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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...
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Navaratri 2009 - Day 5

The fifth day of navaratri dawned, along with the sudden realization that we were already halfway through the celebrations, and in five more days we would be back to the normal grind of day to day life. The realization spurred me along to call all those I had planned to invite home, and ask them to come home on Friday, make a few visits, and, in the evening, it led me to the Sringeri Mutt and the Ahobila Mutt in Chembur, where the celebrations are on in grand scale. At the former, I was unable to take photographs, but at Ahobila Mutt, they were only too happy to allow me to take pictures of the Utsava Moorthy - Lord Venkateswara and Padmavati on the Shesha Vahanam, and Mahalakshmi ready for her tour of the area. Here is a glimpse…… At the temple was an interesting decoration – Sri Seethala Devi on her vehicle, the donkey! Seethala Devi is considered a form of the goddess Mariamman, who is said to have a cooling effect and hence is the patron deity for fevers and the pox. I re...
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Navaratri 2009 - Day 4

After 3 hectic days of Navaratri, the fourth day was a day of rest and relaxation, which means that the minute Samhith left for school, I was overcome by a bout of laziness and decided to do none of my usual routine stuff, including the puja. I spent the day chatting with Usha probably wasting her day in the process……but then we all deserve a day off now and then, don’t you think???? The evening brought with it a bout of rain and thundershowers accompanied by lightning, which seemed to put a dampener on my visit to the temple. Left to me, I would have succumbed to my laziness and bid goodbye to the temple visit, but then I had to reckon with Samhith and Shankar (who had unexpectedly returned home early from office). Samhith just wouldn’t hear of not visiting the temple, and with his dad backing him, I had to just pull on my plastic sandals and unearth my umbrella and head out in the pouring rain for the temple. So now you know whom to thank for today’s pics of the temple decoration....
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Navaratri 2009 - Day 3

The third day of navaratri coincided with Id, giving us an extra holiday. Samhith’s exams starting on Tuesday meant that we were expected to use the holiday to catch up on studies, but we threw everything to the wind and spent the day at Thane, visiting my mom and Shankar’s aunt. Both keep beautiful golus and are extremely enthusiastic about the arrangements. Here are a few photos….. First, at my mom’s place, here is the main golu….. Look at the variety of marapachis on display! This is the newest addition to their kolu- a band playing music!!! Here are some more toys kept near the steps due to lack of space on the steps themselves…. The Krishna is beautiful, isn’t he? The Panduranga and Rakumai in front are also marapachis dressed up! This year, they decided to have a theme based Kolu, and decided on Games, to begin with. Instead of using up the floor like I did, they have used the dining table for the other games – ancient Indian games….. the...
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Navaratri 2009 - Days 1 and 2

The first day of navaratri was even more hectic than I had thought it would be. The day began with my trying to complete the arrangement of the Kolu, but wasn’t able to, since I had to leave at mid-afternoon for the NCPA, where we attended a symphony orchestra concert, the highlight of which was a performance by their students, many of them about Samhith’s age! Having gone all the way to Nariman point, Samhith couldn’t be induced to return without walking for a while along Marine drive, him wanting to stand and stare, me hurrying him along….. Sunset on Marine Drive... A fishing boat... The streets are alight - with the traffic as well as decorations.... The Devi arrives... We rounded off the day by attending a wedding reception (Thank God for that, at least I didn’t have to cook!!), and visiting the Chedda Nagar Subramania Samaj Temple….. As I mentioned in my earlier post , the temple has an interesting decoration everyday, and the first one this year was K...
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Navaratri 2009 - our Bommai Kolu

The most anticipated festival of the year i s here at last, and we are all done with the preparations, and ready to make the most of the celebrations during the next nine days. Mornings are busy with all the work involved, but evenings are something to look forward to, with people coming home to look at our Bommai Kolu, and us visiting others’ houses for the same reason. The day ends with a visit to our local temple, where the celebrations are held on a grand scale, the highlight being a decorated tableau depicted some form of the Devi, either illustrating a story about her, or showing one of her many forms. Come; join me as I take you along with me through the navaratri festivities in my neighbourhood….. We have worked long and hard for arranging our Bommai Kolu this year, a proceeding that was even more interesting, considering that we haven’t been able to celebrate any festival for the last two years. Here are the final results of all our hard work! Here's the complete K...
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