What I Missed While Walking Past the Kanchi Mutt

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A place I passed every day without really understanding it. As a kid growing up in Malleswaram, devotion wasn’t something we discussed — it was just in the air. The smell of agarbathi in the evenings. The noise of vendors lining up on 8th cross before a festival. The quiet expectation that you showed up, bowed your head, and moved on. Ganesh Chaturthi. Varalakshmi Vratam. Deepavali. Janmashtami. Ugadi. The calendar moved, but the pattern stayed. The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Malleswaram was part of my daily route to school. Not something I questioned. Not something I deeply understood. Just… there. Every morning, on my way to school, I would slow down for a second in front of the Mutt. Just enough to bow my head toward Kanchi Kamakshi from outside the gate — and then hurry along before the school bell. It was a ritual for as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it came from devotion. I did it because my parents did it. The street...
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ISC Day...

Any international event here is never complete without the Indian community taking part. India is a part and parcel of the Rolla life.

I guess that's what is happening even at the international level. We are going miles ahead! Last week we celebrated the ISC day. ISC by the way stands for International Students Council. This is one of the important events held every year showcasing the cultural aspect of many countries. The work leading to the event was hectic.

We had to collect the traditional and Indian items from many people here in Rolla. The whole point is everyone had to be convinced that their items would be returned in exactly the same way as we have borrowed it. That's a tough promise and the problem is even the lenders know it! That doesn't mean we did not return the items back. It was given back to them on time.

We also prepared a collage on India. This required a lot of efforts, collecting pictures on everything associated with India. It involved two nights of hard labour to stick the pictures in the right place and get it to shape.

There were a lot of exhibits that we displayed. Others were really dumbstruck at the amount of stuffs we had gathered. Even the cultural show was truly amazing in the end.

It was a great opportunity to interact with people from other countries and view their exhibits. It was a great learning experience and truly fun-filled.

The Indian food as usual went down well with the masses. The menu from India was Jeera Rice and Malai Kofta! Slurp! Slurp! The Indian stall was awarded the first prize for the exhibits. The Malai Kofta ranked second in terms of the popularity. The first rank was missed by 10 votes out of 600 votes. Totally it was a great day with a lot of fun!

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