Lamayuru is one of the most ancient monasteries in Ladakh, the oldest surviving structure dating to the 11 th century CE. What makes this monastery particularly fascinating, is its location, amidst what is today called the “moonscape”, for the spectacular natural rock formations, which truly are “out of the world”! As per legend , there once existed a huge lake in this area, populated only by the Nagas (serpents). It was prophesized that there would be a great monastery built here. This prophecy came true when the great acharya Naropa (756-1041 CE) arrived. He emptied the lake, meditated for many years inside a cave, and built the first monastery here. The present structure is a new one, built around the cave where Acharya Naropa is said to have meditated. This legend seems to fit well with the geological formations seen in the area, which suggest this was a paleo-lake, which disappeared around 1000 years ago. Lamayuru is about 130 km from Leh , and the Indus River flows along th
Dusshera or Vijayadasami - either way, the tenth day of Navaratri is one of celebration. This year, I have been less than enthusiastic about the festival, but surrounded as I am by the celebration in all its many hues, I have still managed to post (almost) every day! Wondering how to wind up my posts, I came across this sight, which inspired me to write....
"What is so special about this?" You may ask. These are just blown up Chhota Bheem balloons sold almost at every street corner. What struck me was that we saw these wherever we went - outside the Fine Arts Society, where we went to see the Bommai Kolu; outside the Bengali Durga Puja at Chembur Naka; at the Ramleela Mela at Gandhi Maidan, and even outside our very own Chheda Nagar Temple!!!
Chhota Bheem has nothing to do with the festival, and yet, he seems to be omnipresent across the celebrations, irrespective of region or language!
The impromptu stalls that turn up outside festival venues go a long way in making our celebrations what they are... And once again, I feel happy to live in a place where I get to see all this variety, and notice bits like this which make me smile!
these are pictures of the Gandhi Maidan right? What fanfare during Navratri! The ram leela and the Ravan dehan :)
ReplyDeleteI am finding so many chembur-ites Today in blogosphere! What Coincidence :)
Yes, they are from Gandhi Maidan, Divsi! Are you from Chembur too? Its interesting how the blogsphere throws interesting stuff at us!
DeleteYes! I stay very near Gandhi Maidan:)
ReplyDelete