heritage of south india
TRANSCRIPT
HERITAGE of South India ..........by Jayant Doshi
(from 16th January to 11th February 2013)
16th January :On our first day in Mumbai we
decided to do a tour of the now world famous
Dharavi slums. Spread over one square mile in
the heart of Mumbai and right near the
international airport lies the largest slum area
of the world with an estimated population of
one million – not including thousands of
migrants who come to work there and sleep in
the factories. It has estimated 10000
manufacturing units manufacturing anything
and everything and has the largest and most
concentrated recycling of every last bit of rubbish that takes place anywhere in the world. It has
quarters for Muslims, Hindus and even Gujarati populations – though all live in total harmony. The
slums have private and government schools, private and government hospitals, bakeries,
supermarkets and every amenity that would be required for such a large population. Even the
communal toilets had queues of thousands in the morning rush time. Our two hour tour was most
enlightening.
It was in May 2012 that Dhiru first suggested
a back packing tour of either Vietnam or South
India. The idea was to travel rough and on a
tight budget, and as ordinary people, and
experience the life and the country at first
hand. When two others decided to join, it was
proposed that travelling by taxi would be faster
and more convenient. This would take away
the charm and the challenge of back packing
but would allow us to travel and see lot more
of the country. We did stick to ordinary hotels
to keep that part of the idea alive.
17th January : While Usha and Guli went to see their relatives, I joined Dhiru in a delightful lunch
with his facebook friends. Internet generally, and facebook in particular, seem to have changed the
way we communicate and build social
contacts.
18th January : Our trip started in earnest
today when we left early at 6.00 a.m. to travel
to Poona from where we were to take our taxi
for our trip. In Poona we were entertained
with breakfast and soon after we left on our
trip. We had a guide book and a map of India,
and we had decided on the starting places to
visit and our plans were to decide as we
moved along. Dhiru had marked all places of
interest which should be visiting. We stopped
at a farm where fresh ponk was being served.
Freshly grown grain while on the stems is
roasted on fire, sprinkled with spices and lemon
juice and served. This is a winter speciality and
is best when served fresh on the farm. It was a
treat for us which we all relished. We reached
Shirdi by 6.00 p.m. The whole town and its
economy is based on the temple of Sai Baba
where millions come to worship and the
turnover must run into billions. The temple
complex was huge covering a very big area.
19th January : We were fortunate to get VIP
passes which meant we avoided long queues.
We woke up at 3.00 in the morning to attend the
arti. Once our mission to get a feel of the place which is visited by millions was completed we left
for our next destination which was Ellora and Ajanta caves. Ellora caves were built between 5th
and 8th centuries but were hidden by forests over the period of time till discovered by an
Englishman about hundred years back. Thirty four caves dug in the mountains represent the art
and rich culture of the glorious past that will be appreciated by millions. Unlike monuments which
could decay over a period of time, these caves
would be protected from the vagaries of nature
by the mountains and remind us always of the
glorious past of India. Caves represent different
religious influences over the period with
earliest caves having Buddhist influence
followed by Hindu influence and lastly a few
caves represent Jain influence. Huge idols and
statutes were carved from top to bottom in the
solid rocks inside the caves. Intricate carvings
and designs that adorn these caves show the
quality of artisans in those days. Some of the
caves are hundreds of feet deep and one
marvels how these caves were formed or
created.
We drove on to the Ajanta caves which have colourful paintings on the walls which were as high
as fifty feet or more. Many of the paintings are well preserved and maintained. While some colours
have started fading still the quality of paintings
and intricate designs are marvellous - not
forgetting that they are over 1500 years old. In
one day we managed to finish three
sightseeing. It involved lot of walking and a very
long day for us all. Ellora and Ajanta involved
climbing up steps to go into the caves, coming
down and going into the next cave. It was a
long day for us from 3.00 in the morning till
9.00 at night and most of that time we were on
our feet and walking. We reached Aurangabad
late at night.
20th January : Next day we left early to visit
Bibi-ka-Maqabura. In urdu Bibi refers to mother
while Biwi means wife. In Aurangabad – the city
named after Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb and who
spent lot of time in this city. His son built Bibi-
ka-Maqabura which is an exact replica of Taj
Mahal in Agra. Unlike Taj Mahal this monument
is only partly built with marble but cost Rs
668000.00 min the 17th century. Today the
amount would run into billions. The gardens at
this mausoleum are exact replica of those in Taj
Mahal. From there we drove on to Hyderabad,
capital of Andhra Pradesh, where we reached
after 9.00 p.m.- another long day. We took the
wrong road which was in very poor condition and that delayed us a lot, but then we got onto very
modern and well built road that took us to Secunderabad and the twin city of Hyderabad. Both the
cities are quite modern and well built. Hyderabad is the hub of IT industry in India.
21st January : Hyderabad, which was ruled by Nizam, has lot of Islamic influence. The roads are
well maintained and the city seemed clean. Our first visit was to the fort of Golconda which was
originally built in mud in the 12th century and
rebuilt in stone in the 16th century. This is one
of the most impressive forts in India. It is
spread out over a 3 kilometre area. The fort
used echo system to pass messages within its
huge complex and we were given a
demonstration of the same. The fort also had a
sophisticated water system. From top of the
fort, which itself is on high grounds, one gets a
panaromic view of the city of Hyderabad. We
visited the seven tombs of Qutb Shahi Kings
and their wives built over a vast expanse of
land. Charminar is similar to the Gateway of
India, and overlooks the very busy old
Hyderabad bazaar. From top of Charminar we could see and feel the hustle bustle of the bazaar,
and high pitch noise of traffic and people.
We were to visit the palace but just at that moment shutters in shops were coming down and we
were told that a local member of parliament
had been arrested and shops were closing
down in anticipation of riots. Instead we visited
a local museum with a good collection of
historical artefacts. Our next stop was at a
newly constructed Birla temple on top of a hill.
The vast complex was built of marble, looked
exquisitely beautiful, overlooking a crowded city
of Hyderabad and impressive imposing
structure. Birlas have built such temples all
over the country and one wonders if the money
could have been put to better use. We do not
seem to have any shortage of places of worship
in the country as it is.We had early dinner and
retired early after a long tiring day.
22nd January : We woke up early and had
planned to leave quite early but it was 7.00 by
the time we left our hotel. We had breakfast in
a restaurant across the road from our hotel
serving upma, dosa and idli. On the pavement
a tea stall was serving Hyderabadi tea which
had wonderful flavour and taste. Tea leaves
were boiling in one pot on one cooker and milk
was boiling in another pot. Both are mixed in a
cup and then served to customers. Prices for all
items were quite cheap ... total payment for
breakfast and tea for five of us did not add up
to one pound.
We got a guide at every place of interest we visited whereby we got more information about the
site, and our sightseeing became speedier. We would buy fruits on the way which served as our
lunch at times. Grapes, bananas, guavas and tangerines were available in plenty. During our trip
we had lots of fresh cocoanuts, sugarcane juice and roasted maize. We were flexible on our meals
and mealtimes. If we had breakfast we skipped lunch and had early dinner and if we did not get
breakfast we would have early lunch and late dinner.
We drove to Warangil 150 kms north of
Hyderabad. Warangil had ruins of Muslim
and Hindu sculptures but it was a
disappointment. No guide was available and
all we could find was a huge ground with
walls to protect the contents, and with huge
rocks and remains of buildings put in orderly
manner. We also saw a Shiva temple with
1000 pillars which was quite impressive. The
temple was well maintained. Black stone
was used in construction and most of the
carvings were exquisite and clear cut. We
returned to Hyderabad thinking that was the
way to travel further south. The driver informed us that we could have bypassed Hyderabad.
23rd January : Next morning we left at 6.00 to drive to Puttaparthy and had very nice breakfast
at a roadside dhaba. On the way saw an
ISKON temple made in the shape of a chariot
with four huge size horses, much larger than
real life, to give perfect proportion to the chariot
shaped temple. We reached Puttaparthy by
early evening. This used to be the abode of
Satya Sai Baba (other than the one in Shirdi).
They have accommodation for locals and for
foreigners in a huge complex built around the
temple. As I did not have my passport they
would not allow us in that accommodation. We
took up a place just outside the temple. We
missed darshan timing but were lucky to get a
nice Gujarati meal after eating south Indian
food all these days. The township is developed
by the followers of this sect, and they have built
schools, colleges, hospitals etc in the town. We
saw one institution of education and building
had guitar, drums etc as part of the building
architecture. All the buildings seemed well built
and maintained. With millions pouring from
followers all over the world I guess money
would never be an issue in this place – but it
was nice for once to see those donations being
put to good use.
24th January : We woke up early and had an
early morning walk and visited the temple. I
took photos of impressive buildings. We reached Tirupati early afternoon. Known for the richest
temple in the world it is visited by millions of visitors every day. I was told that on average day it
has 15000 visitors. Venkateshwara temple is located on Tirumala Hill just on the outskirts of
Tirupati. On driving to Tirumala we saw security that could beat the best at any airport in the
world. The roads were nicely made and the whole town was oozing with prosperity. Actually the
town had grown on the economy created by the temple. Temple provides low cost accommodation
to all visitors and we spent fifty rupees per
person for staying in what was neat and clean
accommodation with ensuite bathroom though
hot water had to be brought from outside.
Temple provides for expensive and cheap rooms
but also covered pavilions for those who cannot
afford to pay anything. The temple is
surrounded by shops and stalls selling flowers,
garlands, pooja requirements and all sorts of
food.
The temple and its surroundings were beautiful
with hills and valleys and lots of greenery. The
most visited pilgrimage place in the world, and a
must for most Hindus, is where men and some women also, come and give their hair. Dhiru and
Arjun (our driver) decided to go through the ritual and had all their hair removed. From what I
understand that hair are recycled and put on the market, just like cocoanuts and other items
brought in the temple. While the place was immaculate and arrangements perfect yet there was no
information provided to guide the visitors. We walked around the complex and saw the main
temple from a distance.
25th January : Next morning we walked around
the temple and had breakfast. We hired a guide
who took us to some points of interest on the
Tirumala Hill. Dhiru and Arjun went for removing
their hair and rest of us had a nap. When Dhiru
and Arjun came we decided to go for darshan
but found that there were long queues and even
the queue with payment was too long. It was
then that we found out that tickets for the paid
queue had to be bought that morning. We were
disappointed that after coming all this way we
could not go into the temple. So we decided to
go to Tirupati to see Govindaraja Temple.
Though there were queues we still managed to
see the temple inside.
I visit all these temples out of curiosity and
fascination. My conviction or faith has never
been strong. As such not getting to get inside
the temple anywhere was never a
disappointment for me. But I had read a lot
about Tirupati and |I was fascinated by all
that I had read and wanted to experience the
long queues and watch the devotion of those in
the queues. But it was not to be. However the
place fascinated me. The temple has created a full township and a full blown economy on which
thousands survive.
Arjun, our driver, was a young man but very sincere and dedicated to his work. Unlike most
drivers he never stopped for tea, or stopped to eat. He did not chew tobacco unlike most drivers. At
first he was shy but once he became
comfortable with us he joined us in making fun
and made us laugh all the way. He used to be
fascinated when we talked about Dhiru and his
facebook friends. And then Dhiru introduced
GPS which could show us the way and he was
totally taken aback by modern technology. He
called Dhiru “Changla Saheb” and whenever
he needed direction he would say “Changla
Saheb wake up your friend.”
26th January : We left at 7.00 next morning for
Chennai. Guli wanted to spend some time with
her relations and we had planned to spend a
day there. But reading through the guide book we realised there was nothing in Chennai and we
decided to move on to a nearby sea side place called Mammlapuram. This seaside resort is
popular with foreigners and many could be seen hovering around the town. It was a nice little
town. We found a guide who took us around the sites in this place. We saw a mountain with lots of
carvings done in the 6th century but found by the British in early 20th century. It is said that the
mountain had 5 bedrooms for five Pandavas
from Mahabharata epic. We saw the shore
temple. There used to be seven temples on the
shore but six were destroyed by tsunami a
decade back leaving only one on the shores.
We found out that there was dance festival and
we went to the festival. It was a bonus to be
able to see the dances.
27th January : Next morning we had a walk on
the beach and later we all went in the sea
where huge waves gave wonderful massage to
our bodies. After getting ready we went for
breakfast and when Guli joined us we
proceeded to Pondicherry. Arbindo Ashram in
Ponidchery was a place I wanted to visit and
spend a few days as I had heard lot about it.
But we faced only disappointment. After asking
several people we found one of the buildings
but we had to wait till it opened. It was
Arbindo’s Samadhi and people were sitting in
meditation. There was a bookshop. But no
information was available as to any ashram, or
if we could stay and take part in any activity.
Feeling frustrated we decided to leave. After
my return I was told that the ashram offers
wonderful accommodation right on the sea
front. We went to a restaurant for lunch and it
was the worst lunch and service we had encountered so far.
Dhiru had bought A Rough Guide to India and that had become our almanac for deciding where we
were going and what we were seeing. When we drove out of Pondicherry we stopped at a place to
buy some fruits. After a while Dhiru suddenly started looking for this book and he could not find it.
Without the book we would be lost. We
stopped the car and searched everywhere but
with no luck. We thought that when we
stopped to buy fruit the book must have fallen
out. We asked the driver to taken us back to
that spot. We had already driven over ten
kms. But luckily Arjun had good memory and
he took us exactly on that spot. Chances of
our finding the book were negligible. Dhiru
and I came out of the car and started looking
along the edge of the footpath. Lo behold!
Unbelieveable as it may seem, Dhiru saw a
man flicking through a book in the shelter of a
doorway. Dhiru walked towards that man
and picked the book and said thank you and asked me to give him a good tip. We could not believe
our luck. Was it as a result of meditating in Arbindo Ashram or praying at all the temples so far
which brought this miracle? But we were all happy that we had found the book.
We drove on to our next destination - Tanjavur. GPS took a long way and we reached our hotel at
9.30. We had neither booked hotels in advance nor prepared any list in advance. As soon as we
reached our destination we looked around,
checked one or two hotels and selected one. So
far we had paid on average Rs.300.00 per
person (less than £4.00).
28th January : Tanjavur is the home of
Brihadshwara Temple built in 11th century
during Chola dynasty. It is built from granite
and is monolithic (made from single stone.) The
temple has a twelve foot bull carved from a
rock, and the temple has some very intricate
carvings. The statutes display human emotions
like anger, pleasure, dismay etc and these
expressions are portrayed very effectively. The
quality of these sculptures shows the standard of craftsmanship in those days – and makes one
wonder what life was like in those days. It made us proud of our heritage.
From Tanjavur we drove on to Madurai and realised bit too late that we had missed out on Trichy.
We reached Madurai just after 1.00 and found
that the temple was closed till 4.00. On the
spur of the moment we decided that we might
as well drive on to Kanyakumari and come to
Madurai and Trichy on our way back.
Kanyakumari is the southernmost tip of India
where three oceans – Arabian Sea, Indian
Ocean and Bay of Bengal meet. Kanyakumari
is named after and associated with the virgin
goddess Kanya Devi. In the month of April it is
possible to see sun setting and moon rising at
the same time. We reached at sunset time and
drove straight to the sunset point and got lovely
photos and view of the setting sun. There were
thousands of people present to view this spectacle. For dinner we had Gujarati meal which was
very satisfying after eating all the dosas, idli and upma for days.
29th January : Next morning we woke early to go and watch the sun rise. We rejected an offer
from a tower to watch sun rising and instead went near the temple where literally thousands and
thousands of people had come to see the sunrise
– possibly with devotion and worshipping the sun
in mind. Many dipped in the ocean when the sun
appeared. The skies were misty and cloudy so
sunrise could not be seen till the sun rose above
that level.
Swami Vivekanand, who went to USA in the late
19th century, addressed world religious congress
in Chicago, and who preached the greatness of
Hindu religion, had meditated on a small island
across Kanyakumari, and a library and
meditation centre has been built in his memory on
that island. It also has life size statute of that
great man. We took a ferry to visit the island. The second island nearby was closed on the day.
The island has a huge statute of the great Tamil
philosopher Thiruvalluva – built only recently. The
temple at the tip of Kanyakumari was congested
and chaotic.
On the way to Madurai I got a call from my
brother-in-law who called to find out about our
whereabouts and progress. During the course of
his conversation he mentioned that we must have
done Rameshwaram. In Kanyakumari I had seen
this name on signboards advertising day trips. I
mentioned this to Dhiru and he looked up the
guide book and told me that he could not
understand how he missed that site. Later, when
we were doing a tour of the temple in Madurai we met a Gujarati couple who had been to
Rameshwaram and who highly recommended
it. Three reminders of the place seemed too
much of a coincidence. We were not bothered
about the temple or the religious side of it, but
we both were fascinated by the rituals that
take place. We decided to do that extra journey
to Rameshwaram. We were not likely to come
here again, and it would always be in the mind
that we missed it. It seemed providence that
we got three reminders in a period of a few
hours and we were fascinated by the rituals
that take place there.
I in particular am not that religious fanatic to
worship at every temple and every religious place we visited. But why we were visiting all these
temples and places of religion? In my case it was the fascination and curiosity of understanding
and seeing thousands who follow devoutly and do their prayers and rituals with so much passion
which always fascinated me. I feel amazed, and perhaps sad, to see millions of people spending
millions, or billions of rupees on travelling, in rituals, in garlands and coconuts and other items for
worship. It fascinates to see millions, educated
and less educated having so much faith and
trust in what they were doing. And what South
India had to offer was temples with great
history, temples with sculpture and carvings
that make us proud of the greatness of that
past. This drove me to visit so many temples.
Not getting to get darshan in Tirupati or Madurai
did not bother me at all.
We drove on to Madurai with one of the most
impressive temples in South India. Meenaxi
Temple (wife of Lord Shiva whose other name is
Parvati) is built over 15 acres and has 17000
pillars. It was built 3000 years back during the
reign of six emperors. It has monolithic pillars with thousands of statutes carved on the pillars and
walls. The temple gets at least fifteen thousand visitors even during the off peak times. The
massive gopuras of this vast complex,
writhing with multicoloured mythological
figures and crowned by golden finials,
remain the greatest man-made spectacle of
the south. If the temple with its pillars,
different temples and deities, all the intricate
carvings and statutes were to be studied
individually than it would take more than a
day to complete the visit to this vast complex.
30th January : We drove on to Trichy (actual
name Tiruchirapalli) and just north of that
town is the Ranganathaswamy Temple. The
temple is so large that it practically
encompasses the village of Srirangam within its courtyards. It is enclosed by seven rectangular
walled courtyards, and the temple is built on 60 hectares of land. It is one of those rare temples
devoted to Lord Vishnu.
We proceeded to Rameshwaram – making a detour of almost 160 kilometres (extra journey of 320
kilometres) to fulfil our curiosity about the most important pilgrimage site for Hindus. Normally
Hindus worship either Shiva or Vishnu, but this is one temple where both deities are brought
together. The legend goes that Rama (of
Ramayana) after rescuing Sita and killing
Ravana landed in Rameshwaram which is
just 20 km from Sri Lanka, and was advised
to atone for killing a Brahmin (Ravana) by
doing pooja of Shiva. Ram is another
incarnation of Vishnu and as such it was
Vishnu doing pooja of Shiva.
Ramalingeshwara Temple is right on the sea
shore. The temple was built in the 12th century
during Chola dynasty and is famous for its
pillared walkways and the huge complex. The
temple is almost as huge as Madurai temple
but not as impressive in its sculptures or
outlook.
The temple has 22 fresh water wells which is a phenomenon since water is normally salty when
the land is near the sea. These wells are very near the ocean – literally a few feet. Dhiru and I
were fascinated by the ritual being carried out there. When we reached the temple we were
approached by some brokers or guides who
suggested they can arrange the ritual for us. We
changed into swimming trunks and went into the
sea for a dip. We followed the guide who handed
us over to the priest who was to perform the
rituals. He asked for Rs135.00 per person and I
handed him Rs.300/- and when I asked for
change he laughed it away. No receipt was issued
so the money must be going into his pocket. Others
were either in full attire but were still getting wet,
or some just had their hands or feet washed. One
by one, we were taken to each of the 22 wells
where the priest took a small bucket, pulled water
from the well and poured over us. The wells
were spread all over the huge temple complex
we also got a chance to see the whole complex.
We both completed the ritual. Water was
surprisingly luke warm. At the end we were
informed that all our sins had been washed
away and we can now proceed into the temple
to finish our worship.
While the ritual was interesting and funny in
some ways, and perhaps this was one of our
last stops at a temple or place of religion, there
was disdain at the practice of religion in India.
In short, religion in India had been made into a
big industry. The faith and hope with which millions came to these temples was countered by the
trickery and conning of those masses. Priests made their living by promoting more and more rituals
and taking advantage of illiterate and common people. Some of the temples we had visited, like
Tirupati and Madurai, had incomes that would be more than the budgets of cities like Mumbai or
even budget of small states. Amount of money
spent on garlands, flowers, mink, prasad,
cocoanuts, powders and other items used in
these rituals must be phenomenal. Brahmins
have made a profession out of religion and
temples have become like big corporations. The
innocent, naive, unsuspecting common man
pays for it all – at the cost of depriving his own
family from bare essentials. After completing
this ritual we returned to Madurai same day
reaching our hotel around 10.30 at night.
What was planned as back-packing holiday
turned out to be back-breaking trip. Back
packing would have been slow travelling by bus
and train, meet the local people and get a feel of the local life. What we were doing was whirlwind
tour of south India, visiting its glorious temples and palaces, its glorious past preserved in the
caves, and its natural beauty – and when doing this your
curiosity does not stop and you do not wish to miss
anything of interest. Our guide book was our almanac
which showed and told us what was there not to miss.
Our days were long – on the average from 16 to 18 hours –
and out of that about 6 to 8 hours went for sightseeing
and 8 to 10 hours in travelling. We took guide at every
sight whereby gaining more in-depth knowledge of the
places we were visiting, and also saving lot of time in
finding places. Long hours in the taxi were spent in
different ways. We had lots of discussion of all sorts of
subjects, and in between we ate fruit and nuts. Each one
had a nap as and when their eyes could not cope with it.
Dhiru spent lot of time on his iPad and iPhone, and
chatting with his facebook friends. I read a novel on kindle
while Usha and Gulti did reading on religion. Usha and
Guli used the back seats to have nice sleep lot of the time.
Arjun kept making jokes about Dhiru’s
facebook friends, and the GPS guide on the
phone. But no one complained about cramps or
tiredness due to sitting in the car for those long
hours. Usha had diahorea for couple of days,
Dhiru and I were troubled with coughing for
many days and I vomited once – that was the
sum total of our troubles in 22 days of gruelling
travelling. Our visits to the impressive temples
and palaces and castles of south India was
almost coming to an end. We were running out
of time as three of us were booked to fly on 11th
February and we had to be in Mumbai a day or
two earlier. We decided to bypass Kerala on
this trip.
31st January : We drove on to Kodaikanal, a hill station and the highest point in South India. We
reached by mid-day and found a nice cottage style accommodation. We all washed and dried our
clothes. We went out and did some walking and boating in the lake. This was the first time that we
took it easy and relaxed for the day .After
dinner we all went to sleep by 9.00 as it was
pretty cold in this place.
1st February : Next morning we found a guide
and went for sightseeing. Because of low
clouds we could not see much natural beauty.
We visited a 150 year old church. On the way
we saw a small Jain temple where 3 sadhvis
were residing. It was no fun staying any
longer in this bitter cold so we decided to move
on to Ooty. The actual name of Ooty is long
and difficult to pronounce. Ooty is another hill
station created by the British who would
escape to these and many other hill stations
they developed to escape the heat in summer. We reached at 10.30p.m. in Ooty. We saw few
hotels and selected the worst possible hotel so far – and also the most expensive.
2nd February : We got a guide and did some sightseeing in the morning. We saw a temple which is
claimed to be at the highest point in South India. We saw botanical gardens which were very
impressive with well laid out lawns and plants. We saw a tea making factory and went through
the process of how tea is made. But most
interesting was a Thread Museum where
flowers with stalks and leaves were exhibited.
These looked like real ones but all of these
were made from thread. It took12 years to
make all the exhibits, and they used 68 crore
meters of thread. All the flowers in real colours
and looking like real flowers (and there were
many varieties of flowers). Flowers, leaves,
stems were all made with thread. We passed
Mulumali Tiger Reserve but could not do the
elephant ride as elephants were sick.
The quality of hotel had upset us all, and as
we were running out of time, we moved on to
Mysore. Dhiru had a friend in Mysore who
advised us to go straight away to see the
lights of Brindavan. These famous gardens
were lit with thousands of lights and there
was a laser light show also. The gardens
have thousands of fountains and the layout
of the gardens is exquisite. We saw the lights
and the laser show but could not see much of
the garden at night. We proceeded for dinner
with Dhiru’s friend. It was late. Arjun very
willingly agreed to sit in the car and wait for
us. We had wonderful dinner.
3rd. February : In Mysore our first visit was
to Chamundeshwari Temple on top of Chamundi Hills which could be accessed by either driving
direct or walking up over 1000 steps. We opted for walking up those steps. We were at the top in
less than 15 minutes. The long queues to enter the temple deterred us and we decided to turn
back. We had seen picture of a huge statute on
the hill but surprisingly we did not see any
such statue. We then visited a modern
European style cathedral made in 1913 but
still in immaculate condition. Our next stop at
Maharajah Palace was impressive. Palace built
on 35 acres of land, and the actual buildings
covering 27 acres, is massive by any
standards. While very impressive one wonders
at what cost these were built and what it could
have done for the masses. The palace had
lovely huge chandeliers and exhibits of gifts
received by the Maharajah. The guide had the
key to the private storage where different
swords and animals hunted by the Maharajah were stuffed and exhibited there. The palace had
tiles from England, stained glass from Scotland and cast iron pillars from England. There were lots
of silver and gold items on exhibition.
After a lovely lunch we had afternoon rest for the first time on the trip. We again went to the palace
in the evening when the whole palace complex is lighted by 100,000 bulbs and the lights switched
on for one hour. The palace looked spectacular in all those lights. We invited Dhiru’s friend and his
wife for dinner.
4th February : Next morning we left for
Srirangpatnam where we visited the summer
palace of Tipu Sultan who bravely fought
against the British. The palace is built of timber,
and as the structure is unsafe they had closed
upstairs. The palace had some exhibits and
paintings. This was followed by a visit to the
Samadhi of Tipu Sultan. We visited Triveni
Sangam where Tipu’s body was found after he
was killed. We also saw the dungeon where
Tipu Sultan would imprison British prisoners.
Each prisoner would be chained to the walls.
Sravan Belgoda is north of Mysore. It has the
18 metre (58 feet) high monolithic statute of
Gomateshwara, also known as Bahubali.
Built in 10th century it is largest free standing
sculpture in India and an important place of
pilgrimage. We had to walk up over 900 steps
to reach the top of the hill where the statute
can be seen surrounded by a temple and
walls. It is surrounded by black stone idols of
Tirthankars. The statute is over 1000 years
old though rest of the temple is about 400
years old. We walked up the steps which were mostly carved out of rocks. Our visits to temples
were getting saturated and we decided to skip two more places with such temples which were
coming on the way. We drove on and reached Shivamoga and found a very good lodge.
5th February : Next morning we drove on to Jog Falls around 11.00 a.m. We had been warned that
due to lack of rain and a dam there would not be much water in Jog Falls which is the biggest falls
in India. Situated amidst thick forests in the
Western Ghats, the highest falls of India have
lost their charm since the dam was built up river.
But still the gorge and falls give a spectacular
view. Steps have been built to walk down to the
valley. We walked down these 1400 steps or
more. We removed our shoes and walked in
water and over rocks to try to reach the little
pond formed by the water falls. Some people
were bathing in the pond. We walked over the
tricky patches, climbing over rocks, jumping over
small rocks, or walking through patches of water
we almost reached near the pool but the final
patch was tricky and we did not have the
clothes for dipping in the water. But it turned out to be a pleasant adventurous day.
We did not have drinking water with us. Walking up those steps got bit difficult as we were
dehydrated and the valley blocked the winds and the heat was getting to us. We were sweating
profusely. We had some soft drinks on the way where some enterprising people had put up stalls
on the steps to serve visitors like us. We made to the top in a tired state. In three days we had
walked 3600 steps climbing and 3600 steps coming down – which in other terms would work out
as walking up 200 floors of a building and
walking down the same. It was a great
achievement at our age. We spent the night at
Karvar.
6th February : Early in the morning we walked
to the beach and swam in the sea. It was low
tide and there were no waves. We came out
after a while as it was not enjoyable without
the waves beating against our bodies. We
drove on. We passed Goa and had a Gujarati
thali in Panjim. We drove on to Ratnagir, the
home of famous alphonso mangoes and also
home of Arjun. We found a good hotel but could
not sleep well that night.
7th February : We walked along the beach in
the morning. There was chill in the air but there
were strong waves in the sea which made
swimming very enjoyable. When we finished
swimming Arjun gave us surprise that we all
welcomed. His sister had invited us all for
breakfast. She lived in a slum area in a little
shack measuring not more than 8 feet by 6 feet
and the couple and three children lived in that
small space. Other residents in the surrounding
shacks were pleasantly surprised and curious
to see us coming. The shack was very neat and clean and had a television also. That small space
had a tiny cooking area and a small area for washing and bathing. She gave us a lovely simple
breakfast and nice tea. This was the best part of our trip. This was India we wanted to see and
experience and we were so thankful to Arjun and his sister for giving us this wonderful
opportunity.
Being Arjun’s home town where he spent his
childhood he was excited to show us the
different sites and talk about his adventurous
youth stories. We visited a fort with a temple.
Being on top of a hill it had stunning views of
surrounding scenery. We also visited an
aquarium and a museum of ancient art. We
visited Shivaji museum with life size statutes
of soldiers and horses who served Shivaji do
battles with the Moguls and the British.
Last few days of the journey were messed up
by poor thinking or planning but we were not
sure of the distances left and we did not want to be late reaching Mumbai. On the very last day we
originally planned to stay in Alibaug, an upcoming coming modern resort town but when it was
evening and had still long way to drive inland away from the route to Mumbai, on the spur of the
moment we decided to cancel Alibaug. Instead we stayed in Pane which was on the road to
Mumbai. What looked like a nice modern hotel from outside turned out to be the worst hotel we
had during our whole trip. It was not possible to put our foot in the bathroom and we skipped
taking bath in the morning. Guli entertained us to
dinner to celebrate her birthday.
8th February : We left Pane at 7.00 in the
morning and had our breakfast on the way. We
reached Mumbai before 11.00 a.m.
We came almost to the end of an amazing
journey – something we had not planned or
expected to be like it turned out to be. The
statistics are astounding. We did 6400
kilometers or 4000 miles in 22 days - almost
travelling 200 miles per day. Against that long
travelling we did lot of sightseeing also. Expense
per head for 22 days plus 2 days sightseeing in
Mumbai came to just £500.00 per person. Out
of that almost £290.00 went for the taxi and
expenses connected with the taxi. So for the
hotels, meals, fruit, expense of guides came to
less than £9.00 per day. The cheapest hotel we
paid Rs 50.00 per person and the most
expensive was Rs 450.00 – but average was
more like Rs300.00. In this context we kept to
our motto of travelling rough and tough. And all
this amazing when it is realised that the age
range of our group was between 65 and 74 –
age at which most people put their feet up and
take it easy in life. Our travelling was gruelling
– but we visited lots and lots of interesting
sites. We all knew that we would not be coming again so we had to make the best of our trip. Some
may think it stupidity to do such a trip at our age – but to us it was most fulfilling trip. There were
no mishaps or incidents that would have made interesting stories. Car kept intact on this long trip
on the roads of India, we all four had no health problems and we were lucky to have a driver like
Arjun.
Our trip to South India had finished. It had
been a hectic trip – but if we were to see as
much as possible then this was the way we
had to do it. But seeing all those historical
temples, forts and palaces gave us a feeling
that India was an old civilization and that it
was prosperous and full of art and education
and religion and yoga and philosophy and lot
more. It made us realise that our culture and
our heritage had much deeper roots, and our
religious heritage was built on solid
foundations over centuries and spread out over the length and breadth of the country. But it was
sad to see that the Brahmins had hijacked the religion and converted it into a business and made
a living out of it. Every temple we visited had become the hub of the local community, and provided
a living to thousands – but at what cost? The way the priests and others entrap the poor and
extract money from the poor devout people is disturbing. The great teachings and philosophy, as
given by Swami Vivekanand, got lost in the maze of blind faith, myths, and stories produced by
these people to entice and entrap the illiterate masses. The greatness of the religion has been
entombed in the rites and rituals created to earn
a living.
We reached Mumbai. Guli packed up and Arjun
took her to her destination. Arjun had become a
friend for us and we enjoyed his company and
we appreciated the way he took care of us. We
all said good bye to Arjun and promised that we
will keep in contact.
9th February : Next day we three went to see
the famous Mumbai dhobi ghat where washing
clothes is a big occupation, where clothes made
by factories come for washing and ironing - and
a site which attracts thousands of visitors. Later
we visited the famous Mahalaxmi temple where
thousands and thousands of devotees come to
pray every day. We saw the Jama Masjid in the
ocean with a path leading to the main land.
Later we went for lunch. It was after 49 years I
was going for thali lunch to this very simple
restaurant but was amazed to see the
standards still as high as before though the
price had gone up from four rupees to two
hundred and seventy rupees. Later we went to
see the Kala Ghoda Festival which had
hundreds of youngsters with exhibits and
performances to keep everyone engrossed.
10th February : Dhiru and I met some friends for lunch while Usha went to see her relatives. In
the afternoon we all saw a pleasant Gujarati play and in the evening Dhiru and I went to see his
facebook friends in a noisy Bandra Gymkhana.
Our trip had come to a happy ending. A trip we
started with hardly any fixed plans or advance
bookings, turned out to be more successful and
satisfying than we had imagined in our wildest
dreams. While others were excited by the
success of this trip and had started talking
about other such trip, I for one kept out of that
discussion. I cannot afford to do any more such
advance planning at my age.
It has been a long report but if I was to do justice
than it could not be any shorter. Your comments on
[email protected] will be welcome. All my travel and
trekking reports are on my website which is
www.jayantdoshi.yolasite.com
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