Kudithipudi.Org

February 2, 2009

Places to Visit : Shri Swami Narayan Mandir : Bartlett, IL

Filed under: Photography,Travel — Vinay @ 2:48 am

I am going to start a new category of postings called “Places to Visit”.  I will be documenting various places that I visited and think that they would be of interest to other people.. 

The first one on the list is the Swami Narayan Mandir (temple) in Bartlett, IL. Although, this temple is dedicated to Swami Narayan (one of the Gods in the Hindu religion), it is open to anyone that wants to visit. The temple is built completely out of marble and was completed in a record 16 months. As it stands now, it is the largest Hindu temple in North America (Thx to Deepti for correcting me.. Looks like the newly built Swami Narayan temple in Atlanta, GA is the largest temple in North America now.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAPS_Shri_Swaminarayan_Mandir_Atlanta). It was built in accordace to ancient architectural practises, which means that no steel or iron was used in building it. The temple is located at 

4N739 IL Route 59,
Bartlett , IL 60103 USA

An added bonus to visiting the temple, in addition to be able to view an amazing architectural wonder and (if you are inclined) a chance to sooth your spirit, you also get good vegetarian food :) . It is cooked right in the temple.

Photography is not allowed inside the temple.. Here are some pictures I was able to take from outsite the temple

The Haveli

Intricate wood carving on the Haveli’s enterance

The temple, in snow..

Front view of the temple

The entrance of the temple

December 21, 2008

Bulls game for 2008

Filed under: Photography,Sports — Vinay @ 2:55 am

I was able to go to the Bulls/Jazz game tonight when my cousin offered me tickets to the game.. The Bulls won by 8 points (106 – 98) :) .  Here are some pictures from the game.

September 30, 2008

Week 16 training and my first outdoor camping trip

Filed under: Fun,Photography — Vinay @ 1:55 am

After the rough 20 miler last weekend, I was not able to run any of the mid week runs this week. But I did manage to run the 12 miler weekend in the hilly (compared to flat arse Illinois) roads of Wisconsin. Looking back at it, I don’t know, if it was prudent to run on a county highway at night without any visual alerts (reflective dressing, LED etc) on me. It was a tough run, but I took it one hill at a time and I have two proud bleeding nipples to show for it!! :) .

I was in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Dells to be precise) over the weekend on a camping trip with the good folks from Team Asha. It was great to see all the runners at one place and it was my first outdoor camping trip. I did stay in log cabins before, but this was the first time I had to pitch a tent. And for those that haven’t done it before.. it is NOT so difficult :) . You just have to spend a hour of so, figuring out what the hell you are doing, or take a few minutes and read the instructions :) .

Much fun was had with food, liquor and music!! :)

[The Gang]

[How many runners does it take to pitch a tent??]

[Cool new Asha Running Shirts]

[Important Stuff]

[Rohit showing off his volleyball skills]

[Sri getting ready to make killer omlettes]

[Is that fun or what??]

More pictures here..[http://flickr.com/photos/kudithipudi/sets/72157607569023137/]

July 29, 2008

How does a sunny day look like from the 29th floor in downtown Chicago?

Filed under: Photography — Vinay @ 2:13 am

June 25, 2008

Rare sight in Chicago..

Filed under: Photography — Vinay @ 1:16 am

We had a rare rainbow in Chicago this Sunday..

More shots here..

May 10, 2008

Lilacs in bloom

Filed under: Festivals,Photography,Travel — Vinay @ 10:47 am

Pictures from a recent visit to the Lilac festival in Rochester.

More pictures here.

February 26, 2008

Cool website for art..

Filed under: Anime,Fun,Photography — Vinay @ 7:42 am

DevianArt (www.deviantart.com) is an online community where people can share their art with the masses and even make some money by selling it. If you are looking for some good images/art, check out the site. Here is a good painting, I found on the site..

Grannie by ~jenimal on deviantART

January 15, 2008

Sankranthi Subhakankshalu..

Filed under: Family,Photography — Vinay @ 1:03 am

Sankranthi is the festival of harvest and is celebrated with much jest in India (esp Southern India). Back in my childhood, when we used to live in a village, this festival denoted the start of harvesting the rice fields and we used to have a lot of fun lighting up “Bhoghi Mantalu”, which were essentially large bonfires of old stuff that needed to be discarded. And being a kid, everything in the house “qualified” to be discarded for me :) .

Another thing that distinguished this festival was that all the household entrances were decorated with colored rice flour. Here’s a picture of a typical decoration

 

For the kids, it was also the festival of kites. And boy, some folks were pretty serious about their kites and the competitions. Here’s a nice picture showing the landscape littered with kites..

Wishing everyone a happy Sankranthi :) .

July 24, 2006

The “sticky” cucumber

Filed under: Fun,Photography — Vinay @ 10:09 pm

I loaned “Spirited Away” to one of my colleagues at work and she watched it with her children. The kids loved the movie and wanted to draw a thank you note for me.. My colleague asked them to draw the note and stick it to a cucumber from their kitchen garden so that she can give it to me as a gift. So she wakes up in the morning and here is what the kids come up

They really stuck the note to the cucumber :) . Here it is after the tape was cleared up

Thx for the cute note guys :)

May 21, 2006

The Beast

Filed under: Fun,Photography — Vinay @ 10:27 am

I finally got off my lazy ^%$$ and cleaned up my baby. Here is the

beast

and it’s

heart

Some quick facts about this beast

Engine:

* Type: 1795cc liquid-cooled 52-degree V-twin
* Displacement: 1795cc
* Bore and Stroke: 101.0mm x 112.0mm
* Fuel System: Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI) with automatic choke
* Compression Ratio: 9.0:1
* MPG: NA

Drivetrain:

* Transmission: Five-speed
* Final Drive: Shaft

Brakes:

* Front: Dual 296mm discs with LBS three-piston calipers
* Rear: Single 316mm disc with LBS twin-piston caliper

Suspension:

* Front: 45mm inverted fork; 5.1-inch axle travel
* Rear: Dual shocks with five-position spring-preload adjustability; 3.9-inch travel

Wheels and Tires:

* Front: 130/70R-18 radial tire
* Rear: 180/70R-16 radial tire

Dimensions:

* Length: NA
* Seat Height: 27.3 in.
* Rake and Trail: 32.48 degrees / 5.7 inches
* Wheelbase: 67.6 in.
* Weight: 714 lbs. dry
* Fuel Capacity: 4.8 gals.

Just for comparision, this guy’s engine is more powerful than a Toyota Carolla (by 1 cc :) ). Thats a lot of power sitting between your legs :) . All I can say is that this guy is not for the faint hearted.

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