Statue of Swami Vivekananda near Ramakrishna Math, Bangalore

Statue of Swami Vivekananda unveiled on January 12th, the birth day of Swami Vivekananda(also celebrated as National Youth Day in India) is one of the new attractions added to Bangalore city. Situated near Ramakrishna Math, Basavanagudi is already flocked by visitors. Here are few snaps of the bronze statue of the great son of India.Ramakrishna Math near Basavanagudi, Bangalore is frequently visited by those who look for a break from the busy city life. Books on Vedantha, Spirituality are available for sale here. Main building of the Math resembles Ramakrishna Math, Belur, West Bengal. Belur Math is the headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Inside the premises of the Ramakrishna Math, Bangalore, an area covered by rocks is marked for meditation. Visitors are encouraged to meditate here. If you are in Bangalore and thinking of charging up your souls, Ramakrishna Math is the place for you.

St Aloysius Chapel Mangalore

St.Aloysius Chapel located at the heart of the city is a must visit for anybody visiting Mangalore. Paintings filling every inch of the walls of the chapel, is indeed a treat to watch. These paintings are the works of Italian artist, Anthony Moscheni. Most of the paintings are dedicated to the life of Aloysius Gonzaga, from whom St.Aloysius College, Mangalore derives its name from. There are also paintings of Apostles, saints of Church and Jesuit saints - St.Thomas, St.Francis of Assisi, St.Peter Claver, Bl.Rudolf Aquaviva, St John De Britto. Also included are the paintings, dedicated to the life of Jesus Christ. Visitors will also be delighted, experiencing the calm and peaceful environment inside the chapel.

Haage Summane Film Review

Can success be replicated? Preetham Gubbi thinks so and it may be a while when he realizes the answer for this question in negative. Riding on the success of Mungaaru Male, having provided the story, he tries the formula - good music + beautiful locales + new faces. But his directorial venture lacks freshness, which most film buffs want. If one line description is enough, then it is nothing but a sequence of cliches.

Picture Source : nowrunning.com

Agreed, most of the songs are good(Maayavaagide Manasu and Oorella Koogi Heluve) but that only does not make a film worth watching. No complaint about the lyrics by Kannada's No.1 lyricist now, Jayantha Kaykini. Cinematography is a plus but audience can clearly point out the artificial trees (maple trees) being 'planted' in the beautiful locations of Karnataka. There was absolutely no need for that.

Mungaaru Male hangover is clearly seen. That is evident from the first scene as he names his hero 'Preetham'(Kiran) - 'Preetham' was the name of Ganesh's role in Mungaaru Male. Preetham's search for a true love ends with Khushi(Suhasi), a guitarist. He is not among the ones who give up, when Khushi rejects his proposal. He comes to Khushi's home telling, he wants to learn guitar ahead of a show. Needless to say he has to impress her parents to win over her. But why Khushi rejects Preetham in the first place is revealed at the end. By the time you feel it is the beginning of the story, you see it is the end of the film! Story if at all is there in this film, lacks freshness. One can predict the subsequent scenes and for the worst part, even dialogues. And this is when irritation for the movie goer begins and that ends when the movie ends.

Bekal Fort Beach Kasaragod Kerala

Bekal Fort beach, a populart tourist attraction, is 15km away from Kasaragod town. Bekal Fort is the biggest fort in Kerala. The fort, whose construction was started during Hiriya Venkatappa Nayaka's time was completed during Keladi Shivappa Nayaka's reign. The fort spread across 40 acres of land is facing the Arabian sea. At the entrance of the fort, there is Mukhyaprana temple, dedicated to Lord Hanuman. Lord Hanuman is believed to be the protector of the fort. Architecture of this temple resembles the ones in Karnataka.As soon as you enter the fort, you will find the green lawns being laid. As you walk around the fort you will notice holes in the fort walls, designed to protect from invaders. Also, one can get a bird's view of the sea shore ahead from the fort walls, a rarity in beach locations. View from the fort walls of Bekal make you believe that one half of your view is filled by the Arabian sea and the other half by all coconut trees, typical of Kerala.From the fort there is a passage to the beach down. A walk along the sea shore and you will find the park for children. Various structures are being built to attract the tourists. This place is usually crowded with people spending their leisure time with family and friends. Also, one can see some boats lined up along the shore and some afloat in sea. You can also witness some small birds(dont know the name!)walking in the sands and shying away whenever sea waves come closer. Bekal fort is a must visit place for those who are on trip to Kasaragod.Film connection : Numerous films have been shot in the beautiful location of Bekal fort. Bombay, film directed by Maniratnam deserves mention here. Aravind Swamy's wait for Manisha Koirala, singing Tu Hi Re is still fresh in the memories of film goers. Lot of Kannada movies like Bhaava Bhamaida, Make up, Moggina Manassu have also been shot.How to reach Bekal fort from Mangalore :
Mangalore to Kasaragod (NH17) - 50km
Kasaragod to Bekal Fort - 15 km (Mode of transport : Bus/Auto)

Entrance Fees and Camera Charges :
Bekal Fort :
Entrance Fees : Rs.5 per person
Camera Fees : Rs. 25 per camera

Bekal Fort Beach:
Entrance Fees : Rs.5 per person
Camera Fees : Rs.25 per camera

Ananthapura Temple Kumble Kasaragod

Ananthapura near Kasaragod, 45 kms from Mangalore is a lake temple. Though surrounded by barren land all around it is truely amazing to see a lake and temple in the middle. Ananthapura is the holy abode of Lord Ananthapadmanaabha (or Lord Vishnu). Interestingly Ananthapura is the only lake temple in Kerala state.Idols : Idols worshipped here is not made of metal or stone as in most of the temples in India. It is made of Kadusharkara Paaka(made of various herbs). In this way of making idols of Gods, in addition to the external organs, internal organs like heart, lungs, skeletal joints and nervous system are also are realized. Also, there is no Abhishekam for idols made of Kadusharkara Paaka.Vegetarian Crocodile : Most of you may find it hard to believe that temple is guarded by a vegetarian crocodile, which lives in the temple lake. Crocodile named 'Babiya', has been living in the temple lake for 63 years now. They say there lived one crocodile before the present one appeared. People used to get a glimpse of the crocodile when they called it. In 1945, that one was killed by a British officer. After a few days, the present crocodile appeared in the lake. But now, one hardly gets to see the crocodile. One can see the crocodile, when the priests offer prasadam, naivedyam to it in the morning.How to reach Ananthapura from Mangalore : Mangalore to Kumble (also known as Kumbla) - 40 km
One can catch the Mangalore-Kasaragod bus to reach Kumble.
From Kumble, take an auto to Ananthapura or
catch a bus to Naikap (4 km from Kumble) and then get an auto from there.

Ghajini - Film Review

For all those media hype and publicity by Aamir, Ghajini does not disappoint for most part. A perfectionist he is and the Khan lives upto it - a tonsured head, a eight-pack body and a matching act. On the whole, film stands out for amazing performances by the lead actors, Aamir Khan and Asin, the southern sensation.

Sanjay Singhania(Aamir Khan), CEO of Airvoice, is suffering from a mental disorder, where in he remembers about anything for only 15 minutes. And, why he is in such a state is a different story altogether. To manage with his inability, he makes notes about everything he encounters daily, takes photographs of whoever he is in touch everyday and also, he is on mission to find his enemy Ghajini and kill him. Kalpana(Asin), his love is dead and needless to say that Ghajini is responsible for that. How Sanjay accomplishes his mission is rest of the story. Jia Khan, a MBBS student helps Sanjay on his way.

Picture Source : nowrunning.com

What's Good: Aamir excels in his potrayal as always and that is the precise reason why he takes up only one movie every year. His body language perfectly suits the role. Asin, as a cheerful youngster impresses everybody. More than Aamir, it is Asin who steals the show with her stellar performance. Well, worth watch for Aamir fans and also for who want out-of-the-mill film stories. A R Rehman at his best in songs - Tu Meri Adhuri Pyaas Pyaas, Behka Behka. Exotic locations for song sequence are treat to watch. Also, hats off to the camera work too!

What's Not So Good: Asin's introductory song in the movie looks as if it has been stuffed into the movie sequence! Film could have been done without the song and Asin histrionics. Also, climax is a slight disappointment as the much dragged climax may remind you of the 80s film era!

This and That: Following was the SMS I received yesterday about Ghajini :- Describe Aamir Khan in GHAJINI - A man without hard disk, only cache memory and high speed processor! Of course, this message was forwarded by a software engineer.