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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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Durga Puja at Chembur

Over the last ten days, I have taken you along on a tour through the South Indian celebration of Navaratri in Mumbai. It is now time for something different. I usually try to take Samhith for the Ramleela as well as other Navaratra Pandals. Dandiya is something I havent been able to introduce him to, and that is mainly because I dont dance at all! However, if there is one celebration we manage to catch, it is the Bengali Durga Puja. Somehow, the image of Mahishasura Mardini seems to attract me each year, as do the decorations..... So, here is the Chembur Durga Puja this year......


We were welcomed at the gate by this huge replica of a temple - 



I read in the paper that it was built to resemble a south Indian temple, but I was more impressed by the way the temple had been decorated..... with straw baskets!!



All over were straw baskets - on the walls, they were the decorations....


On the ceiling, they were lamps and chandeliers!



As for the deity, she was as beautiful as ever! Thankfully, we were early and had the entire place to ourselves!



And yes, before I forget - we gorged on Bengali sweets before heading home!

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Location: Chembur, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. ArtiOctober 8, 2011 at 12:58 PM

    Such elaborate and beautiful decorations! I just visit the local Durga temple during Navratri and Dandiya raas is something that is avoided by me too..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anu ShankarOctober 9, 2011 at 10:45 AM

    ha! another similarity btw us!

    ReplyDelete

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