Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Church of Our Lady of Light, Chennai

Church of Our Lady of Light (Tamil: பிரகாச மாதா ஆலயம்) is a Roman Catholic shrine in Chennai, India. It is commonly called as Luz Church by the locals, which derives from the Portuguese name Nossa Senhora da Luz. Built in 1516 by the Portuguese, it is one of the oldest Churches in the city and its foundation stone marks as one of the oldest European monuments in India. The history of the church dates back to the 16th-century legend of safe arrival to land by missionaries. The church is located very near to the Santhome Basilica, where Apostle Thomas is believed to be buried.
Although at the time the church was built, the locality was a thick forest, now it is part of a bustling metropolitan area. This 16th-century European-architecture building consists of patterns of Gothic arches and Baroque ornamentation. The feast of Our Lady of Light is celebrated on the 15 August every year. On 15 August, 2010, Church of Our Lady of Light was declared Shrine of Our Lady of Light by A. M. Chinnappa, Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore. From WIKI….

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Savitri Bhavan @ Auroville

Savitri Bhavan in Auroville is a centre dedicated to fostering a living sense of Human Unity through spiritual education based on the vision and teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The central focus is Sri Aurobindo’s mantric epic Savitri : a legend and a symbol, which the Mother has called ‘The supreme revelation of Sri Aurobindo’s vision’. 

Savitri Bhavan aims to gather and create, to house and make available all kinds of materials and activities that will foster a deeper appreciation of Savitri, of the lives, work and vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and of the aims and ideals of Auroville, in a space that breathes the atmosphere of Savitri.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Ostrich @ Guindy National Park

Guindy National Park is a  Protected area of Tamil Nadu, located in Chennai, South India, is the 8th smallest National Park of India and one of the very few national parks situated inside a city. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding Raj Bhavan, formerly known as the 'Guindy Lodge', the official residence of the Governor of Tamil Nadu, India. It extends deep inside the governor's estate, enclosing beautiful forests, scrub lands, lakes and streams.
At Children's park/Guindy National Park, Chennai:
The park has a role in both ex-situ and in-situ conservation and is home to 400 blackbucks, 2,000 spotted deers, 24 jackals, a wide variety of snakes, geckos, tortoises and over 130 species of birds, 14 species of mammals, over 60 species of butterflies and spiders each, a wealth of different invertebrates—grasshoppers, ants, termites, crabs, snails, slugs, scorpions, mites, earthworms, millipedes, and the like. These are free-ranging fauna and live with the minimal of interference from human beings. The only major management activity is protection as in any other in-situ conservation area. The park attracts more than 700,000 visitors every year. From Wiki..

Gandhi Mandapam @ CWA meet


Gandhi Mandapam is a series of memorial structures built on the arterial Sardar Patel Road, in Adyar, Chennai.Although it is referred singularly as Gandhi Mandapam, the complex comprises four other memorials of people of eminence such as Rettamalai Srinivasan, Rajaji, Kamaraj and Minjur Bhaktavatsalam. 




The most prominent of the structures is, however, the Gandhi Mandapam which is dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. It is built in a temple style and is the largest of the memorials in the complex.

These sketches are done with Ink pen, color pencils and water colors.


Thursday, August 7, 2014

Varalakshmi Vasuprada....

Varalakshmi Vrata is a festival to propitiate the goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, one of the Hindu Trinity. Varalakshmi is one who grants boons (Varam). It is an important pooja performed by many women in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and North Tamil Nadu. The Hindu festival going by the name 'Vara Lakshmi Vrata' is celebrated on the Second Friday or the Friday before full moon day - Poornima in the month of Śravaā, also called Śawan in Hindi and Aadi in Tamil which corresponds to the English months of July–August.


Varalakshmi Vrata is performed by married woman for the well being of all the family members, especially husband, to get progeny etc. It is believed that worshiping Goddess Varalakshmi on this day is equivalent to worshiping Ashtalaksmi – the eight goddesses of Wealth, Earth, Learning, Love, Fame, Peace, Pleasure, and Strength. Because of the popularity in some states of India, it is declared as an optional official holiday in India.

Done with Ink on Cartridge sheet.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

The Theosophy Society - Adyar


The Theosophy Society - Adyar is
 the name of a section of the Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. Its headquarters moved with Blavatsky and president Henry Steel Olcott to Adyar, an area of Chennai in 1883. The designation 'Adyar' is added to make it clear that this is the Theosophical Society headquartered there, after William Quan Judge was separated by Besant and formed his own organization, known as the "Theosophical Society - Pasadena", with its International Headquarters in Pasadena, California. From WIKI