Chittorgarh Fort

26-Oct-2023

 

गढ़ तो चित्तौड़गढ़ बाकी सब गढ़ैया ( Garh to chittorgarh baki sab gadhaiya) which loosely translates to "A fort is chittorgarh fort , everything else is a puddle"  was proven in our trip to Chittorgarh.

What mesmarises are the stories and the emotions that are attached to every monument in the fort.

While you might find many articles in the internet that will guide you about the itenary, I will try to pen down the emotions that ran through me when I visited these monuments.

Johar Sthal - The Place where Rani Padmavati along with the 16000 ladies performed Johar by diving into the fire. Were the barbarism so acute that a strong lady like Rani Padmavati decided to take this plunge? How brave they should have been to immolate themselves in the fire being alive? It did overwhelm me for some time.

You will see a peepal tree in that place, standing wide peacefully. It felt as if the tree had absorbed all the anguish and was standing wide as a a symbol of sacrifice.

Don't forget to explore the tunnel in the palace that connects to this site via the northern gate.

Vijay Sthamb - The monument that took 10 years to build to signify the win over Khilji. While 10 Years is too long for the pride to persist, it does surely make your heart swell as you watch the ~37 metre tall monument.

GouMukh Kund - An underground stream of crystal clear water flows from this small natural cave throughout the year. But it is also surprising where this water comes from.Serene and peaceful to watch.

Padmini Palace, a testament to the Raja's profound affection for his wife, stands amidst glistening waters, adorned with lovely lilies. It's a poignant symbol of enduring love.

Kalika Matha Temple, a divine sanctuary that bestowed blessings and fortitude upon the mighty Rajputs, holds its own spiritual significance and serenity.

Bhim Kund - It is believed that Bhima struck the ground here and gave rise to huge water reservoir.

Samidheshwar temple - Do not miss the Trimurthi , you will get confused on who is Vishnu and Maheshwar due to the snake.

Undoubtedly, these experiences within Chittorgarh Fort warrant every moment of your time!

 

Trip to Tirupati

30-06-08

The most interesting,wonderful,badly-planned,instant trip is the trip to Tirupati. I still can't believe myself that we finished the trip in a positive note although nothing was sure. Bus tickets,Darshana tickets, accommodation.. huh.. nothing was clear and sure. Yet we went and did whatever we wanted and now when i remember back those days, i feel those are the days which will never be forgotten.Yet I want to mark the memories in this blog.

It was 28th night, myself and shruthi were in the bus and as usual were too engrossed in chatting. Trip to tirupati was in our minds since long but it never materialised. We discussed about the trip but thought to postpone till we get good company.

After reaching the hostel, i started reading the book 'The fountainhead' and it was 9.00, I get a call from shru to come out and meet her. It scared me, so i just jumped and told her yes.
I went to meet her near the Internet cafe, and she says lets go to tirupati tomorrow. My reaction was 'Are you crazy..?'

She was adamant and I said OK and we decided we are going. She said she will convince chiru. Now We had to book tickets, accommodation and get darshana tickets.

First we rushed to the nearby cafe to check in net about the tickets. Then we realised, no money. Ah.. there was a 10 Rs note behind my mobile, i don even know when I had kept it. Browsed the net and called up the tirupati counter in Bangalore. he said no tickets are available and we mite have to go there and book it.

OK.. for the accommodation, I called my sister and asked her to arrange asking her in laws. She said she will try.

The next day chirag agreed and we had to book the tickets. Chirag did it online and I think we were the last one to get the tickets. My sister called up and told that the accommodation is not sure but she has couriered the coupon to me. We were too audacious so nothing would stop us. We said to ourselves "We are going".

We reached the bus stand at 5.00 and the bus was about to start at 6.00. But there was not a single hint about the bus till 7-7.30 I suppose.. some how boarded the bus and the journey started..

The adventures - in the next post.............

Trip to Hosuramma Devasthana

05-10-2008

Trip to Hosuramma Devasthana which is about 20-25 Min's drive from my home was a trip planned by my younger sister.
All of us, me my elder sis and the rest were together, so we thought to go out for a small trip. This family re union happens once or twice in a year. Sometimes the number increases if there are some special occasions.

It was a nice drive as the temple is amidst fields. And there is a story that the Deity of the place takes care of the fields over here. And the story behind is really interesting.

Nobody knows the age of the idol in the temple but the temple was built during the Vijayanagar era.
In one of the mythological stories, there is a reincarnation of Lord vishnu as Parashurama and he beheads his mother "Sadhvi Ellamma" as per his father's instructions. And it is said that the body of the sadhvi is the temple idol and the head part is teh idol in the famous "Sri Kshetra Huligi".
Every year there will be a rathotsavam where people come from all over karnataka.

My fathers profession asks him to spend most of his time in the sugarcane fields and the factory where the jaggery is made. S0 he knows most of the people around the temple.

After the darshana, we stayed in the temple for some time. My niece as usual would run around and this time it was my sis or my mom go behind and catch her.

On the way back home, we visited the fields, and the place where jaggery is made. And the people over there gave us the sugarcane coated with the thick juice(this is the intermediate state of juice to jaggery). It was just yummy.

Nice trip overall.

Trip to Kukke

13-09-2008

After having nice sleep in Dharmastala, we took a bus to reach kukke. By the time we reached it was 5.00 p.m.

Since they follow strict timings over there, we visited the Adi Subrahmanya temple first. It has the 'Hutta', which is worshipped with strong devoution.


After having the darshana, we visited the main temple, Sri Kukke Subrahmanya Temple. The darshana was really good. Everything happened without any difficulties. After the darshana, we watched the sangeeta kacheri in the temple premises. It was a nice experience.It was 8.00, and we left for the dinner. The queue was tooooooooooooooooooooo long. I mean it, but the time taken in each pankti was very less so it was not a long wait.


We had the dinner, and it started drizzling. But the moment we reached the bus stand, it started raining heavily. When I say heavily, i mean it.


Our bus was supposed to be at 10.00. But it was late, so we waited in the bus stand, watching the stala puraana in the TV kept near by. Yeah could not watch it completely because the shop owner used to switch off and re start all the time. Of course, it was his marketing trick.


We boarded the bus at 10.30 and reached Bangalore at 6.00.

We could not believe that we completed the journey in one day and everything went so smoothly. It was a great and nice experience.


Thanks to swapna for initiating the trip and making it memorable.

Trip to Dharmastala

13-09-08

'Hey I am planning to go to kukke!' muttered swapna my room mate during my college days. Its been years since we met or chatted. And when we chat, it usually lasts for longer time. When she revealed her plans, me; being a little too much obsessed with trips said 'Yes' instantly.

All this happened months back and i almost forgot about the chat. Last Sunday I got mail from her asking if i am ready, i replied back 'Yes I am!!' We planned to take our friends as well but both of them did not turn up and it was just me and swapna.

We started from Bangalore at 9.25 to Dharmastala. 'BichaDe hue dost' as they say, we chatted and chatted till 12.00 about our lives, what we were,what we are and what we mite be. I was happy to know that her curve was a rising curve form whatever she was when she left the hostel. Mine being a a sinusoidal with an average being a straight line parallel to X axis. Hmm after being exhausted with talking we slept off.

The worst part of the journey was the water trickling on my head, it was raining outside and I was seated near the window, whenever there was a jerk, water used to trickle on my head. So the conclusion is I did not sleep thru the journey although we boarded the Rajahamsa Executive bus.

We landed at Dharmastala at 6.30 and went in search for a place to stay. Almost all the lodges maintained by the temple committee were booked. We were under the impression that there will not be much rush since it is not the peak season but even then almost all the rooms were booked. But the search did not go in vain, we did get a room in 'Saketha' and were handed a key with the # 188.

The room was pretty good with the attached bathroom, beds and spacious as well. It was comfortable and i think 50/- for all these facilities is really good deal. As soon as we settled in the room, swapna had a cosy sleep, in the mean time i got ready. By the time we were ready it was 9.00.

We went to the Netravati river from the room. The means of transport being an auto and the driver took a good 40/-. Later we realised that the place was very near and it would have had taken just 2/- per person if we had taken the bus. :(. Alas People really have made the place dirty :(

And then we stood in the queue for the Manjunatha Swamy darshan, it took almost 45 minutes for us to get the darshan. But yes standing in the queue was fruitful, we got the moola linga darshana with abhisheka and the maha mangalarati darshana as well. The place is really awesome.

We took the prasada, and now i had started feeling little hungry, so had prasad and we headed to surya.

We took the bus to ujire and then a van to surya. It was drizzling already, but it was fun. We had the darshana of rudra sadashiva devaru and then there was place called harake kaTTe.We found out that a person can ask for a harake and if it gets fulfilled he has to come back and give a clay model to the God. For example if a student has a harake to get passed in the exam and if it happens, he has to give a clay note book to the God. There was a huge pile of the clay models over there.The place had a pool and the water was in strange blue colour. It looked awesome..

Then we were back to Dharmastala, had lunch over there. Then we headed to bahubali beTTa, took some snaps, rested for some time and then back to the room.

We were damn tired, had nice sleep for 2 hrs and then journey to kukke......