Narasimha swamy has been a constant influence in my life recently, specially after I lost my Appa. I wear a Tulasi mala with Narasimha Swamy pendant everyday. Last year, Dec 2025, I visited Kashi, Prayaga and Ayodhya once more to cover the temples I missed during Mahakumbh. In Prayaga, I went for the Triveni Sangma dip (with my Tulasi mala of course). The boatman who was helping to lower me onto the platform said “Kya Achcha Narasimha swamy hai”. After the customary 3 dips, when I emerged out, I saw that the pendant was gone. The Tulasi mala was around me, open at both ends. This saddened me a lot and I felt a loss even though this happened at the Triveni Sangama. This used to play on my mind and I was unsure about why this came to pass. Around a month back, at 10:30 pm I got a very bad urge to find a replacement. Just searching for 2 mins, I found an EXACT match to what I used to wear. There is absolutely NO difference between what I used to wear and newly one that I found ...
After Makara Sankranthi, in Kerala, a festive vibe erupts in the form of Purams or annual temple festivals. It is also interesting to note that this is not limited to the Hindu temples, but also quite a few churches that celebrate their Pirannal or birthdays. Driving through the side-roads is an experience to celebrate the vibrant decorations, the DJ powered music (this too exists), Chenda Melam & of course, panchavaadhyam. This time of the year also happens to be the time of Bharani or Puram of Bhagwathis, one of which is close to my paternal ancestral home. When the date was decided to be January 26, I planned to make the most of the opportunity by travelling early and trying to discover and understand the antiquity of some of these kshetrams. As a new found self-motivated objective, I wish to travel and discover these Divya Deshams and Padal Petra Sthalams across the country or beyond. As part of this endeavour, I zeroed in a few kshetras that are relatively near-by to my a...