I visited The KO Shop, located at J.P. Nagar, 1st Phase, 15th Cross Bustop here in Bangalore. The shop is famous for its fashion jewelry made of silver. Here is the Sky Blue Onyx Silver Bracelet which I thought of purchase, but the "fixed" silver price of Rs 5,000 something disappointed me. And the price of the bracelet was no where close to this amount and I left the shop without buying.

Blue Onyx Silver Bracelet

Gold and Silver prices vary every day and the established jewelers sell at the fluctuating cost. What's your opinion on the silver fashion jewelry stores selling at the fixed cost.

XOXO ~manasa~

My first travel trip this year started whilst visiting Hyderabad city and the much appraised Lord Balaji of Chilkur, which is more often popular "Visa Balaji Temple" or "Visala Devudu" (in Telugu, it means, Visa granting God). It was a Monday morning, 10th Feb 2014, I changed 3 buses to see the lord and Hyderabad being unfriendly in terms of weather, around 40 degrees centigrade. Having traveled handful places, sometimes alone, this too was on my wishlist for a long time and the time had come to visit alone.

Shops at Chilkur, on the way to temple

Shops at Chilkur, on the way to temple

Entrance to the Balaji temple

Entrance to the temple

Balaji Temple Gopuram

I reached the temple around 12 noon and was taken by surprise to see the rush. The devotees have to leave behind their mobile phones and cameras, any other belongings if you wish, in the locker before entering the temple. You have to deposit a small fee, as less as Rs 5 or Rs 10 to obtain the locker. As I entered the temple, I made a struggle to enter the Garbha Gudi to see the idol. The boards display that the devotee should make a wish without closing the eyes. You would also notice that there is no Hundi here. Lakhs of people visit the temple everyday and make a single wish by making 11 rounds and once the wish is fulfilled, you have to visit the temple and make 108 rounds. The temple provides the printed sheets from 1 to 108. Remember to take a pen to strike off the number as you complete a round.

I was mesmerized seeing the Bhakti of the devotees, young and old, men and women, rich and poor, busy making rounds and chanting "Govinda Govinda" with the palms joined. The Lord does not demand anything except 108 rounds, not even a Hundi as you see in other temples.

Street side shop selling bangles

Shops on the way to the temple.

It is believed that, a decade ago, when the visas were being rejected by the US embassy, people would visit the temple and then there were no rejections at all. I would definitely visit this temple again for its ambiance and divinity, though its not for a Visa. :)

15th Feb 2014

How could one not visit Charminar and shop around while in Hyderabad? No matter how many pearls and bangles you own, you still want more. When you could get a lot for Rs 500, shopping for less money and gaining more becomes a joy in itself. 

Few bangle sets that I purchased with lot of bargaining. 

I have developed a liking for traditional jewelry of all states and collect whatever lies within my budget, these days.

I saw this beautiful nose pin called "Nath" in Marathi which is worn by every Maharashtrian bride during the wedding. Not only during the wedding, women wear it during the auspicious function and festivals also. Here are a few pics of the Bollywood celebrities wearing the "nath"

Madhuri Dixit wearing "nath"

Juhi Chawla wearing "nath" and the traditional "Lakshmi coin" haar.

Isha Koppikar

Rani Mukherjee wearing Maharashtrian "nath" and traditional Nauvari saree

My Maharashtrian Nath

I decided to buy this beautiful piece of jewelry, whether I get a chance to wear it or not, I own it. It has pink colored stone in the middle with the pearls surrounded and a pressing one which can be worn without pierced nose.

I was at Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh (which is now Seemandhra!) in April to visit a friend. Chittoor is a stop before Tirupati and 1 hour on road to Vellore, Tamil Nadu. The temperature here goes as high as 40 degree Centigrade during summer and frequent power cuts. The nearby places to visit are a few temples at Tirupati, Kanipkam Vinayaka Temple, ArdhaGiri Anjaneya and Mahalakshmi temple at Vellore.

Having less time and considering the climate, Kanipakam was the nearest place to visit from Chittoor which is 30 minutes on bus. On reaching the temple premises, we deposited the cell phones and cameras at the counter. Note that the phones and cameras are not allowed and you might end up paying huge fines if you take them along inside.

The temple has a pond or "sarovar" at the entrance where you can wash the feet before entering the temple and few people also float the "deepa" or light.

Entrance of Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple

We bought a quick Darshana ticket costing Rs 51 thinking that we will see the god in no time, but stood in the queue for a long time and finally the Darshana lasted only a few minutes as there were many devotees in the queue. The Ganesha idol is a small one which is believed to be emerged out of waters and keeps growing in size. The temple is vast and well-maintained. Many men and women shave their head once their wish is fulfilled and many young new married couples, still in their wedding attire, come to the temple to seek the Lord's blessings.

There are many shops at the temple premises selling the "malas" worn around the neck, Ganesha idols and what not.

Shops at the temple

Shops at the temple

 As we had traveled in the hot summer, we had the popular "goli soda" for Rs 10 which is sold everywhere.

Goli Soda

Goli Soda

Goli Soda

Fruit seller

Various items for display by the seller

I bought the Ganesha cards that easily fit in my wallet for Rs 5.

Kan-drusthi Ganapathi Card

Ganesha cards for sale Rs 5

Not to miss the bringing home a Ganesha idol made of stone.

Ganesha placed in the waters

Ganesha idols with the Rudraksha and Spatika mala

 Last but not the least, how could I miss the souvenir and bought this cute little Ganesh, with the "Spatika" and "Rudraksha" mala around the neck.

Ganesha in the water

If you're visiting Chittoor, Tirupati or Vellore, do not miss to visit Kanipakam and bow to Ganesha and seek his blessings.

I watched Chokher Bali, the Hindi version of the Bengali movie, a few weeks ago. The movie is a decade old, released in the year 2003. Having heard a lot of appraises and many reviews saying a No No watch, the movie speaks about the sacrifice and the status of the young widow in the society in the olden days.





Aishwarya Rai plays the role of a young widow, Binodini, who lost her husband within the first anniversary and strictly followed the norms set by the society for a widow wearing a white saree and other rituals, though she is educated and can speak English, during the early 20th century. Reema Sen, an illiterate plays Ashalata, is the wife of Prosenjit Chatterjee playing the role of Mahendra. Mahendra's mother requests the lonely Binodini to stay at their house. Ashalata and Binodini become good friends and Mahendra's mother is also impressed by Binodini's intelligence and wit. As time flies, Mahendra soon realizes that Binodini is beautiful, smart and intelligent and falls for her. Their relationship continues in secrecy and soon Ashalata learns the fact and leaves the home and travels to Kashi. Ashalata's mother-in-law accuses her of the mistake and asks Binodini to leave the house. Binodini approaches Behari, Mahendra's friend, who always admires her, to marry her. But Behari refuses. Binodini later returns to her house in her village but Mahendra follows her. I will not write the complete story here and will wait for the reader to watch it. Aishwarya's role as Binodini is outstanding and has carried out very well. It would be wrong if one doesn't appreciate the role played by Reema Sen. Her role as Binodini's friend is absolutely stunning.

The young widow had suffered being taken advantage by Mahendra and would not give her a status of a wife and would remain his keep. The novel, authored by Rabindranath Tagore had always regretted the ending.

We often come around the situation which is difficult to handle especially with the people with least hygiene factors. I have come across many such people and situations which are too difficult to handle, people with the oral problem or people with bad odors. grrr.... These people might be our own friends or colleagues and it is too difficult to stay around the smelly situation.

People love to be appraised and appreciated when they wear a good perfume or a nice makeup. But a bad comment is what it hurts the most especially telling someone that they smell bad..! ***rolling eyes*** You must be aware that you will certainly land in trouble saying so! and even spoil your relationship with them..

I remember a real incident which is worth sharing on how you deal with the smelly people. There was this colleague A~ who was a bit workaholic and would stay late at office to complete the work, being a bachelor. He would have no time to gym during the hectic schedule and then go home, eat and sleep.

The company was located outskirts and the only means of commuting to work was by company bus, which would start sharp 6:30 am. In the cold and chill climate like in Bangalore, anyone would turn lazy to wake up so early, brush & bath and get ready and board the bus at 6:30..! Mr. A would wake up late, would brush his teeth but bad no time to bath. But somehow he managed to board the bus.

Mr A~'s routine changed completely due to work, to an extent that he had become "dadiwala" with a beard and long hair, that you could braid them. Once a smart looking guy had turned Devdas, and the girls in this team whom they admired and had secret crush, slowly started feeling disgusted seeing his appearance and smelly odors. Not only girls, even guys started noticing his shabby appearance. They started to ignore him for breakfast, lunch and evening chai  and table tennis. The only unavoidable situation was the team meeting in the conf room which made the whole team suffocate in the closed AC room.

The meeting was for 30 minutes but went on and on ... more than 90 minutes. Now the smell was totally unbearable and the situation was totally .. ... Slowly, one by one, stood from their seats and started to walk off giving some or the other reason. There was this newbie beautiful girl who was the only one in the conf room, she asked  A~, "Its too suffocating here.Whats this pungent smell?" A~ was Speechless.

He left the office early and bought #Racold and had a hot water shower after weeks and he felt blessed. The next day at office, everyone was surprised to see his clean shaven and trimmed hair and perfume. The newbie girl was happy to see him this way and blushed.

Now A~ baths twice everyday, in the morning and evening which is his latest routine. He is also thankful, he found his Ms. Beautiful.


https://www.facebook.com/racoldthermoltd

I am participating in the MalaysiaJao Blogathon Contest in association with BlogAdda.com.

All of us, worry about our looks. Before we start from home, we look at ourselves at the long mirrors, staring and thinking, "Am I looking good or not in this dress, is my makeup alright, is my hairstyle matching with the formals..."

I have a long hair and the girls with long hair are always advised to maintain the hair braided the reason being, there are chances of losing hair due to Buri nazar or drishti, "OMG, you have such long hair.." And the nazar always has an effect on your hair when it begins to shred.. and you realize the importance of long hair. I still haven't figured out how to get rid of buri nazar to my long hair. grrrrrrr...

Blessed with a long hair is not only an asset to any gal but guys do love to grow long hair. ;) When you have a long lengthy hair, you face daily problem of oily scalp, dandruff, tangles and what not. Yet, you love to spend time massaging the scalp, sit and relax flipping the magazine pages during the hair spa, shopping for the best hair sprays and trying out the back combing or blow dry.

Twirling the edges of hair to grab someone's attention or running fingers when thinking too deep. All in all, you would love your hair, be it long or short and play around it, twisting and twirling. Take every possible inch of care to protect it from buri nazar and to protect from hair fall, maintain a smooth, silky and shiny hair, try Dove Nourishing Vita Oil Serum. #DovePlay


http://twitter.com/DoveIndia

Ever seen a Chandelier made of Corona Extras? I was amused to see them at Madmex, the Mexican fast food at Melbourne and couldn't stop myself clicking these pictures.

Madmex

Madmex

Corona Chandelier at Madmex