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Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
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Purple Rumped Sunbirds and Tailor Bird - Sky Watch Friday

The monsoons having officially begun, the trees near our house have been pruned. I wondered if this would mean that lesser birds would visit our place, but was surprised to see that in fact, I saw more of them, thanks to the lack of leaves which helped them camouflage! The best thing was that I managed at last to photograph the purple rumped sunbirds which flutter amidst the flowers all day long.....




Here is the male.....




and here is the female....




and here is one.. I guess it is a juvenile. Look at the red patch on the head. I wonder, is it a male juvenile? Any ideas you birdwatchers out there?

And finally,here is one which looks just like the female sunbird, but for a red patch on the head. It is a Tailor Bird! Thanks Mridula and Team G Sqaure for the ID




Here are some more pics in the form of a collage....


For more shots from around the world, go to Sky Watch Friday


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Location: Chedda Nagar Rd, Kurla, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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