The temple of Jagannath at Puri is one of the four most important temples across India. Sometimes called the Char Dham – Badrinath in the north, Rameswaram in the South, Dwarka in the west, and Puri in the east – these temples mark four corners of our country, and each of these temples has a connection to Adi Shankara. He is said to have travelled to each of them, thus marking a sacred geography of India, long before the country actually existed. Among these 4 temples, 3 are dedicated to Lord Vishnu, while only Rameswaram is dedicated to Lord Shiva, though the lingam there is said to have been installed by Rama. Further, Shankara set up Mutts at 3 of these sites (or very close to these sites, like at Badrinath, where the mutt is at Joshimutt), while the mutt in the south is at Sringeri in Karnataka, quite a distance away from Rameswaram. Coming back to the topic, I have visited Rameswaram most often, Badrinath during my childhood, and Dwaraka a few times, but Puri had stayed out of re...
Now that I have finished writing about Gwalior, it is time to move out, to all the other interesting places around. However, before I begin my posts on the sites around Gwalior, which are going to be all about our built heritage, it is time to take a break to look at our natural heritage, just waiting to be seen around us... like birds, for example! I can’t remember the last time I went bird-watching . But, wherever I go, I do see birds... lots of them. The Gwalior trip was no different, and we frequently stopped, on the road as well as within the fort, hearing the call of some bird. It surely irritated our guides and our drivers, and while some grumbled, others simply stared at us in astonishment! These birds aren’t exotic, and they aren’t rare. Yet, it’s always a delight to see them, which is why deserve a post to themselves! And so, here are some birds we saw, in and around Gwalior! Peacocks we saw in plenty, almost everywhere we went. But this one was the b...