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...
Years ago , when I was a kid, playing with friends involved a lot of role-play. Of course, we didn’t call it that. We called our games Ghar-Ghar or Teacher-Teacher, depending on what roles we decided to take on. When I told Samhith about those days, he burst into loud, raucous laughter, one that erupted, to my irritation, every time he remembered that conversation over the next few days. That, however, didn’t stop him wanting to go to KidZania, an indoor theme park, which uses the concept of role play to keep kids engaged, occupied and happy, for several hours at a stretch.