Our new year’s day had started a little late, like any others, some friends had come over the previous night and our party at home went on till it neared dawn. At noon our day had just begun with New Year wishes to family and friends. Weather however was a pleasant surprise, the dense fog which had been a nuisance for all the airlines in last few days was nowhere to be seen. It was a clear day, without the usual winter haze, the grey canvas above backlit by the sun which hid behind the clouds adding a comforting warmth to the proceedings. It was difficult not to be tempted by such a wonderful weather. Such days are few and far in between during winter here in Delhi NCR, hence we chose to go out and make merry while the sun shone. It was close to lunchtime so we looked for a place where we could have a good meal and a few searches on the internet were enough to lead us to “Shraman” at Hotel Ashok. My wife suggested that we also visit “Birla Temple”, starting the year with some blessings seemed appropriate to both of us.

After our perfect meal, which had almost happened by chance, we drove down to Birla Mandir about 5 kms from the hotel, near Connaught Place. When we reached there I realized that it was the same temple which I have noticed while I went for my photo walks to Chandni Chowk. The vibrant yellow and red structure had captivated me and it was a wish to try and capture it through my camera. So here we were on the New Year’s Day at the Birla Mandir or the Laxmi Narayan Mandir and I was delighted that I had carried my DSLR along. The queue at the main entrance of the temple was not long when we reached there, perhaps due to that perfect hour just after lunch when the temple had just opened with people ambling having finished their own lunch. Once through security check, which made me go back and put my iPhone in a locker, we found ourselves in a fairly large campus with the main sanctum in front of us. The red and yellow colored temple reminded me of the Dakshineshwar Temple in Kolkata. The temple though not crowded had a buzz inside with people who were probably there to begin the New Year on an auspicious note while some others who were on a sight-seeing tour led by a guide. We offered our prayers, took a small walk around the premises and came out. A side entrance led us into the expansive park behind the temple. It was evening and the park was now full of people, with family and friends, having fun, wishing that it would be a happy new year. While the sun set I fulfilled my wish to capture this beautiful temple as we took a walk around it
The warmth in the afternoon was gradually being taken over by the usual winter chill and we headed back home. It has been a good start to the New Year.
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Thank you Joal