Kolam by Sudha Balaji

Mango leaves are considered auspicious in South India.   We invariably find toran  made of mango leaves hung on the doorways of houses for festivals - Diwali, Sankranti, Varalakshmi Pooja Navratri and also during functions - house warming , Aksharabhyasam, baby showers etc. So kolam with mango leaves called maavilai kolangal are also important to emphasise happy occasions in our homes.  Above what we see is a collection of rangolis using these patterns. When drawn in white we  can decorate with geru to denote a function or festival. Rangoli auspicious Diwali  2 by 2 dots maavilai kolam 3 by 2 dots maavilai kolangal  4 by 4 dots mango  leaves rangoli  5 by 3 dots mango leaf rangoli 7 by 4 dots maavilai rangoli 9 by 5 dots maavilai kolam - different type maavialai thoranam kolam - 11 to 1 pulli design A very simple rangoli with 11 dots .  Still two steps have been shown to explain the design...

I went to this temple before Rama Navami to have a darshan of the Lord.  The Google map shows the route from Vandalur Zoo a very famous landmark in Chennai.  It is 4.7 km when we turn right near Tamil Nadu Police Academy in Unamancheri.  If you take the grey route shown in the map it goes through the village.  Take a right turn at the last right ,  you can see a small temple on the road. Proceed further towards the right .  You will reach the temple shown in the map after travelling through some narrow lanes in the village. Old temples in Chennai | Historic temples in Chennai  The temple is very beautiful in a serene atmosphere.  There is temple pond as is common in very old temples. This is the side view of the temple.  What we see in the front is Hanuman sannidhi.  On the left is the main temple.  The rare fact about this temple is  that Sri Rama, Sita Devi, Lakshman,  Bharat, Shatrughan idols are there in the t...