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Kashi 3.0

Memory is unpredictable . One never really knows what we will remember and what we will forget. Which is why nostalgia arrives in unpredictable waves, highlighting something and skimming over others. Recently, I have found myself thinking of how memory works, as I was assailed by nostalgia over a trip to Varanasi, a city I prefer to think of, as Kashi. The nostalgia hit right as we landed at Varanasi airport. The last time I was here, it was 1988, I was 13 years old, the airport was brand new… regular flights hadn’t started yet (I think) … flights landed about once a week, and for the rest of the time, everything was open to those of us who lived in the airport quarters nearby. There were fields everywhere, vast expanses of green… I have vague memories of corn and sugarcane… and being overwhelmed by the vastness of the fields (this was the first time I was in such close proximity to them), and the warm hospitality of complete strangers who lived and worked amidst these fields. I h...
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Wayanad - A Forest Shrine

Returning from our encounter with the python, we chose a different path back, and came across this....




A stone idol of Ganesha, with a small stone container (probably a lamp), with a feather lying by the side - doesn’t it look like the feather might be a quill, and the container might hold ink, ready for the Lord to pick it up and write? As the one who penned down the Mahabharata as Vyasa dictated it, the sight was appropriate, don’t you think?



The idol was installed outside what we were told, was an ancient, tribal temple.



The temples were really shrines, built mostly with bamboo, and in one case, bricks, and they were old, though they didn’t really look ancient.



There wasn’t much to see or appreciate, especially since the temples were closed.



The Ganesha idol was surely the most interesting thing here, and that too by a quirk of nature, which caused the feather to fall where it did!!!! 

Related Posts on Wayanad:

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Location: Wayanad, Kerala, India

Comments

  1. P.N. SubramanianJune 12, 2013 at 9:36 AM

    Excellent. The Ganesha must be some 1200 years old. Though there is an ink pot and a quill nearby, I wonder if any material like paper was available to write on during those times. The tribal s did not deem it necessary to place the idol inside their Shrine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJune 12, 2013 at 9:38 AM

      Thanks PNS, but i somehow felt that the Ganesha must have been a recent addition to the shrine, which is why it was placed outside.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJune 12, 2013 at 3:21 PM

    At which place is this temple located.

    translation ahmedabad
    interpretation ahmedabad

    ReplyDelete
  3. R Niranjan DasJune 12, 2013 at 11:03 PM

    Wow! Those temples look interesting. Have never seen such ones. Nice post Anu.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/06/amidst-sea-of-blue.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. RajeshJune 15, 2013 at 12:25 PM

    Wonderful place to explore. Very true Ganesha idol real eye catcher.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SudhageeJune 19, 2013 at 3:58 PM

    I wonder what deities are inside the forest shrines. I also find it very interesting that all the shrines are laid out in a row. And, old or new, I like the Ganesha :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. ErcotravelsJune 21, 2013 at 5:09 PM

    Temples looks weird but have a peaceful and clean atmosphere nearby.

    ReplyDelete

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