Ushering in the New Year...

What the future holds for us depends on what we hold for the future.

May all your days be beautiful and bright..

Keep your face to the sunshine,

Let a series of happy thoughts run through your mind.

They will show on your face.

Happy New Year !!

HAPPY NEW YEAR
H ours of happy times with friends and family
A bundant time for relaxation
P rosperity
P lenty of love when you need it the most
Y outhful excitement at lifes simple pleasures

N ights of restful slumber (you know - dont' worry be happy)
E verything you need
W ishing you love and light

Y ears and years of good health
E njoyment and mirth
A angels to watch over you
R embrances of a happy years!

As the new year blossoms,

may the journey of your life

be fragrant with new opportunities,

your days be bright with new hopes

and your heart be happy with love!

Happy New Year!

When you're lonely, I wish you Love!
When you're down, I wish you Joy!
When you're troubled, I wish you Peace!
When things seem empty, I wish you Hope!
Have a Happy New Year!

May the dawning of this New Year,

fill your heart with new hopes,

open up new horizons and b

ring for you promises of brighter tomorrows.

May you have a great New Year.

Boat Ride...

This Boat ride across the Galgibagh River is not pleasure.. but is a necessity...

If not for this Boat ride of less than Five minutes, these vilagers have to make a road trip of nearly 8 kms....

Kali River Sunrise

Sand-Mining Boats rest on the River Kali, as a crow flies just after Sunrise....

The Fort in Ruins at Mirjaan...

THE MIRJAN FORT

This fort is in the Mirjan village on NH-17, 10 km from Kumta in Uttara Kannada District.The Fort at Mirjan was constructed during A.D 1608-1640.

Excavation conducted at the site during the field season 2000-01 has unearthed a number of laterite structures of medieval period . The structural remains include a U shaped structure with a cloister all around.

Towards the west of the U shaped structures, a circular soakage pit constructed of dressed laterite stones and water tank connected with water carrier were exposed. Among the antiquities mention may be made of a unique gold coin issued in A.D. 1652 by the Portuguese Viceroy Conde De Sarzedas during the rule of JOAO IV. The other antiquities include canon balls, Chinese Porcelain, clay tablets with Islamic inscriptions. (Text Source - Yashaswipayana)

From the Deccan Herald -

The Mirjan Fort must have witnessed numerous battles, ghastly episodes of violence and the tears and joys of kings and their subjects. Today, this serene historical site reminds tourists of the glories of the past. The fort is situated on NH17, about 11 km from Kumta, on the way to the famous pilgrim and tourist centre of Gokarna. Situated in an area of over 10 acres, the laterite-stone-built Mirjan fort has broad steps that lead to the interiors of the fort, where the ruins make visitors ponder over the lost historical significance of the place. There is a reference to Mirjan in the records of foreign travellers like De Barros, Barbosa, Hamilton and Buchanan. Barros, in whose record Mirjan is referred to as Mergan, was under the rule of Vijayanagar kings. While in 1720 Hamilton referred to Mirjan as a small harbour famous for pepper, cussia and wild nutmeg, in 1801, Buchanan referred to it as Midijoy. The historical records that are available state that the place was under the governance of Gerusoppa rulers during Vijayanagara times. Soon after the fall of Gerusoppa rulers, Bijapur sultans are said to have conquered the place and Sharief-ul-mulk, the governor of Goa, is believed to have either built or renovated the fort here.Keladi queen Chennamma conquered the territories at a later stage.The number of wells (as many as nine) inside the fort, the routes connecting these wells to the outside of the fort and the canal works surrounding the fort make one infer that these waterways must have been used for ferrying. The fort also has traces of a secret outlet, entrance doors, an astounding darbar hall and a market place. The remains of some idols, believed to have been found in the fort, have now taken refuge under the shade of a big tree.

Seven dumb-bells, 50 iron bullets, coins and designed earth pots belonging to Sarpamallika dynasty were found during excavation at Mirjan fort in Kumata taluk, 120 km from Dharwad district of Karnataka. State archaeological department superintendent K Veerabhadrappa said here on Thursday that the dumb-bells, weighed 20 kg each, and the iron bullets were more than 500 years old. - Indian Express

From Aayirecipes.com :-

While growing up, Independence day and republic day of India were big occasions for all kids. There used to be preparations for the parade weeks before these days. On the big day, there used to be flag hoisting in our school early in the morning. Then our teachers would take us in a procession to a old fort in a nearby village called ‘Mirjan’. There, the kids of all neighboring schools would gather. The Chairman of the Mirjan gram(village) would hoist the flag and give a speech. They would distribute some sweets/candys to all the kids and we would come back to our respective schools. Ohh, I can’t explain how happy we used to be to get those sweets/candys, even though we used to eat like princes/princesses daily at home, those small pieces distributed on these days were a big treat for us. We also got to meet so many other school children, some of whom were very arrogant to talk and some were very friendly. I also remember, only 4+ standard(grade) children were taken to this fort because it was quite far and we had to walk all the way. More here...

More Links -
1. Archeological Survey of India - http://www.asi.nic.in/asi_exca_2005_karnataka.asp
2. http://golden-chariot.com/sites.html#13
3. Google Books - Shivaji and his times By Sir Jadunath Sarkar
4. http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/military/40679.htm
5. http://www.jstor.org/pss/1150031
6. http://karwar-ramdas.blogspot.com/

Hot-Air Baloon at Karwar Beach

The Capture-Earth Team had organised a HR Outbound Training for the Employees of Bosch and it was held at the Tagore Beach at Karwar as a Three-day Event, ending tomorrow. 

Though the Event was not publicized much, it became a Center of Attraction for the people of Karwar, who had come for a walk on the Beach.

People were watching the whole exercise of blowing the Baloon with Hot-Air from the Deputy Commissioner's Office Building, kids stopped pestering for Ice-cream, old folk were cleaning their glasses, the Baloon-sellers were temporarily out of business and had their quiet moments on the beach...

The Bosch Team members look on...

The traffic on the Highway had partially stopped....

But it was too windy for the Baloon to take off....

Godess Mahamaya takes a trip... Continued...

Continued from the earlier post... This collage explains everything...

Female Devotees (Married women), to appease the Goddess for favours, and sometimes to show their gratitude to the Goddess fro granting Favours/Blessings, do this special kind of dance with a wooden stand with "diya" holders(burning cotton-wicks in Oil in a earthen-containers) ...

Seems dangerous, but the ladies take slow and small steps, concentrating on the lamps... accompanied by the beating of drums and Shehnai (pipes)...

The Ambassador...

Ambassador, the Official "Government of India" car came much much before the Premier Padmini, and it continues to hold on.... Here are a few Ambassadors with the ubiquitous Red Beacon Lights....

The Hindustan Ambassador is a car manufactured by Hindustan Motors of India. It has been in production since 1958 without much modifications or changes and is based on the Morris Oxford III model first made by the Morris Motor Company at Cowley, Oxford in the United Kingdom from 1956 to 1959.
Despite its British origins, the Ambassador is considered the definitive Indian car and is fondly called "The king of Indian roads". The automobile is manufactured by Hindustan Motors at its Uttarpara plant near Kolkata, West Bengal.It is the most popular car in India and is perceived to be best suited to the harsh Indian terrain. Its iconic status was helped by the fact that it was the preferred means of conveyance of India's political leadership, including the Prime Minister of India, before they moved on[citation needed] to other luxury cars and SUVs. In 2002, then-Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee started traveling in an armored BMW 7i vehicle for security purposes. However, some prominent Indian politicians, such as Sonia Gandhi, continue with their preference for the Hindustan Ambassador. Source - Wikipedia

Premier Padmini

This restored Beauty belongs to my friend, and still runs like a dream..... without any modifications whatsoever...

Premier Padmini was an automobile manufactured in India from 1968 to 2000. Premier Automobiles Limited, erstwhile flagship company of India's Walchand Hirachand Group, assembled Fiat's Fiat 1100 cars from the 1950s until 1997. The car ruled Indian roads for three decades (1955-1985). The Fiat 1100D based on the Fiat 1200 GranLuce Berlina debuted in India in 1964 with a 1,089 cc 4-cylinder engine.

Premier manufactured it at their Kurla, Mumbai plant until they sold majority stake to Fiat SpA in Sept. 1997. With minor modifications over the years, it was variously named Fiat 1100/103, Fiat Millecento, Fiat 1100-Delight, Premier President and Premier Padmini.

Numerous examples still abound as taxicabs in Mumbai. Many of these taxis now run on CNG for fuel economy. Along with the Hindustan Ambassador, it harks back to the socialist India of pre-liberalization, before the reforms program of 1991.

More Images of Premier Padmini - here

A Squirrel

This Tiny Little Squirrel wandered away from its mother, and was shrieking in Panic, when we found her/him.. The building in the background is the District and Sessions Court of Karwar, constructed in the year - 1856. Several families of Squirrels reside in the huge Banyan Tree opposite the Court building and this one was later taken by its mother to the top of the Tile roof of the District Court building,where in the gap between the tiles and the wooden ceiling, the mother Squirrel has made its home for its young one....

Godess Mahamaya takes a trip...

Carried by a huge band of devotees, in a anciant - specially designed palanquin with the temple dome on the top, Godess Mahamaya of Sadasivgad/Chittakula takes a trip.... This picture is taken during Her return journey....

The dome of the Palanquin is lit up wqith tiny light bulbs, powered by a small generator set, strapped to the palanquin at the back.... The set up is so heavy, it needs at least 20 men to haul it around....

All along the route of Her return journey, villagers erect entrances decorated with mango leaves, lights, etc and offer poojas at every 15-20 feet distance... And the group carrying the palanquin shuffles and changes, with new sets of shoulders.... And by the time the Godess reaches Her temple 4 kms away, its 3-00 am...

Waves at Sunrise....

Waves break at he Tagore Beach, just after Sunrise.....

Posting this picture after a long long break... After a long time gap between heavy rains 43cms in 36 hours, flooding all over the town, landslides at a couple of villages, 20 lives lost, 350 houses collapse, and more extensive collateral damage...

But life at Karwar goes on as usual... Seems like the dawn after the deluge..... And they say there is 2012....

Greetings to all !!!