My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
It has been a long time since I posted anything in this series, so reviving it with this pic from the Sirpur Village.
We were wandering around Sirpur village, when I noticed her. I am always drawn towards Rangoli, and hers was the only one in the village! When I asked, she said that they rarely drew Rangolis, unless it was a festival. "Why now?" I asked, and she replied "Because we cleaned our front porch and I felt like!"
P.S. I recently visited Sirpur to attend the Music and Dance Festival on invitation from Chhattisgarh Tourism. Read my other posts on the trip for more details and information,
We were wandering around Sirpur village, when I noticed her. I am always drawn towards Rangoli, and hers was the only one in the village! When I asked, she said that they rarely drew Rangolis, unless it was a festival. "Why now?" I asked, and she replied "Because we cleaned our front porch and I felt like!"
P.S. I recently visited Sirpur to attend the Music and Dance Festival on invitation from Chhattisgarh Tourism. Read my other posts on the trip for more details and information,
The happiness of drawing Rangoli is seen on her face too.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Ranjana. She wasnt doing it because it was the norm, but because she wanted to. and that makes all the difference, doesnt it>
DeleteShe looks HAppy doing that .. lovely rangoli too so many colors
ReplyDeleteBikram's
Yes, Bikram, she does... as I said above, i guess its because she was really enjoying it
Delete