Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur

The Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur is the oldest museum in the state of Rajasthan. Located picturesquely in a garden just outside the walls of the old city, it is impossible to miss or ignore.





The building was originally intended to be the town hall, but it was later decided to house the museum. We were unable to enjoy the museum from inside thanks to lack of time, but it looked so beautiful that we were unable to resist stopping to click some pics!



And the multitudes of pigeons ensured that we got some amazing ones!!





And thats my entry for Sky Watch today! For more beautiful skies from around the world go to Sky Watch Friday



Comments

  1. Lovely pictures, it has some interesting collections including a mummy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mridula!! yeah, i read about the Mummy, which is why i actually went ahead and bought a combined ticket which included entry to this one too... but as it turned out, i wasnt able to visit.. anyway, this was just an off the cuff jaipur trip.. and we missed a lot.. will definitely go again!

      Delete
  2. The population of pigeons in Jaipur is simply amazing..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh yes, Arun! absolutely!! samhith enjoyed making them fly away wherever we went !!

      Delete
  3. Brilliant shots Anu. Perfect timing!!

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amazing shots of the building and the pigeons. Love it. Thanks for sharing, have a great weekend. Happy Skywatching!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely set! I have seen these pigeons!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kusum!! I guess these pigeons are almost always a part of that scene!

      Delete
  6. The building's architecture is beautiful... And those pigeons - so many!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh wonderful!! Perfect timing too!

    The architecture in the background looks amazing, and with all the pigeons flying out from its direction makes it stand out even more!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful shots. Happy sky watching.

    My Sky.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What an incredible museum!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THanks Gary! Its even more incredible inside, apparently!

      Delete
  10. The architecture is really soothing. Beautiful shots. We were also there but could not get inside as that was closed that day. The area is pretty clean and princely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks PNS! looks like we both need to make another visit to see this museum!

      Delete
  11. beautiful pictures. Those pigeons are having a good place to live.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Vetrimagal!! the pigeons indeed have found a beautiful mansion to live in!! lucky ones!

      Delete
  12. Beautiful capture, Anu.

    Thanks for letting me know about this Museum. I hope to visit Rajasthan in November and will definitely try to visit it the.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sudha!! You should def go there... it seems to have some interesting stuff... would love to hear and read a first hand account from you.!

      Delete
  13. I might try to visit this from inside . Thanks once again for sharing

    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

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.

Pandharpur Yatra 2023

The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie