment where we all become one - in spite of who we are, in spite of our memories or our future, in spite of all the non conjoint worlds we have created around us. We all wait for one glimpse of the positivity which we lack in our lives, and we all get it in that one divine moment of sheer happiness. I realized that the lights which were lit all around the idol were not just decorating the idol, they were the symbols of us being sons and daughters of the same parent - mother nature.
I stayed in Munnar for the next four days - and it's THE HEAVEN ON EARTH. It is much more beautiful than what the photographs on the internet suggest. Munnar is a hill-station and it is blessed with everything mother nature has to offer. The cool breeze, the mist covered mountains, tall trees, lush green tea plantations, wildlife, waterfalls, dams, lakes...everything is purely magical here. It takes more than 2 days to capture the beauty of this place in its entirety.
Over the four days that I stayed here, I visited almost all the beautiful sightseeing points, visited dams, lakes, parks and horticulture gardens, had an amazing elephant ride, had fun boating in the lakes, shouted "hello" a hundred times at "Echo point", bought funky cowboy hats, tasted all the exotic dishes in the nearby hotels, relished the carrots and cashews being sold by the roadside vendors, visited the amazing Tea Museum, bought spices and packets of flavoured tea, visited a 100 years old church and had fun on a rope-way bridge built in 1942, and took around 200 photographs of me doing all this. Phew..Guess, I had a lot of frustration to be vented out from my system. ;-)
Its been 4 days since I came back, and I am still in the hangover. And do I love the feeling? Hell yes!!! This is what I want to share with you all -
There's so much to see in this world. There's so much to marvel at. And just one life to do it. Take a break, break the chains of monotony and stress, go to some place you always wanted to visit or simply do something which you always wanted to do.
When we spend time valuing the things which are "not man-made", we realize how trivial the things we chase in our lives really are. When we make an effort to unite our small little world with the world as it really is, by experiencing everything wonderful that this life and mother nature has to offer, we tend to become freer, happier and closer to who we really are...It's when we realize that life is not about what we GET here, it's about what we DO here. The memories you collect and the memories you leave in the hearts around you, are the only real luxuries you could chase here, simply for the reason that they are the only things which make you "significant" in this world..Isn't it? :)
Stayed in Guruvayur for 2 days. There are many temples here, the most notable one being - The Guruvayur Temple. It is a sight to behold. The temple is asthetically very beautiful and is well equipped to manage the lakhs of devotees who visit it everyday. The deity here is Lord Shree Krishna - Guruvayurappan (the Lord of Guruvayur). The temple is a beautiful one and one just can't help avoid the beautiful feeling of being close to a supreme power, when you reach this place. This temple has a great history and has been a haven of faith for the people of Kerala for many generations.
Standing in a line of thousands of people and awaiting your turn to see the divine idol, one can easily understand how significant or insignificant we really are in this world. Physically, we are just a minuscule dot on this planet, yet we feel significant being the center of our own world - a world of everything within us and everyone around us. Here, when we stand in the queue of thousands, we involuntarily allow each other to be a part of our own world, forgetting the differences between us. The rich and the poor unite, people from all caste and creed stand together in the same queue for just one common reason - faith. Religion may have deviated from the purpose it was devised for, but it still does a great job of reminding us all of belonging to the same family, where we are connected by reasons more substantial than our bloodlines. :)
After standing for hours in the line, when I finally saw Guruvayurappan in all his enchanting beauty in the heart of the temple, I realized the power the idol and the moment really holds. It is the point and it is the moment where we all become one - in spite of who we are, in spite of our memories or our future, in spite of all the non conjoint worlds we have created around us. We all wait for one glimpse of the positivity which we lack in our lives, and we all get it in that one divine moment of sheer happiness. I realized that the lights which were lit all around the idol were not just decorating the idol, they were the symbols of us being sons and daughters of the same parent - mother nature.
I stayed in Munnar for the next four days - and it's THE HEAVEN ON EARTH. It is much more beautiful than what the photographs on the internet suggest. Munnar is a hill-station and it is blessed with everything mother nature has to offer. The cool breeze, the mist covered mountains, tall trees, lush green tea plantations, wildlife, waterfalls, dams, lakes...everything is purely magical here. It takes more than 2 days to capture the beauty of this place in its entirety.
Over the four days that I stayed here, I visited almost all the beautiful sightseeing points, visited dams, lakes, parks and horticulture gardens, had an amazing elephant ride, had fun boating in the lakes, shouted "hello" a hundred times at "Echo point", bought funky cowboy hats, tasted all the exotic dishes in the nearby hotels, relished the carrots and cashews being sold by the roadside vendors, visited the amazing Tea Museum, bought spices and packets of flavoured tea, visited a 100 years old church and had fun on a rope-way bridge built in 1942, and took around 200 photographs of me doing all this. Phew..Guess, I had a lot of frustration to be vented out from my system. ;-)
Its been 4 days since I came back, and I am still in the hangover. And do I love the feeling? Hell yes!!! This is what I want to share with you all -
There's so much to see in this world. There's so much to marvel at. And just one life to do it. Take a break, break the chains of monotony and stress, go to some place you always wanted to visit or simply do something which you always wanted to do.
When we spend time valuing the things which are "not man-made", we realize how trivial the things we chase in our lives really are. When we make an effort to unite our small little world with the world as it really is, by experiencing everything wonderful that this life and mother nature has to offer, we tend to become freer, happier and closer to who we really are...It's when we realize that life is not about what we GET here, it's about what we DO here. The memories you collect and the memories you leave in the hearts around you, are the only real luxuries you could chase here, simply for the reason that they are the only things which make you "significant" in this world..Isn't it? :)
Comments
You said it right man. These small breaks from work are really necessary to exlpore the life beyond our routine. Without these breaks, the life becomes so monotonous and so bound to our own world.
'Physically, we are just a minuscule dot on this planet, yet we feel significant being the center of our own world - a world of everything within us and everyone around us.'
'We all wait for one glimpse of the positivity which we lack in our lives, and we all get it in that one divine moment of sheer happiness.'
'It's when we realize that life is not about what we GET here, it's about what we DO here. '
You explain the 'funda' of life in so simple words my frnd. That’s why I like to read your posts. Keep writing and keep giving these ultimate reading experiences. :)
I must say your blogs are really very very inspiring and motivating. Keep it up buddy!!!
YOU ROCK!!
I am really amazed the way you described about Guruvayoor..it's really such a divine place where you feel like visiting again n again....I doubt if there is any other temple like in Kerala.
Thanks for sharing the beauty about Munnar...wish to visit once....keep going....
"The memories you collect and the memories you leave in the hearts around you, are the only real luxuries you could chase here, simply for the reason that they are the only things which make you "significant" in this world..Isn't it? :) "
Amazing bhai, kya baat kahi hai.