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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 9 : Ramleela

Navaratri might be about the goddess, and her victory over the demon. However, the festival is also about another war - that between Rama and Ravana. Ramleela is just as important a part of our Navaratri celebration, so here is a peep into the Ramleela at Chembur...




That's Kumbhakarna in full flow, all set to enter the war...

And there is Ravana on the side, all ten heads in tow.



Here is the Ravana effigy....



Interestingly with just nine heads...



Samhith suggested that this was because Ravana would have already lost at least one of his heads by the time the effigy is burnt... Anyone have a better explanation????



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Location: Gandhi Maidan (adjacent), Mahadeo Wadi, Chembur, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400071, India

Comments

  1. NatalieGOctober 4, 2014 at 6:07 AM

    Maybe there's another one hidden under his hat?? :) I'm sure Samhith would know better than I, so I think I'll go with his theory...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 9, 2014 at 12:26 PM

      hmm, doubtful, Natalie! I simply think they didnt notice that one of the heads had fallen off, and I suppose they thought no one would notice!

      Delete
  2. divsiOctober 10, 2014 at 7:50 PM

    Ah! There is our very own Baby Ravan :p (Thats what we call him) hehe can see him from the window :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 10, 2014 at 10:24 PM

      thats a nice name for him, divsi!!! and lucky you, to see him from your window!! btw, we should meet sometime... since i too live in chembur :)

      Delete
    2. divsiOctober 11, 2014 at 10:46 PM

      definitely! adding you up on FB :)

      Delete

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