Seshadri's Musings

Some more documentary reviews… Nobody makes documentaries like Netflix or HBO!! Paradise Lost – The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) Paradise Lost 2 – The Revelations (2000) Paradise Lost 3 – Purgatory (2012) Details from Wikipedia… The first film documents the events following the arrests of Misskelley, Echols and Baldwin for the murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Stevie Branch, whose naked and hogtied bodies were discovered in a ditch in a wooded area of West Memphis, Arkansas, known as "Robin Hood Hills". Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky interviewed numerous people connected with the case, including the parents of the victims, the parents of the accused, members of the West Memphis Police Department (WMPD) and all the defendants involved in the trial. The first trial to be covered in the film is that of Misskelley, a trial which was severed from those of Echols and Baldwin since it was Misskelley who confessed. Emphasis is place...

Mosquitoes are everywhere and when winter goes and just before peak summer comes, they come in hordes into the house and make your life miserable.   When you are watching TV and are immersed in whatever is being shown at that time, suddenly you find an itching sensation in your hands and legs and you immediately try to swat and kill them. While sleeping at night, you begin to hear humming sounds when they come near your ears and disturb your sleep.   To escape from these discomforts, I have been trying various means to ensure that our house is free of them.  However, each time, they are able to outwit me and return back in much larger numbers 😊,  Initially, it was the BAT that was kept in all the rooms in the house.  I never went for mosquito-repellant ointments as I did not think they were effective.  The Bat was believed (by me 😊 ) to be the ultimate solution for banishing mosquitos.  The sheer pleasure that it gave when you kill a mosquito was...

This blog is on the final 3 places that we visited.   The first one is in Saripalli, which has the Dibbi Lingeshwar Swamy (Lord Shiva) temple, constructed between the seventh and tenth century by the Chalukyas.   There is only a very mall temple here in a small park.   The site is maintained by Archaeological Survey of India and has one person maintaining it. The temple in a park The Lingam inside the temple On one side of the temple On the other side Some sculptures that were there in the park These sculptures look like they might have fallen off the temple.  The next place is Ramatheertham. There is a 1000-year-old Sri Rama temple here. As per the Legends, In Dwaparayuga, when Pandavas exiled from the Kingdom, they prayed to Lord Krishna for support during their Vanavasam. Krishna gave the Idols of Sita, Rama, Lakshmana and had asked Pandavas to worship these deities. As instructed by the Lord, Pandavas used to worship these idols. Pandavas while moving to a differ...

Kumili is a small place which contains the temples of the following Gods/Goddesses, in a single location.   A cluster of temples in a single complex.   About 20kms from Vizianagaram. Soorya, Satyanarayana, Dattatreya, Venkateswara, Aanjaneya, Ganapathi, Sitarama, Radha Krishna Rukmini, Aandal (godha devi), Lakshmi Narasimhan, Kaalika devi aalayam and Navagraha aalayam.  Most portions of the temple are in a dilapidated condition.  There is only 1 priest for the temple and he is available only in the Kaalika Devi temple.  There are also 2 cows in the temple who have tags in their ears with a serial number for tracking by the Government! Find below the temple through the photos…. Lord Dattatreya Lord Ram and Sita      Krishna with Radha and Rukmini Entrance to some of the temples… Murals on top of the entrances to the temples One of the cows with the Tag Ramayana depicted on the circular roof of a temple The door of a temple itself is filled wi...

Venkateshwara Aalayam is in Govindapuram, which is about 20 kms away from Vizianagaram.  The main thing to see in the temple is a vast sculpture of Lord Krishna sitting in a chariot.  There is also a Gita mandir here where you can sit and meditate.   This blog is going to be more pictorial than writing 😊. When we visited the temple, we were the only visitors 😊 .  Since these places are not highly publicized, you will not come to know of these places unless you google for them!  Some of the photos that I clicked here….   Lord Krishna on a chariot   At the entrance of the temple Temple with sculptures of monkeys on top The deity at the temple                             Close-up of the chariot’s wheel     Side-view of the chariot A big sculpture of Go-mata   Another view of the chariot   Another temple in the complex   Entrance o...