A New Name For Ghumakkad

"Swamiji, this is Commodore Harsh Bhargava", said Mrs Nina Nanda while introducing Ghumakkad to Chinnajeeyar Swamiji. She added, "He writes a blog titled Ghumakkad which has interesting stories for everyone to read".

Swamiji nodded and asked, "What did you say was the name of the blog?"

Mrs Nanda replied, "Ghumakkad."

Swamiji playfully quipped with a broad smile "Awaara आवारा !" 

Hearing this new moniker for Ghumakkad, we were a bit stunned yet laughed since awaara in Hindi roughly means a wanderer who roams freely without a fixed purpose or home. Ghumakkad sure has a home but his travels and writings cover a wide spectrum. Like awaara!  Ghumakkad then said, "Thank you Swamiji. This new name now calls for another story by Ghumakkad." To which a beaming Swamiji replied, " No. no. I just said that in a lighter vein!" The picture below says it all. Ghumakkad can not be seen in the picture as he was behind the lens.

And thus Ghumakkad got a new name. Christened by none other than His Holiness Tridandi Chinna Srimannarayana Ramanuja Jeeyar Swamiji, addressed as Chinnajeeyar Swamiji in short. He is the man who conceived and created the Statue of Equality (SOE) on the outskirts of Hyderabad. He tirelessly promotes global peace, Vedic wisdom, non-violence, and mutual respect for all living beings. More about the SOE later.

80th Birthday of a Volunteer

We, some of the friends of Mrs Nanda had been invited to the SOE campus to celebrate her 80th Birthday. Mrs Nanda former Principal of Army Public School Secunderabad is a renowned teacher, scholar and mentor. After the untimely demise of her husband Col Nanda few years ago, she moved to SOE campus and devotes her time to the cause of education. We admire her spirit of community service and giving back to the society. Ghumakkad has a special connection with her. Both come form the Navy. Her father Commodore Sethi also served the Navy with distinction many decades ago. We all wished her continued good health in the years ,to come. Sharing below few pictures of her 80th Birthday in the SOE Campus.

Sri Ramanuja Acharya

According to the website www.statueofequality.org, 'The Statue of Equality was built to honour the life, teachings, and contributions of Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja Acharya (1017-1137 AD), one of the greatest philosophers, saints, and spiritual leaders of India.' He was an icon of equality and social reform more than 1000 years ago. The SOE stands as a tribute to his vision of equality, devotion, and inclusivity. According to Ramanuja Acharya, equality encompasses equality across gender, religions and castes. Some of his simple yet relevant messages are:

• Shed your ego. 
• Serve all beings as service to God.
• Serve society which is the universal form of God.

Sri Ramanuja devoted his life bringing people from all walks of life together. See an artist's impression below, courtesy SOE website.

108 Divya Desams

Around the base of the SOE 108 Divya Desams (meaning "Divine Abodes" or "Holy Places") have been constructed. These are scaled down versions of the original holy places from across India. For example the Divya Desams at SOE include Ayodhya, Dwaraka, Thirumala, Kanchipuram and so on. We were not permitted to take our cameras inside the Divya Desams. Sharing few pictures taken from the SOE photographer and their publications.

Statue of Equality

The SOE has been constructed in a sprawling 45 acre campus. The visitors can book darshan online. It involves fair amount of walking inside the campus. Those in need, wheelchairs with assistants are available. There are elevators to climb up to the higher floors .Dress code is to be followed by all and the entry is ticketed. See the layout map below.

The entire premises built in sandstone with exquisite carvings, is simply spectacular. There is plenty of parking for vehicles. From the parking lot, e-carts transport the visitors to the entry gates. All the arrangements are very well managed by a team of volunteers. 

Few salient features of the SOE campus are:

• 216 feet tall outdoor statue made of panchloha 'Five metals'
• World's 2nd tallest statue in a seated posture

• 120-kg inner sanctum Golden Ramanuja

• Architectural fusion across Hoyasala, Vijayanagara, Chola, Pallava and Kakatiya architectures
• 108 Divya Desams
• 54 feet high base which has a library and research centre

• JIVA- Jeeyar Integrated Vedic Academy
• JIMS- Jeeyar Institute of Medical Sciences
• JIMS Homeopathy Medical College & Hospital,
• JIVA Ashram and Goshala
• A musical fountain, laser show, and a food court. 

We share below few more pictures of visitor-stops taken from SOE publications as cameras and cell phones are not permitted inside. The SOE also has a paid audio tour for self-guided tour of the campus.

At last our cellphones were released. Here is a picture showing the happiness on getting back the 'khazana' खज़ाना (like a treasure)!

The SOE has emerged as a must see stop on the Hyderabad tourist circuit. Did our pictures tickle you for a visit?

SOE In KBG Contest

Ghumakkad had featured the SOE in one of the episodes of the online contest called 'Kaun Banega Ghumakkad' (KBG). A total of 80 episodes of KBG have been designed and conducted so far. You may browse KBG-21, the picture story on SOE by clicking the link below:

Name the location of the Statue and share a picture taken by you - KBG-21 had more than 400 online participants. Winners included one from Rajasthan. The SOE campus was still being developed at that time in 2019 as can be seen in the picture reproduced below.

We close with a picture of Ghumakkad with the Vaishnavite tilak, known as Urdhva Pundra, is a vertical U-shaped mark applied to the forehead to represent the feet of Lord Vishnu, symbolizing surrender and protection. Traditionally made with Gopi Chandan (clay) or sandalwood, it features two vertical lines connected at the bridge of the nose, often with a central Tulsi leaf shape, signifying the devotee as a walking temple. It was applied to my forehead by a volunteer before entering the Ramanuja Temple using a u-shaped ladle like spoon dipped in sandalwood paste. 

Thanks for browsing, Stay connected .How do you like Ghumakkad's new name 'Awaara'?

Do leave a comment. Few words are enough to encourage us.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Secunderabad/ 23rd March 2026

@SOEHyderabad #statueofequality #SriRamanujaAcharya #1017AD #panchaloha #panchdhatu #fivemetals #divyadesams #JIVA #JeeyarSwami #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #awaaraghumakkad #audiotour #musicalfountain #lasershow #urdhvapundra #108divyadesams

'Dance Like A Man'

Odisha is often celebrated for its rich and living cultural legacy—from the exquisite Pattachitra paintings and the vibrant appliqué craft of Pipli, to the timeless elegance of Sambalpuri saris, the legendary artistry of Kelucharan Mohapatra, and the enduring grace of the Gotipua dance tradition.  

Gotipua is a traditional dance form historically linked to the famous Puri Jagannath Temple as it developed around it. The dance tradition is believed to have emerged between the 16th and 18th centuries, when the older temple dance tradition performed by female dancers declined. (Wikipedia helped us with this nugget of information)

To continue the ritual and the performance traditions connected with temple culture, young boys were trained to dance and perform in female costume. These boys were called “Goti pua”. Goti meaning “single” and pua meaning “boy”.

The very idea --young boys being trained to embody a tradition built on delicate expression and feminine grace challenged everything we thought our editorial advisor knew about how classical dance is learned, performed and even imagined!

When we first heard about Gotipua we smiled politely—and quietly doubted it--young boys, dressed and trained to perform with such softness and lyrical grace? It sounded almost too extraordinary to be true!

And then we watched a performance! The moment the music began and the young boys stepped onto the stage, disbelief gave way to wonder. The dancers’ movements flowed like silk in the air, every gesture shaped with care, every glance alive with emotion. Strength hid behind tenderness, discipline shimmered beneath ease, and what we had imagined as novelty revealed itself as pure artistry.

We had come curious.

We stayed spellbound.

Sharing few pictures and videos of a live Gotipua performance in Puri, Odisha recently.

Readers may browse the video below to get a real feel of Gotipua performance. Their acrobatics-like sequences can be seen in the YouTube video below.

Another video below shows the entry of the dancers posing as Lord Krishna's chariot.

Next video shows the Invocation, prayers for the Gods to bless the dancers and the world around them.

We thank Kashi and Madhu Mitra for arranging an exclusive performance of Gotipua for our BITS Batch Reunion in Puri recently. It was so inspiring to see the boys pursuing their school studies as well as learn this unique dance form at the Gurukul in Raghurajpur village. In fact their Gurus (teacher-cum-mentor) also accompanied the boys to the venue. He could be seen with the live music team on the left in one of the pictures above.

The teacher later revealed that out of the six, only one dancer was a girl. Although Gotipua has been traditionally learnt and performed by boys dressed as girls, the Gurukul at Raghurajpur broke from the tradition and has trained girls (if they are physically fit) to perform alongside the boys. Talk of gender equality in India! This is the finest example we can think of. Can you guess which Gotipua dancer is the only girl in the picture below?

Bet you couldn't guess it right! She is the 5th dancer from the left standing in the front row. Beaten? Zoom the picture and focus on the feet of the dancers. All of them are wearing ghunghroos whereas only one dancer is wearing a silver payal in addition! 

We all thanked the Gotipua team and gave them a standing ovation.

Thanks are also due to Padma Ramesh for her research and editorial support. She had earlier written a guest story on Iceland which can be browsed here.

Other Indian Dance Forms

Readers may browse our earlier story on Indian dance forms. The picture story which was created to commemorate the World Dance Day, shows various dance forms across the states of India. It also has few PQs-- picturesque quotes superimposed on pictures shot by Ghumakkad -- like the one reproduced below. "Dance is the hidden language of the soul", said Martha Graham famously.

Dances of India and Overseas - experience the dance forms across India as well as the UAE and East Africa.

Feel free to add to the above story.

Closing with a picture of Ghumakkad with the Gotipua dancers. It was an unforgettable performance indeed.

Whether you are a dancer or not, we hope you got our message 'Dance like a Man'!

Thanks for browsing. Do leave a comment, few words will do. It will encourage us.

Stay connected.

   -Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Secunderabad and Puri/ 15th March 2026

Postscript 17th March: Many readers had requested for the contact details of the Gotipua Gurukul. Their business card is appended below:

#gotipua #odisi #indiandanceforms #odisha #puri #jagannathdham #traditionaldanceforms #gurukul #raghurajpur #danclikeaman #boysdressedasgirls #abhinaya #grace #reunion #bits1968batch #pilani #bitsians #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

 

An Evening In Paris

Remember that iconic song 'An evening in Paris' from a Hindi movie by the same name?

The lyrics of that song from 1967 romantic thriller went something like:

अजी ऐसा मौका फिर कहाँ मिलेगा 

हमारे जैसा दिल कहाँ मिलेगा ?

आओ तुम को दिखलाता हूँ 

पेरिस की एक रंगीं शाम 

देखो देखो देखो देखो देखो 

An evening in Paris!

This story is inspired by the title of the above film. We take you around Paris through the lens of Akanksha, our daughter. As the lyrics of the above song say, "Where else will you get a chance like this?"

Readers may listen to the title song on YouTube.

Ghumakkad takes you to Paris just for an evening and that too in winter! Once again courtesy our daughter Ashi. She took the train from Amsterdam to Paris and back. She has shared some pictures taken recently. 

The photographer stayed in Paris for another day. So, we have some more daytime pictures of Paris but without the sunshine of the summer. But as I said earlier, gloomy weather of the winter poses more challenges for the photographer. And Ashi has done it well. Thank you Ashi once again.

Who wouldn't like to be in Paris on the Valentine's Day? Experience it through Ashi's lens. 

The Sacred Heart Basilica

The Arc De Triomphe

Notre Damne

Paris- The Olympics City 2026

The photographer on location!

Ashi had earlier shared the pictures of her short stay at Amsterdam a few days ago. We had posted a picture story linked below.

Amsterdam in Winter - No Tulips, yet a beautiful place. But yes, you can buy Tulip Hand Bags for the ladies as shown in the picture below. Moving at its own pace, people still feed the pigeons in the city square there.

Thanks for browsing. Stay connected and do leave a comment. It encourages us.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Akanksha Bhargava/ 10th March 2026/ Secunderabad and Paris

#francebytrain #eurorail #aneveninginparis #parisdiary  #amsterdam #Cellphonephotography #akanksha #twokidsandpoetry #travelfun #powrofobservation #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #amsterdam #tulips