The Godly Trip - II

“It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end.”

- Ursula K. LeGuin

Yes. I love journeys. So there I was on the 7 o’ clock train to Kolhapur from Tirupati, tired and thoughtful. My profession requires me to cross-reference, so let me recap episode 1 for the uninitiated. I had set off to Tirupati, the abode of Lord Balaji, with 18 unknown marauders and had a perfectly lovely time. Now we were on the second leg of the journey – to see Goddess Mahalakshmi, Lord Balaji’s first wife.

We started the journey off with a fight. Another family had been allotted the same seats as we. We realized only 2 hours into the journey when the ticket checker informed us that 6 of us had been pushed into the AC compartment. So six of the gang packed up and moved, bag and baggage, into the AC compartment few bogies away. That brought the mood down a bit. Everyone was already tired anyway. So I sat by the window and watched the world go by.

At 1.00 in the night, we reached a place called Guntakal. The train halts there for about an hour and a half. My fellow nicotine starved souls jumped off the train, the moment it came to a halt to puff away at the cancer stick. And I followed. I was hungry. It was 1.00 in the morning and I was ravenous. I have never got off the train post midnight before. It was unusually quiet. The shops had exhausted the day’s wares. A few vendors caught their forty winks in the comfort of their tiny shops. At a distance, there was a small crowd and crowds on an empty station generally mean food. And indeed it was – steaming hot idlis and crispy medu wadas, served with spicy green chutney. Like all midnight feasts, this too was delightful.

The government of India has banned smoking in public places. You may invite a fine, if caught smoking in the station. So we took a walk out of the station. Given the group’s previous track record at missing trains, I silently hoped we wouldn’t have to go through the same ordeal again. Soaking in the nighttime calm and the lost in the swirls of smoke we talked and we laughed.

We reached Kolhapur at 5 in the evening the following day, thoroughly exhausted and with no place to lay our heads. Yes, we were booked nowhere and we knew no one in this strange city. I can still look at the humor of the situation and I did then. Our ever resourceful guys went round the city for an hour and finally managed to get us a decent place to stay.

The same night we went to the Mahalakshmi temple. The Mahalakshmi temple in Kolhapur is a huge stone temple and possibly dates back to 700 A.D. There are tall “deepstambhas”( where candles/diyas are lit) even as the temple structure rises higher in the background. It is one of the “shakti peetha”s. The temple was virtually empty as we reached post 8.30. It was a major contrast to the super crowded temples in Tirupati and that somehow rendered serenity to it. Plates of offerings in hand we walked into the temple.

The temple is beautiful. There are intricate carvings everywhere. You can’t help but absorb the sanctity of the place. Even as we walked out, vermillion smeared on our foreheads and the sweet taste of prasad lingering on our palate, we couldn’t but be devout, at least for that time.

After the temple experience, we had to find a place to eat - at 11 in the night, in an unknown city. So we started walking. Lonely, empty streets, aching legs and so many bald heads (at Tirupati most of my fellow comrades donated all the hair on their head). It was extremely painful and yet hilarious with everyone shouting obscenities at each other. But we did finally find a place to fill our stomachs in a nondescript lane in the dark streets of Kolhapur.

I have tendency to push myself to the limit till I can take no more and the group with me was no less. Even though we were exhausted out of our wits we still wanted to keep up. So we started off with “teen patti”, or three card poker. And mind you it was the real deal (with money). With giggles and the occassional flare ups over supposed cheating, it was indeed a memorable experience.

The next day, we were scheduled to catch a train back home. But that was at 9 in the evening. The entire day though had already been planned, or so I found out. We woke up early morning amidst ill-tempered yells and abuses (guys don’t like waking up early) and got dressed. By 9 am we were packed up into two cabs and on our way to Narsobachiwadi.

Narsobachiwadi is a temple not too far from Kolhapur city. It is dedicated to Narsinh Saraswati, an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya, who is believed to have lived here. It is a tiny temple at the confluence of the rivers Krishna and Panchaganga. The tiny stalls outside the temple serve generous proportions of good Maharashtrian and south Indian food. Famished, we dug into whatever came our way.

On the steps outside the temple

The temple itself was again not all that crowded. There were people bathing in the river by the river bank. Water as you know is extremely attractive. So we went and dipped our feet into the water. Just as we posed for a picture, I got this curious sensation on my feet and I was told that the fish nibble at your feet while you’re in the water. It was tickly and fun. No wonder it’s used as therapy.

Panhala fort

After the darshan, we took off for Panhala, a hill station close to Kolhapur. Panhala is home to the Panhala fort, which is a large, imposing structure. We reached the fort close to sunset and the looming structure seemed strangely eerie in the falling light. We didn’t have enough time to actually see the entire place. But we did manage to hit some of the famous lookout spots.

In one of the forlorn chambers of Panhala fort

We sang all the way back from Panhala to Kolhapur, packed up our stuff and boarded the train. Everyone was suitably tired on the last leg of the journey. So the lads put up a faux movie hall in the confines of the AC compartment of the train. With blankets to block the door and cover the lights, and blankets laid out on the aisle, we watched The Texas Chainsaw massacre on a barely 10 inch screen.

The whirlwind trip was over. What a journey it had been.

One of the most vivid memories that I have from that trip was Guntakal, the tiny station on the train ride from Tirupati to Kolhapur. I remember sitting on the cold stone slab surrounded by people I had barely known for a few days and feeling comfortable being me; not having to think about who thought what, liked and disliked, or proving myself (things that I normally tend to do). Like William Hazlitt, a British writer, put forth so well, “The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do, just as one pleases”. And that is what made that trip one of the most memorable of all.

[I would like to dedicate both these posts to the wonderful folks who went with me on this trip. You guys are the best!]

A Godly trip - I

Loneliness inspires a lot of craziness in people. It is not our default state. That said, when we are lonely and troubled we often end up exploring possibilities that we have not previously considered. This could either lead to a complete disaster or give you an insight on all your problems. I’m sure you’re wondering if I am writing in the wrong blog. The cry baby blog is the other one :). No dahlings! All this seeming philosophical horse-crap is leading some place.

I was definitely at a low point in my life in November. Confused out of my wits because of what life was throwing at me, I was definitely quite reckless. In that definite recklessness, I decided to go on a pilgrimage tour to Tirupati and Kolhapur with a bunch of people (eighteen is quite a bunch ;))

Let me now clarify one tiny aspect. I have never been on a religious trip before, especially one that spans a whole week and two states. It’s not as if I have a particular bias against it. It’s just that I am not particularly religious. Anyway, I am always open to try new things and visit new places so that’s quite settled I suppose.

Now the other part. I had barely known Nishant for two months. Two office trips are surely not sufficient to get to know somebody. So to take off on a weeklong trip, that too with another eighteen people who I didn’t even know was out of the question. But then, persistence (on his part) and a sheer devil-may-care attitude (on mine) and I was going to Tirupati ; knowing very well that this could go hopelessly wrong.

I was the only one boarding from Pune (the rest were coming in from Mumbai). So after a restless half day at work, I took a very heavy bag and trudged off to the station. I have travelled alone by train once. But this was an entirely unique experience. As is my usual practice, I reached the station two hours ahead of the scheduled arrival. Alone in the super crowded Pune station with two hours to wile away was not a pleasant prospect. But when everything is on a whim, you somehow tend to accept situations quite beautifully. What’s more, I was actually excited. With a nice sandwich, black coffee and Jeffery Archer I pretty much passed my time quite well.

The train arrived close to 4. It was about 10 minutes behind schedule but I didn’t really notice that too much. I found the coach and Nishant almost as soon as the train came to a standstill. We were going to Tirupati.

Step one was to meet my fellow travelers. Strangely, I felt no apprehension whatever. I was sure that with my books, the ipod and the absolute insanity of what I was doing, I would not get bored, no matter how troublesome the company was. As an absolute antithesis to my expectations, the company turned out to be absolutely fabulous. Almost as soon as I’d gotten introduced, I felt quite at home.

I love train journeys and I definitely don’t like to travel in the AC compartment. I like to feel the wind sweeping across fields and rivers. See the sky as it transitions from blue to yellow and then to orange. I love to see the tiny yellow lights suddenly becoming distinct in the distance as night finally falls. I love to see the dull white light from the train compartments on the adjacent tracks. Then as the cities approach in the night, slowly and steadily the density of the orange lights increases. It’s so beautiful. And train stations. I love them. The chaos. the sounds of “chai garam” and “Kaafi”. And how the food items change with every state you cross.

All of this is definitely enough to keep an idle adventurer’s mind active. But when add to it an extremely enthusiastic company, the fun somehow just intensifies. We played cards and Uno, spoke endlessly, got off at obscure stations so people could smoke, listened to endless stories and experiences. And though we barely slept, fresh I was as a flower in spring early next morning.

We got off at Renigunta junction – a tiny place right before Tirupati, in Andhra Pradesh. From the moment we got off there, the atmosphere had turned distinctly religious. From Renigunta it is a distinct one hour ride to Tirumala, which is in the hills. The famous Lord Balaji temple is in Tirumala.

Lord Balaji is the world’s richest deity. Every day thousands of pilgrims visit the temple. To ensure a good temple experience, the temple trust issues tickets for the “darshan”. There are ticket counters like this in all the major cities. Some of us bought extra tickets so that we could get extra “laddoos”. They are famous and are now patented :). After a slightly painful wait in the heat, we got ourselves cabs to take us to our destination.

The town of Tirumala is located on a hill just beyond Tirupati. Given the security threats and the general holiness of the place, cigarettes, alcohol and any other intoxicating substances and needless to say explosives are banned in the temple town. There are manned and computerized checks at the entrance of the town. Every incoming vehicle is checked. All baggage must go through an x-ray check and people are frisked! But a little ingenuity on the gang’s part and we had managed to smuggle in enough cancer sticks to last us the three days we were supposed to be there. Boys after all will be boys :).

Enroute to Tirumala

The ride up to Tirumala is picturesque. It is evident at every step that the temple trust is the richest in the world. The roads are spic and span. There is a wildlife park along the way and it’s beautifully green everywhere. The entrance is pretty and the town impeccably planned. I was told that the city is truly green and is powered by the windmills on the hills. Along the roads are neat little houses and every here and there are small hotels. These are places of residence allotted to the visiting pilgrims.

We reached there in the afternoon and it was HOT! Very hot and crowded. Once we figured out where we were supposed to be put up (it’s a slightly complex process… lets save that for another time and place maybe). The rooms cost a 100 bucks a day (dirt cheap) but I had no idea what they were like. Given the distinctly adventure mood I was in, I didn’t jump out of my skin in apprehension. But surprise surprise! Like everything else happening on this trip, the rooms were not bad at all. They were spacious and clean. There were camp beds and sufficiently soft mattresses, a clean bath and running water. What else does a wanderer need?

The travel and the fact that we’d eaten hardly anything from morning made us ravenous. I could personally eat a cow. But you don’t get any non-vegetarian food. Imagine that! A totally vegetarian town :) (Strangely I know quite a few people who cannot live without meat and very strangely the most perfect member of that species was with me in Tirupati). So after we’d changed, we found our way out of the curiously complicated building ( with one too many staircases) and went to a small eat out right in front. We ordered a lot of things, most of which I don’t remember. What I remember is- the food was funny. Yes, funny is the word I used. Have you ever tried channa masala cooked the Chinese way garnished with curry leaves? Well, I see you’re getting the picture!

The legend of Lord Balaji goes something like this:

Lord Balaji saw the beautiful Padmavati daughter of Akash raja in garden and fell in love with her. The match was accepted by both parties but Lord Balaji needed funds for a lavish wedding. So he borrowed money from Kubera, God of wealth. He promised to return this money in the Kali yuga. Devotees flock in millions each year and everything donated there is apparently to pay off the loan.

ISKCON temple, Tirupati

By popular custom, you can only enter the house of the Lord once you have taken blessings from both his wives. So we took off to see the Padmavati temple in Tirupati. The temple was comparatively not so crowded. But the architecture and the interiors are lovely. The same evening we went to the ISKCON temple in Tirupati. Like all other ISKCON temples, this too was absolutely gorgeous. I have been to the one in delhi and I like the Hare Rama Hare Krishna feel. It takes me back to my favorite decade- the 60s.

Our darshan was scheduled at 9pm, the very night. By the IST (Indian stretchable time) standards, we went in at 11pm. If you have no watch, you would not know the time of the day. The temple premises have a continuous hustle bustle. The world ‘crowd’ assumes a new meaning when you are there; and they come in all shapes, sizes, types. There are young and old, Lord Ayyappa followers in black, newly-weds in their wedding finery, young couples with newly born kids, college kids, working professionals – oh you can find the widest assortment of people here. It’s a truly unique experience.

Outside the tonsure center

Another unique aspect about Tirupati, I really don’t know the right way to put it; ever hears of a city of gold. Well that’s Tirumala for you. It’s rich, super rich. The yellow lights and the yellow gold, everywhere; shimmer and shine. It’s a treat for the eye. Strange isn’t it. In a country like ours, where the number of people living below poverty line do not seem to reduce, has the city of gold.

A view of the temple

Our darshan was pretty smooth and actually beautiful. Amid all the chaos, you can feel inner peace. We left Tirupati the next day by the evening train. Somehow, it felt too short a time to explore its various facets. And yet, I was amazed at how strangely miraculous it was that I had the good fortune of coming to one of the holiest of places totally unplanned and unintended. Grace…simply grace…