Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Perfect Picture books by Post - To the Zoo by Eric Carle


Its always fun to get a book as a gift, and it becomes a lot more fun when you get a book from someone you don't know! When I signed up for the'Perfect Picture Books by Post' swap on Playing by the Book, both Samhith and I were excited about the whole process, and we sent off our book, waiting eagerly to see which book we would receive!

We got our book yesterday, and I waited eagerly for Samhith to return home from school before opening it. Here is what we received....


We both love reading Eric Carle, and have a couple of his books, but thankfully, this one we dont have! Samhith opened the book and went through them eagerly, seeing the pictures more closely than the numbers themselves. We both loved the mouse seen in every pic, but he was intrigued by the sketches of the train and its coaches, especially those on each page.



As to the book itself, he decided that counting from 1 to 10 was too tame for him, so he decided to first count all the animals, and then all the people, and then all the trees on the last, pullout page. He was thrilled that there were more than 100 in all!!

Thanks so much, Amber, for sending us such a wonderful book. We shall treasure this one!

Incidentally, coming to the books I had sent Amber, we started out wondering which book to send, and ultimately decided on sending one of his books on Ganesha, an all time favourite. As it happened, the book was available, but while his book had two stories in it, the two had now been published separately. He wanted to gift both, so we got the books and sent them off by post. Unfortunately, the books hadnt reached at the time of writing this post, which speaks volumes of the state of the postal system here. No one at the post office is able to give me a convincing answer about where it might be, either. I hope the parcel finds its way to Amber in good shape, and she and her kids can enjoy a bit of Indian mythology, with some cute little pics!

Comments

  1. Since both of us read before sleeping Chhavi too picks up a book upside down most of the time before going to sleep!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a nice thing to read.. isnt it!!?? I love that little train illustration.. Awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A lovely post! I love how Samhith decided to count _everything_ :-) Thanks so much for taking part in the swap - I'm so glad you did.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey! This swapping is a good idea! I wish it was on when we were kids. I did try the trick with a few friends and cousins. Sometimes the result was not so good, I sent the book and didn't get any in exchange. Glad Samhith got one :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

Pandharpur Yatra 2023

The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie