The temple of Jagannath at Puri is one of the four most important temples across India. Sometimes called the Char Dham – Badrinath in the north, Rameswaram in the South, Dwarka in the west, and Puri in the east – these temples mark four corners of our country, and each of these temples has a connection to Adi Shankara. He is said to have travelled to each of them, thus marking a sacred geography of India, long before the country actually existed. Among these 4 temples, 3 are dedicated to Lord Vishnu, while only Rameswaram is dedicated to Lord Shiva, though the lingam there is said to have been installed by Rama. Further, Shankara set up Mutts at 3 of these sites (or very close to these sites, like at Badrinath, where the mutt is at Joshimutt), while the mutt in the south is at Sringeri in Karnataka, quite a distance away from Rameswaram. Coming back to the topic, I have visited Rameswaram most often, Badrinath during my childhood, and Dwaraka a few times, but Puri had stayed out of re...
Having finished with the distant Ganesha pandals , we decided to head for a shorter trip closer home in Chembur. Two of the oldest and most popular Ganeshas in Chembur are those at R.K. Studios and the Duke’s Factory. Of course, there are other bigger Ganeshas too – the Chembur-cha Raja in Camp and the many others in the vicinity, and the extravagant Tilak Nagar Ganesha, but these usually have a long queue waiting for darshan, something for which I lack patience. We started with the aim of visiting just these two Ganeshas, but managed a couple more interesting ones on the way. Come, take a look…. We started with the Ganesha at the Duke’s factory – that’s the one making the famous ‘Duke’s Soda’. The factory employees have installed a Ganesha here for years, and it is one of the most popular ones, for they not only have a huge idol of the lord, but also work hard for the theme of the year.