Drive from Milan to Mantua

The drive from Milan to Mantua was scenic. I kept clicking pictures through out the drive, sharing with you a couple of them.



Mantua is surrounded by artificial lakes which receive water from the River Mincio. A glimpse of the lake as I crossed it.

Outdoor Wednesday

Watery Wednesday

The Lady At The Temple

I always make it a point to visit temples in the morning, as early as possible. It is that time of the day when not many devotees are around, and inside the temple complex I find the atmosphere so different. It is open to the vast sky above but surrounded by huge walls as if accepting only blessings from up above and trying to prevent the not so pious surroundings from entering the pious complex.

There are huge stone slabs all around, one can sit and spend time watching the various temple activities. The devotees around the pools for purification and cleansing, devotees doing their pradakshinas, some of them around the small shops in the complex purchasing the ritual items for worship are all a sight to see… so common yet so different.


It was during one of the pradakshinas I was taking around the Devarajaswamy Temple, Kanchipuram I came across this sight of an old lady filling lamps with ghee(Indian clarified butter). She was pouring ghee in to the lamps with so much of concentration and devotion, I stood still watching her just like my daughters were. It looked such an interesting activity that I found myself wanting to do the same thing.


Initially the lady was hesitant to look at me and I was equally hesitant to take her shots. Then a ten rupee note broke the ice between us. She paused at her work and posed for me. Each lamp sells for five rupees she said, as I continued taking her shots. They would be purchased by the devotees who would light them and offer them in thanksgiving to the deity of the temple. All the while my mind was calculating: the lamp, the wick, ghee together will surely cost more than five rupees, then, what is her profit? Labor charges??

Basilica di Sant'Andrea, Mantua

22nd April, 2010, we left for Bologna from Milan after the night halt there. On the way we halted at two cities Mantua and Modena. Mantua was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 based on its renaissance planning and architecture.



Another reason to halt there was to see Basilica di Sant’Andrea, which is reputed to safeguard the Sacred Vessels that hold 'the earth soaked with blood of Christ'. The Church closes for an hour and half midday, so we ended up spending more time in Mantua waiting for the church to open. During this period we toured the other must sees there.



The church is huge, dimly lit inside. The sacred containers are beneath a marble octagon in front of the altar. They are taken out for public display and paraded in the town every year on Good Friday. It is believed that Longinus, the Roman soldier who speared Christ on the cross, is said to have scooped up the earth and buried it in Mantua after leaving Palestine.

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'Frames of Freedom'

Freedom is like air, you breathe it in and never think of it until it runs out.

-Unsourced, Anonymous

Participating in blogadda's photo contest.

Mole Antonelliana, Turin

The final and major landmark I saw at Turin was Mole Antonelliana. It is famous as Eiffel Tower of Turin. Better keep few hours in hand to visit the museum inside and to have a mesmerizing view of this city from the top, an elevator built within takes you up there. There was a long queue when I was there so, unfortunately had to miss the experience of visiting the tallest museum in the world.



167m high (the link has interesting description about how the monument got its final height) building; all I did there was crick my neck to get a good view of the structure. ((Deep sigh!))It used to be a Jewish synagogue, now houses the National Museum of Cinema.

Watch more sky shots at Skywatch Friday.

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Porta Palatina, Turin

At Torino (Turin) I saw one of world’s oldest conserved Roman gates. Porta Palatina, the Roman entrance to the city is a part of the remains of the city of Augusta Taurinorum, founded by Romans in 28 B.C. The polygonal towers are later additions to the original structure. The merlons atop the right tower are from 1404.


The statues of Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar look majestic.

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Palazzo Madama, Turin

Palazzo Madama, Turin was built at the site occupied by a gate in the Roman walls belonging to the first century B.C. This palazzo was made over the ruins of a fortress from the middle ages. As I entered the building I was stunned to see the ruins showcased below. Tourists were walking over thick glass panes held in place by strong metallic structures. All of us were actually walking over those ruins.



I have not seen such a wonderful display of ancient buildings before. We could actually see the staircases of that medieval era, the doorways, and the arches.

The whole building is a harmonious mixture of ancient, medieval and modern architecture.

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Bridge over Krishna River, Bijapur

These are the shots of the road bridge over Krishna River 50kms south of Bijapur, Karnataka. We halted somewhere in the middle of the bridge to take shots of the river flowing by. Other than the views over the river, the bridge itself provided some interesting compositions.


A very long bridge, bending over on both sides, it seemed to me as if the bridge was disappearing and merging into the horizon. With not much of traffic on the bridge, I walked this side to that side taking shots, I took some quick vertical shots to get the effect of 'the bridge dissolving into the horizon'.

And then on an impulse I said, “Warn me if something speeds up from behind,” before I stood there in the middle of the road to take this shot. What do you think? Is that a fire engine?

To see more bridges visit Sunday Bridges.

Castor and Pollux

The entrance to Palazzo Reale is guarded by the statues of two mythical twins, Castor and Pollux. The statues looked majestic in spite of their worn off green color.

The local legend is that they watch over the border between the ‘sacred’ (white magic) and ‘diabolical’ (black magic) halves of the city. (If you believe in that sort of things.)


Turin is a point on an international triangle of white magic; the other points being in Prague and Lyon. The equestrian statues represent Castor and Pollux, the Dioscuri twins of Greek and Roman mythology and of the zodiac sign Gemini. When Castor was slain in battle, Pollux begged his father, Jupiter, to let him follow Castor into the underworld. Moved by Pollux's love for his twin, Jupiter instead decided the two would share the fate of life and death by spending one day under the earth and the next in the heavenly abodes. Here in Turin, they guard an invisible line where the sacred and diabolical parts of the city meet.

Watch more sky shots at Skywatch Friday.

Lavazza, Italian Coffee

Lavazza coffee, Italian’s favorite coffee, originated in Turin.


Luigi Lavazza founded in 1895, the Lavazza coffee company in Turin. The coffee was bought raw, and then roasted and blended according to very personal recipes depending on the customers' requests. Today Lavazza is the undisputed market leader of espresso in Italy (with almost 45% of the total coffee market in 2004) and is present in over 60 countries.

And I had this coffee in its place of origin.

See more BEVERAGES here.

Other Interesting Sights and Sites of Turin

Turin is a very exciting mix of ancient buildings and modern skyscrapers. The old buildings still retained their charm and magic. Museums, palaces, theatres, churches, cafes, all were in abundance there. If there was something lacking, it was the time in our hand.

We visited the Palazzo Reale – the royal Palace of Turin. It has a grand entrance, the interiors royal with rich tapestries, exquisite Chinese and Japanese vases. It is a pity that photography was not permitted. It is just three months now and my memories have worn off quite a bit, wish there were photographs to refresh them.


Below is the view from the rear of Palazzo Madama. A dark grey monument, one of the various UNESCO World Heritage monuments scattered in Turin. The rear part has been restored and maintains an ancient look while the front part of this Palazzo has modern designs in white stone. Today it houses museum with collection of rare artifacts.


The most spectacular was the remains of Roman amphitheatre; this belongs to first century BC. It is in ruins today, yet the atmosphere around it was silencing, history untouched by the modern structures coming around it. I hope it survives the wear and tear of time for many many more years.

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A Bridge and a Setting Sun

A tiny bridge over a water body; we happened to cross it sometime last year while touring Tamil Nadu the southernmost state of India. The bridge was of simple construction but it definitely seemed to be the lifeline of that area.


As I was approaching the bridge I could clearly see the sun set in the distant horizon. The whole scene looked so beautiful I had to stop. It looked straight out of a picture story book to me. I had to stop to capture the moment. Vehicles zoomed past, their drivers had no time to stand and admire and I wondered how could they not?


I spotted a bicycle left reclining against a tree. To me the cycle against the water reflecting sun’s setting rays looked mesmerizing and I froze those moments. When I see the shots now, they carry me back to that same peaceful ambiance.

Sunday Bridges

Rorrel Has An Itch

Rorrel had a severe bout of itch some time back. Thankfully it did not last long. But it was fun watching it struggle to scratch all parts of its body. The squirrels roll in the dust; probably it is their way of getting rid of mites and fleas in their fur. Or another reason could be it was itching from molting. Squirrels get itchy and scratch their fur our out when they molt.

I was lucky to get some shots of Rorrel in action. Hope you will enjoy seeing them.

All set to itch.

That leg was moving at >100mph.

Now my left leg

Aaah... itchy right there!

See my other posts on my wild pet:
1. Squirrel watching.
2. Rorrel, My Squirrel.

Piazza del Duomo, Milan

Piazza del Duomo is the Milan Duomo’s surrounding plaza. Today it is the hub for all kinds of celebrations and festivals in the city.

The equestrian statue of Vittorio Emanuele II in the center of this Piazza, it was put up there in 1876.

Watch more sky shots at Skywatch Friday.

The One Minute Writing Blog

A couple of weeks back I took part to write for a prompt in the One Minute Writer blog. The prompt was ‘FRAME’.

The One Minute Writer is a very interesting blog by C. Beth. A unique idea, prompts are given each day of the week. The way it works is something like this:
1. Read the daily writing prompt.
2. Push "Play" on the timer on the right side of the screen.
3. Spend 60 seconds or less writing a response to the daily prompt.

For the prompt ‘Frame’ one had to write about: If you could frame a moment of your life, and experience it again every time you saw it, what moment would you choose? I am glad to mention here that my response was judged as the best response for the day. It was:

Given a chance I would like to frame the moment when I saw my first child rise up on her tiny feet and took the first step forward. She did not falter one bit and a prayer slipped out of my mind, may she always be able to take confident steps throughout her life.

Well, it didn’t end there. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself as the winner of the week from 7/12 to 7/17. It meant from the five daily winners of that week, my response was judged the best. I am so thrilled.

Hop over to her blog and try out your writing skills. It can help
- English teachers looking for journaling ideas for their students.
- Bloggers with writer's block.
- Writers who want to start journaling daily.
- Toastmasters looking for Table Topics prompts.

Go! Write! All the best!

The Holy Shroud of Turin

On reaching Turin, the first place we headed to was the chapel of the Holy Shroud, Turin’s Duomo. Duomo Di San Giovanni was built between 1491 and 1498 on the site of three 14th century basilicas. The tower in the left is the bell tower designed by Juvarra and built in 1723. Admission was free and photography permitted without flash and tripods. The dim lighting in the interiors made the job of taking photographs difficult. The interior is extremely beautiful with huge paintings and statues.


I was awed by the sight of the photocopy of Holy Shroud. The feeling is unexplainable. The Shroud of Turin (or Turin Shroud) is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. If this shroud is real then it is AMAZING and even if it is not true just imagine the knowledge and technique that must have gone into creating something like this, centuries back. The shroud has been a mystery ever since it was discovered.



This photocopy is on permanent display in front of the cathedral’s altar. The crowd around this was enormous, no way could I reach it, I took shots from a distance with my zoom lens and unfortunately there were shakes in most of my shots.

The forensic survey of the Shroud image shows that the man who was wrapped in it had been hit hours before the death. Various bruises are on the face with swelling more on the right side of it than on the left one.

Moreover, it shows marks of bruised wounds especially near the eyebrows. The nose is diverted due to a fracture above the eyebrow area and left and right cheek bones, a disfigurement of the right eye, seepage of blood from the mouth which appears somewhat distorted compared with the line of the eyebrows. The characteristic upside down y-shaped imprint on the forehead reveals a brow knitted in agony. Many seepages of blood from bruises caused by a small diameter point are in forehead, neck and hair. These bruises are radiating around the head to its top and seem to be caused by the imposition of a helmet of thorns. It is important to notice the seepage of blood at the centre of the forehead from a wound of the frontal vein, in the shape of a reversed '3', because it follows frontal wrinkles. The horizontal dark lines defining the face and the back are caused by some folds of the tissue.

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