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Odisha Part 6: The Yogini Temple of Hirapur

I fell in love with this temple the first time I set eyes on it. Back in 2017 , I had been excited to see yet another Yogini temple, when I visited Puri. The resort I was staying at (and writing for), had arranged for a car and driver to take me around. The driver was happy to take me to most of the places I wanted to go, but when it came to Hirapur, he was appalled. He knew of the temple, but had never been there. It was a tantric temple, one not visited by women, and certainly not women travelling alone. He tried to convince me not to go, but my stubbornness and persistence paid off, and he reluctantly agreed when I told him that if he didn’t take me, I would find another driver who would. All along the way, he kept going on about the sinister things that happened at the temple, the tantric rituals that were performed at night…. An Odisha brahmin who took his religious duties very seriously, to the extent of stopping the car to perform the sandhyavandam when he deemed it time, he...

3 Idiots.... and a flood of memories....

(Image from the net) A few years back , when my sister recommended 'Five point someone', I picked it up eagerly, hoping to re-live some of my wonderful memories of my days at IIT. Unfortunately, the book not just failed to do so, it was actually a big disappointment, since I actually had to force myself to complete the book (a problem I have never had to face before)! When '3 Idiots' was due to release, I was least interested in watching it, in spite of Aamir Khan's presence. Again, it was my sister who first raved to me about the movie, and after a couple more people encouraged me, we finally went and saw the movie yesterday! If you ask Samhith , he can easily tell you what he liked about the movie - It was quite obvious, since he kept screaming, ' Aal izz well ', both inside the theatre (to my great embarrassment) and outside too!!! For once , Shankar seemed to enjoy a Hindi movie too, since he actually laughed all along, and didn't once dr...

A Parrot in my garden

Since we returned from our trip, almost a week has passed by without seeing any interesting birds. Moreover, I have been stuck to the computer, completing all my pending work. Yesterday, this parrot was making a racket outside our window, forcing me to try and spot it. Finally when I did manage to spot it, it waited for just this pic before flying off!
W ish you all a very Happy New Year!!!! 2009 saw me making quite a lot of trips, but the end of the year saw me cancelling a much awaited one. Lets hope 2010 brings along a lot more travel for all of us. For the last few years , we have brought in the new year at Puttaparthi, Prashanti Nilayam, the abode of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and this year was the same. We spent a week there, and sorry, again no photographs. We spent the whole day at the ashram, and left the camera behind in the room! The collage above is my first attempt at one, since  wanted to do something new this year, and I eagerly await your comments and suggestions. These pics were taken from the train on our way back. The river you can see is the Krishna, and surprisingly, there was plenty of water, and there were a huge number of water birds too. We saw egrets, herons , sandpipers, and many others we couldn't identify. Among the other birds were the Kingfishers, Bee eaters, drongoes and robins, all of which...

This one is for Samhith.....

This one is for those of who who have been wondering what Samhith has been up to during this vacation, and why there are no pics of him in the last post on our Pagoda trip. Well, I took so many pics of him during the trip, I decided they were worth another post!!! So, let me start with the best one..... Samhith skipping along happily on the path to the Pagoda.... ..and then, here are his many moods as he played happily in the green grass while we waited for the ferry.... He was fascinated by the exhibits of EsselWorld, and with his chitti (my sister) happily posed for the camera.... He then picked up the camera and tried to click pictures... Here are the ones that came out well.... While we waited for our taxi driver, we came across this flock of geese............... .......and you can see for yourself the fun Samhith derived from them!!!! Finally, this part is solely for him.... published on his insistence...his efforts ...

Global Pagoda in Mumbai

When I posted my uncle’s travelogue on Kushinagar with its photo of the Pagoda, I had no idea I would be seeing one soon…. No, I did not suddenly travel anywhere east, but the pagoda I visited is right in Bombay ! The Global Pagoda , more popularly known as the ‘Golden Pagoda’ has been built by the Vipassana Foundation at Gorai, on 11 acres of land donated by a devotee. While you can find directions to the pagoda here , it would suffice to say that it is located right next to EsselWorld. That’s all you need to know if you want to visit the place. EsselWorld is probably the most popular destination for visitors to Bombay , and practically anyone can guide you there. While it is possible to drive right up to the pagoda, we opted to go via the ferry, since it would provide some entertainment for Samhith, who was sure to be bored by any place where it was necessary to be quiet! We drove to Borivli via Thane, picking up my sister, and then proceeded to the jetty at Gorai. On the wa...