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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.
3 comments

An unusual sight

We recently saw a sight in our building, which is common in Kerala, but rather unusual for this city. Shankar was the first to spot the man atop our coconut tree, and suggested that it was a good opportunity for some photos.... So here they are...... shots of a guy at ease atop a coconut tree, and his descent... without any aids except his hands and feet............

















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Location: Chedda Nagar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. AartiNovember 26, 2009 at 4:23 PM

    :)Oh i am always amazed watching them climb the tree with their bare hands and just that rope around their legs... amazing!!

    one guy comes home once every couple of mths to pull out all coconuts!! :)

    dint know they had it up North as well

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bhavesh ChhatbarNovember 26, 2009 at 5:06 PM

    Quite unusual in Mumbai! And did you notice, he did give you a look.

    About your query on my post Peacocks [Mor, मोर] of Morachi Chincholi [मोराची चिंचोली], I suggest the best place to stay is Pune only. It's just 50 kms. by road from Pune.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SoulSpaceNovember 27, 2009 at 8:21 PM

    how do i vote for yu?

    ReplyDelete
  4. SorcererNovember 29, 2009 at 7:22 PM

    cool!!

    i heard the contest for making a tree climbing robot is still on!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. MridulaNovember 30, 2009 at 6:03 PM

    Many congratulations on the nominations Anu.

    ReplyDelete
  6. IndraniDecember 1, 2009 at 8:35 AM

    Wow! Great captures.
    When I was small, i used to admire them for being so brave.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anuradha ShankarDecember 1, 2009 at 3:27 PM

    @ Aaarti: well, they do come by once in a while.... but they are difficult to get hold of them, esp since there are so few..... and in any case, our colony is more like a village amidst this busy city.....

    @ Bhavesh : yes, he did spot me, and was probably surprised to see someone taking pics!!
    thanks for the info...... have to go there sometime sooon.....

    @ Sorcerer : welcome to my blogs..... yes, i heard about it too......

    @ Mridula : thanks.... it was a great surprise.. as well as a great pleasure...

    @ Indrani : yes, me too.... never thought i would see one here...

    ReplyDelete

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