Divine darshan of Subrahmanya Swamy, Tiruchendur! 🙏 The Thiruchendur Murugan Temple is the second of the six sacred abodes (Arupadai Veedu) of Lord Murugan, uniquely situated directly on the seashore of the Bay of Bengal in Tamil Nadu. Legend says that this seaside location was the battleground where Lord Murugan vanquished the demon king Surapadman. After defeating the demon, Lord Murugan worshipped Lord Shiva at this very spot to express gratitude for the strength granted during the war. The temple is referenced extensively in ancient Tamil literature, including the Thirumurugatrupadai composed by the Sangam poet Nakkirar in the 2nd century CE, confirming its multi-millennial antiquity. While the other five Arupadai Veedu shrines sit atop hills or mountains, Thiruchendur stands majestically on the active shoreline, fusing the rhythm of ocean waves with continuous devotional chants (Arogara). #TamilNadu #temple #legend #history @Gopalee67

#DidYouKnow In 1881, there were approximately 9,900 miles of railway line; in 1891, 17,300 miles, in 1901, 25,300 miles, and about 42,000 miles of line in 1935! Such was the rapid pace of construction of railway lines at the onset of the 20th century! #IndianRailways #History

This was my first inspection of a New Line railway project - the Tindivanam-Nagari line in Southern Railway. These photos were taken just 2 km from Nagari. This is how the work site looks before the track is laid. The blanketing has just been completed. What is blanketing material - it is a coarse, granular, well-graded aggregate (like crushed stone, quarry dust, or gravel) placed between the ballast and the subgrade to distribute train loads, prevent ballast from sinking, stop fine soil from mixing in (mud pumping), and improve drainage, ensuring track stability and longevity by meeting strict particle size distribution and low fines content requirements. The third photo is the construction of a road underbridge in progress. And the fourth one is the platform for what we call a trolley refuge - a spot for parking push trolleys while inspecting the track. With the laying of the ballast, sleepers, and rails, the height will be raised upto the level of this platform. #IndianRailways #projects

This Nilgiri Tahr turned out to be a star attraction on our trip to the Eravikulam National Park that houses the world’s largest surviving population of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr. Sauntering on the road leading to the edge of the sanctuary and walking confidently among the tourists, it stood on the stones and posed for photographs. It turned out to be quite a 'posemaster'. 🙂 #wildlife #NilgiriTahr

This is the profile of Mr Tirumalai Raja, whose story I had posted about how, as a Ph.D in English Literature, he still has to drive a cab to supplement his meagre income as a guest lecturer in Presidency College. Please zoom in to note his academics and some achievements, which aren't small by any measure. It's just that he hasn't got the best opportunity. If anyone has an opportunity that suits his profile, please reach out to him. If anyone wants a PDF file of his resumé, please DM your email id and I shall send it over. If you aren't in a position to help him, please share it with people who can help him get a suitable teaching assignment. #academics #oppotunity

My local Railway staff has given us a list of 31 temples and these are supposed to be the most important ones. We seem to be racing against time to cover these today and over the weekend. Challenging task indeed! 🙂 #Kumbakonam #temples

India's little-known Spymaster - Naushervan Framji (N. F.) Suntook served as the chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW), from 1977 to 1983. Suntook was a Parsi from Bombay (Mumbai) and served in the Navy and the Police Service before joining the intelligence apparatus. He and Vikram Sood are notably among the rare non-IPS (Indian Police Service) officers to lead R&AW. He took charge of R&AW in 1977 during a difficult political transition under Morarji Desai's government, when the agency faced intense scrutiny, budget cuts, and pressure. He is widely credited with saving the organization from being dismantled or severely compromised during that turbulent period. On April 10, 1983 a Bombay newspaper announced with banner headlines: “India’s Top Spy Missing: Biggest escape since Philby-US suspected destination-Panic in ruling party”. Their New Delhi correspondent reported that Naushervan Framji Santook, India’s “master spy”, head of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) “defected to an as yet unknown country with some super sensitive documents” This “defector” spy was none other than the late Noshir Framji Suntook, a former naval officer who joined the Indian Police Service after Independence. In the early 1950s while working in Bombay Presidency he volunteered to serve the unpopular Andaman Islands where he did pioneering work in befriending the remote “Jarawa” tribe instead of following the traditional hostile police policy. In 1957 he opted to go to the North East by joining the Indian Frontier Administrative Service, (IFAS) successor to the British Indian Political Service. He soon learnt the complexities of that region. In 1968 the legendary R.N.Kao chose him to head an important wing when he set up our foreign intelligence department (RAW). In 1977, Suntook was selected by Prime Minister Morarji Desai to head RAW after a major purge following Mrs.Indira Gandhi’s defeat in 1977. He then became the second longest serving RAW chief (1977-1983). During this period he also frustrated a surreptitious move by some elements in our foreign ministry who by taking advantage of the inexperience of Janata government tried to persuade them to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty against India’s traditional stand. It was a testimony of his apolitical service integrity that Mrs.Indira Gandhi chose to retain him in this sensitive assignment after storming back into power in Jan 1980 although he had worked closely with her political rivals. Suntook was to retire from service on March 31, 1983. He was to hand over charge to Girish Chandra “Gary” Saxena, later Governor of Jammu and Kashmir twice. However, just before the formal transfer of charge, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi received an SOS from the head of a friendly foreign government. He was suspecting a possible coup instigated by foreign powers and wanted very discreet advice on how to counter it. The situation was very grave. He could not trust his own agencies and chose to turn to India. Indira Gandhi could only think of Suntook to give that effective advice in such a crisis. Thus he had to fly out to that country cancelling his transfer of charge. Fertile brains in some sections of bureaucracy and in an equally ill informed media chose to impute motives. In later years Noshir Framji Suntook would be appointed as member, Minority Commission and also be involved in secret talks with Naga rebels in 1988. Subhir Bhowmik, BBC Eastern correspondent, had said that Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi chose him because of his deep knowledge of our North East problems. (Pic: Suntook seated with PM, Morarji Desai) #spymaster #history

As the Hon'ble PM once said - There were days when MPs would come to the Railway Minister to seek stoppages for trains passing through their constituencies. Now they come to ask for a Vande Bharat train starting from their constituencies. Change in the aspirations of parliamentarians as well! #VandeBharat

Bhuvanagari Fort is one of the isolated monolithic rocks carved by the Western Chalukya ruler Tribhuvanamalla Vikramaditya VI and was thus named after him as Tribhuvanagiri. This name gradually became known as Bhuvanagiri and later just Bhongir in Telangana. #Heritage #History

130 kmph from the inside - between Avadi and Ambattur on 20608 Mysuru - Chennai Vande Bharat - August 2023! #IndianRailways #VandeBharatTrain #Speed

Garbha at Baroda race course - such a huge gathering with discipline in chaos! #Garba #Vadodara

A beautiful photo from 𝗬𝗲𝘀𝗵𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗽𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 of a YP locomotive hauling the 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲- 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗷 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗹, captured 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟬! The Bangalore-Miraj line was a key metre gauge (MG) artery of the Southern Mahratta Railway, later South Central Railway, connecting Bangalore to Miraj (near Pune) until gauge conversion in the 1990s. This crucial route served as a historic link for passengers travelling between Karnataka and Maharashtra. Miraj served as a major break-of-gauge junction for passengers moving towards Pune/Bombay after the gauge conversion of the Miraj-Pune section to BG in 1971. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the route was dominated by steam traction. Trains like the Bangalore-Miraj Express were known for steam-powered journeys using YP-class locomotives. Due to the long distance and coal limitations, this train, like many others, often required engine changes at intermediate stations like Birur and Hubli. #IndianRailways #History #Deccan

Tom and Jerry are now seen in Madurai with the lovely Meenakshi Amman temple in the background! 😀😛😂 #TomAndJerry #cartoon

The beautiful capture of a freight train being hauled by WDG-4 twins over a bridge on the Hassan-Mangaluru route, approaching Yedakumari station, amidst the green and scenic landscape of the Western Ghats, in the jurisdiction of @DrmMys in @SWRRLY! Pic courtesy, Sourav Dutta! #IndianRailways #Photography @DrDeepakKrishn1 @ArunKrishnan_

Yes, Bhubaneswar has the best roads, but if the traffic discipline of the users improves, the city will be the best. #Bhubaneswar #traffic

The humble tomato plant grows anywhere - even by the side of the track! 🙂 #Tomato

This water tank at Kanchrapara, #WestBengal, in the jurisdiction of @EasternRailway, is said to be the world's oldest railway water tank, dating back to 1862 for feeding water to steam locomotives. #IndianRailways #heritage #History

Requesting all friends to eat whatever is cooked at home, silently and with gratitude! 😝 #husbandwife #food

#DidYouKnow The KK Express or the Karnataka Kerala express, introduced in 1977, connected Delhi with Bangalore and Trivandrum. The front portion got detached at Jolarpettai to be taken to Bangalore and the rear portion continued its journey to Trivandrum. #IndianRailways #History

Setting up of IIT BOMBAY! In the 1960s, getting an engineering degree from IIT Bombay required passing one mandatory subject: Russian. After Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin visited India in 1955, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru brokered a deal for USSR technical aid in setting up an IIT campus. To respect India's Cold War non-alignment policy, the funds weren't direct. They were funneled in Soviet roubles through UNESCO. When IIT Bombay’s foundation stone was laid in 1958, Soviet aid was shipped directly to the Powai campus: heavy machinery, instruments, lathe hardware, and the institute’s very first mainframe computer, the Minsk-2. Over 70 Soviet professors and specialists were deployed to campus to set up the laboratories. The catch? Every blueprint, circuit diagram, and manual arrived written strictly in Cyrillic, the script used for Russian. To run their labs and code, students spent painful hours translating technical specs alongside Soviet faculty. This forced early cohorts to master hardware from the ground up. Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay's brand was built on the shoulders of early students holding Russian instruments in one hand and a Russian dictionary in the other. @iitbombay #IITBombay #Russia