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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...
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Navaratri 2010 - Day 6

Today's Golu is one kept by a friend in the colony. It is a wonderful combination of the old and the new, for they have some really old and beautiful idols, which I enjoy seeing every year, and they have also kept a few new ones along with the kids' toys. Samhith enjoyed this one, especially since he got a bag to carry back home with goodies just like the girls get. Navaratri being a women's festival, boys are generally ignored, but some of us who have boys who don't like being ignored have started giving out goodies to the smaller boys who visit too..... We hope that this will at least make them want to come along with us to see a few Golus!

Here is the full Golu....


With the side arrangement showcasing the toys of both their kids...Barbies and trains! Need I mention that they have a boy and a girl???


Now for the toys... This one is my personal favourite - the goddess Meenakshi.


and here is the First divine family - Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha! in an interesting form...


Lakshmi - Hayagriva -

and Lakshmi Narasimha....


and now for the newer ones... This one depicts Lord Vishnu reclining on Adishesha, Lakshmi by his side, Brahma on the lotus emerging from His navel, Garuda and Hanuman....


and the newest one of all...the dolls set!


Truly, it is with children in the house that Navaratri and Golus become really interesting!

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Comments

  1. UshaOctober 13, 2010 at 1:11 PM

    I loved the concept of giving a goodies bag to little boys. I remember that my brothers' faces would fall when I'd get stuff they wouldn't for some kanya puja that some neighbouring aunties did.

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  2. Sankara Subramanian COctober 13, 2010 at 8:44 PM

    WOW! That is one awesome and colourful golu! I wish such golu's were kept at my home. But my sis doesn't find time at all :-(

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaOctober 15, 2010 at 4:49 PM

    I had noticed the small doll in the first picture itself, good to see the details too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Meghana HassanOctober 12, 2012 at 4:24 PM

    very true, with children at home, this festival becomes very interesting... As i told u on mail i have planned for arranging golu dis year. My little one just after getting down from her school bus asks if i have already arranged the golu....i have been saying no to her since last one week, thank god its just one week day away n she will b happy to have darshan immediately after coming back from school...

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