'Sree Vaasthu Bhagwan' - by K.J.S.Chatrath

I had heard of 'vaastu', 'vaastu shastra', 'vaastu dosh' etc. However I confess, with regret, that I did not know that there is a 'Sree Vaasthu Bhagwan' also. I seek forgiveness for my ignorance.

While travelling through Tamil Nadu last month, I came across this poster of 'Sree Vaasthu Bhagwan' which I am sharing for benefit of my readers.

Disclaimer: I personally do not believe in 'Vaastu' but I have great respect for all shades of faiths and various  fields of knowledge.

'Awesome old murals in Brihadeeswarar temple,Tanjavur- a curtain raiser' by K.J.S.Chatrath

I saw awesome old murals in Brihadeeswarar temple,Tanjavur last month.These are said to date back to 11th century A.D. A write up with photos will appear soon on my website and blog.

May Iinvite you to subscribe to my blog www.indianheritagephotos.blogspot.in. It is free, non-political and one can unsubscribe any moment one wants to.

'Two statues from the Tamil Nadu State Museum, Chennai' - by K.J.S.Chatrath

 Bust of a sage, circa 9th century A.D. discovered in Kaverippakkam, North Arcot District, Tamil Nadu and on display in the open air part of the Tamil Nadu State Museum, Egmore, Chennai.

Bust of a sage, circa 12th century A.D., locality unknown, and on display in the open air part of the Tamil Nadu State Museum, Egmore, Chennai.

Bust of a sage, circa 12th century A.D., locality unknown, and on display in the open air part of the Tamil Nadu State Museum, Egmore, Chennai.

 Sages of the two statues display different hair styles and different styles of beards and moustaches. One wonders what do these indicate.

'Visit to Shahi Jama Masjid, Delhi - a curtain raiser' - by K.J.S.Chatrath

A brief write up with many photos- coming soon on this blog.... ..... ....

'Meet Odisha's celestial beauty in New Delhi' by K.J.S.Chatrath

I was in Odisha on  a short visit about a fortnight back and renewed my admiration for this wonderful part of India. Last week I spent a few hours in the National Museum, New Delhi on the Janpath. On buying the ticket, one passes through a corridor where on both sides are kept some of the finest specimen's of Indian art.

At the end of the corridor one reaches a circular verandah wer epriceless statues adorn either side of it. The first statue that I saw on the right was that of a 'Celestial Beauty' from Konark, Odisha. It dates back to 13th century A.D. Having just returned from Konark I could know the very high level at which there are huge statues of celestial beauties all around the temple.

Take a look.

 As I have been saying 'Odisha is one place you must visit before you die.

And now with a remarkable team of Harvard educated Ms. Arti Ahuja as the Principal Secretary Tourism and the dashing young Nitin Jawale as Director Tourism, Odisha is set to become the favourite destination both of domestic as well as foreign travellers.

Good Luck!

'Odisha- the one place you must visit before you die' by K.J.S.Chatrath

It has become a cliche' to say that you must visit these ten or twenty or hundred places before you die. Having visited a few places across the world, I would say that Odisha is the one place one must visit before one dies.

I worked in Orissa for 35 years and left the state on retirement in 2003, but my hunger for visiting various places in this wonderful state has not yet got satiated.

I am just back after a one week trip to Odisha during which I visited the State Museum and various temples at Bhubaneswar, then the Budhist sites of Lalitgiri, Ratangiri and Udaygiri. And   moving towards Konark, the Chausath Yogini Temple  and ofcourse the Konark temple and the Museum there.

I would be posting many write-ups and photos taken during this visit. But here are just a few photos to whet the appetite.....

 Mukteshwar temple, Bhubaneswar.

 

Lalitgiri.

 Chausath Yogini temple near Bhubaneswar. Each of the 64 'yoginis' sports a different hairstyle.

 Konark.

  Konark.

Thats a tired looking me at Ratangiri.

'Fearsome Chamunda statue in Bhopal Museum' - by K.J.S.Chatrath

I recently visited the Stater Museum, Bhopal.

 Statue of Chamunda, circa 11^th century A.D., discovered in Chaurasigarh, Mandsaur district, Madhya Pradesh. On display in the State Museum, Bhopal, India.

Chamunda, also known as Sachchi Mata, Chamundi, Chamundeshwari and Charchika, is a fearsome aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother and one of the seven Matrikas (mother goddesses). She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses, who are attendants of the warrior goddess Durga.

The name is a combination of Chanda and Munda , two monsters whom Chamunda killed. She is closely associated with Kali, another fierce aspect of Devi. She is sometimes identified with goddesses Parvati, Chandi or Durga as well. The goddess is often portrayed as haunting cremation grounds or fig trees.

(Text based on information in Wikipedia)