Go Goa !!!
I had just settled down in the NSG at New Delhi i.e. I had successfully completed my probation period of 56 days and passed the requisite physical tests with ease.Now we (my family and I) were ecsatic that we were going home to Goa for Diwali and more so since Alok and his wife Lily were arriving from the US too.On 12 Nov 04 (Diwali), we boarded Indian Airlines IC 865 to Goa scheduled for departure at 10:00 a.m. but was invariably delayed. This was Neil’s first air journey, not counting the time when Swarali was in her 8th month of pregnancy. Neil looked at all airplanes with wide-eyed wonder and instantly made friends especially with the chocolate serving “aunty”. Bumpy weather and air pockets would make him scamper to me saying ,”Baba, bachao; plane gir raha hai !” (help, the plane is ‘falling’). There was a halt of 45 minutes at Mumbai. Well, after a total of 3.5 hours and 6 boxes of Diwali mithai later we landed in Goa.Alok and Lily along with Baba received us at the airport. It was nice to meet them again after nearly 3 years ; we met them last during their wedding in Jan 2002.In the evening we had the Laxmi puja and later visited my in-laws in their new apartment. We also attended their house warming party on 15th.
A Trip to our Family Deity
We had decided to visit our family deity, a goddess called Chandralamba. Also called Chandrala Parmeshwari, this deity is an ‘avatar’ (incarnation) of Laxmi, the goddess of wealth and is located in the state of Karnataka. How did my ancestors reach there ? Well, I don’t know, but someday, I might find out.Now, the temple is located at two places, i.e. her “paduka” (footprints) are at Sannathi (near Nalwar) and the “murthi” (statue) is at Hongunta (near Shahbad). For more details of the deity and how to get there, click here.
So on 16th Nov, we started at 8:15 a.m. (an hour behind schedule), in a hired Tata Sumo. Chatting and munching (on breakfast), we were enjoying the trip till a ‘call of the nature’ halt at Sawantwadi was necessary. The driver too got down and went to one of his friends’ place. After getting in the vehicle again, I observed that the driver was drunk. Moreover the fact that he had a late night the previous evening, further compounded the problem and I was worried, yet I did’nt say anything. Then the ride started becoming scary. After a few kilometers he started falling asleep. I told him to stop and relax. That was the time I informed everyone of his inebriated state. Everyone was now more worried and a consensus was reached that as soon as we reach the nearest city, Belgaum we should relieve this guy hire a different vehicle. He once almost hit an old man, had I not grabbed the steering wheel. Then Baba drove for around 50 kms till we reached a village called Subba, 20 kms short of Belgaum. From there the driver again took charge of the wheel. We hardly travelled some 2 kms and the clutch plate gae in. That was the last straw. Alok and I thumbed down a bus and reached Belgaum at 1 p.m. I contacted a travel agent and asked for a Tata Suma / Toyota Qualis. To my surprise (a pleasant one), we managed a good Qualis at a rate cheaper than for what we paid for the Tata Sumo. Good, I thought, everything happens for the better.
We got the Qualis at 3:00 p.m. and then went back to the place we left our family at. There the Tata Sumo driver was now totally out of control since he had had some more of his drink. We left him to his fate and climbed the Qualis, which was a comfortable vehicle.We came to Belgaum again, and everyone had a late lunch (at 4 p.m.)
We finally left Belgaum at 5 p.m.; behind schedule by 4 hours.We reached Bijapur at 10 p.m., had our meals and continued our bumpy ride over Karnataka’s pot holed state highways. I had just finished reading an interview of an analyst with a renowned consultancy, wherein he had mentioned that India’s infrastructure was woefully inadequate and all comparisons with China on these grounds were useless. The ride confirmed the fact.Some roads were being built and I must compliment that the road to the town of Jevargi was excellent with signs in English as well, not surprising considering that it is the constituency of present Karnataka chief minister Mr. Dharam Singh. I drove these final 70 odd kms to Jevargi. We reached here at 3 a.m. and decided to halt here since driving further, when everyone was fatigued, was taking undue risk. We checked in at a lodge and turned in for some sleep. Well, I was too optimistic. The mosquitoes did’nt let us sleep. I and Swarali just gave up, and sat driving the wretched creatures away from Neil; at least he could sleep.
At day break, we finished our morning ablutions and bath. After a hearty breakfast, we headed for Hongunta; sigh, another bumpy ride. But this one took the cake. This ride to Hongunta I recommend to everyone who want to lose weight. I volunteered for the rear seat. All parts of my body, including those I did’nt know existed started screaming at this punishment. I could see a title for my book “Pilgrim’s Progress II” by Amod Puranik !At last we reached the temple at 11 a.m. We went in and performed the puja. We left for Sannathi at 12:30 p.m. 50 kms and several wrong directions later we reached our destination. There too we prayed and had our lunch (called “prasada” or Her offering) and took a quick nap.
At 4 p.m. we started towards our uncle’s place in Sangli. This time we went to Yadgir, then Bijapur. From Bijapur the road to Athni was excellent and I took over the wheel again; cruising at an easy pace of 80 kms/hour, we reached Athni. From Athni, the driver took over till Sangli and we reached Sangli at 3:30 a.m. We were relieved and happy to see Purshottam Kaka and Leela Kaku. We flopped on the bed and were immediately transported to dreamland.Neil’s playful talk woke me up in the morning.
It was nearing 9:30 a.m. A refreshing cup of tea later, I got into conversation with my Kaka, an intellectual, a historian; he has shelves full of books on India’s history. We spoke about Kashmir and its problems. He had researched on Kashmir and its rulers – and had brought to light the fact that Kashmir was ruled for most of its time (over 90 %) by Hindu rulers.After lunch we bid farewell to Kaka and Kaku. This was the first time I observed tears in Kaka’s eyes.
We went to Ganapati temple in Sangli, where grandpa used to take us kids (Alok & I) to, some 15-20 years ago.Neil was fascinated by the elephant there, lovingly called Babloo, by the residents. He saw a camel for the first time and petted a horse.After some shopping, we again hit the road towards Ganapatipule via Kolhapur.
We had dinner at 11:00 p.m. at Lanja. About 40 km before Ganapatipule shrine, one tyre went flat. The driver changed the tyre and after an hour we started again. We reached Ganapatipule at 3:30 a.m. (again !); we seem to be getting into the habit!
Notice boards of “Accomodation Not Available” greeted us at over a dozen or so hotels / lodges we went to. We ultimately decided to rest for some time in the foyer of the temple. I could not sleep, and after an hour or so, i woke up to the sounds of “bhajans” coming from the temple’s music system.I then scouted for a temporary accomodation so we can finish our morning ablutions and bathe in peace. I managed to get this “space’ for Rs 200. We all trudged to this room, with a suspicion that this room must have been a stable or barn or something like that. Anyway we got over our thing and went to the temple, prayed, and went round the temple (pradakshina)- a distance of 1 km.
Later after brunch, we started back towards home in Goa. This time the journey was uneventful and we reached home in the evening at 6:00 p.m.We had a simple meal and hit the bed with a thud, only to wake up refreshingly at 10:00 in the morning.