The moving finger writes.............

Since ages immemorial, sages and common men have sought refuge in the Himalayas for spiritual journeys and renewal. The majestic isolation of the Himalayas provides the perfect setting for spiritual contemplation and realization of the true nature of life. Social scientists have defined spirituality as the search for "the sacred ," where "the sacred" is broadly defined as that which is set apart from the ordinary and worthy of veneration. In modern times spirituality has come to mean the internal experience of the individual . It still denotes a process of transformation, but in a context separate from organized religious institutions: " spiritual but not religious , in a way a blend of humanistic psychology, mystical and esoteric traditions and eastern religions. One thing that a person learns during a journey of spirituality is to let the past, along with its mistakes and stresses go, along with negative emotions and thoughts. One lear

A touch of France- in India There are cities which awe us, cities which inspire us, and cities which charm us with the flavor of   an unhurried, bygone era. Pondicherry is such a city, which I recently happened to visit. It is a former French colony, on the eastern coast of India, near Chennai, where the aura of the colonial era has not yet gone from the atmosphere, Pondicherry is affectionately known as Pondy , and has been officially known by the alternative name Puducherry since 2006. The recorded history of the city starts from the time when the French acquired it   in 1674 and held control, with occasional interruption from the British and Dutch, until 1954 (de jure in 1956), when it was incorporated into the Indian Union along with the rest of French India . ( Website of Puducherry Tourism: http://tourism.pondicherry.gov.in/ ) Pondicherry is about 135   km from Chennai ,via the scenic East Coast Road. Taxis, Cabs and Buses can be taken from Chennai, an