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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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Flying High

We know little of Flags except our National Flag. However, there was a time when India was made up of tiny kingdoms, and each one of them had their own flag! Can you imagine how many varieties of flags there must have been? I have never really been interested in flags, and honestly, can't say that I recognize many, but my interest in flags was aroused when I noticed the one atop Jaigarh Fort. 



Flying high over the Jaigarh Fort, the colourful flag provides a welcome contrast to the brown, which dominates the landscape. This is the flag of the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur, and flying atop the fort named after one of its greatest ancestors, it signifies the importance of the royal family, which lingers on in spite of the fact that they no longer rule the city.


Read my article in Travel Thru History to know the story of this flag!

Link: http://travelthruhistory.com/html/culture63.html

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Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

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