Bangalore Diaries

 What an exhilarating experience it was !!! 3 hours and minutes of pure cinematic joy !!! There are so many nuances and layers to this movie, but I will try to capture my raw thoughts into this movie. However, let’s start with a few disclaimers. Is this a 18+ movie? Yes - Sexual references, language, violence  Is this an out and out YASH movie? - Without any iota of doubt !!! Is this a movie with good production values? - Good no - Great - Absolutely Yes !! Yash and Geethu Mohandas have literally unleashed a beast onto us. The movie is fast paced, with some quick cuts, quite a few central characters, loads of action i.e. WORLD CLASS action and moves across different timelines.  
Let’s start with the improvements. This is an audience view and I am not an overall expert on all aspects of movie making (though I do have a little expertise one of the points below). The audio could have been lot better. Some places I did feel silence could have worked much more magnificently th...

Wodeyar family in general have been instrumental in preserving a lot of age-old scriptures, puranas etc by commissioning Asthana Vidwan’s to translate them into Kannada. We are blessed to be savouring the vast ocean of our ancient knowledge thanks to these generous souls.  Mysore’s Maharaja H. H. Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar was a scholar par excellence. He has authored many works, one of which is Sri TattvaNidhi . In the 5th Canto, there is a mention of 108 Shiva Kshetras along with the names of the presiding deities (as captured in Srimat Shivasarasangraha ).  Disclaimer : This list was published in the special edition of Bharatha Darshana (Feb 2026). This post is to translate the same into English so that it reaches wider audience. Full credit should go to the Bharatha Darshana team for bringing these nuggets to light.  1. Kaivalyashaila - Srikanta 2. Hemakedara -  Kedareshwara 3. Varanasi - Vishwanatha 4. Srishaila - Mallikarjuna 5. Prayaga - Nilakanta 6. Gaya -...

  An impulsive decision to attend a concert taken 3 months back turned out to be one of the finest evenings of my life. My experience with Sri Mahesh Kale had been limited to repeated playing of Kaanaada Raja Pandaricha on YouTube and some bhajans thereafter. I am definitely someone who has followed his work for long or in detail. However, every single time I listened to his renditions, I could feel something stirring in my soul. When my colleague shared about his concert, I didn’t think twice and booked the tickets.  Pandarapur is a place which is quite special in my life. One of the many tirtha kshetras I have been longing to visit, but haven’t done so thus far. With passing years and life experiences, this has become an eternal wait and has been one of my regrets for a long time. My experience with Vithoba has been limited to my visits to the temple in Ulsoor. 
Ashada, a month of intense devotion brought together an opportunity to blend both of these into a confluence of ...

“Tena Vina Trunamapi Na Chalati” - Without his will, even a blade of grass can’t move . This phrase couldn’t be more truer than what I have endured in last 3 days. The best laid plans went completely haywire for reasons beyond one’s control and ultimately, one is left to accept and appreciate divine will. However, the mind is racing with unanswered questions and hopefully, I am able to find some answers and closure sometime soon. Amidst all these challenges, I had a one day trip to Madurai and visited some of the most divine temples in the region. I have already visited some of them in the past, but found some new unknown gems along the way. We stayed in Gopuram Grand hotel which is bang opposite the west tower of the Meenakshi Amman temple. This was by far the best decision of this trip and definitely one of the better ones of my life. I highly recommend this hotel not just for the location, but for the excellent service and awesome food.  
Disclaimer: This is not a paid promotio...

  This book was a spur of the moment pick in a conference where I had the Soubhagya of sharing the stage with Vid. Veena Bannanje avaru. When I sit down to pen down the review, I am at a loss of words to describe the book. Is it an experience journey? Is it a journey? Is it an evolution of an individual? Is it the shedding of skin to be reborn? Or is it a collection of Miracles? At best, I can describe this as a human tale which may sprout many a question in the minds of the reader. This is an “as-is” told account by Veena Bannanje, a scholar and Vidwan in her own right. Being born in an illustrious family as the daughter of the very revered and respected Vid. Bannanje Govindaacharya avaru, she was having an exciting life until her encounter with Satyakama. A mystic, a philosopher, a guide, a father figure, Satyakama becomes the catalyst of Veena Bannanje’s evolution from a teacher to a sadhaka. The experiences narrated could be confounding to common mind, but as reiterated in the ...

 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 ...