Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Sri Kalyana Venkateswaraswami Temple, Narayanavanam

Sri Kalyana Venkateswaraswami Temple, Narayanavanam
 
We'll be visiting this temple @ 90 km mark on 3rd day of our yatra i.e 29th September...
 
Narayana VanamSri Kalyana Venkateswaraswami temple at Narayanavanam is 40 km from Tirupati. Lord Sri Venkateswaraswami and Sri Padmavathi Ammavaru, daughter of Akasa Maharaja were married here. Sri Kalyana Venkateswaraswami is the main deity here.
There are four sub-temples:

Sri Padmavathi Ammavari temple
Sri Andal Ammavari temple
Sri Sita Lakshmana Sameta Ramulavari temple
Sri Ranganayakula Swami temple
In addition, there are five other temples attached to Sri Kalyana Venkateswaraswami temple:

Sri Parasareswara Swami temple
Sri Veerabhadra Swami temple
Sri Sakti Vinayaka Swami temple
Sri Agastheeswara Swami temple
Sri Avanakshamma temple
The annual Brahmotsavams are conducted every year at the main temple, Sri Veerabhadraswami temple and Sri Avanakshamma temple. Navarathri festival is also celebrated at the Sri Avanakshamma temple every year.

Giri Pradakshina (Konda Chuttu Thirunallu) is one of the important festivals conducted during the end of Sankranthi, once a year, with the utsava murthis of Sri Parasareswaraswami and Sri Champakavalli Ammavaru, and Sri Agastheeswaraswami and Sri Markathavalli Ammavaru.

The other festivals conducted here are:

Andal Neeratotsavam
Panguni Uttarotsavam
Varalakshmi Vratham
Float festival
Anivara Asthanam
Ratha Sapthami
Ugadi Asthanam
Sreerama Navami
Chaitra Pournami
Andal Thiruvadipuram Utsavam
Deepavali Asthanam
Vaikunta Ekadasi & Dwadasi
Karthika Deepam
Dhanurmasam

Friday, September 19, 2014

Daily Sevas

Description of Daily SevasSevas performed for the main deity
SuprabhatamTomala SevaArchana SevaEkanta SevaSevas performed for the utsava murthi
KalyanotsavamArjitha BrahmotsavamDolotsavam (Unjal Seva)Arjita VasanthotsavamSahasra Deepalankarana SevaSuprabhatam
'Suprabhatam' is the first and foremost pre-dawn seva performed in the temple of Lord Venkateswara. This ritual is performed at Sayana Mandapam inside sanctum sanctorum to wake up the Lord from His celestial sleep, amidst the rhythmic chanting of vedic hymns. Every day in the early hours acharyapurushas recite the hymns beginning with 'Kausalya Supraja Rama Purva Sandhya Pravarthathe’ in front of the main deity at Bangaru Vakili, while on the other hand, a descendant of Tallapaka Annamacharya sings some songs penned by the great saint poet in praise of Lord Venkateswara at the first corridor of the sanctum sanctorum at the same time.'Suprabhatam' is a Sanskrit term which literally means “Good Morning”. This particular hymn consists of four parts including Suprabhatam, Stotram, Prapatti and MangalasasanamSuprabhatam-It means awakening Lord from His divine sleep and it consists of 29 slokas.Stotram-These are the hymns in praise of Lord, consisting 11 slokas.Prapatti-Meaning total surrender to Lord and it has 16 stanzas.Mangalasasanam-It is the prayer sung in the glory of Lord consisting 14 stanzasThus, Suprabhatam, composed by Prativadi Bhayankara Annan, a disciple of the celebrated Vaishnava Preceptor, Manavala Mamuni consists of a total 70 slokas.This arjitha seva is performed before the Bangaru Vakili, after which the Bhoga Srinivasa Murthy(silver replica of the main deity and is also known as “Dhruva Beram”) who was laid to bed in the “Sayana Mantapa” is shifted back to “Garbha Griha” to commence His activities for the day. Archakas, jeeyangars, temple authorities and the Grihastha pilgrims who purchase tickets for Suprabhatam’, worship the Lord during this early morning seva and feel immense solace with the first glimpse of His Divine Charm that which cannot be described in mere words.Immediately after completing the 'Suprabhatam', Bangaru Vakili is kept open. The ritual lasts for over 30 minutes. (Suprabhata seva will not be performed in Dhanurmasa. Instead, 'Tiruppavai' is recited during this time.) The worship of Lord Venkateswara during Suprabhatam is considered highly meritorious. 'Suprabhata seva, tickets can be booked in advance.SRI VENKATESWARA SUPRABHATAM (with lyrics and meaning in English) Reporting Time:2:00 AMSeva Time:2:30 AMDay of Seva Performed:DailyPrice of a ticket (INR):120.00No.of Persons allowed:OnePrasadam / Bahumanam:2 small laddusNote : Children below 10 years are not allowed Suprabhatam stanzas, translation and audioThomala SevaThe word “Thomala” means a garland of flowers. Hence this arjitha seva assumes importance of decorating the presiding deity with exquisitely tied colourful floral and Tulasi garlands after awakening Him from celestial sleep with Suprabhata Seva.This arjitha seva is intended to call the special attention of the pilgrim grihasta who takes part paying requisite amount to witness the flower decoration of the “Mula Virat”(main deity)which takes place at the end of the puja.Known as “Thodutha Malai” in Tamil, the flower garlands in Yamunathurai are brought by the Periya Jiyar-the chief pontiff of Tirumala temple as per the traditional custom or by his Ekangi (disciple) in the temple, with a lighted torch in a procession to the rhythmic beat of Jeganta (handy bells)to the temple.The flower garlands are made into several pieces and each piece being of a particular size is adorned in the respective areas to enhance the Divine Beauty of Lord in a spectacular manner. This seva lasts for about 30 minutes. This arjitha seva is performed only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays while in Ekantam(pilgrims are not allowed)during the rest of the week.THOMALA SEVA DETAILS FOR GRIHASTAS:Reporting Time:3:00 AMSeva Time:3:30 AMDay of Seva Performed:Tue-Wed-ThuPrice of a Ticket (INR):220.00No.of Persons allowed:One Prasadam / Bahumanam:2 small laddus

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

12 Alwars

Hindu Temples » About 12 AlwarsAbout 12 Alwars

Alwars, who are said to be the Hamsam of Sriman Narayanan, have dedicated their lives towards the Emperumaan and they led their life by praising and doing Mangalasasanam on Sriman Naryanan. These Alwars are 12 in Number and out of which one is Sri Andal, who is a woman.

These Alwars were born in various parts of our country but they were all united in a common subject, ie dedicating their lives and praising the Lord.

Poigai Alwar, Bhoodath Alwar and Pei Alwar are collectively called as "Mudhal Alwars" were found in the same period of time.

Thirumazhisai Alwar, who thought the Perumal as his friend and has sung Mangalasasanam on Perumal.

Thirumangai Alwar, who was a great king in his starting of life but later, changed his life to work for the Perumal and for his bhaktaas.

Thondaradippodi Alwar, who is also named as "Vipra Narayanar" led his life as the slave to the Perumal and worked for the Perumal by dedicating him with Garlands.

Thiruppaan Alwar, who belonged to the Paanar family, praised the Perumal through his beautiful songs and Paasurams.

Periyalwar, is considered as the Mother, Father for Sri Andal and Father-in-Law to Perumal has sung Mangalasasanam on Perumal.

Sri Andal, who is also called as "Soodikkodutha Sudar Kodi" is said to be the daughter (brought up) of Periyalwar has created "Thiruppavai" in which she considers Sriman Naryanan as her husband. She is the only lady alwar.

Nammalwar, who sat below the Tamarind tree without having any food and sleep got Gnana and has sung Mangalasasanam on Perumal and he has worked hard to spread Sri Vaishnavam.

Madhurakavi Alwar, who is said to be the Sishyan (Student) of Nammalwar is also one among 12 Alwars.

Kulasekara Alwar, have a great bhakti towards Sri Ramar have also done Mangalasasanam on the Perumal particularly in Malayala Naatu thriuppathigal...

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Interview Questions on ASP.NET

1. Describe the role of inetinfo.exe, aspnet_isapi.dll andaspnet_wp.exe in the page loading process.
inetinfo.exe is the Microsoft IIS server running, handling ASP.NET requests among other things. When an ASP.NET request is received (usually a file with .aspx extension), the ISAPI filter aspnet_isapi.dll takes care of it by passing the request to the actual worker process aspnet_wp.exe.

2. What’s the difference between Response.Write() andResponse.Output.Write()?
Response.Output.Write() allows you to write formatted output.

3. What methods are fired during the page load?
Init() - when the page is instantiated
Load() - when the page is loaded into server memory
PreRender() - the brief moment before the page is displayed to the user as HTML
Unload() - when page finishes loading.

4. When during the page processing cycle is ViewState available?
After the Init() and before the Page_Load(), or OnLoad() for a control.

5. What namespace does the Web page belong in the .NET Framework class hierarchy?
System.Web.UI.Page

6. Where do you store the information about the user’s locale?
System.Web.UI.Page.Culture

7. What’s the difference between Codebehind="MyCode.aspx.cs" andSrc="MyCode.aspx.cs"?
CodeBehind is relevant to Visual Studio.NET only.

8. What’s a bubbled event?
When you have a complex control, like DataGrid, writing an event processing routine for each object (cell, button, row, etc.) is quite tedious. The controls can bubble up their eventhandlers, allowing the main DataGrid event handler to take care of its constituents.

9. Suppose you want a certain ASP.NET function executed on MouseOver for a certain button. Where do you add an event handler?
Add an OnMouseOver attribute to the button. Example: btnSubmit.Attributes.Add("onmouseover","someClientCodeHere();");

10. What data types do the RangeValidator control support?
Integer, String, and Date.

11. Explain the differences between Server-side and Client-side code?
Server-side code executes on the server. Client-side code executes in the client's browser.

12. What type of code (server or client) is found in a Code-Behind class?
The answer is server-side code since code-behind is executed on the server. However, during the code-behind's execution on the server, it can render client-side code such as JavaScript to be processed in the clients browser. But just to be clear, code-behind executes on the server, thus making it server-side code.

13. Should user input data validation occur server-side or client-side? Why?
All user input data validation should occur on the server at a minimum. Additionally, client-side validation can be performed where deemed appropriate and feasable to provide a richer, more responsive experience for the user.

14. What is the difference between Server.Transfer and Response.Redirect? Why would I choose one over the other?
Server.Transfer transfers page processing from one page directly to the next page without making a round-trip back to the client's browser. This provides a faster response with a little less overhead on the server. Server.Transfer does not update the clients url history list or current url. Response.Redirect is used to redirect the user's browser to another page or site. This performas a trip back to the client where the client's browser is redirected to the new page. The user's browser history list is updated to reflect the new address.

15. Can you explain the difference between an ADO.NET Dataset and an ADO Recordset?
Valid answers are:
· A DataSet can represent an entire relational database in memory, complete with tables, relations, and views.
· A DataSet is designed to work without any continuing connection to the original data source.
· Data in a DataSet is bulk-loaded, rather than being loaded on demand.
· There's no concept of cursor types in a DataSet.
· DataSets have no current record pointer You can use For Each loops to move through the data.
· You can store many edits in a DataSet, and write them to the original data source in a single operation.
· Though the DataSet is universal, other objects in ADO.NET come in different versions for different data sources.

16. What is the Global.asax used for?
The Global.asax (including the Global.asax.cs file) is used to implement application and session level events.

17. What are the Application_Start and Session_Start subroutines used for?
This is where you can set the specific variables for the Application and Session objects.

18. Can you explain what inheritance is and an example of when you might use it?
When you want to inherit (use the functionality of) another class. Example: With a base class named Employee, a Manager class could be derived from the Employee base class.

19. Whats an assembly?
Assemblies are the building blocks of the .NET framework. Overview of assemblies from MSDN

20. Describe the difference between inline and code behind.
Inline code written along side the html in a page. Code-behind is code written in a separate file and referenced by the .aspx page.

21. Explain what a diffgram is, and a good use for one?
The DiffGram is one of the two XML formats that you can use to render DataSet object contents to XML. A good use is reading database data to an XML file to be sent to a Web Service.

22. Whats MSIL, and why should my developers need an appreciation of it if at all?
MSIL is the Microsoft Intermediate Language. All .NET compatible languages will get converted to MSIL. MSIL also allows the .NET Framework to JIT compile the assembly on the installed computer.

23. Which method do you invoke on the DataAdapter control to load your generated dataset with data?
The Fill() method.

24. Can you edit data in the Repeater control?
No, it just reads the information from its data source.

25. Which template must you provide, in order to display data in a Repeater control?
ItemTemplate.

26. How can you provide an alternating color scheme in a Repeater control?
Use the AlternatingItemTemplate.

27. What property must you set, and what method must you call in your code, in order to bind the data from a data source to the Repeater control?
You must set the DataSource property and call the DataBind method.

28. What base class do all Web Forms inherit from?
The Page class.

29. Name two properties common in every validation control?
ControlToValidate property and Text property.

30. Which property on a Combo Box do you set with a column name, prior to setting the DataSource, to display data in the combo box?
DataTextField property.

31. Which control would you use if you needed to make sure the values in two different controls matched?
CompareValidator control.

32. How many classes can a single .NET DLL contain?
It can contain many classes.


Web Service Questions

1. What is the transport protocol you use to call a Web service?
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is the preferred protocol.

2. True or False: A Web service can only be written in .NET?
False

3. What does WSDL stand for?
Web Services Description Language.

4. Where on the Internet would you look for Web services?
http://www.uddi.org

5. True or False: To test a Web service you must create a Windows application or Web application to consume this service?
False, the web service comes with a test page and it provides HTTP-GET method to test.


State Management Questions

1. What is ViewState?
ViewState allows the state of objects (serializable) to be stored in a hidden field on the page. ViewState is transported to the client and back to the server, and is not stored on the server or any other external source. ViewState is used the retain the state of server-side objects between postabacks.

2. What is the lifespan for items stored in ViewState?
Item stored in ViewState exist for the life of the current page. This includes postbacks (to the same page).

3. What does the "EnableViewState" property do? Why would I want it on or off?
It allows the page to save the users input on a form across postbacks. It saves the server-side values for a given control into ViewState, which is stored as a hidden value on the page before sending the page to the clients browser. When the page is posted back to the server the server control is recreated with the state stored in viewstate.

4. What are the different types of Session state management options available with ASP.NET?
ASP.NET provides In-Process and Out-of-Process state management. In-Process stores the session in memory on the web server. This requires the a "sticky-server" (or no load-balancing) so that the user is always reconnected to the same web server. Out-of-Process Session state management stores data in an external data source. The external data source may be either a SQL Server or a State Server service. Out-of-Process state management requires that all objects stored in session are serializable.