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...
I am not a very regular film-goer , and actually go to see a movie only when I am sufficiently enthusiastic. The one film I had been looking forward to watching on the big screen was ' Harishchandrachi Factory '. I wondered if it would actually arrive at a theatre near me (considering that most award winning films don't really make it to the suburban theatres), and when it finally did, last week, I found myself too busy to go and watch it! This afternoon , when Shankar suggested a movie, I opened the paper, only to find not a single mention of the movie anywhere! Finally I turned to the internet, my only source of information these days, and thankfully found it playing at a theatre not too far! We jumped at the chance, and booked tickets at once! As it happened, we need not have bothered - the theatre was almost empty! There were just a few families like us, most of them Maharashtrians, I may add! Samhith for once was least interested in the movie - 1. Because he had...