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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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Sunrise and Sunset for Skywatch Friday

Considering that Samhith's school is extremely miserly about holidays, we had completely forgotten that Guru Nanak Jayanti would bring us a day off. By the time we realised it, it was too late to plan something properly. But some frantic googling and lots of phone calls later, we finally headed out, before sunrise, on our unplanned, last-minute-holiday to Bhimshankar! The trip was special because it had been a long time since we had headed out of town on an impulse, but even more because, Bhimshankar, home to one of the 12 Jyotirlingams (of which I have now seen 10) had been on my radar for a long long time, but it had eluded me for so many years! The Lord seemed to want to make up for all the times my trip had been postponed, because the trip was memorable, not just because of the temple, but because of so many other experiences... You will have to wait to read about them, though, till I manage to sit down long enough to write all of them down.... Meanwhile, here are some photos for you to enjoy, as my contribution to Sky Watch Friday....

The sun rises over a small, sleepy town on the road to Bhimashankar


Peeping from behind the only tree I can see standing tall in the area!

The view from the hills on the way to Bhimashankar... 


The sun prepares to set behind the mountains as we wind our way back home on the expressway



For more beautiful skies from around the world, go to Sky Watch Friday!

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Comments

  1. Lady FiNovember 18, 2011 at 1:29 PM

    Such gorgeous skies! Unplanned trips are often the best kind.

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  2. Anu ShankarNovember 18, 2011 at 1:36 PM

    Thanks, Lakshmi!

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  3. Anu ShankarNovember 18, 2011 at 1:37 PM

    Thanks, Lady Fi! Unplanned trips are always the best! probably because we start out with such low expectations!

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  4. Rniranjan_dasNovember 18, 2011 at 1:53 PM

    Nice shots.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

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  5. PradeepaNovember 18, 2011 at 2:10 PM

    Wow, such lovely shots. I like the one where the sun is peeping from behind the tree.

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  6. magiceyeNovember 18, 2011 at 2:17 PM

    beautifully captured!

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  7. RajeshNovember 18, 2011 at 2:20 PM

    Superb shots.

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  8. Anu ShankarNovember 18, 2011 at 3:09 PM

    Thanks, Raj Niranjan!

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  9. Anu ShankarNovember 18, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    Thanks Pradeepa! thats one of my favourites too... and it was completely a chance shot.. taken from the moving car!

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  10. Anu ShankarNovember 18, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    Thanks Deepak!

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  11. Anu ShankarNovember 18, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    Thanks Rajesh!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Eileen3600November 18, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    beautiful series of skywatch shots. the last one is my favorite. Happy skywatching!

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  13. chitraNovember 18, 2011 at 3:48 PM

    Nice pics. The view from hilltop is fantastic. 

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  14. Mridula DNovember 18, 2011 at 7:51 PM

    Lovely pics Anu.

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  15. A-kayNovember 19, 2011 at 5:19 AM

    I came here from Zephyr's Cybernag and your pictures are very nice.  Looking forward to the post on the Jyotirlingam itself...

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  16. ArtiNovember 19, 2011 at 7:23 AM

    I cant imagine you not having visited Bhimashankar till now!! Its really a very beautiful place, especially in the rainy season...
    Lovely captures.

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  17. RahulBhatiaNovember 21, 2011 at 12:43 PM

    Lovely pictures!

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  18. Anu ShankarNovember 21, 2011 at 6:53 PM

    THanks Chitra!

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  19. Anu ShankarNovember 21, 2011 at 6:53 PM

    Thanks Mridula!

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  20. Anu ShankarNovember 21, 2011 at 6:53 PM

    Thanks Aravind!

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  21. Anu ShankarNovember 21, 2011 at 6:53 PM

    Thank you Rahul!

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  22. Anu ShankarNovember 21, 2011 at 6:54 PM

    THanks a lot, A-kay! the write up will come soon.. as soon as i can get down to the serious business of writing :D

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  23. Anu ShankarNovember 21, 2011 at 7:00 PM

    Thanks a lot, Eileen!

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  24. NamitaNovember 23, 2011 at 9:42 AM

    While we were in pune ,we visited Bheemashankar twice-once in rainy season another in winters and experienced two entirely different moods of the place,nature display wise.now I am eagerly waiting for your subsequent posts to feel it once more.

    lovely pics.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anu ShankarNovember 24, 2011 at 9:24 AM

    Got to sit down and write, Namita! lots and lots to write!

    ReplyDelete

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