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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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Many little ducks went out one day.....

A rhyme we once learnt in school went....



Five little ducks went out to play
Over the hill and far away 
The mother duck said Quack, Quack come back
Four little ducks came running back

and so on.... till....

No little ducks came running back
Sad mother duck went out one day
Over the hill and far away
The daddy duck yelled QUACK, QUACK COME BACK!
Five little ducks came running back!





I was reminded of the rhyme when we saw a flock of ducklings being herded down a busy street on a recent visit to Tiruppur. 






I wondered  where they were headed... to a duck farm, most probably, to be allowed to grow fat and healthy,,, till it was time for them to make another trip.. to the butcher this time. I couldnt help feeling sorry for these tiny creatures, which, unlike those of the nursery rhyme, wouldnt ever come back...


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