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Showing posts with the label Gujarat

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Temples of Kashi - The Kardameshwar temple

The absence of ancient Hindu structures in Kashi is something I have always lamented about. The shrines are certainly ancient, and that is something that has always attracted me to the city. However, I miss the beauty of the ancient structures that we see at other sites. This feeling is intensified when I see marble and concrete and tiles in temples that once would have been beautifully adorned with evocative sculptures, and worn by the passage of time, touched by the hands of seekers who came before. This time , this desire to see some remnants of an ancient Hindu structure in Kashi came true when I managed to visit the Kardameshwar Temple. The Kardameshwar temple is not one of the main temples in the city. It is part of the temples on the Pancha Kroshi yatra, a pilgrimage which takes one on a circumambulatory tour of the whole city. The temple is located on the outskirts of the city, on the western bank of a tank called the Kardama Kund. The Kardameshwar temple is one of the...

Memories of 2012 - Gir and Junagadh

The Gir Wildlife sanctuary is most well known for its Asiatic Lion. We did see them, but more memorable were the other birds and animals we saw... such as this peacock..

Memories of 2012 - Somnath

March brought us a bonus week of travel. And it also brought me a new camera!! Of course, I went click happy on the trip, and came back with loads and loads of photos. This one happens to be one of my favourites...

Wild Encounters in Gir

Ever since I returned from a short and unexpected trip to Gir, I have been asked the same question - "Did you see a lion?" Our main interest in visiting sanctuaries seems to be the sightings of the big cats... and no wonder. They are so rare these days! Our Gir trip was eventful and full of adventure. But did we see a lion? Read my post on the Club Mahindra Blog to find out!!! Click here to read the post. 

Somnath - A Story of Constant Change... My post on the Club Mahindra Blog

The stepped seating arrangement made the place look like an amphitheatre – a small one though. In front of us was a huge temple, behind us the sea. The cool breeze was a welcome respite from the scorching heat of the day. Over us, the moon shone, brighter than usual, for it was a full moon night, and all around, the stars twinkled, perhaps smiling at us humans who had gathered to hear a story, almost as old as time. And why not? For the story we had gathered to hear, involved them – the moon and the stars…. Click here to Read my full story of Somnath on the Club Mahindra Blog......

Sunset at Somnath

We recently visited the Somnath temple during Samhith's short year-end break. We arrived at Somnath in the evening, and rushed for a glimpse of the deity, and then hurried to get my camera to capture the sight of the sun setting behind the temple...

Temples around Ambaji

Our trip to Ambaji was combined with a visit to Mount Abu and Udaipur. We travelled mostly by local buses, and thanks to the timing of our bus to Udaipur, we had a few extra hours at Ambaji, which we used to visit a few more temples located in the area. We hired an auto for the purpose, and left the temples to his discretion. Here is where he took us to.......

Ambaji

Staying away from the blog as long as I have, this time, starting to write is that much tougher. I have spent days wondering where to begin, starting posts and abandoning them, and finally, have decided to start afresh this time, taking up a place I visited in May 2011, as part of our summer vacation trip. We began our tour at Mount Abu, and then headed over to Udaipur, spending some wonderful days in the Lake City as well as Chittorgarh. Unlike my usual regular posts, the whole trip has been covered in fits and starts, one post here and another there. Here is yet another – this time about Ambaji.

Guest Post - Kutch Diaries Part 2

In this, his second guest post, Niranjan continues his reminiscences of his Kutch trip, with a more detailed report of the fifth day spent on the Rann of Kutch. To read his earlier post, click here. We started from Zainabad to Moti Virani, Kutch district on the morning of the fourth day of our trip – 28 th December. We reached our destination by evening and had ample time to cool our heels and take some rest before embarking on another adventure into the wild. We were greeted with a terrific lunch. Whoever says that Gujarati food is sweet, should try out Kutchi food. It is very spicy and reminds of Andhra J

Guest Post - Kutch Diaries Part 1

This is a guest post, written by my cousin, Niranjan Chandrashekar. Niranjan is based in Delhi, and loves to travel and explore. His latest passion is for photography, a hobby which began with a brand new DSLR, but is soon becoming an obsession, as we keep telling him!!!!  After much persuasion, he agreed to write a guest post for me. My family has always loved travelling, but I am the only one who has been documenting my travels so far. As I keep telling my uncles and cousins, they travel to a lot more interesting places than I do, so it is high time they began writing about it too! With Niranjan's foray into writing, I hope the others too begin supplying me with guest posts :D He was recently part of a trip to Kutch, organized by Darter Photography Pvt. Ltd . in the last week of December, 2011 (from Dec 24, 2011 to Jan 1 st , 2012). This is the first in a series of posts describing his experiences during the trip. This post is about the first half of the trip, where th...

Sky Watch Friday - Changing Landscapes

The mountains near the Ambaji Temple in Gujarat are well known for their marble mines. In fact, the local name for the mountains and the forest there -   Arasur - comes from the word for marble. No wonder every temple in the area is made of marble! Here is one view of the hills.........

A Long Vacation Comes to an End

Its been one hectic summer vacation . Over the period of one month, we traversed over 5000 Km as we spent our holidays travelling and making the most of the longest vacation of the year! We started our tour with a visit to Tiruppur, where Samhith made the most of his time with his aunt. While there, we managed to sneak in a visit to the Dhyanalinga Temple near Coimbatore. From there, we headed towards Madurai,