VIDESH YATRA- BHAGA:4 (PITTSBURG & NIAGARA FALLS ) 31ST MAY& 1ST JUNE,2008.
Dear
We are all OK here & hope the same from your end. Here is the VIDESH YATRA-BHAGA: 4 for you. This part is regarding our visit to PITTSBURG (Pennsylvania State) and famous NIAGARA FALLS (New York State) on May31st Saturday & June 1st Sunday. As per our plan, we started our journey on Friday evening at 6.30 pm and reached Pittsburg at 10.30pm.That night we stayed at our daughter's friend's home.
As per weather report since there was rain in Niagara, we planned to visit important places in Pittsburg on Saturday. There are two rivers; Monongahela & Alleghany flowing from two different directions and joined in this city & flowing further a single river called OHIO. First we travelled towards Wheeling, 90 minutes journey from Pittsburg, to visit the NEW VRINDABAN: a beautiful place located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia established by the Founder- Acharya of the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON) Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It is known for its unique architecture, landscaped gardens, man made lakes, fields, streams, pastures & natural woodlands. It is spread over more than 2000 acres & also a spiritual retreat. In order to facilitate overnight guests it has extensive lodging facilities for up to 500 people.( Idu kanmana tanisuva sundara,syanta nisarga taana ) Here we saw the palace of Gold, the Rose Garden, Radha Krishna Temple, Goshaala. New Vrindaban has North America's largest cow protection program with facility for 1000 cows & they are never sent to slaughterhouse. The Palace of Gold is a memorial for Swami Prabhupada.It was built by his disciples as a labour of love. This memorial has 8000 sq ft of 22 carat gold leaf, ornate furniture, and intricate hand made chandeliers, exquisite marble work & beautiful stained glass. After visiting this, we went & took darshana of Lord Radhe Krishna. We felt very happy to see the idols of Radha, Krishna, Narasimha etc and that the statue of Swami Prabhupada was so nice as if he is sitting in Dhyan.There we had Prasadam of south Indian style like khara pongal,curd rice, fruit salad, limbu panaka etc which we cherished. The one thing that impressed me the most here was, books on various subjects were displayed and anybody wants to buy any books just has to put the exact price of the books in the Hundi (box) kept beside & takeaway books. There will be no one to check this. People were following that.(including myself ) Can you expect this in our temples there?! Let alone books, the Hundi itself will disappear?! This is what we have to learn from the West .
After that, in a mantapam we had a short Sangeet karyakram in which my daughters friends Raghuram and Gowri sang Banigondu Elle Ellide…., Pujisalende hugala tande & I sang.. Amara madhura prema (my favorite)
Next in the evening, we visited the famous Pittsburg SRI VENKATARAMANA Temple. Hindu Priests are there& Archane, abhisheka and all pooja kainkaryas will be going on. Let Pittsburg Venkataramana,s blessings be bestowed on you. These are the common places where we can meet lots of Indians speaking different languages. But remember, here language is not the matter but the feeling of oneness that we are Indians is very important. Thereafter we went to Udupi Hotel nearby for dinner where I met few persons from Udupi & kundapur side. There we had nice Idli,Vada,Dose etc .That Night after dinner we also went to the viewpoints and observation spots located on the top of pittsburgh city where we can view the whole city lit and see the downtown dazzling with lights.. This city Pittsburgh is called the city of Bridges and has the largest number of bridges in USA .…That day we went to bed dreaming for Niagara the next day.
That Sunday, really it was an ever memorable day to me. Since it was a 4.00 hrs journey to Niagara, we started early in the morning at 7.00am & reached there by 11.30 after having our breakfast in between. When I heard the voice of the roaring river Niagara, suddenly I remembered our famous JOG FALLS and the poems, Jogada siri bedaginalli…and Manavanagi huttida mele enen kande….i jumped into joy and with all eagerness rushed to see the world famous Niagara Falls. Really I was amazed at the sounds of majestic Niagara Falls and breathtaking sights.(Rudra ramaniiya drusya) First we went for Boat Tour which is called Maid of the Mist. We will be given blue color waterproof dress (poncho) to wear and that cruise will take us to the base of the American Falls ( the other side is Canada boundary with an exiting Falls with the same majesty as this ),then to the basin of the Horseshoe Falls. It's an unforgettable 30 minute adventure into the wet and wild on the world famous Maid of the Mist. We went to the Observation Tower through elevator; from there we can view the whole thing around us. Wow, what a fantastic scenery it was!! It is inexplicable. Continuously our Camera was clicked and I don't know how many snaps we took at that time. Next we went for the Cave of the Winds. Now yellow poncho & souvenir sandals (somewhat gripping slippers) will be provided and here we will travel deep into the gorge & journey nearer the fall. We will get soaked on the Hurricane Deck where we are mere a feet from the thundering waters. Really tell you, we danced there with great excitement!!! The Cave of the Winds brings us face-to-face with the pounding waters of Niagara Falls. We also visited Goat Island, Three Sisters Islands & Luna Island which are also inspiring sights. Great Lakes Garden is one more attraction to the visitors. One thing I shouldn't forget to tell you is about the OLD FORT OF NIAGARA which has, history tells, 300 years of history was under the control of French, thereon under British and now under the hands of Americans, now preserved as it stood in the 1700s, is an exciting place where the past lives on. Interesting thing is about the Fort's Flag. It is garrison color having dimensions of 24 feet by 28 feet; the banner might once have been as long as 36 feet. Earlier it was retained & preserved lovingly by the Drummond family in Scotland (when British General Sir Gordon Drummond captured this Fort, it was given to him) and subsequently it was acquired by the Old Fort Niagara Association in 1994 & returned to the US for conservation and display. It is one of the oldest surviving US flags and a fine example of the fifteen-star, fifteen-stripe flag authorized by American Congress in 1795. Impression of this Niagara Falls is "Nenavudenna manam Niagara Jalapatamam". That day when we left for Virginia back it was 6.00 pm and after 8 hrs journey, we reached home at 2.30 night and we immediately surrendered to Nidra devi.
Here I put a stop to my narration for Bhaga-4 as there is no more information. Please wait for the next part as our visit next is to LURAY CAVERNS at Luray. Till then take care. BYE…….
YOURS,
Krishnamurthy.K
06.06,08
Dear
We are all OK here & hope the same from your end. Here is the VIDESH YATRA-BHAGA: 4 for you. This part is regarding our visit to PITTSBURG (Pennsylvania State) and famous NIAGARA FALLS (New York State) on May31st Saturday & June 1st Sunday. As per our plan, we started our journey on Friday evening at 6.30 pm and reached Pittsburg at 10.30pm.That night we stayed at our daughter's friend's home.
As per weather report since there was rain in Niagara, we planned to visit important places in Pittsburg on Saturday. There are two rivers; Monongahela & Alleghany flowing from two different directions and joined in this city & flowing further a single river called OHIO. First we travelled towards Wheeling, 90 minutes journey from Pittsburg, to visit the NEW VRINDABAN: a beautiful place located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia established by the Founder- Acharya of the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON) Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It is known for its unique architecture, landscaped gardens, man made lakes, fields, streams, pastures & natural woodlands. It is spread over more than 2000 acres & also a spiritual retreat. In order to facilitate overnight guests it has extensive lodging facilities for up to 500 people.( Idu kanmana tanisuva sundara,syanta nisarga taana ) Here we saw the palace of Gold, the Rose Garden, Radha Krishna Temple, Goshaala. New Vrindaban has North America's largest cow protection program with facility for 1000 cows & they are never sent to slaughterhouse. The Palace of Gold is a memorial for Swami Prabhupada.It was built by his disciples as a labour of love. This memorial has 8000 sq ft of 22 carat gold leaf, ornate furniture, and intricate hand made chandeliers, exquisite marble work & beautiful stained glass. After visiting this, we went & took darshana of Lord Radhe Krishna. We felt very happy to see the idols of Radha, Krishna, Narasimha etc and that the statue of Swami Prabhupada was so nice as if he is sitting in Dhyan.There we had Prasadam of south Indian style like khara pongal,curd rice, fruit salad, limbu panaka etc which we cherished. The one thing that impressed me the most here was, books on various subjects were displayed and anybody wants to buy any books just has to put the exact price of the books in the Hundi (box) kept beside & takeaway books. There will be no one to check this. People were following that.(including myself ) Can you expect this in our temples there?! Let alone books, the Hundi itself will disappear?! This is what we have to learn from the West .
After that, in a mantapam we had a short Sangeet karyakram in which my daughters friends Raghuram and Gowri sang Banigondu Elle Ellide…., Pujisalende hugala tande & I sang.. Amara madhura prema (my favorite)
Next in the evening, we visited the famous Pittsburg SRI VENKATARAMANA Temple. Hindu Priests are there& Archane, abhisheka and all pooja kainkaryas will be going on. Let Pittsburg Venkataramana,s blessings be bestowed on you. These are the common places where we can meet lots of Indians speaking different languages. But remember, here language is not the matter but the feeling of oneness that we are Indians is very important. Thereafter we went to Udupi Hotel nearby for dinner where I met few persons from Udupi & kundapur side. There we had nice Idli,Vada,Dose etc .That Night after dinner we also went to the viewpoints and observation spots located on the top of pittsburgh city where we can view the whole city lit and see the downtown dazzling with lights.. This city Pittsburgh is called the city of Bridges and has the largest number of bridges in USA .…That day we went to bed dreaming for Niagara the next day.
That Sunday, really it was an ever memorable day to me. Since it was a 4.00 hrs journey to Niagara, we started early in the morning at 7.00am & reached there by 11.30 after having our breakfast in between. When I heard the voice of the roaring river Niagara, suddenly I remembered our famous JOG FALLS and the poems, Jogada siri bedaginalli…and Manavanagi huttida mele enen kande….i jumped into joy and with all eagerness rushed to see the world famous Niagara Falls. Really I was amazed at the sounds of majestic Niagara Falls and breathtaking sights.(Rudra ramaniiya drusya) First we went for Boat Tour which is called Maid of the Mist. We will be given blue color waterproof dress (poncho) to wear and that cruise will take us to the base of the American Falls ( the other side is Canada boundary with an exiting Falls with the same majesty as this ),then to the basin of the Horseshoe Falls. It's an unforgettable 30 minute adventure into the wet and wild on the world famous Maid of the Mist. We went to the Observation Tower through elevator; from there we can view the whole thing around us. Wow, what a fantastic scenery it was!! It is inexplicable. Continuously our Camera was clicked and I don't know how many snaps we took at that time. Next we went for the Cave of the Winds. Now yellow poncho & souvenir sandals (somewhat gripping slippers) will be provided and here we will travel deep into the gorge & journey nearer the fall. We will get soaked on the Hurricane Deck where we are mere a feet from the thundering waters. Really tell you, we danced there with great excitement!!! The Cave of the Winds brings us face-to-face with the pounding waters of Niagara Falls. We also visited Goat Island, Three Sisters Islands & Luna Island which are also inspiring sights. Great Lakes Garden is one more attraction to the visitors. One thing I shouldn't forget to tell you is about the OLD FORT OF NIAGARA which has, history tells, 300 years of history was under the control of French, thereon under British and now under the hands of Americans, now preserved as it stood in the 1700s, is an exciting place where the past lives on. Interesting thing is about the Fort's Flag. It is garrison color having dimensions of 24 feet by 28 feet; the banner might once have been as long as 36 feet. Earlier it was retained & preserved lovingly by the Drummond family in Scotland (when British General Sir Gordon Drummond captured this Fort, it was given to him) and subsequently it was acquired by the Old Fort Niagara Association in 1994 & returned to the US for conservation and display. It is one of the oldest surviving US flags and a fine example of the fifteen-star, fifteen-stripe flag authorized by American Congress in 1795. Impression of this Niagara Falls is "Nenavudenna manam Niagara Jalapatamam". That day when we left for Virginia back it was 6.00 pm and after 8 hrs journey, we reached home at 2.30 night and we immediately surrendered to Nidra devi.
Here I put a stop to my narration for Bhaga-4 as there is no more information. Please wait for the next part as our visit next is to LURAY CAVERNS at Luray. Till then take care. BYE…….
YOURS,
Krishnamurthy.K
06.06,08
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