Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Storming Sewri Part 4 - Uncovering hidden secrets


It has been a hectic week, and I am so glad it is over! My computer had crashed, and then the internet did, and by the time they both got back, I have had loads of work piling on. Catching up with my posts has been a priority, so, in an attempt to at least complete one set of posts, here is the final in the Storming Sewri series....




The paved path leads us uphill, but the hill is scarcely visible. All we can see are tiny tenements lining the path on either side. As we climb further, the road (if I can call it that) gets narrower, and the houses more colourful. It almost feels like we are in a village, not in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world.


We are on Golanji Hill in Sewri. At one time, this hill was used as a firing range by the British soldiers, which earned it its name, from the Marathi word for bullets – goli.

At that time, the view from this hill would have been gorgeous, with the city stretching on one side, and the sea on the other. All around would have been other tiny hillocks, each with their vantage views. Today, we can barely make out any hillocks. The skyline is dominated by concrete..... each structure competing with the others to touch the sky. As to the sea, we have to strain to catch a glimpse of it. All we can see are broken tiles on the tenement roofs – a stark contrast to the modern towers.



Turning into a tiny, almost-invisible alley, we find ourselves right at the top – a bare patch of land, once the summit of the hill, now used as a playing field. A group of boys are busy playing cricket, and they stop to watch us. Evidently, outsiders like us are rare in this close knit community of the hill. 



I wonder why this patch has been left alone, instead of being encroached by hutments like the rest of the hill. It takes me a while to realise that what has kept this patch bare are in fact, two huge electricity towers or transmission towers – right at the top of the hill. It turns out that these electric towers, or rather the original ones, were among the earliest to be installed in this city, bringing current over from the mainland, to light up this tiny island. Here is yet another nugget of history, which lies forgotten beneath the fast moving pace of the city.



I think I have seen it all, and yet, as we continue our walk, the surprises mount. We forget that we are in the middle of a crowded city. The old styled houses with their Tulsi plants take me back to another era. 



We are reminded that this was once part of ‘Parel village’, 



and here, in an unimposing structure, is what we have come to see.



It looks like a temple, but isn’t. Its simply a room, with a collapsible door, which is bolted tight. At first, I can barely make out what is inside. 



The board outside tells me that its one of the oldest, and biggest monoliths of Shiva in Mumbai....



but I cannot see any details till I walk inside a tiny gate, and peer through the collapsible doors. And here is what I see –



This is the ‘Parel Shiva Heptad’ – a monolithic statue of Shiva, with seven faces, believed to date back to the 5th or 6th century AD. The image was found when the area was dug for road construction in 1931. While scholars wanted to display it in the Prince of Wales Museum, the locals refused to part with it. The museum eventually got a replica, and the image was installed in a shrine near where it was found. It is believed to represent Maheshamurthi – the full manifestation of Shiva.

There are a total of 11 figures in all – a central figure from whom 6 others emerge. Together, the seven represent Shiva in all his forms. At the bottom are 4 kneeling figures, representing the Ganas, his devotees, playing various musical instruments.  Interestingly, though there are 11 figures, the image is locally called ‘Baradevi’ (12 goddesses).

A nearby temple where the image was originally placed after discovery. 

We turn back at last, having finished our quest for the day. As we pass yet another hillock covered with hutments, I learn that this is the Sewri water reservoir. Yet another bit of history I have been ignorant about. Heading back home, I can’t put the trip behind, and tell everyone I meet about what I have seen.

Weeks have now passed, but as I sit and write this post, I am still consumed by the sense of wonder I felt at discovering the hidden bits of history at Sewri. And I cant help but wonder -   what other secrets lurk beneath the surface of this city? Will I ever learn it all?

And now, having finally finished with the Storming Sewri series, a hearty ‘Thank you’ to the wonderful people at Travel-Logs, for introducing me to a part of the city I never knew existed.

For more details about the Parel Shiva Heptad, check out these links.

Comments

  1. have missed the other parts of your post --but this one is so interesting and with such lovely pics that will try and catch up with the others too

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Rajni! I would love to read what you think of the other posts in the series...

      Delete
  2. beautiful pictures. loved the description.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That barred gate with flowers on it is a strangely lovely picture. Thoroughly enjoyed your narration.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very interesting write up with lovely photos. I enjoyed this excellent post. Best wishes,Joseph

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice post with lovely shots!

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/04/talakona-waterfalls-hidden-secret.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Many thanks Anu. The Shiva is really unique. I would not have known about this but for this post of yours.

    ReplyDelete
  7. For those who say, Bombay has no history should read posts like yours. I love to keep reminding them that Bombay's history stretches back to a good 3000 years back and yes, it is difficult to imagine that history hidden away behind today's modern avatar

    ReplyDelete
  8. There are five gana figures at the bottom with three on the left and two on the right hand side as one sees it from the front. There are six images of Shiva above the main one in the centre and hence it is called the Shiva Heptad. Nice to read your article here.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely pics and description of the area, I have been born and brought up. In fact our familiarity was more with the Sewri naka where we lived and the surrounding area to the eAST OF Golanji Hills, esp market, mill area on Tokarsi Jeevraj Road, Labour camp area on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, and the timber yard and mudflats of sewri around the old fort to the east of station.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I actually discovered your site while searching for directions to the Parel Heptad. I came across someone elses image today on Insta and then read more details on IGNCA's website, then started hunting for real directions from someone who's actually been there! Yours pics and apt descriptions give a good idea about finding the Baradevi temple in Parel gaon. Did you go from Elphinstone Rd? Cant wait to see this beautiful ancient relief.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

Pandharpur Yatra 2023

The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie