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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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Memories of 2012 - Kashmir

Kashmir had been on my wishlist for years and years, but it was this year that the wish came true. Yes, we had less time than I would have liked, but simply setting foot in the state was enough for this trip, especially since Shankar wasn't able to join us. So it was just me, Samhith, my in-laws and my sister-in law. The 12 hour journey from Jammu to Srinagar was tiring, to say the least, but the views more than made up for it!




Srinagar was all we expected... and more.... Staying in a houseboat on the Dal lake was an experience we shall never forget...



Samhith went water-boarding on his birthday..


And nephew and aunt had the time of their lives in the many gardens...



And then there was Gulmarg, covered with ice in peak summer....


Needless to say, we had a blast!!


I have yet to write about any of my experiences... the problem is, there are too many, and I have loads yet to write!!

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Location: Srinagar

Comments

  1. SANDEEP PANWARDecember 23, 2012 at 2:54 PM

    कश्मीर व हिमालय बार बार बुलाता है।

    ReplyDelete
  2. HaddockDecember 23, 2012 at 6:13 PM

    Sigh .... you have ticked off "one of the places to see" and I have yet to go there.
    Well one day :-)
    Like those pictures especially the one of Gulmarg.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DietmutDecember 23, 2012 at 9:08 PM

    beautiful landscape. Warmm greetings and a Very Happy Christmas

    http://dith-plukeenogenblikvandedag.blogspot.nl/2012/12/blog-post_22.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. R Niranjan DasDecember 23, 2012 at 11:35 PM

    Beautiful photos. Waiting fo your detailed posts.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete

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