Festivities are over, feelings are not!😊 As I write this blog post, Diwali blues are settling in, just as easily as the evening chill in Delhi's barely breathable air. You won't believe how I used to dread the festive season in Delhi when I came here two decades ago. The sound of fire crackers used to frighten me. Even children would carelessly toss the firecrackers from one corner to the other and I would be literally trembling with fear! Has anything changed now? I have begun loving the festivities!
Having lived in Delhi NCR for more than two decades now, I see things differently. I love the festive season, especially Diwali, when I can just deck up my home, unleash my creativity in arranging the decor and the diyas and getting ready to send out gifts of love to a very small circle of loved ones.
When I look out of the window just now, I see a grey sky and the sun resembles a fading yolk. Peace all around. Or is it the energy that I have carried along with me after Malai Mandir darshan?
Malai Mandir: Presiding deity is Lord Subramanya
My family and I had our first darshan at Delhi's famous 'Malai Mandir', where the presiding deity is Lord Subramanya. Setting off early in the morning with family, we reached the temple, bought jasmine garlands to make our offering and the overall experience is still filling my heart with such joy.
Lord Subramanya worship: Remembering Pazhani temple in Tamil Nadu
As a child, our parents used to undertake annual pilgrimages to the famous Pazhani temple, where Lord Subramanya is worshipped. This used to be the highlight of our summer vacation. The visit to Delhi's Malai Mandir with my family brought back memories of my childhood vacations. The grandeur of the presiding deity is so enthralling that words are not enough to describe it.
Standing before the form of Lord Subramanya, I felt like a child today.
Adithi Rao, in her novel titled 'Left from the Nameless Shop' stories', recreates the magic of RK Narayan's 'Malgudi Days' in the following words:
"An oil lamp burning flickering anywhere takes me back to the sight of flames flickering across the benevolent clay visage of the elephant headed god we brought home each year on Ganesh Chaturthi day. Festivals in our family home were about the smell of raw banana bajjis frying in hot oil, and laddoos pilfered from under the myopic eyes of Narassimha the cook.... A single image, a shadow, a play of light in places thousands of miles away can bring back a rush of memories - incidents, thoughts, sometimes mere sensations. But undeniably powerful just the same."
Reading these words, feeling the electrifying vibes that I directly experienced at the sacred Malai Mandir in Delhi, I feel peace all around and within me.
Often we do not realise the power of sacred places to transmute our own energies into a higher awareness.
Have you experienced this feeling too? Tell me your experience - I'd love to know.
In my heart, the divine mantra of Lord Subramanya plays like a loop, 'Om Sharavana Bhavaya Namaha'.
Feeling blessed.💛
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