THE ANCIENT TEMPLES OF KIRAMCHI

Chitti Chitti…bang! Bang!.....oh no this is not a comic strip ….it is real time streaming ...rather real time action by the Indian army against militancy in the much-in-news J and K region that finds its pride of place in the majestic Newer Himalayan ranges. These ranges also house some of the most beautiful valleys of the world and many a temples and places of pilgrim interest like the Amarnath and Kedarnath caves and Mansarovar .

Little known to mankind, safely ensconced and hidden in a quaint little town called Udhampur which is the Head Quarter of the Northern Command of the Indian Army are a group of astounding Shiva temples with marvelous architecture surprisingly well maintained by the ASI. Although very little is known of the historical background of these temples it is interesting to note that small groups of tourists interested in ancient structures and places of archaeological interest have been visiting the place to marvel at the stone structures which stand untainted by the harsh weather conditions of nature since the beginning of the post Gupta period.

Kiramachi as the temples are known is located 67 kms from Jammu and is cradled between two rivulets called the Birunala and the Kiramchi. They are 5 temples built on an elevated platform all but one facing east. They consist of garbhagriha with curvilinear shikaras and an elongated antaral and a sukhanasika decorated with kuta and kalasha. The pillars are decorated with pumaghata pot and foliage design and one cant but wonder about the vast knowledge of engineering and talent in stone carving that the artists of those times possessed. The 1^st temple is the most developed and elaborately ornamented. It depicts large size moldings, niches for asthadikpalas and saptmatrikas in addition to parshvadevtas. This is the nagara style of architecture.

According to legendary accounts, Raja Kichack a contemporary of The Pandavas of Mahabharata had laid the foundation to this place. Yet another legend says the Kiramchi was the capital of Bhuti in the Jammu region under the successors of Daya-Karan a ruler of Kashmir. In recent times the ASi in the course of trial escavations discovered a no. of terracotta figurines, copper coins, iron arrowheads, beads of semi precious stones pestles, querns and earthern pots datable to the late Gupta period that ran a length between circa 320-circa 540 CE!

A visit to this exotic but sadly in frequented place, will provide ample proof ,if proof is necessary, that the ancient rulers of the place were Hindu Rajas, who have through their devotion to religion and faith in their future, immortalized this great land of ours and ensured an eternal place in history by building enchanting temples of exquisite beauty . The place and its undying serenity and grandeur remind visitors of the oneness and vastness of this great indivisible country, unshaken by relentless assaults on its people land and culture. These are reminders that this country is unconquerable and will march on forever with undiminished glory

GUIDE . Lattitude 32⁰53’N

Longitude 75 ⁰7’E

LOCATION 67 kms from Jammu on the Udhampur – Lander road.

ELEVATION 730m above sea level.

THE GREEK HOSPITAL (ITY)!

The most exciting month on the NDC course is May when the officers and their spouses go out on their much awaited travel abroad .Like all others I too looked forward to this travel to Vietnam and Greece which was assigned to us and was excited about the former country because of the shopping opportunities it throws up and the latter for the rich cultural and historical background.

Trouble brewed in Malaysia when i developed sudden pain and irritation in my right eye which was bothersome as it kept watering and impairing my vision a bit. Gen Bakshi told Kumar that it would be wise to call in a doc at the Delhi airport where we were heading after the Vietnam leg enroute to Greece. On arrival the duty doc marched up and in no time told me to call off my trip and to head straight to AIIMS as the eye was more important than the trip! I made little of his diagnosis saying he isn’t an eye specialist and without any instruments cannot give a final picture like this at all.

We took off for Greece but on the flight it felt worse and so on advise from Rakesh Sharma and others called the DA from Vienna to fix an appointment with an eye doc at Greece.

The descend to Greece was the most awesome sight ever with the sea coast, the streamers, Gondolas the mountainous terrain, and green plains rolled together making the environs picture postcard perfect. All this I admired with one eye!!!!!

On arrival we went straight to the hospital and the doc called Monusakis was shocked at the state of my eye, galvanized into action, took pictures of the 'good' eye as he called it and the other eye, showed them on the comp and convinced Kumar that I had to be admitted immediately! My world came crashing down and apprehensions of being alone in a strange country with strange(ly) good looking people all around, specially the handsome Greek Docs gripped me and heightened my fear to an extent that I told Kumar to stay back with me that night in the hospital! Quick arrangements were made the paper work was in place and we were made comfortable in a special ward.

Then started a rigorous routine of drops every half hour (which meant no sleep for three full days!) and the efficiency, care and timing with which Labrini, Erinie Dora and a couple of others did the job is commendable. The experience was truly out of the ordinary and the nursing assistants and Pedro the guy who served food were so good and friendly that time flew by and it felt like being at home. Especially the time they all made to chat me up, some out of curiosity about a foreign national, some to improve their English and others out of sheer courtesy touched me .The other touching gesture that kept me going was the beautiful thoughtful and timely ‘get well’ card that the ladies and officers of the group sent through Kumar the next day. I have made friends for life and am in contact with a few of them on the net.

The efficiency, equipments, friendly demeanor and hospitality of the Greeks left me speechless and I gave them 'thank you' cards to express my deep sense of gratitude for their kindness and timely help.

Erinie was so besotted by my friendship that she bought me an ice-cream on the day of my discharge. When she asked me if all Indians were like this , I told her "They are better!" and that according to her was an award winning answer!

One returning to the hotel,I realized that I was lucky enough not to have missed out on the trip to the Oracle of Delphi . So the next day I set out in earnest to see and know more about the Greek land and at the Oracle of Delphi lost my diamond ring!. The story goes that in olden days the people who visited the Delphi gave expensive gifts in return for favors granted by the Oracle and in my case when someone asked me what 'favor' I got for giving my diamond ,I promptly replied "My eye"

Like someone said I did get to see more places than the rest of the course!!!!!!!

MY FIRST LOVE

Driving for nearly three hours

in my dodge,

I was suddenly reminded of my love,

on seeing OORVASI lodge.

I drove into the car park,went into

the dimly lit restaurant,

and choose a cozy comfortable table

at one end of the room

I asked for her and "instantly"

she came to me,

all dressed in orange and white

A queenly sight!

with an aroma that roused my instincts.....

I lost my composure, and

immediately lifted her to me

with both my hands ,

touched my lips with hers

gingerly which few do

till she was completely exhausted.

A touch of satisfaction lit my face

and i became fresh as morning dew.

She is mine and mine will ever be,

Yes, she is she is sweet orange and white

And everybody calls her "TEA"

LIFE

The waves,
echoing beyond the shores are heard among the farthest Hebredies
Amid the din of wind and rain
raging around,
they go unnoticed as they dash against the rocks and break away.

But a radiant calm pervades
around the boat,
steered by you,
and I
oblivious of all this
engrossed in my knitting...
criss-crossing the needles mechanically,
weaving patterns i have in mind.

(But who knows what the end will be like?
Is'nt life too a similar pattern with an unknown end??)

Slowly the waves rise and dash against
the sides of the boat,
disturbing the tranquil calm,
tossing the vessel about in the sea.

Like the perennial seaswell
life is lifted up
and dropped again
and threatened.....

amidst the steady whisperof the waves,
they begin growing in size to frightful heights.

You were lost in deep thought
and the smoke from
the cigarette you were smoking
wafted across the air in
circular rings
and this minute's slackness
brought the pattern of your life
to an abrupt end.

Perhaps,
destiny,
willed it.
You were devoured by the insatiable
waves
coming back in quick successions to be seen no more.

I
opened my eyes on the shores

now
I'm a vegetable
animate -yet inanimate
bereft of all enthusiasm
my mind was obnubilated as
my eyes wandered away
slowly
resting on
the unfinished pattern on the knitting needles.

RECIPIE FOR SUCCESS

BLANCH the brain
in boiling hot water.
Peel and Skin the
outer layer!

Sift and seive out
ego,negativism, greed,
jealousy and evil thoughts from
the centre and
stuff it back with
positive thoughts kindness, forbearace
and a quest for knowledge.

Add a dash of intelligence,
and a sizeable amount of maturity.
Bake it in the skull for life and dish out
generous helpings when required!!

The "Jharugandi" Brigade

THE “JHARUGANDI” BRIGADE


The most peaceful experience it used to be every year, to climb the difficult mountain range of seven mountains to the abode of Lord Venkateshwara. Over tens yrs I was for some strange reason or the other unable to make it for darshan. This time around with a number of adjustments in terms of dates and convenience and suitability we finally made the reservations to undertake the long journey to Tirupati from Bangalore.

Being arthritic I made it to the temple with difficulty after over two hrs of waiting and seeing people at times breaking Q’s nudging pushing and getting ahead In spite of the rough handling by most of the TTD staff in and around the sanctum sanctorum I kept my cool and tried to concentrate on the "darshan". Just when I got inside the inner most precincts with folded hands, my hand was suddenly held rudely and I was given a swift push with the words ‘jharungandi’thus dismantling the namaste position and ruining my peace while causing pain in my wrist. In a reflex reaction I elbowed the girl and proceeded ahead sandwiched between a number of devotees, barely saw the lord as we were hurled forward again, lost concentration and was wondering if the whole exercise was worth it when suddenly four to five TTD staff came, blocked my path and asked me to get aside.

They started shouting, “How dare you….” “What right have u got….”etc while pushing me by my shoulder. I was taken aback and kept walking ahead into another Q for prasadam. Just when I thought it was all over and very distasteful, there were another four men ganged up with the four girls and they asked me to step aside and harassed me as to why I pushed her and told me to march up to the police station for a complaint of ‘assault’ against me! And all the while I thought I was the one who should have complained to the authorities for their unruly behaviour. The events took an ugly turn when they brushed aside my husband who was apologizing profusely to them in order to diffuse the pent up anger and close the issue as a huge crowd had gathered in the temple premises and things started getting out of hand when they ganged up and started abusing him too. Now I was hell bent on defending my stance but was not allowed to speak, as my voice could not rise above the din. Finally when I did speak they told me it was their’duty’ to push people and keep them moving and I told them politely that it was my duty to 'defend' myself. We kept moving out of the temple and they followed till a point from where they had to turn back and that was like the line in a kabbadi match. In spite of their strength and number we got out of this tricky situation only after apologizing profusely to the girl in question without even knowing my crime!
The best thing that arose out of the situation was that the hundreds of devotees who were behind us got a peaceful darshan without the “jharugandi” brigade who are like the powerful mafia of Tirupati, roughing them up. Lucky them and poor me. My mind was clouded by the incident long after and it obliterated the image of the lord which I could only register in under 3 seconds quite vaguely.. Wonder then if it’s worth all the effort to go to Tirupati after much planning for a 3 second darshan and a whole lot of “jharungandi” instead of the chanting of ‘OM……….”in the background.

LESSER MORTALS

“These bloody dogs...getting under my car all the time and whining through the night….”shouted one of the neighbors of this sprawling multistory building in disgust as he rushed off to office to rake in the coffers and provide more and more comforts for his family and himself. True…. they are dogs but somehow I can’t bring myself to call them that.... like a derogatory remark….The poor animals did not ask to be born thus and man’s avarice for more cannot bring himself to show kindness to the downtrodden much less feed the harmless things some food. They inadvertently and inevitably guard and protect the houses of these rich heartless people despite their despicable behavior.

This part of me to love them and feel for them did not arise out of the fact that I own two beautiful intelligent adorable playful labs myself but was always dormant in me ever since I could understand and sense pain as a child. Earlier I used to curse shout and try to reform such neighbors but now feel that to set an example, precepts rather than preachings is the time tested mantra and so I fondle them and play with them and love them deliberately whenever someone is showing annoyance towards them.
Life’s like that....being starlwarts in their work field and earning the millions and going to temples and offering silk cloth and other monetary offerings wont get u half the so called “punya”but kindness towards the needy specially the creatures who suffer pain but cant tell, will get u closer to God. It’s not for nothing they say God shines through people and its time people started shining like God would have loved them to.