Page 7 of 7

Pune Darshan

sayannandy 4 Comments

Pune is a nice city and whenever I visit a city, my restless soul searches for the places that make the city great and lo behold I had a day trip planned already.

First I visited the Aga Khan Palace which has an entry fee of Rs. 5. Aga Khan Palace is a majestic building. It was used as a prison for Mahatma Gandhi, his wife Kasturba Gandhi, his secretary Mahadev Desai and Sarojini Naidu during the Indian freedom movement in 1942. Sprawled over an area of 19 hectares, the Aga Khan palace will take you to the time of the struggle for independence when after the Quit India Movement. The graveyard of Kasturba Gandhi and Mahadev Desai is in the backyard.

Aga Khan Palace

Then from there it was time for National War Memorial. It is dedicated to post-Independence war martyrs. This is the only war memorial in South Asia which has been erected by citizens’ contributions. It has a very nice display of weapons and museums.

National War Memorial

Then I proceeded to Parvati Hill. Atop the hillock is the Parvati Temple, one of the most scenic locations in Pune. The temple is the oldest heritage structure in Pune and was built during the rule of the Peshwa dynasty. You have to climb 103 steps to reach the main temple, Devdeveshwara, which is made of black stone. It was completed under Balaji Baji Rao, in 1749. Other temples are dedicated to Vitthal and Rukmini, Vishnu, and Kartikeya.

Parvati Hill


From there I went to Ram Krishna Math near Dandekar Bridge. It was already afternoon and mostly the temples are closed during this time of the day.

Ram Krishna Math


Then I went to Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum which has an entry fee of Rs. 50. It contains the collection of Dr. Dinkar G. Kelkar, dedicated to the memory of his only son, Raja. The three-storey building houses various sculptures dating back to the 14th century. There are also ornaments made of ivory, silver and gold, musical instruments (a particularly fine collection), war weapons and vessels. It is a must visit as there are so many things to see at such a nominal entry fee. Mind blowing collection at such price is like sale day for ladies.

Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum


From there I just strolled to the famous Mandai Vegetable Market.

Mandai Vegetable Market


Near that is Dagadusheth Halwai Temple. Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Lord Ganesha.

Dagadusheth Halwai Temple


Near that place is Lal Mahal. The Lal Mahal (Red Palace) of Pune is one of the most famous monuments located in Pune, India. In the year 1630 AD, Shivaji Maharaj’s Father Shahaji Bhosale, established the Lal Mahal for his wife Jijabai and son.

Lal Mahal


Then I just walked to Kasba Ganpati Temple. The Kasba Ganapati refers to both a particular idol of the god Ganapati in Pune, India, as well as to the temple built around the idol. The Kasba Ganapati is the presiding deity (gramadevata) of Pune.

Kasba Ganpati Temple


Then it was time for the great and famous Shaniwar Wada Fort. The fort itself was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, but the surviving structures are now maintained as a tourist site.

Shaniwar Wada Fort


Then I walked across Shivaji Bridge to go to Jangali Maharaj Temple.

Jangali Maharaj Temple


Adjacent to that is Pataleshwar Cave Temple. It is a rock-cut cave temple, carved out in the 8th century in the Rashtrakuta period. The temple, made of basalt rock, is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The sanctum houses a linga and there are two smaller cells on each side. In front of the cave is a circular Nandi mandapa, its umbrella shaped canopy supported by massive square pillars. It appears that after finishing the front and the sanctum the cave was left incomplete due to some reasons, one of which could be the faults in the rock. However the walls in the main cave have some outlines drawn suggesting the sculptures depicting stories from Indian mythology, especially involving Shiva.

Pataleshwar Cave Temple



Then I went to Trisund Ganapati Temple. A very nice heritage temple, which I don’t think many visitors visit.

Trisund Ganapati Temple


From there I went to Nageshwar Temple.

Nageshwar Temple


Then it was Gurudwara Guru Nanak Darbar / Hollywood Gurudwara. The Gurudwara was initially an amusement park for the army during the time of the British and was known as ‘Hollywood Club’. The center was reconstructed to become a place of worship for the Sikhs and today it is one of the must visit places to see in Pune for its uniqueness.

Gurudwara Guru Nanak Darbar


In the evening it was time for Joshi’s Museum of Miniature Railway which has an entry fee of Rs. 90. The model trains on exhibition run through a miniature city and are presented with a light and sound show. The layout includes 65 signals, fences, lamp posts, flyovers, etc. and can be controlled manually as well as through a computer.

Joshi’s Museum of Miniature Railway


Then I went to Kirkee/Khadki War Cemetery. The cemetery was created to provide graves for the fallen from central and western India in the Second World War, where there could not be certainty about their graves elsewhere being permanently maintained. The cemetery holds the graves of 1,668 Commonwealth service personnel from World War II, and 629 from World War I who were reburied here from Bombay’s Sewri Christian Cemetery in 1962. The graves from Sewri are unmarked and their names listed on the Kirkee (1914–18) Memorial.

Kirkee War Cemetery


Finally at night it was time to visit the Khadki Kaali Mandir. Luckily that day was in Basanti Durgotsav time and so I could see a Durga pandal which reminded me of Kolkata.

Khadki Kaali Mandir

Basanti Durgotsav Pandal at Khadki Kaali Mandir

Itinerary:

Aga Khan Palace
National War Memorial
Parvati Hill
Ram Krishna Math near Dandekar Bridge
Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum
Mandai Vegetable Market
Dagadusheth Halwai Temple
Lal Mahal
Kasba Ganpati
Shaniwar Wada Fort
Shivaji Bridge
Jangali Maharaj Temple
Pataleshwar Cave Temple
Trisund Ganapati
Nageshwar Temple
Gurudwara Guru Nanak Darbar / Hollywood Gurudwara
Joshi’s Museum of Miniature Railway
Kirkee/Khadki War Cemetery
Khadki Kaali Mandir
Shri Bhimeshwar Mandir

For more beautiful pictures of the trip visit:

Aga Khan PalaceNational War MemorialParvati HillRam Krishna Math near Dandekar BridgeRaja Dinkar Kelkar…

Posted by Sayan Nandy on Thursday, March 29, 2018


Or

Varanasi, Sarnath and Bodh Gaya Car Trip During Holi

sayannandy Leave a comment

So one fine day I decided that this Holi I should visit Varanasi and take part in the famous festival of colors. A few friends of mine showed interest and finally we were a group of 4 wherein there were girls as well.

So I decided to take my car, Maruti Ritz, and drive to Varanasi from Kolkata. The plan was set and itinerary made.

We Indians and specially Bengalis generally have knowledge about everything and we don’t mind to give advice for free to our fellow people which is but natural. So we started getting advice like:

“Ladies do not go out before the festivities are over!”

“Ladies do not even dare to play with strangers on road!”

“You should get into a good hotel or home stay and then celebrate Holi within the campus!”

Everything we read cemented Holi in Varanasi as a man’s holiday, at least where public celebrations are concerned. Internet denizens said the holiday had devolved into groups of dangerously drunken men wandering the streets, grabbing women under the guise of “celebration”. Indians, both male and female, advised female travelers to stay inside until the color celebrations were over, for fear of their being molested or worse.

It was like the least that could happen to the girls was that they might get molested if they even dared to put a foot out on the roads of Varanasi. The Laxman Rekha was the safety of the place we are staying. We were like why are we even bothering to go there during this time of the year then, if we cannot see the festivities.

This in turn made me a bit stubborn (few dub it as reckless) and I told my fellow mates that we would decide once we are there.

So we started at around 6 o’clock in the morning, a day before the Holi. The road was good and I was like in full energy mode. We had a few loo breaks and a lunch break, but we still managed to reach Varanasi by 6 in the evening, thus covering around 700 km of distance. The day was still on.

As soon as we entered the city, the roads became narrow and full of people. One problem we faced was that our hotel did not have garage and we had to park our car in a public garage. Anyway it was not a big deal.

After freshening up, we went to the Ganga ghat and visited Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Annapurna Temple, Vishalakshi Temple and Brihaspati Temple.

Day 2 was the day. I took a precautionary round of the area. We were staying near Dashashwamedh Ghat. Around 9 am the crowd was starting to build primarily male population, but things seemed normal. So we decided to give it a go and we were out to play Holi with the locals and foreigners.

There were drunken men all around but decency was not crossed. Even if a few of the guys were trying to get overly eager to put color on the girls, either there friends or others were there to make sure nothing bad happened. We played Holi till the afternoon and had a great time. We did not move around much and stuck to the ghat. We also had thandai, who can say no to that!

Then we went back to our hotel and freshened up. In the afternoon we went out on an auto to visit New Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Sankatmochan Temple, Tulsi Manas Temple, Durga Temple and Kouri Mata Temple.

In the evening it was time for the famous Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat. We reached a bit early to take seats at convenient location. The Aarti is a spectacle and you should not miss it, if you visit the place.

While returning we visited the Kaal Bhairav Temple.

The next day morning we took a Boat Ride at Dashashwamedh Ghat. It was a great experience as we floated on the Ganges for some time seeing many well known ghats in Varanasi.

This wrapped the Varansi trip for us and we were all set to visit Sarnath. I took my car as we all boarded on that and bid adieu to the holy city with lots of fond memories.

Sarnath is around 15 km from Varanasi and there we saw Archaeological Museum, Sarnath Temple and Chaukhandi Stupa.

After having late lunch, it was time to visit Bodh Gaya which is another 250 km drive. By the time we reached there, it was dark and we called it a day.

Day 4, the last day of the trip started really early as we had a whole lot of temples to visit. The neverending list goes like this Mahabodhi Temple (it’s the location where Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. The site contains a descendant of the Bodhi Tree under which Buddha gained enlightenment), Shree Jagannath Temple, Sechen Tennyi Dargyeling, Mahabodhi Chinese Temple, Duidul Jyangchub Choiling (Nepal Monastery), Bangladesh Buddhist Monastery, Royal Bhutanese Monastery, Indosan Nipponji (Japanese Temple), Busshinji Japanese Temple, Karma Tharjay Chokhorling Kagyupa Vajrayana Buddhist Monastery, The Great Buddha Statue (19.507 m = 64 ft high), Daijokyo Buddhist Temple, Palyul Namdroling Temple, Cambodian Monastery, Mongolian Monastery, Watthai Buddhagaya, Tibetan Temple, Wat Pa Buddhagaya Temple, Myanmar Vihar Buddh Gaya, Tergar Monastery, Mahabodhi Meditation Centre (Htukkant Thein Temple), Metta Buddharam Temple and Watthai Buddhasawika.

After having lunch it was our drive back to Kolkata which was around 500 km. Thus we ended a great trip and a memorable journey.

Itinerary:

Day 1: 
Kolkata to Varanasi (700 km)
Kashi Vishwanath Temple
Annapurna Temple
Vishalakshi Temple
Brihaspati Temple

Day 2: 
Holi at Dashashwamedh Ghat
New Kashi Vishwanath Temple
Sankatmochan Temple
Tulsi Manas Temple
Durga Temple
Kouri Mata Temple
Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat
Kaal Bhairav Temple

Day 3: 
Boat Ride at Dashashwamedh Ghat
Varanasi to Sarnath (15 km)
Archaeological Museum
Sarnath Temple
Chaukhandi Stupa
Sarnath to Bodh Gaya (250 km)

Day 4:
Mahabodhi Temple
Shree Jagannath Temple
Sechen Tennyi Dargyeling
Mahabodhi Chinese Temple
Duidul Jyangchub Choiling (Nepal Monastery)
Bangladesh Buddhist Monastery
Royal Bhutanese Monastery
Indosan Nipponji (Japanese Temple)
Busshinji Japanese Temple
Karma Tharjay Chokhorling Kagyupa Vajrayana Buddhist Monastery
The Great Buddha Statue
Daijokyo Buddhist Temple
Palyul Namdroling Temple
Cambodian Monastery
Mongolian Monastery
Watthai Buddhagaya
Tibetan Temple
Wat Pa Buddhagaya Temple
Myanmar Vihar Buddh Gaya
Tergar Monastery
Mahabodhi Meditation Centre (Htukkant Thein Temple)
Metta Buddharam Temple
Watthai Buddhasawika
Bodh Gaya to Kolkata (500 km)


For more pictures of this trip visit:

Posted by Sayan Nandy on Monday, March 5, 2018