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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.
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Navaratri 2010 - Day3

Thinking of what to write during the ten days of Navaratri is rather tough, considering that I see almost the same stuff every year - after all, everyone in my circle keep the same dolls and mostly the same arrangements, except a few, who make some changes...... This time, I have decided to look at individual items from Golus which I liked or found interesting, and highlight them, and hope that I dont keep repeating myself!

Here is the Golu from Shankar's aunt's place. An elderly lady, her enthusiasm is astounding. She manages to keep this huge Golu with scarcely any help from anyone, and in spite of all the exertion, her energy and excitement for every small detail is wonderful!


And here is what, to me, is the most interesting and unusual part of her arrangement -


She apparently found this in the US, and it always occupies this place on the side, where every single person notices it and comments on it! Last year, the pic I took didn't come out well, and so this time, I took a few extra shots, just to make sure I got it! Unusual isn't it? Not everyone would think of using this, and that too, this way!

For  a more detailed look at her dolls, you can see my last year's post here. 
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Comments

  1. SoulSpaceOctober 10, 2010 at 11:23 PM

    cool, whats it made of?

    ReplyDelete
  2. RajeshOctober 11, 2010 at 8:48 AM

    Decorations of Navaratri is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaOctober 11, 2010 at 1:41 PM

    I like the chillies and the garlic. So colorful. And it is a good idea to show individual items.

    ReplyDelete

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