Gujarat Tour 2018

Having travelled through and reasonably  covered the southern shores through the years, it was a natural itch to go beyond the borders and what more could one have asked for when an offer of a trip to Gujarat covering some Jyotirlinga Sthalas and Divya Desam was made on a platter by Sree Janaki Tours (SJT)! The invite was irresistible as the trek around the state was never even envisaged due to the challenges of language and unknown terrain and when the trusted SJT went out of the way to even alter the schedule to accommodate my preoccupations, we had no hesitation to head westward in the early hours of 8th March. Despite the known challenges of language, weather at this time of the year and food, the unexpected bouncer came from the Ahmedabad Airport that we may have to take around 14 hours instead of the promised 4 hours due to airport maintenance. The team not only ducked the bouncer like the seasoned batsmen but also lifted their spirit over the square leg with a hook, enjoying the extended stay at Bengaluru despite the impediments posed by the hosts in virtually making us run for a piece of Roti!  Having weathered the initial hiccups the team of 38 landed at the gleaming and tastefully decorated Ahmedabad airport ,

Ahmedabad Airport

with the spirits in tact, which was further lifted by the ambiance and  Chef's culinary of Pristine Residency (http://www.pristineresidency.com ). Any tough tour could be well handled with a good night's sleep and a food soft on belly, both of which were well taken care of by SJT throughout the tour.

DAY-2 (09-Mar-2018):

Basic expectations on a tour with tight schedule is to make an early start and SJT helps their customers with a steaming hot filter coffee made fresh as early as 5 AM and this USP of SJT is the one that pushes people from the bed to gallop at any time in the morning. Spurred by this south Indian specialty even as the team was in readiness after a delicious early morning breakfast, the bus driver induced a delay enabling us to have some exclusive snaps and we set out by 8 AM. Driving through the dusty roads of Gujarat, made more difficult by the relaying of the roads, the team broke only for a Gujarati meal and reached Jamnagar by 4 PM. Having travelled almost for two days and not wanting to spend any more time on travel we hurried through some famed temples of Jamnagar.

Local auto rickshaw wallahs helped us through the town with a first visit to Bhid Bhanjan , a Shiv temple with an inviting marble architecture.

Bhid Bhanjan Shiva Temple

Next visit was to Nilkand Mahadev Temple, which was fairly large but thankfully void of any crowd, enabling us to have a peaceful dharshan.

Nilkanth Mahadev Temple

The unscheduled visit was to the Bal Hanuman temple, which holds a Guineas record for longest continuous chanting

The Kasi Viswanath Temple that proceeded to was one of colorful minarets and the Siva inside was tastefully decorated with flowers.

The tiring party , zapped by the temperature was in no mood to travel further but the flowing music from Shenoy lured them like the pied piper into a Jain temple, where a birthday celebration was being arranged.

Jain Temple at Jamnagar

Over a hot cup of Gujarati Chai, the team was happy to beat a retreat into the waiting suites of the hotel, which had an unimpressive exterior, only to offer a better room and food to rest the aching heels.

DAY-3 (10-Mar-2018):

The early morning start enabled the touring team to speed through some beautiful buildings along the dusty roads of Gujarat dotted with windmills

En route to Dwarika

and before the sun caught up we were at the elegant Regenta Inn, Dwarika ( http://www.royalorchidhotels.com/our-hotels/dwarka), sipping a cold welcome drink.

The rooms were pretty plush and comfortable and after a tasty lunch, we proceeded to Nageshwara, Jyotirlingam and the towering Shiva statue beckoned the devotees to the sacred place even from a distance.

Nageshwara - Jyotirlingam

In a not so crowded temple, we had a wonderful dharshan and a bagful of memories through frozen frames, despite the belting sun.

    

We then proceeded to the nearby Gopi Talab, (Talab means Pond), where the story goes that 16000 gopikas on hearing of the departure of Lord Krishna from this world, shed their physical form and went to Vishnu Loka in search of Him. The physical form of those gopikas fell as a mud in this pond, which later turned as Chandhan (Sandal) and the revered place is also known for taking stones and keeping in one's pooja, for those who desire to build a house.

Gopi Talab

After a short travel through the slanting blades of a glaring sun, we reached Okha, from where people are being ferried to the other side for a short 20 minute ride. How many more tragedies should happen before the authorities really come down on these ferry rides, one wondered! Clearly each boat was being overloaded to the extent of a nervous passenger questioning the continued overloading and there was no semblance of a life jacket anywhere in the vicinity. Brushing aside all these risks the crowded boat waded through the sea, with the inmates enjoying the seagulls , in flocks, trying to catch the nuts thrown at them by the passengers.

En route to Byet Dwarika 

Beyt Dwarika, the considered residence of Krishna , amidst tightest of securities, was calm and serene as one stepped inside. At the small hall , seated before a painting of Krishna embracing Kuselar with a bag of poha in his hand, where a pundit explained the significance of  the place the vibration was so thick and palpable that one could touch it. One could not help or resist the goosebumps to think it was at this place that Lord Krishna walked and received his friend Sudhama !!
The return journey in the fading light of dusk was more dangerous with the usual overload and people heaved a sigh of relief when the boat hit the tyres on the shore ! Making a mid course correction and visiting Rukmini Temple proved to be a wise decision as even there we could reach only for the final Harathi , but the architecture of the temple was a marvel, which was sadly being corroded by the sea breeze around.

Rukmini Temple

The by now zapped group having been blessed with the dharshan of a Jyotirlinga and Krishna's residence was only too happy to take refuge into plush rooms of Regenta !

DAY-4 (11-Mar-2018):

Dwarakadish

The excitement of seeing the Lord of Dwarika , the official workplace of Krishna, (as against Beyt Dwarika which is the residence) triggered the group for yet another early wake up and before the crack of dawn, people were in front of the hotel listening to the learned Pundit Paresh, explaining how the city and Krishna emerged as a Swayambu while the vedas were being chanted and the guide was also  ultimately instrumental in walking us through the sacred Dwarika temple with a wonderful dharshan including the Maha Harathi, early in the morning.  At the end of an hour long tour of Dwarika temple having witnessed the Dwarakadish, capable of curing all illness, Madhava and Trivikrama , the troupe was ecstatic !

Dwarika Temple

The entourage, after a filling breakfast, started by 10 to Somnath and en route had a glimpse of  Mool Dwarika, where a small but beautiful Krishna temple is situated.

Mool Dwarka

We then proceed to Porbandar, the land of Mahathma Gandhi with lots of excitement and expectations. But, the dusty town attracting the tourists in the name of having the birth place of the father of the nation did little to maintain the place. A short travel by a rickety auto through an awfully maintained street took us to the birth place of Gandhiji.

With Mahathma's Parents

The huge house, well maintained by the Government reminded one of Chettinad houses, both for its look of legacy and chill emitted by the high ceiling.

Having set out with excitement to see and visit what was read decades ago but was disappointed at what was seen, in terms of maintenance, we hurried to another birthplace and residence- this time to Sudama Place, the birth place of Krishna's friend, Sudama.

Sudama Place

The place, of later year construction, was well maintained with some exquisite pictures and statues depicting its significance.

After a Jain lunch and passing through the heat and dust of the state, we reached  Balka Thirth, where the story goes that a hunter mistook Lord Krishna's toe to be a dove and shot Him, while the Lord was resting under a pipal tree.

Bhalka Thirth, Veraval

When the hapless hunter pleaded that he be forgiven, the Lord is said to  have replied that there is nothing for him to worry, as He was  going through his karma for having shot Vaali from a hiding in the earlier Rama Avatar. The small but elegant temple has statues depicting the incident and a visit to this temple at Veraval, Gujarat,  is worth for its significance.

We headed next to one of the biggest attraction of the tour viz., Somnath, Jyotirlingam temple. Security was extremely tight and in a way it was a relief to go inside a temple without the mobile. We were on time again for the evening Harathi and the huge TV screen was already beaming the Deeparathanai live. It was a sight to behold to witness the huge Lingam surrounded by gold plated pillars and walls that were reflecting the twilight and there was little doubt as to why Gazini Mohammed attempted 17 times to conquer this place! The temple architecture was a marvel and one needs some hours to go through the beauty of those carvings , with a fine tooth comb ! The special sound and light show conducted by the temple  for about 35 minutes, traces the history of the temple and it is a must see for any visitor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUqQVgRDH7o&feature=youtu.be )

To get the early morning Haarathi at the Divya Desam of Dwarika and in the evening at the holy Jyotirlingam of Somnath, lips automatically started singing 'Enna Thavam Siethanai' ('என்ன தவம் செய்தனை ') , as the tired but satisfied group started moving towards yet another grand hotel of   Somnath at : http://www.lordshotels.com/lords-inn-somnath/

Lords Inn, Somnath

As if the daylong consumption of Bhakti Rasam was not enough, the lavish dinner of the Lords Inn filled the belly, to hurry the touring party to hit the bed for a well deserved nap.

DAY-5 (12-Mar-2018):

Refreshed with a sound sleep topped up by the rich breakfast of Lord's Inn, the entourage continued to enjoy on its way to Bhavnagar with the initial two hours of the ride was spent on a round of introduction to the already familiar group. With an unhealthy competition on which is worse, the roads or the vile lunch, the oppressive heat not exactly helping the cause, the team persisted to reach Bhavnagar by 4 PM.  The place famous for the receding waters of the sea to reveal the five Lingas, that were installed and worshiped by the Pandavas at this place -  Nishkalank Mahadev Temple , Koliyak, looked deceptively simple when the temple tower was seen from the shores. But when we set out to reach the spot, we realised to our horror how deceptive the look was as the mud constantly washed by the sea waters was highly slippery and even a simple step appeared dangerous and people were seen holding others' hands and the steps reminded one of Adi Pradakshanam done at Mylapore temple. A simple 1.5 KMs took more than 45 minutes to trek as everyone feared for falling into the slush and soiling themselves as well as hurting themselves.

Slippery path to Nishkalank Mahadev temple

But having reached the place, the vibration prevailing was stunning to realize that the five different Lingas are ready to go under water in the next couple of hours. The thirty minute experience there doing an archana with Bilvam, was, for me , an unforgettable experience worth spending some back breaking travel through the energy sapping heat and dust along with the slush at the place.
 

With Nishkalank Mahadev , after the Pooja

With energy drained after the arduous trek in the slush and mud, the team unanimously decided to call it a day , to retire into the plush confines of the luxurious Hotel Top3 Lords (www.lordshotels.com )  at Bhavnagar.

Bhavnagar Hotel

DAY-6 (13-Mar-2018):

To catch up with what was lost on the first day, due to the unforeseen spanner  thrown at our plans by the Ahmedabad Airport , the touring party had to stir as early as 3:30 to leave Bhavnagar at 5 and SJT Ramesh's amazing filter coffee made good amends for the reluctant wake up call at 3:30 ! Not willing to leave the beautiful hotel environ people hastily took some slices of the ambiance with them .

Bhavnagar Hotel lounge

Sunrise

Thoughtfully packed breakfast was devoured by 7 at a picturesque spot, enjoying the rising sun and after a five hour rickety ride we reached Dakor Ranchhoraiji temple, the third of the Pancha Dwarika, where the beauty of Krishna was waiting to be captured, with the total absence of any restriction on photography.

Panoramic shot of Dakor temple

After a brief but good narration of the temple's history by a guide, we had a wonderful Harathi dharshan of the Lord, the third such Harathi for us in this tour !!!

The Lord

 
 The paintings around the temple were too beautiful to capture and people went on a shooting spree

Ranchhoraiji temple

After a good Gujarati lunch, we set out on the last lap of this tour by choosing to visit first the Sabarmati Ashram at Gandhi Nagar, the State's capital, where the remembrances of the father of the nation, who chose to perform so many of his activities in pursuit of the country's freedom, were neatly set on display.

Though the Ashram warranted more time, we could not afford as we were running against it.

A quick tour around Akshardham, marked the culmination of a long dream of a Gujarat visit and when we sat back at the airport to get into the night flight for Chennai, the filled heart was going through the dharshans at Dwarika , Nagesvar, Beyt Dwarika, Somnath, Nishkalank Mahadev and Dakor, and felt truly blessed for the opportunity, health and  resources to have such a blessed visit, thanks to Sree Janaki Tours, whose Ramesh and SriPriya played wonderful roles , towards achieving this.

More pictures of this Gujarat tour are planned to be posted at my picture blog:  http://kapalipics.blogspot.in/2018/03/gujarat-tour-2018.html Please stand by