Weekend travel in the lap of Nature

Weekend travel in the lap of Nature

It was saturday night, when during our dinner we decided to take this sunday off from all of our works and spent whole day in the company of the nature beside our family members. It was not new for us as it is a set trend of our family that after a whole day of our regular works we all come together for dinner and not only exchange notes about our work but also disscuss our future plans. As it was decided we left the Kolhapur city before the clock corsses 7am. We were heading towards the Amba Ghat, a hilly destination at about 65km from our residence. It took almost over than one hour to reach there and feast of looking at natural beauty was infort of us with the breakfast. It was a marvellous exprience to have tea sips being coverd with clouds. Stairing to valley with green top from a high altitude Ghat road was not only refreshing for eyes but also was adding calm to minds. The magical effect of the place will reflect from the fact that it took almost one hour for our walk on spirial ghat roads to cover a distence of about 3km, before we decided to go through the rest of about 10km of Ghat by vehicles. Now we are heading towards the Ganpatipule, Swambhoo Temple of Lord Ganesha at sea shore. Almost a two hours driving in the lap of nature was sufficient to take us at one of the most famous temple of Maharashtra. After having Darshan it was time for the sea bath, though it is dangrous to go to sea at Ganpatipule but as usual no visitor comes over the temptation of going in. We all were there under the speeding white, though not far away from the shore but being with family members it was a pleasent play and memorable exprience for all of us, specially when the waves are going high with our shouts "Flood came! Flood Came". After a refreshing bath it was turn of delicious lunch, prepared in Malvani [Kokani] style, minimum use of spices with high coconut contents. "Sole curry" and "Malvani Chicken" were realy mouth watering and tasty. As it was just over 3:00 pm when we finished our lunch so instead of returning back to Kolhapur, We decided to go Jaygad Fort, a seventeenth century monument,constructed by King Shivaji , situated at about 30km from the Ganpatipule. It was a never forget exprience to drive on the sea side road and stairing at natural beauty, the whole one hour that we drive and stoped here and there the hot topic of our discussion was, if goverenment give a slight attention towards the Kokan tourism developement, these beautiful and unexplored sea shore will leave Goa sea shores miles and miles behind. As we reached Jaygad fort it was just as of dropping water on the burning coals, the situation of this reserved monument was a real pity, though it is situated just opposit to Jaygad police station but there was no one to look after the fort which is almost in the ruin status. The view of sea from top of the fort was one to go in and remains in the memmory for a longer time, with heavy hearts we turned to the Jaygad port just one Km from the fort. The narrow bay has not only filled our hearts with its scenic beauty but also assured the bright future of our country, we are heading towards.After having tea and snacks it was all the way journey back but it was once again the late evening beauty of Amba Ghat delayed our reaching back kolhapur by almost one hour.

My Related Writtings
Maharashtra Tourism
Kokan Tourism

Nag Panchami A day with venomous cobras

Nag Panchami A day with venomous cobras

India a land of miracles and faith in worship, an aspirant to the students of spirituality and religious rituals. Here you may find that every sunrise comes with a festival, a specific reason to celebrate the day, hence the phrase “Land of Festivals” is correctly used with the context of India. India is only country where you can find a worship celebration related not only to God and Goddess but also to plants and rivers.

The fifth day of bright fortnight of Shravan month [July-August] is celebrated as “Nag Panchami” through out the India, though celebration in south are at high notes in comparison of north India. The Indus Valley civilisation of 3000 B.C. gives ample proof of the popularity of snake-worship amongst the Nagas, whose culture was fairly wide-spread in India, according to Puranas some of the famous Naga Kings are Anant, Vasuki, Shesh, Padma, Kanwal, Karkotak, Kalia, Aswatar, Takshak, Sankhpal, Dhritarashtra and Pingal. Sheshnag is the couch of the Lord Vishnu during the interim times of destroying of the universe and creating a new one. India is country of farmers and snakes are the friends of the farmer, as by eating rats, snakes are helpful in saving the food grains cultivated by the farmer. This is yet another evidence of wisdom of Hindu masters that this festival “Nag Panchami” celebration related with worship of snakes, is celebrated during the rainy season, when need of protection for snakes is at its top. Some of famous places for the celebration of this day are

Adiesha Temple in Andhra Pradesh

Nagaraja Temple in Kerala

Nagathamman Temple in Chennai

Hardevja Temple in Jaipur.

Nagdwar Temple Pachmadi, Madhyapradesh

I am going to share with you here about a place which is not so famous but where you can spends this day in the company of venomous cobras without any fear, you can find here numerous number of snakes moving freely in the courtyard of Gorakhnath temple without showing any intension of biting the human beings present there. This place, village “Battis-Shirala” is just about 50 km away from us, in the Sangli District of Maharashtra , nearly 400 km from the Mumbai. According to old aged, the roots of this celebration lie in, once Guru Gorakhnath was passing through this village, he saw that a woman was worshiping a clay snake idol, with the spiritual powers Guru Gorakhnath brought life to that cobra idol and ask woman to worship. Guru Gorakhnath told not to fear of the snakes; no human will die on this day due to snake bite. In the recent times people not only from the Sangli, Kolhapur, Pune and other districts of Maharashtra but a few foreign tourists are also visiting the place on this day to be witness of thousands of snakes moving freely. Some time back officials from the Chennai snake park visited and confirm that poison containing fangs of snakes are not removed even than it is amazing thing no one die due to snake bite.

The villagers start collecting the snakes about 8-10 days in advance and keep them in earthen pots and feed rats to snakes. The celebrations starts with early morning bath by the woman, who wear “Nav wari” , The traditional nine yard Maharashtarian Saree, and ornaments before the start of worship and offering of “Haldi coonkoon and Flowers”. All the earthen pots are taken to temple in procession, where after the religious rituals snakes are feeded with milk and honey. This is only place in world, where you can have a self photo, with the look of Lard Shiva, venomous cobra around your neck, without fear on this day.

Hindu Temples- Kashi Vishwanath

Hindu Temples- Kashi Vishwanath
"Kashi Karvat" it the faith of Hindus all over the world that one of dies in the city of Kashi will directly go to heaven, hence old age people come to the city for a stay till the death, this is known as the "Kashi Karvat." Kashi is also synonymous for the terminator of the universe Lord Shiva. The city is also have the fame of being first of tweleve "Jyotirlings" .Kashi now known as Varanasi and Vishavnath temple are the identification mark for each other. On the banks of holly river Ganga, is situated , temple of Lord Shiva " Vishavnath Temple" according to epic the original shiva Ling is lying hiden in the well of knowledge situated next to temple. The temple is open only to Hindus. Other religion followers are not allowed to enter the temple, though they can take an outside view of the temple. The building of temple has been constructed and destructed many times. The last known invasion was by Aurangzeb, who destroyed the temple heavily. He constructed a mosque, called Gyanwapi Mosque, in the same compound. The mosque shares same wall with the temple. In 1776, Maharani Ahilyabai of Indore, donated heavily to re-construct the buildings of temple. Maharaj Ranjit Singh of Lahore is said to have donated 1000 Kg of gold to construct the 16 mt high spire of the temple. Beside the Ayodhya's Ram Janam Bhoomi dispute about this land also comes to surface from time to time. the Dashashwamedh Ghat one of the most famous ghat got its name from the epic that When Lord Shiva decided to stay in the city , Brahama welcomed him by sending his 10 10 horses chariot. City and temple are true representative of the timeless cultural traditions and highest spiritual values.

Hindu, Temples - II

Kailash Temple,Ellora Caves

Among the prime tourist attraction of Maharashtra tourism one is Ellora caves. The nearest Air port is Aurangabad , vigrously growing city of the Maharashtra state. There are about 34 caves and the most famous one is kown as the Kailash Temple.It is believed that it was constructed under the guidance of King Krishna around 750 and about 200,000 tones of rock were used for the two story construction. This is probably the world's largest monolithic structure. Representing Shiva's Himalayan home, the temple is exquisitely sculpted and is considered as one of the most astonishing 'buildings' in the history of architecture. A crowning glory of the art, Kailash temple at Ellora is indeed unique. Instead of carving down into the face of a cliff and creating underground halls which had been the practice, the sculptors/architects set aside all convention and created a full temple, identical in every detail to a structural, 'built-up' example, by carving vertically down into the living rock. Along with Ajantha caves [situated near Jalgaon, the work place of present President of India, Pritibha Tai Patil and upcoming Metro of the state], Ellora caves were included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in the year 1983. Though the human interference is forcing deshaping of stone craved statues and clours but still the caves are worth to visit for a look in the history. Ellora caves are also part of Buddhism travel of India.

Jwalamukhi Temple

In India there is ample space for religious tourism. It is common faith that Hindus have 33 Karores of Devi and Devtasa.This huge number of Deities has added numerously in the number of temples in India. Among one of the 51 Shaktipeeths of India, the Jwalamukhi Devi Temple, tended by the followers of Goraknath, is set against a cliff. The picturesque temple, built in the Indo-Sikh style, is a modern building whose dome is of gilt, gold and pinnacles and possesses a beautiful folding door of silver plates, presented by the Sikh Raja Kharak Singh.
Dedicated to the "Goddess of Light", the Jwalamukhi temple is one of the most popular Hindu temples in Northern India. The temple located on a small spur on the Dharamshala-Shimla road at a distance of about 20-kms from the Jwalamukhi Road Railway Station attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year. In this temple there is a copper pipe through which natural gas comes out.
After Daksha Yoga Bhagna, Lord Shiva placed the burnt dead body of Sati on his shoulders and started wandering about in a state of madness. To save the world from the destructive wrath of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu started cutting the limbs of the dead Goddess Parvati one by one. The places where they fell became sacred centers for the worship of Shakti. The tongue of Sati fell at the place where the temple of Jwalamukhi is situated. The flames that come out of the openings in the earth?s surface are regarded as the manifestations of the fallen tongue of Sati and are worshipped as "Jwalamukhi Devi" (Goddess, who emits flames from her mouth).

This place is also famous for the natural beauty of mountains. Dharamshala is in the Kangada district of the Himachal Pradesh and have many attractions for the buddhists .Presence of oak and and conifer trees in the bacground of snow capped mountains give the feeling of Haven to tourist.

Abode of Lord Krishana : Jaganathpuri

Abode of Lord Krishana : Jaganathpuri

[World Famous Chariot Procession]

India, the piece of land from the globe, is most famous for the religious rituals and is known as the birth palce of many incarnations of the God. No other piece of land on earth can match the salvation properties hold by this land, the unique way of religious life style attracts millions and billions from other parts of the world towards India with a hopefull look of guiding them on the path of spirituality. On this land you will find every day and every walk of human life is related with one or other religious/spiritual ritual. Every socio religious celebration has a specific colobration with a particular God/ Goddess and is a step forward towards the salvation, the ultimate destination of human life. Some places of this land are have fame of being abode of God like Kailash is the abode of Lord Shiva, so is the Puri [Orissa] is the abode of Lord Krishna and is famous for "Rath Yatra" [Chariot Procession] This year this Rath Yatra is taking place on 16th July.
Puri or Jaganathpuri is famous as the city of temples some of famous temples of the city are:

Gundicha Temple

Astasambhu Temple

Astachandi Temple

Panchatirtha Temple

Loknath Temple

Chakratirtha Temple

Chakranarayan Temple

Daria Mahabir Temple

Ardhasani Temple

Siddha Mahavir Temple

Jameswara Temple

Alabukeswara Temple

Kapalamochana Temple / Manikarnika

Daksinakali Temple

Syamakali Temple

Dasavatara Temple

The Temple of Seven Mother Goddesses

Mausima Temple

A religious festival in a city with so many temples is just as the walk of day to day life hence visitors always get a chance to witness one or other socio religious celebration, but annual Rath Yatra has not only is specific in this arena but also attracts some milloins from all part of the country. Reports says that budget of this Rath Yatra goes over the US$ 10 millions as the preprations goes on through out the year, This Rath Yatra is specific in the way that chariots are pulled neither by animals nor the mechanical power but the devotees, which takes many hours to cover the distance of about 1.5 km from the Sinh Dwar [lion gate] of main temple to Janakpur, where Lord Krishna [Jagananth Ji] takes rest for three days and meet with Godess Laxmi [Godess of wealth] before returning back main temple. According to Sikand Puran the frist chariot for this journey was constructed by the Vishawkarma, the ever first architect and designer of human beings and modern chronologist dates writing of Puranas to the seventh century, it means this Rath Yatra is a centuries old tradition.

Hindu Temples

Ganpatiphule

Ganapatiphule is an important pligrimage centre. The temple of the 'Swayambhu Ganapati' is known for its unique idol of Lord Ganapati and its magnificient temple ('Swayambhu' or self originated, not manmade, 'Ganapati' or the lord of 'ganas' or army. 'Pule' or sand dune. That's how the name Ganapatiphule). The temple is 400 years old and is at the foot of a hillock. [Ratnagiri District Maharashtra State]

Guruvayoor Temple
Located 29 km north-west of Thrissur District in God's Own Kerala, Guruvayur is one of the most important pilgrimage centers of South India. Guruvayur is also called the Bhoolokavaikunta - the heaven on Earth! The square Sreekovil is the sacred sanctum Sanctorum of the temple, housing the main deity of Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Lord MahaVishnu.

Amarkantak: Pilgrimage in nature

Amarkantak: Pilgrimage in nature

India is the only country where rivers are worshiped, respected as mother and treated as the source of providing salvation. Among the Holly Rivers of India, river Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati are the front runners. It is said for attaining purification one has to take a dip in Ganga and make prayers on the banks of Yamuna [for seven days] and Saraswati [For three days], where as due to boon of Lord Shiva river Narmada’s only sight is capable of the same. The origin of this sacred river Narmada lies at Maical Mountain in the mountain series of Vindh and Satupuda at Amarkantak.

This area of Maical Mountain is, the natural habituate of dense forest of teak and Mahua trees at the height of 3500 feet, with four rivers in all four directions, river Sone [Shone] in east, river Narmada in west, river Mahanadi in south and river Jawalawati [Juhala] in the north. The music of many waterfalls present in the area and singing birds of these evergreen forests are producing the most wonderful natural concert that leaves the tourist spellbound.

In the Ramayan era this mountain Maical [Maikal] was known as the “Hriuksh Paravat” according to famous epics King Ravana enjoyed the vision of beauty of this place from his aero plan “Pushpak”. In the Mahabharat era King Yudhistar visited mountain to worship Maha Muni Markandey in his aashram. Origin of the river Narmada is near this Aashram. Almost about 2,500 years of Mahabharat Adiguru Shankaracharya came to this place, in search of spiritual master at that time river Narmada was under the influence of floods which was about to disturb meditation of Swami Govindpad, Aacharya with the help of his kamandal constructed “Narmada Ashtak” to control the flood and after getting the guidance of spirituality from swami ji established “Shivlinga” there, which is at present is known as “Pataleshwar Mahadev”. Temples here are constructed from the black stones and are unique in architect though at some places a thinner similarity with the world heritage site Ellora caves is visible. Some of the places from the area which holds tourist attraction are

1.Narmada Mandir (group of temples) : Narmdeshwar temple which has a holy kund made at the source of river Narmada is the most important temple at Amarkantak. There are about twenty small temples in the premises of the Narmada Mandir each one of which is important in its own way. There is the Sati temple, which is, devoted to Parvati. The protected site of the ASI is close to the main Narmada temple.
2. Mai Ka Bagiya : About one Km. from the main temple, there is a garden, which lies in a densely forested area. It is popularly believed that the Narmada devi used to pluck flowers in this garden.
3. Sonmuda : The point of origin of the Sone river. It is also a “sunrise” point.
4. Bhrigumandal: It is around 3 Kms. from Amarkantak on a difficult forest trek route. It is believed that Bhrigu Rishi meditated here. The Parasvinayak and Chandi caves are on this route.
5. Kabir Chabutra: Saint Kabir spent time here in meditation.
6. Jwaleshwar Mahadev :The origin of river Johilla. There is a temple deep in the forest of Jwaleshwar Mahadev . There is a 'sunset point' close to this temple.
7. Kapildhara: At a distance of 8 Kms. from the origin of river Narmada, the river falls from a height of 100 feet creating a waterfall known as Kapildhara. It is believed that the Kapil rishi meditated here.
8. Dudhdhara: At a distance of 1 Km. from Kapildhara there is another beautiful waterfall on the river Narmada called Dudhdhara.
9. Shambhudhara & Durgadhara :Two other extremely beautiful waterfalls are situated deep in the forest. One has to walk a few Kms. to see these breathtaking waterfalls.
10. Sarvodya Jain Temple: This temple is under construction. It is considered a construction marvel. Cement and iron have not been used in this temple and the weight of the idol to be placed in the temple is around 24 Tones.

You can reach Amarkantak from the Jabalpur [M.P.] or From the Khajurahoo, it is almost in the mid of Bandhavgad and Kanha reserve forest so you can stay here while visiting these. Amarkantak is indeed blessed by Nature. Holy ponds, lofty hills, forested surroundings, marvelous waterfalls and an ever-pervading air of serenity make Amarkantak a much sought-after destination for the religious-minded as well as for the nature-lover.

Sea Shore Planet: Tourist Paradise: GOA [Part 2]

Sea Shore Planet: Tourist Paradise: GOA
[Goa Part II]

When in America or Europe or in UK people talk about Indian tourism the first word that is most probably pronounced is GOA and with the word everybody goes in the visualization and virtual feeling of calm and cool sea winds, lush green palms and coconuts, speeding boats on blue aqua and silvery sand. This is what GOA remains in the minds of tourist.

The fact remains undisputed, sea shores are the prime attraction of the GOA, but it is a hard truth GOA is much more worth for tourists than the beaches, even after a considerable long Portuguese rule you will find here many temples along with churches with the best of illustration for the outstanding and exemplary cases of Christian architecture , this makes GOA a place to be visited again and again.

Hindu Temples

History says that during the long Portuguese rule attempts were made for destroying Hindu Temples, however many Hindu temples mainly present in “Ponda” or “Phonda” taluka are reflecting the glimpses of Old Hindu divine light present in the area. Some of the most prominent temples are

Mangeshi Temple: one of the oldest Saraswat temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is just about 20 km from the capital city Panaji , at the Pirol.

Shri Shantadurga temple: This is yet another temple that is included in the schedule of most of the tour operators. Goddess Shantadurga, Goddess of peace, dedicated this temple is with a pagoda like outer shape.

Shri Bhagavati Temple: It is said that temple is old over than 500 years. The Parenem taluka situated temple [about 28 km from Panaji] is famous for the Dushera celebrations. Goddess Bhagavat Ashtabhuja is in the standing position and the entrance of the temple have two elephants craved in black stone.

Shri Ramnath Panchayatan: Yet another temple from Phonda [about 35 km from Panaji] is in fact cluster of five temples beside the temple of main deity Ramnath, four other small temples are dedicated to Shri Laxminarayan, Shri Shantadurga (Sateri), Shri Betal and Shri Sidhanath .


Other significant temples includes the Ganapati temple at Khandole, the Maha Laxmi temple at Bandewade and the Sri Nagesh Maharudra Temple at Bandora, Shri Mahalsa - At Mardol, Shri Gomanteshwar Devasthan at Brahmapuri, Shri Kamakshi Sausthan at Shiroda, Temple of Shri Mahadeva at Tambdi Surla, Shri Navdurga at Madkai, Sapteshwar-Bhagvati Temple at Mandrem, Shri Shantadurga - Kavlem and many more.

Churches of GOA

Though for GOA you can say also that it is a land of churches because when we compare the number of churches with the area of the land, GOA is among the densest population of churches in India. Prominent churches include:

BASILICA OF BOM JESUS
The most famous church of Roman Catholic world was built in 1605, is the tomb and place for the mortal remains of patron saint of GOA, St. Francis Xavier [in near future I will post about his life]. This church is famous for miraculous phenomenon, St. Francis Xavier died in china [December 2, 1552] and as per his will, when after one year of death his remains were being transferred to GOA , it was observed that time has not affected his body. After every Ten years body is kept for an Exposition or public viewing.

SE CATHEDRAL
Church is dedicated to Saint Catherine and among the biggest tourist attractions at GOA. Tuscan style architect and the Cross of Miracles are the prime attractions, it is said that cross of Miracles is growing in size and according to faith of Goans, healing properties of the cross are unique on the earth.

Other churches of GOA are The Church of St. Francis of Assisi, The Church of St. Cajatan, the Church of Our Lady of Rosary, The Reis Magos Church, Church of Mae de Dens or Mother of God, and The Church of St. Alex.

Beaches and how to have a real vision of GOA will be published in the third and concluding article of the series.

Part I of the Article if you have missed it.

Maharshtra Tourism

Lush green hilly planes, calm clean and scenic sea shores, historical monuments,Wild life and reserve forests, Stone caved window to history these are the few words that can replace the word "Maharashtra Tourism" .

About the State

Word "Marathi", used for the natives and basis for the nomenclature of the state as Maharashtra, has historical roots, In the seventh century many of native of this land were associated with the profession of Chariot drivers "Rathi", history revels that in the 90 A.D. they have formed a group of fighters "Maharathi". Maharashtra is the state with a glorious past, pleasant present and fantastic future. The state is among the most advanced states of the country. Mumbai, the economic capital of the country is part of state. Here while your tour your are sure to found and feel the presence of most effective mixture of culture, traditions and technology. The per capita income of the state is 60% higher than the national average, state is among the high industrialised lands of India and contributes for 22% of India's net value-added output in the organized industrial sector-way ahead of any other state. The official language is Marathi with about 42 dialects, beside these Maharashtrians are also using Hindi,Gujrati and English in their day to day life, hence language is not going to prove hurdle for the enjoyment of your travel here. You will find at every place, sufficient accommodation facilities to meet with your budget, from five star luxury suites to shared rooms. The pure maharashtrian cuisine like the Misal, Kokani Fish Fry, Tambada and Pandhra Rasa, Kande Pohe, Jhunka Bakhari, Puran Poli, will not only prompt you to visit state again and again but also will keep your mouth watering for the years to come.

About your tour

Before you plan your tour have a look

Temperature: Summer 22°C-39°C Winter 12°C-34°C

Tourist Season :Sep to Apr (Coast) Jun to Sep (Hill Stations)

Airports : Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik, Sholapur

Mode of Transport : Excellent Air, Rail and Road links are available for travel within the state and around.

List of religious places includes :

Afghan Memorial [Colaba Mumbai]

Ambadevi Temple [Amravati]

Anwa Temple [Aurangabad]

Ayappa Temple [Mumbai]

Bahubali Temples [Kolhapur]

Ballaleshwar [Palli]

Bibi Ka Maqbara [Aurangabad]

Buddist Caves of Ajantha [A World Heritage site- Jalgaon]

Kailash Temple [Ellora-Aurangabad]

Mahalaxmi [Kolhapur]

Nageshwar Temple [Pune]

Osho Ashram [Pune]

Pandharpur

Shirdi

Sidhi Vinayak [Mumbai]

Shri Hazur Sahib,Sachkhand Saheb [Nanded]

Trimbkeshwar [Nashik]

If you are a domestic traveler I will suggest to go to

www.mtdcindia.com and plan you travel, as Maharashtra is a state with a quite large geographical area, so you can make parts of your Maharashtra Tourism, as for as the upper class domestic and foreigner travelers are concerned I will suggest them to have a tour with Deccan Odysee "A palace on wheal train" for maharashtra tourism. It is a life time experience of one week long comfortable and luxurious train journey that covers almost all the prominent travel destinations of the state. You can book your journey tickets online at the same www.mtdcindia.com site and have a look at your day to day journey schedules. Among the star attractions are unexplored see shores of Kokan are most important, you can even plan your trip only for these by making Kolhapur base camp.

Hindu Temples

- Akshar Dham
- Bahai Temple
- Baijnath Temple
- Birla Mandir
- Cave Temples
- Dwarkadhish Temple
- Chattarpur Mandir
- Eklingji Temple
- Ganapatipule Temple
- Guruvayoor Temple
- ISKON Temples
- Jagannath Temple
- Jwalamukhi Temple
- Kailash Temple
- Kashi Vishwanath
- Khajuraho Temples
- Lepakshi Temple
- Lingaraja Temple
- Lotus Temple
- Meenakshi Temple
- Mukteswara Temple
- Naina Devi Temple
- Omkareshwar Temple
- Orcha Temple
- Sabarimala Temple
- Shankracharya Temple
- Somnath Temple
- Sun Temple - Konark
- Thousand Pillar Temple
- Tirupati Tirumala Balaji
- Vaishno Devi