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The Vaishnodevi Experience 2023

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.
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Navaratri 2015 : North, South, East and West - All at home in Chembur

Happy Vijayadasami / Dusshera / Dasara everyone!!! 

It has been an eventful Navaratri, starting with the creative satisfaction of setting up our own Kolu after years, to visiting friends and relatives, and of course, temples. The festival winds up today, and as we celebrate the destruction of evil, let me give you a glimpse of the different celebrations I have been able to attend - all within a short distance of my home!





Let me begin with the Mariamman temple in our colony. Mariamman is a form of the goddess worshipped all over Tamil Nadu. Every small village will have a shrine dedicated to her. She is a form of Parvati, of Durga, and Kali. She is mother nature, who bestows us with everything we need, but she also needs to be worshipped so that she doesnt show us her darker side, of drought, famine, or flood. Here she is, all decorated for the evening puja...



The temple also has an elaborate Kolu, and here it is.... 



And here is a closer look at some of the dolls in the kolu...

Ganesha as Ardhanareeshwara! 

Ganesha again, seated on the crescent moon, with Lakshmi and Saraswati on either side



Lakshmi-Hayagriva, and Hayagriva
That was the typical South Indian Navaratri celebration.

Heading over to Gandhi Maidan, the North Indian celebration of Ramleela is in full swing every evening. Here is Ravan, all set to be burnt in the grand finale, tonight! 





A little further along the same road is a simple, yet beautiful Durga, a typically Maharashtrian celebration. We, are in the western part of the country after all! 




Finally, a short walk away is the Bengali Durga Puja, something we look forward to, every year. This year, they have replicated the Mumbai Municipal Corporation building...







and inside, here she is....





Women apply Sindur to Her, as well as to each other, a celebration called Sindur Khela. 

And this is why I love festivals... for the sheer variety we see around us, and yet, they are all, intrinsically, the same. All celebrate the triumph of good over evil. 

In the present day, evil isn't as apparent, as obvious, as our myths tell us, or as these rituals depict them. There is no Mahishasura, showing himself as a demon, or a Ravana, with his ten heads. Evil is no longer in appearance, but in thought, and exists within all of us. This Dusshera, as we burn effigies of Ravana, sing songs of the triumph of the goddess, let us pray to the Lord to destroy our negative thoughts and make us more tolerant, for it is in tolerance that lies lasting peace. 



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Location: Chheda Nagar, Sector 1, Chedda Nagar, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400089, India

Comments

  1. NatalieGOctober 23, 2015 at 6:20 AM

    Wise words about negativity and tolerance, Anu! I only hope that others come to realize the same thing.

    I am glad that you got so much enjoyment from Navaratri this year, and shared all the wonderful displays, both personal and public, with us so that we could enjoy them too.

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