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Temples of Kashi - The Kardameshwar temple

The absence of ancient Hindu structures in Kashi is something I have always lamented about. The shrines are certainly ancient, and that is something that has always attracted me to the city. However, I miss the beauty of the ancient structures that we see at other sites. This feeling is intensified when I see marble and concrete and tiles in temples that once would have been beautifully adorned with evocative sculptures, and worn by the passage of time, touched by the hands of seekers who came before. This time , this desire to see some remnants of an ancient Hindu structure in Kashi came true when I managed to visit the Kardameshwar Temple. The Kardameshwar temple is not one of the main temples in the city. It is part of the temples on the Pancha Kroshi yatra, a pilgrimage which takes one on a circumambulatory tour of the whole city. The temple is located on the outskirts of the city, on the western bank of a tank called the Kardama Kund. The Kardameshwar temple is one of the...
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Birds From my Window - White Breasted Water Hen

Now that the monsoons are finally here, our regular monsoon visitor is back too.. the White Breasted Water Hen.



This lone bird seems to appear and disappear with the monsoons each year, and I have often wondered where it goes off during the dry months. It is quite a shy bird too, which scuttles into the bushes at the slightest disturbance. It is called पाण कोंबड़ी in Marathi, and appears to be a common bird, though I have only seen it in the monsoons! 

I live in Mumbai, in a colony lucky enough to still have plenty of trees and open spaces. The best part of living here are the birds I see from my window, every single day. "Birds from my Window" is a series, where I regularly feature photos of birds I see from my home. To see all the posts in this series, click here. 

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Location: Chedda Nagar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 13, 2014 at 9:40 PM

    A very unusal and a beautiful bird. Thanks for sharing.

    Do read my blog http://samreenahmed13.blogspot.in/?m=1

    ReplyDelete
  2. BikramJuly 14, 2014 at 2:56 PM

    beautiful picture of the bird .. so what other birds do you get to see

    Bikram's

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 16, 2014 at 8:13 AM

      Thank you, Bikram! and I am lucky that way! I get to see a whole lot of birds, right from my window. In fact, I have a series on the blog about them, called... Birds from my Window!!!

      Delete
  3. Sankara SubramanianJuly 14, 2014 at 11:46 PM

    WOW! I thought white breasted water hens are seen only in forests and near large swamps and reservoirs. What kind of a house do you live in? :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 16, 2014 at 8:15 AM

      I thought so too, but apparently, they are quite common near all water bodies... and my house stands on what used to be, at one time, salt pans. and there are still quite a few marshy areas behind our colony.. and yes, i am very much in the centre of Mumbai :D the next time u are in Mumbai, come over to my place. Maybe i can show you some of our avian visitors!

      Delete

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