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...
This one certainly has to be the best one we have seen so far... not the Ganesha, the decoration, of course!! I am talking about the Ganpati at Chembur Station.
The Ganesha himself is rather nice....
.... and the decoration is based on Mumbai roads.....
Of course, not the potholed roads of reality, but the smooth and traffic-less roads we dream will be a reality someday....
But the main attraction here is the Monorail.... which is right now making life for us miserable, with all the roads being dug up, but which will hopefully bring some respite for us when it is finally ready in the distant future....
As of now, the model of this monorail runs smoothly to and fro, thrilling each and every visitor to this Pandal...
Samhith insisted on staying put till the Monorail made a couple of journeys to and fro, leaving only when a huge crowd entered, and the attendant politely asked us to leave!!! But at least now he knows what the monorail will look like!!!




I remember the conversation with him about the monorail; this was in an auto on our way back to the building from his music class. And I remember thinking how he is the only person I know in Mumbai who is looking at all the digging positively :)
ReplyDeleteI am sure Samhith would have liked to stay in pandal for long.. So fascinating it looks. .All these festivals fills the mind with happiness.
ReplyDeleteI can see that Samhith would have been fascinated by the monorail!
ReplyDeleteOh lovely theme!! thats a gorgeous Ganesha!
ReplyDelete@Usha: Oh yes, i remember that conversation. he is still in favour of all that digging, but cant understand why they cant repair our road too... its much worse now... but he actually understood what the monorail would look like only when he saw it...
ReplyDelete@Chitra: oh yes... he would love to stay there all day long, but so would all the other kids too :) and some of these pandals are quite crowded, so they push us out after a while...
@Mridula: oh, he's absolutely fascinated... cant wait for it!
@Patty: oh yes, it certainly was the best one we have seen this year :)