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.
The mountains near the Ambaji Temple in Gujarat are well known for their marble mines. In fact, the local name for the mountains and the forest there - Arasur - comes from the word for marble. No wonder every temple in the area is made of marble! Here is one view of the hills.........
Here is another... from right among these hills....
Take a closer look.....
The marble mines have eaten up the heart of the mountain, and not much is left. With the kind of demand for marble today, I wonder how much of these hills will be left in a few more years!
This has been quite a depressing post, but for some really good images from around the world, go to Sky Watch Friday.
Here is another... from right among these hills....
Take a closer look.....
The marble mines have eaten up the heart of the mountain, and not much is left. With the kind of demand for marble today, I wonder how much of these hills will be left in a few more years!
This has been quite a depressing post, but for some really good images from around the world, go to Sky Watch Friday.
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