Journey Chronicles

Living in Shimla, our weekend excursions mostly meant strolling on the Mall Road during the evenings, enjoying pastries and éclairs from the Trishool bakery, softy from the Ridge, coffee and samosa from the Indian Coffee House and dinner at the Baljees or Fascination restaurant. Our parents would also take us out for picnics to the nearby places.  As kids, we just loved it, especially because we would go out with our favourite cousins. My mother and aunt would pack sandwiches and aloo paranthas along with some biscuits and water in a picnic basket. It was an adventure that brought big smiles to our faces, and we would all be charged up for these outings. One such destination was the Tara Devi and Sankatmochan temple . Tara Devi temple is a beautiful hilltop temple overlooking the town of Shimla. One had to trek through a thick forest to reach the summit, an arduous yet exhilarating experience. We would walk the rugged trail, chit-chatting and taking breaks in between to ...

Nowadays, news keeps buzzing about celebrities’ grand visit to the holy shrines of our country. The amount of importance and facilities that are provided to them makes me wonder if such privileges should be extended to them, especially in places of worship.  Shouldn’t everyone be treated equally, at least in front of God? If we look at the general norm, the common man has to stand in long queues while visiting the temples,  wait patiently for several hours, just to get a glimpse of the deity and is usually shooed away hurriedly by the priests or the security from the temple premises. It does not really matter how far you have come from or how long you have waited. Not much concern is shown for the elderly, either. In contrast, when any Bollywood star or a celebrity visits a temple, grand arrangements are made, the entire premises is cordoned off so that they can leisurely walk around, perform elaborate pujas and rituals, get special attention and blessings from the priests...