Inventions You Never Knew You Needed

Sometimes, new inventions and gadgets come along which makes us say “Why did no one think of that before?!”   1. The Modular Power Splitter Some manufacturers combine the power chord with a transformer and make it too bulky and a space-hog, but with the modular power-splitter, that’s a problem for the past. Sockets can be added and removed as needed, and best of all, they swivel – solving all of your bulky connector issues!

2. The Rotating Bench It just rained and you want to take a stroll in the park to enjoy the cool, crisp air. You decide to sit down and take in the view, but you forgot – it just rained and now your bottom is all wet… Not if your city installed these rotating benches! Simply twist the handle on the side and move the wet part down, replacing it with a nice, dry seat!

3. The Coffee-Holder Umbrella Nothing beats a hot coffee on a cold, rainy morning! You also need an umbrella, and your bag/suitcase, but we only have 2 hands. So instead of fumbling about, possibly pouring coffee all over yourself, use this umbrella and keep your coffee (and yourself) nice and dry!

4. The Armrest Table You got home, made yourself a cup of coffee or a soda, and now you want to sit on the sofa and relax, but the coffee table is not easily reachable and you can’t leave the cup on the armrest… Or can you? This simple, yet ingenious solution makes your armrest into a mini table!

5. The Gulping Yolkfish If you like to bake, you know separating yolks and egg whites is not a fun task, that is, unless you have the Gulping Yolkfish! It works like a baster – you crack all your eggs into a bowl, then let the Yolkfish safely “swallow” the yolk.

6. Lego Key Holder When I saw this one, I was surprised no one thought of it sooner! No more dangerous hooks that can take your eye out or snag and rip your clothes! Simply hand the Lego holder on the wall, attach the small bit to your keychain and you’re done! Easy, Simple to use and a fun conversation starter!

7. Pasta Measurer Have you ever had the displeasure of making dinner, only to discover you eyeballed it incorrectly and didn’t make enough pasta? Say goodbye to such incidents, because with the Pasta Measurer you know exactly how much you’re making! (Especially if you’re going to feed a horse…)

8. The Pasta Fork And if we’re discussing Pasta – Don’t you just hate it when you scoop up pasta, only to have it slide off of the fork? This brilliant pasta fork is your solution; its unique shape keeps the pasta where it needs to be – on the way to your mouth!

9. Mirror Windshield Wiper Foggy mirrors are an annoyance; If you use your hand, it’ll leave splotches on the mirror. If you use a towel, it can leave lint on there, and you’re stuck with a cold, wet towel. What you need is the Mirror Windshield Wiper! Simply stick it on the mirror, give it a swipe, and enjoy the view!

10. Ring & Bottle Opener Combo This was probably designed with frat boys in mind, but it’s still a clever idea! It looks like a stylish (if manly) ring that, with a twist – becomes a compact bottle opener. Neat!

11. The Mug Lock If you’re like me – you don’t like using “public” mugs, and probably brought your own from home. But what if you leave it to dry and someone else at work decides to use it? This is where the Mug-Lock comes in handy: Wash your mug, take the lockable cork out and now no one will be able to use your mug!

12. Traffic Timer This should replace all traffic lights! With the traffic timer, you know exactly when the light will turn. This reduces stress and prevents speeding or people getting distracted and stuck at the light.

13. Universal Gift Wrapper A wrapping paper for every occasion? Yes indeed! Wrap the gift and mark the appropriate greeting (or greetings). Bonus: the recipient will love it too!

14. The Babystroller-Scooter For the parent on the go! Use the scooter/stroller to whisk about your day quickly, and in style! Just be sure to buckle your baby and ride carefully!

15. No Tears Baby Umbrella Babies’ eyes are very sensitive, even the no-tears shampoo can irritate them. If you’re expecting, or just had a baby, you should consider getting this gadget! It’s so simply designed, yet incredibly effective and comfortable for your baby to use. And best of all – no more crying!

Amazon 16. Umbrella Bag We need our umbrellas in winter, but once the rain stops or we walk indoors, they become a hassle. The Inside Out Umbrella solves this by transforming into a small bag which also catches all the water drops left on the umbrella.

17. The Cat Crib If you love your cat (and I’m sure you do), you can now turn every chair and small table in the house into a comfy hammock your cat would love to stay in. And best of all – it saves space and keeps much of that loose cat fur off of your furniture!

18. The  Catable With holes and tunnels spanning the inside of this table – it becomes the ultimate cat playground and hiding spot. If you have cats at home, consider replacing your old coffee table with this one…

19. A Place For Everything This dresser makes forgetting where your socks and undies are impossible! With drawers shaped exactly like the piece of clothing they hold – you’ll never dig through the wrong drawer again!

20. The Ironboard Mirror If you like your clothes crease-free, you need to iron them, but keeping an ironing board in the house means you need a special place to store it. With the Iron Board Mirror, you no longer have to compromise on space! Use it as a mirror in your day-to-day life, and turn it around and into an ironing board when you need to.

21. The ScrapTrap Cutting vegetables and fruit can be messy as it is, and the leftovers are annoying to get rid of (to say the least), but if you start using the ScrapTrap – all you need to do is push it all back into the trap and continue working, and once you’re done – simply empty it into the trash!

22. Biolite Biolite is an ingenious idea! It’s a small wood-burning stove that produces electricity. If you love camping, get your Biolite and use it to both keep warm, as well as charge your phone or music player.

23. Glow In The Dark Toilet Rim Last but not least – the ultimate solution for visiting the toilet at night! We all had to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. When you get there, you probably don’t want to put on the light, as it will wake you up and make it harder to go back to sleep once you’re done. Instead, why not install the toilet rim light? It absorbs light during the day and releases it at nighttime. It’s not electric and it’s guaranteed to work for a long, long time!

Source:http://www.ba-bamail.com/

Visit to Shirdi and other temples-Part 2

Original photo of Shridi Saibaba

In my post titled Visit to 'Shirdi and other temples-Part 1' I covered the details of our visit to Shirdi on the first day of our visit. 
I give below the link :
http://svsaibaba.blogspot.in/2014/08/visit-to-shirdi-and-other-temples-part-1.html

This article covers the details of the places visited by us on the second day.

Renuka Devi's Temple: 

On the second day of our visit on 23.8.14  after taking breakfast in HOTEL KUBER INN in Shirdi, we proceeded to  the temple of Renuka Devi. Renuka Devi is mother of Parshuram, an incarnation of Vishnu. On the way to the temple, we saw Sugarcane fields on both sides of the road and there were many Sugar cane juice stalls. The bus stopped in front of a stall and we had fresh sugar cane juice.

Entrance of the temple

Renuka Devi

This temple is about 15 minutes away from Shani Shingnapur, and was built by a local saint. The main temple has an image of Renuka Mata, with walls and pillars made of glass. Hence this temple is also locally known as the Glass temple. 

Glass Temple

Under this temple is the sanctum  approachable by steps, where the original image of the goddess worshiped by the saint is placed. The temple is currently being renovated, and we were unable to see some other idols in the temple. There is also a Samadhi of the saint.

Shani Shingnapur:

Our next stop  Shani Shingnapur was 35 kms away from Ahmednagar city and the village is known for its popular temple of Shani, the Hindu god of the planet (graha) Saturn. Shingnapur is also famous for the fact that no house in the village has doors, only door frames. Despite this, no theft was reported in the village.Lord Shanishwara can be seen even today, in the open yard without any roof above.

Entrance to the temple

Lord Shanishwara's  idol (photo from Wikipedia)

Devotees returning from the temple 

We worshiped Shanishwara as per the rituals followed in the place. There was huge crowd in the temple, but we could manage to have the darshan of the deity peacefully. 

Dattatreya Temple,Devgad:

From Shingnapur we proceeded to Devgad  (70 kms from Ahmed Nagar) to visit  the temple of Dattatreya   Dattatreya is a Hindu deity encompassing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The temple is located in a huge complex encompassing temples of other deities.

Entrance of the temple

Idol of Dattatreya (Photo from Wikipedia)

It was very hot climate when we visited the temple and when we walked on the stones without chapels it was unbearably hot. Our coordinator told us to walk on the white  path(probably coated with special paint to absorb the heat) alongside the stones. 

Surprisingly it was not hot when we walked on the white path. A lot of development works are taking place around the temple.

Lunch in Ahmednagar:

Then we proceeded to Ahmednagar for taking lunch.  We reached  hotel YASH GRAND in Ahmed Nagar around 3 pm. 

We had very good buffet lunch in the hotel.We took photograph of the group in front of the hotel.

Mahaganapathy temple in RANJANGAON:

After taking lunch, we proceeded to Ranjangaon. The coordinator asked the group members to share their experiences,miracles etc with reference to Shirdi Sai baba. Some of the group members also sang prayers songs of Baba. Later some of the members also participated in games and singing songs. All of us enjoyed the proceedings.

As per original programme of the tour  Mahaganapathy temple was the first place to be visited. But due to lack of time due to the delay in reaching Pune and the rush to Shirdi to have special darshan of Baba , the visit was postponed to second day.We reached Mahaganapathy temple in Ranjangaon village which is 50 kms from Pune .

Ranjangaon Ganpati is one among the Ashtavinayaks, celebrating eight instances of legends related to Ganesha.Shiva is believed to have worshiped Ganesha before fighting the demon Tripurasura here. Constructed so that the rays of the Sun fall directly on the idol (during the southward movement of the sun).Temple facing east has huge & beautiful entrance gate. Idols of two door keepers namely Jay & vijay are present near the gateway.

The idol of Lord Ganesha is self created i.e. “Swayambhu”. The Ganesha Idol facing east is in a crossed legged sitting position with broad forehead & the trunk turned towards the left. Riddhi & Siddhi are on the both the sides of Mahaganapathy. There are big paintings  on the walls inside the temples about the legendary story of Mahaganapathy which was explained by our coordinator.

After leaving Ranjangaon, we reached Pune. We were informed that the Spicejet flight to Chennai was postponed to 10.30 pm. We checked in the Airport in time and reached Chennai around 12.30.

I take this opportunity to thank Mr.S.Ananthaseshan, Proprietor of Akshayam Travels and Coordinator of the tour who has organised the tour very well and the way in which he explained about the importance of every place visited by us and his motivational/inspiring  speech on better way of living.

CONTACT DETAILS OF AKSHAYAM TRAVELS:

Mobile:   09840306678

                   09944531961

                   044-43537361

Email:       akshayamtravels@gmail.com

Website:  http://www.akshayamtravels.com/

Visit to Shirdi and other temples-Part 1

My wife and myself went on a two days Air package tour (22.8.14 and 23.8.14) organized by Akshayam Travels to Shirdi and other temples nearby. I am sharing my experience of the tour in two parts. Part 1 of this article covers the visit to Shirdi on 22.8.14 and Part 2 covers other places.

(Note: Since I could not take the mobile phone inside the mandhir, I could not take any photos in and outside  the mandhir. All the pictures in the article are taken from Google images.)

Delay in reaching Pune:

The tour group consisted of 23 persons including the coordinator Mr.S.Anantasehan who is also the proprietor of Akshayam Travels . All of us assembled in Chennai airport at 3.15 am on 21.8.14. As per the tour programme, we started from Chennai to Pune by Spicejet flight which departed at 5.15 am and supposed to reach Pune at  6.45 am. But due to heavy rains and poor visibility the plane could not land at Pune and it was diverted to Mumbai airport. 

After reaching Mumbai airport it was announced that the plane will take off after 8 am.Since the rains continued to lash Pune, the take off was repeatedly postponed and all the passengers were not allowed to get out of the plane. The cabin crew  in the plane were busy in selling the food items for breakfast of the passengers. Even at 10.30 am we were not told about exact time of departure. There was an announcement that those who wanted to get off at Mumbai could get down from the plane and some passengers left the plane.

At this stage many passenger got restless and asked the air hostesses to arrange for breakfast. After some delay all the passengers were provided cup of noodles as breakfast by the air hostesses. 

After the improving of weather condition at Pune, the flight left Mumbai airport at 11 pm and reached Pune airport at 12 pm. 

Bus travel to Shirdi :

After collecting our luggage, we got into an air conditioned  bus waiting at Pune Airport. The coordinator of the tour expressed regret for the delay in the flight which has upset the tour programme.

After getting our feedbacks,he also announced that instead of taking lunch, we could go straight to Saibaba temple in Shridi since darshan for the group was fixed at 4.30 pm. All of us were provided with bananas, biscuits and drinking water in the place of lunch.

The bus route from Pune to Shridi is in  the worst condition with so many ups and downs. The driver drove the bus very fast and we had hopes that the bus would reach Shridi by 4.30 pm positively.

The coordinator of the tour(who is also Proprietor of the Travel company) who is an ardent devotee of Shirdi Saibaba,  engaged all of us by singing prayer songs in praise of Baba and describing about the importance of various places of worship in Shirdi like Samadhi Mandhir,Chavadi,Dwarakamai etc.

There was heavy traffic jam in a place  just 20 kms from Shirdi and the bus started moving inch by inch with other vehicles. After nearly 40 minutes,the bus could start from the place and reach Shirdi at 5.30 pm instead of the target of 4.30 pm. Meanwhile the coordinator talked to many persons in Shirdi to allow the group special darshan at 5.30 pm.  He  advised us to leave the cameras,mobiles,chappels inside the bus to avoid waiting time in the temple. 

Peaceful darshan of Shirdi Saibaba and other deities:

The bus stopped just in front of the gate of the Samadhi Mandhir  for special darshan and all of us were allowed inside. 

Without wasting any time, we were straight away taken in a special queue and we were in front of the Saibaba Samadhi and idol within 5 minutes. It was really like a miracle that we had a nice and peaceful darshan inspite of all the difficulties and the delay undergone by us  in the journey.

After worshiping Baba, we left Samadhi Mandhir  and took tiffin with coffee/tea etc in a nearby restaurant and proceeded to see the other important places associated with Baba. 

Baba's Chavadi:

Baba used to sleep here every alternate day.  The Chavadi is divided into two parts.  One part of the Chavadi has a large portrait  of Baba along with a wooden bed and a  white chair belonging to him.Every Thursday the Palakhi from DwarkaMai arrives here.Baba's Photograph, his Paduka (slippers), and Satka are kept in the Palakhi. The chair, on which Baba used to rest, and the bed, on which Baba had his  last bath, are also kept in this temple.

There were separate queues for the gents and ladies to enter the chavadi to worship the portrait of Baba.

While coming out of the Chavadi, we could hear the bhajan during  the Aarthi for Baba which was telecast live. We were surprised to see a dog sitting in front of the Chavadi closing its eyes and in full attention as if listening to the bhajan. 

Dwarakamai :

Dwarkamai is situated on the right of the entrance of Samadhi Mandhir. Baba stayed at Dwarkamai till the very end of his life.

The first level of Dwarkamai has a portrait of Baba and a big stone on which Baba used to sit. This level has two rooms. One contains the chariot and the second a palkhi. Just in front of the room where the chariot is kept is a small temple. A saffron flag flies over it. The second level of Dwarkamai has a square stool made of stone, which Baba used for taking a bath. 

The main attraction of this place is the oil painting of Shri Sai Baba sitting in a carved wooden shrine. This level also has the grinding stone and the wooden vessel called  in which Baba used to keep the Bhiksha brought from the village.

(http://shirdisaitemple.com/shirdi-article/id/86/dwarkamai-shirdi) 

The dhuni ,located in Dwarakamai is the sacred, perpetually burning fire that Baba built and which has been maintained ever since, though today the fire is much bigger and is enclosed behind a wire cage. The sacred ash(udi) produced in the Dhuni is distributed to the devotees.

Laksmibai's house:

The next place visited by us is the house of Laksmibai who was a great devotee of Baba.In the house, there is a portrait of Laksmibai and the frame containing  the nine coins given to her by Baba before he attained samadhi. There is also the pillar on which Baba used to recline whenever he visited Laksmibai's house to take the food prepared by Laksmibai.

Hanuman (Maruti) Mandir :

We also worshiped Hanuman in the Hanuman Mandhir which is located in  the lane that runs between Dwarkamai and Chavadi.

Three temples and other important places seen by us inside Samadhi Mandhir:

We went again inside Samadhi Mandhir and worshiped the deities in three small temples. They are dedicated to Ganesh,Shani (i.e. Saturn) and Mahadev (i.e. Shiva).

The we saw the Neem tree under which Baba used to sit from the time he appeared in Shridi for the first time and the Garden which was maintained by Baba and the perpetually-burning lamp which was lit by Baba.

After completing our visit to the Mandhir, we reached the Hotel Kuber Inn where rooms were booked for us. 

We took our dinner in the hotel and spent the night.

Thus the first day of the tour ended and the details of our second day of the tour is  posted by me in 'Visit to Shirdi and other temples-Part 2' with the following link:

http://svsaibaba.blogspot.in/2014/08/visit-to-shirdi-and-other-temples-part-2.html

CONTACT DETAILS OF AKSHAYAM TRAVELS:

Mobile:   09840306678

             09944531961

             044-43537361

Email:       akshayamtravels@gmail.com

Website:  http://www.akshayamtravels.com/

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