Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label Mount Abu

Featured Post

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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.......
36 comments
Read more

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.
26 comments
Read more

Achalgarh - of a Fort and Temple, Bulls and Demons....

A bull which drove away invaders , three buffaloes said to be demons, a lake once said to have been filled with ghee and a temple once covered in lime to protect it – we couldn’t help but smile as we listened to these stories about Achalgarh. We had a day free at Mount Abu and were in the mood to explore, so we headed out for the tourist circuit, trusting our driver to take us to some interesting places.  Achalgarh turned out to be the first on his list, and as we headed along roads with farms interspersed between the mountains, with scarcely a person to be seen anywhere, I wondered about the place we were going to. I had heard a bit about Achalgarh before we started, and knew that it had once been the capital of the area. The name indicated the presence of a fort, but our driver told me that there was no fort there. “ Bas, mandir hai, Madam ” he said. ”There is only a temple there.” I felt my enthusiasm droop at the idea of visiting yet another temple, but we had al...
8 comments
Read more

Doves

Have you ever wondered about  the difference between pigeons and doves? I have, and when I thought of doing a post on the doves I photographed at Mount Abu, this was the first thing that struck me. A quick search revealed that it is simply a matter of nomenclature - the smaller ones are called 'doves' and the bigger ones 'pigeons' (in most cases, that is.. of course, as with every rule, there are exceptions!) The pigeons which haunt our house, looking for a nook to build their own homes are so common that I never feel the urge to capture them on camera. Doves are quite common too... at least some varieties, and we see them wherever we go. However, they look so graceful that I can't resist photographing every single one I see.... This is meant to be a photoblog of the doves or pigeons I have photographed, so without more ado, here I go....
Post a Comment
Read more

Ducks in the Lake

The Nakki Lake at Mount Abu has a small island at the centre where some ducks have been kept.
Post a Comment
Read more

Parrots in Love!

1 comment
Read more

Star Tortoise

He was the star attraction at the Jaipur House, Mount Abu.
1 comment
Read more

Red Wattled Lapwings

We have seen Red Wattled Lapwings in Mumbai, but got a really close look at them while at Mount Abu and Udaipur. Though it was summer, there was plenty of water, and these birds were prominently visible near every water body we visited.
Post a Comment
Read more

Purple Sunbird

We have plenty of Purple Rumped Sunbirds visiting our home, but the Purple Sunbird is rare. On our very first day at Mount Abu, as we waited in the garden while our room was being readied, these birds kept us engaged and happy. Sitting on the swing, seeing these birds flutter among the flowers was a wonderful beginning to our unplanned holiday.....
1 comment
Read more

Magic!

On our recent visit to Mount Abu, we walked to the lake to spend the evening. As we were awaiting our turn for the boat ride, a young boy came up to Shankar and said that he would show us some magic tricks. These days, I  don't have much patience with young chaps who accost us at tourist destinations, and would have ignored the chap, but Shankar said, "Come on, let's see what he does."
2 comments
Read more