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Temples of Kashi - The Kardameshwar temple

The absence of ancient Hindu structures in Kashi is something I have always lamented about. The shrines are certainly ancient, and that is something that has always attracted me to the city. However, I miss the beauty of the ancient structures that we see at other sites. This feeling is intensified when I see marble and concrete and tiles in temples that once would have been beautifully adorned with evocative sculptures, and worn by the passage of time, touched by the hands of seekers who came before. This time , this desire to see some remnants of an ancient Hindu structure in Kashi came true when I managed to visit the Kardameshwar Temple. The Kardameshwar temple is not one of the main temples in the city. It is part of the temples on the Pancha Kroshi yatra, a pilgrimage which takes one on a circumambulatory tour of the whole city. The temple is located on the outskirts of the city, on the western bank of a tank called the Kardama Kund. The Kardameshwar temple is one of the...
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Rangolis - Maharashtrian style!

I have always been fascinated by the Maharashtrian way of drawing rangolis. While I love drawing the traditional 'kolams' with rice paste, I am no good at using the kolam powder or rice flour. These are typical Maharashtrian patterns drawn at Jalgaon, where, as I mentioned earlier, we attended a puja.

The girl was young, must have been younger than me, and she drew these two rangolis in a matter of minutes!



Normally, when we use rice flour, we can only draw one line at a time. Here, in the next rangoli, she drew 4 at a time!!! It was fantastic to watch her, and I tried taking a pic of her drawing the rangoli. Unfortunately, it was dark and they did not come out well. These pix were taken the next day, and I wasn't able to locate her and ask her to pose next to her creations.




A wonderful job,isn't it? what do you say????



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  1. NishaJanuary 17, 2010 at 12:30 PM

    These are beautiful. Kudos to that girl. I could never learn doing complicated designs.

    But I still feel that south Indians make faster rangolis. In Chennai during festivals seasons they make big ones on the road... each better than the other one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MridulaJanuary 17, 2010 at 2:45 PM

    I am sure I will never be able to make these even in days! My teachers used to give me passing marks in drawing because I used to do well in other subjects :P

    ReplyDelete
  3. SoulSpaceJanuary 17, 2010 at 8:10 PM

    lovely
    actually Yu must visit vilages in Tamilnadu during Marghazi(if yu have, then do tell!)...entire streets with wonderful elaborate kolams...
    its beautiful
    and so were these...

    ReplyDelete
  4. sriJanuary 18, 2010 at 5:12 PM

    beautiful creation, from the professional girl :) and as story teller said if u visit agraharams of south during margazhi that would be a virtual delight :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousOctober 12, 2012 at 2:26 PM

    Loved the rangoli designs. Very creative.Love to feature these rangoli designs here http://www.3mik.com/group/rangoli

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownOctober 22, 2013 at 11:50 AM

    What an amazing artwork! I am always feeling awed everytime i see these Rangoli designs made for the festivals, so amazing! thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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