Fishermen at Gokarna

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

Fishermen at Gokarna

I walked to Om Beach, early in the morning, hoping to commune in solitude with the sea and the sun. Instead, I found that I was the late riser.... the place was filled with activity.... with those who belonged there a lot more than I did.

Those early hours were when the boats otherwise silently parked on the sand came into their own, and fishermen went about their work....

While there were a few just setting off to the sea....

Most were already coming back with their catch....

And as I watched, I realized just how much the job entailed, apart from just catching the fish!

The hard work needed, just to get the boat to shore, was so immense.... and to push it on the sand seemed to require all their combined strength...

And that is when I also realized that these simple guys were also innovative, using greased blocks of wood to make their work easier....

They worked in unison, laying out the blocks of wood, greasing them, and then pulling the boat over them...

Though not all used wood.... this group used rubber tyres....

probably because they were cheaper? and easier to find and replace?

It still entailed a lot of work, though....

You can almost feel the effort that goes into getting that boat on shore!

After all that, their work wasn't yet done! They still had to get the fish off the nets...

And with fish as tiny as these, it surely wasn't an easy job either...

As the sun rose high and I finally headed inside in search of breakfast, I had a long day to look forward to. A day filled with travel, visiting places, doing things... and, taking one last look at the fishermen, still busy with their work, I wondered - What would the rest of their day be like?

Even while watching the fishermen, the skies behind, the sun rising, the mist settling, added as much to the scene as the men working. Which is why, this is my entry today for Skywatch Friday. For more beautiful skies from around the world, visit the Skywatch Page.

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

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport. That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’t ju

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.

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