Mumbai to Muraura by Car - Day 4

Day 4 (25^th March)

            Bheda Ghat is around 20 Kms from Jabalpur and is famous for the marble rocks through which the River Narmada flows. We left the hotel at 07:15 and were at Bheda Ghat by 08:00. The first sight which greets you is the mighty waterfall (called Dhuandhar Falls) created by the cascading waters of Narmada. The sheer drop, the volume and the speed of water turn it into a frothy white, immersed in a shroud of luminescent fog. It is a mesmerising and captivating sight. After soaking in the sight and taking photographs, we left for the marble rocks which are barely a kilometre or so away.

            The turbulent and cascading Narmada suddenly transforms itself into a genteel river with hardly a ripple, as it flows majestically through the gigantic marble rocks. The beauty of the river flowing through the marble rocks can be truly experienced only through a boat ride, so we dutifully went for a boat ride through the marble rocks. If any of you happen to visit Jabalpur do go to Bheda Ghat and take the boat ride. It is a once in a life time experience.

Nugget of wisdom : Entreat, cajole, weep, whine, pay, bribe – in a nutshell do whatever, but always take an engine propelled boat. The oar propelled boats can only negotiate half the distance.

            Ours was an engine propelled boat, so we went to the farthest point possible and sniggered at the misfortune of those who had to return without being able to see the natural beauty of the gigantic white marble rocks towering on both sides of the stream. The marble rocks are a geological wonder of sorts as the Narmada flows through them only for about 5 Kms out of its hundreds of Kms long journey.

            The boatmen are an entertaining bunch of characters and one of them kept us regaled with some real, but mostly invented tales. Pointing to a patch of pink marble, with a dead pan face, he announced, “यहाँ रेखा लाल साड़ी पहन कर नहायी थी, film प्राण जाए पर वचन ना जाए में ... नहाने के बाद उसने इतनी जोर से अपनी साड़ी को धोया कि white marble, pink बन गया."  

            After the boat ride and the almost mandatory purchase of marble artefacts, we went to a lovely little motel situated at Bheda Ghat for breakfast. Called Motel Marble Rocks, it is run by the MP Tourism Devt. Corp.  The motel was well maintained, clean and the balconies attached to the rooms gave a magnificent view of the majestic Narmada flowing through the marble rocks. Oh, how we wished we had stayed here itself rather than at Jabalpur! May be we will, during some other excursion.

            Breakfast over, we drove back to Jabalpur and had to drive through the city for our  onward drive to Kanha National Park.

Jabalpur to Kanha National Park

Route as planned through Google Map

Jabalpur – Lakhnadon – Keolari – Nainpur – Bamhani – Kanha (distance 260 Km)

Route we finally took

Jabalpur – Jabalpur Cantt – Mandla – Kanha (distance 150 Km)

            Rituraj had painstakingly charted the route after much ado on the internet, only to be told that there is a much better and shorter route available!!! Also Google Map shows Kanha National Park at an entirely different spot, so if one blindly follows google (which many of us do) one would probably reach a jungle which is not the national park!! 
Nugget of wisdom : Do not trust technology too much and do not feel shy in asking for directions.

            Traffic in Jabalpur (as in all towns and cities) is mad. It was quite an effort to get out of the city, but eventually we did and were on the road to Kanha. Rituraj’s (he is a keen wild life enthusiast) fervour seemed to have rubbed off on Jenny. Hitherto not a great one for wild life, even she was keen to reach Kanha quickly.

            There was a lurking apprehension in our hearts though. We had heard that curfew had been imposed in Mandla due to some violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims the previous night. Bravehearts that we are, we drove on nonetheless!

            The drive from Jabalpur to Mandla was beautiful – full of hills, ghats and forests. The traffic was minimal and as the road was fairly good we made pretty good time. We kept looking for signs of normalcy in the oncoming traffic to reassure ourselves. Our confidence levels really rose when the cops at a check post allowed us to proceed even after being told that we were going to Kanha via Mandla. As we found out later, the route to Kanha skirted the town of Mandla and was not curfew bound. We thanked our stars and drove on.

            We had by now switched off the GPS and had shredded the route chart made by Rituraj and had fallen back to the ancient wisdom of asking for road directions from street vendors, fuel pump attendants and sundry villagers. And a pretty smart move it proved to be indeed; the gateway to Kanha National Park is from a place called Khatia from where you drive to the Kisli gate to enter the core area of the national park. Kanha is a village which is far away from these gates!!

Nugget of wisdom : If you drive to Kanha from Mandla (none of you are ever going to, we know) ask for directions to Khatia and NOT Kanha. Or better still hire a taxi and relax.

            A minor misadventure notwithstanding (we took a wrong turn in between but realised the folly within a kilometre or two and promptly reversed), we were at Khatia by 14:00 hrs. Khatia is a small, nondescript village; but is now dotted with hotels and resorts which have sprung there due to the lure of the Royal Bengal Tiger; of which only 1411 are left as per Aircel and Dhoni et al. Kanha is supposed to have one of the highest concentrations of the same and is a favourite haunt of tiger enthusiasts, specially foreigners. That explained the multitude of hotels and resorts.

            MP Police has a Police Officers’ Mess right at Khatia, which is where we were going to stay. Incredibly the building next to the Officers’ Mess sported a board proclaiming it to be a Guest House of the Railways; but there is no railway line for miles together!!! If you are visiting Kanha then do use all your ingenuity to find if you have some relative high up in the police or the railways!!!

            Car parked, luggage unloaded and a cup of tea later, we enquired regarding the timings  and were told that the gates open at 15:00; but that no private vehicles are allowed and only Gypsies registered with the forest deptt are allowed within. So promptly Rituraj got a Gypsy organised and asked the driver to come at 15:30. The perspicacious amongst you may have noticed that there is no mention of lunch (actually you had not, which means you are not perspicacious enough!!!) We were abjuring lunch in the dhabas!!!

            While waiting for the Gypsy we took out the camera (put in a fresh battery), binoculars, caps and were now fully armed so to say. The gypsies are all painted jungle green and have been modified to have two rows of seats behind the driver and have no hoods. Armed with the jungle visiting armour mentioned earlier and a couple of bottles of chilled water, thoughtfully given by the waiter in the Mess, we were soon at the Khatia gate. There were quite a few gypsies like ours waiting for the minor paperwork to be be completed and most of them were occupied by white skinned (actually red skinned because of the heat) foreigners. The first gate negotiated, we were into the peripheral area adjoining the core area and as we drove on towards Kisli the driver switched off his horn because honking is prohibited in the core area. A few minutes later a board proclaimed that we were now in the core area and like avid tourists we immediately started scanning the jungle for wildlife. However, the only wildlife we saw were the common langurs (black faced monkeys)!!! We passed a board showing directions to the Baghira Log Huts and were told that this is the only hotel/resort within the core area and is run by the MP Tourism. May be, we will stay here the next time. 

            Soon we saw a wooden barrier with a row of gypsies and we knew that this was the Kisli gate. Some more paperwork and allocation of a guide later (yes it is mandatory to take a forest dept appointed guide along) the wooden barrier swung open for us and we were in Kanha National Park. No tarred roads now, only dusty mud tracks. And soon we were covered with red dust churned by the gypsies preceding us.

Nugget of wisdom : Always wear a cap and carry a spare towel or two while going into the National Park; also carry some rags to wrap around the camera & binoculars.

Our eyes were hungrily scanning the forest for wildlife. Not for long though. We soon started spotting Spotted Deer (Chital), Sambhar, Monkeys and Barking Deer. For the uninitiated : Spotted Deer, Sambhar and Barking Deer are all part of the same genus and along with Monkeys and Wild Boar are the best prey for the tiger.

The gypsy driver asked if he should take us on the routes having the highest probability of sighting the tiger. Rituraj told him not to bother too much, as sighting the tiger is purely a matter of chance and that if luck favours us we would sight a tiger. Jenny, however, was really keen on sighting a tiger and wanted to go on the routes where the chances of such sighting were the highest but she kept quiet.

The dust was overpowering by now and soon we were telling the driver to take routes with less dust, which meant lesser gypsies, which in turn meant lesser chances of sighting the tiger!! As we roamed in the jungle, the camera was kept busy with Rituraj clicking photographs by the dozen.

Suddenly the driver said “साहब, आगे Tiger है" and as we eagerly peered into the thick foliage of dried grass he pointed to about 10 gypsies standing in a row some distance away. Our hearts were beating fast as we joined the other stationary gypsies. Every occupant of the gypsies was standing and looking to their left. Some were wildly gesticulating, some were peering through binoculars and some through the monstrous camera lenses towards a thicket a trees about 150 meters away.

We dutifully joined in, and started peering through squinted eyes towards the same spot, but all we could see was dried grass and trees. No tiger. Our driver was by now standing up and suddenly he said “वहाँ , उस पेड़ के नीचे.” The scene which followed is reproduced below without paraphrasing to retain the full flavour :

Jenny : “कहाँ? कहाँ? किधर? कौन सा पेड़?”

Driver : “ वह जो बड़ा सा पेड़ है, मेरे हाथ के सामने.”

Jenny : “अरे, कौन सा पेड़ ... वहाँ तो कई पेड़ हैं.”

Driver : “वह जो बड़ा पेड़ है, इस छोटे पेड़ के ठीक पीछे ... उसी के बगल में  टाइगर लेटा हुआ है.”

Rituraj : (Grumbling) “कोई टाइगर नज़र तो नहीं आ रहा है ... किस पेड़ की बात कर रहे हैं आप?”

Driver & Guide together : “सर, वह जो बड़ा सा पेड़ है ... इस छोटे पेड़ के पीछे.”

Rituraj : (Almost annoyed) “अरे, यहाँ तो पेड़ ही पेड़ हैं ..."

Jenny : (Peering intently in the meanwhile) : “मुझे तो कोई टाइगर नज़र नहीं आ रहा है.”

Driver : “मैडम, दूरबीन से देखिये.”

Jenny : (Practically jumping with joy and gleefully removing the lens caps of the binocular) “अरे हाँ हमलोगों के पास तो binoculars है ... मैं तो भूल ही गयी थी.”

Jenny : (After a few seconds of scanning through the binocular) “ अरे, अरे, टाइगर!! सच में टाइगर है ... मुझे बिल्कुल clearly दीख रहा है  ... wow what a sight ... एकदम साफ़ साफ़ दिखाई दे रहा है ... क्या आराम से लेटा हुआ है ! Absolutely majestic”

Rituraj : (Mournfully looking askance with eyes squinted to the maximum and grumbling in low tones) “पता नहीं टाइगर सचमुच है, या यूं ही बेवक़ूफ़ बना रहे हैं ये लोग.”

Jenny : (Still peering through the binocular) : “WOW … it is shaking its head now … अरे, अरे, पूंछ हिला रहा है वह.” To Rituraj “See through the binocular … it is absolutely clear.”

Rituraj : (Still not able to determine which tree): “कौन सा पेड़?”

Jenny : “वह जो बड़ा सा पेड़ है ना ... (pointing with her finger) … बिल्कुल मेरी उंगली कि सीध में ... उसके बगल में देखो.”

Rituraj: (After looking through the binocular for a few moments) : “ मुझे तो कोई टाइगर - वाईगर नहीं दीख रहा है.”

Jenny: “अरे, उस पेड़ के नीचे देखो ... वो वाला पेड़ ... वो वाला ...”

Rituraj: (After struggling for some more time) : “Jenny, कौन से पेड़ की बात कर रही हो?”

Jenny: “देखो ... यह छोटा पेड़ है ना ... उसके पीछे ... थोड़ी दूर पर कई पेड़ हैं ... उनमें जो सबसे बड़ा पेड़ है उसीके नीचे लेटा हुआ है ... तुमको binocular से भी नहीं दीख रहा है ... I can see it clearly even without the binocular”

Rituraj: (Looking lost and totally frustrated) : “Let me try”

Rituraj: (After a few moments) : “ YES … OH YES … I can see it now!!!”

Jenny : “दीखा? दीखा? कितना majestically लेटा हुआ है ना ... binocular मुझे दो तो.”

Rituraj : (Looking elated as if he had won the battle of Waterloo and giving the binocular back to Jenny) : “Let me see if I can see through the camera or not”

Jenny : (Now remembering that we also had a camera) : “Rituraj, फोटो लो ... फोटो लो ... फोटो ...”

Rituraj : (Looking through the camera with maximum zoom) : “ फोटो आयेगी नहीं .”

Jenny : (Still excitedly peering through the binocular) : “ अरे फोटो लो ... देखा जाएगा  ... अरे tiger है, tiger ... zoom करके तो दीखेगा ”

            

Dear readers, this is how we saw the tiger for the first time in Kanha, and these are the pictures. Can you spot the tiger???

From 10)Kanha Spot the Tiger

From 10)Kanha Spot the Tiger

By now the number of gypsies had swelled to about 25. If the collective wish of 100 plus souls had any power, the tiger would have got up and moved. Obviously, however, the collective wishes do not have persuasive powers; and the tiger kept sitting nonchalantly and swatting flies with its tail. Yet, no gypsy moved … such was the mesmerising effect of the tiger. Everybody waited. The collective prayers would surely have created a din in Heaven; yet the tiger did not move. Not even when a herd of Sambhar and some spotted deer sauntered very close to it.

After waiting futilely, without being obliged by the tiger, we decided to move on. The driver and the guide tried to coax us into staying put like the others, but Rituraj was convinced that the tiger was not going to move in a hurry. So, we left the multitude of stationary gypsies and the equally stationary tiger behind and drove further on.

As the sun rays weakened, the shadows lengthened and the atmosphere cooled down a bit, there was a surfeit of Spotted Deer, Sambhar, Peacocks, Monkeys etc. which started coming out of the shadows to graze. We also saw a full grown Wild Boar but it was so intent on foraging in the grass that we could not see the tusk.

All vehicles entering the core area have to be back by 18:30. As we approached Kisli gate our guide spotted a herd of Gaur (Bison) grazing at a distance. They were pretty far away though, so we moved on and were out of Kisli gate a few minutes before the deadline. As we drove towards the Khatia gate we chanced upon a herd of bison right next to the road. Led by a mammoth bull bison the herd consisted of females, young adults and calves. We had seen lots of bison in the Betla National Park near Ranchi but never at this close a range. A full grown bison with its gigantic strength and sharp horns can even challenge a tiger and a single tiger will rarely try to take a bison on.

Very happy and satisfied we came back to the Mess. A hot cup of tea and a refreshing bath later we just relaxed. Rituraj worshipped his new found deity (the liquor consuming Kaal Bhairav) as we chatted about the tiger and the myriad other animals we had seen. Dinner was served promptly at 21:00 and it was a simple but tasty and wholesome spread. Hungry we surely were; and after a good meal we promptly went off to sleep for tomorrow we were to leave for the forest at 05:30 in the morning.

Mumbai to Muraura by Car - Day 3

The plan was to leave for Sanchi at 07:00. Like disciplined tourists we stuck to our schedule and were at Sanchi by 08:00.

            Sanchi is famous for the Stupas constructed by King Ashoka. The Archaeological Survey of India has done a great job in resurrecting and maintaining the age old Stupas. For a detailed tour of Buddhist ruins you are welcome to our village (no charges apply).

We spent around one hour at Sanchi and were back to Bhopal by 10:00. Car cleaning, stocking up on water and breakfast of toast and omelette taken care of, we were ready to leave for Jabalpur by 11:00.

Bhopal to Jabalpur

Route

Bhopal – Obaidullaganj – Bari – Udaipura – Shahpura – Jabalpur

            The approx. 250 Km drive from Bhopal to Jabalpur was fairly uneventful though gradually the landscape turned hilly and more picturesque. The trees wore a barren look after shedding their leaves, but there was a stretch where we saw lots of trees (don’t know which) which were laden with yellow green flowers even though they did not have a single leaf.

We did not risk having another terrible lunch in a dhaba and munched on chips and cookies etc. while driving. By and by we reached Jabalpur at 17:00 and were at the Narmada Jacksons hotel by 18:00 (the mandatory one hour search!) where arrangements for our stay had been organised. The hotel is part of a chain of hotels across India owned jointly by ITC and the Maharaja of Jodhpur. It has been in existence since British days when it was known as Jacksons Hotel.

            As we had not had lunch our stomachs were grumbling, so we had an early dinner of some delicious Chapli Kabab, Tandoori Chicken, Dal & Roti and after finalising the details of visiting Bheda Ghat early the next morning went off to sleep in the cool confines of our room. The plan was to pack up and leave the hotel at 07:00 the next day, visit Bheda Ghat and drive on to Kanha National Park.

Mumbai to Muraura by Car - Day 2

            The plan was to visit a few more temples in the morning. There is a temple called the “Kaal Bhairav” temple where the deity is offered liquor. Rituraj decided that he just had to offer liquor to this great God. So we went there, bought a small bottle of liquor, which along with other offerings is sold right outside the temple and dutifully offered it to the deity. The priest poured the liquor in a plate and placed it against the open lips of the deity who seemed to hungrily gulp it down. We were told that the deity has been “drinking” for hundreds of years and no one seems to know where the countless gallons of liquor has gone!!! Rituraj was mighty thrilled with the liquor drinking deity and promptly proclaimed that he shall worship this deity by imbibing some liquor every evening (which he is dutifully doing too).

            Ujjain also has a temple dedicated to “Mangal” (Mars), as it is supposed to have been the birth place of the planet. It is said that this is the only place where people born “Manglik” can get rid of the ill effects caused by the angry planet. We wondered as to why Aishwarya Rai did not offer prayers here rather than getting married to a tree before her actual marriage to Abhishek!!! Or maybe she did. These stars can do crazy things!

            Lord Krishna is also associated with Ujjain.  He is supposed to have studied along with Sudama at the Ashram of Guru Sandipani. Ujjain also has a solar observatory like Delhi’s Jantar Mantar built by Sawai Jai Singh and is still functional.

            To cut a long story short Ujjain is a historical and holy city and in case someone is religiously inclined, he can spend quite some time just visiting the various temples and earn eternal salvation. Ujjain is most famous, however, due to its association with Shiva – the Destroyer. For a detailed discourse on Shiva seek a prior appointment with Rituraj (charges shall apply).

            Temple trotting was over by 10:00 hrs and by now our stomachs were angrily growling in protest, so we went to the city and had a hearty breakfast of Chhole Bhature. This was in an area called “Freeganj”. During the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi had appealed to the Scindias of Gwalior (yes the very same) for help against the British. However, the Scindias had demurred, aligned as they were with the British. Consequently, in the immediate aftermath, they were shunned by the Indians. Apparently, the capital of the Sindhias used to be Ujjain before being shifted to Gwalior later on. The then Maharaja had built a huge clock tower in Ujjain, but the stigma was strong and it was ignored. In order to make the clock tower the centre of attraction and to remove the stigma the Maharaja offered land to all and sundry free of cost around the tower. That is how “Freeganj” came into existence!! Today, however, it is one of the most sought after localities of Ujjain. The 150 year old munificence has turned the present generation into multi-millionaires.

            Fortified by this amusing anecdote and the hot and tasty Chhole Bhature, the road to Bhopal beckoned.

Ujjain to Bhopal (23rd March, 2010)

Route

Ujjain – Dewas – Ashta – Sehore – Bhopal

            We finally left Ujjain at 11:00 hrs for the approximately 200 Kms journey to Bhopal. Apprehensive of the road conditions we mentally prepared ourselves for another arduous journey with a disastrous lunch thrown in.

            However, the road was amazing. Despite being only a State Highway it was four laned and as good as the best four lane National Highways. And there was practically no traffic. The drive, therefore, was a breeze. And the surprise did not end with the road either. Near a small hamlet called Dodi we found a lovely Motel (Highway Retreat) run by the MP Tourism. Unfortunately we were not hungry as yet, but we stopped and had a quick cup of tea.

            Nugget of wisdom : While planning a drive do not be enamoured only with national highways. Take local advice. It is worth much more than the effort.

            The road continued to beat all expectations and we were in the IPS Officers’ Mess, Bhopal by 14:30 hrs notwithstanding the mandatory one hour search!!

            Bhopal is famous for its mosques, old palaces, havelis, the Nawabs (Nawab Pataudi and his son Saif Ali Khan belong to Bhopal) and the two huge lakes located bang within the city. We were now going to behave like avid tourists and so by 17:00 we were on the streets of Bhopal soaking in the sights. Our guide was a talkative police inspector who took us to some really vantage points, and we could view the lakes and the city in all its evening splendour.

Bhopal also has the distinction of having the largest mosque in Asia (and the third largest in the world) which can seat 1,16,000 people at a time. We did visit the Mosque called Taj-ul-Masajid (it is actually called Masajid rather than Masjid) but did not go really within the building fearing objections to a jeans clad Jenny being seen in a Mosque!! The crowning glory of our sight seeing was from atop a hillock, where a Birla Mandir (Birlas have constructed temples all over the country) is situated. No we did not go to the temple but could see the lights of Bhopal from this vantage point. This is a must see for anyone who ever visits Bhopal.

            It was 20:00 by now and the tourist in us was quite satiated by the sights. Our stomachs were to be satiated soon hereafter. Rishi Shukla and his genial wife hosted us to a wholesome Chinese dinner as we finalised plans to visit Sanchi in the morning.

            Back in the Officers’ Mess we saw a beautifully lit up temple across the lake, its reflection shimmering in the still waters. The photographer in Rituraj was awakened immediately. However, the results of this nocturnal adventure are not very promising, partly because he is not a great photographer anyway and partly due to the effects of rum sloshing in his stomach!!!

Mumbai to Muraura by Car - Day 1

The journey from Muraura to Mumbai had remained confined to driving, resting at night and more driving. For the return journey, though, we wanted to explore the magnificent Madhya Pradesh. We researched on the internet, spent countless hours on google, read umpteen tourist brochures and charted a tentative route. Rishi Shukla derisively laughed and consigned it to the dustbin in a jiffy! He then charted an entirely new route in a couple of minutes!!

Day 1 (22^nd March)

Route

Mumbai – Thane – Bihwandi – Nashik – Dhule – Indore – Ujjain

            Left Ketaki’s flat in Andheri at 04:00 and were able to get out of Mumbai in double quick time. Jenny had packed some sandwiches, chips & cookies, which we ate while driving. As the morning sun rose from behind the hills before Nashik we had happily covered almost 150 Kms. We crossed a somnolent Nashik and thereafter stopped for a cup of tea, and for buying grapes and raisins being sold in copious quantities along the road.

            After Dhule the road became 2 laned and the road conditions remained barely satisfactory. As the day progressed the sun became scorching and for miles upon miles we just saw a sun tortured, desolate landscape while we crossed some small towns and hamlets. The monotony was occasionally broken by hills and some very steep ghats. Indeed, one particular ghat was so steep that trucks laden with various merchandise were barely crawling – their engines groaning. Infact, one monstrous multi axle trailer laden with heavy machinery had to repeatedly stop. And there were policemen to regulate the movement in the ghat! But despite the steep slopes there were temples in the hills. Throughout our journey we had been noticing temples atop hills & hillocks. It is not easy after all to accommodate 33 crore deities of the Hindu pantheon in the plains itself. If you come across a hill, can a temple be far away!!

            We were constantly on the look out for a good dhaba to have lunch but that was not to be and the dhaba we finally stopped at gave us insipid, salt less dal and chicken!!! When Jenny pointed it out, they even had the temerity to justify it by saying that they put less salt on purpose!! May be the owner, the cook or both were patients of High Blood Pressure. Anyway, we were almost convinced that lunch in dhabas was going to be a uniform disaster throughout our journey.

Nugget of wisdom : Carry chips, cookies, murkku, chocolates etc. to munch on during a long drive. You will be able to manage the pangs of hunger reasonably well.

            After an uneventful journey we crossed Indore and proceeded towards Ujjain. Our GPS (yes we had bought one at Mumbai) played a trick on us and took us to Ujjain through a village route which probably had been a road once upon a time. Right now it was a Herculean effort to make out where the fields ended and the road began and the gigantic craters taxed the car and the driver both. So much for the advancement of science and technology!!!

            We finally reached Ujjain after switching off the GPS and asking for directions in the time tested manner. After the mandatory one hour search for the place of stay, we finally were in the the Police Officers’ Mess at around 18:30 hrs after a drive of about 630 Kms.

            Situated on the banks of River Kshipra, Ujjain is a huge centre of pilgrimage for the Hindus and is dotted with temples. It is also one of the four places in the country which has a “Kumbh Mela” (the other three being Allahabad, Haridwar and Nashik). For detailed information on why Kumbh is organised only at these four places and as to why it is called “Kumbh” seek a prior appointment with Rituraj (charges may apply).

Ujjain has 84 different temples of Shiva himself, the most famous being the “Maha Kaal” temple to signify that He is Eternal and timeless.  Maha Kaal or Maha Kaaleshwar is also a “Jyotirlinga”. Temples of Shiva are dotted all over the country but the twelve most powerful ones are called “Jyotirlinga”. 

If we hurried we could see the evening “Shringar” of Maha Kaal, we were told. So we hurried. Unlike most other temples the Maha Kaal temple is extremely clean, well kept and neat and the crowd of devotees was well behaved and orderly. Soon we were in the Sanctum Sanctorum and were paying our obeisance to Maha Kaal. The idol had been beautifully decorated and fully covered with “Bhang”. “Bhang” is one of the products of the plant Cannabis Indica and has remained associated with Shiva since time immemorial.

Sceptical about Rituraj’s likely behaviour in a temple, Jenny was amazed to see him observing and performing the rituals like a true believer. This being only the second time in her 28 year old married life that she was seeing her husband enter a temple, the amazement was pretty justified. When she later quizzed Rituraj, his reply was, “I just felt like it”. Probably “Maha Kaaleshwar” had silently motivated him or had made the agnostic in him dormant for the time being!!

Ujjain also has a temple dedicated to the Goddess Kali in one of her avatars called the “Harsidhi Temple” (Har=Shiva; Sidhi=to fulfil the wish of). Two gigantic “Deep Stambhs” (Deep=Lamp; Stambh=Tower) catch your eye the moment you step inside the precincts. These are supposed to have been constructed by King Vikramaditya whose seat of power was Ujjain, by the way. The towers were dazzling in the light of the oil lamps. We were told that lighting of the lamps is the prerogative of a particular family only and they climb up the oil smeared pillars without the aid of any ladder or other external aid. That none of them have ever met with an accident is either a tribute to their dexterity or the blessings of the Goddess (choose whichever suits your fancy). Today being ”Ashtami” the beautifully decorated temple was thronging with devotees. We (yes, Rituraj once again rose to the occasion, so to say) performed a quick puja, rued the fact that we did not have the camera to take pics of the ”Deep Stambhs”, dutifully collected the “Prasad” and left.

Back in the Officers’ Mess we had a simple but extremely tasty dinner and retired for the night. It had been a long day indeed.  

Muraura to Mumbai by car - Day 4

Day 4 (6^th March)

Route

Nashik – Igatpuri – Bhiwandi – Thane – Mumbai

Last evening, Ketaki had conveyed the dampening news that, despite the weekend, she would be attending a workshop. And we did not have spare keys of her flat. It seemed we would have to delay our departure from Nashik. Rituraj, however, wanted to leave early to avoid peak traffic. Thanks to his in-laws, he could!  Jerome (Jenny’s brother) and his family live in Thane. A quick phone call to Jerome and we were able to stick to our schedule of leaving early in the morning.

As compared to Nagpur, the streets of Nashik were not completely deserted at 05:15 hrs. Good for us, for we needed directions to the highway. A couple of helpful morning walkers solved that problem and by 05:30 we were on the highway, cruising towards Mumbai.

            As dawn gradually emerged through the shackles of darkness, we negotiated a beautiful stretch of ghats. The scenic beauty of the ghats and the smooth curves of the superb road, translated into a very pleasurable drive. This pristine beauty was, however, soon to be lost in the early morning smog suspended over the industrial belt of Bhiwandi. We were approaching Mumbai!  

            Thanks to the early start from Nashik, we managed to beat the rush hour traffic and reached Hiranandani Estate, Thane by 08:00. Jerome was not a home but Shobha (his wife) welcomed us with a warm smile, a hot cup of tea and mouth watering dosas. She would also end up cooking lunch for us!

            We finally left for Andheri at 16:30 hrs. Despite the detailed directions given by Jerome, we promptly lost our way in the maze of Mumbai traffic and it was only after seeking directions from a host of auto drivers and policemen that we managed to reach Ketaki’s place around 18:00 hrs.

             Muraura to Mumbai had been successfully completed after covering 2048 kms.