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

Skywatch Friday - Akshi Beach, Alibag

Every week, as Friday approaches and I go hunting for an image to post as part of Skywatch Friday, I lose myself among all the images I have clicked.... re-live the memories of all those trips... and wish I was there again!





Today's image is from the Akshi Beach at Alibag.... clicked on an impulsive trip with my cousins. I have loads of photos of the beach, of the trees, of the water... but this is among my favourites. It was early in the morning and we were waiting for the sun to rise. And these were people already at work... ferrying the water scooters for the adventure sports... to the next beach....



It has been almost two months since the year began, and I have been stuck at home. Two months without travel is a long period for me, but we are governed by school, not our desire to travel alone. As I post these pics, I hope the opportunity for travel comes again... soon!

Meanwhile, here are some of my posts about Alibag


You can brighten up your day with more wonderful images on the Skywatch Friday page

Comments

  1. Interesting click!

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice shots!
    Have a great day!

    Shantana

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amen to that Anu for both of us.

    Beautiful pictures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mridula!!! Hope your airline woes end soon and u get to travel once more!

      Delete
  4. very nice. hope you find more travel soon.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely shot Anu

    It appears that when you are not travelling you are journeying through your pictures!!

    Heres to great travel stories from you this year too

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sowmya!I am always journeying thru my pictures.. which is why work never gets done at home!!! hope i can write more this year though!

      Delete
  6. The Scooters look like a little train on the beach... good capture

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Desi Traveler!! it does look a little like a train!

      Delete
  7. Great serie of photos!
    Happy SWF to you!

    ReplyDelete
  8. happy travels have fun finding new photo opportunities

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely place to be, the kids will love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Its indeed a lovely place for kids, Shalu! and for us adults too.. the best place to relax!

      Delete
  10. Good ones. Alibaug is an interesting place too.

    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