Travelogue - The Desi Saree Story

    Just before Diwali this year, I got a call from my elder sister staying in Singapore."It's Diwali time, Let's do some Desi Saree Shopping!" she said excitedly. I was astonished at her desire and also immediately filled with what, why, how, where!

Turned out, she wanted an authentic hand-woven handloom Silk Saree and thus began The 'Desi Saree' Story...

Notes for Readers: The word 'Desi' describes the people, cultures of Indian subcontinent. a 'handloom Saree' is garment woven by hand on a pit or frame loom generally located in weavers homes and without the use of any electricity. The other kind of cloth / Saree is manufactured in Power looms. 

(File Photo)    

A Weavers Story:

     My mind immediately flashed back to my last trip to Varanasi, where we directly met weavers, showing us different varieties - Banarasi, Valkalam, Baluchari, Jamawar and many more.

            

    I remembered one weaver who brought boxes of his handwoven Sarees and just on opening the box we felt these were not the kind of colours we were looking for, so we asked him to close the box to save him the trouble of opening and again folding so many Sarees. We were totally taken aback when he said "It does not hurt to fold the Sarees over and over again and again, but it does hurt when you choose not to even take a look at our work. It takes 15 to 30 days to weave a single Saree with intricate work. At least take a look, if you don't like anything, no worries, but if you do like and buy something, this will help light the stove in our homes". 

    Notes for Readers: India produces roughly 85 per cent of the world's handwoven products, Handloom is one of the largest employment providers in our country after agriculture. While power looms have replaced handlooms the world over, they live on in India.

Where do I find the authentic handwoven Sarees?

    I was aware of the challenges being faced by weavers, but the question was how to reach them! I needed a single shop sourcing all varieties of Sarees from authentic weavers across India, and soon a perfect answer came up! Of course! The Madhurya Shop, from Weaver to Wearer! Link: Madhurya

Travelogue - Sri Sri Omkareshwar Ashram

       Super Excited to share with you all that, with this post today, I am starting my 'Travelogue Series', where I will be sharing about my amazing travel experiences, unique features & specialisations of the places I visit!

My first post in this series is about The Art of Living Omkareshwar Ashram (closest city Indore, Madhya Pradesh),

spread across 16 acres of land, a stay capacity for about 100 people, a Heritage school with 22 Veda boys studying ancient literature, a Gaushala (Cow Shed), situated on the most beautiful banks of River Narmada. 

Invite you to share your own experiences in Comments section below! Happy Reading.....

    

Bringing you 5 Interesting Facts about this ashram:

1. About River Narmada: Did You Know, that... 

• The Ramayan and The Mahabharata mention the river Narmada as 'Reva'. Religiously, it is referred to as a Virgin River, Brahmacharini Narmada, who never married.
• Narmada is the longest west-flowing river, rising near the Amarkantak range of mountains in Madhya Pradesh, meets the Gulf of Cambay, trumpet shaped Gulf of Arabian Sea.
• Narmada is the only river which has the tradition of Parikrama (circumambulated) from the source to sea and back; a challenging and incredible journey of 2,600kms
• a sighting of River Narmada is considered by locals as equivalent to a bath in River Ganges.
• Lastly, as per mythological legend, River Ganga comes once every year to Narmada to cleanse its own sins.

      Narmada Jayanti every year witnesses a beautiful celebration, not to be missed.

2. Proximity to Jyotirling: 

    This Ashram is only 10kms away from the 'Jyotirling Omkareshwar' and hence the name, this is one of the 12 revered Jyotirling shrines of Shiva, on the island Mandhata (Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh, India); Needless to say, the pulsating positive magnetic vibrations of the location, help us naturally slip into deep states of meditations.

        Did You Know... the shape of the island Mandhata is said to be like the Devanagari ॐ symbol and hence the name Om-Aakaar-Eshwar (Omkareshwar means the Lord of the Om Sound). 

3. Three Banyam Trees at same location:

         The Ashram houses a 200 year old Banyan Tree - Actually THREE huge Banyan trees and it is said that the passer by saints say these trees are symbolic of Trinity or 'Brahma Vishnu and Mahesh'. 

        Did You Know... that The Banyan tree is considered as the symbol of immortality. It has aerial roots that grow down from its branches forming additional trunks and anchor the tree to the ground, therefore this tree is also known as 'Bahu pada' (the one with several feet). A rare sight to find 3 Huge Banyan Trees at one Spot, and a beautiful experience to sit and meditate below these auspicious trees. On a lighter note, this is also a very good spot for photographs😁😉

4. Swayambhu Linga:

           All the pebbles in the Narmada river bed are said to take the shape of Lord Shiva's emblem (the Shivlinga) with the saying, "Narmada Ke Kanker utte Shankar", which means that "pebble stones of Narmada, get a personified form of Shiva‟. These lingam shaped stones called 'Banalinga' are much sought after for daily worship.

        

Did You Know... that Banalinga is also called the 'Swayambhu Linga' meaning Self-existent mark or sign of God, as it is discovered in the shape of a Linga in Nature, it is not carved or crafted by human hands. Har Har Narmade!

    When Gurudev went to Omkareshwar, he blessed one such linga and a Rudra Puja is performed on the ShivLinga every Monday. It is said that a Pran-Pratishtha Pooja(bringing idol to life) was not done for this ashram ShivLinga as it was already Jagrut (Carrying High prana or energy). You sure can feel this divine presence, simply by sitting with ur eyes closed inside this Open temple, under the Banyan tree.

5. Heritage School: 

    With the vision to maintain Vaidic tradition for the generations to come, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji established the first Heritage Veda School in Bangalore in 1981. Here, the students learn both Vedas and Science. Omkareshwar ashram is home for one such Heritage school with 22 children. (Link: Sri Sri Gurukul Omkareshwar)

       Did you Know... Interestingly, Omkareshwar is said to be the place where Adi Shankaracharya met his Guru Govinda Bhagvatpada in a cave on the banks of river Narmada. This cave can be found even today just below the Jyotirling temple where an image of Adi Shankara has been installed. Watching the small children learning their sanskrit chants, dressed in dhoti-angvastra sure makes it a surreal experience, its like reliving the times when Adi Shankara actually walked this exact path to find his own Guru.

Many more local stories, amazing Narmada Aarti, overall make The Art of Living Omkareshwar Ashram a 'must visit'. The Spiritual Energy here is Unmissable. 

        'Ashram' in Sanskrit means 'without effort or toil', a place where you can effortlessly drop all mental baggage, all fears, insecurities and attain deep rest. Omkareshwar Ashram brings you this exact experience and in an absolutely effortless manner making the visit totally worth its while!

To Know More about my next Program at Omkareshwar Ashram: Link for All Programs

Have you been to the The Art of Living Omkareshwar Ashram

Do share your own experiences of visit in comments section below! Wishing Good Health & Happiness for all...!