Visit to Gurgaon,Haridwar and Rishikesh

We spent ten days from 18th September in Gurgaon, Haridwar and Rishikesh. We had planned these trips some two months ago taking into account the Dasera Holidays for the children. In between my wife underwent endo-laser treatment for Varicose veins at the hands of Dr Shoib Padaria of Jaslok Hospitaal,Mumbhai. I asked the doctor whether we could undertake these trips after the key-hole surgery. He confirmed that we could go ahead as she, in any case, has to walk for four KMS every day for two months.

We reached Gurgaon on 18th late evening. The highlight of our trip is our experiences in Haridwar and Risikesh. I want to start my narration with our visit to these two places. We spent three days in both the places.Haridwar is about 220 KMS from where we stayed. We reached Haridwar by car. On the way, we passed through Noida, Ghaziabad,,Meerut,Muzafarnagar and Roorkee.We checked into Ginger Hotel at Haridwar.

Vedic history describes Haridwar as the land of salvation.This is the place where Ganga joins the plains and forms an entrance to the various pilgrim centres of the holy land of Uttaranchal. It is known as the land of Shiva and Vishnu. It is also described as the land of Power-MAYAPURI.Haridwar is the ideal pilgrim spot for people who worry about death and desire Mukthi. This is also the first spot of visit for religious scholors and intellectuals.

We first visited Mansa temple in Haridwar. It is located on top of a hill. We travelled by car upto the foot of the hill. We went to the top of the hill by a winch. The temple was very beautiful. As we visited the temple on a Sapthami day, there was tremendous crowd. There were monkeys of all sizes and colours all through the steps leading to the temple.After the temple visit, we went to Hari Poudi-were Ganges flows with ferocious power. We took bath in the Ganges. The flow of water was so very fast and ferocious, we could not even stand for a minute in the water with our feet firmly planted on the ground. Around us, there were shouts of "Alak Niranjan"."Hari Har Mahadev" and "Jai Ganga Mayi". These,along with bells from the temple creates a very spiritual atmosphere. It is a tangible proof of Hindu culture which strives continuously to seek salvation amidst chaos, pain and confusion. After the bath, we also saw the"Aarthi for Ganga". It was a very
enchanting experience.

The next day, we visited Chandi temple. This is again located on top of a hill. We travelled by a winch. Along side Chandi temple, there is also a temple for Anjana Devi, mother of Hanuman.

From Haridwar, we went to Rishikesh- a distance of twenty KMS from Haridwar.

Rishikesh represents the site where Lord Vishnu vanquished the demon Madhu. A gate-way to the Himalayas in the Tehsri-Garhwal region of Uttaranchal, Rishikesh abounds in natural splendour. The spectacle of river Ganga gushing through the foothills of Himalayas surrounded by scenic beauty of the hills from three sides and the verdant forest all around provides a wonderful sight to Rishikesh.

We stayed in Paramartha Niketan,founded by Swamy Sidanand Saraswathi, also called Muniji. This is an ashram built on the banks of Ganges. The ambience in the Ashram and the food are excellent. We just sat on the last step with our feet on the Ganges water. The scenic beauty is marvellous. We watched the Ganga Puja and Aaarthi performed at the Ashram.With more than eight hundred people participating, most of them foreigners, it was a sight to behold.Songs sung,prayers offered and the flames from the Homa Kunda made an extremely spritual atmosphere. We were really thrilled.I recommend Paramarth Niketan for any future stay by any one of you
We saw Laxman Jhoola,Ram Jhoola and Nilakantha temple in Rishikesh,Laxman Jhola ia a suspension bridege in iron and is an architectural marvel,considering that it was built some two hundred years ago..Ram Jhoola, built later between Shivanand Ashram and Swarg Ashram is also very beautiful. (thougjh kept unclean). View of the Ganges from these two bridges reminded me of what I saw in Switzerland and Kashmir. Triveni Ghat is a place where pilgrims take bath in holy Ganges.

Our visit to Neelkantha temple was thrilling. It is about 30 KMS from where we stayed. There was only a single forest road of ten feet with barely enough space for two cars to cross through. It was indeed a dangerous drive. As the mythology says when amrita or the ambrosia was being churned out, the venom also oozed out in the process. Lord shive, in order to save the world, drank this venom. His throat became blue with its effect and HE got the name Neelkantha- one with a blue throat. This is believed to have happend at this place.

Rishikesh is usually mentioned in connection with four other eminent places of tremendous religious importance,namely,Badrinath,Kedar Nath,Yamunotri and Gangotri.

There is a great spritual atmosphere in the air surrounding Rishikesh.Before leaving Rishikesh, I took bath in the Ganges with my wife early morning at 5.30 chanting Shiva Gayathri.

Incidentally, some of the begggers in Rishikesh looked like scholors. There was no trace of worry in their faces. No position.No possessions. No worry about the future. There was happiness wirt large on their faces. I was almost tempted to interview some of them. To a question, one of them replied' "Are you sure you will see to-morrow?".With this, I was afraid of proceeding further.

After seeing the similarity in practices being followed in the North and South, I am inclined to believe that Hinduism is not merely a religion.

Hinduism is a way of Life.

Be proud to be a Hindu.

While in Gurgaon, we also saw different places in Delhi. We also went to Agra to see Taj Mahal. On our return from Taj, we also went to Gokul where Lord Krishna was brought up by Yasodha Mayi.
The Taj has lost some of its shine. When I last saw Taj some thirty years ago, it was pure white in colour. Now the colour is dull. I was tempted to say in typical Raj Kapur style, 'Shaji (referring to Shajahan), Teri Taj, maili Hai". The great Shajahan would turn in his grave very uncomfortably if he sees the present condition of the TAJ. But then, considering that the taj is as old as USA, may be this is how it will be.It is no doubt impossible to construct another Taj. No one, be it Government or individuals, will wait for 22 years to complete a structure.

And finally a word about Gurgaon. It looks great. I never imagined that there could be a place like this in India. In the evening and under lights, it almost looks like down-town Chicago/Atlanta.

We returned to Bangalore late evening on 28th September after spending ten wonderful days in North India.

V.K.Balasubramanian

Varanasi

We returned to-day to Bangalore after visiting Allahabad,Varanasi,Budh Gaya and Gaya. It has been a very rewarding and enriching experience. We were lucky to have excellent purohits at all places. The highlight of the trip was performing three ceremonies in Gaya-two hiranyam and one with Homam-- which lasted more than eight hours. I give below extracts from my tour diary:-

29th September-Monday-First Day:
We reached Alahabad around 4 a.m.. We were received at the station by a representative of Subramanian Vathiar who had brought a taxi from Varanasi. We went to Shiv Mutt. After bath, we visited Veni Madhava temple and Panchamugha Anjaneya temple. After Sankalpam at the
Mutt by a priest, went to the river-bed.The priest explained the signifcance of the bath at
"Sangam"-confluence of Ganga,Yamuna and Saraswathi. He also performed some rituals.At the river-bed, we hired a boat. On the boat certain rituals were performed by
the boat priest.While the wife washes the feet of the husband with Ganga Water, the husband combs the hair of the wife.My feeling is that all the Hindu rituals are designed to assert male superiority, though concern and love for the wife and recognition of her status is accepted in Hindu rituals. We reached the "Sangam" by the boat. They have created a space between two boats at the confluence for the pilgrims to take bath. It was very difficult to get into the water from the boat. It was equally difficult to get out of the water and climb into the boat. We got down, took bath in the Sangam",holding hands to-gether. We then immersed the sea sand we had brought from Dhanuskodi into the confluence chanting "Om Namasivaya" all the time. Here at the Sangam, women do Veni Dhanam. They offer a part of their hair to the river praying for the long life of their husbands. The husband plaits the wife!s hair,decorates it with flowers and cuts off the tip of the plait and offers it to the river. This is called Veni Dhanam. It is an interesting fact that while hair normally floats on water, at the Sangam, it immediately sinks to the river-bed. Though almost all married women offer their hair here, there is not a single strand found floating on the river. Just as in a woman!s hair only two plaits are visible and the third one lies beneath, Ganga and Yamuna are visible from outside while Saraswathi water comes from the earth below. The three plaits in a women!s hair represents Ganga,Yamuna and
Saraswathi.We collected water from the confluence to be packed into tins to be distributed to close friends and relatives. At the end of the trip, there is a Ganga Pooja performed and only after the puja, the tins are distributed.
We returned to the river-bed, visited some temples including the the temple built by Adi Sankara on the banks of the Ganges. After returning to the Mutt, we performed Hiranya Shrardham,Pinda Pradanam,Khetra Pindam and Tarpanam for three generations of ancestors
from mother!s and father!s side.Before the bath,we performed Anugnai (Sankalpam), Vigneswara Puja and Prayachitta sankalpam (atonement for sins commited knowingly or unknowingly).The lunch was provided at the Mutt. After lunch, we went around Allahabad and
visited "Anandha Bhavan", the birth place of Jawaharlal Nehru, which has now become a National Museum.We could see it only from outside as Monday was holiday for the Museum. Adjacent to Aanand Bhavan is a small bungalow where Mr Harshvanshrai Bachan used to
stay when he was working as Professor of Hindi Literature at Allahabad University.Both Amitab Bachan and Rajiv Gandhi used to play around Anand Bhavan when they were below ten years of age.After all this we returned to Varanasi by car. The distance is 135 KMS and time taken for the travel is three hours. At Varanasi, we stayed in a fine bath-attached room provided by the Sastrigal. He has constructed a lodge with 14 rooms where he charges Rs 300/- only per day.
After some rest, we visited Kashi Viswanath temple,Anna purni temple and Kanchi Visalakshi
temples. At Kasi Viswanatha temple, devotees were allowed to even embrace the presiding deity. The decorum and discipline followed in South Indian Temples are not followed in these temples. Lastly, we went to "Kala Bhairavar" temple. This God is supposed
to be the watch-dog God of Varanasi. We bought "Kasi Kayaru" from this temple. This "kayaru" is supposed to ward off evil influences and instill self-confidence in those who wear the same.
We returned to the room around 9 p.m.. We were given Tiffin by one Lalitha Mami. While in Kasi, we were advised not to take hotel food. Home-cooked lunch and evening tiffin were arranged by the Sastrigal at a very nominal cost. When I retired to bed, I felt we had packed lot of activity for one sigle day. I was not feeling very tired either.

30th September-Tuesday-Second Day:
We went to the Sastrigal!s house at 8 a.m. after taking bath in the room. We performed
Sankalpam,Vigneshwara Pooja and Poorvanga Dhanam and Punyaka Vachanam. About 25 priests chanted mantras for six minutes. After this, we were advised to go the Ganges and take bath. The Ghat is just about five minutes from the residence of Vathiar. We took bath in the Ganges. Anu poured three sombus of Ganges on me and likewise, I was also advised to pour three sombus on her.
We returned the to the residence of Vathiar and performed Manikarnika Theertha Shradham (Anna Roopam and Hiranya Roopam). We took lunch with the two brahmins. I must say that the Vathiar did a very good job. I have never seen such a devotion even in the South.
After lunch, we visited the five remaining temples of Varanasi.Shiv temple buit by Birlas, known as as Birla Mandhir,Adi Sakthi Durga temple,(we were there on the opening day of Navrathri) Chowdhi Amman Temple (where prasadm given to the Goddess is CHOZHI), Sankata Mocha
Hanuman Temple and Satyanarayan Thulsi Das temple.
Though we have known Valmiki Ramayan and Kamba Ramayanam, Thulsi Ramayan is very famous in this part of India. The complete script of Thulsi Ramayan is written on the walls of this temple. Chowdhi Amman is the sister of Kashi Visvanatha and a trip to Kasi is complete only with the visit to these temples.
Old Kasi has very narrow lanes full of cow dung. Travelling on these lanes is not very easy. The only reason why more cows are seen in old Kasi is that "Pindams" are offwered to these cows and those cows who have lost their milk giving capacity roam around Kasi waiting for these "pindams". Walking through these lanes, I was remained of Pathaikadai Sandhu in Trichy, where more more than 60 percent of walking space used to be littered with urine and what not.I found lot of youngsters in these temples unlike in the South where you would find mostly middle-aged and older people. This is a refreshing change. We also passed through Banares Hindu University and the first and oldest Sanskrit College in India.I found statues for Pandit Madan Mohan Malavya everywhere. He is the founder of Banarees Hindu University.Surprisingly, I also found a statue of "Rashtra Kavi Subramania Bharathi" in Varanasi in a very dilapated condition. They are not doing Bharathi any honour/favour by keeping this statue in such a condition.

1st October-Wednesday) Third Day:
A Hindu is expected to offer pindam at five famous theerthams-Haridwar,Rudra Sarover,Vishnu Padha,Pancha Ganga and Mani Karnika, all located in the Ganges.After bath, we went to a Ghat, hired a motor boat and went around five diffeerent ghats.Pindams were cooked on the boat in a "Kumati Addupu" every time. One Sastrigal accompanied us on this trip. We offered Pindams in all these five theerthams. We had to take bath in every theertham. In other words, we took bath in the Ganges five time within a space of two hours. Before offering Pindams, we had to take a
bath. We also visited Bindhu Madhava Temple located in one of the Ghats. The Sastrigal, who accompanied, was excellent. He explained the significance of every theertham. The whole trip covering five therthams on a motor boat takes around two-and -a-half hours.After lunch, we left for Budha Gaya. It is a distance of 270 KMS and the journey takes around six hours. We hired a
taxi to Budh Gaya and reached that place around 6 p.m.Saw the Budh Gaya temple and the Banyan tree from where Lord Budha was supposed to have got enlightenment.It is a beautiful temple erected in 300 BC by emperor asoka. It was destroyed by Khilji and rebuilt by Lord Cunningham. Biuddism spread to Tibet,Thailand,Japan and other countries from this place.Only in India, it could not spread its wings because of the influences of Hinduism.Excepting idol worship, everything is common between Hiduism and Buddhism. The Maha Bodhi temple is very well maintained. Japan and Thailand have also built two temples for Buddha here. We found lot of foreign tourists praying at the temples. We reached Gaya around 8 p.m. and stayed at Karnataka Bhavan overnight.

2nd October -Thursday-Fourth Day:

We performed three ceremoneis-two hiranyam and one with Homam. We performed Phalguni and Vishnu Padha shradham on the banks of Phalguni river and Akshaya Vada shradham in Karnatak Bhavan. The whole thing started around 7.30 a.m. in the morning and by the
time we took our lunch, it was 3.30 p.m. It was difficult sitting for eight hours. We prepared 29
pindamsm for immediate ancestors and 64 pindams (16 for mother and the balance for any one close to us who have died one year ago). I offered Pindams to two teachers who have influenced me while at School in Thiruvaiyar and all other relatives. My wife offered Pindam to "Shortie"- a dog which was close to her while in Ashok Nagar.These Pindams were offered both in Phalguni and Akshaya Vada, where a Banyan tree is the central figure. This tree is supposed to have
helped Sita to testify in her favour before Lord Ram. That is why, this tree is reverred. We had to give up a fruit, a vegetable and a leaf in memory of our ancestors.
We left Gaya for around 4 p.m. and reached Varanasi around 9.30 p.m.

3rd October-Friday-Fifth Day:
We performed Ganga Pooja and Thampathi Pooja at the Vathiar!s place. It was over in an hour!s time. After lunch, we did some shopping and went around Benares in a cycle rickshaw. We left for New Delhi in the evening by Shiv Ganga Express. It has been a very rewarding experience. With all the external filth surrounding the place, there is an inner peace after the visit. If you were to ask me whether I would like to visi Varanasi once again, my answer will be "most certainly Yes"-given good health

Cornwall and the English country

For a long time, I wanted to see British country-side.. Bala chose Cornwall as the right place for this purpose. Cornwall refers to a region consisting of small coastal towns. The place is 280 miles from London,. We left for Cornwall in Bala!s new Van on 30th May. We enjoyed visintg various places for five days. Here is my Tour Diary.

1st Day-30th May:
We left Bala!s place around 8 in the morning. We reached Cornwall around four in the evening with a few stops on the way. We passed through Bristol (Gloucestershire), Barnstable,

Taunton(Sussex), Cardiff (Glamorgan) and Somerset. When we passed though Taunton, I was reminded of the double century partnership between Ganguly and Dravid in a world cup cricket match against Sri Lanka some years ago.Both the Senior and Junior Nawabs of Pataudi played for Sussex. When we passed through Somerst, I was reminded the exploitsof Vician Richrds and Ian Botham who played Cricket for Somerset for a number of years. Seeing how small Somerst was, I was surprised how Ian Botham could make such a statement "Who will Tour India. It is a place where I will send my mother-in-law". After a few years when Ian Botham came as a commentator for a match in Mohali, Sunil Gavaskar, in a typical Mahastrian manner, asked Botham " "Hey,Beeefy,Have you brought your mother-in-law with you"?. Needless to say,Botham!s face became too very small.

After reaching Falmouth, a town in Cornwall, we checked into a Hotel.We decided that keeping Falmourth as Head Quarters, we would travel around every-dy to various places.There are enough places to see atleast for a week. Due to constraints on time, we decided we would spend five days here.
After taking rest, we went to two delightful beaches and spent some time. We wnet to a Thai Restaurant for dinner and celebrated Bala!s 40th birth-day..

2nd Day-1st May

After break-fast in the hotel, we went to a place called Eden park. Cornrwall is said to be the Garden Capital of the World. Eden Park is about forty miles from Cornwall. The largest rain forest in captivity, it is a remarkably well kept place.Spread over 35 acres of land, the whole Project consists of two very big domes. Inside, almost all plants and, flowers of the world are grown in natural settings -in an artificially created climate suitable for their sustinance and growth. We experienced different tempartures inside the domes at two different places. This is a Millineum Project along with the London Eye.. This place has been ranked as a Global must-see by New York Times. A beautiful and challenging horticultural landscape dramatically changes with each season here at Eaden Park.There are bus and train facilities within the Place to take tourists inside.. We returned around 6 in the evening and prepared food at the Hotel using their facilities.
Compared to what we saw here, Lal Bagh in Bangalore appears to be nothing.As I could not take long walks, I took rest in between, sitting on benches ,and observed people passing through. I found out as under:
1)Most of the fat ladies had thin husbands and vice-versa.
2)Most of tall men had very short wives.
3)Couples above 50 were rarely exchanging words, though some of them were holding their hands together.
4)The number of young people having tattoos on their fore-arm is increasing in alarming proportions.


Third Day-2nd May:
After break-fast, we did some shopping in the market place in Falmouth. This is a port-twon where British Coast Guards have their head-quarters.
We left for St Ives, another port town around 12. This place is about 45 miles from Falmouth. This place has a beautiful beach. It is a small town with a population of 7000 people. Many eminent artists and sculptors of Europe settled in this place for the sake of proper environment for their creative arts. We spent some time on the beach and also visited Kate Gallery, where paintings and sculptures belonging to 19th and 20th century are exhibited. As my interest in and knowledge of paintings is severely limited, I could not enjoy my time at the Gallery.

Fourth Day-3rd May;
After break-fast when we started, there was jerk in the car and a sign flashed on the dash-board "service-check gear". This resulted in a delay of more than an hour.
We first went to a palce called "Michael on the Mount". This is about forty miles from where we were staying. This is a Church constructed on a mountain some five hundred years ago by Duke of Normandy. It is just like any Murugan koil in South India. we could see pilgrims from Europe coming to this place to fulfill their vows.( like in Velankanni). When there is high tide, this place becomes an island. When there is low tide, one could access the place through walk. We had to reach foothills of the mountain through a boat.St Michael is regarded as the guardian saint of this place.
From here, we went to a place called Bridgeport to see Minimack Theatre. This is a theatre created out of a mountain on the sea. It is an open air theatre where musicians and violinists from the world perform. It is very picturesque and unbelievably beautiful. When we went there, a group of Russian artists performed theatre.The few minutes spent by me in this place will remain etched in my memory for a long time.

Towards the evening, we to "Lands End". This is a place where Land ends and see starts. It is the southernmost tip of United Kingdom. The northermost tip w be somewhere in Scotland. It reminded me of Kanyakumari. While in Kanyakumari, Thiruvalluvar stature is erected, here it is big pillar. From this end, New york is only 3247 miles.
We were extremely impressed with all the places we saw to-day.

Fifth Day-4th May:
We left for Traverno Gardens in the morning. It is about twenty miles from Falmouth. Set in natural surrrroundings, the garden and the park have been declared as Heritage Sites. This is the first time I have seen a garden of this size and magnitude.It is very beautiful. Seeing some of the locales, I felt somehow that I have seen them in some Bollywood films like Khabi Khabi and Lamhe.
After lunch we went to see the National Maritime Museum. Apart from highliting, through rexhibits and films about British Maritime Supremacy, there is also a show " Titani- Honour and Glory". Many times, in my younger years, I had wondered how England (now U.K),being such a small country, controlled almost all of Asia, excepting China and Japan, through sheer strength of their Naval Power. After visiting the Museum, the answer became clear.
I was very impressed with the "Titanic Show". James Cameroon, director of the film Titanic, had undertaken so far six journeys below 2500 metres below the sea leve to find out and explore about the Titanic, through wreckages left behind.. This film shows his adventures.
When the ship sank in April 1912, the fare for third class passenger was only 3 to 16 pounds- this, at time when a pund was equivalent to five dollors. The cost of the first class ticket was forty pounds. Out of 2200 passengers, more than 1500 had perished. There is still one survivor who is alive and stays in Michigan. One day before April 10 1912, there was a review about Titanic in "ship-builder" which claimed that the ship was meant "comfort and luxury" and not for speed. It is no surprise that the ship sank because the owner of the ship , who was also travellling, pushed the Captain to increase the speed so that the ship could land earlier than scheduled.No wonder, when the speed increased, the ship crashed against an ice-berg and met its fate.It is ironic that the next ship built by the same company,Starline,( by name "Oceanoic") also sank in 1914, two years after "Titanic"

After a very memorable tour, we left for London on 5th May and reached home in the evening.Fortunately, we did not have any health problems.Health held fort, apart from some discomfort here and a niggle there..