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Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
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Merry Christmas!!!! X Mas Memories of Shimla

Since the last few days, I have been reminiscing on the blog about the year gone by. Today, for the special occasion of Christmas, I am taking the reminiscing a bit further, going back to the wonderful X mas we spent last year, at Shimla! 




This was the Gingerbread house at the Club Mahindra's resort - Whispering Pines, at Mashobra, near Shimla, which is where we stayed. Standing next to the Christmas tree, loaded with presents, it was surely the first thing anyone stepping into the resort headed to! 


That wasn't all.. the whole place was decked up....

A Christmas tree made of fir cones

Santa and his reindeer - the reindeer are made of fallen twigs

Samhith particularly enjoyed the Christmas party, with all the goodies we had, to eat. Here is a glimpse of the spread... which, just remembering it, makes my mouth water! 


This year, to say we have missed all that, would be an understatement. However, staying home has had its perks, chiefly among which is Samhith's experience, of singing Christmas Carols with all his friends, at a Remand Home, nearby... and we look forward to playing Santa on Wheels with the Breakfree gang! Thus, it seems apt to say that if it was Xmas for pleasure last year, it is Christmas with a Purpose, this year!!

On that note, let me wish you all, a very, very Merry Christmas!!!

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Location: Mashobra, Himachal Pradesh, India

Comments

  1. Meghana HassanDecember 25, 2013 at 1:02 PM

    Wow, you had a wonderful Christmas last year..
    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year..

    ReplyDelete
  2. SanandDecember 25, 2013 at 1:44 PM

    That's a heart warming recap! Enjoy every moment. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete

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