Day 0 ( 10th Nov ) to Lucknow
We left by Flight around 8:30am from Chennai to Lucknow, to reach around 3:30pm , the flight reached late, via NewDelhi, by about an hour. Hitherto I had only ¨heard¨ of Lucknowi kurtas and their perfumes but here I was travelling beyond the Vindhyas for the first time visiting north of Vindhyas. I was mighty excited and to add to it we also went shopping in Lucknow for Chikankari clothes.
Back at the hotel around 8:00pm, we had tasty tasty Aloo tikki and Panipuris sold outside.
Dinner served by our tour operators was Hot rasam,a curry,sambar, buttermilk.
Dinner was also the time that our young and charming director gave us instructions regarding the next days program.
Day 1 ( 11th Nov ) Naimisaranyam
Bags out at 6am and into the bus at 6.30
We boarded the bus as strangers but by the time we got off we were all buddies. The tour director informed us to recite the Nrisimha keertan and Sahasranamam even as we drove to . Naimisharanyam. This practise kept us going till the day we left and it was lingering in our minds for days after we returned.
A place venerated in all our scriptures ,sung by ancient poets and mentioned in Puranas, Naimisaranyam has a hoary past and has been the seat for learning.
Sukha muni recited The Bagawatham here to Parikshit ( grandson of Arjuna)
Sootha Pouranikar recited the ancient scripts here to the meditating Rishis
Vaisampayanar recited it to Janamejayan
Narada came here to listen to Bagavatham and it is said in the scriptures that Krishna Himself descended here to listen to his childhood stories.
After breakfast, we visited Vyasamuni temple, recited few slokas from Bagavatham.
We saw a huge Banyan tree, one of the 5 ( here, Prayag, Gaya, Kurukshetra, Kolkatta) in the temple, prayed at temples of
Dadeechee, Ahobilamutt, Sukhamuni and Balaji temple run by TTD.
We sprinkled on our head, water from Gomathy river.
This particular place is rich in culture,history and steeped in spirituality. There is a circular pond here where everyone has a dip called Chakratheertham, had lunch at Badarinarayana Ashram
From Naimisharanyam to Faizabad is about 5 hours drive and we reached Fizabad around 7:30pm.
Checked into hotel Shanee awadh around 8pm
Day 2 ( 12th Nov ) Ayodya
We were all very eager to visit Ram Lalla, the birth place of Lord Sri Rama and his brothers. Early morning we boarded our bus and set out for Ayodhya and recited the Nrisimha keertan and Sahasranamam and at 8 were served breakfast of upma and chutney.
On reaching Ayodhya….everyone of us ,I must say had their own emotions and silent prayers and conversations with Rama must have ensued ,....I am sure.
A small township,with Sarayu running as a channel of water along the length of this famous town,and temples galore.
I heard someone say there are more than 8000 temples small and big.
We came all the way to see our Ram Lalla, -- so, with nothing on our person but some cash and hearts full of love, we walked through heavy security 9 to be precise and the 9th point reveals our little Rama and his brothers , standing silently under a tent , watching the world go by ,but what was very horripilating was the fact that the military that guards the place is severe about it and is all ready to build the Mandir in a few hours if needed. We leave with a heavy heart but also with a sense of relief that our Ram is indeed safe .
Other palaces that deserve mention are kanaka Bhavan {Kaikeyis gift to Sita}, Dasarathas court and Hanuman Gaddi, Ammaji Mandir- a typical south indian temple.
I could not help imagining a King Majestic with beard sitting holding court and a stiff Vishvamithra, walking in demanding the company of the two princes ……
Well…..imagination is what the world spins on…..
Evening saw us going into a military area to bathe in Sarayu river at Guptarghat, which was beautiful serene and there was a timelessness to the whole scene only distracted by a few cows and beggars.
The dip or bath in Sarayu brought all of us closer as we helped each other holding hands and dipping enjoying ourselves thoroughly.
Dinner at the hotel,everyday with a sweet,was sumptuous, puri baji, chapathi vegetable , dal, rice with rasam ,sambar ,panner palak ,appalam ,vadai one day bajji one day, badhusha ,mysore pak, puran poli, aval upma on ekadeshi day,curd rice with pickle. All this and more to eat ,what more could one ask for.
At Dinner time a small talk on RamRajya by our very young director who to me seemed like the Krishna Himself talking to us on matters of Dharma,self righteousness, religion, Satyam,
We were transported to Dwapara yuga.
Day 3 ( 13th Nov) Chitrakoot
Next morning saw us bathed and ready to leave .We stopped at a small village Nandigram,small nevertheless but very important historically. Bharathan stayed here ruling Ayodhya with Ramas Padukai as his Lord. A very beautiful place in the early morning mist and a gun toting Sant sitting ready to give us a lecture or a shot.
This is also the place where Hanuman met Bharathan for the first time .Bharathas sincerity and pure heart pulled the southward flying Hanuman down and they met here.
Ekadeshi day and many of us opted not to eat,,so avalakki upma was made for the rest.
Onward to a beautiful place called GuptGodavari in Chitrakoot. Chitrakoot is the place where Rama Lakshmana Sita stayed for a longer time during their exile. We went straight to the outskirts of the city and reached foothills of some hillock.
It is a small hillock with streams running downhill. As we go up the path narrows down and we have to walk in thigh deep waters to reach some caves and inside there are huge platforms,rooms sort of, and water running around here and thereby making it a very romantic place ,,.....again my imagination runs riot ,,,,rama and sita enjoying a bit of privacy here.
We move on to a place in Chitrakoot where Atri Rishi and his wife Anusuya lived , a beautiful river Mandakini runs mildly peacefully here and we have a dip here too. After lunch we move to another spot on the banks of Mandakini where Jayantha, Lord Indiraś son troubled SitaMa. Here we sat on a huge soapstone boulder and listened to the story of Jayantha (While every where we could see hard stones, boulders in Chitrakoot).
On to Chitrakoot again ,only this time the main city, dirty again but important historically,
We visit a temple on a rise called Kamadgiri, and the Place where Tulsidas composed his RamCharit Manas.
This narrative is bound to be rather long as it involves no less an epic but ramayana.
After this, we drove on to check into a hotel in Prayag….The Prayag Inn.
Day 4 ( 14th Nov) Prayag
Comfortable stay in prayag and next morning all of us set out with spare clothes to have a dip in the Triveni sangam, Prayag. The boatman took us to a midpoint in the river where Yamuna meets Ganga ,the colour change is visible where Ganges is brown and Yamuna is green in colour. The river security force is always roaming about, and the planks that are lowered for bathing is changed on a daily basis depending upon how far the Ganga has receded.
This done reached hotel to have lunch. After some rest, we hired electric autorikshaws to worship Veni Madhav .
Veni madhav stands silently laughing at the comic stunts of all his
bakthas….when we went there was a battery of politicians paying their respects too.
The rickshaws here run on battery which is a remarkable thing despite which everyone here goes about with a scarf like cloth over their mouth, much like bandits.
Day 5 ( 15th Nov ) Kashi
Early morning we were on our way to kasi. On the way we stopped at a beautiful place called Sita Mateei ,a place where LavaKucha stopped Ramas Ashwamedha horses ,a place where Valmiki wrote his Ramayana , a place more importantly, where Sita chose to go underground back to her mother.
This place is beautifully done, recreated with ponds and streams all around,a sense of calm overtakes us as also a feeling of sadness.
The above site shown is changed as below by a trust.
Then, On our way to Kashi...aka Varanasi….the ancient city that glowed with the radiance of knowledge ,that could be seen from outer space ,the place where dead bodies burn 24 hours a day, the place where from souls depart leaving behind their mortal remains,to go straight to the abode of Vishnu. And last of all the place where from PM Modi won his seat.
Varanaassi is divided into 2 parts ...the Vishnu Kasi and Shiva Kasi. Varana is one river and Assi is the other which meet here.
The ride in the boat to the other side of the river Ganga was chill , meaning good and the dip was even more awesome .With many of us becoming emotional as it was the first time for us,the bath in MaGanga was unforgettable.
To the hotel and lunch done ,we left at 2 pmto see the Sthala perumal...Adhi Kesavan, .
The story is that Shiva owned Kasi,and when once Keshava helped HIm fight some demons Shiva gave part of his Kashi to Vishnu...Kesava. Hence up until Manikarnika Ghat is Vishnu Kasi and thenceforth it is Shiva kasi.
Stories apart, the entire Ghat sections ,the numerous steps that lead to the river are spotlessly clean, the ghat where bodies are burning 24 hours is also clean ,and the entire frontage looks fantastic,bringing to mind old cities and our hearts burn with the pride of having been the oldest known city.
Kasi even today emanates a kind of energy that is difficult to explain,but is easier felt ,this is the feeling that makes me want to go back.
Adhi kesava given due respect ,we were off to see kala Bairava,,,who is the protecting deity of Kasi, streets as small as a dining table which bend ,twist and turn and spring surprises on us like a motor bike and next a huge cow,and then again some school children all walking ,nonchalantly along.
The streets are also full of dung,fresh and dried ,but no one seems to care.
A visit to the Famous Bindhu Madhavan temple takes us through the narrow streets of Kasi ,but the destination reveals a beautiful Krishna,Black in colour,as enchanting as ever,
It is as if we go on a walk to the back of the beyond, but little do we realize that the back of the beyond is our beginning.
It was evening, around 6:30 and time for the famous Aarthi on the banks of Ganga Ma. (DasaAshwamedha Ghat) A boat took us into the river , in front of the Aarthi stage/Ghat and from here we could see two sets of aarthis being performed, one by the temple with 5 pandas performing and other sponsored by Taj group of Hotels with 7 pandas. Once the temple Aarthi got over, Taj sponsored Aarthi started and we were seated in a boat in the middle of the river with a prime view ,and it was an exhilarating experience to watch the silent river with lamps floating around ,with boat loads of people all sitting watching silently the Aarthi, the soulful music belted out by the Pandas, aka, Iskon style but nevertheless soothing at that time of the night, we were also taken for a ride ,literally ,by the boatman to see the Harishchandra Ghat where bodies are burnt throughout the day,and the other ghats from a distance.
After this spectacular show,we were hurried into the narrowest streets of Kasi to see the Vishwanatha,Annapoorni and Visalakshi.
Kasi Vishwanatha,,,,,is also under very strict security,nothing which even resembles a long thing is allowed ,a peep into the security guards tin revealed plenty of combs , mirrors, safety pins. Kasi vishwanatha is in a linga form, in the ground.
Annapoorni Devi is a cute lady standing with her ladle ready to dole out food.
Visalakshi is also same size and what is very striking is that Kanyakumari,Meenakshi ,Visalakshi and Annapoorni are all of the same size ,small ,powerful women.
Not to be outdone our tour director ordered benarasi Paan to the hotel and we had a paan each after dinner.
Day 6 ( 16th Nov) Gaya
The next morning was a very early wake up...we left the hotel at 4 am. All of us still sleepy, only keertan,no chanting.
When we stopped for breakfast around 8:30am the bus also stopped for a break and like a naughty child and would not start. We waited a good one hour for it to start and went on our way to Gaya.
Reached Gaya at 11 am and a few of us headed straight to the Karnataka Bhavan to perform the Shraddha.
The Karnataka Bhavan is not particularly clean but is declared the cleanest amongst all other options.
The sraddham was performed duly and the offerings/Pindadanam given to cows,on the banks of Phalguni river.
The next offering was given at Vishnu Padham in Gadhdara temple and then a dharshan of the big Akshaya Vata tree completes the ritual.
A young Brahmachari did the sraddham and he was very sincere about his work. What was very touching was he explained the meaning of every sloka said and explained the slokas of the whys for 16 pindams for the mother alone. This was very moving and the rituals attached were very strenous but we did complete them and had lunch at 6pm!! We autoed it back to Bodhgaya,where our hotel rooms were booked.
Day 7 ( 17th Nov) Bodhgaya
Next morning from BodhGaya, to see the enlightening tree, Bodhi tree and The Golden Buddha sitting with eyes half closed.
To me seemed as if he were more inclined to close his eyes ,and into the bus for our last ride to the airport,Patna.
Before I finish a few lines about out tour operators
Agrani Krishna and his team did marvellous work ,herding us all into the bus at the right time, seeing that all of us got dharshan everywhere, feeding us proper food at the proper time and feeding us with some spiritual Gyan as well, now and then.
A few lines about the cooks who accompanied us on this tour…..They were polite,smiling,and ever ready to accommodate our needs.
A few photos of food , we were served:
There are many languages in the world ,but a smile says it all,the lady who helped me get into Sarayu at Guptarghat.
Nice narration
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