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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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Ganesha on Facebook

As I do every year, this year too, I will take you along with me as I visit Ganeshas in and around my locality. I start the series today with our favourite Ganesha at the moment. This Ganesha has been installed in our neighbouring building, and Samhith went over to take a look as soon as it arrived. He came back all agog at the theme.....





The Facebook idea seemed to strike a chord with him! For the first time, he grasped the idea of a 'theme'. He dragged me to see the Ganesha, and actually spent a long time looking at all the small details. He especially liked the idea of cutting the poster to make space for placing the idol! Considering that he now knows how to chat with his aunts and uncles on Facebook (of course, he is only allowed when I am around!), he was also excited to see who who was 'online'.... the only thing he didnt understand was the 'poke'! "Why would anyone want to poke anyone? And would anyone like it if they were poked?" was his question... Any answers????


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Comments

  1. Indrani GhoseSeptember 3, 2011 at 10:09 AM

    That is a great idea well executed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. aJSeptember 3, 2011 at 7:12 PM

    Hehe... that question bowled me out :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anu ShankarSeptember 4, 2011 at 12:59 PM

    Yes, Indrani! we loved it and told the organisers too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anu ShankarSeptember 4, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    Yes, Aakash! it bowled me over too! kids come up with most interesting questions!

    ReplyDelete

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