Just viewed a TED talk called “The silent drama of Photography.” Though the talk by Sebastiao Salgado is about a moving story about how he dropped a career as an economist (PhD in economics) and got into photography, how photography almost killed him, how he got back to photography ; the talk has a deep call to action — bring back the forests.
[ted id=1729]
Sebastiao is not a native English speaker (he is Brazilian), but he presents beautifully. At a whole new level. Being a big presentation enthusiast, some of my observations are:
Beautifully simple language. No complicated words, talks, jargon.
Punctuated by short periods of showing photographs. Two things stood out here. Each time he wanted to show some photographs, his tone would be of such humility that it would almost be like, requesting to indulge him a bit. Second thing was, he did not speak a word during those photographs. No description. When he took it. Why? Who? Nothing. He let the photographs sink in to the audience. Powerful technique.
Body language showing a lot of sincerity.
Just one joke, but that too, bringing a deep meaning to it. About how trees help soak water for us. (Relating it to drying hair for people with normal hair vs his bald head).
Call to arms. At the end of the talk, he says – “It is easy. I did it. And so can you.”. Collectively we can do it. In a very non intrusive way, he also says, we did it in Brazil, but it looks like you guys (in America) need it too. So get going. Do it.
Did a weekend trip to Theeli (as the local sometimes refer Thiruneveli as). Travelled from Bangalore to Kumbakonam in the usual Mayiladuthurai express. And then drove down to Thirunelveli with the wife, kid and brother-in-law.
The route is Kumbakonam-Tanjavur-Trichy-Madurai-Virudhunagar-Sattur-Kovilpatti-Thirunelveli. Kumbakonam-Tanjavur is horrible road. Tanjavur-Trichy is passable (except for the heavy traffic). Trichy-Madurai is good quality road but still some twists and turns on the road. There is a Ghar Dhaba in the Madurai bypass where there are clean restrooms and you can get some food. Madurai-Thirunelveli is just a fantastic stretch to drive – straight road with beautiful road quality. It almost feels like you are driving in US – like in Nevada or somewhere. No vegetation. No habitation. For miles together. While you need to pass through Tanjore and Trichy (if you consider Tiruverumbur as part of Trichy), you will take bypass for all other towns such as Madurai and Virudhunagar.
The rest of the post is mostly just going to be pictures.
Nellai temple street.Famous Iruttu Kadai Halwa StoreGandhimathi amman gopuramNellaiappar temple at the end of the temple street (kadai veedhi)Paathira Chakravarthi – “Emperor of vessels”. Velayutha Naadar and sons and grandsons.Inside view of room door in Hotel Janakiram. How many times have you called room service and have forgotten your room number, and hunted for the room keys or opened the door and checked? Problem Solved.Sculptures of NayaksTemple tankOuter PrakaramYou will find a dozen Nadar Vessel Shops like this one around the temple.Pothy’s and RMKV have supposed to have started here first. They are primarily Theeli (as the locals sometimes refer to Thirunelveli as). RMKV has moved out of this area to a more posh mall type store.
The Nellaiappar temple is a huge temple, which is also very old. It is one of the paadal petra sthalangal (Tevara sthalangal). The temple was built by Koon Pandiyan – the Madurai king who was cured by Gnana Sambandhar. Nellaiappar and Gandhimathi Amman are housed in separate temples and the two temples are connected by a Sangili Mandapam – a connecting hallway.
A detailed post about the temple can be found here by suryakala here and here.
Update: I had this photo in my phone and had missed adding it here.
Sculpture of Gnanasambandar leaving to Kailasam on Airavatam (Indra’s white elephant). His close friend, Seraman Nayanar on a horse preceding him.
Chanced upon this pic that I had snapped quite a few years ago. One of the most brilliant sunsets that I had ever seen, This is from across the Ganga banks in Rishikesh.
After all the near-by Kumbakonam temples, I spent an evening and an early morning visiting 6 local temples. (My other posts on the Kumbakonam visit are here, here, here, and here.
1. Kasi Viswanathar temple
The temple is getting ready for Kumbabishekam. So mural on the rajagopuram freshly repainted.
Bang next to the Mahamaham kolam (tank), this temple has two pieces of interesting information attached to it. The nine great rivers of India went to Lord Shiva in Kasi and said –
“Everyone takes a dip in our waters to get rid of their sins. Where do we go to get rid of all those sins?”
Lord Shiva said, the waters of the Mahamaham tank are so pure, you can wash off your sins there. After their bath here, Lord Shiva is said to have given dharshan as Kasi Viswanathar here.
There is also a main Shiva lingam in the outer praharam under the Sthala vriksham. This is said to have been worshipped by Lord Rama and Hanuman on the way back from Lanka, where he begged forgiveness for any sins committed during the war.
The temple is a nice small temple. The Shiva lingam can be beautifully seen right from the road through the raja gopuram. There is some confusion about whether this was Kudandhai Kaaronam (one of the padal petra sthalangal). But I get to hear from reliable sources that this is fake data, and was conjured up to get some moneys from the endowment board. (This is what happens when you bring temples under Government control).
2. Kumbeshwarar
This is one of the main temples of Kumbakonam – from where the town gets its name. It is said this lingam was made of Lord Shiva himself mixing the immortality nectar and sand. Since the lingam is of sand, no abhishekams are performed.
I went in at sunset time. And they were doing Saaya Raksha (evening rituals) to Soma Skandar. Very nice program for about 20 minutes. Soothing and Relaxing.
And then ofcourse, when I was going around the outer praharam, the amateur photographer in me, took over.
3. Ramaswami temple
This is a great temple. I have already written about this temple here. This time I noticed that they had spruced up the Ramayana murals on the inner walls of the temple. They look fantastic. Take a look yourself.
4. Nageswarar temple
Again, I had written briefly about this earlier here. Adding a few more photographs here. Also, in my more recent quest for Tevara Sthalangal, this is one. This used to be called Thirukudandhai Keezhkottam.
5. Someshwarar temple
I had briefly written about this earlier as well here. Visited again because, this is another thevara sthalam. This is the original Kudandhai Kaaronam.
6. Sarangapani temple
Ofcourse, no visit to Someshwarar is complete without visiting his neighbor – Sarangapani (pictures here). Beautiful majestic Vishnu in lying down pose.
(Looks beautiful in Black and white – doesnt it?)
So that is the end of my Kumbakonam Weekend travelogue of 18-21 April. I might do a couple of more this summer. Will update.
A few months ago, when I was fighting my ‘Duplicate Number Case’, I had to visit the Traffic Enforcement Center on the 13th floor of the Public Utility Building. From the elevator lobby of the 13th floor, there is a fantastic view of the MG Road area of Bangalore – also called the Central Business District.
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If you want to get your geographical bearings exactly right, this is where it is:
I live pretty close to the Army Service Corps campus in Bangalore. Some of these building look beautifully out of place in this era. Stone buildings nestled between trees. I am sure it would look fantastic at dawn. But being the lazy person that I am, I took a photograph in broad day light and made it sephia.
The beautifully simple Dodge RAM commerical during super bowl 2013. Wow. A visually telling story. The commentary is awesome as well. Full of emotion. Just looking at those images, and the commentary on why God made a farmer, brings in a single simple thought in the mind – “God made the farmer. And the farmer needs a great vehicle. He deserves it.” That is the power of a good presentation.
Update: Watch this parody too. This gives the true state of farming in the USA.
