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Odisha Part 2 - Puri: The Experience of Jagannath

The temple of Jagannath at Puri is one of the four most important temples across India. Sometimes called the Char Dham – Badrinath in the north, Rameswaram in the South, Dwarka in the west, and Puri in the east – these temples mark four corners of our country, and each of these temples has a connection to Adi Shankara. He is said to have travelled to each of them, thus marking a sacred geography of India, long before the country actually existed. Among these 4 temples, 3 are dedicated to Lord Vishnu, while only Rameswaram is dedicated to Lord Shiva, though the lingam there is said to have been installed by Rama. Further, Shankara set up Mutts at 3 of these sites (or very close to these sites, like at Badrinath, where the mutt is at Joshimutt), while the mutt in the south is at Sringeri in Karnataka, quite a distance away from Rameswaram. Coming back to the topic, I have visited Rameswaram most often, Badrinath during my childhood, and Dwaraka a few times, but Puri had stayed out of re...
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Garden Lizards

We see garden lizards all the time in our backyard. But when you have a new camera to try out, it looks interesting enough to photograph!!! This one was so perfectly camouflaged that Samhith had to point it out to me several times before I managed to spot it....




Here, take a closer look...



This one, on the other hand, stood out clearly as it basked in the sun on the parapet wall.



It was still for a while, but as I continued clicking, it got up and slowly moved into a crevice on the wall...



And here is what a dear blogger friend, Suranga Date, whom most of you know as Ugich Konitari, writes about these pics....

Sign of the times.

He slithers,
homeless,
across the collapsed fence
ignoring the
rust
and the surrounding jungle
of dehydrated plants
fallen in holes.

Lizard Yoga classes 
happening,
and it gets 
more and more difficult
in this old age 
to reach in time
with the 
cracks and pokes 
and hurtful rust.

And so he stops,
hands resting 
next to shoulders,
stretches and lifts himself
in a Bhujangaasan, 
beseeching the Lord.

Watched 
by a proud denizen
on a 
redeveloped 
highrise stone terrace,
also going for Lizard Yoga,
togged out
in a moddish red bodysuit,
proud 
to have made it 
up here
by hook 
and mostly by crook,
and unsuccessfully 
trying a Mayuraasan
to show it...

And a butterfly
flying just out of reach
of the younger Lizard,
flaps its wings,
alights on a leaf
and shakes its head 
saying,
"They dont make Lizards
like the old ones 
any more...."

You can also go over and see the poem on her blog. Click here to see the post.

Thank you so much, Suranga! It always amazes me how you come up with such perfect lines... Looking forward to reading many many more!!
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Comments

  1. RamakrishnanMay 23, 2012 at 6:25 PM

    Lovely creature well photographed !

    ReplyDelete
  2. ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ/ AshwiniMay 23, 2012 at 7:56 PM

    Yeeks creatures so close. Nicely captured Anu.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarMay 23, 2012 at 10:34 PM

      yeeks indeed Ashwini, but not when seen thru the lens !!!

      Delete
  3. Ugich KonitariMay 23, 2012 at 10:24 PM

    Sign of the times.

    He slithers,
    homeless,
    across the collapsed fence
    ignoring the
    rust
    and the surrounding jungle
    of dehydrated plants
    fallen in holes.

    Lizard Yoga classes
    happening,
    and it gets
    more and more difficult
    in this old age
    to reach in time
    with the
    cracks and pokes
    and hurtful rust.

    And so he stops,
    hands resting
    next to shoulders,
    stretches and lifts himself
    in a Bhujangaasan,
    beseeching the Lord.

    Watched
    by a proud denizen
    on a
    redeveloped
    highrise stone terrace,
    also going for Lizard Yoga,
    togged out
    in a moddish red bodysuit,
    proud
    to have made it
    up here
    by hook
    and mostly by crook,
    and unsuccessfully
    trying a Mayuraasan
    to show it...

    And a butterfly
    flying just out of reach
    of the younger Lizard,
    flaps its wings,
    alights on a leaf
    and shakes its head
    saying,
    "They dont make Lizards
    like the old ones
    any more...."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarMay 23, 2012 at 10:36 PM

      That was wonderful, Suranga!!!! Am adding it to the post...

      Delete
  4. Samaresh BiswalMay 23, 2012 at 10:45 PM

    nice click

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ugich KonitariMay 23, 2012 at 10:52 PM

    http://kavitalihi.blogspot.in/2012/05/slithering-lives.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarMay 24, 2012 at 9:13 AM

      Thanks for the link, Suranga. have added the link to the post too, and commented aso :D

      Delete
  6. IndraniMay 24, 2012 at 9:18 AM

    Great series of captures.

    ReplyDelete
  7. zephyrMay 24, 2012 at 9:23 AM

    The pics brought back memories of childhood when we used to stand and watch these denizens of the garden for hours, waiting to see if one of them was a chameleon :) And Suranga's felicity with words is more than just amazing. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarMay 24, 2012 at 10:21 AM

      Samhith is at that stage now, Zephyr! as for me, I used to stay far far away from such creatures.. till I got my camera :D he is much better at spotting them, though! as to Suranga, well, i am always spellbound when it comes to her words!!

      Delete
  8. NishaMay 24, 2012 at 10:15 AM

    Nice clicks. Anu, don't you feel scared to get near to them? :)

    I am a big fan of Suranga. And when I showed her my photo of a lizard on her blog, she instantly came up with another poem. :-)
    It's a challenge for us to give her a photo.

    Here is the photo with her poem. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarMay 24, 2012 at 10:23 AM

      Thanks, Nisha!! and i was nowhere too close!! am def scared!! yes, i did see her poem and commented too! btw, your link didnt show up on the comment, wonder why!

      Delete
  9. R Niranjan DasMay 24, 2012 at 10:53 AM

    Awesome captures Anu.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Shilpi GemawatNovember 8, 2012 at 1:59 PM

    Nice Clicks!

    ReplyDelete

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