Monday, February 20, 2012

Maha Shivratri 2012

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After accomplishing the pilgrimage to Ganga Talao, it is now time to celebrate the great night of Shiva at the temple, the Maheswarnath Mandir in Triolet.

 

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If you want a walkthrough of the temple, check this post – Maheswarnath Mandir. & if you want to compare how much kanwars were recycled, check out last year’s post – Maha Shivratri 2011.

 

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So early this morning, I was there alongside hundreds of other devotees to offer the sacred water of Ganga Talao.

 

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The temple grounds were filled with beautiful kanwars that had made the journey to Ganga Talao during the last 4 days. The Triolet pilgrims had set off on Thursday afternoon and returned on Sunday afternoon.

 

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The first thing most people do is offer their prayers to the gatekeepers of the temple.

 

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Yeah, the tiger as well. Don’t look at the coconut…

 

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Offering prayers and the sacred water to the Shivling.

 

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The morning prayers are essential, but the most important prayers are done at night – the Char Pahar Puja – conducted during the entire night – 18:00, 21:00, 00:00 & 03:00.

 

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The morning session is usually completed by paying respects to all the respective temples. Because it was so early in the morning, the crowd was not consequential.

 

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After finishing the prayers, there only one thing left to do – kanwar photoshoot!

 

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Is that what I think it is?

 

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This last one was massive, almost like a small temple.

 

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Electric lights on kanwars? That’s common. How about a waterfall? :)

 

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Oh yeah, I saw that last year as well. Hey, recycling is good. :)

 

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Very impressive.

 

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Oh dear… Let me make this clear. Yes, in India, usage of Ganja/Bhang is accepted, but please do not try to promote it here. This is not what we want to convey when celebrating Maha Shivratri.

 

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Love these little Shivlings.

 

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Well, that was it. A tour of most of the kanwars within the temple yard.

 

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Refreshments being provided to devotees.

 

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Before leaving, there was just one last thing I would like to add. If you ever intend to make the journey to Maheswarnath Mandir next year, please do spare a thought for people less fortunate that you. Thank you.

 

Oh, here’s the video. 4h of uploading! Sorry for the lack of image stabilisation. ;)

 

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1 comment

Bobo

these are awesome pictures! keep it up

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