Incredible India - Video of Karnataka Temples in Belur and Halebidu

#SridharPeddisetty #IncredibleIndia #Karnataka #Temples #Historic #WorldHeritageSites #Heritage #Hindu #Belur #Halebidu #PlacestoVisit
As part of Incredible India series, this video is of Temples in Belur and Halebidu in Hasana district of Karnataka, India.

Positive attitude defines your successful career

#SridharPeddisetty, #Leadership, #Management, #Cultural, #Argentina, #Inspirational.

“Live your everyday extraordinary!” ― Charles F. Glassman

I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me.

He handed me a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wasu, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, I read the card. It said: Wasu's Mission Statement:
To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wasu said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'

I said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'

Wasu smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, lassi, water and orange juice.'

Almost stuttering, I said, 'I'll take a Lassi.'

Handing me my drink, Wasu said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Hindu, Times of India, ET and India Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wasu handed me another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wasu told me that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.

Then he advised me of the best route to my destination for that time of day. He also let me know that he'd be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wasu,' I was amazed and asked him, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wasu smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard about power of choice one day.'

'Power of choice is that you can be a duck or an eagle.'

'If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. Stop complaining!'

'Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'

'That hit me right,' said Wasu.

'It is about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' I said.

'It sure has,' Wasu replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on it.'

Wasu made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

Above is a WhatsApp forward so source is unknown but the message is worth sharing. We mostly underestimate the power of choice we make everyday and its worth reminding ourselves so often that its our positive attitude towards every aspect of life, which is what makes it a successful journey. 

Have you realized your power of choice today? 

Note: Above picture is clicked by me in the historical Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral

Note: Positive attitude defines your successful career was originally published in LinkedIn

Metropolitan Cathedral - Buenos Aires

#SridharPeddisetty, #Argentina, #BuenosAires, #Travel, #TravelPhotography, #PlacesToVisit. 
These snaps are of the historical Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, one of the most beautiful Cathedrals with amazing architecture and serene beauty within, which is built in 17th century. The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral is the main Catholic church in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the city center, overlooking Plaza de Mayo, on the corner of San Martín and Rivadavia streets, in the San Nicolás neighborhood.

Random pictures of Buenos Aires, Argentina - I

#SridharPeddisetty, #Argentina, #BuenosAires, #Travel, #TravelPhotography, #PlacesToVisit. 
Below are some of the random pictures clicked on the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina














And below are couple of uploaded videos from drone footage showcasing mystifying beauty of Buenos Aires

Incredible India - Temples in Gwalior

As part of Incredible India series, this post is for various Temples in Gwalior located in historical Gwalior city of Madhya Pradesh, a central state in India.

Referring Wiki, Saas-Bahu ka mandir (Mother-in-law - Daughter-in-law's Temple), or Sahastrabahu Temple, is located to the east of Gwalior Fort. Built in 1092 by King Mahipala of the Kachchhapaghata (Kachchhwaha) dynasty, this temple is one of the greatest architectural marvels situated by Gwalior Fort. 


It was named SahastraBahu, depicting Lord Vishnu with a thousand hands. Lord Vishnu was worshiped by the wife of Kachchhapaghata's king, but when his son's wife came, she became a devotee of Lord Shiva. Thus, another temple beside Vishnu temple was built, where Lord Shiva was worshiped by the wife of the king's son. Collectively, these two temples were named 'Sas-Bahu temple', meaning the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law's temple.


Teli Ka Mandir is an ancient temple, which is located in the Gwalior Fort complex and is famous for its splendid architecture. Teli Ka Mandir is built in 11th century and considered the oldest temple of the Gwalior Fort. It is a Brahmanical sanctuary and was refurbished between 1881 and 1883, having a blend of south and north Indian architectural styles.


Sun Temple built by the Aditya Birla Trust is the second Temple dedicated to Sun in India (Konark Sun Temple being the first) and is an exact replica of the famous Konark Sun Temple, Odisha. 




As part of Incredible India series, I had earlier shared blog posts on Karnataka Road Trip, Qutub Minar, Golconda Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Temples in Delhi, Bird Watching, Gwalior Fort & Gwalior Palace Museum.

Incredible India - Golconda Fort

As part of Incredible India series, this post is for Golconda Fort located in Hyderabad, India. 

Ref. wikipedia, Golconda, also known as Golkonda or Golla konda ("shepherd's hill"), a ruined fort of Southern India and capital of medieval Golconda Sultanate (c.1518–1687). The Golconda fort was first built by Kakatiya as part of their western defenses. There is also a legend that a shepherd boy found an idol on the rocky hill called 'Mangalavaram'. This news reached the Kakatiya king, who was then ruling Golconda and ordered the construction of a mud fort around the holy spot. Later, the fort was expanded by the Qutub Shahi kings into a huge structure made of granite and it was built in 945 CE-970 CE on the lines of the Kondapalli fort. The city and fortress are built on a granite hill that is 120 meters (400 ft) high and is surrounded by massive crenelated ramparts. The fort was rebuilt and strengthened by Pratapa Rudra of Kakatiya dynasty.The fort was further strengthened by Musunuri Nayaks who overthrew the Tughlak army occupying Warangal. The fort was ceded by the Musunuri chief, Kapaya Nayaka to the Bahmanis as part of the treaty in 1364 AD. The fort became the capital of a major province in the Sultanate and after its collapse, the capital of the Qutb Shahi kings. The fort finally fell into ruins after a siege and its fall to Mughal emperor Aurangazeb in 1687 AD. Many famed diamonds are believed to have been excavated from the mines of Golkonda including Kohinoor 

Its worth taking a licensed guide to know interesting historical facts about the fort and click photos of significant history within the fort. There are more than 700 steps for climbing to the top but good % of historical significance can be experienced in the ground level itself. Fort is in ruins but still has wealth of historical stories to tell. It takes approximately 3 hours to cover the fort and depends upon how many snaps you would like to click. 

It is believed that there is a secret underground tunnel that leads from the "Durbar Hall" and ends in one of the palaces at the foot of the hill. The fort also contains the tombs of the Qutub Shahi kings. These tombs have Islamic architecture and are located about 1 km north of the outer wall of Golkonda. They are encircled by beautiful gardens and numerous exquisitely carved stones. Also there exists a tunnel connecting Charminar and Golconda, which was supposed to serve during wartimes as a source escape and according to our guide, it was also a route the King used to take his secret trip to witness the dance of a hindu dancer

Early in his reign, Quli became enamoured of a beautiful Hindu dancing girl named Bhagmati, to whom he assigned 1,000 cavalry as an escort. As time passed Golconda became very unhealthy through over-population, and in 1591 the king built a magnificent city a few miles away, which he named Bhagnagar to commemorate his favourite mistrress. 

On right side picture, 250 kg (551 pounds) weight can be seen, which was supposed to be lifted by candidates for qualifying the test of joining the army. Test was since the army men were supposed to carry equivalent weight to the top of fort during its construction. Daily diet of the men used to be consuming 2 Kgs of Rice and 1 kg of mutton at a time. 
Fort is also a testimonial to the cultural and religious diversity of India where a temple and mosque co exist. In the above picture, couple of girls in traditional dresses and beautiful ornaments are seen going for the religious rituals to perform in the temple climbing to the top, carrying the pots with fire on top. Amazing....

In the backdrop of fort, one can see development of modern Hyderabad & experience old meeting the new
Below are some of the artifacts that were uncovered from that era while digging through ruins. 

Second picture below shows where all the diamonds were embedded. On the right most picture below is the bedroom of one of the kings, which is now in ruins but what is still evident is the luxury royals experienced. Hole on the top dome was kept for sunshine to fall in so that royal couple would know when its day break without anyone disturbing them about the time.

Click here for text of complete guide of Golconda 

As part of Incredible India series, I had earlier shared a blog post on Incredible India - Karnataka Road Trip and a post on Incredible India - Qutub Minar.