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2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with
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Navaratri 2010 - Day 6

Today's Golu is one kept by a friend in the colony. It is a wonderful combination of the old and the new, for they have some really old and beautiful idols, which I enjoy seeing every year, and they have also kept a few new ones along with the kids' toys. Samhith enjoyed this one, especially since he got a bag to carry back home with goodies just like the girls get. Navaratri being a women's festival, boys are generally ignored, but some of us who have boys who don't like being ignored have started giving out goodies to the smaller boys who visit too..... We hope that this will at least make them want to come along with us to see a few Golus!

Here is the full Golu....


With the side arrangement showcasing the toys of both their kids...Barbies and trains! Need I mention that they have a boy and a girl???


Now for the toys... This one is my personal favourite - the goddess Meenakshi.


and here is the First divine family - Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha! in an interesting form...


Lakshmi - Hayagriva -

and Lakshmi Narasimha....


and now for the newer ones... This one depicts Lord Vishnu reclining on Adishesha, Lakshmi by his side, Brahma on the lotus emerging from His navel, Garuda and Hanuman....


and the newest one of all...the dolls set!


Truly, it is with children in the house that Navaratri and Golus become really interesting!

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Comments

  1. UshaOctober 13, 2010 at 1:11 PM

    I loved the concept of giving a goodies bag to little boys. I remember that my brothers' faces would fall when I'd get stuff they wouldn't for some kanya puja that some neighbouring aunties did.

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  2. Sankara Subramanian COctober 13, 2010 at 8:44 PM

    WOW! That is one awesome and colourful golu! I wish such golu's were kept at my home. But my sis doesn't find time at all :-(

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaOctober 15, 2010 at 4:49 PM

    I had noticed the small doll in the first picture itself, good to see the details too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Meghana HassanOctober 12, 2012 at 4:24 PM

    very true, with children at home, this festival becomes very interesting... As i told u on mail i have planned for arranging golu dis year. My little one just after getting down from her school bus asks if i have already arranged the golu....i have been saying no to her since last one week, thank god its just one week day away n she will b happy to have darshan immediately after coming back from school...

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