Rameshwaram – The pilgrimage Island:

Rameshwaram is known for its theerthas (wells) in and around the main temple. This place is equally sacred to both Vaishnavites and Saivites. Rameshwaram is also popularly referred to as the 'Benaras of the south'. In order to attain Moksha it is believed that the visit to Rameshwaram is mandatory.

The religious island is spread in an area of 61.8 square kilometers and happens to be in the shape of a conch. The Ramanatha Swamy Temple occupies major area of Rameshwaram. The masterpiece of Dravidian architecture boasts of the largest temple corridor in India. Different rulers built the Ramanatha Swamy Temple over a period of time starting from the 12th century. The temple comprises of twenty-two wells where the taste of the water of each well is different from the other.

Ramnathswamy temple was built in the 17th century. Situated close to the sea on the eastern side of the island, this temple is famous for its 1200 gigantic granite columns. The 54 metre tall gopuram (gate-tower), 1220 meters of magnificent corridors and the flamboyant columns embellish and render fame to the temple.

The Ramanathaswamy temple is renowned for its magnificent corridors and massive sculptured pillars. The third corridor of Ramanathaswamy temple is the longest one in the world. Besides pilgrimage, Rameswaram Island has several places which ideally suites for picnic programme. There are beautiful beaches at Olaikuda, Dhanushkodi and Pamban.

Dhanushkodi named after Rama's bow, is at the eastern end of the island at a distance of 8 kms from Rameshwaram. The boulders around the sea between Srilanka and this place known as Adam's bridge, are believed to be used by Hanuman to reach across Srilanka. Dhhanushkodi was completely destroyed by the cyclones of 1964. Kothandaramaswamy temple is the only salvage of the cyclone. Idols of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Hanuman and Vibhishana (brother of Ravana), surrendered to Rama, here.

Sethu samudram shipping canal project:( The Image above is Sethu)

5-km south of the temple is Sethu, where there is a celebrated temple of Sri Anjaneya, and where, tradition holds, Sri Rama built a bridge to Sri Lanka. In Devipatnam, or Navapashanam, also by the sea, there are nine stones visible at low tide. It is believed that they were set up by Sri Rama to represent the nine planets, the Navagrahas.

Olaikuda beach is about one Km from the main temple is engulfed by coral reefs which makes sea bathing safe and enjoyable. With diving glasses and respiration tubes, Scuba diving can be done safely. Australian Flamingos, Sea Gulls and variety of birds migrates to Rameswaram Island during winter. Rameswaram is one of the main fishing centres of Tamil Nadu. Variety of fishes including export quality fish like prawns, sea cucumber, lobster etc. are available, Rameswaram is also famous for its dry fish.

The Pamban Bridge also called Indira Gandhi Bridge lies on the Indian end of the Palk Strait that connects Pamban Island to mainland India. It actually refers to both the road bridge and the cantilever railway bridge, though primarily it means the latter. The bridge was constructed with sufficient elevation and beautiful scenery of the sea, adjoining Islands and parallel rail bridge below can be viewed from the bridge.

The railway bridge is 6,776 ft (2,065 m) and was opened for traffic in 1914. The railroad bridge is a still-functioning double-leaf bascule bridge section that can be raised to let ships pass under the bridge. The railway bridge historically carried meter-gauge trains on it, but Indian Railways upgraded the bridge to carry broad-gauge trains in a project that finished Aug. 12, 2007. Until recently, the two leaves of the bridge were opened manually using levers by workers. About 10 ships — cargo carriers, coast guard ships, fishing vessels and oil tankers — pass through the bridge every month.

The photographs were taken during my trip to Southern states of India:

Money matters most in life:

To work and earn money is an integral part of human life. It fulfills a great need in man - the need to create. It creates healthy living standards, a sense of security, happiness and pleasure. It is not only a means to support the family and educate the children but is also a medium of usefulness to oneself. But what do you do when suddenly the work you like the most is taken away from you?

For most of us more money is on most of our wish list. But in time of recession and redundancies to maintain the status and standard of living itself is a great task, leave alone finding extra income.

If you are looking for a change in better carrier or trying hard to promote your business to your desired level and not finding fruitful results is quite a common affair. But then what do you do? That leads you to no where because money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five.

Napoleon Hill in his book “Think & Grow Rich” writes six ways to turn desires into money, by far one of the most effective and inspirational words that I have come across.

The method, by which desire for riches can be transmuted into financial equivalent, consists of six definite, practical steps, viz:

1.    Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire. It is not sufficient merely to say” I want plenty of money.” Be definite as to the amount as there is a psychological reason for definiteness.
2.    Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire. Remember there is no reality as “something for nothing”
3.    Establish a definite date when you intend to posses the money you desire.
4.    Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.
5.    Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.
6.    Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at night, and once after arising in the morning. As you read- see and feel and believe yourself already in possession of the money.

It is important that you follow the instructions described in these steps. It is especially important that you observe, and follow the instructions in the sixth paragraph. You may complain that it is impossible for you to “see yourself in possession of money” before you actually have it. Here is where a burning desire will come to your aid. If you truly desire money so keenly that your desire is an obsession, you will have no difficulty in convincing yourself that you will acquire it. The object is to want money, and to become so determined to have it that you convince yourself you will have it.

To add more life and impact to above thoughts, writing and method of approach of Napoleon Hill I have added my own photograph from my archive showing part of my coin collection hobby.

And finally, what is money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.

The ever eluding luck:

 While I was studying sixth standard, like any other schoolboy I had my neighborhood friends. We use to gather at a place in our area that was popularly known as “ Horse house” for all our play activities. As the name implies, as there was a definite connection between horse and the owner of the house, as a Beautiful stone-craved full size horse statue in galloping posture within the compound of the house was installed. Anybody who passed through the road could not miss its majestic presence. For many days it never struck us to find the reason why such a statue was erected, which was quite unusual. Then we learnt that, the owner of the house had been lucky enough to win a huge jackpot at the Guindy, Chennai, India racecourse and that it was only with this prize money that he had been able to build the palatial house on an area of more than three grounds. Erecting the statue might have been his way of showing his gratitude. But then that was the truth. That was the first time in my life that I had come across a person gifted with such unusual luck.

    Luck can be defined as a chance, especially as it is perceived as influencing someone’s life at specific points. It is also an event, good or ill, affecting one’s interest or happiness and is deemed as casual, occurring by chance, fate, fortune. Luck is often used for good luck, as luck is better than skill. When someone attempts something unknown with success then that’s also called luck. An unknown and unpredictable phenomenon, that causes an event to result one-way rather than another. They say luck is lady.

    Have you ever played snake & ladder? As far as I am concerned LUCK is no more than a snake & ladder game. Just play, pass the time, enjoy and get refreshed in between your productive and career or growth oriented initiatives.

    I have come across many young and talented professionals with above average IQ, smart, intelligent, hard working and above all with pleasing manners. Surely, I know more about them and their abilities, than the interviewers who just talk with him for half an hour or so and decide their fate. Then, that is what the employment process is all about. The lucky one’s definitely have edge over others.

    There is an important community World over, which consists of gamblers, those who play cards for money, casino players, betters for horse races, lottery ticket buyers and many others dealing with different aspects of betting business from ant race to elephant race that are being played all over the world. They rely and live only on luck and their success or failure is one of their own making: a consequence they have deliberately invited themselves into. The results achieved by them is seem to be a random type of luck and often, we attribute their accomplishments to random luck. Those who rely on random luck seem to have certain traits in common.

    I remember reading in many magazines, that even many world famous and top cricketers, football and tennis players have had faith and belief in superstition or luck in one-way or another. They preserve their lucky play kit accessories, vests, shorts, gloves, caps, helmets and many other such articles for years, even if they are half torn, dirty and deformed, and use them time and again when their team or country requires a match saving performance from them. They all have their own notions. Yet as far as I know, none these players have at any point of time in their carriers disclosed how consistent their luck has been with those priced possessions.

    The house owner and landlord of the place where I had my office once had incurred a cumulative loss of around Rs.30 Lakhs in the business that he had been doing for the past 20 years. Now that he is caught by the vasthu mania, hired a vasthu consultant and is redesigning the entire house at an estimated cost of Rs. 5 Lakhs. Every aspect of the change as perceived by the consultant is being applied meticulously including changing the position of lavatory commode. (The correct direction is Northwest-Make a note of it.) Strange here is that the owner of the house is a Christian.

     Almost all the World famous and the most visited websites attach much importance to Astrology and are featuring it prominently. Some even offer personalized service according to one’s birth star. Astrology is another popular form of finding luck and prosperity. Astrology is the only subject that has many things to say about luck and how to acquire it. It simply tells you to have faith in God and perform remedial prayers to elevate the debilitated planet that in turn will inherit more luck and prosperity. Of course the prayers cannot correct the so-called fate, but can do their best to nullify the effects to a bare minimum or nil.  There are many other religious methods like vasthu, Chinese Astrology and gemology through which ones luck can be enhanced. Some even believe that luck has something to do with the color of the dress; as for each day there is one particular dress color that brings in more luck. The above-mentioned methods that many opt for are applied with unquestionable faith.

 But in reality these superstitious beliefs are not tested for their authenticity. Superstition is devoid of scope for critical evaluations. Furthermore, some superstitions make extravagant claims about their scientific status. Superstitions may be harmful if they alone are used in taking decisions and solving problems. Yet this is being followed with utmost care and sanctity, by only a few of course. These concepts of a bygone era and other old beliefs are slowly disappearing from the minds of people but not Astrology. It is back with a bang with new colors and dimensions, even though the prediction patterns are the same old ones, as is evident from almost all the popular websites. Though I am not a habitual believer I often read my predictions just for amusement.

    In fact, on many occasions I have felt that, this nagging luck factor has not been favoring me. Is it true that luck is in only for those who are born with the silver spoon or born under an auspicious star? In my view to be a successful businessman, this phenomenon is also an important element. I thought I must make a through study of it, to know more about it’s whereabouts, source of its availability and the price to pay for it. How long must I wait and watch as others at work zoom past me with half the effort? To achieve success, I made several aggressive efforts and carried out quixotic projects that many businessmen try out and invariably in the end, I found myself beating the air. If there were four wrong ways and only one correct way, I would always take five tries to get things right, If at all, I did keep trying that long. Often I didn’t. But that does not mean all my efforts were without any forethought or proper planning.  Yet it is a difficult task because analysis, solutions and decisions, in real life, have to be made in an uncertain environment. Furthermore, no matter how careful our decision-making process is, it is unlikely that all outcomes would be always favorable. Often, I use to wonder, if I would ever enjoy being able to decide my own fate and imagined what it would be like to turn on a steady flow of good luck. I have learnt that being lucky is a skill, just like any other skill. As one learns and practices it, one gets better and luckier. Here are the practically experienced summery of successful tips, written by many authors World over that can greatly enhance one’s luck.

Lucky people don’t believe in luck. Almost all the unusually successful people never believe in luck. It is the sheer hard work, dedication and wholehearted involvement in the work that matters. They don’t wait or look for random luck. They generate their own luck.

Lucky people look for the opportunity that’s always embedded in problems and in life’s inconveniences. “There is always a miracle in a mess.”
Lucky people are willing to start small and work their way up. They know what they want to accomplish and can visualize the end result in vivid details.
Lucky people never quit when they are holding a potentially winning hand. They drop a losing hand as quickly as possible. They know the difference.

Lucky people polish their people skills constantly because most opportunities are brought to them by others. They also develop a wide range of professional skills so that they are prepared when any opportunity knocks on the door.
Lucky people demonstrate flexibility. They are ready to face all the setbacks and detours that they encounter. They monitor their progress and make the appropriate adjustments and when a particular strategy isn’t working they just make a change and keep trying to achieve their goals.

Other than these simple things, however, naturally lucky people don’t do anything special at all. As far as I know, that proverbial born with the silver spoon or born under the auspicious birth star theories never seem to work in favor of us in real life, because, “ one has to do his own growing, no matter how tall his father was”.

I remember one quote from an unknown source.

“I do not know anything about luck; I have never banked on it, and am afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: hard work and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t”. “Diligence is the mother of good luck”.