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Temples of Kashi - The Kardameshwar temple

The absence of ancient Hindu structures in Kashi is something I have always lamented about. The shrines are certainly ancient, and that is something that has always attracted me to the city. However, I miss the beauty of the ancient structures that we see at other sites. This feeling is intensified when I see marble and concrete and tiles in temples that once would have been beautifully adorned with evocative sculptures, and worn by the passage of time, touched by the hands of seekers who came before. This time , this desire to see some remnants of an ancient Hindu structure in Kashi came true when I managed to visit the Kardameshwar Temple. The Kardameshwar temple is not one of the main temples in the city. It is part of the temples on the Pancha Kroshi yatra, a pilgrimage which takes one on a circumambulatory tour of the whole city. The temple is located on the outskirts of the city, on the western bank of a tank called the Kardama Kund. The Kardameshwar temple is one of the...
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My Book Review is on the Penguin Blog!!!!!!

A hard-core book lover, I have been following the Penguin Blog for some time, and was thrilled when they launched  Blog a Penguin India Classic. All I had to do was sign up on their site and send them a mail with my postal address. They would send me one of their Indian Classics (a random choice) and all they wanted in return was a review of the book! The opportunity was too good to resist, and I immediately sent them a mail. I expected the book after perhaps a week or so, but imagine my surprise when it landed on my doorstep the very next day!!
The book I received was 'Divya' , by the talented Hindi author Yashpal. Now, my knowledge of Hindi classics is sketchy, thanks to the useless state board Hindi syllabus in my school. I have always wanted to read translations, but have put off buying these books because I have never been able to decide which books are really good translations, and worth buying. As to the library that I belong to, they have none of these books. What a pity.
The book seemed interesting, and having a bit of spare time, I started reading it, and found that I just couldn't put  it down!!!! I finished it within two days (remember I am a wife, daughter-in-law and mom - otherwise, in my carefree college days, I would have finished it in one sitting!)  and the very next day, sat down to write a review. This proved to be rather difficult, for I have never written a review before. I must thank Ramya of Ramya's Bookshelf. I went to her site (which I have been following for a while) and re-read a couple of reviews before starting again. I finally finished writing it yesterday and sent it to them.
Surprise! Surprise! I received a mail today from them saying that they were putting up my review on their site, and even better, mine would be the first one to be posted!!!! I am so thrilled! Check it out here.



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  1. AnonymousMarch 26, 2009 at 11:24 PM

    well done again!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sujatha BagalMarch 28, 2009 at 7:40 AM

    good for you, I say!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousAugust 10, 2010 at 5:35 PM

    Pretty cool blog you've got here. Thanks for it. I like such themes and everything that is connected to them. I definitely want to read a bit more on that blog soon.

    Anete Kuree

    ReplyDelete

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