A Holy trip in the name of God
Pious visit to Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Kashi and Gaya —1
Mysuru city’s senior Rotarian couples and a few individuals went on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Kashi and Gaya. Rtn. Roopa Venkatesh, who was among the pilgrims, writes about these Holy places and her experiences.—Ed
A group of 31 believers in Sanatana Dharma, all senior Rotarians, left the city on 13th September, 2024 on a 8-day 7 nights pilgrimage to Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Kashi and Gaya. Mysuru city’s The Vacation, tourist agency, had organised the trip.
Losing sleep, catching an early morning 6 am flight to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, was uninspiring. It was a two-and-a-half-hour flight, but we were tired and hungry and sleep deprived. As I saw the board, “Welcome to Lucknow” at the Airport lounge I was reminded of the song “Yeh Lucknow ki sarzameen” from the film Chaudvin Ka Chaand. The city and its people are called artistes by the lyricist Shakeel Badayuni, crooned melodiously by Mohd Rafi in that film. A huge bus came to cart us for breakfast in downtown Lucknow about an hour’s journey.
A short rest and we were all ready to begin our spiritual visit. Our first stop was Lata Mangeshkar Chowk, where a huge Veena has been put up in memory of Lata, who has sung many Ram Bhajans which are very popular. River Sarayu flows here. Then we went to Nagnath Mandir, walking the Ram ki Paidhi — which is a shallow canal made for Rama and his brothers to take a dip in the Sarayu River. Legend has it that Kusha (Rama’s son) went for a dip in the Sarayu and dropped his armlet. A nagakanya (snake maiden) found it and she returned it to him with a request that he should marry her!! Kusha refused the request, but offered to give her anything else she would like. He then built a temple for Shiva (as Nagnath) as she was a devotee of Shiva.
Once you see the idol, every other thought evaporates. The idol depicts Rama, as a young lad of about 5 years old, sculpted in black granite.
0 comments