29th Nov 2015 - Baroda to Mumbai

The objective of starting a little early into Mumbai was to reach before the traffic snarls delayed us getting into the Hotel and moreover we had planned on visiting someone at the edge of the city.

A early start was good though not as early as we would have liked, the breakfast took a little time and we were on our way shortly. We hit the highway soon after and made good time. The drive to Mumbai was good, the roads were good and though at parts maintenance was going and this was expected. The tolls were fast and yes real fast, the toll booth operators do not waste time and they are efficient, moving vehicles swiftly and without delay, so the long queues really did not punish us.

Once in Mumbai the traffic was as expected, heavy. We managed to get into our first visit just about 30 minutes late not bad considering that we took a wrong turn somewhere and we had to go about 10 Kms to find a U turn to get back to the road which we should have taken. One must realise that GPS is not accurate to the foot and is most often accurate to about 25 feet and in a city like Bombay where in parts of the city there are more than one road leading away from the main road, one needs to be careful, check the signages for the correct road and not entirely rely upon the GPS.

A few hours here and we were on our way again towards Fort. Where we were staying.

The drive was not too bad and we managed to get to our Hotel much before peak traffic. The hotel thankfully had skilled drivers who had to park the car many times during the day over the next few days as I would notice depending on the time of the day and traffic flow. The car would be shifted form one location to another.

2nd Dec 2015 - Mumbai to Kolhapur

Our rice cooker was out early in the morning, the rice was made mixed with curds, packed and we ready to go. In a few minutes we were down having our breakfast, Made sure that all we had to pack was packed and nothing left behind in the room.

By about 9 AM we were in the car with the luggage loaded and were off, the first stop was to tank up on diesel and check the air and once this was done at a nearby fuel station we were off, heading towards the Eastern expressway, which would take us to Thane and then onto the Mumbai Pune expressway.

The roads as expected were good and fortunately there were no unruly drivers on the road, pleasant driving with good scenery to the left and right and wide roads where one can do good speeds. But watch out, there are some curves that are unexpected and if one is not an experienced driver going very fast on the Mumbai Pune expressway one must be slow and careful. There were signages pointing out that tyre bursts cause fatal accidents, this was because, many years ago soon after the road was thrown open youngsters wanting to experience the thrill of speed would drive at very high speeds on the highway and experience tyre bursts. Many drivers do not read enough about the machines they drive and about safety, many do not even check the tyre pressure regularly, not understanding that it is only the tyre that is in contact with the road. Cars cannot be driven at high speeds when fitted with tyres which are not rated for high speed, More on this at the end of this post.

The experience of a hot cup of tea at a road side eatery can be matched only by a stop at a roadside tea shop for a cup of hot tea. A few hours on the road and we came across a small bye, where we stopped, bought some peanuts, fresh coconut water, tea and we were off, though the idea was to have some misal pav this was not be found here.

Thanks to smart phones, internet and search engines one is never too far from the information that is desired. What we were looking for now is Joshi;s Wadapav which came well recommended and we were told that it was only a few Kms away, yes and we did find the outlet. However, the misalpav was not exactly great but the wadapav was good. What took my time was a small shop selling some products that were unique, a gas stove top grill, milk guard - a porcelain plate with grooves cut which we were ensured would stop milk for boiling over if placed at the bottom of the vessel in which the milk was being boiled, a small plastic gadget which can be used to crush and cut chillies, garlic, ginger etc. Purchases made we were back again on the road.

Further down the road we stopped for our packed lunch of curd rice and pickles and just a little forward was a pump in which we filled up our tank. The pump on the highway was clean and well attended and I was surprised that they were accepting credit cards and the transaction was put through with a handheld card reader (transaction acquiring device).

It was raining in patches never heavy but a drizzle here and a few Kms away another drizzle and then a short duration light rain. We reached Kolhapur with little excitement.

We rested for a short while in the Hotel and were ready to go after a cup of tea. the destination? The Mahalakshmi temple which the city was famous for. Kolhapur was a surprise, well developed and large. Hotels with restaurants that one would expect to see in a large city. Just shows that we do not know enough of the country we live in.

The temple was another surprise waiting for us, one has to enter the temple through gates such as one would enter a fort, then walk through paved surface one comes to the entrance, leave the footwear in counters designated for this and you are in.

No jostling, no one pushing you to buy from them, no large crowds that evening, we were surprised, first was the lack of a crowd and second the very well behaved vendors. We walked through had our darshan said our prayers and were out in a short while.

The statue of the goddess Mahalakshmi is made of gemstone and is considered to be between 5000 and 6000 years old. Weighing about 40 Kgs the precious stones on the deity point out its age.

This temple is worth a visit and if possible during sunlight, the architecture is unique and captivating.

A blog providing information on the temple - 

http://indianmandirs.blogspot.in/2013/10/kolhapur-mahalakshmi-eyes-of-sati-devi.html

Outside the temple are stores selling, what else, Kolhapure chappals and who would go away without buying one, most of these shops here are run by Malayalees.

Here is a table from Wikipedia and I would strongly urge everyone who drives a car to read through more on tyre safety and tyre markings

Speed rating

The speed symbol is made up of a single letter or an A with one number. It indicates the maximum speed at which the tire can carry a load corresponding to its Load Index.

Speed rating^[12]

Code	mph	km/h		Code	mph	km/h
A1	3	5		L	75	120
A2	6	10		M	81	130
A3	9	15		N	87	140
A4	12	20		P	94	150
A5	16	25		Q	100	160
A6	19	30		R	106	170
A7	22	35		S	112	180
A8	25	40		T	118	190
B	31	50		U	124	200
C	37	60		H	130	210
D	40	65		V	149	240
E	43	70		Z	over 149	over 240
F	50	80		W	168	270
G	56	90		(W)	over 168	over 270
J	62	100		Y	186	300
K	68	110		(Y)	over 186	over 300

Read the complete article here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code

28th November 2015 - Udaipur to Baroda

Great roads

Best road between Udaipur and Ahmedabad, gentle curves a delight

Ahmedabad bye ass not so smart too many speed breakers, dirty and too much unruly traffic

Ahmedabad to Baroda expressway great road but no stops for relaxing you start and then do not stop till you reach Baroda no amenities like on the yamuna expressway

Baroda

dinner at Mantap - Hotel express

26th Noveber 2015 - Jaipur to Udaipur

Yesterday we left Agra and started our drive to Delhi we had decided that on our way to Delhi we will drive through Mathura and ten to Brindavan before we hit the Yamuna Expressway.

At Mathura we made it to the Krishna Janma Bhoomi (the prison where Krishna was born) cars are not allowed near the entrance to this shrine so Aanand stayed back in the car trying to find a place to park. Mahalakshmi and I went on and were accosted by a few touts who promised to take us through the VIP gate and give us VIP darshan etc. We brushed them aside and went on, a while later we found that we knew very little about the shrine or how to get inside there were no signs and no information anywhere to guide us. We fell into the hands a of a tout who took us on saying that he will take us in no time through the VIP entrance and when we went there we found that everyone was a VIP and there was a very very long queue waiting to get in. Seeing this he said that he would take us through another entrance at which time we said enough is enough and walked away. On the way out Mahalakshmi asked a policeman the best way to get in and he said all we had to do was wait in the queue and go in and there is no problem at all, in fact the inside is easy to navigate. Not convinced we walked away and while we were walking to the car we noticed that the main gate had opened and people were going in. We rushed and packed our cameras mobiles into my handkerchief handed this over at the safe keeping counter and charged in. In a few minutes we were as there was not much of a crowd at this gate, as it had just opened. We walked over to a shop which accepted to take care of our footwear and once this was done we rushed to see the jail whee Krishna was born. The building was new and was constructed to give one the feeling that he was going into a dungeon and there it was a shrine in the room where krishna was supposed to have been born, whether this is true or not is a big question but what can one do against faith? We saw, we wondered ad were out, back to the shop to pickup our shoes and off we went to the car. The shop which had taken care of our shoes did not take any money for this little service, in fact they flatly refused.

By this time we realised that we were late and would not be able to make it to Brindavan, so we decided to drop the idea of Brindavan and started for Delh, we did stop over at one of the exits for some food.

It took us over 1.5 hours to get away from mathura, the very narrow roads, crowd and the not so helpful GPS conspired and worked against our desire for a fast and easy exit from this town.

Once we hit the Yamuna Express Way we were happy. The very broad roads, no traffic coming from the opposite side enabled us to move on at high speeds, 120 and no need to slow down. We reached Delhi in record time and reached our Hotel The Manor, the hotel is run by the same people who run The Habitat and The Manor boasts of one of India's top class restaurants "Indian Accent" a must for anyone interested in gourmet food.

We left early in the morning and drove down to Jaipur. At Gurgaon we had to stop on the highway for a short while to meet Rtn. Dr Nischol Pandey who was driving there to meet to shake hands with us. We did just that said our goodbyes and went our way. We had booked ourselves into The Jaipur Club, we had stayed there earlier when the rooms had just been renovated and when we checked in yesterday I was shocked, the room was something like one of the Lodge rooms that you see in tamil cinemas close to a railway station? All the soft furnishings were dirty and stained and we would have fallen il had we stayed there. Luckily we found ourselves room at the SMS Taj which was closeby. On the way to our newly found Hotel we stopped over at a Reliance Fresh to buy some snacks, milk, rice and curds - ha ha we make rice for the journey and have curd rice for lunch everyday we travel. When we came out o the store we found that the police had wheel locked the car, again luckily we found their number on the windshield and they came in soon as we called. The Rs 200 that I paid was well worth the trouble that otherwise we would have to go to before we went to our hotel. The hotel was great and the Rajasthani thali we had for dinner was good. We did decide to stay on for another day here as Mahalakshmi was not keeping too well, her cold was bugging her. But, no rooms available. 

We started our journey this morning at about 10AM with a packed breakfast with us. With a packed breakfast and lunch we were set to drive with little time wasted on lunch and breakfast. The breakfast we had in the car to save time and kept going,the light falls early here in the North and I do not want to drive after dusk. 

A few hours after we started and on NH79A I stopped at a roadside Dhaba which caters to lorry drivers for a cup of tea. The dhabba was furnished with Charpoys on which men were sitting and having their breakfast (lunch?) I shall publish the pictures that I took here on my blog http:/mindonedge.blogspot.com

The road was patchy at points and this slowed us down but we did manage to keep a respectable 60Km average through our our trip today.

We stopped for lunch at a Banyan tree on the side of the road and adjacent to which were a few shrines to some hindu gods which I was not able to identify, thanks for some shade and privacy we had a quick lunch and were off in a short while.

A few hours later we were driving through a small town or a village when Mahalakshmi noticed swords being sold on the roadside shops, we pulled over so I could buy one. On inquiry we were told tat peoplebuy these swords for use in religious ceremonies and weddings and the like, the Rajputs are a warrior clan right? We negotiated a price purchased a sharp sword, threw it into the dicky and were off.

Reached Udaipur at 5 PM, checked into the Hotel and then took a Uber to look around. This evening we had dinner at Natraj Dining Hall which serves a phenomenal Rajasthani Thali and in my opinion much better than the ones we get at Rajdhani in Chennai. we had gone looking for some handloom block print shirting material which we did not find but the thali was worth the trouble of having got out of the Hotel this evening.

Tomorrow we look around Udaipur and then we are off to Baroda.

We have covered over 4000 Km on our trip so far and have yet another 1600 or so more to go before we reach our destination - Bangalore.

With so much driving to do there is not much of photography being done. Yes I do use my phone to take the pictures and my trusted very small handy Kodak also comes into use. The only time I used my Nikon DSLR was in Varanasi.

Sometimes I just want to experience all there is around me and not be bothered with photographing it

25th November 2015 - Delhi to Jaipur

Made our rice mixed the curd rice and we were ready for the next leg, into Rajasthan. The hotel was kind enough to have our car cleaned inside and out. When the luggage was loaded into the car the cleanliness was motivating, the insides we ensured was always clean but the outsides we had no control over.

We checked out of our hotel soon after breakfast and we were soon on the highway to Gurgaon, we had agreed to meet a friend on the highway at Gurgaon to shake hands and if we had the time then for a cup of tea, by the time we reached Gurgaon we decided that we had no time for tea, so all we could manage was a hand shake a pat on each others back a photograph to record our meeting and we were off toward Jaipur.

The information we gathered was mixed and we were cautious, where the roads towards Jaipur good or bad? where there a lot of diversions because of a lot of road work going on? We would find out soon. We did, the roads were good, much of the construction work on the highway was complete and we were able to do the stretch in good time.

24th Nov 2015 - Agra - Mathura - Delhi

Agra is a better maintained city than Kanpur, better roads, lesser pollution better discipline on the roads.. maybe we were exposed to the better part of Agra? aybe so because it has more tourist inflow?

Speaking to a few businessmen here the general feeling I get is that the Taj Mahal is more a bane than a fortune, the ban of polluting industries many Kms radius of Taj to protect the monument has not gained favour with them. When they are questioned about the Taj bringing in the tourist, the  answer is that thanks to Agra's proximity to Delhi Agra is only a day tour and not a tourist destination, most tourists come from Delhi to Agra stay here for a few hours and then go back, so it is Delhi which rakes it in ad not Agra. Why I asked did the UP Govt not project Agra as a tourist destination, why have the other tourist interest monuments and events not improved or built, the Yamuna river can be developed for water sports? The Govt could have a dialogue with the military to vacate Agra fort and the army could be given alternate accommodation?

The signages on the roads are in Hindi and they are not strategically placed so a driver without a GPS may find it difficult to move around. We got onto the road to Mathura (NH2) as we wanted to go to see Krishnas Janma Bhoomi and then to Brindavan to the Banke Bhari temple.

We managed to get into Mathura and to the Janma Bhoomi, we were accosted by the many touts there promising moksha if we used their services to visit the temple, we in desperatation as there were not enough signages to show us the way or to give instructions on how to get into the temple(?) asked one of the touts to help, he said that the main gate was closed but would take us to the other gate and take us in, the other gate was very crowded and he said he would take us to yet another gate not feeling good we inquired with a policeman who told us that entry was not difficult and we do not need a tout. We walked from there towards the car thinking that we were not going to be able to make it inside. On the way out we noticed that the Main gate had opened and they were allowing visitors inside, we packed our mobile phones, car keys etc in my handkerchief and handed it over at the safe keep counter and charged in. In about 20 minutes we had seen the prison in whcih Krishna was supposed to have been born and were out. No tout.

However, we were late for Brindavan and therefore decided that lunch at a referred

22nd November 2015 - Varanasi to Kanpur

We had no intention to stop at Kanpur, our original intention was to drive straight from Varanasi to Agra. However, when we realised that it gets dark quite early as winter draws close we thought it better to include one more stop between Agra and Varanasi. Kanpur was the candidate.

Allahabad was on the way to Kanpur but too close to Varanasi to merit a night stop. So Kanpur it was.  The drive from Varanasi to Kanpur was rather uneventful, the roads were good but nothing to write about. The people remain the same the only thing that separates them is the distance, the same careless attitude, whether it be lorries, cars, pedestrians, it is not that they do not care for their lives but the need is to demonstrate courage and arrogance and believe that nothing will happen. So what if a few people lose their lives in trying to prove that they do not care?

The Allahabad Bye Pass is a long one and almost at its end is a bridge over the Sangam.

Kanpur as a city does not impress, it is dirty, crowded and very very dusty and carried on its shoulder the disdain and arrogance and who the heck are you? Attitude. At a traffic signal we heard a loud siren and started moving towards the left to make what we thought would be an ambulance or a police car. What came was neither, it was Mahindra XUV 500 and at the flag post in front of the car was a political party’s flag.

The roads that we had to navigate to our hotel did not leave us with a deep impression of the city, it was much like Varanasi, Gaya and this was no great surprise as we were not expecting much from this city.

Though a Sunday some traffic signals did have lot of traffic and actually in one we had to wait for over 40 minutes to move.

We decided not to move out of the Hotel.

23rd November - Kanpur to Agra

 We had our breakfast packed and commenced our journey much earlier than originally planned.To make things easier for us we decided to see the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort on the same day we arrive at Agra.

We left behind Kanpur at 7:45 Am and reached Agra at about 1 PM.

On the road we realised there were no more surprises on the road, no more guns, no more pedestrians throwing a threatening glance at you, no more very rash driving.

While entering Agra we contacted a member of the HVK group on facebook who was a great help. He told us road that we could take which not be crowded and with less traffic we did save a bit of time. He had arranged for a local guide who would take us to the Taj and Fort. Once we checked into the Hotel we went off for lunch at the Dasaprakash and then went to the Taj, The VIP car park has capacity for a large number of cars ad one can easily find space. As vehicles are not allowed close to the monument one has to take a battery operated bus or cart to the entrance the cost is either Rs10 or Rs20.

As was expected the Taj left us in awe and though tired we were happy to spend a little extra time walking around. The fort was given a miss as we were told tat the Military was in occupation of the Fort ad that only a small portion was open to visitors. Back to the Hotel and some rest.

Later in the evening we went to the Agra Club to meet up with Sanjeev who had helped us with directions and arrangements for visiting the Taj Mahal. He went to a bit of trouble to guide us on our journey the next day through Mathura and Vrindavan and on to Delhi. A fine guy.

19th November Kolkata to Bodh Gaya

Previous Post - 18th November 2015 Kolkata

Next Post - 20thN November 2015 Bodh Gaya to Varanasi


Our journey commenced quite early in the morning, as winter sets in the days are short and become shorter as we go further North Even in Kolkata it becomes dark by about 5 PM.

6:30 AM we were in the car and heading out, our first stop was at an Indian Oil pump for fuel and air, we got the fuel but not the air, no one is easy with the air and specially in the morning, there is always some excuse or other. The compressor is not working, there is not enough air, air only after 10AM etc. While we were waiting for the fuel a lorry almost rammed into the front of the car, he was in a hurry to hit the road and was not exactly careful and we were lucky.

We moved onto the highway and headed towards Bodh Gaya our destination, the traffic was horrendous, The Kona Expressway was packed with lorries and lorries and more lorries, they were slowing us down and the careless overtaking was terrible, it is a wonder that there was no accident in the morning.

The first toll was slow and painful, we had no change and the person who manned the toll booth refused to accept a Rs 500 note. He just did not move a muscle, we had to search every wallet and purse and come up with the exact change, I hope they demonstrate the same tenacity in controlling traffic and all those two wheelers and pedestrians who want to commit suicide on the roads. Afetr this incident I decided that I shall not part with my change easily, there must be enough change available for the next few tolls. I always a carry a small plastic container with a lot of lose change and I had been free with the change till now.

The traffic was continuous and with no let, this must be one of the busy stretches on the Golden Quadrilateral. So many lorries on the road and all of them speeding and at times reckless. The cars too were not too careful, in my opinion careless overtaking and breaking too many rules of safety. Somewhere on the road we spotted an IndianOil pump and went in for air, an elderly man checked our air cheerfully and refused to accept a tip, which we ended up thrusting on him much to his discomfort. On a long trip it is essential that air pressure is checked often and is maintained at correct levels for safety, remember that the tyres are the only contact the vehicles has with the road.

We stopped at Topchanchi for lunch at a Dhaba called Shaan e Punjab, the food was passable but we did quite enjoy the ambience, sitting under a tree in the shade, pleasant weather and charpoys avaiable if one wanted to stretch out for a while. Seems to be a popular eating stop. Therewhere cubicle type structures in the rear with curtains, obviousy to provide privacy and why I wonder? In the men's bathrrom a large tub was constructed and filled with water and there were lorry drivers bathing. This place caters to lorry drivers and much of their needs. We were served by Rajish who when asked if the food was pure vegetarian answered Yes, and when I told him that if he was lying and that non vegetarian was als being cooked or vessels being mixed with veg and non veg food the gods will punish him, he retorted that even he prayed to the gods he he he he

We continued on our journey and reached Bodh Gaya at about 5 PM. We aksed the hotel for a taxi to take us to the Vishnupad temple.

The taxi came in about 30 minutes and the driver was Gudi, a friendly guy and helpful too, he took us to the temple in spte of the heavy crowd and poice regulation because of the Chaau Pooja which is a major event in Bihar and came with us to help us find our way. The temple is rather small but very significant to the Hindus who come here in large numbers to carry out rituals for their ancestors. The crowd is for the rituals for those who have passed away and maybe this is why there is not much of a crowd for their daily worships. Maybe people think this is a morbid temple. An impression of Vishnu's feet can be seen on a rock which is in a silver basin of about 8 feet in diameter. People sit around the basin and offer their prayers. There is also the banyan tree and the Phalgun river which are a part of the riuals that are performed here. A reading of the text pertaining to the Vishnupad temple would be interesting.

Bihar is a State to be experienced..........

A tub filled with water for lorry drivers to use. Drivers use a mug take water from this tub to have their bath before they eat.

The toilet and cubicle complex at Shaan e Punjab, there were more than 12 small cubicles with curtains, ensuring privacy.....for drivers and highway queens

Our wayside Dhabba

Rajesh our waiter who also prays to the gods

Autos with carriers seem to be quite common

Sugar cane juice boy Kamlesh Kumar Chouhan - remmeber that when you ask for the name all three will be given with pride

Common sight

Narrow autorickshaws at Bodh Gaya

Previous Post - 18th November 2015 Kolkata

Next Post - 20thN November 2015 Bodh Gaya to Varanasi

18th November 2015 - Kolkata

Previous Post - 17th November 2015 Bhubaneshwar to Kolkata

Next Post - 19th November Kolkata to Bodhgaya





No great change in Kolkata since we were here last a few years ago.

We decided to experience a short ride on a launch (ferry) and then a taxi ride over the games Howrah bridge, supposed to be the busiest cantilever bridge in the world. No stopping anywhere on the bridge even for a short while and it is enforced.

An evening walk around Park Street. Window shopping and dry Bhel Puri from the pavement.

A stop at Flurys in Park street for some pastries and dinner at Mocambo.

We leave tomorrow for Bodh Gaya, early in the morning.

Here are a few images of the streets of Kolkata

Snacks in the Capital of West Bengal

Roadside eateries are quite common in Kolkata

Barber shops on busy streets too are common here

Must have lunch before the next delivery - An Ekart employee having his llunch.

Kolkatan enjoying his smoke, I think smokers as percentage of population will be highest in West Bengal.

Bathing on the tstreets is also common in Kolkata

Tram

The Howrah Bridge, highest volume of traffic amongst all cantilever bridges in the world.

Add caption

Kolkata the city with the maximum number of hand pumps on streets in India?

Howrah Bridge

All dressed up for Chauth Puja

Chat Puja celebrations on the streets of Kolkata

Bathing ghats on the Hooghly from a ferry

Animated discussion on a ferry

Home

Here we go

Youngsters in Kolkata

Tobacco stains on a toll booth

Traffic jam? No traffic as it is everyday - Kolkata

Previous Post - 17th November 2015 Bhubaneshwar to Kolkata

Next Post - 19th November Kolkata to Bodhgaya

17th November 2015 - Bhubaneshwar to Kolkata

Previous Post - 16th November Sun Temple at Konark and Puri Jagannath Temple

Next Post - 18th November 2015 Kolkata



A drive of about Km 440 to Kolkata from Bhubaneshwar, good roads and pleasant weather.

Nothing much other than the same story about lack of amenities on the highway and at the toll booths.

Toll booths

Two at the toll booth - security?

Toll Booths closer to Kolkata

The roads did not have much traffic and again we found that there were few private cars on these roads.

Driving on the wrong side of the road (on a one way highway) is taken as acceptable. No one seems to mind and people continue to do it posing a great threat for themselves and others.

Kolkata at about 4:15 PM when we arrived was easy to negotiate, with little traffic on the road we reached our destination swiftly.

This is day 5 of our journey and we have crossed the 1/3rd mark.

Tomorrow we spend in Kolkata and then off to Gaya in Bihar.

Previous Post - 16th November Sun Temple at Konark and Puri Jagannath Temple

Next Post - 18th November 2015 Kolkata

16th November - Sun temple at Konark and Jagannath temple at Puri

Previous Post - Bhubaneshwar 15th November 2015

Next Post - 17th November 2015 Bhubaneshwar to Kolkata

Two great attractions close to Bhubaneshwar the Sun Temple at Konark and the Jagannath temple at Puri are not to be missed, if one is a wildlife enthusiast then add Chilika Lake.

We made inquiries at the Hotel as to the best way to do these two attractions and were advised that we must do the Sun Temple first and then Puri. Fortunately we were given a contact person at Puri to make life easier for us.

The village of Pippili is on the way and we stopped over for a few minutes to take in the applique which is a specialty of this village. Colours are bright in Orissa to the extent at times of being gaudy, I do not know if this is traditionally so or is it the craftsmen are allowed to use these colours to their own detriment. They do need someone to talk to them and improve their colours. While their work is good the colours are.......................

Applique work - Pippili

The famous and renowned Sun temple is about 40 Kms from Pippili, the road to Konark goes through villages and one had better be careful and slow to avoid accidents, the two wheelers ad autorickshaws are clear that their lives are in your hands, they will drive recklessly sure that their lives are safe in your hands so you better be careful.

A banner of sorts tied on the wing mirror from a temple.

Vehicles are not allowed on the road leading to the Sun temple the car has to be parked about 300 Metres from the temple and the rest of the distance has to be covered by foot. Shops line the border selling eats, handicrafts, toys and the usual colourful items that one finds in small town bazaars.

There is no charge for taking your camera in but Rs 10 needs to be paid for every adult (Indian), there are official and authorised guides and also scamsters, make sure you hire a guide here, though the temple complex is small there are so many small sculptures and things to see that one may miss out numerous must see pieces and also the knowledge and history that the guides can provide.

Unfortunately, I think we got stuck with a scamster, the ID he showed did have his name and authenticated his status as a guide but I doubt if he was genuine. he gave some bullshit about a huge magnet on top of the now destroyed part of temple, ow once the magnet was removed the gopuram crumbled, what happened to the magnet? It was taken away by the Europeans, why was it removed? because, the magnet was so powerful it threw compasses on ships close to Konark off the mark, causing many shipwrecks. This guy was all the time pointing out and explaining acts of sex, lesbians, threesomes, different postures etc. yes these were there but I am sure there were other interesting things too

I would encourage you to read about the Sun temple on the internet and watch the video about the sundials on the wheels of Konark (youtube) to be able to grasp the wonder of this temple. That the wheels are actually sun and moon dials was discovered recently because of a sadhu who was found using the wheel to find out time and when questioned he is supposed to have explained how it works. It is believed that much about the temple is not known. A fascinating piece of architecture here and I do believe that one must make a trip here at least once in his lifetime. Take your time walkign around the complex, Imagine the times when the temple was at its glory.

Invading Mughals are supposed to have removed the copper cupola on top of the main building which exposed the sandstone to the weather and slowly the entire building crumbled. The Britishers filled the inside of the prayer hall so that the existing building will not collapse within.

Toll booths are manned by two men, one who takes the money and gives you the ticket and the other person inside the toll booth doing all the work.

Sun temple - Konark

Road leading to the temple

Vendor on the road

The entrance where a Lion sits on top of an elephant which is crushing a man

A women after deliverig her child standing above a fire to disinfect herself, I was told that this practice is prevalent even today

Shanker - Our guide

The Jagannath temple at Puri is alive and well. The month of Karthigai being auspicious in Orissa, there were more than 150000 people who visited the temple the same day as we did, fortunately our contact Hari Krishnan guided us through the 4 hours it took to get Dharshan at the temple. Every Hndu who walks into the temple is eligible for a 4 course meal, a sweet rice, a salty rice dish, two types of dhal and a sweet. Trust me - the quality of the food and the taste are not compromised and when we asked at out hotel where we could eat at Puri we were told to eat at the Jagannath temple. A visit to this temple is an amazing experience. Like at Konark no private vehicles are allowed close to the temple, We took a shuttle from the car park to the temple, with thousands of humans on the broad roads leading to the temple, with vendors, beggars, pilgrims, tourists, locals, priests making up the populace.

The temple complex is not very large but large enough to take in the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who visit every day.

The English word Juggernaut owes its origin to this temple, in olden days pilgrims would sacrifice their lives on the massive wheels of the Rath or the Chariots of the gods, when the gods were taken out in procession in the streets of Puri. It was considered that this was because of the enormous power of Lord Jagannath giving rise to the word Juggernaut a corruption of the name Jagannath.

A mendicant at the entrance to the Puri Jagannath temple

Devotion and faith

Pandas or temple priests waiting at the entrance. Once a pilgrim is in their hands - with promises of easy entry and wonderful darshan they will milk him,

My first view of the Jagannath temple at Puri

Previous Post - Bhubaneshwar 15th November 2015

Next Post - 17th November 2015 Bhubaneshwar to Kolkata