Tirupati Part 11 - Prehistoric Life Park

My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.

Tirupati Part 11 - Prehistoric Life Park

I remember the first time I saw an advertisement for the Regional Science Centre at Tirupati; I was stunned that a temple town like Tirupati would have one! On second thoughts I realized that it was probably for the locals, an effect of all the development happening around. As I saw the ads more and more often on my recurring trips, I was curious, and eager to take a look, especially when I heard about their pre-historic section. This was one place I certainly wanted to take Samhith to, on this trip, sort of to compensate for all the temples I was dragging him to. As it turned out, the science centre happened to be very near the zoo, so we combined a visit to both.

We spent almost half the day at the zoo and were prepared to spend the rest of the day at the science centre. It had, after all, a huge indoor section which included a 3D screen, a science park outdoors, as well as the prehistoric section, which is what we were keen on!

Unfortunately, we were just leaving the Zoo when it started pouring, and as it turned out, we were the only visitors to the centre, which meant that the 3D show was off. That put us off going indoors. We did have umbrellas with us, and so we gave the science park a miss – it is exactly like the Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai, so we didn’t really miss anything – and headed over to the prehistoric section. Umbrellas in hand, we wove our way around all the exhibits and headed over to the end of the park where we could see a dinosaur towering over the other exhibits. Instead of wasting more words describing something which Samhith loved, and I am sure most kids will, too, let me take you on a tour through the entire pre-historic section.

This section begins with a display of prehistoric men, showing the evolution of humans. Here they are….

Samhith made an interesting observation on seeing this. He thinks the bust of the completely evolved human (the last one) resembles Voldemort!! For those of you who are wondering what I am talking about, Voldemort is the arch villain in the Harry Potter series….. Go, look up a pic of Voldemort on the net and tell me what you think!!

After a section on Neanderthals, the rest of the museum has models of prehistoric creatures of all kinds… Samhith absolutely loved them, and we spent more than an hour in the pouring rain, walking along and trying to guess which animal would have evolved from which one!!

By the time we were through, we were just too tired, and had no choice but to return. However, there is much left to see in the centre, and maybe we shall return again sometime!

Information:

Regional Science Centre is about 10 Km from Tirupati Railway Station. Buses ply from the station to the science centre at regular intervals. An auto charges Rs. 200 for a trip to and fro.

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

The Power of 8 - The Ashta Dikpalas and Ashta Vasus at Khajuraho

The four cardinal directions form the axis on which a temple is built, and are thus the basis of temple architecture. Leading from them are the eight directions, which are believed to be guarded by the eight guardians, or Ashta Dikpalas . In the temples of Khajuraho, great care has been taken by the sculptors to carve the Ashta Dikpalas on the walls, both inside and outside. They not only guard the temple, but also look over us as we circumambulate the shrine, protecting us by their presence. They are augmented by the Ashta Vasus , celestial beings which represent natural phenomena. Together, they enhance the idea of the temple as cosmos, enfolding within it, all the aspects of nature, both, on earth, as well in space.

The Havelis of Bikaner - A Photo Post

The lanes are narrow , twisting and turning amidst buildings old and new. Crumbling old structures with intricate workmanship stand side by side with art deco buildings, and more modern constructions, which follow no particular style. Autos, bicycles, motorcycles and vans rush past, blowing their horns as loudly as possible, while cows saunter past peacefully, completely unaffected by the noise. In the midst of all this chaos, children play by the side, and women go about their chores, as we explore these by-lanes of Bikaner, and its beautiful Havelis. Facade of one of the Rampuria Havelis

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