ON WHEELS AND A PRAYER

If you are planning to ride like this... 

...I suppose it makes sense to start with a prayer,... 

break coconuts,... 

light incense sticks and... 

Yesss... 

Birds on a wire. Pic taken near the Nelapattu bird sanctuary, in Andhra, about two hours from Chennai. 

A pilgrim. I liked the very human pose that this guy struck. Pic taken in Ranthambore tiger reserve, Rajasthan. This place is called the 36-pillared `Chathhri'* (Chathram/rest house, I guess) inside the Ranthambore Fort.
NOTE: * Rest house... blogger ezee123 explains more accurately. Please check out the comment section in next pic.  

Inside there were more of them. It was about noon and quite hot, these guys just lay there sleeping -- some of them had their eyes open but seemed to be dazed. I was able to walk right up to them and click away.  

VISITORS

The `Hagalu Veshagarlu' (check out April 2006 folder for more info) landed up again. This time Ram and Hanuman were together. Ram, if you can recognise, was here earlier as Arjuna and before that as hanuman. I have a feeling these guys will land up frequently. Ram asked me for the Arjuna pics and I heard him tell Hanuman that if he comes to this house he can be sure of getting a few rupees, a photo session and a free copy of the pic on the next visit.
Maybe, I should discourage these guys the next time. Just to break the habit. 

Little red bugs having a ball... of manure 

A Sambhar stag in the bush. Pic taken last year in Ranthambore, Rajasthan.  

Another one... 

Guess what this guy is using to take a ride in the sea? 

Bullocks. You can ride them on land too. 

Most mornings you can see them by the beach opposite Triplicane, Chennai. The bullocks are brought to the sea for the daily wash. 

They make quite a splash. 

Pondicherry soon to be Puducherry

Pondicherry, that former French Colony about 150 km south of Chennai (Madras) on the East Coast Road, will soon be renamed Puducherry. Sad. I believe each time we change names of places of historical significance we erase a bit of our past.
But this post is not about the name change.
A trip to Pondy by road, especially the East Coast Road is a great experience (if you drive carefully and manage to stay out of the way of the numerous maniacs who use that road like a race track.)
The best part of Pondy itself is portion close to the seaside. Here are a series of pics of places in Pondicherry that make the place interesting for me.

India Post commemorates the `De Facto Transfer of Pondicherry.' -- A first day cover and stamp to commemorate the golden jubilee of the independence of Pondicherry from the French who ruled Pondy between 1673 and 1954.Stamp issued in December 2005. 

Sri Aurobindo - India Post commemorates Aurobindo Ghosh, a revolutionary, freedom fighter and later a poet, philosopher and prophet who settled down in Pondicherry, founder the Aurobindo Ashram - one of the primary reasons that this little seaside town in known internationally. 

Also, a Rs 2 coin to commemorate Sri Aurobindo. 

Just a view of the other side of the Rs 2 coin. 

The Mother - India Post commemorates the founder (along with Sri Aurobindo) of Auroville the international commune at Pondy. Sri Aurobindo was her mentor.
Here is an extract from the Auroville website:
"It was the Mother, as Sri Aurobindo's 'Shakti', who organised the growing group of followers around him into the Sri Aurobindo Ashram from November 1926 onwards, and who in 1952, after his passing in 1950, created the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education to fulfil his wish to provide a new kind of education for Indian youth. In 1968 she founded the international township project of Auroville as a yet wider field for practical attempts to implement Sri Aurobindo's vision of new forms of individual and collective life, preparing the way towards a brighter future for the whole earth."  

The Matrimandir at Auroville.  

An Iyyanar Temple on the East Coast Road. 

At a salt pan on the East Coast Road. 

Salt pan on the East Coast Road. It is the busy season for salt industry during summer. Salt Pans like these dot the East Coast Road,