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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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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.......
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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.
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A Smile To Remember

An old man sat by the side of the path, as I entered the office. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. He was forgotten at once, immersed as I was in the work I had come for. A few minutes later, I was interrupted by my excited son, Samhith, who wanted my camera. Eager to be rid of him so I could talk, I gave him my camera, not even bothered about what he wanted to click. When I came out at last, my work done, I found him busy clicking while the old man smiled at him! “Amma, look!” cried Samhith. “I took a photo of this thatha (grandfather) MYSELF!!”. His pride at his achievement was infectious, and I looked at the photo, ready with my words of praise. Here is the photo he clicked that day.....
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Sandcastle for a cause - Last two days!

Hello everybody, I am back at last! We had a wonderful time at Sringeri and Samhith’s thread ceremony went off very well. However, its been even more hectic since I got back, so I haven’t been able to write at all L This post is almost a week overdue, but as they say, better late than never! I hope with this post, I will be able to shake off the jinx and begin writing regularly once more! Mumbai might be an island, with its share of beaches, but its not often that you get to see sandcastles . in fact, samhith has yet to go to the beach here and make them! Hence, when I heard about the huge sandcastle being made at Phoenix mills as part of World Cancer day, I jumped at the chance and rushed to take a look. We had just returned from Sringeri and with guests at home, it wasn’t easy to plan the trip, but thanks to an enthusiastic friend who agreed to bring her kids, it finally materialised and we headed out to High Street Phoenix for an evening full of fun, kids in tow!
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Book Review: Balasaraswati - Her Art and Life

A question I was regularly asked at one time was:”So, you are a Tamilian. You must have learnt classical music and Bharatanatyam, right?” It was a question which always succeeded in irritating me, for I had nothing to do with either music or dance, despite being a Tamilian. Yes, my mom had, true to tradition, tried to get me interested in music. I had endured the classes for a year, and soon after, telling my mom that the classes intruded into my reading time, had refused to go anymore. She would have loved to send me to Bharatanatyam classes, but that was something I had no interest in even trying! Having two left feet, I stayed away from dance of all kinds, and she soon gave up, leaving me to my literary pursuits.  Living in a place where there were hardly any cultural events, and even fewer related to our South Indian background, I grew up blissfully ignorant of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam.  Then, I got married and shifted to a predominantly South Indian neighbourhoo...
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Guest Post - Kutch Diaries Part 2

In this, his second guest post, Niranjan continues his reminiscences of his Kutch trip, with a more detailed report of the fifth day spent on the Rann of Kutch. To read his earlier post, click here. We started from Zainabad to Moti Virani, Kutch district on the morning of the fourth day of our trip – 28 th December. We reached our destination by evening and had ample time to cool our heels and take some rest before embarking on another adventure into the wild. We were greeted with a terrific lunch. Whoever says that Gujarati food is sweet, should try out Kutchi food. It is very spicy and reminds of Andhra J
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Guest Post - Kutch Diaries Part 1

This is a guest post, written by my cousin, Niranjan Chandrashekar. Niranjan is based in Delhi, and loves to travel and explore. His latest passion is for photography, a hobby which began with a brand new DSLR, but is soon becoming an obsession, as we keep telling him!!!!  After much persuasion, he agreed to write a guest post for me. My family has always loved travelling, but I am the only one who has been documenting my travels so far. As I keep telling my uncles and cousins, they travel to a lot more interesting places than I do, so it is high time they began writing about it too! With Niranjan's foray into writing, I hope the others too begin supplying me with guest posts :D He was recently part of a trip to Kutch, organized by Darter Photography Pvt. Ltd . in the last week of December, 2011 (from Dec 24, 2011 to Jan 1 st , 2012). This is the first in a series of posts describing his experiences during the trip. This post is about the first half of the trip, where th...
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