ORCHHA - THE TEMPLE TALE

 

Here I have a very interesting story to tell. A tale with a lot of morals in it. Myths which are quite believable. I myself don't know how much truth it really holds but then you can say I trusted my Tourist guide who also handles a fancy insta page to promote tourism in Orchha.

                                      Orchha  is a  small place in Madhya Pradesh, India. a place where Lord Rama  ( from mythological tale Ramayana ) is still considered to be the mighty King. Yes and he is honored by Armed Salutation , four times a day by the local police who also provide him security. Why so you may ask? well that's why this blog; to unfold an interesting mythical tale of devotion. 

( Palace of Bundela King & Queen of Orchha)

So the story goes back to 1554 when the King of Orchha Madhukar Shah Ju Dev was a devotee of Lord Krishna while his wife Queen Kamala Devi was a devotee of Lord Rama. Once they got into a fight where the King wanted to visit Lord Krishna in Mathura while the Queen wanted to visit Ayodhya to meet Lord Rama as he had visited her in her dreams. The quarrel worsen and King asked Queen to go to pursue her Lord but return only when her Lord accompanies her. So the Queen left for Ayodhya bare foot. Before she left she gave orders to start building a temple for her Lord which was later named as Chaturbhuj Temple. She wanted the face of the main temple to be such that she could watch the Lord from her Palace. 

( This is a view from the upper windows at Chaturbhuj Temple looking at the royal palace. ) 

The queen did her prayers for a month on the banks of Sarayu river to please Lord Rama but he didn't appear. The queen was desperate. She knew she had no place to go as she had promised to return only with the Lord with her. So she decided to end her life by jumping into the same river. Just then, Lord Rama appeared in the form of a small statue of his childhood. 

Impressed with her devotion, Lord Rama agreed to accompany her to Orchha but he kept three conditions. First one was something which is followed even till today. He said that if he comes with her to Orchha then he will stay there as the only King and no one else can rule the place. His second condition was that he will be in Orchha during the day time but will come back to Ayodhya at night as it is his home.Third condition was that wherever his statue is first kept  in Orchha , he will reside there forever and will not move anywhere else thereafter. Well while the first two conditions made sense, the third one felt vague.

( Entrance & side view of Chaturbhuj Temple )

 Lord Rama already knew that the Queen  had ordered construction of the temple and that she wanted it to face her Palace. Lord Rama could already sense a feeling of pride & royalty and didn't like the idea of Queen's easy access to his temple. This way she will probably won't even come for the prayers in person and just see him from a distance. When the Queen started bringing Lord Rama with him back to Orchha, Lord Rama didn't let the construction of  Chaturbhuj temple get completed. After walking barefoot for several days, the Queen was very tired. As she reached Orchha she was informed about the strange unexpected reasons of delay in the construction. As Queen was really tired, she thought of placing the statue of Lord Rama in the Royal Kitchen temporarily. In Indian household, kitchen is considered as second most pious place in a house after the Prayer room. Then after several days when the temple got built, Queen tried to shift the statue from the royal kitchen but the statue would not budge. And that is when she remembered the third condition. Well so the Royal Kitchen was then converted into another Temple which is called Raja Rama Mandir. 

( Raja Ram Mandir made out of Royal Kitchen of Queen Kamala Devi) 

To fulfill the first condition, the King shifted his kingdom and capital to a place called Tikamgarh and left the throne for Raja Rama. For the second condition, every evening after the temple closes, a lamp ( symbolic of soul of the statue is take to a small Hanuman Temple nearby from where it is said that Lord Rama is carried by Pawan Putra Hanuman ( Son of Air God ) to Ayodhya, his home town.

( Inner side of the entrance gate of Raja Rama Mandir has painted depictions of mythological tales of Lord Rama & his other avatars)

Orchha is a beautiful and peaceful place with a very less population and very friendly natives. You would find them selling local stuff outside the temple at nominal costs. Hand made earthen pots and utensils are a hit. Bangles, collection of  brass temple bells and other decorative are also very interesting 

During annual Marriage anniversary of Lord Rama & her wife Sita, The natives divide themselves into groom's side & bride's side. They celebrate a typical Hindu wedding which lasts for three days including ceremonies such as Haldi, Mehndi, Doli , Baarat etc. The Village is decorated with lights and amazing festivities. 

Lord Rama is still the most beloved King to the people of Orchha and they celebrate him everyday.

TWO BROKEN HEARTS AND A CUP OF TEA

 

When two broken hearts met over a cup of tea, the newly heartbroken asked “will it ever become easier?…..I mean the pain”

“Well actually it never really leaves” said the girl who has been single for too long. So long that she had forgotten how a companionship feels like.

“It stays and then transforms into various things”

“What things?” he asked

 

She had closed her eyes, as if introspecting her soul. And when she opened her eyes again, it looked as if all the sorrow from deep within had rushed to her eyes looking in for an escape.

“ When you pour a cup of tea and it outflows, when you burn your chicken, when you throw an important piece of paper while the trash is still on your desk, when you cant decide what to eat for dinner for hours, when your eyes are tired but you can’t sleep, when you cant get up from your bed 24 hours straight not even to pee, when you reach a door ajar expecting it to open on its own and them slam it so hard that even the door asks you ‘why?’, when you don’t know what to do with the day anymore or the night… and all this keeps coming back to you.” She said while outpouring her tea.

“It looks like it is never going to leave” he said.

 She smiled “but the best thing is that you will get used to it”

SAY NO TO WOMEN'S DAY

This Women's Day, let us start a trend - "Not to celebrate Women's Day".
Not Convincing? Let me make it convincing for you.

What does celebrating 'Women's Day' actually mean to you?

Option 1- MAKES YOU FEEL EMPOWERED. Well if you are already empowered, do you really need a day to reinforce that to yourself? If you know your powers, you probably are celebrating and cherishing it everyday.

Option 2 - THIS DAY IS TO TALK ABOUT ISSUES RELATED TO GENDER INEQUALITY . Do you really think that a few debates over a few cases of domestic violence, unequal wages, crime against women, on a single day can bring the massive change required?

Option 3 - IT TALKS ABOUT NEED  FOR RESERVATION FOR WOMEN. Do you really think that while demanding equality, it is fair to seek reservation benefits based on the same principals of inequality? With entitlement of reservation, a sense of inequality come for free.

Right from the days of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, several social activists have tried to help women get a better share in the society. But do we really have to wait for some activists to come and raise a voice in our defence.

My addressal  is especially to all the educated women who still face gender inequality and its consequences each day. Your right to equality is your personal quest. You have to seek it each day. On the days when an office colleague wishes you on Women's Day and then forwards a misogynist joke on WhatsApp just because its trending. On the days when your boss justifies disparity in wages for same amount of work. On the days when your own mother teaches you to keep your brother, husband and son above you and your priorities. These are your daily fight and struggles. If you win them each day, you wont need a "Women's Day" to remind you of your strength.

Ms Nandita Prakash
Educationist

To Live with a Forgotten Dream

Everyone has a dream. What would they be when they grow up, what would they do, buy, own. I too had a dream. In teenage years when one decides on profession or show inclination towards a vocation, I wanted to be a housewife. I had sorted it all in my head. Opposite to the general perception, I wasn't trying to run away from responsibilities but rather preparing to take on the job of managing a household/a family in all its seriousness.

I had prepared myself a five year project plan and a job list. I had resolved to set up a comfortable house in the first year and had planned to have four kids. I wanted to  dedicate my life to cook warm food for them, stitch them beautiful clothes, keep them warm in winters, tell them stories, home school them and even write books for them. It was all that I wanted and cared.

When I look back fifteen years, I envy my dedication and clarity of thought. I wish I had the same power on my fate as I thought I had back then. Now, fifteen years since then, I still crave to feel a life grow inside my womb, to see its little fists boxing from inside, to see this little one open its eyes in my arms and cry for the milk supplies. To see the tiny fellow look like me, may be the same curls or even the smile.

Motherhood is not a thing to define womanhood. It is not even needed for a women to feel complete. But then what do I do with this only dream that I ever had. I don't know if my mother or any of my friends would have felt as fulfilling as I would have with a child hanging around my neck.

Motherhood is a feeling and childlessness is a condition. And none of this can define existence of a woman. The question was never that whether the society will accept me as a childless woman. The question is that will I be able to live with a forgotten dream

Ah! I Hope Its True

All he had were a list of simple words. Quite contrary to the range of stories he had. As versatile as human emotions. complicated but penned in simple words. He made the whole effort of writing appear so effortless and natural. It was in his very nature perhaps , to simplify complex emotions and let them float on the surface of a calm water under a bright shining sun.

How was it even possible for this one person alone, to bring order in this universe or at least the universe around him that mattered. Very close to being unbelievable but
also quite close to the visible reality. " They don't make such men anymore" my heart cried. Or may be all this while, I was blind to such a possibility.

So should we go ahead and see how this story unfolds. Or rather just stay here keeping oneself busy in imagining all the nice things before the cruel reality takes over and ruins it. And what if all this is real and there are no curtains this time. What if this white light that I see, is the light of love, light of life.

My heart has so much love that if it could manifest itself, it would possibly be this man. Yet the old wounds will not stop bleeding. It will never let him heal them. But this man is no less in sorcery, as his words have already reached my wounds. It is only a matter of time and before I would know, my wounds will be gone.
Ah! I hope its true.

I Will Never Appear Meek

and its only the night
 which would ever see me cry.
as the sun rises 
you will find my pillows dry.
my smile
 will worry you more
this happiness 
will make your heart sore.
I will never give you
 the pleasure you seek
To you I will 
never appear meek.

Unseen Awaits You

No, to travel is not to escape
It is to confront.
It is not merely for leisure .
You can land up in a jungle
With thirst and hunger.
But very often,
It gives spiritual pleasures.
If u can then you must,
Travel to places unknown.
What you always seek
Awaits you!

Life Isn't Fair

It isn't fair,
but then who said it will be.
You may wish someone loved you,
with all their might
but when did they guarantee?
This faith can transport you through years
but same years
cannot promise faith to you and me.
Still you can wish
and wish you must,
because then there will be
nothing else
to hold on to..to look up to.
I believe i can survive
cause i believe in me

- Nandita Prakash

TELL ME A BEAUTIFUL LIE INSTEAD

Enough of your truth
tell me a lie instead.
But it must be lovelier
than the songs i have read.
It must be cheerful enough
to help me gleefully forget,
the countless scars on my soul,
the ample tears i have shed.
Tell me endless tales
about the pleasures I never had.
I dont care about your darker truth,
tell me a beautiful lie instead

-Nandita Prakash