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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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How to bathe a sheep - a step by step guide :D

Yes, you read that right. This post is indeed about bathing a sheep. Not elephants, which we travel far and wide and pay to bathe! Not cows and buffaloes which we see bathing everywhere! But this post is about sheep. Have you ever bathed a sheep or seen someone bathing a flock of sheep? We did, while roaming around Dharamsala. The sight was captivating enough to make us want to stop, much to the surprise of our driver! What was so interesting about it? First, that they were bathing sheep! Second, it seemed so well choreographed, such a part of their routine, that each sheep went through the same process to end up thoroughly bathed!! So, do you want to know how to bathe a sheep? Read on......




  • Step 1: Collect your flock of sheep.  




  • Step 2: Find a suitable river, with enough flowing water. 



  • Step 3: Now for the actual bathing process. Catch hold of the sheep, by its tail. It certainly doesn't want to bathe, so this is not as easy as it looks! 



  • Step 4: Drag it knee deep into the river. 



  • Step 5: Hold on to its neck, tightly, with both hands, and dunk it into the water.



  • Step 6: Continue the dunking.



  • Step 7: Have someone keep an eye on the other sheep. They want to escape before their turn comes!



  • Step 8: Hold the sheep tightly, one hand around its neck, the other on its behind..



  • Step 9: Dunk the sheep completely into the water, head and all....



  • Step 10: Grab its legs and dunk it again! 



  • Step 11: Finally let it go! 



And just in case you have any doubts, here is a video for you.....



When we paused by the river to see the sight of the sheep bathing, it was to click just a single pic. The three of us - me, Shankar and Samhith - were so fascinated by the sight, that our halt turned into over 15 minutes, much to the consternation of our driver, and many, many photos and a couple of videos! It just emphasizes the fact that you never know what will capture your attention, especially when you are travelling. Yet, it is such mundane moments that sometimes stay with you, long after the trip has ended. As I sat writing this post, Samhith came up, peeped over my shoulder, and said "Oh, you are writing about the sheep? That was fun." There were so many more fun things we did, so many more interesting things we saw, and yet, this moment is something we all treasure. 

Which is why I always reiterate - keep you eyes wide open, and enjoy the small moments. You never know what will become a treasured memory! 

Special thanks to Sudha Ganapathy for suggesting the format for this post, which I had been struggling with for days :D



This post is part of my series on my #summertrip 2015, and I hope to take you along with me as I recount stories from my month long trip, which took me across the country. To get an idea of all the places I visited, and what you can hope to read about, click here.  

Related Posts:
  • The Himachal Series- 
Labels:
Location: Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India

Comments

  1. Siddhartha JoshiJuly 7, 2015 at 11:14 AM

    Haha! This look like fun...I would like to bathe one of those sheep as well :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 8, 2015 at 9:27 AM

      I am sure you would have joined him, Sid! and you would have had a great deal of fun doing that too!

      Delete
  2. MridulaJuly 7, 2015 at 1:57 PM

    Ha ha not as easy as it sounded!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 8, 2015 at 9:27 AM

      certainly not, Mridula!! I dont think i could even approach the sheep!!

      Delete
  3. Delhi GopalJuly 7, 2015 at 9:13 PM

    Interesting effort. Keep it up !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amrita DasJuly 7, 2015 at 11:36 PM

    This is hilarious! I could actually hear your voice narrating the post out to me while I laugh. I'll keep the steps in mind lest I need them when I volunteer next :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 8, 2015 at 9:28 AM

      Thank you, Amrita. you can add that to your mental list the next time you plan to volunteer :P and let us know how it goes!!

      Delete
  5. krishnaJuly 8, 2015 at 10:28 AM

    awesome.. i laughed a lot.. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 8, 2015 at 10:39 AM

      Thank you, Krishna! glad to have made you laugh :D

      Delete
  6. UshaJuly 20, 2015 at 7:26 PM

    That looked fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 22, 2015 at 8:27 AM

      It was, Usha! and would have been even more so had we joined in :P

      Delete
  7. RakeshSeptember 2, 2015 at 8:27 AM

    Hahahah! I was just trying to imagine you standing and watching over the entire ceremony with grim academic interest and, well... failing! :D

    Overall, the entire exercise sounds so funny! :D

    ReplyDelete

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