AMRITSAR & CHANDIGARH VISIT

We have been visiting religious places at long distances for some time, so this time we decided to visit some place near Delhi. Visit to Amritsar (about 450 km from Delhi) - most famous for GOLDEN TEMPLE became the obvious choice. Other sightseeing places in Amritsar are Jallianwala Bagh, Durgiana temple & India-Pakistan border i.e. Attari (Wagha) Border about 40 Km from city. At Wagha a ceremony is held daily in the evening. We, therefore, planned a three day trip.  Weather of Amritsar was similar to Delhi, so we packed summer dresses for three days in a bag for two of us and left by road in the second half of 2012.

We reached Amritsar in the evening and checked into Hotel Ritz at Mall Road. Jallianwala Bagh – near to Golden Temple was our first halt. At this place Gen. Dyer of British Army massacred innocent public (including women and children) without provocation & warning on Baisakhi Day of 1919 killing a large number of them. Some of the bullet marks left by Gen. Dyer’s army have been preserved at three places in the Bagh. There is also a MARTYERS WELL in which more than hundred persons were drowned in a bid to save themselves from the firing. We also watched light & sound program. Thereafter, in the same evening visited Shri Harmandir Sahib (Temple of God) – popularly known as Golden Temple or Shri Darbar Sahib. Golden Temple is built with white marble, overlaid with Gold in a sarovar. Devotees take dip in this holy sarovar before paying obeisance at Shri Darbar Sahib. Here Guru Granth Sahib (holy book of Sikhs) is kept and worshiped. This has four entrances i.e. at North, South, East, West directions. Within the complex there is a very big Langar. Here meal is prepared voluntarily by devotees & served daily to thousands of pilgrims free of charge. We also took food at langar, it was really tasty comprising of Daal, Chapattis and Kheer which was fresh & very hot. There was no restriction to the quantity of food to anybody. The hotel in Amritsar is rated at three on scale of five.

Next day visited Shri Durgiana Temple in the city. This has resemblance to Golden Temple i.e. big edifice in the middle of sarovar with gold ceiling and silver doors. There are separate temples of Lord Lakshmi Narayan, Lord Radha Krishan with Giri Raj Ji and Lord Rama, Lakshman, Sita & Hanuman Ji (known as Ram Darbar) within the edifice.  Behind this structure is an idol of Lord Shiva with stream of water flowing from head symbolizing Ganges from Lord Shiva’s head. There is Sheetla Mata temple along with nine incarnations of Goddess. Nearby is Bada Hanuman JI temple. After shopping we went to Attari Border with Pakistan to witness a ceremony of lowering of Flags of both the countries in evening by BSF of India and Rangers of Pakistan. Due to unprecedented rush, we were not able to personally witness the ceremony, but have to be contended with a CD which were being sold at venue. Same evening we left for Chandigarh at a distance of 130 km.

We stayed in a hotel at Zirakpur (near Chandigarh). In the morning left for Morni Hills a hill station in Haryana about 40km from Panchkula off the NH-1 through narrow & ill maintained road. Reached Tikkar Tail Lake. At this place an adventure park has been developed on the theme of wild life by the Haryana Govt. along with a scary house. Further we passed through Quail (Morni). This is an ideal place for quiet weekend. Hills are covered with pine, Neem, Oak etc. trees. At a short distance from this place is Tikkar Lake also at Morni. This is a paradise for bird watchers. Haryana Tourism have resorts at both the places.

 Though Morni  is considered as  a hill station in Haryana and near to Delhi, but has neither been developed nor maintained as a place for weekend holiday.  Same evening we returned to Delhi after travelling about 280 km.

Religious cum Excursion Tour Of Himachal Pradesh

We planned religious cum excursion tour of Himachal Pradesh. First of all we checked with Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), Chandra Lok Building, Janpath, New Delhi & booked hotels. Normal clothes were packed as weather of Himachal was not very cold, to be on safe side we took one sweater each. We left for the trip by road in first half of 2012.

Reached Chintpurni  late in evening from Delhi after a drive of just above 400 km. Chintpurni temple is 3 km from the hotel Chintpurni Heights of HPTDC at Bharwain, Distt. Una. It is believed that Lord Vishnu cut up the body of Sati (consort of Lord Shiva) into 51 pieces so that Lord Shiva would calm down and stop his Tandava. Pieces of Sati’s body were scattered over various places in the Indian subcontinent. All these places are worshiped as Shakti Peeths of Goddess. It is said that the feet of Sati fell at this place and is thus considered one of the most important of the 51 Shakti Peeths. Luggage was left in room & left for temple. Around 10 pm (i.e. at the closing hours of temple) we had darshan in an hour. On way back we took dinner at Punjabi Bhojnalaya. Heavy rains during night brought down temperature. This also caused electric failure. Next day in the morning we again went for darshan, but due to rush got darshan of  Mata Chintpurni Ji in three hours. Mata Chintpurni Devi is also known as Mata Shri Chhinnamastika Devi. Hotel is rated as 4 on the scale of five.

Mata Chitpurni Ji

Around noon we left for Mcleodganj (about 80 km). We were not able to get room in HPTDC hotels for one day so we had booked at Hotel Snow Crest Inn at Naddi from Delhi, but Mr. Tiwary of the management showed his inability to give us room. However we managed to get room at Hotel Shikhar at 2^nd floor. The room was stinking, intercom was not working, fan was operational only at full speed.

View at Naddi

 The accommodation cannot be termed as reasonable except for the outside view from the room which was excellent and food was to our liking. The hotel is rated as one on scale of five. Next day we checked into Hotel- Bhagsu, Mcleodganj of HPTDC. Here we stayed for two days.  On first day,  Dharamshala tour package took us to Dalai Lama’s Temple at Mcleodganj;  Kunal Pathri Mandir-it is believed that head of Sati (Goddess Durga) fell at this place

Kunal Pathri Mandir

 (above the idol of Mata, there is a rain water “Kund”); War Memorial; Dharamsala cricket stadium-is colouful with lush green ground against a beautiful mountainous backdrop;

Cricket Stadium

 Tea Garden; Norbulinka Institution-A Tibetan Institute ( Doll Museum is within compound); Chinmaya Tapovan (belongs to  Swamy Chinmanya sect)-a temple of Lord Rama, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman; Aganjer Mahadev Temple-near to this temple is a beautiful natural water fall with

Indreshwar Gupteshwar Mahadev

 Shiv Linga in the floor of rock called Indreshwar Gupteshwar Mahadev Temple. Here everybody enjoyed playing in water. On way back visited Indrunag Temple.

Indrunag Temple

 On the 2nd day taxi took us to Shree Chamunda Devi Temple about 15 km away. The temple is dedicated to goddesses Durga or Chamunda (Hindu deity), the surroundings of the temple provide an excellent view. There was little rush & we got darshan of Mata Chamunda Devi in about 45 minutes.Chamunda name is drawn from two demons called 'Chanda' and 'Munda'. Goddess killed these demons. There is a cave-like scoop located at the back of the temple, representing the stone lingam (embodiment of Lord Shiva) After darshan , we took lunch at Jagtamba Restaurant near the temple. On way to Palampur (25 km from temple), we passed by Dhauladhar Nature Park at Gopalpur & Tea Garden. About 20 km from Palampur we worshiped at Baijnath Temple. This temple is famous for Lord Shiv Linga. Local people believe this is one of 12 Jyotirlings, while Vaidyanath Jyotirling is at Parli in Maharashtra as spelt by Adi Guru Shankracharya-a great Hindu scholar of 8^th century. We stayed in temple for some time. Radha Krishan temple is also within the same complex. We took break at Neugal Café of HPTDC on way to Mcleodganj. This is a beautiful picnic spot with cafeteria and enjoyed in the water pool. Saurabh Van Vihar (about 2 km from café) is also a good place to enjoy. Hotel Bhagsu is rated as 3 on scale of five. Next day left for Khajjiar about 150 km away in heavy rains.

Peer Panjal in Sun Light

We checked into Hotel -The Wild Flower about 5 km from Khajjiar ground.

View of Khajjiar

 View of mountains, Deodar trees from the room was very attractive. Snow covered peaks forming a majestic backdrop. From room could see Peer Panjal-a snow covered mountain peak.
 In sun light, this peak looked like made of crystal. Food of hotel was very tasty. The weather of Khajjiar was very pleasant, temperature was around twelve degree during evening. Next day we enjoyed at Khajjiar ground. It resembles with Pehlgam in Jammu & Kashmir. Some people call it as mini Switzerland. Here we enjoyed horse riding, Zorwing-bubble type big ball in which two persons can roll down the ground.

Zorwing

 Watched hand gliding by children. Games for small kids were also available. Lunch was taken at this place. Two nights were spent at Khajjiar & rate the hotel as 3. Next day left for Jwalaji about 150 km from Khajjiar.     

Enroute to Jwala Ji (Jwalamukhi) lunch break was taken at Manor Restaurant at Jawali. Food was good. By evening reached Jwalaji. Jwalaji in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh is well-known for the famous Jwalaji Temple which is one of the fifty-one Shakti Peeths. After a brief halt in our room at Hotel Jwalaji (HPTDC) visited Jwala Mata Temple, at that time the same was found closed for evening Aarti ( 7 to 8 pm). Though long queues were formed by the time temple was opened, but the arrangements by police were excellent i.e. nobody could break the queue. We got darshan of four Jyotis (Jwalas) in temple. The legend is that tounge of Mata Sati fell at this place, thus Goddess is worshiped in the form of Jyotis at this place. It is a wonder that Jyotis are burning endlessly without any fuel for centuries.

Canopy of Empror Akbar

 A canopy of Empror Akbar is preserved near to this temple. The dinner was taken at Hotel Jwalaji.

Early next morning visited Mata Brajeshwari Devi about 35 km from Jwalaji. The temple is atop hill and was a 10 minutes’ walk from taxi stand. As per legend, left breast of Mata Sati fell at this place, so it is worshiped as Shakti Peeth. There were very few devotees at about 7 am. We remained in temple for some time. Nearby is Bhairav’s temple called Lal Bhairav’s temple.

Lal Bhairav

 Ladies are not allowed in this Bhairav temple. Returned to hotel and left for Delhi around 11 am. This HPTDC hotel is rated at 3 on the scale of 5. We reached Delhi by 10 pm.

Eight days religious cum excursion journey was very pleasant & we enjoyed every bit of it.

Kedarnath JI, Badrinath Ji Yatra

We have been planning for Kedarnath Ji and Badrinath Ji yatra for the last one year, but the same could not be materialized for one reason or the other. This year, as soon as the dates of opening of temples of Kedarnath Ji & Badrinath Ji were announced we started exploring the feasibilities for the yatra, but chances looked bleak as no breakthrough coming along. I was chatting with one of my friends, when the matter of visiting both these holy places just came up. He rang up somebody and gave me the name & address of The Kumar Holidays, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Immediately I rang up Mr. Vikas of The Kumar Holidays and gave him our requirement for Helicopter journey to Kedarnath Ji & back (to skip walking 14 km one side). I also asked him to finalise our itinerary from Delhi with details of Hotels (according to confirmation of Helicopter seats for two couples in the age bracket of above 60) & Taxi.

He came up with one proposal and after discussion with fellow couple the itinerary was confirmed and 50% of the money was paid. Mr. Vikas confirmed Helicopter (with Heritage Aviation Pvt. Ltd.) and Hotel bookings. He also informed us to keep sufficient woolens for both the places to keep us warm. Accordingly we prepared our bags.

On day one we left Delhi through taxi and halted at Hardwar for the night. Second day at 8 am taxi took us to Rudraprayag (about 160 km from Hardwar) for night halt at Galaxy. Rooms at Galaxy were very spacious fitted with air conditioners, yet the ambiance was not good, without cooking facility. So it is rated at two on the scale of five.  In the evening, Mr. Vikas telephoned me to inform that Heritage Aviation not allowed by the Govt. so the Himalayan Heli Services Pvt. Ltd. will take us to Kedarnath Ji from Serse(about 65 km from Rudraprayag) helipad.

Snow covered Mountain at Kedarnath

 On third day of our journey, in the afternoon helicopter took us to Kedarnath helipad (a 10 mts flight). The weather at Serse was very hot, but we put up Jackets before boarding helicopter. It was very cold at Kedarnath , jackets saved us from cold and light drizzle followed by little snowfall. The temple at Kedarnath is hardly 600 meter from helipad but the same was closed for the afternoon. All the passages from helipad to temple and other places are good with concrete. We checked into Kanpur House by the side of Mandakini  river. At the back of our guest house there were mountains all around covered with snow. It was informed that the source of Mandakini  is also from these mountains. Around 5 pm, one person from the guest house took us to temple of Kedarnath Ji, one of twelve Jyotirlings, as mentioned by Hindu Guru Adi Shankrachrya (a great scholar of 8^th centSnowury) in his inscriptions. There was a big queue for darshan. Our turn came after 3 hrs. We had good darshan at temple. Prayer at Jyotirling can be offered in the mornings. It was very cold at Kedarnath. Except for parshad, nothing was available in the market. Food without spices was prepared at the guest house for us and it was very tasty. In the rooms we were provided with two quilts per person, after some time our beds become really warm & had good sleep. Keeping in view the availability of accommodation, location, food it is rated at three on scale of five. In the morning on 4^th day, hot water was made available in rooms for bath.  We again went to temple and prayed at the Jyotirling. Unlike other Jyotirlings, the one over here is of hard rock not in the shape of Shivalinga rather in the form of back of bull. Here ghee is applied on Jyotirling and worshiped by touching the forehead with Jyotirling. Thereafter we took helicopter back to Serse. On way back visited Omkareshwer temple, at Ukhimath. Here idols of Lord Shiva, Parvati from Kedarnath temple are brought during winters when the doors of Kedarnath Temple remain closed. Daily puja is also conducted at this place during this period. We spent night at Priya Darshani Resort at Sayalsod, Rudraprayag by the side of a river. Though the room was without air conditioner, yet the evening was very pleasant. Here we took dinner which was very good. The resort is rated at 4 on the scale of 5.

View at Chopta

 Next morning on 5^th day, left for Badrinath about 150 km from Rudraprayag. On the way halted at Chopta. We were informed that this place is covered with snow during January-February & large number of tourists enjoy the view.  Most of the mountains are made of loose stones and earth. Frequently these stones, earth slide down and fall on roads blocking the passage. Beside this, water streams from mountains also wash away the roads from different places. Border Road Organisation (BRO) are doing great job in maintaining the roads. We checked into Janki House just at the entrance of Badrinath city. The temple is about a km from this place. It is mandatory to obtain tokens from the counter at lower taxi stand before darshan at temple. In the evening we went through the process and got good darshan of Lord Badri Vishal i.e. Lord Vishnu (one of four Dhams as professed by Adi Shankracharya) and other deities at Badrinath Ji temple

Badrinath Temple

in about an hour. Cold weather at Badrinath made our bare feet numb. Hhot water gave us comfort. Here market is very good and all variety of food is available. On 6^th day after bath visited temple in the morning, again offered prayers at holy shrine. Hotel is rated at 3 on the scale of 5. Last village on Indian soil is Manna just 4 km from Badrinath bus stand. In this village we went to Vyas Gufa,

Vyas Gufa

 it is believed that at this place Maharishi Vyas dictated epic Mahabharta to Lord Ganesha. This cave was also searched by Adi Shankracharya. Near this cave is a tea stall stated to be last tea stall on Indian soil. We tasted tea at this place which was very good. Ganesh temple is also nearby. This Manna village is just on the the international border of Tibet (now under China) & Nepal.

Ganesh Temple

 We started backward journey to Rudrapryag and night was spent at Sheetal Resorts, Jhurmoli, at Rudrapryag by the side of a river. The location of resort was very nice & I rate the resort at 4 on scale of five. On 7^th morning left Rudrapryag for Hardwar. After spending night, left Hardwar early in the morning & reached Delhi in afternoon of 8^th day.

Thus Kedarnath Ji, Badrinath Ji yatra concluded with good darshans at both shrines. 

Trip to South India

I & my wife thought of visiting Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu which has a rare distinction of being one of the twelve Jyotirlings & one of four Dhams (as enunciated by Adi Guru Shankracharya). So we decided to travel in the beginning of 2012 as the weather would be fair during that period. On enquiry we found that visiting Tamilnadu through Kerala would be the best option. Accordingly bags were packed with summer clothes. Assistance of Ocean Color Holidays was taken for booking hotels (in Tamilnadu & Kerala) and taxi.

Arrived  Alleppey ( or Allappuza), Kerala at 2am through Rajdhani Exp. from Delhi. Driver Suresh was there with taxi (arranged by travel agent), we checked into Keraleeyam Resort. The resort was small but neat & nicely located in the backwater by the side of Vembanadu Lake (in more than 60 km area) which is perhaps the largest inland water body in Asia. Lake touches four distt. of Kerala namely Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kollam, Kottayam and Ernakullam and ultimately merged with Arabian Sea at Kochi. Annual snake boat race takes place in this lake for Nehru Trophy on 2^nd Saturday of August. We took nap and bath before breakfast at resort. Unending water is the soul of Alleppey.  Considering location, ambience, service, food, accomodations are rated on the scale of 5. Thus resort is rated at 3.

Houseboat named Pulickattil picked us at 12 noon from resort itself. This one bedroom houseboat was equiped with all necessities such as air conditioner, generator, television, attached washroom, refrigerator, kitchen, dinning table and good seating place outside B/R. On board we were welcomed with fruit juices by Salil and Hakim cook and boat driver respectively. During our voyage they also exchanged their roles. Our boat crossed by a Church known as Chitti-ra-Church on an island reportedly built in 1950. We saw another island (named as Chitti Ra) is being built in the lake by blocking water with cement slabs through crain. In the lake there are two existing man made islands known as R-Block, Rani Uttack. Houseboat halted at Marthanda for lunch. We informed the staff that we are vegetarian and the food should be without spices. The food served was very tasty even without spices. At this place crew took rest upto 3 pm. It was  told that during this period fishermen throw their fishing nets in lake. Thereafter houseboat left for onward jouney in the lake. The crew informed us that there is one species (reportedly only 3 in number) in lake called as Karunaya reportedly not created by Lord Brahma (the creator of universe), but by his son, Karunaya excrate through mouth. Karunaya are stated to be very dangerous as they eat whatever comes in their way, even took away the flesh/part of body inside water. They also told us that the wound created by these species do not heal. During boat ride, we saw Mango, Coconut & Palm trees, Rice cultivation on the islands. Some trees similar to Mango tree were introduced to us as Odalam or Arali, reportedly poisonous fruit similar to Mango but it’s leave are good for the ground.  Around 5pm houseboat halted for the day as fishing nets are again out in waters. It was told that during fishing time no boating is allowed upto 8 am. Dinner was served in dim lights to escape mosquitoes. Watched TV till we went to bed in the night. In the morning our voyage cotinued after breakfast. It was an unique experience to be in moving houseboat for the whole day & night within a big lake.

 Around noon, our houseboat journey was over with sweat memories. Considering food and everything we rate houseboat at 4

Next we reached Thekkady (195 km from Alleppey) and stayed at Hotel Grand Thekkady on the main road to Periyar Lake. It was a very spacious accomodation i.e. bedroom, living room with attached toilets and balconies. In the evening watched Kathakali show organised by Sargakshethram School of Dance. This was one hour show during which different mudras of dance were explained through hand movements and facial expressions. Stories from Epics like ‘Ramayana’, ‘Mahabharatha’ and ‘Bhagavatha’ were taken for Kathakali performances. In the morning at 5.30 am joined the queue for visiting Periyar Tiger Reserve  more popularly known as Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary in more than 900 sq km area set in Cardamom Hills of Kerala. This evergreen forest has been declared as a protected ssarea by the Govt. It was an exciting experience to smell mixed fragrance of spices and various other plants in air during our stroll on road while waiting for entry. It was informed that there are various types of elephants in the sanctuary, beside tigers, birds and reptiles. Entry ticket to the Tiger Reserve was @ Rs. 25/- per person. Entry was allowed at about 6 am. Tiger reserve is around Periyar Lake in about 25 sq km area so one has to take a boat for going inside the forest to see the animals from close ranges. Bought ferry tickets @ Rs. 40/- per head with Rs. 25/- for camera. First batch of three boats, each with capacity of 60 persons, left at 7.30 am. No animal could be sighted all throughout our cruise in the lake, except one baby elephant was seen before boarding the boat. Visited a Spice & Ayurvedic Garden by the name Deepa World. The entry fee was Rs. 200/- including a guide well conversant in Hindi and English. He showed & explained about Ayurvedic medicinal plants such as  Stevia,Cardamom, Cinnamon, Brahmi, Nutmeg, Insulin etc along with other plants e.g. cofee, coco plant and of spices.

It took us 3 hrs to cover 110 km arrive at Munnar and stayed at Grand Plaza hotel. Weather was nice and no airconditioner was required. View from the hotel room was a picturesque. Visited Tea Emporium of Kanan Dewan Hills Produce of Tata’s. Entry was @ Rs 75/- per person and Rs 20/- for camera. First a documentary was shown, thereafter tea (leave) making process was physically explained. We purchased two tea plants from the emporium. According to documentary, Munnar is inhabited mainly by tea estate workers and visitors.

Floriculture Center

Floriculture Center (developed and maintained by Kerala Forest Development Corporation)  by the side of Mattupatty Rd was also visited. Here a large number of plants and flowers were on display & sale. Brahmi, Stevia and Insulin plants were also purchased from them. Further stopped by Anayirankal Dam

Tea Plantation

to see lush green forests with water reservoir. It presented a beautiful view. Hotel at Munnar is rated at 3.     

Travelled 170 km to reach Madurai and checked into hotel Madurai Residency. This was a moderate hotel at a walkable distance from centuries old Meenakshi Amman Temple

Meenakshi Amman Temple

in about 6 hectares. Hotel staff informed us that camera not allowed in temple which opens at 4 pm. The temple has more than 30,000 sculptures of Gods in brilliant and bright colours. At the time of our visit there was huge rush of devotees and everybody got good darshan of Goddess Meenakshi (consort of Lord Shiva known as Lord Sundareswra i.e. beautiful deity). His temple is also in the same complex. Beside these, there is a Temple Art Museum in 1000 pillar hall with entry ticket for individuals alongwith charges for camera. Next morning visited Thirumalai Naicker Palace. Light & sound programme is also conducted in evenings. Entrance fee is charged. Vishnu Temple is also very near to Meenakshi temple. Gandhi Museum is also in 2 km range from hotel. Visit to this place revived our history lessons. Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam is a garden within pond which is square in shape. One can reach this place through boat but the service was not available at time of our visit. Spent two nights in Madurai, the hotel is rated as 3.   

It was a wonderful drive from Madurai to Rameshwaram (about 185 km) by crossing more than 2 km long  Pamban Bridge (new name Indira Gandhi bridge)

Pamban Bridge

 over the sea. Rail and road bridges run side by side over the sea. We stayed at Hotel Vinayaga. In the evening visited Rameshwaram Temple (about 3 km from hotel) located hardly 500 mts from sea shore. We were surprised to learn that the temple was closed as the Idols of LordShiva, Parvati and Gangaji had gone to Ramarpadam Temple (a temple which has Lord Rama’s foot prints) for the day, so visited Ramarpadam temple (about 1 km from Rameshwar temple) as guided by the local persons. Here with the blessings of our Lord Shiva we were able to get unimaginably beautiful darshan of idols of Lord Shiva, Parvatiji, Gangaji alongwith foot prints of Lord Rama from a close distance of hardly 4 ft. We remained there for more than 45 mts and were able to capture the moment on camera.  Visited Lakshmana Teertham while returning to hotel. Panch Mukhi Hanuman Ji Temple is also closeby. Here we saw floating stones

Floating stones

stated to be similar to the stones used by Lord Rama for making bridge over sea for reaching Lanka. Now a 16 ft idol of Lord Hanuman is being built in black stone. Next day, early in the morning took a dip in sea and came to Rameshwaram Temple. Here we were given bath with holy waters from 22 wells (believed to be from Lord Rama’s era) within the compound of Temple itself by Pandits, on some payments to Pandits without which the devotees will be deprived of water from wells. It appears that Pandits have monoply on water from wells. Surprisingly, the wells are within half km from sea, yet water of wells is not salty. We were hyonotised to be in front of Rameshwaram Jyotirling which also happens to be one of the Dhams & offered prayers in the temple. Also visited Dhanushkodi, more than 15 km from Rameshwaram town out of this about 8 km (part of which through sand and shallow sea water) has to be travelled on four wheel drive & shared transport. Dhanushkodi is the last land border of India. Distance from this place between India and Sri Lanka is just 18 km in sea. Satellite images of this area show remains of Rama Sethu (bridge) under the sea

. On way back to hotel visited Kothandaramar Temple. At this place Lord Rama and Vibhishan joined hands. At hotel we came to know that house of former President of India Sh. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam  is just at its back which has now been converted into a museum. Hotel is rated as 3 on scale of five. Next morning left for Kanyakumari about 325 km from Rameshwaram.

Kanyakumari also referred to as Cape Camorin is the southernmost tips of India on the sea shore at the confluence of Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean along with gulf of Mannar. Before checking into hotel Singaar International, we sraightway arrived at jetty to catch a ferry for Vivekananda Rock, as the place closes by 5 pm.  Ferry charges were @ Rs. 20/- beside entry fee of Rs. 10/- per head for the Vivekananda Rock

Vivekanand Memorial

 Memorial. Spent some time at this place as it was very peaceful inspite of noise from the striking waves of sea. Here we meditated in the meditation hall. Beside statue of Vivekananda, there is also a temple of foot prints of Mata Kanyakumari. Ferry took us to Thiruvalluar Statue at another nearby island. On retun to main land visited Mata Kanyakumari Temple at the shore.

Sunrise @ Kanyakumari

Gandhi Memorial is also very near to this place. Watched sunset from sunset point. Watching sunrise between 5.15 to 5.45 am from the 7^th floor of hotel was a mesmerising experience to see the golden sun coming out of sky. Considering ambience, beautiful garden, location, food, service hotel is rated at 4.

In the morning left for Trivandrum. Visited Kovalam beach (16 km from the city) in sea just to be surprised by its endless beauty. Hardly 3 km from this place is small sea Port of Vizhinjam. Various species of fish, tortise were seen at Marine Fisheries Reserch Centre near to the port. While visiting Puthen Maliga Palace Museum, found that part of 200 yr old palace of Travancore’s king has been converted into the museum which has exquisitely carved wooden ceilings, 122 carved wooden pillars of horses, Belgian glass, crystal throne, sculptures, items from Italy, China & other places beside other precious articles. Sri Padmanaswamy Temple can be seen from this palace. Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple is adjacent to the museum. This temple was built in 1733 by Maharaja of Travancore & dedicated to Lord Vishnu in eternal sleep mudra/posture on Sheshnag. This temple could be the richest temple in India as estimated value of gold and other valuables in five of six chambers  (6^th chamber has not been opened on the directions of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India) amounts to over Rupees one lakh crore. We left Trivandrum without visiting temple as we had to catch the train for Delhi at 7.15 pm while  the temple was to be opened at 5 pm.

Trip to Jaipur, Udaipur & Chittorgarh

I and my wife were thinking of a short break from the hectic life of Delhi. Visit to our dream city of Udaipur immediately occurred to the mind and visit to pink city of Jaipur was the obvious choice. So obtained train reservations for journey. Hotel reservations were also made for two nights each at Jaipur and Udaipur. For the visit we prepared bags with summer clothes, medicines routine as well as preventive medicines for fever, loose motions etc.

About 20 km from Jaipur is Chokhi Dhani an ethnic village based on culture of Rajasthan. Here we enjoyed rides of camel, elephant. Tempting Daal baati churma, Bajra roti & other Rajasthani food were tasted.  Throughout evening we were entertained with live performances by the artists with folk dance, music, aerobics on bamboos and puppet shows. Besides shopping of articles based on Rajasthan culture in the complex we saw persons taking services of fortune-tellers. It was really a memorable evening.

In the morning visited Hawa Mahal a five storied building with more than 

150 decorated Jharokhas (windows) built by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. The monument is surrounded by markets antiques, quilts etc. Other famous markets of Jaipur for pottery, wood, brass work, tie & dyed sarees/dress material are Johri Bazaar and M I Road (Mirza Ismail Road).

City Palace is quite near to Hawa Mahal. Entry to the monument was from 9.30 AM to 4.45 PM with fees only. We went through Diwane-Aam and Diwane Khas overlooking beautiful gardens in fort. Collection of costumes, weapons were also on display.

Another monument in the same vicinity is Jantar Mantar with timings from 9 AM to 4.30 PM & entry was on fee. This observatory was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh (2^nd) for measuring time, tracking movements of constellation and stars. This is a marvellous piece of architecture of erstwhile era.

Jal Mahal is a lovely place to see on the outskirts of city within a lake by the side of road with a small garden for relaxing.

Amer Fort is another worth seeing monument at Jaipur built by Raja Man Singh in red stone & white marble pavilion. Its reflection in lake at the foot of hill gives a beautiful sight to the visitors.

Jaigarh Fort is at the top of a hill built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh. Here one big canon on wheels is installed. Timing of visit to fort was 10 AM to 4.45 PM. It was informed that there was a canon foundry inside fort of erstwhile era.

During Jaipur visit Albert Musuem and Laxmi Narain Temple are also worth visiting places. Here we stayed at Hotel Umaid Bhawan. Considering their service, upkeep, food and cleanliness we rate the hotel at 4 on the scale of 5.

Udaipur has many lakes and is also popularly known as city of lakes. City has been named after its founder Maharana Udai Singh. 

Lake Pichola is very big and main lake of city as all lakes merge in this. Lake has a number of Ghats around it. One has to take motor boat for enjoying its beauty. We also took ride in motor boat which already had 20 persons. Lake Palace was built by former ruler on Jag Niwas Island in Lake Pichola. This palace has now been converted into a five star hotel being operated by Taj Hotel of Tata Group. 

Fateh Sagar Lake is within Lake Pichola and is big enough for ride on motor boat. Our boat also passed through this lake and took a brief halt at Nehru Garden within lake and is full of greenery, flowers of various varieties. It was inaugurated in 1967 on the birth anniversary of beloved first Prime Minister of India late Jawahar Lal Nehru. City Palace is also on the banks of Lake Pichola exhibiting traditional furniture and antiques. Karni Mata Temple (a female sage) on Malcha hill between to mountains on the bank of Lake Pichola. This hill is also connected by a ropeway from Deen Dayal Park at Doodh Talai at the other end. Timing of ropeway is from 8 AM to 9 PM. 

Jagdish Temple is also worth visiting beside Last Breathing Point, at the place Chetek the famous horse of Maharana Pratap died. Even today people give regards to the horse at this place. 

A beautiful garden is at this place. Sahelion-ki-Bari built by erstwhile rulers for their personal use with fountains and four pillars in black marble by the side of a pond along with one in white marble at its centre. Each pillar has images with water coming from fountains on terraces. A very good collection of dolls, dresses, musical instruments are at Bhartiya Lok Kala Kendra.

 In evenings there are beautiful live cultural and puppet shows by artists.

One of the famous religious places at the outskirts of Udaipur is Nathdwara. It is believed that fearing invasion of Goverdhan (at Mathura) by foreign invader Aurangzeb, the priest of temple took the idol of Lord Shrinath Ji to Mewar and was installed at this place by Maharana Raj Singh. Devotees in large numbers offer prayers at this place believing as if they are praying at Goverdhan.

There are a number of temples around Udaipur but Ek Ling Ji is a unique temple with marvellous architecture about 25 km on the outskirts of Udaipur towards Chittaur (also known as Chittaurgarh). This is a double storied temple of Lord Shiva made from hard rock at Kailashpuri & enclosed by long walls. Here shiv ling has four faces i.e. Rudra (Shiva), Vishnu, Surya (Sun) and Brahma with Linga at the centre. Ek Ling Ji is considered to be the deity of the then rulers of Mewar. Idol of Parvati  Ji beside three idols of Nandi Ji (in silver, brass and stone) are also in this temple.

Chittaur was the capital of Mewar under Rajputs with seven gates known as Pols. 

Three main pols are Ram Pol, Hanuman Pol and Ganesh Pol. Chittaur was invaded a number of times by Allauddin Khilji, a Muslim invader, as he coveted Maharani Padmini. Ultimately Maharani Padmini and other women of Chittaur collectively committed suicide (Jauhar) to escape Khilji as he had laid siege of the fort and supplies of essential items ran out of stocks. 

Chittaur Fort is at the higher place with trench all along it, making it impregnable for the outsiders. Thus the erstwhile rulers lived in this fort which is in a big area enclosed with high walls, wide enough for patrolling by mounted soldiers. Kirti Stambh – Adinath temple belonging to Jainism sect, Maharani Padmini’s palace, 

Vijay Stambh – a nine storied monument built by Maharana Kumbha to commemorate his victory over Muslims, near to this tower is Kumbha’s Palace at this place Udai Singh (founder of Udaipur) was born. Museum in the fort is worth visiting.       

Trip for Ajmer, Pushkar & Abu

Ajmer is one of the religious places in India, just 400 km from Delhi and visited by a large number of people from all walks of life throughout the year, so we decided of starting our pilgrimage from this holy city. From here Pushkar city is 15 km and Mt. Abu is about 360 km. Both these places were also added to our itinerary. After train reservations, hotels were booked for two days at Ajmer & for three days at Mt. Abu for me and my wife. One day extra was kept for hill resort to enjoy its beauty. Two bags were packed with summer clothes for Ajmer, while winter clothes for Abu.  

A tomb of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty is at Ajmer and popularly known as Ajmer Sharif or Dargaha Sharif. The shrine is commonly called as Khwaja Garib Nawaz. In the evening a handful of visitors were at Dargaha during Ramzan-the holy month in which Muslims observe fast, so this is the best period for 

visiting the shrine. Due to security concerns camera and mobile phones are not allowed inside the tomb, while shoes can be left in shop outside Dargaha. Nearby is Dhai Din-ka-Jhopra-ruins of a mosque stated to have been built in two & half days. Soni Ji ki Nasiyan-

a Digamber Jain temple depicting their tradition in gold lined figures is also in same vicinity.

Pushkar is a holy city surrounded by lakes from three sides while sand on the fourth side and famous for temple of Lord Brahma, the creator of universe. It is believed that some petals of Lotus flower were dropped by Brahma Ji while flying over this place & a lake emerged from these petals. Brahma Ji had to conduct Yagna at this place for which presence of his consort was necessary. But his wife was not with him, so he married a Gujjar girl. During the Yagna,

consort of Lord Brahma came and cursed him that he (Brahma) will not be worshiped. Around the lake are more than 150 ghats. This lake is considered to be as holy as Lake Mansarover near Mount Kailash and a dip here is equal to visit of four Dhams, thus known as Tirath Raj. Pind dan are also performed at this place in memory of their beloved ones. Pushkar city is full of temples, but Varha (Vishnu) Temple, Savitri (Parvati) Temple and Mahadev Temple are worth visiting.

Mt. Abu is about 30 km road drive from Abu Road Station through hilly track & dense forest. The road was in good condition and night driving was full of excitement as we were told that bear can be seen on this road. 

Mt. Abu is the only hill station of Rajasthan in about 230 km area and declared as protected area. Nakki Lake is the main attraction of this hill station. Source of this lake is rain water. At the time of our visit boating was stopped in lake due to low water level, yet there was no dearth of natural beauty all around. Our hotel Lake Palace was just opposite this lake giving the perfect picturesque scenic view of lake and its surroundings. Morning view was such a beauty as if our room was on cloud. Location of hotel, food, service, upkeep and its environment force us to rate the hotel as the perfect place to spend holidays and we give it full marks. We wished to have spent some more days at this place.

Headquarter of Brahm Kumari sect at this place is in a big area. In the prayer hall 1000 persons can gather at a time. Unique thing about this hall is that there are no pillars to support its ceiling and known as Universal Peace Hall.  It is believed that water is coming from the mouth of cow at

Gomukh Temple. Idols of Cow, Lord Rama, Guru Vashisht, Lord Krishna and Nandi are in this temple.
At Lover’s Point nature has carved the mountain rocks in arch shape. Dilwara Temple is a temple with brilliant Jain statues. Nemi Nath Temple is also temple of Jain sect. It is believed that Lord Shiva put thumb of his foot at Achleshwer Temple to stop the earth going into neither world (i.e. Patal). Now a pit is at this place. Guru Shikhar is the highest point of Rajasthan at 5676 ft. 

Temple of Guru Datta Treya – incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva is at this peak. According to one belief divine trinity gave themselves in form of son named Datta Treya to Rishi Atri and his wife Ansuya. One can reach this peak by stairs or palkis. In the evening there was great rush, as if whole of Mt. Abu was at that place, to see sun set at Sun Set Point

on the other end of Nakki Lake. Shopping of almost all articles e.g. antiques, clothes, crafts can be made from Chacha Musuem. 

Visit to Somnath Ji & Dwarkadhish Ji

Suitable time to visit Gujarat is from Oct to March, yet we visited in the middle of June'11. We took a flight to Ahmedabad from Delhi and checked into Skylon Hotel for overnight stay. It was a fairly priced hotel in the heart of city, about 4 km from station. Next day we left for Somnath city by train. It was a full day journey. Somnath city was made our base for further visits. There we stayed in Hotel Sukh Sagar.

Next day, we hired a taxi for visiting Somnath Ji temple & other places. The driver was Lala Bhai. He was a young lad of about 25yrs. First we thought that we will not be comfortable with him, but Lala turned out to be a very nice person. So we kept him with us throughout our tour.

First of all we visited Somnath Ji temple in the morning, which is at the sea shore near the Arabian Sea. It was really a wonderful experience to see the Jyotirlinga. There were moderate number of devotees, yet the queue was in such a way that everybody got good darshan of first of the 12 Jyotirlings (as mentioned by Adi Guru Shankracharya-a great Hindu Scholar, in his one of the shlokas on dwadash Jyotirlinga). Shiv Ling was decorated with flowers, silver & Gold. Light & sound show is also performed in evenings. Hardly 200 mts from temple complex is sea & rising waves can be seen from the periphery of comlex. It was informed that the temple was earlier damaged by Md. Gazni.  The renovation of the temple was started by late Sardar Patel, the first Home Minister of free India. His statue is also outside temple. Due to security reasons camera, mobile, leather purse/belts are not allowed inside the temple, these can be locked in a locker in temple complex and shoes can be kept at the adjoining shoe counter.   

Old Somnath temple is near this temple. Prayers are also offered at this temple.

Driver/guide informed that there were triple gates by the name of Junagadh Gate which were also destroyed by Md. Gazni before entering the city.

In Somnath city, we visited Parshruram Temple. Lord Parshuram is considered to be one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

Suraj Mandir, the temple of Sun. Images of lions, elephants & birds were also found in temple.  

Visited Triveni Ghat at confluence of 3 rivers namely Kapila, Hiran and Saraswati near Arabian Sea & is considered to be the auspicious place. Here people cremate their beloved ones after death. Persons also take holy dip at this place, but the water was very dirty so we could not dare to take bath.

At Gopi-ka-Mandir, there is one pond in which a number of Gopis of Lord Krishna stated to have submerged themselves in the pond in the memory of the Lord Krishna. This pond is known as Gopi Talav. Mud of the pond is considered to be very good for the skin, which improve the complexion also. Mud is on sale at this place, same was purchased by us.

We also visited Panch Pandav Gufa, Kamathnath Mahadev Temple, Gita Madir, & Lakshmi Narayan Temple. Near this temple there is another small temple from which place, Bhim of five Pandavs believed to have left earth for Patal (the other world beneath this earth). His foot marks are stated to have been preserved in this temple. 

Next day visited Sasan Gir, about 45 km from Somnath city. Road journey took about an hour of scenic beauty. Safari tour of Gir Forest was undertaken in bus & saw 'the King of the Jungle' lions from very short distance. Also happen to see few stags, NilGai and other animals. Took a few photographs. On return from safari saw the museum in the complex and came back to our base at Hotel Sukh Sagar.

In the morning after breakfast we checked out from Hotel Sukh Sagar for Dwarka, which is about 230 km from Somnath city. We visited Bhaluka Tirtha on the outskirt of Somnath city. At this place Lord Krishna, while sitting in meditation under banyan tree, was hit at foot by an arrow of a hunter (bheel- by the name Jara) as he mistook the legs of Lord Krishna as a deer. Now a temple is at that place with idol of Lord Krishna in white marble. Alongside an image of hunter Jara with folded hands is also in the temple.

On the way also visited Nageshwar Mahadev Temple at a little distance in the forest off the main road to Dwarka. This is considered to be one of the 12 Jyotirlingas (but as per Adi Guru Shankaracharya’s shloka on Dwadash Jyotirlingas,  the Jyotirlinga is at Aundha Nagnath in Maharashtra by the name Nagnath Ji). Shivling at Nageshwar Temple is underground. Near this temple a Dharamshala is under construction by cheritable trust of Late Gulshan Kumar of T-Series fame. Outside temple complex a big statute of Lord Shiva (in sitting position) has been constructed. Devotees in large number were present there at the time our visit.

We continued our journey to Dwarka by visiting Mul Dwarka temple. Dwarka is a small city at the western tip of Gujarat. Night was spent in Hotel Damji, which is at a walking distance from Dwarkadhish temple. The accommodation was reasonably good. Only tea, coffee & snacks were available in room service. For lunch, dinner one had to go down stairs in restaurant for thali system. In the evening, we visited Dwarkadhish Ji temple. It is believed that due to destruction by sea, Dwarka submerged a number of times (according to some, Dwarka submerged 6 times and the present one is considered to be 7^th one).  Camera, Mobile phones, leather purse/belts were not allowed in temple, so we left these articles in hotel itself. The temple is on the radar of terrorists, thus we had to pass through security checks & got good darshan of Lord Krishna’s idol made of black stone. This temple is one of four Dhams of Lord Krishna as mentioned by Adi Guru Shankrracharya. On return from temple, we took dinner in the restaurant of hotel & food was nice with minimal spices. Before checking out of hotel in morning once again visited Dwarkadish Temple. On the scale of 5, the hotel is rated at 3.

We left for Okha, which is 30 km from city. Distance between Okha & Bet Dwarka is just 6 km for which one has to take ferry from jetty at Okha. Bet Dwarka, is an island in the Arabian Sea, which was once residence of Lord Krishna. Trip to Dwarka is not considered as complete without a visit to Bet Dwarka. An idol of Lord Krishna is also kept in Bet Dwarka Temple.

On return visited house of Mahatma Gandhi where he was borne at Porbandar. Now the place has been converted into a museum. Visited Sudama temple also at Porbandar, known as Sudama Puri.

 Shortly retuned to Somnath city & checked into Hotel Sukh Sagar.

In  morning visited Diu at a distance of approx. 87 km from Somnath city. Diu (a Union Territory of India) is an island in Arabian Sea & is connected with main land with Gujarat by a road. Diu was ex-Portuguese colony as the island was under their possession for more than four centuries, so here culture is under Portuguese influence. At the entrance of Diu, there is a small mkt. We purchased old songs CDs (which are rarely available in Delhi). Vegetables & fish mkt. was on back of this mkt. Statue of Vasco-de-Gama (outside Govt. offices complex) was nearby. Radhika resort & restaurant was very close to it. Here we took our lunch. Nagoa Beach is just opposite resort and across the road. Before visiting Diu Fort (in which present day Central Jail is situated) we passed by Diu’s Airport. In this jail 2 prisoners were lodged at that time. A little distance in sea from the fort, remains of erstwhile old central jail (known as Kalapani & not in use) are visible. Driver took us to Jalandhar Beach. This beach was closed for public as has been declared dangerous. Above this beach & on rock there is a garden. The replica of INS Khukhri (which was drowned by Pakistan during 1971 war). 

Glass covered replica of frigate is placed at the top of hill with list of persons drowned with it. Soon we reached Gangeshwar Mahadev temple on the sea shore. Here five Pinds (Shiv Lings) are in cave considered to have been installed by Pandavs. Every now & then, sea water comes in cave with force and wash away all offerings on Pinds into the sea as if sea water is doing Abhishek (worship) of Pinds. After visiting St. Paul’s Church, we came to Nagoa Beach & stayed there for over an hour. Sea water was clear and we took a stroll in it. Airport could be seen from beach. In evening returned to Somnath city. 

We left Hotel Sukh Sagar in morning. Considering all aspects, this hotel is rated at 5.   

Boarded train from Somnath city to Ahmedabad & checked into Skylon Hotel.  In morning took taxi for sightseeing. Driver also acted as our guide. Visited Lord Jagannath temple (a replica of temple at Puri), Teen Darwaja (gateway to Ahmedabad city stated to have founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah), Sidi Saiyad Mosque, Jama Masjid, Julta Minar, Hathee Singh Temple (a Jain temple), Sardar Patel National Musuem (also known as Moti Shah Mahal), Sabarmati Ashram-alongside Sabarmati river. Struggle for India’s independence was started from this Ashram.

Same taxi took us to Gandhi Nagar (named after Mahatma Gandhi) at a distance of 30 km from Ahmedabad. This is capital of Gujarat on the west bank of Sabarmati river. The city has been planned very nicely with greenery all around. Here visited and paid obeisance at Akshardham temple-made of pink stones with carvings. About 15 km from city saw unique architectural piece of 15^th century known as Adalaj-Ni-Vav (in Gujarati Vav means stepwell). Here a large number of steps lead us to  water, many meters below ground. People informed us that whatever be the season water is always (even in drought) available in the well. All the walls have very good engravings from top to water in well. 

Saw statues of Dinosaurs in Dinosaur Park. In park we visited Python cage, Snake Park, Aquarium. On way back we visited replicas of Mata Vaishno Devi & Tirupati temples. At Children’s park we found lake with boating facilities, toy train and other amusements for kids as well as for adults. This park is in big area. It seemed that whole of city was there in the evening. It was brilliantly illuminated during evening hours.

Next day we took flight to Delhi from Ahmedabad.