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2023 - The Year That Was

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
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Navaratri Day 7: The Golu we were waiting for!

Every year at Navaratri, apart from keeping a Bommai Golu at home myself, the one thing I look forward to, is the Golu kept by Mr. P.E.P. Swamy, of Garodia Nagar. His incredible attention to detail makes his arrangement stand out, and we await the chance to visit him and see what he has put up every year! This year, he has depicted a typical railway station....





On one side is a busy market area....



And on the other, a slum!



It is amazing to see the little details he has picked out, and how he has brought the entire scene to life!




I cannot possibly do justice to the work he has done, through this post, but I can only try, and post as many photos of interesting aspects I noticed....

Warning!! This is a long post, with just photographs, but lots of them! I am posting all of them here because lots of people have already been asking me to show them a glimpse of his Golu. If the page takes too long to load, or if you don't want to go through such a long post here, you can also see the images here, on the Picasa Album.






I especially loved this portion... it was so realistic! 



The detail inside these shops was absolutely stunning!!






The slum had some amazing detail... like the pots and pans stacked, the drums of water...


This old woman bathing the child was beautiful!


There was even a depiction of an area being redeveloped by the SRA - Slum Rehabilitation Authority!

This was inside that SRA compound... old building being torn down!

















And here is the main golu....


Besides all this, there was the usual village scene too!!!


And finally, here are the creators!!


They are so enthusiastic and creative, even at this age, they are surely an inspiration for all of us!!!


I have written about them before, and posted photos of their golus earlier... in 2013 and  2012, and if you want to come and see their work, it will be up till a couple of days after Dusshera. Please contact me and I can either take you there or give you their contact number. They are only too happy to have people come and see their Golu since hardly anyone is putting up one these days. 
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Location: Garodia Nagar, Ghatkopar East, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. Meghana HassanOctober 2, 2014 at 1:09 PM

    Wow, as always so creative golu.. Can I visit them today? I have the contact details u had given me last year, will inform them before reaching.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 2, 2014 at 1:35 PM

      Yes, Meghana, you can. Just call them up so they can tell you when they are free.

      Delete
    2. Meghana HassanOctober 2, 2014 at 2:00 PM

      Sure Anu, will do that. Thanks.. :)

      Delete
  2. Santosh BsOctober 3, 2014 at 12:16 AM

    wow! that's brilliant as always!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownOctober 4, 2015 at 3:31 PM

    Brilliant.. .outstanding. I have no words. Speechless. Cannot imagine how much time and effort spent to make this work. Kids will definitely love them... not only only kids, everyone would luv to see it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownOctober 21, 2015 at 10:24 PM

    Unbelievable talent .....Thanks Anuradha for sharing this on your blog. My mother was delighted to see it all. She conveys her wishes to swamy mama and prays for his good health and many more such creations from him .

    ReplyDelete

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