Last weekend, I had been on a pilgrimage with my family to Rameswaram. I have heard that Rameswaram is supposedly the biggest temple in India, although I haven’t been able to confirm that. The highlight of the pilgrimage was that we had to take bath in, or rather poured a bucket of, water from each of 22 wells in the temple. The other highlight was the Meenakshi temple in Madurai which has 1011 statues.
Rameswaram is an island and is connected to the mainland through the Pamban bridge which is a structure of beauty.
According to the Ramayana, Rama and his followers built a bridge (sethu) from Rameswaram to Sri Lanka using stones, crossed the ocean and then he rescued his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana, Lord of Sri Lanka. On his successful return to Rameswaram, a lingam was installed and Rama worshipped Lord Shiva to absolve himself of the crime of killing Ravana. This lingam is one of the reasons why Rameswaram is considered a holy place for Hindu devotees.
In the long journey between Madurai and Rameswaram, I wrote a poem (if I can call it that):
Life is about breaking out…
Breaking from the routine
Breaking out from what is expected
Breaking out from your own expectations
Who knows where life’s journey leads to
But maybe it doesn’t matter
As long as you make your choices
And have no regrets.
Life is about freedom…
Freedom to choose
Freedom to live the life you dream of
Freedom to help your friends
Freedom to keep your family happy
Freedom to have a philosophy
Freedom to live by your rules.
Life is like music…
Every song has its appeal
So do opportunities
Every tune has its rhythm
So does our family
Every lyrics has its meaning
So do our values
Every album has its genre
Such as our nation
Every beat has a pulse
Such as each day
Every song has a beginning and an end
Life is like that
What matters is how you feel when the song is ending
kapi varyarige Ughe! Ughe!!
BTW, nice photos of the sea :)
I did not know geeks wrote poetry.. The photos are good. I too want to go now.
Nice pics. Keep it going
Geeky change…
Life is about freedom…
Freedom to choose [free software]
Swaroop, you have written a wonderful poem.Might be you must explore that side of yours more.Keep up the good spirit, dude.
Thats a lovely poem, this is a truly successful attempt at not attempting the lyrical poetry u used to write, once upon a time…
I especially liked the last stanza.
PS: convey my “Hi” to ur sis
Nice poem Swaroop. the pics are really great. Looks like a fun trip overall.
Really nice photos ,I’m inspired to higher realms
@Pkg: Thanks. I really liked the beach and the sea, and I think I’m getting pretty good at point-and-click photography :lol:
@Kiran: I am _not_ a geek! Anyway, yes, the photo has come out well.
@Ram: Thanks :)
@Shuveb: Geeky as ever :P
@Badri: Thanks for the encouragement!
@Vineetha: I was tempted to ‘edit’ the poem to make it ‘better’ but I decided to leave the original words as it is and didn’t want to lose the original flow of thoughts.
@Jag: Thanks
@Puranjay: Thanks :)
Good place and photos, intellectual post.
best wishes
Yeah, i have been there .. its a nice place… a bit crowded but loved the temples and the view from the temples.. there is a point where you can see Sri Lanka .. :)
wonderful poem swaroop…esp the first paragraph…i htought i saw someone reply to u sayin that everything should b free, all software included…if that happens, bangalore and all of us will b out of work and back to layin bricks..lol…there should b some stuff free and some stuff for money…otherwise this world and our lives will never be better…thats my 2 cents of advise/comments…cheers guys
-hemanth
PS: the snow just melted here and its gettin hot with +10C temperatures…
Nice!
I enjoyed see the photos of the temple and reading what you had to say about your trip. It was very interesting. Thanks :¬)
Very nice poems …
-cheers
Hagrid
Wow! The bridge is amazing! And I loved the pictures of the water… so clear and crisp and tempting. I’m not a temple person, but may just want to go there only to go across the bridge! :)
Nice poem…Especially the first para…Its so true!!!
@Aakash: Thanks :)
@Pallavi: I heard that point is just 22 km away from Sri Lanka!
@Hemanth: He *never* said everything should be free software, he just said we have freedom to choose free software. Please read carefully before replying.
@Sarika: Yeah, definitely go there sometime!
@Kiran, @Celeste, @Hagrid, @Pushpavani: Thank you all :)
Good stuff dude ..
keep travelling ..
Beautiful pics ! Liked the poem too ..especially the following two lines :
Every song has a beginning and an end
Life is like that
So true !
Well, good stuff dude.. i liked the travel part.. life is good the way it is.. don bother to redefine it… hehe..
hmmm cool photos except tht solo one of yours.. I actually cudn’t make out tht you were smilin until i read your note below :-))….
N Looks like you r having lot of fun even now. I thght with the busy schedules you must have stopped those so called “trekking n travelling”.
N the poem is really gud but then dun try another one on the same lines ( ;-) ) coz you’ll end up with the same poem agn.. hee hee..
anyways cya later!!! :-)
Hi Swaroop,
Nice pics, nice poem. You express yourself unpretentiously and openly, and that’s great. Keep writing more poetry!
Ashok
@Mekin, Vidya, Krish, Sushma: Thank you for all your words :)
@Ashok: Thanks, it had been a long time since I had written from-the-heart :)
Woah! Is Madurai so beautiful? I’m from that place (almost!) and I didn’t even know. Should visit those temples sometime. I like the pic of the pillars. The edgy look is nice.
I have trekked in Thekkadi once . You should try that sometime. : )
Amateur poet, huh? What next , Swaroop?
My fave lines:
Life is like music…
Every tune has its rhythm
So does our family
Every beat has a pulse
Such as each day
Every song has a beginning and an end
Life is like that
What matters is how you feel when the song is ending
So when do I get to read the next one?
: )
Keep it going!
Great work,its splendid ,I was there last year and im trying to figure out the pics(adams Bridge)no trace except the NASA photo’s.But youve done a great job,this makes me feel like going bk again.