Skip to main content

Featured Post

Kashi 3.0

Memory is unpredictable . One never really knows what we will remember and what we will forget. Which is why nostalgia arrives in unpredictable waves, highlighting something and skimming over others. Recently, I have found myself thinking of how memory works, as I was assailed by nostalgia over a trip to Varanasi, a city I prefer to think of, as Kashi. The nostalgia hit right as we landed at Varanasi airport. The last time I was here, it was 1988, I was 13 years old, the airport was brand new… regular flights hadn’t started yet (I think) … flights landed about once a week, and for the rest of the time, everything was open to those of us who lived in the airport quarters nearby. There were fields everywhere, vast expanses of green… I have vague memories of corn and sugarcane… and being overwhelmed by the vastness of the fields (this was the first time I was in such close proximity to them), and the warm hospitality of complete strangers who lived and worked amidst these fields. I h...
Post a Comment

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????



Labels:
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

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw...
9 comments
Read more

Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
1 comment
Read more

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport.  That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’...
1 comment
Read more