I am back from Gujarat trip. This was my second trip, last time I went to Rajkot at Maharaj jee’s ashram only soon after the marriage. We had to cut the trip midway that time as my hubby got some urgent work .This time I wanted to have real feel of the state
So I already did the bookings in advance. I was excited as my parents, sister and niece were also coming with us.
The trip started with lots of apprehensions due to the Ahmedabad blasts. Everyone suggested to cancel the trip as everyday new bombs were being reported to be discovered. It was inevitable for me and my husband as we had to go for the yearly Sawan Pooja at “Jagannath Temple” Rajkot. Finally we did go on the trip but my sister didn’t accompany us and we missed her throughout our trip.
We had train till Ahmedabad and from there we had to take a Volvo coach for Rajkot. On reaching Ahemdabad, we didn’t even have the slightest feeling that this is the same place which was quivering with blasts three days before. It was all quiet; the traffic too was like a normal one and yes I didn’t notice much police force.
Now talking about the bus service we have the famous Eagle, Patel and many other services. The buses are really good Air Conditioned buses with video in it. The highway is good too and we reached Rajkot within 3-4 hours watching movie “Jannat” though at times the movie was unbearable.
Although we reached temple after lunch time but Maharaj jee had already asked someone to keep some food for us. The temple was serene like always but lots of arrangements were going on inside for the Sawan month which was about to start in a day. The temple was decorated with lights everywhere. Maharaj jee is the sole person who manages the temple. He is a spiritual guru and has many other followers. Our marriage was also arranged by him and this was my husband’s twelfth sawan visit in a row. Maharaj jee is around 85 and was very ill in summers but he was all geared for the big sawan month. I guess the temple too is quite popular in Rajkot as many people visit here. My hubby mostly remained with Maharaj jee but I was all free to see the market and absorb the culture here. I noticed many ice-cream parlors and they didn’t serve the famous brands mostly they had their own local brands. I think dining out is not much popular but after dinner coming out for ice creams is more popular here. Other common thing is the green chilies. They serve green chilies with everything and they are an important part of the food. I loved eating “gathiya” with papaya and fried green chilly. I wish, I could get this at my place too. When it comes to food I cannot say that I was eating the typical Gujarati food as the food prepared in the temple was something which has a Gujarati touch but not completely. We had “Poha” or “Dhokla” most of the time for breakfast , only once we had Samosas. It was fun eating in big Mandir premises with the Mandir staff. We had a three day pooja but they were with out fasts. Maharaj doesn’t believe in fasts at all and even he is not rigid about Pooja process. Me being “ME” didn’t bring much of my suits but yes Maharaj told me that I looked gracious in the saree that I was wearing on pooja day and asked me to wear them more often. On the last day they asked me to choose saris from the lot which were donated by people for “Devi”.
On the third day after the Havana we headed for Somnath. We went through the famous Gir forest but like other national reserves this remains closed in the monsoon season. My hubby is a wildlife and nature lover so we took an outer trip of the reserve but we didn’t get to see any lion. We reached Somnath late in night, had dinner and stayed in “Somnath Trust”. I think this is the best place to stay, it is not luxurious but it is located at a walking distance from the temple. My mom and dad were ready to go to the temple at around 5.30 so I too went with them while my husband enjoyed his sleep. They open the temple doors around 6 but people queue before that. We did the darshan of the Shivlinga and on the backside of the Mandir was an enormous sea. The view was awesome. As the arti was around 7, I went back to the room and persuaded my husband to reach the temple for the morning Aarti. By this time they had decorated the Shivlinga and it was looking very beautiful. After Aarti we went to the beach. Mom and I enjoyed the camel ride.I really like the arrangements in the temple. They had everything organized systematically and strictly in queue thing which made the Darshan very comfortable.
Hats off to the temple trust!!
We started for Diu immediately after the breakfast .The scenery on the way was beautiful. As Gujrat is a dry area so mostly people visit Diu for alcohols and you can see many bars here all around. I found the atmosphere very similar to Goa but it lacks the foreign tourist. The beaches are still not much explored and we couldn’t enjoy a swim because of the monsoon season. We stopped at a sea shell museum which is near the beach. The museum was a private effort of a retired merchant officer who had displayed the shells that he had collected when he was in the job. My hubby purchased some shells which in my opinion were overly priced.
All the fun that we missed in the beach was covered up when we went to see the Diu fort. It was one of the oldest forts that was built by the Portuguese. The fort is surrounded by the sea and the architecture is amazing. We walked about 4 km to see the various parts of the fort. The guide told us many stories about the glory and intelligence of Portuguese. Also one can see many V shaped palm trees that were brought by the Portuguese from South Africa to symbolize their victory.
The next destination was Dwarikadish .It was coconut trees that were running along the way with us till now but now it was sea that was moving with the road. Looked like the sea was competing with the human made roads. We crossed one of the biggest cities of Gujrat -- Porbandar --birth place of Mahatma Gandhi. Finally in Dwarikadish we could find a restaurant that served some authentic North Indian food. It was great, eating spicy vegetable curry without the sugar pinch of Gujarati food. The darshan here was not as easy as it was in Somnath. We reached at the time of arti and the temple area was exploding without any proper arrangements. We had to struggle for the Darshan among women who were climbing the poles of the temple. Yes!! Lord Krishna’s statue was worth this entire struggle. I guess the statue was carved in black granite with a diamond on the chin. I noticed that this place is very similar to Mathura and Vrindavan. I suppose the similarity may be because all of them have Krishna connections. After this we went to Nageswar Mandir where a huge Shiva statue is installed by the T-Series Supreme Late Gulshan Kumar. This was our last destination and after this we began our return journey through Volvo to Ahemdabad. This time it was more enjoyable as the movie was “Jane Tu Ya Jaane na”.
So I had a very good trip. I am back home planning for another trip. I wish I could spend all my time traveling but I know that will have to wait for some time at least till I convince my hubby for another trip.