Skip to main content

Featured Post

Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
1 comment

Diwali Wishes

Wish all of you a very happy Diwali….


May this festival of lights brighten your life…..

Our Diwali celebrations began yesterday with a grand Rangoli pattern (a combined effort of me and my neighbour, Aarti), and the house being lit up with lamps of all shapes and sizes. Here are some snapshots……





















Meanwhile, for those who have been wondering where I have been, well, the answer is of course – travelling!!!

We began our Diwali vacation with a trip to Ujjain and Indore where we visited the two famous shrines of Lord Shiva – Mahakaleshwar and Omkareshwar. This trip, my first foray into Madhya Pradesh, brings me closer to the completion of my Yatra of the 12 Jyotirlingams.

I have barely had time to upload the numerous photographs I have taken, before I am off on another trip – this time the much visited Shirdi, a trip we try to make every year, especially when my sister-in-law Sandhya is visiting……

So, while I enjoy my travels, you can enjoy the photos I have uploaded here.

Or take a look at the slideshow below….







Labels:

Comments

  1. MridulaOctober 17, 2009 at 12:47 PM

    Wish you and your family a very Happy Diwali too Anu.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tarun MitraOctober 17, 2009 at 2:00 PM

    Wishing Happy and Prosperous Deepawali to you and your family

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 17, 2009 at 6:40 PM

    oh lovely pics.. Am sure you've had a great holiday..

    The Rangolis are awesome... You should see mine... its absolutely little... (now I'm a bit hesitant to post the pics of my rangoli - ha ha)..

    Happy Diwali to you and your family.. Hope the year enlightens your life with love, laughter, health & wealth!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AartiOctober 17, 2009 at 11:24 PM

    Happy Diwali to u too Anu....Wow, travelling again..lovely, looking fwd to reading it.. gonna chk out the pics now!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. A journey called LifeOctober 18, 2009 at 2:49 PM

    lovely kolams and lovlier diyas.. happy diwali to u too..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anuradha ShankarOctober 19, 2009 at 9:20 AM

    Thanks everyone for the wishes... hope you all had a great Diwali too....

    ReplyDelete
  7. sriOctober 19, 2009 at 12:35 PM

    Happy Diwali, good to see your post :) Travelling! hurrey! thats the best thing to do! :) go go come with interesting stories.

    I love the rangoli,very colorful and that airballon diya is fun! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anuradha ShankarOctober 19, 2009 at 4:05 PM

    Thanks, Srivats.....

    yes, have come back with interesting stories this time round too... and an experience that you might enjoy reading about... but you have to wait till i settle down and start writing again...

    ReplyDelete
  9. indicaspeciesOctober 22, 2009 at 11:37 AM

    These pictures are beautiful. I'm glad you had a good Diwali, and all the best for the completion of the pilgrimage.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bindhu UnnyOctober 29, 2009 at 10:42 AM

    Awesome rangolis!
    Looking forward for detailed posts on Ujjain trip.
    :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw...
9 comments
Read more

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport.  That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’...
1 comment
Read more

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.
3 comments
Read more