Lets look back at the decade...

This decade is going to come to an end in another few hours and marks the end of a unforgettable decade. It had everything from natural disasters, terrorist’s attacks, major changes in political history of the world, emergence of Asian countries as the economic super power and many more. It has changed the lives of many. For many, this decade has been a forgettable one and for many, the most unforgettable one.

Political history was re written in most parts of the world. Barack Obama became the first black president of USA. Power changed hands in Japan from Liberal Democratic Party to Democratic Party of Japan after rule of around 5 decades. In India, Manmohan Singh became the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to successfully assume the office after completing the first term. Prathiba Patil became the first woman President of India and the emergence of Rahul Gandhi changed the perception of politics among today’s youth. This decade also saw the end of Vajpayee-Advani era and death of many tall political leaders.

History was also re written in sports. Michael Schumacher added 5 more F1 title to his 2 title won during the previous decade to take his tally to 7. This makes him the leading F1 driver of all time. In Tennis, Pete Sampras ended his career with a record 14 grand slam titles only to be over taken by Roger Federer, who has won 15 titles and still playing. Federer became the first Men’s player after Agassi to win a career grand slam when he beat Robin Soderling in the French Open finals in 2009. If Tennis had its share of drama so as Cricket. Austraila won 2 successive world cups to stamp their authority as the invincible. However the most coveted Ashes changed hands twice when England won in 2005 and back in 2009. Flintoff did what Ian Botham did in 1983. India won the inaugural T20 world cup. However, their reign as the top T20 team was short lived. However, 2009 saw them become the world number 1 test team. South Africa created history by winning test series in Australia only to lose the return series at home. Beijing staged one of the most stunning Olympics in 2008 and showed the world that they are not only an economic superpower but also a power horse in sports. They finished the table with maximum number of Gold Medals. The Olympics also marked the greatness of Michael Phelps who won a record 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics and 14 overall making him the greatest Olympian of all time.

Arts too have its share of memories in the last decade. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won a record 11 Oscars equalling Titanic and Ben Hur. However, unlike the other two, this movie converted all its nominations in to awards. This decade also signalled the entry of A.R.Rahman at the world stage when he won the BAFTA, Golden Globe and twin Oscars for his music in Slumdog Millionaire. He is also nominated for Grammy Awards for the same. The death of Michael Jackson, “The King of Pop” was a great jolt to all the music lovers. Kamal Hassan completed 50 years in Cinema in 2009 so as the Big B who completed 40 years. Sivaji-The Boss, became the first tamil movie to be in UK top 10 and 15 year old idea of James Cameroon, “Avatar” finally hits the screen.

Last but not the least, the things that changed the shape of the world, a range of terrorist’s attacks and natural calamities around the world. It all started with earthquake in Gujarat which killed thousands of people which was followed by the famous September attacks on the world trade center. Then comes the invasion of Iraq by the USA, the earthquakes in Pakistan and China,the elimination of LTTE, the Tsumani in the Indian Ocean, Madrid, London, Bali and Mumbai train bombings and the Mumbai attacks.

I hope the coming decade brings happiness and peacefulness to each and everyone in this world. Wish you all a HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

Nov 8th is undoubtedly one of the best days of my life. It was my brother’s wedding and the atmosphere was awesome. The day before the wedding, Chennai was under water and thank god, on the wedding day it was shining bright. It has been a long time since I attended wedding and nothing can come close to such event especially being my brother’s wedding. I was able to meet all of my family members. Almost all had come for the wedding. If the wedding was grand, then the reception was even grander. Everyone enjoyed it to the core. More than anything else, this is the first marriage in our family which was like icing on the cake.

After the marriage, we started for a holy trip. We started on 10th November and were back by 13th morning.

Day 1: We boarded the Vaigai express at 12.40 PM from Chennai egmore and reached Trichy in the evening. There we took a van and went to Gunaseelam (some 25 Kms from Trichy). We stayed there that night and worshipped Lord Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal.

Day 2: We got up early and went to the temple again and worshipped the Lord. I had the plan of taking bath at Cauvery, but unfortunately the river was flowing till the brim and I was scared. Then we went to Thanthondri Malai in Karur. By the time we reached the temple, it was closed and hence we had to wait till 3 PM for the temple to open. After worshipping the God, we came back to Gunaseelam, packed our bags and left for Srirangam. We went to the temple and worshipped Lord Ranganathar. This temple has got the tallest temple tower in Asia. One can see the entire Srirangam from the topmost floor of the tower. After coming out of the temple, we went to Trichy again to board Rameshwaram Express.

Day 3: We were supposed to get down at Ramanathapuram. The scheduled arrival was 3.30 AM, but we were fast asleep. We missed the station and got down at Mandapam (next to Ramanathapuram). The next train from Mandapam to Ramnathapuram was at 6.00 AM and hence we had to wait for 2 hours in the platform. We boarded the train to Ramanathapuram and from there took a van to Thirupullani (15 Kms from Ramanathapuram). This is one best place I have visited. The place is surrounded by farms and there were plenty of peacocks running around. I would love to go to this place again. After we reached Thirupullani, we refreshed ourselves at Ahobila Math and went to the temple of Lord Adi Jaganatha Perumal. This is one of the best temples I have ever visited. It was calm, big and had a wonderful architecture. The specialty of this temple is Lord Ram will be in reclining form. Here is the only temple in the world where Lord Ram will be in reclining form. It is believed that it is in this place Lord Hanuman informed Lord Ram about Sita after seeing her in Lanka. Then, we refreshed ourselves and went to Sethukarai (Sethusamudram). The place is awesome given its mythological and political significance, but it can be maintained in a better way. After spending few minutes there we went to Chakravazhnallur, a small village near Ramanathapuram. There is a temple for Lord Adi Kesava Perumal. After worshipping the Lord, we drove to Rameshwaram. The view from the Indra Gandhi Bridge was breathtaking. We reached Rameshwaram railway station at 4.30 PM. The train was at 6.00 PM and so I, my bro and sis-in-law went to the Ramanathaswamy Temple. This temple is the abode of Lord Shiva. It is believed that Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva after his war against Ravana. This temple has got the longest temple corridor in the world. I have no words to describe this temple. Just awesome!!!

Day 4: Back to Chennai and end of wonderful week.