Bahuchar Mata Temple

by JoyDestinationsPosted on 0 comments

One of the many important temples of India, is the Bahuchar Mata Temple in Gujarat’s Mehsana district. Of the fifty one Shakti Peethas (abode of Goddess Shakti or Sati) in India, the Bahuchar Mata Temple is one of the three in Gujarat. It is believed that during the Tandava dance of Lord Shiva, the left hand or “bahu” of Ma Devi Sati had fallen here. She is the patron goddess of the eunuchs and is worshipped as Goddess Bala Tripura Sundari.

In September 2014, I had the opportunity to accompany a senior and celebrated photographer from Calcutta on a relative wet day. The 100 kilometre drive was rather uneventful, barring a few broken roads submerged by gushing water from overflowing waterbodies.

  • The Bahucharji Temple in Gujarat
  • Professional and hobbyist photographers
  • Professional beggar
  • Pilgrims and local tourists
  • Pilgrims and local tourists
  • The old residence now in ruins
  • Faith
    Faith
  • Coconut offerings
  • Transgenders keepers of the temple

The Kashi Diaries

by Supriyo DasDestinationsPosted on 1 comment
  • Faith
  • Gone Fishing

My first visit to this arguably oldest metropolitan town was in April 2016, and yet, it was not until the recent solo week and meeting about a dozen more people in one of the most celebrated religious pilgrimage towns of India, that the unique peculiarity of Varanasi became apparent to me. There is so much more about Varanasi, that one can well spend an entire lifetime reading and telling stories and moments about the temple town. Everytime I have visited Kashi, there’s been a few new stories to tell….

Delhi

by bohemianjoydaDestinations, PeoplePosted on 0 comments
  • Purani Dilli
  • Waking up in Old Delhi
  • A New Delhi morning
  • Nizamuddin
  • Nizamuddin
  • Qutb Minar
  • Dilli Haat

“National Capital Region” or NCR is a phrase that was coined in our times. We were “stuck up” in the national capital region of Delhi, between NOIDA, Delhi and Gurgaon for three decades. We saw the transition from Palam Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport, Old Delhi Gurgaon Road to NH-8 to NH48 and many more, until one day when pollution, and finally pestilence caught up … There is though much more to Delhi – historically and culturally than what is made out politically. “Dilli meri jaan” will always beat in our hearts.

Jhalawar

by Supriyo DasDestinations, PeoplePosted on 0 comments
  • A Village Fair

My confidence on the MapMyIndia GPS device was gradually on the ebb, when we conceded to ask for directions to passersby. As I stopped by a corner, rolled down the glass and was about to ask the two burly local cops for directions to Jhalawar, my friend Dr. Mitra promptly quipped – “These people must be the rehabilitated bandits from the Phoolan Devi gang”. …
Jhalawar is a small town in East Rajasthan, about 30 kilometers before reaching the Madhya Pradesh border on the National Highway 27. Every year the locals of Jhalrapatan celebrate the Hindu festival of “Kartick Purnima”. The inauguration begins with a long procession of different groups of people like students, boy scouts, stage actors and above all cordially invited tourists. The tourists who travel from the farthest of places are accorded more importance.

Gwalior Light Railway

by bohemianjoydaDestinations, PeoplePosted on 0 comments

On a trip to Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and adjoining areas during Holi 2017, we had two days of inactivity in the region. We decided to take a drive along the narrow gauge, Gwalior Light Railway or Maharaja Railway. The Gwalior Light Railway was built by the Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia of the Gwalior State. In 1942, the Gwalior Light Railway was renamed the Scindia State Railway. In 1951, the system was purchased by the Central Railway. The stretch of 198 kilometers made it the world’s longest narrow gauge railway, and it remained so till the government shut it down in 2020.

Vrindavan

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  • The Jump
  • A morning swim
  • The long wait
  • Another wait
  • After a dip in the holy river
  • Our boatman
  • Grooming
  • Meditate

On the long route from Delhi to South of India, one of the initial stopovers on the national highway before Agra and Mathura. In spite of living close to Vrindavan for almost three decades, in the National Capital Region that is an area comprising of New Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and parts of Faridabad, it was not until 2013 that I first visited Vrindavan with a camera, solely for photography.