At Sethani ghat, Hoshangabad

-
A sketch of a woman at Sethani Ghat, Hoshangabad


On a cold morning, a woman offers prayers to the river Narmada at Sethani ghat. She is more sparrow-like in real life than in the sketch. She walks briskly up the steps, readjusts the shawl to cover her ears snugly, and disappears into the crowd. Even at this early hour, the road to the ghat is fairly crowded with devotees, wayfarers, sadhus, cattle, stalls selling poha jalebi, religious items, stray dogs, umpteen tea stalls (serving the best tea in the world!) goats, goatherds, boatmen.


All Hoshangabad posts from this blog - 

Location: Jagdish Pura, Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh 461001, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur

-
Image
Brihadisvara temple illustration, Thanjavur ( UNESCO World heritage site) In the Kaveri river valley, a powerful kingdom arose, known far and wide for its military prowess, feats of architecture, patronage to art, music and dance.  They spread out into Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Lakshadweep and even far out Bali and Sumatra across the Indian ocean. Their most illustrious emperor - Raja Raja Chola the great. The Cholas owed their glory to the gods and in honor of this, built several fantastic temples all over South India. The most magnificent of them all is in their former capital, Thanjavur - The Brihadeeswara temple, dedicated to Shiva.  Its massive gopuram is the cynosure of all eyes, visible from miles ahead.It is built entirely from granite and is well restored, thanks to a very good job of conservation by the ASI. It is still a place of worship, perhaps that is the reason it managed to survive intact.   The most popular icon in Indian classical dance -
Read more

Pandharpur

-
Image
On a recent trip to Maharashtra, I saw this kaka and kaki at the Pune Railway station. They must have been on their way to Pandharpur. I have seen devotees making their way to Pandharpur in hordes singing beautiful abhangs, taking their entire family with them. The Varkaris generally make this annual pilgrimage by foot.   Elders and little children walk too, and there is scarcely a break in the singing and music. There is something divine, whether you are a believer of god or not, in voices raised to a common tune, in exaltation of something outside the self. I would like to go with them once. In the month of Ashadh Ekadashi, trains in Maharashtra are filled with pilgrims on their way to Pandharpur. Maybe I will join them. Who knows, I may meet this old couple I saw at the Pune railway station.
Read more

Forgotten city of Ela - Revisiting Old Goa - the Se Cathedral

-
Image
Se Cathedral illustration ( Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina  ) , Velha Goa ( Old Goa)  I had listened in to this lovely talk by Tahir Noronha about Old Goa, tracing its history, from the ancient city of Govapuri, which then ceded its glory to another port that developed on the north bank of the Mandovi river - Ela. (You could listen to this on the facebook page - Soul.travelling  - Forgotten City of Ela by Tahir Noronha, Tahir is an architect working with Charles Correa Foundation ) Ela was the first settlement on the site that has now grown into what we know of as 'Goa'. Ruled by local chieftains, the places were not unified. It was not until the Portuguese added bits of these territories to their 'empire' ( Estado da India) that the present Goa came into being. Ela was known to the outside world, much before the rest of India. Owing to the trade coming in from the sea with the Arabs and the Chinese, it was  a highly coveted city - facing attacks from the Baha
Read more

Society for Children's book Writers & Illustrators, India