Champaner – Jami Masjid and Shaher ki Masjid : Some places are worth visiting again and again…
Hi,
So I always thought that our blog is about places near Vadodara, and why have I not posted about Champaner yet? It is one of the most iconic historical places near Vadodara, and still, we have not shared about it? Whenever I started writing about these great archeological sites, I thought about Konkona’s article in Wake up Sid. What shall I write? So many posts, blogs, and vlogs about these sites… What am I going to say, which is new, which is unique… But then I realized when the place is like Champaner; you don’t need to be unique or different…Because the place itself is exquisite…
As situated so close to Vadodara in the lap of Pawagadh, Champaner is not an unknown place for Barodians. Yet, Champaner and Pawagadh are our most common tourist attractions. There are so many monuments in Champaner village, including seven mosques. Among these, the Jami Masjid is the biggest, most elaborate, and most famous. We still have not visited all of them but will definitely visit and surely update here.
Jami Masjid and Shaher ki Masjid are nearby only and just opposite the entry point of mighty Pawagadh hill. And oh! How they stood tall and proud in front of it. Jami masjid has a central courtyard with corridors and impressive pillars with bewitching stone carvings. There are 172 pillars with two altitudinous minarets touching the sky just like the colossal Pawagadh behind them.
Once we went there in spring and what a wonderful sight it was!!! The flowers of bougainvillea were fallen on the ground just like Nani’s pink quilt, tempting us to lie down and forget all our worries.
All these monuments are just like wrinkles. The more we look at them, the more we fall in love with them. Because we can understand stories, struggles, and hard work behind them, the dedication of each and everyone is peeping out from each cranny and nook and not to forget the dream which had made all possible… Now you all must be thinking, who in the state of the sane mind will fall in love with wrinkles and positively see them… You bat, I did!!! Just read it yourself.
Wrinkles
This morning
while looking in the mirror
I realized
Wrinkles on my forehead
Crow’s feet around the eyes
I got a little worried
What am I? 40?
Then mirror smirked
And answered
To me and to everyone like me :
Wear them with proud
These are the hallmark of
Unlimited worries about kids
Are they getting a balanced diet?
Are they adjusting to a new city?
Their moods, their studies
Their happiness, their sorrows
From diaper rash to job lay-offs
Wear them with proud
Because they showcase
Your care about parents
About their health
About their loneliness
Those hospital visits to
Frequent goodbyes
Those endless phone calls
‘Have you had your lunch’ talks?
Wear them with proud
They exhibit your concerns
For your partner
His career apex to
Her continuous progress
Fulfilling his little needs
Without asking to
Showering with affection
In all her attainments
They say you worry too much
Rather unnecessarily.
I say these are the reasons
I get up in the morning
These are reasons
For our existence
We thrive on these worries
Wrinkles of grandparents’ hands
When they gently pat your cheeks
Wrinkles on the clothes
After all days of hard work
Wrinkles of the paper planes
And origami paper boats
Creases of the old tree bark
Ruffles of the dried flower petals
Wrinkles on pat cats and dogs
Rusty wrinkles on giant rocks
Of the dry land, of sand dunes
Wrinkles in the mud after the rain
Of the lava in pahoehoe (*)
So I thanked the mirror.
For showing me
Forehead, frown, bunny lines
Mental crease and tear troughs
Whatever they are called
And that’s how
My foundation and primer
Went back into the drawer
And
I wear my wrinkles daily with proud
Who needs all makeup
When we are gifted with
Signs of
Our affection
Our care
Our love
Our heart
– Kajal Shah
(*) – pahoehoe – basaltic lava with smooth, undulating, ropy surface
We still have not visited Kevada mosque, Nagina masjid, Lila Gumbaz ki Masjid and Kamani Masjid. We are going to visit them soon and will definitely post about them here.
That’s all.
See you all next week.
SaSha
Kaash.
Mesmerizing more when we visited after I read your post !
Descritpion to the link is perfect and your poetry is icing on cake !
kudos to SAFAR with SASHA !
Thank you so much. Comments like this motivates us to keep exploring and write our memories.
uncle this vlog helped me a lot to prepare my project specialy the photograph
Thank you so much Dhwit. We would love to see your project. Please share it with us.