Srikalahasti Temple: The Abode of Lord Shiva in the South

Srikalahasteeswara Swami temple, located on the banks of the river Swarnamukhi, is an ancient Shiva temple in Srikalahasti Town of Chitoor district in Andhra Pradesh. It is also known as 'Dakshina Kailasam' (The abode of Lord Shiva in the South). Om Namah Shivaya. 

Nearest city/airport: Tirupati 35 km

Nearest railway station: Srikalahasti - well connected with Bangluru, Chennai, Secunderabad, etc.

Best Season To Visit : All

Languages : Telugu & English

Temple Timings : 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Photography : Not Allowed inside temple premises

The place is easily accessible today, the nearest railway line is 3 km and the Tirupati airport is 32 km away. A number of small and big hotels to suit every budget are available.

This is an old temple of Lord Shiva built around 12th century, famous for vayu linga, one of the Panchabhoota Sthalams, representing the wind. Lord Shiva in his aspect as Vayu is worshiped as Kalahasteeswara. 

The temple appears magnificent with its interior of old times: sculptures, carvings, huge premises, pillars, etc. 

Crowds are usually more during festive times, but otherwise its not a big problem. Managing a sea of devotees every day is indeed a mammoth task. We must thank the temple management, and the workers for this. Darshan tickets are available from Rs 20 onwards from one counter and the prasad can be collected from another counter. 

The Srikalahasti Temple is also believed to be associated with Rahu and Kethu, two of the nine celestial bodies in Indian astrology. People mostly visit here to perform the Kala Sarpa  pooja. The temple routinely conducts Rahu-Kethu Sarpa Dosha Nivarana Pujas, a ritual for which it attracts its thousands of devotees like me from all over the world. It assumes more significance during the holy month of Sravan. There are separate ticket counters for purchasing 'Dosha Puja' tickets. As costly as Rs 5000/-. 

Without this, it is very difficult to perform the puja. You get a bag containing puja items as two types of silver snakes, bitter leaf, two lemons, two types of grains and kumkum with turmeric, along with two pieces of cloth- black and red.

The priest conducts the puja, in batches of 50 or so devotees, explains the rituals and speak in Tamil, Telugu, English & Hindi. The lady servitors assist you properly.

For a 'Darshan' of the Lord Shiva, you spend an hour or more in the serpentine queue of devotees like you. You feel divine when your destiny does give you those precious few seconds in front of the Lord. Srikalahasti temple is simply a great temple. An unusually high sense of positive energy inside its premises. The aura is there to be felt and believed. One wonders how the Chola and Vijayanagara kings managed to build such an epitome of architecture and worship.

During the darshan, I could not hold my tears. Even today, I don't know why I cried. It was a rare emotion, something unique that I can't express in words. Something mysterious. My wife and I say let it stay as it is!

Follow the queue, the crowd will automatically lead you to the exit.

Srikalahasti skyline

Seven Gates of Krishna River Dam Srisailam Opened

Reservoir at Krishna River, Srisailam

Valley at River Krishna

7 of its gates opened

After the release

The legend of river Krishna is amazing. Between its source at Mahabaleswar, Maharashtra in the west and its delta at the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi, in Andhra Pradesh on the east coast, there are two big dams. Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar. The one at Srisailam is special. You can enjoy boating, generate electricity, or irrigate the fields - as you please. The valley view is breathtaking. This year the monsoon was generous. The floodgates opened and the river found its release in all its glory.

Kurnool, 18.8.18 

Following widespread rains in the catchment areas of Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers in Karnataka, Krishna River regains full glory....

- The water lever at Srisailam reservoir touched a peak of 881 feet

- Full reservoir level of 885 ft. 

- The reservoir now stores 195 tmc ft of water 

- Maximum capacity of 215 tmc ft. 

This has been made possible almost 55 days in advance this year.

Precautionary measure: Ban on travelling by boat

Water inflow into the reservoir was recorded at 3,60,000 cusecs.

Major Irrigation minister Devineni Uma has opened seven crest gates of Srisailam reservoir, releasing 1,22,368 cusecs of water into the downstream Nagarjunasagar. 

The minister said it augers well for the farming community. 

Both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have stepped up hydel power generation at Srisailam dam. All their units are functional and together are generating 1,470 MW.

The dam’s safety would be given highest priority as Srisailam was developing structural weakness ever since a ditch was formed in the plunge pool area. The minister said water would be released into all reservoirs, canals, and ayacut without any discrimination.

As per officials, the Nagarjuna Sagar dam had a water level of about 530 feet. The CWC has said that more water would enter Srisailam reservoir.

With this, the Krishna river flowing through Andhra has brought major relief to farmers in the region.

Then you visit the Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga Temple, situated on Shri Shaila Mountain by the banks of the Patal Ganga, Krishna River. Om Namah Shivaya. The place is not easily accessible even today, the nearest railway line is 100 km away. Dense forests, wide species of flora and fauna, hills and mountains - everything that a Nature lover asks for. Then you begin to wonder how such a huge Dravidian style temple with lofty towers and sprawling courtyards was built in the middle of such a valley sometime in the 14th century. No wonder, it is regarded as one of the finest examples of Vijayanagar architecture. It is also known as Kailash of the South, and is one of the greatest Shaivaite shrines in India.

Should an engineering student work in Indigo Airlines as ground staff as a customer relation executive?

Read Naleen Chandra's answer to Should an engineering student work in Indigo Airlines as ground staff as a customer relation executive? Is there a career in it? on Quora

Can renewables provide the relief ?

• What must be done to get some relief from costly electric power?
• What will it take to swap the roles of normal electric supply and renewables while fulfilling the energy needs?
• What should be done so that in at least 3 years time, renewables account for over 80 per cent of our energy consumption?
• What prevents us making a cleansing world of renewables?
• Do we always need to depend on the government to make true progress in renewable energy, while gradually replacing fossil fuels?
• Wouldn't it be great if we had an in-situ all-inclusive initiative, closer to the actual usage location, where our ideas would have a better chance of being realized practically?

Let us view some out-of-the-box ideas and study these questions.

All studies conclude that conventional electricity tariffs are unusually high, and that to handle the problem of high electric power costs, the concerned user must exponentially increase the generation of alternative means of energy or renewables.

It is also an accepted fact that renewables cannot fully replace conventional sources as the bulwark of the energy system- at least not in the immediate future.

A local from-the-bottom-up renewable energy strategy to complement the efforts of our central and state governments.

Such examples encourage decision makers involved in their energy needs to break out of the conventional straitjacket and to think in a different way about the future of the energy needs.

So here's a proposal. As an example.

This is a from-the-bottom-up comprehensive strategy. It's the "Renewable Energy" idea.

In a typical educational institution's site premises, there is considerable potential for renewable energy set up especially in solar. It can further be complimented by incorporating other real and potential forms like wind, hydel and geothermal.

Let a small area be spared from the institution's premises to install, develop and implement an energy system based for harnessing a range of renewable energy sources. Utilising such an area would serve as a strategy to apply human and financial resources on the most promising areas in an optimization process. It would be similar to setting up of an in-house power plant which is decentralized and begins only with locally available resources. The size of each such unit would be specific to a given area's real and potential energy sources. It would depend on the magnitude of energy sources, practical administrative considerations and distances that affect costs.

This approach allows even the most remotely located renewable energy sources, which sound like science fiction today to become a reality tomorrow. Thanks to technological progress.

The resulting energy matrix from this idea is :

Rows - all conceivable energy sources

Columns - specific points in time starting from the present and progressing at intervals of, for example, five years, which represent planning goals.

Cells - percentages of total energy consumption for each row category at a specific time.

The advantages: It serves as a basis for focusing and concentrating efforts and resources in the most likely areas to optimize the use of human and financial resources. It could serve as pilot projects that would help in making the best use of resources. Such an initiative is a force multiplier that can help the country move up the value chain, making Indian industry globally competitive.

These solutions may appear academic but who knows it might trigger a thought process that would lead finally to a better future.

The world has seen at regular intervals individuals whose dreams flouted rational acceptance but whose efforts brought significant visible changes in our lives. These people didn't allow traditional thought process to restrict their imagination.

Is there any organization which provides internship along with assistance in research projects to PG students in the field of renewable energy?

The biggest organisation is You. Yourself.

There is no such organisati1on in the country which does R&D on renewables. Internship is thus ruled out.

Government offices which claim so, can not be any more than packets of red tapism. The essence of any R&D is Sacrifice. Can you expect such a virtue from any government office? Can you expect a government official to renounce materialism from his life style? Will he like to undergo the struggles like you have been seeing?

Just speak to any head of various such institutions with offers like, “Sir, I want to buy any commercially viable technical know-how which you have R&Ded so far. I will set up an industry based on it and pay you the due royalty. I will even employ any of your researcher. Any of your retired or senior people are also welcome in my advisory board."

9 out of 10 such Directors will cut a sorry figure.

Please don't spend any time, money or your energy in search of anything like this. Instead, spend those resources on your own thing.

If you demo your renewable thing, you have done your job. Nobody is asking your certificate. The thing must work, be commercially viable. That thing is your certificate, your identity. That's all.

If that happens, tables are turned. All those government offices will start following you. You will command respect in industry. You get what you have been wanting. Such is the feature of the nature of renewable energy activity. You don't need to show any paper or paperwork. Only action. Results only matter.

How will that happen? Its a different story. You need counselling, to assess your stengths, weaknesses, tastes, etc.

Your idea, your thoughts, your initiatives will be indeed be considered as the seeds. You get your credit.

Do it yourself. Never rely on any institution.

How does air conditioning work? How are we able to create a cooler temperature?

There are a number of ways to condition air as per your comfort in terms of temperature, pressure, humidity, and purity of the air you live in.

To achieve this objective, extra energy is required.

To keep their homes cool and comfortable, some animals derive this energy from Nature itself. They have been doing this since the beginning of this creation; they did not go to any school nor did they undergo any course in air conditioning. They had to do this to survive. Humans have also started to adapt this today.

While some people use natural methods for air conditioning, some use artificial methods. While some people detest spending any money for buying comfort, some people agree to put money for the comfort they get in return.

The artificial methods generally comprise of use of electricity driven man made machines which bring along cost of production, installation, maintenance and operation. By virtue of being a machine, it has its own limitations. Wear and tear, limited capacity, maintenance issues, to name a few.

The said orthodox machine works on a common vapour cycle system using a refrigerant. Eg., ammonia, freon, or others. Alternate cycles of compressing and expanding the refrigerant give the desired cooling. Here extra energy from outside is needed. Here half the input energy goes waste.

The same or somewhat better result can be obtained using natural means. Here no external input energy (electricity) is needed. Its a self contained system. Solar, wind, hydel and geothermal forms of energy come handy. Depending upon the resources available at the site, an optimum system is to be designed. With capacity not being a constraint, being environment friendly and having sufficient potential to be scaled up, the system gains a more favored status.

Cost of operations, thus, disappear in natural methods.

The natural method requires a set up to fulfill the purpose. The installation, lay out, pipe lines and other items become part of the building or the space to be air-conditioned. The underlying principles of its working are: differential temperatures create differential pressures which actually facilitate the air flow. Geothermal sinks absorb infinite amount of heat. Differences in source and sink temperatures have the capability to produce mechanical work - well within the realm of the 2nd law of thermodynamics. It is up to Man to understand, interpret and apply this naturally available feature to fulfill his own needs.

This does not consume electricity. Rather it has spare capacity. You may produce electricity, if you please.

Even when the outside temperature is above 40 deg C, the inside remains a cool 23 deg C. It becomes a matter of throwing out warm stale air and allowing fresh ambient air inside after passing it through a network of geothermal coolers.

Should I go for a job after class 12th? I really want to study, but my family is insisting that I find a job.

Do not refuse a job opportunity.


If you or your family are having financial problems, then you must earn first. It becomes a matter of survival.
There are a few relevant sayings which must always be kept in mind. Nobody can deny them, and everybody accepts it. The quotes are :

• No job is a mean job,

• Beggars are no choosers,

• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,

• One’s identity is one’s personality, not one’s degrees or the post one holds,

• Opportunity knocks at your door only once.

• Lady Luck may not smile on you every time

No job is a small job. Everybody has to struggle initially. A govt or a big company can not work without class 4 jobers. No police or military can command power without its jawans. Every shop needs salesmen to look after the counters. Today you may get a break as a courier delivery boy and you then thank your stars.
Most of the success stories are 'rags to riches' stories. One guy joined a bank after 12th as a clerk and later he became the general manager. Today, you may be a courier boy but later you might have your own courier company if you play your cards right. A group of working constables formed a security agency after gaining experience and quit their jobs. Nobody can gain without suffering pain. 6 out of every 10 waiters successfully run their own hotels later. Ask any shop owner in your neighborhood his past. You will come to know that either the present owner of the shop or his previous generation was a grass root worker a few years ago.
By all means go for the job. The more time you spend here, the more experience you gain. Your seniority, perks, etc. also increase. It is true that you won't get a high starting salary in a job after 12. Please note that you are a single 18 yo, your expenses are also less. Here you earn Rs 50 a day, while your friends at school spend Rs 500 a day. Later they all realize that it was useless.
Nowadays, your growth prospects in the job are not considered on the basis of your certificates. If you develop your skills, aptitude and crafts suitably, you become indispensable for the company.
Work is an education in itself. Whatever work you'll be doing, all those topics in english, hindi, physics, chemistry, biology, maths, history, geography, commerce, economics, philosophy, engineering, medical or law can be found in the work you do. It is up to you to interpret.
First earn and then learn. Education is to learn how to learn.
Today’s text books carry stories and achievements of people who themselves did not attend any school or were school drop-outs.
The guardians of our education system did not follow this, and the result is chaos all around.
The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) continues to be jolted with one embarrassment after another. One of its former chiefs is already in prison for his corrupt acts. Peons of the exam board sell thousands of candidates’ answer sheets to scrap dealers.
One candidate fought with great hardship a case in High Court to recheck her answer sheet. She had been declared failed but ended up in top 10. Throughout the case, the Board showed arrogance.
Recently, the Patna High court while noting the ''negligible behavior'' of the BSEB officials, imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on it for deliberately flunking Saurabh Kumar, a student of Class 12, in one subject in 2017. The board had to confess of a ''clerical error'' before the High Court during a hearing.
Saurabh got 32 marks in the Alternative English, but after he requested the board for a scrutiny of his answer sheet, he got 2 marks. Then he approached the Patna High Court for relief.
In June 2018, the Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE, was found responsible for erroneous revaluation and gross carelessness. It miscalculated up to 55 marks in class 10 and 12 board papers. It toyed with the careers of the students causing great hard ships to them. Earlier in 2017 the CBSE had abolished the revaluation process, but had to reintroduce only because of Delhi High Court’s ruling.
There are a number of other similar victims. But, everyone can not fight like Saurabh.
Does such a CBSE or a BSEB deserve a candidate like you? 
Their own houses are not in order. All such exam boards are fast losing their credibility.
If you still feel like studying please remember that there is no school or college left which does anything useful for the society. More than 90% of engineering pass-outs are unemployable. A number of colleges have already been shut down. Half the seats remain vacant as there are no takers. The so-called researchers get away with fake research papers. It has been proved beyond suspicion that the education system in our country is a farce. As such, thinking about study at a school or obtaining a degree is just a waste of time, resource and energy.
Well, you can do both, if you really want. And that too at your terms. If you really have a passion to study then you can do distance education while at the job. You can enroll in a non-attending (dummy) school just for the sake of attendance.





Nowadays, as we all know it is very difficult to get a job. When a person gets a job, the first thing he does is he thanks his stars. He eventually got a break. Now, he can fulfill all his dreams.