It’s been a long time since I last put up a post…

Work and only work had kept me busy.. But, last week I did manage to pull out some time for myself.. I had been on a vacation with my family to Goa and a small village in Karnataka called “Chitrapur”.

Goa is not just a fun place.. Goa has a lot more to it than the 3 B’s.. (beaches, babes, and booze)… What Goa is not known for is its rich heritage.. Goa has got some really beautiful and enchanting holy places. And this time, I had been to Goa to visit these places.

We reached Goa on Saturday night… We went to a temple called Mangeshi… My parents told me it is the abode of our family deity.. We were supposed to put stay there…But unfortunately.. the administrative staff had left for the day, leaving up stranded at 10 in the night in a small town like Goa.. Luckily, the driver of our vehicle knew a few people around.. He made arrangements and got us a room in another temple nearby.. After the hectic day, we had a nice wash and managed to hit the bed by about 1..


Shantadurga temple (We spent the night here)


We had decided to attend the early morning puja at our family deity temple.. We got up at 5.. and reached the temple by 6:30.. just in time for the rituals to begin.. For the first time, I realized how beautiful an early morning could be.. Mornings are different in smaller towns like Goa. Nice and chilly, pleasant, birds chirping.. and to add to it all, the sounds of the bells ringing in the temple early morning makes the day..


Mangeshi Temple in the morning


I vividly remember a flat in Malad that I had seen.. It was in a very peaceful area, and the windows open out to a temple.. I wish to build my home in a place like that..

After the rituals in Mangeshi temple, we transferred all our luggage to our room in Mangeshi temple and left to see all the other temples in Goa..

The other temples were also beautiful.. and huge.. yes, all the temples were huge.. I wonder where do these people get the moolah to build such huge temples and maintain them.. Each and every temple of Goa was huge..

We came back to our room tired at about 9.. Every Monday, the deity at Mangeshi is brought out and a small procession takes place.. We were lucky to be present there on a Monday.. I was really enthralled by the decoration, lights, and music… I was especially thrilled watching a small boy, maybe 5-6 yrs, play the drums.. he was awesome..

We spent the next day visiting beaches, other tourist spots and some shopping… We were to leave for Chitrapur the next day..

Will talk to you abt Chitrapur in my next post soon...

Truly speaking.. Goa is a very beautiful place.. It has something for everybody…