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Odisha Part 6: The Yogini Temple of Hirapur

I fell in love with this temple the first time I set eyes on it. Back in 2017 , I had been excited to see yet another Yogini temple, when I visited Puri. The resort I was staying at (and writing for), had arranged for a car and driver to take me around. The driver was happy to take me to most of the places I wanted to go, but when it came to Hirapur, he was appalled. He knew of the temple, but had never been there. It was a tantric temple, one not visited by women, and certainly not women travelling alone. He tried to convince me not to go, but my stubbornness and persistence paid off, and he reluctantly agreed when I told him that if he didn’t take me, I would find another driver who would. All along the way, he kept going on about the sinister things that happened at the temple, the tantric rituals that were performed at night…. An Odisha brahmin who took his religious duties very seriously, to the extent of stopping the car to perform the sandhyavandam when he deemed it time, he...
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Bringing Ganesha Home

Ganesh Chaturthi is here, and all around me yesterday were people bringing their Ganesha home.


Usually this is a time when my home is buzzing with activity, but this year I have a break since we can not perform the puja. I am planning to visit a few pandals around our home, though, so will try to post more photos....

P.S. Incidentally, I just realised that this is my 555th post on the blog!!
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Location: kelwa beach

Comments

  1. MridulaSeptember 20, 2012 at 8:39 PM

    Lovely capture Anu!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ArtiSeptember 20, 2012 at 9:18 PM

    Ah, Anu... I was eagerly waiting for your Ganpati celebrations post. But never mind, will definitely enjoy my pandal hopping with you :) I am also looking forward to covering a bit of the festivities.

    PS: Congratulations! 555 is huge. You have been an inspiration to me since long. Keep blogging :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarSeptember 20, 2012 at 9:25 PM

      Thanks so much, Arti! Looking forward to reading your ganpati blogs now!

      Delete
  3. ZephyrSeptember 21, 2012 at 8:12 AM

    Wish you many more such milestones. I Can't even imagine that figure. Truly mind boggling. And hey, did you notice that boggling is an anagram of blogging? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarSeptember 21, 2012 at 8:32 AM

      Thanks so much, Zephyr!! Actually, I have been trying to increase that figure by posting daily, but every time I try, I end up not writing for the whole month!!! as to the anagram, wow!! trust you to come up with something like this!! had never noticed it before!!!

      Delete

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