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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

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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