Giant African Land Snails Arrive in Houston

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The above video displays a news report about the occurrence of the giant African Land Snails in Houston, TX. The news report reveals who found these animals and the dangers associated with handling the animal but doesn't say how these animals got to America. These animals are land snails so they couldn't have swam their way from Africa to America! Someone must have brought a few of these creatures alive for breeding and possibly to sell their colorful shells, now that many of these are running wild it would be difficult to find them and prevent them from infesting the rest of the country.

Life Forms in Sheldon Lake State Park

While at Sheldon Lake State Park and Environmental Learning Center I happened to spot some species of urban wildlife such as chameleon, and turtle. Of course there were signs warning us of alligators, armadillos, rabbits, and other species we didn't see any. Here are the more pictures of Sheldon Lake and the state park area.

Last set of pictures of the Buddhist temple, Houston

I have been posting the pictures of the spectacular Viet Namese Buddhist temple in Sugarland, Texas, one of the suburbs of Houston. The temple is so vast and has so many interesting sights that it is difficult to post all the pictures at one go. Anyway here is the last set of pictures shot in the sprawling temple complex which features expansive green lawns, artistic buildings, water bodies and parking lots.

Another Bell Tower

A large building in the temple, the library or discourse room I suppose

Rear view of the temple with fountain and sculptures

Sculpture of Buddha under the Bodhi tree in the shrine's Bonsai garden

Viet Namese Buddhist Temple, Houston - More Pictures

Yesterday I blogged about our last week's visit to Houston and the accidental discovery of the grand Viet Namese Buddhist temple. Due to paucity of time I couldn't upload all the pictures I wanted to in the blot post. This grand Buddhist shrine evokes awe and intrigue at the same time. There are several areas of the temple which would make any Hindu/ Buddhist feel proud. For instance the presence of the Ashoka Pillars crowned by Lions right at the entrance, a massive building known as "Dharma Hall", the verdant green acres around the shrines, the numerous images of Buddha installed amidst gardens and lawns, et al. I hope I could visit this temple again when I visit Houston and take in the beauty and spiritual vibrations. Here are more views of the temple.

The Bell Tower in the center of the shrine compound

Buddha idol in the garden contiguous to the shrine

Bridge across a water body to view the Buddha idol

Water body and the idols inside and outside it

Another religious symbol in the water body

Long shot of the Buddha statue

NB: More pictures to come shortly.

Krishna Janmashtami Celebrations in Texas

Lord Krishna, the god of love with his consort Radha

Over the weekend we had been to Houston to participate in the well organized, colorful, and wonderfully scintillating Krishna Janmashtami Celebrations. The festival was organized by Hindus of Greater Houston, a non-profit organization formed to promote Hinduism and remove the popular misconceptions about the oldest religion in the world. The beauty of the event was that there was no fees charged either for visitors or for vendors who kept booths. The only condition however was that only Hindu non-profit organizations were permitted to have booths.

This was the first time I felt a Hindu presence in the United States. Temples and other spiritual locations apart this was the only ceremony which had a pure Hindu feel to it. Part of the feel came from the fact that everyone who entered the auditorium were asked to remove their foot wear as a mark of respect to the deities installed there. Nearly every large temple in Houston had their booth with a picture of their deity or the Utsav Murti. This was one place where we could a glimpse of various gods and goddesses in one place.

The ceremonies were quite similar to those festivities organized in ashrams of modern Hindu Swamis like the Prasanna Trust or Art of Living Foundation. The highlight of the evening was live performance by Ghazal Maestro Anup Jalota who held the audience spellbound by his rendition of devotional songs dedicated to Lord Rama and Krishna.

There were numerous other performances by children, Krishna costume competition and the event was capped up by a Dandia or community dance which went on for about an hour and half. The devotional evening started off at 5.30 pm and continued until 1.00 am. As I came out of the auditorium I was heady in the spirituality and felt really happy that at last I have participated in a proper Hindu festival celebration. I wish similar festivals could be organized in Dallas too and every other American city where there is a Hindu presence.

Ceremonial welcome to guests on a carpet flanked by traditional figures

The center of attraction a mega rangoli with Radha-Krishna idol in the center

Ghazal Maestro Anup Jalota rendering soul soothing devotional songs

Packed auditorium during Anup Jalota's performance

The band of Guruvaurappan temple getting ready for performance

Independence Day Celebrations, Houston

It has been two years since I celebrated our country's Independence Day in India. Last year on Independence we were driving from Dallas to Los Angeles, this year we attended the India Culture Fest at Houston. Organized by the Indian Culture Society, Houston this annual extravaganza features dances, mostly Bollywood and fusion, singing, booths from profit and non-profit organizations and of course food.
This event was like several other Desi events I attended, the same old dances, same old costumes and same old crowds etc. The same old boring MCs who have no clue what they are doing. There were few changes though, the first positive change was that there was a performance by a Mariachi band. The band belted out three desi numbers, two Hindi and one Kannada. That was a heartening and positive change that I felt that India is making some kind of impact upon other cultures.
The other aberration I noticed was during the performance of a so-called desi band. It was Independence Day the band should have started the performance with a patriotic number, but no, they start off by singing Zubanallah..... I was shocked to hear that and for the next half an hour song after song it was Shah Rukh Khan all the way. I wonder when Indian's will ever learn to be patriotic??? This is one of the reasons I don't like to attend celebrations in the Pakistani-dominated Texas.

Efficient Resource Management

houston-oct-4- 024
Originally uploaded by srinidhilv.

One of the things I like about the US is the way they manage their natural resources. Take for example rivers, streams, creeks, brooks, lakes and other water bodies. I have traveled to several different cities, both large and small across the US and no where have I seen a water body being killed to make way for commercial or residential development. Town planners always leave certain amount of space around the water body so that the natural elements are not hindered and earth retains at least some of its moisture and ground water content.

Take for example this river which flows right by Downtown Houston. If it were elsewhere it would have probably been closed down and buildings built atop its dried up bed. Or perhaps they would have used this as a natural sewage line and emptied untreated domestic sewage into the water body thus killing it slowly.

But in the US most water bodies are usually left alone and development takes place along side. Of course the river does get polluted, but not as polluted as it would get if wastes were directly emptied into them.

I think back home in India town planners need to realize this and learn to conserve resources so the future generations can have water, the elixir of life.

Houston Zoo - Fantastic Collection of Exotic Animals

I thought I had finished with my Houston trip, but I was going through some of my pictures and I realized that I had completely bypassed some exotic locations such as the Museum of Art, the Zoo and other places we visited in Houston. The Houston zoo was the first I visited in the US and I am pretty impressed with the collection of animals and the number of people visiting the place. Kids, parents and young people everyone yelling, squealing and happy to see the animals... I saw some really rare and exotic species of animals here... some of which I had never seen in my life. The Giraffe with its long neck, the large and regal grizzly bear, numerous exotic varieties of animals from Africa, South America etc.

One thing left me a little dazed... shelters for large mammals like the Leopard, Tiger, Lion etc were so small that these cats hardly had any space to move around and stretch their legs. In a continent-sized nation like America and particularly in Texas where everything is Texas Sized,... I wonder why these enclosures were so pitiably small... I hope this will be rectified soon... The sea lion demonstration was too good...

Williams Waterwall, Houston

The Williams Waterwall is my most favorite place in Houston. Situated near the Galleria, Williams Waterwall is a cool, refreshing and soothing oasis that attracts visitors and locals in droves. Built in 1985, the amazing 64 ft tall man-made waterfall drops thousands of gallons of aqua fina every minute. In my opinion there is no better place in Houston than the Waterwall to cool off after a long day at work. Especially considering the chaotic traffic in Houston, this provides a pleasing respite.

This gorgeous piece of architecture located contiguous to the Williams Tower is in the shape of a semi-circle and has water cascading over it and down a series of steps towards the bottom. Standing in front of it and feeling the cool spray emanating from the fall is bound to be a grand experience. When I stood in the middle of the semi circle frothing water I never wanted to leave. And in the night when the lights come up.. it is a particularly spectacular sight. And of course the waterwall has a small park (large in Indian standards) attached to it and is a great place to spend a quality evening.

Enjoy the pictures

Houston: Downtown Aquarium

I have had this long backlog of blogging about what I saw in Houston that it seems to be taking me forever to complete it. But I will catch up slowly. Well on October 3, 2008 we decided to checkout downtown Houston and since we had bought a city pass we wanted to visit the Downtown Aquarium, a place for children and lovers of aquatic life. For veggies like me the Aquarium offers a rare insight into the myriad varieties of aquatic life. And for foodies who love eating fish and other aquatic life, the restaurants in the same building offer tantalizing tastes. Choose your pick.

Old blends with New at downtown

Well before we got to the aquarium there were several interesting spots in Downtown Houston which I felt I must post and share with all of you. The streets are narrow and the buildings seem to reach up to sky, parking is scarce and the few lots where it is available one has to fork out $5 minimum. There is a certain amount of charm to downtowns in the US, they blend history and modernity seamlessly and one can tall glass skyscrapers rubbing shoulders with quaint brick buildings. I wish Indian cities had downtowns and residential areas separate and not the masala that is going on out there. Anyway that can be a separate post... now let us see what Downtown Houston had to offer us... in terms of sights.

One of the large buildings in Downtown Houston

Downtown Sights

Giant cement sculpture in front of an office building

Road signs are impressive looking too

A large church in downtown Houston

Waterbody in front of the city hall plaza

Mural inside the Houston city hall

Another view of the mural

Another view of the Mural

Entry to a walkway along the river

River Brazos which passes through Houston downtown... dirty as ever

Old and new buildings in downtown

Downtown Aquarium

Giant Ferris wheel in the downtown Aquarium complex

Facade of the downtown aquarium building

Main entrance to the Aquarium

Beautiful fountain in front of the Aquarium

Entry to the downtown Aquarium

There is a white tiger inside the Aquarium

Catfish.. visitors can touch and feel them