Day-2 (30-Dec)..contd
Rajgir is about 95 kms away from Patna. However we decided to cover Nalanda en route. The distance was approx 88 kms, which was supposed to be traversed in 1.5 hours. But due to congested traffic, we were able to reach Nalanda at 3.45 PM. The Nalanda ruins are now part of a World Heritage site and maintained by Bihar tourism. Apart from the Nalanda ruins, there is also a museum that contains a number of manuscripts & shows many examples of the items that have been excavated. The museum is open between 10AM - 5PM. Due to the time constraints, we're unable to visit the museum. However, we're astonished by the vastness of the ruins & remains of Nalanda University. This was one of the world's first residential universities, and it was amazing to comprehend how the concepts of an ideal student-teacher ratio of 5:1 was conceived at such an early era of 500-600 AD. The university had been destroyed to smithereens by Muslim invasion long back, and the telltale signs of that barbaric demolition was visible everywhere. The park was open till 5.30PM. As we strode back towards the exit gate, our minds were not fully content and I vowed to come back again to this historic site of learning and spend the entire day here.
From Nalanda, our driver urged us to visit Kundalpur which was the birthplace of Jain saint Mahavira, and located 2 kms away from the Nalanda site. The temple complex is huge & magnificent with beautiful spires. From Kundalpur, we finally set off for Rajgir and reached our hotel by 7.30PM. This hotel had no fooding facilities, so we freshened up a bit and then went out for dinner at 8.30PM. We found a small hotel which was owned by the same proprietor as ours. The dinner was typical Bengali cuisine (hot rice, dal & omlette) and it was a perfect match to the cold weather outside! This was the end of Day-2.
Below images have all been taken at Nalanda.
Day-3 (31-Dec)
After a heavy breakfast of aloo parathas with curd & pickle, We set off for exploring Rajgir. There're a plethora of temples in Rajgir. We found several tourists hiring the tangas. Though it had a local flavor, but we didn't get a opportunity as we'd hired a car. We started with the Makhdum Kund and went on to see Japanese stupa, Venuvana, Bimbisar's jail, Sonabhandar, Veerayatan and the Buddha Shanti Stupa. At the Shanti Stupa complex, we did some shopping as well.
Attached some snaps.
1-2. Veerayatan temple
3. Toy models in Veerayatan temple depicting the kingdom during time of Lord Mahavira.
Day-5 (2-Jan)
We got off early as our train's scheduled arrival was at 9.20 AM in Gaya station. We requested Mr Kundan and he arranged an auto for us to drop at Gaya station. We bade farewell to him and reached Gaya in time. But there, we learnt that Poorva Exp was running late by 3 hrs, so there was nothing to do except wait for the train. The train finally arrived around 11.40 AM, and we set off for home. As we moved forward to the way back home, my mind seemed to wander backward in flash-back mode and reminisce about the entire trip. In 3 days, we'd visited 3 towns and some 40-odd temples, mosques, gurudwaras and monasteries..from 4 different religions. So, was there anything common in these places? Definitely yes..everywhere, we'd met people..as varied as oil & water, but still coexisting peacefully. For those familiar with the Bengali writer Kalkut, I'd started reading Kalkut's "AmritaKumbher Sandhane"..and I was completing this trip, Kalkut became dearer to my heart.
We reached Howrah by 7 PM and reached home thereafter. It was the end of the trip..
Attached is the pic that I liked most....people!!
Rajgir is about 95 kms away from Patna. However we decided to cover Nalanda en route. The distance was approx 88 kms, which was supposed to be traversed in 1.5 hours. But due to congested traffic, we were able to reach Nalanda at 3.45 PM. The Nalanda ruins are now part of a World Heritage site and maintained by Bihar tourism. Apart from the Nalanda ruins, there is also a museum that contains a number of manuscripts & shows many examples of the items that have been excavated. The museum is open between 10AM - 5PM. Due to the time constraints, we're unable to visit the museum. However, we're astonished by the vastness of the ruins & remains of Nalanda University. This was one of the world's first residential universities, and it was amazing to comprehend how the concepts of an ideal student-teacher ratio of 5:1 was conceived at such an early era of 500-600 AD. The university had been destroyed to smithereens by Muslim invasion long back, and the telltale signs of that barbaric demolition was visible everywhere. The park was open till 5.30PM. As we strode back towards the exit gate, our minds were not fully content and I vowed to come back again to this historic site of learning and spend the entire day here.
From Nalanda, our driver urged us to visit Kundalpur which was the birthplace of Jain saint Mahavira, and located 2 kms away from the Nalanda site. The temple complex is huge & magnificent with beautiful spires. From Kundalpur, we finally set off for Rajgir and reached our hotel by 7.30PM. This hotel had no fooding facilities, so we freshened up a bit and then went out for dinner at 8.30PM. We found a small hotel which was owned by the same proprietor as ours. The dinner was typical Bengali cuisine (hot rice, dal & omlette) and it was a perfect match to the cold weather outside! This was the end of Day-2.
Below images have all been taken at Nalanda.
After a heavy breakfast of aloo parathas with curd & pickle, We set off for exploring Rajgir. There're a plethora of temples in Rajgir. We found several tourists hiring the tangas. Though it had a local flavor, but we didn't get a opportunity as we'd hired a car. We started with the Makhdum Kund and went on to see Japanese stupa, Venuvana, Bimbisar's jail, Sonabhandar, Veerayatan and the Buddha Shanti Stupa. At the Shanti Stupa complex, we did some shopping as well.
Attached some snaps.
1-2. Veerayatan temple
3. Toy models in Veerayatan temple depicting the kingdom during time of Lord Mahavira.
Day-4 (1-Jan)
On Day-4 morning, we completed the checkout formalities from Rajgir hotel and set out for Pawapuri Jal Mandir, about 30 kms from Rajgir. Pawapuri is a holy site for the Jains. Around 500 BC, Lord Mahavira, the last of the 24 Tirthankaras achieved Moksha or Nirvana and was cremated at Pawapuri. According to popular folklore, there was a great rush to collect his ashes and as a result, so much soil was removed from the place of his cremation that a pond was created therein. Now, an exquisite marble temple in the middle of a lotus pond, the Jalmandir, stands magnificently on a rectangular island. Another Jain temple, called Samosharan is located here, where the Lord Mahavira delivered his last teaching. We offered our prayers at the Jal Mandir temple, and then finally set off for Bodhgaya. Bodhgaya is located about 95 kms from there. We'd to travel via Gaya, so we decided to visit the famous Vishnupad temple at Gaya first. Gaya is one of the pious places for the Hindus where people perform the last rites of their friends, relatives & other near-dear ones. On a different note, it is also one of the most crowded towns in India. Our driver Maheshji did a lot of maneuvering in the narrow, crowded streets of Gaya and finally reached the Vishnupad temple. I'd visited this place a decade back and remembered very little of it, so it was a new experience for me. Gaya is traditionally a Hindu pilgrimage, but the place looked like an eternal meeting place of all. We found hugely crowded tourist buses in the narrow lanes of Gaya, as people from all walks of life (and religions) came. Most of them came for religious activities, but there're several like us who were plain tourists who'd come to get a feel of the place..of the crowd. The other group of peopel were the hawkers who had lined across the streets..selling their wares. Notwithstanding the crowd, it was a place one needs to surely visit if he/she wants to feel the pulse of the crowd.
We stood at the serpentine queue which moved in to visit the Vishnupad
temple. There was another Shiva temple which my mother-in-law desired to
visit. Thereafter we started off again..this time Bodhgaya, for sure!
We reached Bodhgaya around 11.30 AM, but had some difficulty in entering the town as the whole traffic was being controlled by police. There was huge tourist inflow in Bodhgaya due to the imminent Kalachakra festival which sees a huge congregation of Buddhist followers from all parts of the world. Every alternate year, the Dalai Lama visits this place to deliver his discourses on Buddhism. This year, it was his disciples (the Karmapas) who'd come over to Bodhgaya. We'd booked our stay in Kundan Bazar guest house from Kolkata itself. Due to the traffic condition, we'd to enter the town through an alternate route and faced some difficulty in locating the hotel. I called up Mr. Kundan and he guided us to his place. Kundan Bazar guest house is located in old Bhagalpur town (not to be confused with Bhagalpur which is a separate town in Bihar), near the old Vietnam temple. It is basically the outskirts of the town, but the building is a nice one. I'd read some good reviews of the place in tripadvisor and other reliable sites and found them to be true. The place is more of a backpackers' place..but the rooms are clean. I noticed an unnatural flow of foreign tourists in this hotel. This has actually helped all travelers as the basic amenities (water, electricity, free wi-fi) are present. The owner Mr Kundan is also a very amicable and helpful person. The room was soon readied and we took a short rest by taking a bath and relaxing ourselves. By 2.30 PM, we've had a lunch and set out for visiting the Bodhgaya temple. Today we'd to relieve the car as well, so our driver dropped us to the Mohabodhi temple complex. I cleared the remaining dues, as he provided the final receipt. We bade farewell to Mahesh-ji. He'd been largely cooperative and helpful all along the way. I'd surely recommend him for any traveler along this route.
As we walked towards the Mahabodhi temple complex, we could feel the crowd pressure. The road was literally jammed with tourists & pilgrims from all parts of the world. It didn't feel that we're in a small town in India..the entire place had such a cosmopolitan flavor soaked within. Hundreds of monks had gathered inside the temple complex. Some were listening to the discourses offered by the Karmapas, while we found some praying silently..oblivious to the hullabaloo of the surroundings. I was mesmerized by their discipline and devotion. To me, it is definitely worth visiting this place..just to see this dedication & discipline to one's work.
After Mahabodhi temple, we visited the other temples & monasteries as well. There were a string of Buddhist monasteries from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Korea, Japan & Tibet lined up side-by-side across the main street. For a moment, I stopped & wondered about the world of differences (socio-economic & political) between these countries..yet how could one single man bring all these diverse people under one roof!! You cannot but appreciate the relevance of Buddha in today's warring world..
Some 3-4 hours had already passed by, and it was getting dark as well as cold outside. We completed the last tourist spots with alacrity, before heading to Taj Darbar restaurant for that night's dinner. The service was a bit slow, but food was great. We headed out for our hotel and reached there by 10.30 PM. It was a tiring day, so we set off to sleep almost immediately. We're nearing the end of the trip.
Some pics taken during this period.
1-3: Pawapuri Jal Mandir
4: Lalji Mandir (Rajgir)
5-10: Mahabodhi Temple & adjoining views
On Day-4 morning, we completed the checkout formalities from Rajgir hotel and set out for Pawapuri Jal Mandir, about 30 kms from Rajgir. Pawapuri is a holy site for the Jains. Around 500 BC, Lord Mahavira, the last of the 24 Tirthankaras achieved Moksha or Nirvana and was cremated at Pawapuri. According to popular folklore, there was a great rush to collect his ashes and as a result, so much soil was removed from the place of his cremation that a pond was created therein. Now, an exquisite marble temple in the middle of a lotus pond, the Jalmandir, stands magnificently on a rectangular island. Another Jain temple, called Samosharan is located here, where the Lord Mahavira delivered his last teaching. We offered our prayers at the Jal Mandir temple, and then finally set off for Bodhgaya. Bodhgaya is located about 95 kms from there. We'd to travel via Gaya, so we decided to visit the famous Vishnupad temple at Gaya first. Gaya is one of the pious places for the Hindus where people perform the last rites of their friends, relatives & other near-dear ones. On a different note, it is also one of the most crowded towns in India. Our driver Maheshji did a lot of maneuvering in the narrow, crowded streets of Gaya and finally reached the Vishnupad temple. I'd visited this place a decade back and remembered very little of it, so it was a new experience for me. Gaya is traditionally a Hindu pilgrimage, but the place looked like an eternal meeting place of all. We found hugely crowded tourist buses in the narrow lanes of Gaya, as people from all walks of life (and religions) came. Most of them came for religious activities, but there're several like us who were plain tourists who'd come to get a feel of the place..of the crowd. The other group of peopel were the hawkers who had lined across the streets..selling their wares. Notwithstanding the crowd, it was a place one needs to surely visit if he/she wants to feel the pulse of the crowd.
We stood at the serpentine queue which moved in to visit the Vishnupad
temple. There was another Shiva temple which my mother-in-law desired to
visit. Thereafter we started off again..this time Bodhgaya, for sure! We reached Bodhgaya around 11.30 AM, but had some difficulty in entering the town as the whole traffic was being controlled by police. There was huge tourist inflow in Bodhgaya due to the imminent Kalachakra festival which sees a huge congregation of Buddhist followers from all parts of the world. Every alternate year, the Dalai Lama visits this place to deliver his discourses on Buddhism. This year, it was his disciples (the Karmapas) who'd come over to Bodhgaya. We'd booked our stay in Kundan Bazar guest house from Kolkata itself. Due to the traffic condition, we'd to enter the town through an alternate route and faced some difficulty in locating the hotel. I called up Mr. Kundan and he guided us to his place. Kundan Bazar guest house is located in old Bhagalpur town (not to be confused with Bhagalpur which is a separate town in Bihar), near the old Vietnam temple. It is basically the outskirts of the town, but the building is a nice one. I'd read some good reviews of the place in tripadvisor and other reliable sites and found them to be true. The place is more of a backpackers' place..but the rooms are clean. I noticed an unnatural flow of foreign tourists in this hotel. This has actually helped all travelers as the basic amenities (water, electricity, free wi-fi) are present. The owner Mr Kundan is also a very amicable and helpful person. The room was soon readied and we took a short rest by taking a bath and relaxing ourselves. By 2.30 PM, we've had a lunch and set out for visiting the Bodhgaya temple. Today we'd to relieve the car as well, so our driver dropped us to the Mohabodhi temple complex. I cleared the remaining dues, as he provided the final receipt. We bade farewell to Mahesh-ji. He'd been largely cooperative and helpful all along the way. I'd surely recommend him for any traveler along this route.
As we walked towards the Mahabodhi temple complex, we could feel the crowd pressure. The road was literally jammed with tourists & pilgrims from all parts of the world. It didn't feel that we're in a small town in India..the entire place had such a cosmopolitan flavor soaked within. Hundreds of monks had gathered inside the temple complex. Some were listening to the discourses offered by the Karmapas, while we found some praying silently..oblivious to the hullabaloo of the surroundings. I was mesmerized by their discipline and devotion. To me, it is definitely worth visiting this place..just to see this dedication & discipline to one's work.
After Mahabodhi temple, we visited the other temples & monasteries as well. There were a string of Buddhist monasteries from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Korea, Japan & Tibet lined up side-by-side across the main street. For a moment, I stopped & wondered about the world of differences (socio-economic & political) between these countries..yet how could one single man bring all these diverse people under one roof!!
You cannot but appreciate the relevance of Buddha in today's warring world.. Some 3-4 hours had already passed by, and it was getting dark as well as cold outside. We completed the last tourist spots with alacrity, before heading to Taj Darbar restaurant for that night's dinner. The service was a bit slow, but food was great. We headed out for our hotel and reached there by 10.30 PM. It was a tiring day, so we set off to sleep almost immediately. We're nearing the end of the trip.
Some pics taken during this period.
1-3: Pawapuri Jal Mandir
4: Lalji Mandir (Rajgir)
5-10: Mahabodhi Temple & adjoining views
Day-5 (2-Jan)
We got off early as our train's scheduled arrival was at 9.20 AM in Gaya station. We requested Mr Kundan and he arranged an auto for us to drop at Gaya station. We bade farewell to him and reached Gaya in time. But there, we learnt that Poorva Exp was running late by 3 hrs, so there was nothing to do except wait for the train. The train finally arrived around 11.40 AM, and we set off for home. As we moved forward to the way back home, my mind seemed to wander backward in flash-back mode and reminisce about the entire trip. In 3 days, we'd visited 3 towns and some 40-odd temples, mosques, gurudwaras and monasteries..from 4 different religions. So, was there anything common in these places? Definitely yes..everywhere, we'd met people..as varied as oil & water, but still coexisting peacefully. For those familiar with the Bengali writer Kalkut, I'd started reading Kalkut's "AmritaKumbher Sandhane"..and I was completing this trip, Kalkut became dearer to my heart.
We reached Howrah by 7 PM and reached home thereafter. It was the end of the trip..
Attached is the pic that I liked most....people!!
That second Shiva temple in Gaya was the Batuk Bhairav temple.
ReplyDeleteThe rooms were soon ready in Kundan Bazar Guest House ? :o may be....................
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI would not comment about your writing style.Rather I would thank you for you have started writing at last.
ReplyDeleteWow!!! It seems a very beautiful place.... Thanks for sharing this article...Very nice information for traveler ..thanks a lot for sharing this information.Thanks a lot for giving proper tourist knowledge and share the different type of culture related to different places. Bharat Taxi is one of the leading taxi and Cab Services provider in Patna.
ReplyDelete