Skip to main content

Featured Post

Odisha Part 11: Discovering the Jaina Heritage of Odisha at the caves of Udaygiri and Khandgiri

The Hindu and Buddhist history of Odisha , or rather, ancient Kalinga, is rather well known to everyone. Who hasn’t heard of the grand temples of Odisha – Puri, Lingaraj and Konark, or the great war of Kalinga which inspired Ashoka to convert to Buddhism? In contrast, very few know of the Jaina heritage of this region. This is quite a pity, since, just around 7 km from the city, is one of India’s most ancient inscriptions, which throws light on the Jaina heritage of Odisha. This inscription is the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela, in the hills of Udaygiri. Udaygiri and Khandgiri are two hills located opposite each other, and both are testaments to the rich Jaina heritage of Odisha. The caves at Udaygiri are older, while Khandgiri is relatively newer, but has lasted much longer, and continues to be a place of pilgrimage for Jains even today. These hills, from inscriptions and excavations of caves, shrines and rock beds, appear to have been a haven for Jaina monks, right from the ...
Post a Comment

Out in the garden

No holidays, no vacations... no travel, no blogs to write... For more than a month, I have only been reading blogs... not writing any.... Of course, I have come across a number of interesting blogs in this period. You can check them out in the "Blogs I Follow" list on the side bar.

Well, sitting at home, I have been looking for things to write about, and finally, I have found what I wanted, right in my back-yard, so to speak! I am lucky to live in an area, right in the middle of the concrete jungle that is Bombay, where time stands still and nature remains undisturbed, thanks to some bureaucratic muddle. Some time back, I had put up a post on Sulekha, about the abundance of nature in my garden. Check it out here.

Samhith had been pestering me to carry my camera along every morning while we waited for his bus, and when I finally agreed, I was rewarded with some wonderful sights. As they say – Seek and Ye Shall Find!


To begin with, I always thought Ashoka trees were those which grew straight up, and were purely decorative..... Then, last week, roaming around our compound with a camera, I saw this tree with flowers which looked very much like the Ashoka, only a little different. Our neighbour who tends to the garden informed me that this was the real Ashoka - the tree under which Sita is believed to have sat in Lanka..... and has beautiful flowers!!! Take a look.......

Here is the tree……
Picture 446

…..and here are the flowers…..

Picture 442

…..and here is a close-up of the flowers….

Picture 447
Beautiful, aren’t they!!!!!

Here are some more photos I have taken in our garden…………


Pomegranate Fruit and Flower -
Picture 448 Picture 458









Samhith loves the pomegranates that grow in our garden, though we rarely get to eat any…. most of the time, they are plucked by tramps before they have time to get ripe.. what a waste! Well, here is one which Samhith is keeping tabs on. It is the first thing he looks for when we come downstairs to wait for the bus. The day it disappears will be a sad one!

Picture 451

Jackfruits!!! We all love them, and can’t wait for this lot to ripen! Some of them will be plucked for cooking raw, and a few of them will survive till they ripen, and then, mmmmm… we’ll get to eat them!!


Picture 455

These are a couple more flowers we have… the first is what we call ‘kanakambaram’ in Tamil…. it is one of my favourite flowers. I love to wear them in my hair. What a pity I have taught Samhith never to pluck flowers, and now I can’t even pluck these for myself!!!! The name of the second one eludes me for the moment..Shall update this blog when I remember it!



Picture 453Where there are flowers, can butterflies be far away? Here is a butterfly I managed to photograph as it paused on the floor for a rest…. not very colourful, but all the same, beautiful!







Well, this was just a preview of the many things I have been ‘snapping up’. Keep looking for more!!!!

Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 13, 2009 at 8:51 PM

    ooh lovely post!! what pretty flowers!! Lucky you!! I miss seeing jackfruit trees.. Thanks for sharing!

    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...
10 comments
Read more

Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
9 comments
Read more

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.
7 comments
Read more