MALAYSIAN NUGGETS

The Cathedral Cave

We make a three days visit to Malaysia and find it worth right from the huge International Airport at Kuala Lumpur, a Global city with a recent history of magical development. From this beautiful airport, 100 Sq. Km.,modern landmark of the world, we directly move towards the 400 million old Batu Caves, a distance of  around 80km. via routes well made and also dusty, but with a consistent accompaniment of  a variety of trees and palms throughout.

As we reach the fantastic, lush vegetation covered limestone caves, rising around 150mtrs above the ground, we are thrilled by the naturally drooping huge stalactite formations, contrasting well with the bulging greenery, giving an impression that the whole structure is ethereal. And look, in front is the huge 140ft statue of Lord Subramanya painted with 300 ltrs of gold! But the caves and the golden statue equal each other in richness of their kind and compliment each other to present a unique magnificence. We slowly look around in front of the caves. It is a marketplace bustling with activity of the tourists and the local people. Small restaurants, momento shops, fruit vendors, flower vendors and vendors selling big alluring coconuts full of water. We buy a thirst quencher each, enter a south Indian eatery and after a long time, enjoy nice hot Idlis and Dosa.

Vel  shaped entrance

We then head towards the steep flight of 272 steps to the cave wondering whether we will be able to make them! Surprisingly we climb them with some difficulty without wasting much time and we reach the Vel(spear) shaped mouth of the cave with intricately formed huge stalactites above us and bats, zooming and settled amidst them, noiselessly. Since 1860 Chinese settlers used the caves to excavate guano as fertilizer for their vegetable gardens.

Stalactites flooding With Light

 This is the Cathedral Cave or the Temple cave promoted as a place of worship of Lord Muruga by an Indian trader, K.Thambusamy Pillai; with a100 meters high natural ceiling with several openings throwing floods of sun light into the cave. There are small shrines in several secluded sections with weird and awe inspiring ancient stalactites and stalagmites and each spot is a place to appreciate and spend some time in the giant, bizarre natural wonder! Finally there is another small flight of stairs and we reach the main shrine above which there is a big opening in the ceiling and from an angle it looks as if stalactites are flooding in along with the light!

 We spend some time in the exhilarating, out of the world surroundings there and slowly return to the mouth of the cave, again trying to absorb as much as possible of the fascinating cave. Then we climb down the 272 stairs leisurely, enjoying views from, behind the back of the huge Golden statue and also the pranks of playful macaque monkeys sometimes naughtily snatching peanuts or bananas from the jolly tourists. I too love the big sized, crunchy, roasted Malaysian peanuts offered to us in the flight. As we don’t have time, and being sufficiently informed about Rama and Hanuman as Indians, we do not go to the other smaller caves.

Over the Canopies

Our next destination in the same afternoon is the Genting Highland Resort, 45 km from the caves. We are dropped at Gohtang Jaya, the lower station of the 3.4 Km. Genting Skyway, a mono cable Gondola lift, the longest and the fastest system in south-east Asia, gliding us over the beautiful, virgin Malaysian rain forests to the Resort, pleasantly atop a 6000ft. mountain peak in the Titwangsa Mountains near Kuala Lampur. It is a sublime experience to view the tropical  forests, with a history of more than 130 million years; way older than the equatorial forests of Amazon and Congo! At present they are under the scan of genetic biologists for new medicines to combat diseases like AIDS and cancer.

At the destination we are picked up by our cab again and straight away taken to the colorful First World Hotel. Its early evening and we have to spend some time to get our room in the world’s fourth largest hotel with 6120 rooms. In our package we have access to the Theme Park with a variety of rides and also casinos, but the rides being on a very small scale compared to the West, we don’t get much interested and the casinos, I consider a waste of time in gaudy, adrenalin smelling places.  We spend much of the time just moving around in the illuminated, festive atmosphere full of tourists and also the nice helpful staff of the hotel. Then we have dinner in one of the abounding food outlets in the First World Plaza, the huge ground section of the same hotel. Tired due to the heavy day of activities plus moving around in the huge hotel, we return to our room and fall asleep in a jiffy.

First World Hotel

Next morning, at the First World Café, we have a hearty breakfast of omelet with cheese and vegetables, chicken slices, bread toasts, water melon and orange pieces with plenty of good black coffee, an excellent stimulant for one to be on the toes for a long time! And we decide to see the Chinese Chin Swee Caves Temple, fifteen minutes drive from our hotel, arranged free of cost by the temple. Our bus meanders through fog, light rain, some sunshine and the beautiful, rich tropical greenery abounding all around till we reach the Temple, situated in the most breathtaking place of Genting Highlands at a height of 4600ft. In Malaysia, forests and trees cover three fourth of the land, almost an area of the size of United Kingdom! The founder of the Genting Group, late Tan Sri Lim, discovered this 28 acre, green rocky slope with streams which was very similar to the Chin Swee Crag back in his province of China and hence was inspired to construct the Temple. Chin Swee is a Chinese deity with supernatural powers capable of summoning rain and thwarting away evil spirits. This beautiful temple complex which has taken 18years to be completed, due to the hazardous, steep terrain is totally the dedicated work of Tan Sri Lim who was the planner, architect and designer of the project. He and his dedicated team dug 80 to 100 ft. holes, employed manual labor and gloriously completed the work without any accidents or casualties.  

Chin Swee Temple

We enter the spic and span lobby of the temple, ride the lift and come to the colorful fascinating temple complex, mainly dominated by the 9-storey pagoda and the 5-storey shrine of Chin Swee, a Buddhist, perfectly in accordance with the principles of Feng Shui. And well, the Chinese organized schemes of color, dominated by Red and Gold are a treat of a totally different kind to the eyes, just like their food to the palate. At the entrance of the huge floor, are the nine dragons painted in different colors indicating different messages of good luck and fortune. Behind the shrine, are massive statues of Buddha and Kuan Yan, goddess of mercy and compassion.Almost the whole area is surrounded by different kind of depictions of human lives and behavior and reincarnations in the Buddhist style with which we are very familiar;

The Pagoda

 but the colors and life in the variety of the statues every where is just appealing to the eyes! On the other side is the 9-storeys Pagoda, mainly decorated with figurines of Buddha and holding 10000 lamps for devotees to dedicate for the blessings of Buddha. The whole complex, perched amidst the sublime, natural, phenomenal panoramas is a treat!Having the satisfaction of visiting a worthy spot, we happily bid good-bye to the highlands by Gondola, again having heaven of a time over the rain forests and after landing end up in a smelly store with a variety of dried fishes; a variety of dry, spiced flowers, ginger, pineapple; several types of cheap candies and things we don’t have any idea about! We buy small quantities of  roses and ginger candy and leave the store before we get accustomed to the odor around! Then we start for Kuala Lampur, the cynosure of all tourists with Petronas Towers!

We reach our hotel at 4 pm, relax for an hour and refresh ourselves, think not of wasting time in the important city, and move out and start walking in the direction of Petronas Towers; visible from, say any place in Kuala Lampur, being the tallest building in the world! Soon we meet a slim and trim man from Chennai, an engineer settler, walking towards Petronas; we start conversing with each other as he tells us about the interesting property ownerships of Indians in Malaysia. He takes us through shortcuts and interesting surroundings, and later through the modern, high rise buildings, to the Towers, a distance of around 5 km. from our hotel. We enquire about the price of going to the top of the Towers next day (quite expensive); but decide against as we have to stand in the long queue at 5 a.m. in the morning to possibly get the tickets.

The gigantic, high strength concrete structure with its 452 meters tall, slender profile has 560,000 sq. meters of column free office space definitely gives one a feeling of unshakeable well being as we move in the spacious, imposing modern corridors towards the shopping mall, Suria KLCC. Our friend informs us that the structure is based on the auspicious eight point star Islamic motif, a characteristic of Muslim architecture. He also further informs us that it also happens to be the star of Laxmi in Hinduism and also a Buddhist symbol signifying the eight paths. I tell him that the good and well meaning things of all religions are mostly the same!

We bid good-bye to the gentleman who has made us comfortable in the place and enter the elegant, vibrant Suria (from the Sanskrit word Surya, meaning sun) KLCC, the premier Malaysian mall at the peak time. We move around the six-storey mall housing shops of the leading brands of the world without any buying interest and finally enter a crowded Chinese restaurant to have dinner! I leisurely feast over steaming Canton soup and shrimps- fried- rice as Poonam enjoys hot, spicy vegetable noodles accompanied by Coke. 

                             

Slowly we come out of the mall into the base of the towers, and leisurely stroll out of them to find that it is dark outside with plenty of moon light. We turn back and are struck by the beauty of the halide lamps (right from 70 watts to 1800 watts) illuminated Twin Towers and the sky bridge between them creating an atmosphere of celestial glow all around! We spend a lot of time in the lawns at their foot relaxing completely, watching the fountains in the huge pools of water. Very happy to have spent a nice evening in the premises of one of the landmarks of the modern world, we return to our hotel and enjoy sound sleep.

The Parliament complex

Next morning, after having a sumptuous breakfast, we are taken for a tour of the sixth most tourist-visited city in the world! We come to the Merdeka square and spend some time in front of the conspicuous, but not huge, Sultan Abdul Samad building constructed 115 yrs back and named after the then Sultan of Selangor. Here, the Malaysian flag was hoisted and the Union Jack lowered for the first time on 31^st Aug.1957; this is the venue of the National day parade, the New Year celebrations and other important events. Then we move on to the 3-storey and 17-storey, pretty Malaysian houses of Parliament with artistic arched entrance and exit and lamp-posts displaying the national flower,  blood red Hibiscus with five petals.
 From there we come to the National Monument, a huge complex with gardens and fountains, the main monument being a group of soldiers in bronze, who died in the freedom struggle against Japanese occupation, in the 2^nd World War. This 15 meters tall bronze is the world’s tallest of a group. We spend some time around the monument appreciating the sacrifices though it is the hottest part of the day. 

The National Monument Bronze

From here we go to the Petronas Towers and the City center, move around watching the steely towers in the day time and then having our lunch in a nearby restaurant.

The Fabulous Mosque

The last place we visit is the National Mosque of Malaysia, a modern reinforced concrete structure built in 1965, is said to symbolize the aspirations of free Malaysians. With 13 acres of beautiful gardens around, the huge mosque, with a capacity to accommodate 15000 people is an aesthetically designed edifice with a 73 meters minaret and the 16-point star roof shaped like an open umbrella, harmonizing with the tropical climate. The minaret’s cap resembles a folded umbrella! We reach the mosque by paths and stairs through nicely flowered lush trees around. We are allowed to the vast place of worship after a courteous lady offers us purple robes to don and cover our heads.

 The hall, with some people praying inside is well lit, well ventilated and has heavy chandeliers hanging all-round. The sea green and gold color scheme of the wall-to-wall carpets matches with the colors of the brilliant glass ventilation all around giving a pleasantly stunning appearance. The mighty pillars and walls with artistic inlay work and calligraphic Koranic verses in gold on wide black marble strips on the walls definitely intensify the Glory of the Divine in the Peace emanating mosque. We pray for peace and tranquility in the world.

                                                                                                

A View of the Towers n other Buildings

A Pillar in the Temple

Inside The Temple

      Chin Swee Temple       

Buddha,Chess Players,10 Caves

                                                                                                                                         Raja Ram Atre
                                                                                                                E-mail:rajaram.atre@gmail.com

Californian Splendours---17 Miles Drive

This panoramic state derives its name from the mythical island California in a 16^th century popular Spanish novel; ruled by Queen Calafia and its beautiful, brave, strong, all women Amazon warriors who used gold tools and weapons! My wife Poonam and I dreamily flew from classy, vast Houston to vibrant San Francisco crossing beautiful territories below us. Even the air-hostess told me that she loved to fly over these regions! We were warmly received and taken to Sunnyvale, 30 miles south by our dear, friend Gopal with whom we stayed ; it was still daylight though the time was nearing 8PM. Refreshing ourselves, we had a sumptuous dinner with barbequed, tender goat meat accompanied by a good scotch. His flamboyant son, a software industry higher up, also had the hobby of nice-cooking, once in a while! Relieved of the harsh 100+ temperatures of Houston, we slept soundly covered with quilt in the 60+ temperatures here. Summer in the Texas region was punishing this year!

Next morning, we enthusiastically started for the scenic, countryside 17 miles drive, hugging the Pacific coastline. It was just cool and clean everywhere with mountains all around covered with lush, verdant pines. The whole, more than 100 miles, route from Sunny Vale was filled with ripe farms of artichokes, asparagus, strawberries, lettuce, you-name-it-they-have-it! Yes, California produces around 80% of U.S. fruits and vegetables! Fresh artichokes being mechanically harvested immaculately and cartoned was also a sight to behold amidst the eye-filling green fields. Perhaps such landscapes of the Silicon Valley gave romantic Steve Jobs an aesthetic vision in the design of personal computers!

We entered the drive at Shepherd’s Knoll on a cold, foggy day in late September. The fog engulfed the view of the Monterey Peninsular arc from the knoll and created a dreary atmosphere with a number of Western seagulls perched on sand in a certain part of the beach. But this was the way nature helped moderation of temperatures in summer and also reasonable supply of water to coastal forests! Forgetting about the promising sunsets in the evening; cold due to the strong breeze from the grey Pacific, we walked back towards our car, crossing strands of kelp (a proteinous, edible seaweed) in several places. And we chanced into pretty, colorful clusters of Ice plants on elevated mounds of sand. These charming, Hottentot figs (the other name, and I loved it as it conveyed something warm instead of ice!) with flowers of various hues are of South African origin; they control soil erosion and are also very fast spreading.

We moved on to Huckleberry Hill, from where again the views of the bay and Del Monte forests were marred due to the fog, but we could spot a deer or two at levels lower to us with binoculars. Soon we reached Poppy Hills, resorts having highly esteemed golf courses of the world. But I found myself least interested in them and their pleasant, cultured appearance as we had traversed beautiful green fields just sometime back! Also the whole 17 miles of the peninsula with beautiful beaches; restless, naughty waters and rugged rocky shores was ahead with the promise of the fog, giving way to brightness! The grand mansions of the affluent community, hidden behind screens of huge pines and the famous, huge Poppy Hills Golf Course with 18 holes, did not carry much meaning to the normal tourists charmed by the glories of nature even under adverse settings!

We moved along the serpentine route through lush green Monterey pines towards Spanish Bay, from where the beautiful beaches, accompanied by imaginatively designed Golf Courses started. In the adjacent town of Pacific Grove lived the Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck for a number of years, who wrote Tortilla Flat around the Monterey Peninsula! Strolling along the shoreline for a while with hands in pockets as the breeze was very cool for us, we drove towards the Restless Sea and Point Joe where huge white waves in the waters galloped towards the coast threateningly; mainly due to the submerged rocks breaking the waves earlier. Then we reached Bird Rock, a hill at a distance from the shores, sheltering a fantastic combination of cormorants, gulls and roosting pelicans during spring and summer and also seals, sea lions and otters with kelp around them. This happened to be the point of maximum interest for us as we watched the verity of fauna on the hill with binoculars.

We also had fun, feeding friendly, big seagulls flying and perching around us as we offered them feed; yeah…, the spine-chilling birds of Alfred Hichcock’s suspense thriller “The Birds” were really a good surprise! So also the playfully darting squirrels resting on thighs for nuts in the palms! All this with the saxophonic bellowing of the sea lions at a comfortable distance on the Hill and to top it all, we also had the rare, magnificent view of a big cormorant with wings spread on a nearby rock and a seal resting near its feet as if courting!

Well, with fun at heart and ducky world famous Golf courses (Spyglass Hill, Cypress Point Club) on the way, we moved on to the “Lone Cypress” with its bright green foliage at the flat top and the lunging haggard trunk, braving the teasing, Pacific! Yes, the over 250 yrs. Old tree, standing alone on a huge, granite really dramatized its valor on the live canvas formed with the ocean around!

It deserved to be the symbol of the prospering Pebble Beach and its enterprising residents. American restaurateur Al Bernardin, one of the residents of this elite area was the inventor of the, 420 klcl. Quarter Pounder, real macho, whole burger of McDonald’s! This weird variety of cypresses, due to very strong coastal winds, directly known as Monterey cypress now happened to be small populations in Monterey and Carmel.Some of them, as old as two thousand years had scary Halloween effects, combined with the persisting fog and memories of the “Ghost Tree” and the likes.

Steadily driving over the unusual cypress trees route we reached Pescadero Point, the northern point of the Bay. Here the famous, ghastly Witch Tree, also used for scenes by suspense film-makers, relentlessly withstood the harsh winds till it perished on Jan.14, 1964 in a storm. This was the only on which the important Hindu harvest festival of Sankranti occurred, and the atmosphere made me think of weaving a suspense thriller myself!

Curving over the Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of the most prestigious and beautiful golf courses in the world with some holes along the coastline, and the Stillwater Cove we reached the cute, town of Carmel towards the evening, still foggy! This wonderful, go-natural place, where wearing high-heels was prohibited as one was likely to trip over pavements distorted by roots of trees, was mostly developed by its worthy residents who happened to be the treasures of the country in the form of artists, poets and writers of the kind of Robinson Jeffers and Mary Austin. We walked along a calmly busy street and entered a store, also selling verities of tasty sauces and dressings. Gopal picked up a small jar of cranberry sauce and a good Californian wine for a turkey dinner. Then we moved on to the Carmel Plaza, another pleasant shopping centre with something for everyone. We bought a large Cappuccino for each one of us from a bistro and enjoyed the lively music and dance going on in the open space outside; where people leisurely accommodated themselves at the conveniently arranged tables. Yeah…some of them with their dogs in this exceptionally dog friendly town, where pets were allowed even in restaurants and hotels, having doggie-menus and provision of water for the pets! This lovesome town happened to be the home-town of the cigar smoking, gun-toting megastar Clint Eastwood who in reality strongly supported the selling and eating of ice cream on the streets as he contested to be the mayor of Carmel. Well…, mind you that he is a life long non-smoker and of course, gem of a healthy gentleman who regularly practices Transcendental Meditation! I tried to conclude that this was a good place for me to attain Nirvana provided some Richie Rich patronized me!

image from http://www.google.com/imgres?q=carmel+by+the+sea&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1600&bih=811&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=WBo7IOGtFKGXNM:&imgrefurl=http://en.db-city.com/United_States/California/Monterey/Carmel-by-the-Sea&docid=PAHk4lM6_SJ3-M&imgurl=http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/3179813.jpg&w=500&h=375&ei=HK_4TqiDEaS42QWe1cmfAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=189&vpy=506&dur=1662&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=164&ty=106&sig=114353131725115105765&page=2&tbnh=139&tbnw=196&start=21&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:21

Raja Ram Atre

KONARK,SUNRISE ON EARTH

From the world renown Puri, I reach the scanty, insipid town of Konark by bus, to be dropped around the not visible Sun temple. I walk through a narrow lane with shops of handicrafts and mementos on both sides and soon reach the dilapidated temple, stunningly zooming on me as I walk onward in wonder! The magical network of matchless, lively sculpture on granite all over, already starts casting its spell on me! The Black Pagoda(as the European sailors called the landmark),the culminating brilliance among Kalinga style temples, sprawling over a land of 860ft by 540ft amidst casuarinas, mahogany, rosewood plantations was built and completed between 1253 and 1260 A.D. by king Narasimhadeva-1 to proclaim the political supremacy of the Ganga dynasty. Creativity, energy and aesthetic commitment of 1200 artisans and architects, over a period of 12years with the state revenue receipts of 12years; and the temple was finally completed after some more confounding problems.

The entrance is guarded by two fantastically sculptured ferocious lions (Gajasimhas), each crushing a war elephant which in turn lies on the top of a human body. Then I climb into the, at present without roof, brilliant, multi-pillared Nata Mandir where the temple dancers performed in reverence to the Sun God. The lively dancing figurines all over the pillars around give an impression of some live performance going on! As I slowly walk on to the other side and descend the stairs, I have the majestic view of the Sun Temple in all its glory ascending before me!

Conceived as a huge, exquisitely and intricately sculptured Chariot with twelve pairs of giant sized wheels and seven horses (these horses by the side of the stair case on the eastern side of Jagamahana were broken and done away with.) with a beautiful image of Surya (Sun God meaning beautiful light) in the main temple behind. This 230ft.high structure perished due to fanatic brutal attacks by Kalapahad a Hindu Kayastha convert to Islam, general of the Sultan of Bengal in 1568. To begin with, the east-west aligned Konark, meaning essence of the corners(perhaps of the three corners namely Bhuvaneshwar, Puri and Konark forming the Golden Triangle), is nothing but a depiction of the philosophy of the living, the lively, and the full of life beings and things inspired by the life and sustenance giving phenomenon, Arka(Sun’s name meaning, the essence of all).

As I start moving around the temple, I reach a wheel of the chariot, 9ft. in diameter, with eight thick and eight thin spokes displaying detailed, finest cut, carvings of a variety of gods and goddesses and scrolls of flora and fauna. The wheel also works as a sun clock during the day time. Such 24 wheels signify 24 hrs of the day. The base below the wheels all-round has a scroll of hundreds of elephants (about 1452) in different lively poses, carrying the king in some places, also warriors on elephants and horses with swords and shields in their hands, deer-hunters and also real life scenes of husking rice, bullock-carts, pilgrimages of old people.

The next level depicts imaginary figures like Gaja-Shardula (lion upon an elephant), Nara-vyala (lion upon a man), Naga-mithunas (half human, half serpent couples) and male and female figures in different poses; all life like with the best touch of chisel. The next level of Mitra’s(Sun’s name meaning fried of all) temple has wildest of the erotic sculptures with some astonishingly eye-catching amorous couples indulging in sex! Even Vastayana’s Kam-sutra does not have a mention of such poses depicted with perfect knowledge of human anatomy by the artists! Of course, under the auspices of Hiranyagarbha (Sun: meaning the golden centered), the creator and nourishing (Pushna: one who nourishes, a name of Sun) deity of life in prime prosperity times; naughty, healthy, mutually consented natural heterosexuality is quite legitimate! Evidently sex was not a taboo and its uninhibited appreciation definitely seemed to be a sane gesture of social life in those days.

This huge platform around which I spend a whole lot of time is 16-1/2ft. in height and on this stands the 130ft high Jagamohana or Mukhashala (porch), the audience hall of the temple, with a terraced pyramidal roof. It has three tiers separated by high recesses containing figures of life sized dancing women with musical instruments depicting Devadasis at the time of Aarati.The walls again have three tiers like the platform, each tier having much larger, beautifully carved animal, human and imaginary figures. It has four black chlorite doors in four directions 14-1/2ft wide and rich with sculpture enhancing the impact of the structure. This 60ft square hall is packed with stone boulders, sand and lime since 1904 from inside for safety.

Behind the Porch are the remnants of the main temple which was 230ft high, the highest of the temples in India! The crumbled temple has 25-30ft. thick portions of walls remaining around the Sanctum Sanctorum which lead us into it through a flight of stairs. Three life like Parsva Devatas with seven horses and a variety of devotees, the Sun himself in different forms in chlorite stone on the walls and an artistic, huge throne with creepers and animals and king Narasimhadeva himself worshipping Bhaskara(Sun’s name meaning one who leads to attainment) with his companions, carved on it still make us feel as if we are amidst life still breathing! The image of Surya is installed on the throne; even in their present condition they happen to be the rarest specimens of Konark sculptures!

Well the whole temple with its beautiful surrounding premises is a dream-cum-reality which makes the people forget themselves and definitely ushers their imagination to now horizons!

Raja Ram Atre,

3-6-687/102, St. No.10,

Himayatnagar,

Hyderabad,A.P.

Pin. 500029,

INDIA.

Cell:7893145237.

E-Mail: rajaram.atre@gmail.com

MATHURA,VRINDAVAN,AGRA

Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple

From Delhi,the heart of Indian tourism,myself and my wife Poonam reach Mathura, a distance of 145km by train,late in the night and get the last bus for Vrindavan 11 km further. As a matter of fact, Braj, culturally the land of Krishna,the colourful cowherd who also guides the world even today with His exposition of the philosophy of karma through Bhagvad Gita, comprises of the cities Mathura,Agra and Bharatpur(Rajasthan).It is 10:30p.m. as we enter the premises of RamKrishna Math with a sprawling hospital(providing very affordable services to poor people) and beautiful gardens.But the serenity of the Math,apparant even in the night, is disturbed by monkeys vigourously moving around amidst the trees and even screaming at times.Yes,Vrindavan is full of naughty,but normally harmless monkeys,who sometimes snatch away your spectacles too! Soon we meet the concerned Swamiji who amicably guides us to and hands over the keys of our simple but adequately equipped appartment,where we stay for three days.
Next morning, after having a simple but wholesome breakfast of chapatis,potato-cauliflower curry at the Math, we proceed to Mathura by an auto-rikshaw. This ancient city,the birth place of Lord Krishna, has a mention even in Ramayana, the oldest Indian epic. At present,it is an industrially developed place,contributing substantially to the economy of U.P. and has access by train from all the major cities of India.A strategically important place for the defence of the nation,it is also a hub of educational institutions in U.P. But,for the people of India and many in the West,THIS is the place of all aura,aroma and charisma of Lord Krishna! Obviously and accordingly with the historical and epical importance,we first locate the obscure, insignificant, underground temple (resembling a prison cell, constructed by Marathas) of Laddu-Gopal sharing a common wall with an elegant Mosque constructed by Aurangzeb,destroying the ancient Keshav Dev Temple.
The zealotry of invadors of the likes Mahmud Ghazni, Sikandar Lodhi slowly poisoned the sentiment of Hindus. We spend some time in the cool, fragrant- with- flowers, pleasant cell,while a group of old ladies melodiously sing laurels of Krishna in Brajbhasha(the Braj variant of Hindi). Then we move on to the new,main temple complex,constructed in the late 1960s after a movement led by late Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya,also founder of the temple of learning, Benaras Hindu University,the largest residential university in Asia admitting students and faculty of all religions!He said,"India is not a country of Hindus only.It is a country of the Muslims,the Christians and the Parsees too.The country can gain strength and develop itself only when the people of different communities live in mutual goodwill and harmony." In todays enlightened India and world,religious fanatism is a brutish phenomenon of the Old Stone Age and should be rightly dealt with. But all the important religions still carry the same respect and impact, as their common crux is nothing but a completely fructified philosophy for the benifit of all people.
We drift here and there, in the massive temple with big corridors and well ventilated halls,before we come into the great assembly hall in front of the Sanctum Sanctorum housing beautifully carved marble statues of Radha and Krishna aesthetically decorated with flowers. Here,in the almost empty hall(being noon time) we find a small group of white people sitting in a circle in front of the Sanctum Sanctorum and a cute,young lady among them dancing in tune to the cultural Rasiya music bieng tastefully played on the speakers in the hall.As the music and dance end,their guide puts a garland of marigold flowers around her neck as a token from the Lord and all of us clap with amusement as the lady bows courteously with all the charm and smile on her radiant face.Slowly,we move out of the temple and land ourselves up in a well known sweetmeat shop opposite to the temple!We order 2kg.of the famous Pedha for taking home,and indulge ourselves in a glass each of great,chilled,creamy Lassi with the fragrance of keora(pandanus odoratissimus:botanical) in big Kulhads (earthen pots).We also enjoy hot Samosas with sweet Imli ki chutni(made with tamarind and cumin). Our stomachs are full and we contentedly,lazily move out uttering "Radhe....,Radhe.....", the name chanted most adoringly and melodiously in Braj!
We engage an auto-rikshaw and go to the important Krishna shrine, Dwarkadheesh temple,built in 1815 by Seth Gokuldas Parikh, the Tresurer of Gwalior.This beautiful temple,with a very modest entrance due to a crowded,narrow lane in front,has its main deity Krishna and artistic images of Radha and other Gods around.Particularly, a frame of Krishna and Sudama meeting is very impressive.This temple,at a small distance from the river Jamuna,is the greatest crowd puller during the festivities of Janmashtami and Holi.We spend some time in the

cool,calm,ventilated temple eating the Prasad of Kheer(a sweetened rice and milk porridge with dry fruits and nuts).Comming out of the temple in the narrow,usually filled with people lane,we move towards the river,listening to vibrant classical music based on different festivals of Brajbhoomi, played on speakers by shops selling C.D.s and D.V.D.s. Enthralled by the music,we just stop at a shop by the side and buy some music, listening to some more for selection.

We return to the Math,relax and get ready to visit the most important temple of Vrindavan(Tulsi,holy basil forest); The Banke Bihari Temple! " The Lord,thakur Shri Kunj Bihari Maharaj(Swami Haridas called him so), is the Ocean Of Love,the Cosmic Beauty and the Eternal beauty of this ocean is unfathomable," wrote Swami Shri Haridas, the Guru of Miyan Tansen,one of the navratnas(nine jewels) in the court of emperor Akbar.He discovered the image in Nidhivan in the 16th centurywhich was later on moved to the present temple in 1864.We slowly move through a friendly puzzle of colourful, very narrow, crowded lanes and bylanes filled with small shops by the

sides selling momentos,flowers,offerings in the temple and Chat and sweetmeat.We reach the temple,at a higher elevation than the streets around.It is sunset time, as we enter the temple through the ornamental entrance,most of the time not visible, even from a small distance, due to the the structures in the viscinity.Once inside the temple,we are engulfed by the soothing,golden light of hundreds of small earthen oil lamps lit individually by devotees as it is Kartik Mas(a particular auspicious month).The light inside matches the twilight hour light outside and at a distance we alsosimultaneously see the dark majestic,magnetic image of the Lord in the Sanctum Sanctorum amidst similar illumination.We move down some stairs,then on the floor of the huge hall ,surrounded by beautiful pillars and paintings and then again climb to the altar at an elevation to see Him from very much nearby.It is said that as the tender hearted Banke Bihari may leave the temple with anyone of the spellbound,true
devotees having continuous Darshan,a curtain is drawn on Him at regular intervals!Definitely,we come out of the holy,historic temple in a very joyful state of mind. Moving amidst a veriety of people from different places(including whites) in the narrow lane,we stop before a sweetmeat shop and have small kulhads of Khurchan(A simple but tasty,mildly sweet, dessert made from the scrape after reduction of milk,with a pinch of cardamom powder added). As the taste excels, we carry some to the Math,to enjoy after a tasty,gratifying,dinner.
may leave the temple with anyone of the spellbound,true devotees continuously having

Next day morning we take a tourist bus,which takes us to
several important places of Mathura.First we go to Govardhan,a hill full of greenery and rocks, where cattle grazed in the days of Krishna.He once lifted the hill sheltering all the people and animals under it; protecting them from torrential rains and havoc caused by the arbitrary wrath of rain and thunder god Indra,for not getting the usual offerings from the people under Krishna's guidance.There is a huge,impressive Goshala(shelter for stray cows) by the side.You have to be barefoot to climb this holy hill.Then we proceed to Nandgaon,where Lord Krishna spent his childhood,fostered by king Nanda and his wife Yashoda.We visit the spacious temple and then proceed to Barsana,the childhood days town of Radha,Krishna's beloved Gopi. Philosophically,Radha and Krishna constitute the Absolute Truth and both of them are found together in every temple as also in the majestic Radharani temple on the verdant hill Ghevarvan in Barsana.In the unique Lath-maar(charge with staff) Holi festival in this place,ladies charge men with well oiled lathis,while thy protect themselves with leather shields amidst bursts of colours! This correlates with the romantic mythological episode of Radha with other Gopis teaching a lesson to krishna and his friends for stealing their clothes at a bathing Ghat!

Then we visit Radha Kund and Shyam Kund, considered to be supremely holy,which are full of devotees from

East and West and were rediscovered by Gauranga(a golden hued body)or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,who propounded the philosophy of

devotion through Gaudiya Vaishnavism in early 16th century.Since the beginning of his Bhakti movement,Chaitanya had Muslim and Hindu participants and later in the 20th century histeachings were taken to the West and the whole world by Swamy Prabhupadananda with the movement known as The International Society of Krishna Consciousness(ISKCON).Krishnalogy is studied in several academic institutios of the world today! Salimullah Khan,a noted linguist maintains,"Sixteenth century is the time of Chaitanya Dev,and it the time of Modernism in Bengal.The concept of Humanity that came into frution is contemperanious with that of Europe." We move further by bus to the picturesque Kusum Sarovar,a place full of Krishna's favorite Kadamb trees and beautiful monuments on its bank, constructed by Jawahar Singh,in honour of his father Raja Surajmal(early 18th century) and his queens.Having beautiful gardens on the other side, the 60ft deep lake is an ideal spot for leisurely swim around the sunset time! This was the fragrant place with a veriety of flowering trees where Radha and Krishna met clandestinely!

It's evening as we reach the beautiful ISKCON temple in marble displaying Gauranga, in the light of the twilight hour! This temple,The Krishna Balram Mandir(has the divine brothers in the central altar),established by Swamy Prabhupadananda in 1975 is the first ISKCON temple in the world; also having his Samadhi on the left near the entrance. Here at Raman Reti near Jamuna,the divine brothers herded their cows.The first altar has Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu as deities and the third altar has the eternal couple of Radha and Shyam

with their confidential Gopies Lalita and Vishakha. This clean, live temple is full of people,energising music,dance and a sense of all pervading Happiness throughout the day,with complete freedom of movement and access to all sections! The temple has a great courtyard enclosed by gallaries with beautiful paintings depicting Krishna's episodes.It also houses momento shops in one of which I buy a T-shirt witha beautiful image of Radhe,Shyam; and of course,two vegetarian food joints serving mouth-watering sweets and snacks of the kind in Mathura,but bigger in size! I just love the Kachori I eat and we carry a Kulhad of Rabdi(a milk delicacy) as an
after-dinner sweet to the Math.

Next day morning after breakfast, ,we walk to Nidhivan,a grove of jasmines having the Samadhi of Swamy Haridas,the divine saint-singer. We find a number of playful monkeys all around in the cool atmosphere,as we move along the narrow paths
amidst the aged shrubs.But at present nobody believes that Lord Banke Bihari and Radha came to this place for relaxation after dancing Rasleela with other Gopis at Seva Kunj,another unbecoming,monkeys infested grove at present!Since last
250 years the scenic,fragrant forests of Vrindavan with the local fauna of peacocks,cows,monkeys and a veriety of birds have been whittled away by the local kings and subsequently by wreckless developers in the process of unruly
urbanisation.We spend some time in these legendary places and then move in the Kunj Galiyan(very small lanes) leading to where-we-don't-know! In a place we come across a huge camel seemingly charging at us with a small cart behind it and a
person driving it sweetly shouting Radhe...Radhe....Yes,this is the most beloved word in the land of Banke Bihari that solves all the problems for all the people with love and devotion! We too, just rush into an open door by the side and come backto see the cart past us!Soon we affectionately bid good-bye to Mathura,Vrindavan.

We proceed to Agra by bus from Mathura and reach the place by 14hrs.Our aim is only to see The Taj as we have to board the train for Hyderabad the same night! Understanding the importance of the value added time we have at our disposal,we reach the complex as quickly as possible,buy tickets and enter the Great Gate by 15hrs.by hook or by crook,in spite the long week end queue.Hmm.....we see the glimpse of the Wonder of the World through the arc of the darwaza and rejoice at our success!Ya....we have made the happy,around the sun set hours;the most gratifying time to be in the dreamy,extensively treatised, Taj Mahal complex!We

romantically drift amidst the lush gardens trying to find the best and most soothing places to relax with different views of Taj.The nuances of Taj, as the sun starts setting are surely the most memorable with its various golden hues. Surely,the soul of Mumtazmahal, who died during the birth of her 14th child, blesses all for health,romance,peace and well being!The sun has set and along with the crowd we happily bid good bye to a memorable moment in our lives.
Our tour complete,I fall asleep in the train,sweetly recollecting the good time we had.I dream that it is full moon night and I am again in gardens of Taj, gloriously luminescent. "Hey,behold", I also see Lord Krishna,Radha and the Gopis playing Raas to sonorous heavenly music! "Oh Lord,how come you are here," I devotedly ask Him,completely charmed."Surely,this is the right place for Us in Braj at present",answers the Lord dancing pleasantly.

Raja Ram Atre

VaishnoDevi,The Enlightened Damsel

A View of Katra
It is the third time we are visiting Goddess Vaishnodevi,residing in a cave in the beautiful Trikuta range of the great Himalayas.Yes,every time the trek is enjoyable and frolic filled and with an amount a person spends for ten i-max movies,one can make this awe inspiring,health giving,THE- REAL- THING- journey by train!We go to Katra,2500ft. above the sea level, from Jammu and climb around 14km. to reach the shrine visited by 8 million people every year;next only to the Balaji temple at Tirumala! Once,full of hurdles and dangers,now the whole way is well paved and with good,hygienic facilities for food,snacks,soft drinks and icecreams.Drinking water and toilets are also provided at convenient distances.Hindus and Sikhs regularly throng to these beautiful peaks tallest at around 9000ft.,but our journey takes us to a height of 6500ft.only.The majestic valleys and mountains are joyously climbed by all comfortably taking their own time,chanting "Prem se bolo Jai Mata Di" and so on.....But remember,unless the Enlightened Damsel gives us a call,we don't reach the place.Don't worry,just go to Katra and you are through to Her benevolence along with all; experiencing the thrill at all important places where She created mythology,being followed by a crafty Tantric Bhairobaba, against her wishes, with malice in his heart.

Prem se Bolo...... Jai Mata di.....

Accompanied by a faithful Langur,She dodges Bhairobaba in the arduous terrain of Trikuta mountains.She also has a lion to protect Her!Soon we find a nice big pool of water(Ban-Ganga),created by Her by shooting an arrow into the earth,for the Langur.Here,the people take bath and happily proceed further giving slogans like "Has ke bolo Jai Mata Di"(hail the Mother with smiles).We have a hearty brekfast of tasty Chhole and Bhature, and proceed. Three km.ahead and at a height of3500ft. She turns back to see whether Bhairobaba is following.Her foot-prints(Charan Paduka) are established here and we see the fresh landsape of Katra through morning mist from a curved path nearby. Here we enjoy a lively dance with a group of youthful students to the tune of drums from drummers sitting by the side on the way!.The climate is exhilerating as we climb another 4km. to Garbh-Joon-Guha,a cave into which She disappears for nine months to mislead Bhairobaba.This cave,about 25mtrs. long, resembles a uterus with a surface of various sizes of smooth,rotund stones.For God-fearing fatsoes or nervous skinniy people it is supposed to be a suspense-filled experience to pass through the cave! It is said that one

is cleansed of all his sins once he comes out of the cave ; and also the gynic problems of ladies are rectified! At any time there will be a long queue for this event and one stands for hours together thoroughly tiring oneself but enthused by the slogans hailing the Mother.It is next morning with soothing sunshine and rejuvenating breeze, when we head towards HaathiMattha(elephant's head shaped), a point at a height of 6500ft. and a distance of 3km.On the way,beautiful needle-shapedpine leaves in bunches shine like emeralds in the sunlight, against the far off huge cliffs in the background.

A Unique Tall Hill Midway...

Bhairobaba is again able to find her after 9 months but She vanishes into her final abode leaving the mighty Langur to stop him. But the adament Tantrik easily vanquishes the Langur when the Mighty Mother appearing with all her prowess in the most terrifying form just beheads him with her trident making his head spin off to a place 1300ft. higher and the body dropping dead at the entrance of the cave,The Bhavan at present(Here accomodation,food and all important things are managed
by the Temple Trust very efficiently and at the most reasonable prices)! But the highly attained Bhairobaba's head is still conscious as he repents before The Almighty Mother.Being kind hearted,She not only pardons him but also grants him a
boon that one's pilgrimage will not be complete unless the person visits Bhairobaba's temple 1300ft. higher!From Her Darbar(or Bhavan) at a level of 5200ft.

At the shrine we get very good branded tea,coffee and also icecreams,everywhere.At the big eateries provided by the Trust we get great hot Alu ,Gobhi Parathas with sliced onions,pickles for breakfast; and yummy Kadhi withPakodas,Rajma,rice,parathas and curries for lunch!Yes,you are fit for the tough climb to Bhairoghati,full of langurs(perhaps they are friends of Bhairobaba now). One really feels happy, particularly after seeing the pleasent head of Bhairobaba!From here beautiful views of valleys,mountains and gorges is your lot:you are bound to return a healthy, tuned and energised person after this romantic, friendly trek!
Bhairo Baba's Friends Now!


Man,don't try to emulate Bhairobaba with a lady against her wishes, for a boon; today a woman is much more powerful by the grace of Mother, but far less benevolent! You will be deep in the soup!

RAJA RAM ATRE.

Raja Ram Atre.
3-6-687,St.10,
Himayatnagar,
Hyderabad,A.P.
Pin.500029,
INDIA.
E-mail :rajaram.atre@gmail.com
Ph.040-40077565. Cell:7893145237

AMARNATH-THE THRILLING TRAIL.

Even the month of July is simmering hot in north India and after tiring checks and halts even 50km. on the way to Jammu,though the people give us excellent welcome at the Bhandaras(where food,medicine and even staying facilities are made free of costfor the pilgrims) the journey is boring and alarming with the threat of terrorists for the disconcerted pilgrims from different parts of the country till they reach Pahalgam.But be rest assured that there will be no problem except a lot of discomfort after which you step into the heavenly Pahalgam where Shiva is said to have left his bull as he started with his paraphernalia and consort Parvati in search of a place where he could explain her the secrets of Eternity.
We spent a lovely evening in Pahalgam having a simple dinner of piping hot parathas and cauliflower curry with Kashmiri spices,sitting by the side of a walnut tree with raw walnuts in the lawn of an inexpensive hotel.Then we had along walk on the almost empty roads on which a pair of ducks walked carefree;a bit further a group of children were making kababs by the roadside.further down some people were calmly coming out of a Goddess's temple.All these activities were smoothly going on under the vigilance of security people moving in armored vehicles looking for unearthly terrorists!Yes,it was pilgrimage season and we too moved freely enjoying a rare event of our life.Next morning,the beautiful Pahalgam with snow clad mountains all around and the youthful river Lidder playfully flowing through it,bid us farewell for a dream filled journey to Amarnath.
We reach Chandanwari,16km. farther,by a van.It's a small cute spot garlanded by river Lidder with colourful tents of the security people amidst.Here Lord Shiva is supposed to have left the Moon which adorned his head.From here onwards we are on a trail with pine trees around adding freshness to the atmosphere.The first trek itself is a tough climb to Pissu Top,a distance of 3km.taking us to a hight of 11000ft.Then,soon we are in the vicinity of huge ice chunks allowing clean chilled water of Lidder through them.We move further through beautiful rock formations with small waterfalls everywhere.
It's almost noon and we are heading towards Sheshnag,a gradual climb of another 750ft.and a distance of 11km.We are already tired and move on monotonously a long way,up and down,without much marginal attention.Around 5p.m. we reach the legendary Sheshnag lake,where Shiva is supposed to have left the snakes that adorned his body.Behind the lake is the huge multipeaked Sheshnag mountain.In the late evening both of them together invoke a cautious curiosity with the weird story that on some particular days a huge snake appears standing erect in the
waters!
We proceed further and reach the camp where our moods are immediately elevated as we see two or three well lit bhandaras bustling with people and music.Each bhandara has quality food items and sweets to serve the pilgrims.It's just like a 5 star night(in urban terms) in the Himalayas!

Next day morning,we start for the highest spot of the journey,the Mahagunas Top,an altitude of 14000ft.Though the steep climb is less than 5km.,the rough terrain definitely exhausts one,and lack of oxygen gives a gripping headache.The top is also susceptible to unpredictable rough weather.We quickly move towards Panchtarni at a lower hight of 12000ft.This trek with wild mountain scenes around and the five rivers contentedly flowing in the plains,give us great relief and relaxation after the hard climb to Mahagunas.We happily cover a distance of 9.5 km.,sometimes wading through chilled waters and reach the camp late in the evening again to find festive food arrangements and an atmosphere of celebration as we shall be reaching the Holy cave next day!
Early in the morning,we start on a curving and risky trail,mostly surrounded by ice,for our final destination.In the beginning as the sun rises when we look back from an elevation,we see the beautiful plains of Panchtarni with the rivers snaking glitteringly over them and a huge range of mountains behind them washed by the sun rays all over!This is said to be the place where Shiva danced Tandava in happiness.But take care,walk without looking here and there;the route sometimes curves with edges which may throw you into abyss,if you miss a single step!When we reach the Sangam point 3km. midway and peep,we see a confluence of pleasant green waters with neat tents in the plains between them.From there roughly,the 14km.,tough Baltal route starts.Go on further chilling yourself and also finding lonely vendors selling cool drinks on the way.You are quite near the Cave where you can take bath in the chilling waters of river Amravati flowing towards you from the side of the cave.From here you can see the Himalayan fantasies in ice!After that you may think of doing away with the artificial snow-worlds of theworld!
Now you are moving through a lane with people selling Prasad and Pooja material on both sides.A very good number of them are Muslims.If you have hired a pony,your ponywalla is a Muslim!When I talked to a Muslim businessman in Pahalgam,he said that Muslims also visit Baba Burphani(Lord Shiva) for ''Mannat"(wish fulfillment).Well,the cave is about to appear.
And lo!Suddenly the huge marvel appears from a distance!The Magnificence,facing south,brilliant in sunlight,more so because of the light from a huge rock face somewhere in the opposite side,is definitely a Nature's wonder at an altitude of 13000ft.!The Cave has been visited since hundreds of years by great saints like Adi Sankaracharya,Swamy Vivekananda,Ramtirth, and so on.V.S.Naipaul visited the Cave when he was in India and wrote of the joy and happiness he experienced on seeing the mighty cave along with other people!

This Grand Cave,40yds. wide at the outer mouth,75ft. high and at least 80ft. deep sloping down in the mountainside was also visited by Francois Bernier,the French physician accompanying Aurangzeb to Kashmir in 1663.The physician exclaimed about the Cave in his travelogues,"Grotta full of wonderful congealations!"
The wonderful congealations are Amarnathji(Lord Shiva),the undefinable Himalayan Mendicant;His consort Parvati and son Ganeshji, for the Indians.

Raja Ram Atre