Gods and Goddesses of Nainital

On Babas and Mystics This Blog and a recent book ( The Babaji Affair ) has a lot of matter on Babas and Mystics especially of the Nainital region. The following FAQs about it are therefore in order. Recently while on the topic of Mystics a very dear friend of mine commented, “Since childhood I have had no use for Babas, swamis or of any kind of mystic. I saw them as parasites taking advantages of well meaning but duped followers. I have always put them in one of two categories - they are either charlatans or they are self-delusional. Nothing in between. In other words, they either knowingly deceive people, or they believe in the bunk they spread. (Sorry, couldn't control this diatribe - Tourette syndrome)” My response at the time was a brief one that I agreed with him partly. The response was brief at the time because we were really engaged in a conversation on some other matter. But, the comment does need a more detailed response and I am attempting that now in a...

A novel with Nainital as its backdrop – Nude besides the lake – was released earlier this year. This is what H.S. Gill a 1971 Mechanical Engineering graduate of IIT Delhi had to say about it in a recent communication to the author, Ashok, I have read your book from cover to cover, and some parts twice. The storyline flows well, it is pleasant to read, and I enjoyed the experience. I spent my childhood summers in Naini Tal or Simla, and have very fond memories of those times. Neel Tal, where the story takes place, took me back there and the descriptions were reminiscent of Naini Tal before it experienced its own version of urban sprawl. The backdrop is wonderfully idyllic. All the characters are nice people, out to help each other, and the community as a whole. (The only exception is one Mr. Harbinder Gill, who abandoned his pregnant wife in India, emigrated to Canada and started a new family!) I don't want to reveal too many details lest they spoil the fun of others who ha...

A few months ago I wrote and published a small booklet with the title: Naini Mata - Goddess of Nainital. The booklet was merely a small expression of my love for the mother goddess. However, a few days ago when I entered “Naini Mata” in the google search engine and clicked I was surprised that this modest effort has lead to the spread of the fame and loving message of the goddess across the world through numerous websites. I am delighted that I have been an instrument of the mother in this task. It is the very least I could do in return for the immense love and blessings I have received from the mother goddess since the time I was an infant.

Earl's Court Nainital With the blessings of the Goddess Naini, the presiding deity of Nainital, the city has numerous beautiful heritage buildings. If I had my way I would try and get Nainital declared as a world heritage site. It is now mainly up to the government of Uttarakhand and the people of Nainital to make every possible effort to preserve the heritage buildings. Lessons may be be learnt from Europe, as to how this is done in historical cities there. There is also a need to prevent new buildings coming up in new designs that do not reflect the original heritage of the city. If that is permitted a unique heritage of mankind would be lost. In recent decades the hillsides have become over built. There is a need to relocate some of the new constructions towards Bhowali or Hanumangarhi and remove congestion. There is also a need to quickly and speedily discard any proposals to permit raising the heights of buildings as some have suggested out of the infinitely expanding gre...

A human while he lives displays different appearances, different clothes and even different names. It is not surprising therefore that a goddess should do much more of that. Naini Devi the goddess of Nainital, the mother goddess in her different reincarnations and forms is also known as Nanda Devi, the goddess of the mountains or as Parvati the goddess of snow capped mountains, also perhaps as Bhuvaneshwari the goddess of the fields and forests which in ancient Middle East was known as Nana and to ancient Greeks was know as Gaia, the mother goddess or earth goddess. As the goddess of the oceans she is Mazu worshipped in Taiwan. As a gentle mother of love she is mother Mary worshipped by the Christians as a fierce conqueror of evil the goddess Kali worshipped by sects of Hindus. As a hermit she is Mira and as an Empress she is Queen Victoria. These are only some of the forms in which humans have worshipped the Almighty as the mother goddess. It is not surprising that the goddess has a t...

Lokhamtal, a small lake in Nainital district T his morning the local newspaper here in Jaipur (Rajasthan Patrika, 25th of January 2011, page 9) devoted a page to describing the deeds of a few ordinary individuals who had devoted several years of their own time, effort and money to improve the environment. This Newspaper is imbued with a high degree of social responsibility and it has made many contributions towards improving the quality of life in our province. Therefore it devotes considerable space to highlighting such stories from time to time. There were stories of persons who had created huge forests bit by bit around their villages, cleaned and created lakes and pathways through the mountains. As they worked on their projects, others in the area were motivated to join in and help, so that the results were truly impressive. The reports were highly encouraging, yet also embarrassing to me personally. I talk a lot in this blog and elsewhere about contributing to improving the...

A View of the Plains of Nainital District, 2010 A lthough this author has had close ties to Nainital District since childhood, he did not have enough opportunity to travel around the district during his adult life until the last two years. This opportunity came in 2009-2010 when he served as the Director of an Institute of Technology in the District (the only institute of the district offering degree level professional education including engineering education). During this appointment the author had ample opportunities to tour large parts of the district. It was the observation of this author that since the British, who had originally developed Nainital town and District up to 1947 left, little positive development has taken place in the district. Rather there has been a severe deterioration. For several decades after the British left, this district was a largely ignored hill district of the large state of Uttar Pradesh. However, since about a decade ago Nainital district is o...