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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.

Some last glimpses of Ganesha

Before I get ready to bid goodbye to the lord who has kept us occupied for the last 10 days, here are a couple of Ganeshas I saw yesterday – a bonus, so to speak…. These are actually the first I should have seen, but as it turned out, they were the last I managed to photograph….

The first one is the Ganesha right next to Samhith’s school in Garodia Nagar.




Can you guess what the Ganesha is decorated with? Shells!!! Samhith was delighted! He now has grand ideas about what to do with all the shells we have collected!





Last but not the least,  this one is our colony Ganesha – this is the Ganesha we all make our contributions for, every year, and religiously visit as often as possible. To give them credit, they try and make something interesting every year, mainly for the kids who run off there every time we pass by the mandal, which is several times a day!



This year, the theme was a railway line, all for Chedda Nagar, and this has gone a long way in making Samhith decide that our theme for the Navaratri has to be his railway line too…… and of course, he wants all the other things there too – mountains, rivers, lakes, temples…. The whole set, in fact! Wonder what I am going to do!


Meanwhile, the roads are all lit up and bright, adding to the festive atmosphere…..Thank God, we don’t have those loudspeakers!!





Well, that seems to be all for now, unless I manage to see some interesting idols on their way to immersion. Doesn’t look likely, but then, you never know……





Comments

  1. Your posts are treat to eyes!
    I am gonna call them eye candy :)
    hehe

    Samhith inspires me very much, I was like him during my days and its great to see his imagination unfolding in a unique way , waiting for your navratri specials :) all ready ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I put the shells I collect in the flower pots! The shell Ganesha is spectacular!

    ReplyDelete

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