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Temples of Kashi - The Kardameshwar temple

The absence of ancient Hindu structures in Kashi is something I have always lamented about. The shrines are certainly ancient, and that is something that has always attracted me to the city. However, I miss the beauty of the ancient structures that we see at other sites. This feeling is intensified when I see marble and concrete and tiles in temples that once would have been beautifully adorned with evocative sculptures, and worn by the passage of time, touched by the hands of seekers who came before. This time , this desire to see some remnants of an ancient Hindu structure in Kashi came true when I managed to visit the Kardameshwar Temple. The Kardameshwar temple is not one of the main temples in the city. It is part of the temples on the Pancha Kroshi yatra, a pilgrimage which takes one on a circumambulatory tour of the whole city. The temple is located on the outskirts of the city, on the western bank of a tank called the Kardama Kund. The Kardameshwar temple is one of the...
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More Navaratri Kolus for you....

Any festival signifies a hectic time, but none more so than Navaratri! We have to visit all our relatives and friends to see what they have come up with for the festival, catch up with all the kolus in the vicinity, see the latest arrangement at the temple, and over and above all this, we also have to play host to everyone who visits us! It can get really hectic, especially with school on in full swing, but its an enjoyable ten days! This is practically the only time of the year we get to meet so many of our said relatives and friends. Everyone is too busy the rest of the year with their own lives to go and meet anyone else! Besides, we also get some wonderful ideas for our kolu next year!  Since the people we visit are almost usually the same, the dolls and kolus are almost usually the same too! Only sometimes do we see something new, so this time, I decided not to bore you all with the same kolu pics from everyones' houses, but just some pics of things I found special or interesting.....



First, this is the kolu made by an uncle who was an engineer by profession, and makes some of the best kolus I have ever seen. Last year, he had made an American village as well as an Indian one, and another time, he had replicated the entire Dadar Railway station in miniature! This year, his arrangement was simpler (he is, of course, not getting any younger), but we still loved it! Here are some glimpses....

The main theme was based on various stories of Lord Vishnu...

 

and below it was an Indian village....


This was the main kolu with the steps....


And what I liked the most were the traditional tall south Indian lamps, all dressed up to resemble the Devi...



Next up is a cousin's kolu. I love seeing her arrangement for the dolls - most of them are old ones, which have a charm of their own! Here is a view at the entire arrangement....

 

and here are the ones I liked the most - the Dashavataram set.....unfortunately, it is not a complete set, since a couple of dolls have broken, but see the detail and the beauty of the dolls. These days, most Dashavatar dolls look almost the same, with no details actually visible....

From Navaratri 2011
Incidentally, I was just writing this post, when I saw Lakshmi's  older post on her kolu, and I was so thrilled to see the same set, though complete, at her place too! Head over to her blog to take a look!

Those of you in Chennai, please take a second, closer look. And if you ever see a set like this, please, please, please get it for me!!!!

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  1. Maanasa lahariOctober 3, 2011 at 6:24 PM

    Wow.... lovely dolls... Pls check out mine too here - http://sumsarena.blogspot.com/2011/10/navarathri-dasara-doll-arrangements.html and prev year's here - http://sumsarena.blogspot.com/2009/09/navarathri-festival-of-dolls.html 

    ReplyDelete
  2. teamgsquareOctober 3, 2011 at 9:53 PM

    Wow , wonderful . Dasavatharas

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sowmya03October 4, 2011 at 7:31 AM

    Thanks Anu, your enthusiasm and pics, keep us going in these times:))

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anu ShankarOctober 4, 2011 at 12:18 PM

    Thanks a lot! I have left a comment on your blog too... your dolls are lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anu ShankarOctober 4, 2011 at 12:18 PM

    oh yes they are!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anu ShankarOctober 4, 2011 at 12:19 PM

    Thanks so much sowmya!

    ReplyDelete

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