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Odisha Part 2 - Puri: The Experience of Jagannath

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...
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Flowers of Gold!

Its a sweltering summer out here, and everything seems terribly hot! I shudder to think what May will bring, and when the rains will come.... Meanwhile, here's a spot of yellow which is pleasing to the eyes....The golden laburnum in our colony is full of flowers and the ground is a carpet of yellow! That, unfortunately,  was a sight I couldn't capture on camera thanks to the condition of the road, but here is the tree and its flowers....







and yes, for those of you who are wondering, yes, I haven't yet managed to write all those over-due posts, so I am filling time by posting random photographs I have taken last month.... and the list of my over-due posts is going to increase, since I have another outing scheduled for tomorrow!

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  1. sriMay 2, 2010 at 8:54 AM

    lovely

    in bangalore there are violet , pale yellow and vermillion flowers that fill the tree to the point there are no leaves :)

    Lovely world!

    ReplyDelete
  2. chitraMay 2, 2010 at 10:09 AM

    This is Vishukonna which is used during Vishu festival for 'Kanikanal'

    ReplyDelete
  3. thecoupleMay 2, 2010 at 10:28 AM

    Kanikonna is one of our favourites. Reminds of Vishu. Though it's Kerala's state flower, we could see it in abundance outside the state.
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. MridulaMay 2, 2010 at 8:19 PM

    Thanks for posting these Anu even I want to post a few of these and the Gulmohar.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anuradha ShankarMay 3, 2010 at 9:55 AM

    @Sri: oh yes, we do have some others too, like the red gulmohur, but nothing looks as beautiful as this!!

    @Chitra: yes.. its the same,...... keralites in our area dont need to buy them.. they can just pick them from the tree!

    @Bindhu: oh yes, they really are plentiful in this part of the country too....

    @mridula: please do.. would love to see ur pics...

    ReplyDelete
  6. IndraniMay 4, 2010 at 8:03 PM

    These yellows are so pleasing.
    Have a great trip Anu.

    ReplyDelete
  7. SoulSpaceMay 9, 2010 at 3:58 PM

    a drop of sunshine on earth!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownSeptember 6, 2012 at 3:09 PM

    Lovely colour and I love the flowers too...thanks for posting ...

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownSeptember 6, 2012 at 3:10 PM

    Lovely colour and I love the flowers too...thanks for posting ...

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownSeptember 6, 2012 at 3:11 PM

    Lovely colour and I love the flowers too...thanks for posting...

    ReplyDelete

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