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The Vaishnodevi Experience 2023

My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
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Navaratri 2009 - Days 1 and 2

The first day of navaratri was even more hectic than I had thought it would be. The day began with my trying to complete the arrangement of the Kolu, but wasn’t able to, since I had to leave at mid-afternoon for the NCPA, where we attended a symphony orchestra concert, the highlight of which was a performance by their students, many of them about Samhith’s age!

Having gone all the way to Nariman point, Samhith couldn’t be induced to return without walking for a while along Marine drive, him wanting to stand and stare, me hurrying him along…..




Sunset on Marine Drive...



A fishing boat...



The streets are alight - with the traffic as well as decorations....



The Devi arrives...




We rounded off the day by attending a wedding reception (Thank God for that, at least I didn’t have to cook!!), and visiting the Chedda Nagar Subramania Samaj Temple…..


As I mentioned in my earlier post, the temple has an interesting decoration everyday, and the first one this year was Kubera Shiva and his consort, Hemavathi…I was curious about this form of the lord, and on enquiry, and aided with a bit of research on the net, was able to learn that Kubera performed austerities which earned him the favour of Shiva, who gave him a status as one of his dearest ones. Kubera Shiva is that aspect of Shiva, where Kubera co-exists with Shiva. The importance of the Devi in this form is that Kubera first gained the blessings of the Devi, praying to her on the Himalayas. As daughter of Himavat, one of her names is Hemavathi.




The second day was no less hectic, but I managed to get my kolu completely ready by evening, when my mom, uncle and sister came to take a look. Again, the day ended with our visit to the temple, where the decoration was Shiva as Kirata Moorthy – the hunter. There are many instances of Shiva appearing in the form of a hunter, the most popular story being that of Arjuna, when Shiva fights with him, trying to gauge his strength and his ability to handle the Pasupatha weapon, for which he has been performing austerities.






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Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2009 at 12:30 PM

    oh such a lovely post... I would have loved to stay & walk along Marine drive with you & Samith...

    ReplyDelete
  2. thecoupleSeptember 22, 2009 at 7:34 PM

    Thanks for posting this. Must visit Chedda Nagar temple.
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anuradha ShankarSeptember 22, 2009 at 11:06 PM

    Patricia : Thanks.. it would have been great to have you there..... next time you are here in Bombay, lets try to make it!!!

    Bindu and Unny - Yes, you must certainly visit the temple, and this is the best time to do it!

    ReplyDelete

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