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Odisha Part 6: The Yogini Temple of Hirapur

I fell in love with this temple the first time I set eyes on it. Back in 2017 , I had been excited to see yet another Yogini temple, when I visited Puri. The resort I was staying at (and writing for), had arranged for a car and driver to take me around. The driver was happy to take me to most of the places I wanted to go, but when it came to Hirapur, he was appalled. He knew of the temple, but had never been there. It was a tantric temple, one not visited by women, and certainly not women travelling alone. He tried to convince me not to go, but my stubbornness and persistence paid off, and he reluctantly agreed when I told him that if he didn’t take me, I would find another driver who would. All along the way, he kept going on about the sinister things that happened at the temple, the tantric rituals that were performed at night…. An Odisha brahmin who took his religious duties very seriously, to the extent of stopping the car to perform the sandhyavandam when he deemed it time, he...
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An offering to David Sassoon

A week has gone by since I last wrote something, and, in an effort to break this dry spell, here is a random photo from the recently concluded KGAF 2014...





The David Sassoon Library or DSL is a landmark in Fort, and those who enter, are greeted by this larger-than-life size statue of David Sassoon, who was probably the most well known among the Baghdadi Jews of Mumbai. We began our Jewish History walk at the fest here, and, while waiting for the walk to start, noticed this interesting offering, thanks to Sudha Ganapathy...



What you see at Sassoon's feet is the humble Vada Pav - probably the cheapest and the most popular among street food in the city. The ones here were being offered to guests at the launch of an exhibition of David Sassoon's contribution to the city, and someone had left one plate at his feet... A symbolic offering, should we say?

So, do you think David Sassoon would have relished that plate of Vada Pav? 

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Location: Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 17, 2014 at 9:25 PM

    Never heard of this personality. I will definitely look at him in Google. The offering picture is really funny. I thought Vada pav has achieved a great promotion by replacing the traditional Prasad in temples.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarFebruary 18, 2014 at 12:24 PM

      Rachit, it sad that many people havent heard of him, though he has built so many of the beautiful buildings around Fort in Mumbai. and it is interesting to see how people from different backgrounds and religions lived in harmony in mumbai and made the city what it is today.

      Delete
  2. Veena BhatMarch 3, 2014 at 1:12 PM

    Sasoon Docks where we can buy fish is named after him too.

    ReplyDelete

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