Vaishno Devi

First thing that I want to state is that, this is not Vaishno Devi Temple of Katra, this is situated in the borderline of Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad.

I was then in Radhanpur. For every piece of luxury that we intended to buy, we used to come down to Ahmedabad. On the highway, we came across this temple. Every time we used to look forward to its sight as because if the temple is in vicinity that means our destination is not far. But never it happened that we could stop buy and enter.

Then during my son’s B’day my parents came down to Radhanpur. There is nothing much to see in Radhanpur, so on the day of their return I planned for a on the way stop overs. So we started out early morning from home, drove from Radhanpur to Gandhinagar. Their flight was in the afternoon, we had ample time in hand. So I suggested why not visit “Vaishno Devi”?

Actually, my husband and my father both had the chance of visiting the Katra’s “Vaishno Mata”. So I thought, don’t know whether in this life I’ll ever be able to climb that far so why not have a demo feel of the same?

Here as you can see in the photo, replica has been aimed at. Its like a round and round climb on bare foot. At times you need to wait in line. Then finally when we reached the top, there in front of us was a cave opening where we had to bend our back and splash – splash through water and enter into dark. My son instantly started crying aloud and with his small body, did his best to pull us away from that place. So we came to the side and were totally at loss what to do! We climbed this far now darshan beena kiye chale jayenge? Then there was a pujari pandit who was watching us for some time, he came over and said don’t worry come through the VIP gate. So there we were, thanks to my son his wails saved us from the “follow the line ….through the dark …..all bent with a kid – Ordial”.

And darshan to jo ache hua ki kya batayun, janam safal ho gaya bhai. He handed me over a coin with mata’s photo engraved on it and said “keep it in your tijori” (which I did). 

I Had a wonderful experience.

Thol

Thol is a shallow freshwater reservoir of 7 sq km. It was declared officially in 1988.

 We started out at 6 am from our home, took the highway. It is really a refreshing long drive to Thol. As we drove gradually the scene on both the sides of the road changed. Initially, long buildings and flyovers were seen then under construction belt, then village area with long stretch of agricultural lands.

The breeze was cool, the sky was clear, and the more we were nearing the site, though we were not sure of the route and had to stop at few crossings to ask for directions still we knew that we were nearing the spot…how? The chirruping of the birds told us. The road was getting narrow, yet the fun was to cruise slowly behind a bullock cart, or a tractor. It’s not bad to slow down a while.

Finally when we spotted the board “Thol Bird Sanctuary” we thought that we have reached but it was not the case…it lead us through a bumpy road ride where we had to follow the trails of buffaloes before reaching the main gate. At the gate when my husband took the tickets, I asked the gentleman at the counter, “how much do I have to pay for the camera?” the reply came “Nothing”. I was overjoyed, as I read a notice board outside the gate which stated an amount of “upto 5000 rupees”.

Well our journey was not yet done, from the main gate again there was a lane through the shades of green neem trees which lead us to the lake. There is a distance between parking and the actual spot, obviously because the frequent movements of vehicles should pose any disturbance to the migratory birds.

When we finally reached the spot, climbed up the framed wall and slided down on the other side, the ground under the feet was shrouded with snails ….thousands of them. I did not feel like stepping on them. But unfortunately, not even a single inch was empty.

The sun was about to rise. Birds were flying in the sky in V formations, trees had some mystic appearances, water caressed the feet smoothly. All in all it was a calming experience.

 People were there with their entire family. While walking by, one young boy came running to my husband and said, “uncle, please take a pic of ours”. Then I noticed by following his finger point that he was not alone his entire family was seated on a fallen tree, 7 people including him. Honestly, I thought the fallen tree will crash down further but thankfully it didn’t. While I thought of sitting there for a while meditating, my son enthusiastically kept collecting bird feathers. Every time he got one, he would come running to me “Ma..Ma…look…birdy gave me a feather”. We all sipped in the beauty in our own little way.

Thol is home to not less than 100 species of birds, like, Indian Saras, Cranes, Herons, Spoonbills, Flamingoes, Ibis, Geese, Pelicans, Ducks, Egrets and many more. We could only see clearly those birds which were near the land though not many. Mostly the birds were in groups of hundreds and swam together in the centre of the lake, thus appeared like dots to our naked eyes, now it was clear to me, why I was not charged for the camera.

Gandhi Ashram

Gandhi Ashram or as it is more popularly known as Sabarmati Ashram is situated near the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad. This place is declared a monument of National importance because, Gandhiji started his Dandi March here, which in turn holds a very important place in the Indian Independence Movement.

When I went there, the first thing that touched me was the calmness of that place. Ashram comprises of some simply constructed Kutirs ….on open ground and it is all surrounded by many tall trees which gives a very cool feel and helps in providing shade from the otherwise hot Gujrat’s sun blaze.

The prime building is Hridaykunj where Gandhiji used to stay with his wife. There you can find the charkha which he himself used and some other belongings are also in display like his spoon, plate etc.

 In the veranda, I was lucky enough to find an aged man working on his charkha…thus I stood there for a while observing him. He seemed like a man of bygone era…he kept doing his task without even raising his eyelids even for once. Then when I was walking, I heard someone singing at the top of his voice, “Vaishnav Janatooo”….he was like singing for the divine …he was walking through the greens and singing on his own… “khulle mannn se ..khulle aawaj se …khulle aasman ke ooor dekh ke .. gaye jaa rahen theee”.

Then we went for the photo gallery. It was an amazing experience…all wall sized big oil paintings …so nicely portrayed as if Gandhiji is just sitting right in front. It was quite enriching, reading letters and other important quotations on display. Complicated matters of life so simply explained.

Then there was a library, though I did not enter, but really felt great to see some foreigners going through the books and off and on they were asking questions which proves their curiosity towards Gandhiji and our nation.

There was this souvenir shop too from where one can buy photo, key chains, books etc.

After we came out of that place, tired of walking, we saw some kids playing in the green grass while some families were sitting near the Sabarmati river enjoying the cool breeze and the quite view …so did we.

All in all, it was a very good experience and anybody coming to Ahmedabad, Gandhi Ashram is worth a visit.

Sarkhej Roza

Sarkhej owes its fame to the celebrated Saint Shaikh Ahmed Khattu better known as Ganjbaksh. After journeying extensively Saint came to Gujrat in 1398 A.D. and settled at Sarkhej. He was one of the four Ahmeds who laid the foundation of Ahmedabad city in 1411 A.D. Sultan Ahmed Shah(1411-1442 A.D.) was devoted to him. The Saint died in 1446 A.D. Sultan Muhammad Shah (1443-1451 A.D.) began to erect a splendid tomb and mosque to his memory which was completed by his son and successor Sultan Qutubuddin Ahmed Shah II.

                                                         Well this is all about the history that I could gather now something about my first hand experience. On the road itself, I noticed Gujrat Tourisism’s board…amongst all the places I’ve been to, in the Muslim pockets of Ahmedabad, this was the only place where I noticed this board. That automatically makes this place special. I entered through the main arched gate…found a big clock right in front silently ticking along time. Then there was this shoe rack big empty rows where we kept our shoes and entered through the grill gate. On the left, there was a row of pillared structures which was beautiful though we did not enter. In the middle there was this vast expanse where a huge structure held high its crown, beautifully calming ambience. But we chose to go towards right where laid the tomb of Ganjbaksh.           

             A massive structure, the speciality of this place is its, JHAROKHAS…..yeh kisi sanche mein dhel kar nahin bana….its all painstakinglhy carved out of stones….hats off to the craftsmen.Its grand structure, light and shade effect through the jharokhas was absolutely dramatic. The doors were beautiful. Now comes the room where the tomb was well women are not allowed to enter that specific room, so while my husband and son entered with their head covered, I waited outside.

                                                        After praying, we decided to walk along, so we noticed huge pillars, hundreds of them all lined up as if guarding something. I can’t tell you how different the experience was for me.

It was a very calming and balming moment for us. I had a great time there…and I was so impressed by this, that I am promoting it…anybody if you happen to be in Ahmedabad then please make sure to visit “Sarkej Roza”.

Jai Sai Ram

When we were in Radhanpur, once my husband had to go on a tour to Ahmedabad, my baby was say, 7 months old …so I said “Oh no, I’ll not sit back here alone, I’m coming with you.” Next day we started out in the morning at about 7am. It was a long drive through the seemingly unending highway. At a point our driver stopped the Gypsy and said this is “Chanasma” and “madam, here we have this beautiful Sai Temple”.

So we all got down with ofcourse my baby in arms. From outside only, I saw a big welcome gate nicely carved. Then what surprised me was the greenery. The green garden, was pretty well maintained. Trust me, it was a great relief to the eyes. Then we walked towards the temple. Structure is not very majestic but somehow …dekhke ek aastha jaagte hain man mein…its very soothing…the whole temple with its surrounding is so calming to the nerves ..so peaceful…one must experience it to believe it. Sai Baba is sitting on a silver throne looking majestic as ever. Then we took rounds of the temple and while doing so I noticed in the nearby tree there was a weaver bird’s bottle nest. It was so amazing to see that in this otherwise dry piece of land, they could thankfully take shelter in these woods. It was a very good experience.

Since then every time whenever we passed by that lane we always stopped there. But one day due to some reason we could not. So while passing by the temple …man hi man we promised …we shall definitely come by while returning home. We reached Ahmedabad. My husband was out in the evening for his work. Next morning I woke up early as we were to return, I went to the balcony and stood for a while sipping in the morning breeze. Then I noticed that the window opposite to our balcony was open and there was a Sai Baba’s photo. I don’t know, how to put it, to sound more believable, but it’s true that the very sight of him was as if a reminder that, “do not forget your promise”. My husband felt his share of reprimand. That day when we went back to the temple we promised that today on whenever we shall pass by …whether we are late or not, whether it’s too hot or cold or even raining …we shall always walk up the road to reach you.

Another thing which needs a special mention is a person, the shopkeeper of the temple shop, who was selling photos, mala, books, agarbatti etc. I’ve till date never seen such a person who is quite selfless. He always had a smile on his face and words that stuck to his tongue were “Jai Sai Ram”. Usually a shopkeeper decides upon you, as per your pocket. But this man was an exception, there have been days when we did not even stop by his shop still he would take notice and shout out to us “Jai Sai Ram”. He looked a fellow with humble means but still he always seemed much contended. What else can we ask for?  

Lotus Temple

                        I am from Kolkatta, and went to New Delhi for the first time on account of my job, at Wipro with five of my other selected friends.
                            One day one of us said, " God knows how long we shall be together, so before we are branched out for different departments lets just celebrate one evening". We couldnot agree more. But the problem was, we all were first timers. Cab used to pick us up from our residence and drop us at office - that was the only exposure we had. "Fikar Not", he said and next day he borrowed one guide map from one of his colleagues. Then we all sat down together and decided upon one place which was frequented by millions in the past both from India and abroad - that's The Bahai Place of Worship or popularly known as the Lotus Temple because of its appearance. Now when the destination is decided the second problem was- Funding. Ya, we were in our first month, eating away our reserves so we had no choice but to travel by the Bus. So after a very exciting bus ride and a walk we finally reached the Popular Sight.
                        

By just standing at the main gate, my first reaction was ...."Its Huuuuge" (23 Acres), I'll have to walk all this way? ...I'm so tired". But once I started walking the distance and my exhaustion all vanished at the sight of the long stretched pavements, walled with greens. Beautiful garden (roses, marigold etc) caught my eye with all those fluttering butterflies and bees over it. It was a like a nature walk. The season was winter, so the Lotus Temple appeared to be covered with slight fog which added to its beauty.
                        When we finally reached the footfall, my reaction was "Stairs!". Oh yes, volunteers were standing there to make sure you form lines and maintain discipline and then start counting. At one point when I was almost near the entrance, I looked round from the height just to find hundreds of black heads following me.
                        Well the structure, garden and the crowd all had by now heightened my expectations, and I was dieing to see what is inside? ...But the sight of "inside" was a bit of a let down for me, because there was nothing to see, it was a big hall with long row of benches. I turned round and asked one of the Volunteers "Is that it?" She nodded in favour and added, "We believe in sarvadharma, anybody from what so ever religion can come here".
                        She was right, when I looked at it again in the light of her words. I did notice Sardarjee, Southindians, not to forget me, a Bengali ...all were sitting there under the same roof. It was very peaceful inside, perfect place for Meditation, only thing that might disturb you is the occasional cry of the babies. After sitting there for a while we climbed down the stairs to come face to face with the surprise element - the Pool with clear blue water. The number 9 is very significant for them, they have 9 doors and 9 pools. Well we gathered around the poolside and the best thing here was that we were finally far away from the volunteers and their "Silence Please".
                        Well if you think that's the end - No there's something more. Interested to know about their history, then take a walk through their Gallery: Want to collect some nick - nacks for friends and famillies - Feel Free. I did. Well it was a great experience for all of us.
                           Later on after marriage I came back to New Delhi and stayed near Lotus Temple. And for next few years, I was playing the "Guide" to all our friends and relatives.
                            Another thing which needs special mention here is, the illuminated Lotus Temple at night. I happend to pass by, quite a few times by the Lotus and every time it appeared new, sometimes it was pristine white at other times it was bright blue - amazing.                     
                       All in all, it was great watching a Floating Lotus both at day and night. And honestly, I will remember this sight through out my life. It was a very unique experience indeed mostly because of its  adventurous taste, whose charm still lingers on.