It was another hot Sunday (18th May 2014) and I was venturing out on a photo walk ,that too at 12.30 PM, the hottest time of the day.I never imagined it would be so hot.After a hurried lunch we, my daughter and I , reached the Mulund station and saw that we had missed the Ambernath train by a few minutes and we also had the misfortune of seeing the Badlapur train pass by from the opposite platform.Not a good sign,only hoped that things got better after these two lapses.Finally reached Ambernath station and met up with the rest of the Moments Shoot group.They had their lunch at a nearby restaurant unlike us.We took autos to the Herambh temple and what greeted us was locked gates....the Lord was in deep slumber,not to be disturbed.We trudged along the hot,dry and dusty roads to reach the famous Ambareshwar temple.It was situated about two kilometres away from Ambernath station.
It was supposedly a protected heritage site but the place around the temple was too dirty.A stinking nallah was passing nearby and it was full of filth.There were many pigs around and the whole area did not give any sign of piety or purity in spite of it being near the temple area.This was the shaan (pride) of Ambernath???What a difference it would make if the whole nearby area was well- maintained! A look at the temple from the outside made us realise that the temple was really extraordinary.It was a marvel of ancient Indian architecture but sadly the filthy nearby area stuck out like a sore thumb and marred the beauty of the place.How I wish I had photographed the outside area too for you to have an idea of what I am talking about.Any,the temple itself left me dumbstruck and I was eager to explore it further.The security personnel at the gates told us that photography was not allowed inside the temple but we could photograph it from the outside.They did not allow my photographer friends to use their tripods and I just could not understand why.
The temple structure was magnificent and carved in stone.This temple has 20 steps to go down to the main room called gabhara and there are two Shivlings in the centre of the room.It is also believed by some people that the temple was built by the Pandava brothers in just one night of a huge single mass of stone but official records are not supportive of this story.We sat inside the gabhara for a few minutes and had a few of the photo enthusiasts relate stories about the temple and similar temples they visited.As those stories did not interest me much I looked around and saw that there were many metal bells hanging around and they were secured with chains and locks.A few chains and locks were sans the bells meaning that those bells had been stolen.......stolen from the temple!!! It is not uncommon to hear of bells,money-boxes,deity's ornaments and sometimes even the idols being stolen from the temples.Shameful.....even temples are not spared from the greed of man!!!
After a while as we were feeling hotter, we went out and sat in the shade of the temple near the pillars.We did not venture outside just yet as the heat was really killing,We chatted there for about half an hour and started exploring the temple.We were mesmerised by the intricate carvings and the beauty of the temple.Each set of carvings had a story to narrate.Most importantly,even after so many years,this temple had stood the test of time and was nearly intact except for a few of the carvings which were broken and damaged.This Shiva temple in Maharashtra state is the earliest recorded Bhumija style temple built by the Silahara dynasty ,which ruled the Konkan area of Maharashtra in the 11th and 12th centuries.This construction of this temple was completed in 1060 AD.
So we roamed about in the scorching heat to click photographs and capture the best angles possible.Luckily I was wearing socks but those who weren't,like my daughter,burned their feet as they ran from one end to another taking photographs.What was surprising was that there was a marriage ceremony taking place at the temple.It is usually said that marriages are not usually solemnised at Shiva and Maruti temples.I went ahead to get a better look and was surprised to see that the bride and groom were really young,probably under the legal age to marry!As I was curious I had a talk with one of the people among the marriage group and was told that the girl was a Gujarathi while the boy was a Maharashtrian boy from Aurangabad.There was no one to represent the brides side as she had eloped to get married.I clicked a few photographs of the bride and groom too and then went and sat in the shade of the trees for a much needed break.
We chatted and discussed about cameras,photography tricks,future treks and photo walks as we sat on the grass with red ants for company. A chameleon(sarada in Marathi) caught our eye and some of my friends went to capture the garden lizard in their cameras.The group photo was next and after that we decided to leave the venue.While resting,our group leader,Nikhil gave me a shock as he told us that we need to check whether we are lucky enough to find out footwear at the entrance where we had left them as there was a chance that they may be stolen.Hearing that made me all flustered and I had no peace of mind till I had a glimpse of my prized possession,my bright and new Skecher shoes.Thankfully all of us had our footwear safe and sound.We decided against going back to visit the Herambh temple as it would be too late to reach back.Once again we hired autos that took us to the station.We had lassi and snacks at the restaurant and boarded the local train for Mumbai.What a tiring day it had been!On our way back we saw the dark clouds collecting overhead and thought that it was going to rain soon.There was a strong breeze blowing when we reached Mulund and my husband told me that it had drizzled for a few minutes before we arrived from our photo walk.
Here are a few glimpses of the photo walk to the Shiva temple.
It was supposedly a protected heritage site but the place around the temple was too dirty.A stinking nallah was passing nearby and it was full of filth.There were many pigs around and the whole area did not give any sign of piety or purity in spite of it being near the temple area.This was the shaan (pride) of Ambernath???What a difference it would make if the whole nearby area was well- maintained! A look at the temple from the outside made us realise that the temple was really extraordinary.It was a marvel of ancient Indian architecture but sadly the filthy nearby area stuck out like a sore thumb and marred the beauty of the place.How I wish I had photographed the outside area too for you to have an idea of what I am talking about.Any,the temple itself left me dumbstruck and I was eager to explore it further.The security personnel at the gates told us that photography was not allowed inside the temple but we could photograph it from the outside.They did not allow my photographer friends to use their tripods and I just could not understand why.
The temple structure was magnificent and carved in stone.This temple has 20 steps to go down to the main room called gabhara and there are two Shivlings in the centre of the room.It is also believed by some people that the temple was built by the Pandava brothers in just one night of a huge single mass of stone but official records are not supportive of this story.We sat inside the gabhara for a few minutes and had a few of the photo enthusiasts relate stories about the temple and similar temples they visited.As those stories did not interest me much I looked around and saw that there were many metal bells hanging around and they were secured with chains and locks.A few chains and locks were sans the bells meaning that those bells had been stolen.......stolen from the temple!!! It is not uncommon to hear of bells,money-boxes,deity's ornaments and sometimes even the idols being stolen from the temples.Shameful.....even temples are not spared from the greed of man!!!
After a while as we were feeling hotter, we went out and sat in the shade of the temple near the pillars.We did not venture outside just yet as the heat was really killing,We chatted there for about half an hour and started exploring the temple.We were mesmerised by the intricate carvings and the beauty of the temple.Each set of carvings had a story to narrate.Most importantly,even after so many years,this temple had stood the test of time and was nearly intact except for a few of the carvings which were broken and damaged.This Shiva temple in Maharashtra state is the earliest recorded Bhumija style temple built by the Silahara dynasty ,which ruled the Konkan area of Maharashtra in the 11th and 12th centuries.This construction of this temple was completed in 1060 AD.
So we roamed about in the scorching heat to click photographs and capture the best angles possible.Luckily I was wearing socks but those who weren't,like my daughter,burned their feet as they ran from one end to another taking photographs.What was surprising was that there was a marriage ceremony taking place at the temple.It is usually said that marriages are not usually solemnised at Shiva and Maruti temples.I went ahead to get a better look and was surprised to see that the bride and groom were really young,probably under the legal age to marry!As I was curious I had a talk with one of the people among the marriage group and was told that the girl was a Gujarathi while the boy was a Maharashtrian boy from Aurangabad.There was no one to represent the brides side as she had eloped to get married.I clicked a few photographs of the bride and groom too and then went and sat in the shade of the trees for a much needed break.
We chatted and discussed about cameras,photography tricks,future treks and photo walks as we sat on the grass with red ants for company. A chameleon(sarada in Marathi) caught our eye and some of my friends went to capture the garden lizard in their cameras.The group photo was next and after that we decided to leave the venue.While resting,our group leader,Nikhil gave me a shock as he told us that we need to check whether we are lucky enough to find out footwear at the entrance where we had left them as there was a chance that they may be stolen.Hearing that made me all flustered and I had no peace of mind till I had a glimpse of my prized possession,my bright and new Skecher shoes.Thankfully all of us had our footwear safe and sound.We decided against going back to visit the Herambh temple as it would be too late to reach back.Once again we hired autos that took us to the station.We had lassi and snacks at the restaurant and boarded the local train for Mumbai.What a tiring day it had been!On our way back we saw the dark clouds collecting overhead and thought that it was going to rain soon.There was a strong breeze blowing when we reached Mulund and my husband told me that it had drizzled for a few minutes before we arrived from our photo walk.
Here are a few glimpses of the photo walk to the Shiva temple.
