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Odisha Part 5: Two less visited temples

My quest for ancient temples often takes me to hidden corners of the country, often less visited by regular tourists. More often than not, my drivers are completely unaware of these temples, and we often get lost looking for them, despite the ease that Google Maps has provided. On my recent visit to Odisha, I had only two such less visited temples on my list – the Varahi temple at Chaurasi, and the Gangeshwari temple. I had heard and read about the Varahi temple at Chaurasi , and was eager to go see her. The form of Varahi has always fascinated me, and this particular temple was said to have an exceptionally beautiful idol of the deity. Persuading my driver wasn’t an easy feat – he was reluctant (to say the least) about going in search of temples he had never heard of, but my persistence paid off. The Varahi Temple at Chaurasi The Varahi temple dates back to the 9 th century, and the architecture is unusual, as compared to the other temples of Odisha. The temple is closest in st...
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Partial Solar Eclipse in Mumbai

For the last hour,I have watching the partial solar eclipse, explaining the phenomenon to Samhith, and trying to get a reasonably good photograph.Success at last!!! Guess what I used to take these pics!!!
















Beautiful, isn't it???
(ANS. a double layer of film for the first 2 and 4 layers for the last 3!)

For More pictures of the solar eclipse, check out the following blogs:

Ashish Parmar's Nature's Imagery (Bangalore)


Mridula's Travel Tales from India (Delhi)


Quest's Quest beyond eternity (Thiruvananthapuram)



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Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. A journey called LifeJanuary 15, 2010 at 3:16 PM

    awesome, i might sound silly, but the partially eclipsed sun looked very powerful even in the photos..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 15, 2010 at 6:38 PM

    @AJCL: hey, u dont sound silly at all!!!! in fact, the sun was so bright that the eclipse which i could see thru dark glasses wasnt even visible when i took pics... i tried all sorts of things to reduce the brightness but to no avail.... even tried taking a pic thru the glasses!!!

    finally, i was looking at some pics on the net of people gathered to see the eclipse and there was a pic there of a child with a photofilm... that gave me an idea and i tried it out.. even then, one layer of the film wasnt enough... as u can see, the more the layers, the better is the pic!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Reetesh KhareJanuary 15, 2010 at 8:03 PM

    amzzzzzzzzzzing anuji u did wonder for us by capturing this moment...how did u do this. i wud like to click the same way next time...so please teach me the way..

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJanuary 15, 2010 at 8:54 PM

    lovely images anu, I was kind of expecting this when I came to your blog. In banglore the eclipse was more complete. It was incredible...Thomas

    ReplyDelete
  5. MridulaJanuary 15, 2010 at 8:55 PM

    I too tried to capture the eclipse between a day full of taking classes. I managed to take it by clicking the reflection though my office window and missing lunch :D

    Loved the hue of your pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 15, 2010 at 9:08 PM

    @ Sabr: Thanks a lot.. but theres no real technique.. just read the comment above... simply trial and error!!

    @T&S : Hey, I was just seeing some blore pics of the eclipse and wondering if u had taken some too..... and also wishing i was there to see it...

    @Mridula: im sure it was worth missing the lunch!! actually so did we, for we dont eat during the eclipse :-(
    and i tried taking pics of the reflection,but somehow it didnt work out well.. waiting to see yours....

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2010 at 12:12 AM

    Hey Deepa Akka...Absolutely Fab photographs...Amma and Shyam saw them too :) Chance'ille!! Shalu

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 16, 2010 at 8:46 AM

    @Shalu: thanks so much!! great to hear from u...

    ReplyDelete
  9. RajeshJanuary 16, 2010 at 7:31 PM

    Snaps of solar eclipsed are awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  10. sandeepJanuary 19, 2010 at 3:41 PM

    luved that red tinge - luvly

    ReplyDelete
  11. QuestJanuary 25, 2010 at 1:19 AM

    The sun was indeed too bright.....saw the eclipse with naked eyes :) and got a few pics too

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 25, 2010 at 9:54 AM

    @ Quest:Hey, u should be a little more careful! but the pics are great!!!!

    ReplyDelete

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