The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
One wouldn't really go to a beach t o visit a temple, but in India, it isn't surprising to find temples near beaches. And usually, most visitors to the beach end up visiting the temple too! We have often seen such temples near beaches, but rarely feel enthusiastic enough to visit them. However, the temple at Kelwe beach was interesting, For one thing, it was the auspicious day of Ganesh Chaturthi, and since we were off to a beach for the festival, it seemed strangely appropriate to stop at the temple first!! Secondly, our auto driver kept telling us how old the temple was, which led to me expect a decrepit temple in ruins. Imagine my surprise then, to see this bright and shining structure...