Chennai – my current home being the third biggest metropolitan city of India with temples, beaches and centers of historical and cultural significance, including the UNESCO Heritage Site of Mahabalipuram, is one of the most visited cities in India. The city serves as the gateway to the southern part of India with tourists landing in the city and starting their trip to the rest of the region. Chennai was the most visited Indian city by foreign tourists in 2009 and issued the third highest number of visas on arrival in 2014.

When you are roaming on the roads of Chennai you are frequented by Green Name Boards pointing the temple streets. There is a temple in every corner of Chennai almost all being atleast a century old. As I love visiting temples – here I am sharing about Kasi Vishwanathar Temple of Ayanavaram – a residential locality of chennai.

I a layman believe in existence of a Creator – The God. Since the existence and evaluation of human intelligence (or absence of it) the basic fundamental question was always asked – Is there God? Many say God exists, believes in him, and prays him in various forms and ways. But some say (strongly) there is no God, the universe is not created by someone but came into existence somehow and is bound by fundamental laws of nature. Whenever this question came to my mind, I used to silent it and used to feel guilty of getting doubt about existence of God. Books, Scriptures, religious debates and discourses profound the existence of an almighty and give various information about God, his teachings and his leelas etc. Then sitting today on Sunday before my computer I want to discover who is god and where he exists. Whatever I am going to write is out of my thinking with the little understanding I have of the sciences, the religious books and my minimum rather low levels of enlightment. So this will definitely sound absurd to the people of high thinking and better understanding and so I request them to forgive before I start.

 When one had a bike accident resulting in a fractured knee, Youtube videos on Android Phone are soothing for spending long hours lying on the bed. I had one such accident, which resulted in Avulsion Fraction of Tibia where PCL joins (I will further elaborate it on another post). Doctors advised for complete bed rest for three weeks. So during this unexpected time break, I started searching Youtube for videos on Aliens, UFOs, Inspirational videos and Mantras/Magical Words on listening to which healing may improve (Some songs and movies in between as fillers). Ofcourse it is just my belief and I have no idea whether some Mantras do help in healing? However they do calm the mind and help generate the peaceful environment which can further help in healing.

Being born and brought up in (undivided) Andhra Pradesh, I haven't heard that a place called Gooty existed in Andhra Pradesh. It was not until 2008, when my first posting (Indian Railways) was in Gooty - I came to know the correct pronounciation as 'Gutti' rather than what looks like rhyming with tourist Parasdise OOTY. My assosciation continued with Gooty and Guntakal Diesel Loco Sheds for four years from 2008 to 2012 - both in the Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh. Gooty and Guntakal both railway towns are separated by 30Kms and connected by one of the nice roads of Andhra (rather India).  When I used to ply on the Gooty - Guntakal Highway my attention was always drawn by a rocky structure high up the hill in Gooty. That is the Gooty Fort at around 300m above the sea level. Cupious with the absence of any multistoreyed buildings, except a few duplex houses - the Fort could be seen from quiet long distances in and around Gooty.

After the tremendous success of ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission launch, ISRO maintained surprisingly near silenece baring release of one or two pictures by the Mars Color Camera. The USD $71 million mission, launched on November 5, 2013, had a planned six-month life span once in orbit. The probe entered the Martian atmosphere on September 24, 2014 and was due to complete its mission yesterday (March 24).Now when the planned six months of mission life came to an end, ISRO has released breathtaking views of the RED PLANET.

And one more good news is that the orbiter has enough fuel for extended mission of six more months..

 ISRO's Mare Orbiter Mission - Mangalyaan's scintillating success was recognized across the globe as a feat in itself. Now the ISRO Mars Mission team gets another international recognition in the form of National Space Society's 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the science and engineering category.

India has successfully put a satellite into orbit around Mars, becoming the fourth nation or geo-bloc to do so. The Mangalyaan robotic probe, one of the cheapest interplanetary missions ever, will soon begin work studying the Red Planet's atmosphere.