Chalo Heritage and Nature Walks

26/11/2021

06/09/2020

3 years ago already ...Ganpathi Visargan was so different this year ...2020 the year of Covid 19.
Such a fun afternoon / evening was had with Rashid, Joshua, Stephen Smith , Gill MC Donald and Janice Mortlock Henry .
After the immersions we had a delicious supper at Delhi Kitchen with Rajan

08/12/2019

Such skillful and beautiful 'invisible' darning work ...known as Rafu !
Really appreciate this man's work .....

08/12/2019

Met this little cutie in the Tulsi Baugh Temple area ...totally lost in her own world!

26/10/2019

To all our guests who have joined us on one of our Walks ...
Wishing you a very Happy Diwali full of Joy and Light !

29/09/2019

Everyday in Pune !

05/07/2019

05/07/2019

Some memories of the Palkhi participants during their stay over in Pune

16/01/2019

Perfect for our guests during one of our walks!

India has a long way to go when it comes to good sanitation services, public hygiene and health infrastructure. The government as well as the general public lac

12/12/2018

A place that we visit on one of our walks !

Do you know why Jejuri is famous?
Jejuri , a small town in Maharashtra, is most famous for its Khandoba temple. Khandoba is known by many names such as Malhari Martanda, Khanderao, Mallu Khan, Malli Nath, Mallikarjana, Mallana, Martand Bhairav, Khanderaya, Mailara Linga. He is an assimilation of a local deity and the Bhairav avatar of Shiva. He is also associated with Surya, Kartikeya and Vishnu. This is because his iconography shows him on top of a hill with two consorts, like Kartikeya and he brandishes a sword atop a white horse like Vishnu’s Kalki avatar. His name, Martand and the fact turmeric plays a big role in Jejuri celebrations, links him to the sun. His various names show how he cut across communities and was worshipped by Hindus, Jains, Muslims and people from various castes.
Though Khandoba does not feature in ancient scriptures, he finds mentions in texts going back five hundred years. It shows how the rise in popularity of Marathi led to the adaptation of a regional deity into an overall Hindu Brahmanical deity. As a local deity, he was worshipped by clans before they went to war, for crops, the well-being of animals and by local priests.
The Jejuri temple was first built thousand years ago but became popular around seven hundred years ago. Jejuri hosts Champa Shashti, one of the most important yearly festivals for Maharashtra and Karnataka. The celebration attracts devotees and tourists alike. Turmeric known as Bhandara, is an important offering made to Khandoba and during the festival, Jejuri becomes a sea of yellow. The temple’s four deep stambhs also turn yellow because of flying turmeric powder.