The Vaital temple is of the many intriguing temples in Bhubaneshwar. To begin with, the structure itself resembles a South-Indian temple more than the typical Kalingan style that we see everywhere else in Odisha. The temple has been dated to the last quarter of the 8 th century CE. Further , unlike most of the temples in Bhubaneshwar, this temple is not dedicated to Lord Shiva. Inside the sanctum is one of the deities who is very rarely seen in a sanctum – Chamunda, along with the Saptamatrikas. This is evidently a Shakta shrine. However, the presence of Lakulisha on the vimana indicates the connection with the Pasupata sect, which is most prevalent in this region during this time period. Further, the name of the temple – ‘Vaital’, comes from the word ‘ vetala’ , referring to spirits, which were invoked by tantrics to attain siddhis. Thus, this temple is an amalgamation of Pasupata and Shakta philosophy, with a strong emphasis on tantric rituals, and this is reflected in the iconogra...
Last week, I left home to pick Samhith up from school, and there, on a tree right in front of me, was a kingfisher! I fumbled for my camera, only to realise that I had left it behind! For the rest of the week, I berated myself for my stupidity, and took to carrying my camera everywhere, but it was too late - not a bird turned up to be photographed!
Finally, lady luck smiled at me, and this White Breasted Kingfisher turned up right opposite my house and sat still long enough for me to take a few pics... I wondered if I should put up just one, but then gave in to temptation and decided to put up all three....
So, now its up to you to tell me which one you like best!
Lovely pics... kept staring at em, one by one... i kinda like the 2nd one the best.. :))
ReplyDeletenice new template i see.. blue blue we all love blue..lolz
Wow real good image there.. Could have been better with a better camera you know!
ReplyDeleteLuck really favoured you Anu, but I guess the bird was too shy to show you his/her white breast :)))
ReplyDeleteAll are equally good.
ReplyDeleteLovely captures!
ReplyDeleteclassic!
ReplyDeleteThese guys are real fast and fleeting if you are not ready with the camera.
ReplyDeleteOye! Are you back in Mumbai?
ReplyDeletewow !!! I wouldn't have known its name had one come before me :). You can see such birds in the city ? wow again !
ReplyDeleteand btw, you have been tagged :)
u spotted a kingfisher in Mumbai? wow... the daily visitor at my balcony every afternoon is a raven!
ReplyDeletewow! u spotted a kingfisher in mumbai??? the regular visitor at my balcony is a raven. and then kingfisher planes that i can see from the same place ;)
ReplyDeleteLovely
ReplyDeleteNamaste ji I liked your blog.
ReplyDelete@AArti: thanks....... .looks like we are both fans of blue....
ReplyDelete@Anon: thanks.... totally agree... waiting to buy a better one soon....
@P.N.Subramanian: thanks..
@Indrani: thanks..
@Ssstoryteller: thanks a lot...
@Haddock Absolutely! but this one seemed in no hurry, fortunately for me..
@Usha: just back.. on sunday...had scheduled these posts.. sprry couldnt meet you...
@Lavanya: we live in an area which is under a dispute since the last 35 years... thanks to that, no new constructions are possible, and we have retained the green cover....which is how we get to see these...
@Anuradha: welcome to my blog..... as i mentioned to Lavanya, it is thanks to lack of development that we see these..... once we move ahead, all these will go too....
@Dorothy: welcome to my blog.. nad thanks a lot...
@Sri Radha Govind Dasi: thanks a lot... and welcome to this space...
Anu-
ReplyDeleteI liked this stuff. Good photographs!
Is that loneliness by that bird is choosen by himself/herself or driven by the destiny or it is medidating ?, God knows! :)
Jay :)