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Odisha Part 6: The Yogini Temple of Hirapur

I fell in love with this temple the first time I set eyes on it. Back in 2017 , I had been excited to see yet another Yogini temple, when I visited Puri. The resort I was staying at (and writing for), had arranged for a car and driver to take me around. The driver was happy to take me to most of the places I wanted to go, but when it came to Hirapur, he was appalled. He knew of the temple, but had never been there. It was a tantric temple, one not visited by women, and certainly not women travelling alone. He tried to convince me not to go, but my stubbornness and persistence paid off, and he reluctantly agreed when I told him that if he didn’t take me, I would find another driver who would. All along the way, he kept going on about the sinister things that happened at the temple, the tantric rituals that were performed at night…. An Odisha brahmin who took his religious duties very seriously, to the extent of stopping the car to perform the sandhyavandam when he deemed it time, he...
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All That Glitters.....

.........is gold. 

One of the richest Ganeshas in Mumbai, this is the GSB Ganpati at Wadala Ram Mandir.


As is common in most traditional Ganesha Pandals all over Mumbai, the Ganesha idol made for this Pandal is made the same way every year. Everything is a constant, from the size and the shape to the gold coverings. Of course, every year there are additions to the gold offered to the deity, which is why you can see necklaces hanging everywhere.Thousands flock to this temple during Ganesh Chaturthi to pray and make offerings. Various havans and pujas are conducted, and thousands are fed. They also perform a lot of social activities from the money collected.

There are two other GSB Ganeshas in Mumbai - one at the SNDT college and one at Kurla. While the SNDT one is as acclaimed as the Wadala one, they did not allow me to take photos this year. However, here is a pic of the Kurla one. This Ganesha is located in the Venkateswara temple in Kurla West, very near the station.


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Comments

  1. AartiSeptember 14, 2010 at 10:20 AM

    Wow, beautiful!! :))

    ReplyDelete
  2. P.N. SubramanianSeptember 14, 2010 at 11:20 AM

    Beautiful. I too have been frequenting these Ganeshas as I used to be at Mumbai during that period. (Not this year)

    ReplyDelete
  3. chitraSeptember 14, 2010 at 1:36 PM

    Rich Ganeshas!!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. budh.aaahSeptember 14, 2010 at 5:24 PM

    quite informative

    ReplyDelete
  5. MridulaSeptember 14, 2010 at 8:39 PM

    Nice pictures Anu.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2010 at 11:50 PM

    Anu... How are you doing?? I was waiting for this post from you?? Only two pics... ??

    Hope you had a fabulous celebration at home..

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownSeptember 15, 2010 at 4:35 AM

    Wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anuradha ShankarSeptember 15, 2010 at 9:38 AM

    @Aarti: thanks a lot!

    @PN Subramanian:Ganesh chaturthi in bbay is unforgettable...i just wish i could visit more ganeshas as i used to, earlier...

    @Chitra: absolutely!! and there are so many like ths now!

    @budh.aah: thanks and welcome here...

    @Mridula: thanks...

    @Patty: thanks so much! guess you missed the earlier post where i had posted more pics.. take a look...

    @Joy: thanks..

    ReplyDelete

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