
Delhi – Kolkata – Delhi – Road Trip – Part 2
Day 1: Delhi to Varanasi: 5th Feb 2010 (793 km) The journey continues… Thanks for all the comments. And thanks for recharging my batteries….
Read MoreDay 1: Delhi to Varanasi: 5th Feb 2010 (793 km) The journey continues… Thanks for all the comments. And thanks for recharging my batteries….
Read MoreSo, again I am here with another experience of ghumakkadi in my life. Though, I have read blogs on the locations are written in…
Read MoreI was at Benares and we were mulling over whether to do a trip to Sarnath or not. I was not feeling too well,…
Read MoreWe were back to Varanasi around 2 PM. Our driver dropped us near Thatheri Bazar as we wanted to explore the area on foot ourselves. Bronze and brass products especially ornaments are sold here. Another purpose for coming to this market to enjoy the “Ram Bhandar” which is quite famous for amazing Poori, Sabzi and kachori.
Read MoreI do not care for the ‘truths’ they have faith in or the ‘lies’ they spread. This is not the first cremation that I am descrying nor shall it be the last, but in this moment, I’ve understood the human endeavor of fighting death with life. The answer to the fears of our faith is in welcoming it with our arms wide open and embracing it like a long lost brother. It’ll be perhaps in this gesture that the faithful shall be granted nirvana.
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Around a 1000 strong crowd has gathered to see what is a daily ritual but is as powerful and enchanting as it must have been a 1000 years ago. The spiritual seekers have loaded the boats – some to get a better view, some for better pictures and some for their beliefs – an adventure of a lifetime. The head priest is crying hoarse asking people to sit down calmly – all the skills of a masterful showman.
So much for the lonely moksha… (sigh)
Read MoreOur next destination Sarnath is about 10 km from Ramnagar. On the way to Sarnath, we saw Sher Shah Suri Makbara. We were at Sarnath around 1 pm and we all were hungry. So, we first ate Dosha and drank Cold Drink in Vaishali restaurant.
We hired a guide there, guide told us that Sarnath has five main point; Ashoka Stupa, Main Temple campus, Japanese Temple, Sachi Stupa and God Budha statue. Ashoka Stupa ruins and Bodhi Tree inside main temple campus are famous and most important place in Sarnath. Main temple is designed in Japanese temple architecture and walls inside the temple have been painted related to God Budha life. We visited all points but we did not explore much due to very hot day.
“भगवान बुद्ध की विशालकाय मूर्ति, मंदिर के दीवारो पर चित्रित उनकी जीवनी, बोधिवृक्ष के नीचे पाँच मित्रों के साथ बनी उनकी मूर्ति उस समय का अनुभव कराती है ।”
Mrs. Sucharita Gupta. While Harpreet sang some soulful self-composed pieces on Kabir, Mrs. Gupta worked her magic with thumris, bhajan and you-name-it on Kabir. It is another level of performance when the artist herself feels elated and wants to continue performing bringing out new stuff from the bag. And classical/semi-classical Indian Music works well with our taste and sensibilities. So it was, as they say, magical!
Read MoreWe started at 0700 hrs from Lucknow, had our mobile breakfast on the way keeping in mind to cover the distance of 314 kms to Varanasi within midday or a bit more to enjoy the essence of the holy city “Varanasi”, as we only scheduled there for only a day. I purposely avoided the NH 30 and NH 19, which went through Allahabad, remembered the situation while we started through Allahabad in the beginning, though there was no special cause of traffic jam that time but didn’t take the risk.Hence took the NH 30 and to NH 31 after Raeberilley from “Modhupuri”. It took the clock 6 hours to stuck 1300 hrs when we reached at Varanasi.
Read Moreसाथियों, इस श्रंखला की पिछली पोस्ट में आपने पढ़ा की वाराणसी के प्रमुख मंदिर तथा रामनगर फोर्ट घुमने के बाद हम लोग होटल के…
Read Moreसाथियों, पिछली पोस्ट में आपने पढ़ा काशी/वाराणसी/बनारस में हमने करीब ढाई दिन बिताया था। काशी में हमारा पहला दिन दशहरे का दिन था और…
Read Moreदोस्तों, पिछली पोस्ट में आपने पढ़ा की आगरा में मैं, रितेश गुप्ता जी एवं जाट देवता एवं हम सबके परिवार इकट्ठा हो गए थे…
Read MoreWe took a rickshaw and then walked for 5 minutes to reach Dasaswamedh Ghat. The Sandhya Aarati took our breathe away. We have never seen such a live performance – they were at their artistic best. Finally around 8 p.m., the journey took its toll and my son couldn’t stand anymore and we decided to return to the hotel, with a promise to come back again and spend a few days to explore the city once again.
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