City Of All Faiths (Concluded)

The other major tourist destination in Ajmer is a visit to Pushkar. Although Pushkar is famed for its colourful fair held in the month of October, it has another claim to fame. One of few temples dedicated to Lord Brahma is located here. The distance from Ajmer to Pushkar is roughly 15 kilometers and takes about 45 minutes to cover. The scenery is quite picturesque cutting through the Aravalli hills. One particular spot on the way provides a breathtaking view of city of Ajmer. And it is a sight right out of story books. The city is spread around the huge Anasager lake and is overlooked by the Aravallis on almost all sides. The blue lake and green hills give the city a dream like appearance.

Cutting Across



Lush Green Aravallis

Valley Called Ajmer

 

Brahma Temple

The approach to the Brahma temple was narrow and congested. The cab dropped us a few feet from the temple entrance. There was a huge crowd already. Innumerable hawkers and salesmen of local shops (far outnumbering the visitors!) thronged the surrounding area making it difficult to walk. We literally had to wade our way though. The local practice is to first take a dip in the holy water lake situated at a walking distance of 10 minutes. Thereafter you can enter the temple. By the time we came back from the lake, the crowds had somewhat reduced (thankfully!). We deposited our footwear with a makeshift shop, purchased the offering and climbed the stairs. It may be noted that bags, camera etc. are not permitted inside the temple so it is preferable to leave them in the cab. We completed the climb of about 70-80 steps without further ado. However, akin to the entrance at the mosque, there was no organized queue at the entrance to the main deity’s sanctum and it resulted in considerable pushing from impatient pilgrims in the final flight of stairs (about 10 steps). Once you reached the top you can quickly offer your prayers and move down the stairs to the other side. There are various other deities within the main temple complex.  

The hotel’s cab services to Pushkar are on the higher side. For a 4 hour trip where the travel is maximum 35 kilometer, they charge Rs. 1200/- for a Tata Indigo. This is nothing short of daylight robbery. What was even more shocking to us is that the trip was complete in about 2½ hours. The cab could not be utilized other than for visiting any other temple or gurdwara located on that stretch. What a waste of money. In Gurgaon cab charges for 8 hours or 80 kilometers will come at the same or lesser fare!  

 

3 days had passed in a jiffy in this wonderful city. Ajmer has the distinction of being one of the few cities where 2 major religions co-exist peacefully side by side. The warmth and hospitability of the people here make it very endearing to a tourist. However, it has its drawbacks as well. Consumerism has taken its toll here as well. The city roads especially those from the railway station to the area around the hotel are very dirty. On some roads and at one small entrance to the lake, garbage had piled up. The vehicular traffic is haphazardly regulated…traffic police seemed quite helpless (or perhaps didn’t care much). I have my doubts if pollution checks are ever carried out on the automobiles, the black unhealthy smoke emitted by most auto riskshaws together with the obnoxious smell is very nauseating.

We Desperately Need Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

 

Inspite of all this, when we finally reached the station and boarded the Shatabdi Express to Delhi, our mind was filled with fond memories of a weekend well spent. The long Independence Day weekend gave us true independence in our travel and stay in Ajmer.

 

City of All Faiths! (Continued...)

The hotel had arranged for a VIP visit to the Dargah Sharif, shrine of the sufi saint, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty. It is one of holiest shrines and revered by people of all faiths. The Dargah Sharif is visited by millions of pilgrims who come to seek fulfillment of their wishes. However in the midst of a crowded Saturday, the sanctity of a ‘privileged’ visit was not to be. The approach road to the shrine consists of narrow by-lanes, through which at times only 1 person can pass. In the absence of a proper regulated queue, there was complete chaos at the entrance to the tomb. The long queue for ‘general public’ appeared quite disciplined but certainly a time consuming affair. Nevertheless we sought the almighty’s blessings and came out in less than 1 hour. Upon checking with the escort in the mosque, we were advised that for a more peaceful visit it is preferable to come on a non-holiday or non-festival day at 6 in the morning. Beware of the narrow approach roads to the mosque. Also once inside, the escort warned us to be wary of pick-pockets and to ensure safety of personal belongings, wallets, bags, mobiles, camera etc. We had left our belongings at the hotel itself, hence could not click any photos.

That afternoon we visited the famed Honey Dew restaurant close to the railway station. From the reviews available on the internet, we learnt that the restaurant was a favourite hangout of the students of the prestigious Mayo College. When we entered most of the table were empty, we presumed that since it was past lunch hour. Desperately seeking non-vegetarian food, was the primary reason for actively seeking out this restaurant. And we were not let down. The chicken biryani was delicious, but the honours were taken by the delicious laal maas – it simply melted in my mouth. Thoroughly satisfied with the food and the quick service, we once again came out on the busy and chaotic road near the railway station.



Inside Honeydew Restaurant

 

Chicken Biryani

 

 

Laal Maas

We hailed a passing auto rickshaw and after fixing the fare (Rs. 40/-) hopped on for a ride to Ana Sagar Lake. It was a short ride of about 10 minutes. At 4 p.m. the sun was beating down our bodies. What was surprising was that the lake’s sidewalks were brimming with visitors, mostly locals I thought. A cool breeze greeted us as we neared the water body. And once we reached the water’s edge we were amazed to experience the immense expanse of this man-made lake. I could fairly estimate that it was comparable to some of the more well-known lakes in our country (such as Nainital, Ooty etc.). Looking down at the water greeted me to a wonderful sight – variety of fish, in various sizes and colours could be clearly spotted. Once we were done we realized the superb location of our chosen hotel…it was walking distance from Ana Sagar!


Next Week: Visit To Pushkar and a Round-up of Ajmer before departure

 

Fly The Dream — An Experience Like No Other

You have to dream before your dreams can come true - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

And my my, what a way for a dream to come true!

In today’s time starved and cost conscious consumer’s mind is always to ensure low cost at less time. This being the mantra to do most things including planning a travel. I too seemed to have fallen into the same pattern. While planning for a flight travel it was always the low cost carriers with a preference for the one promising and mostly providing ‘on time’ performance. The pleasure of travelling in a full service aircraft was no more in the horizon. That was until I discovered the advantages of early planning.

Air India was offering a very competitive fare on purchases of more than 90 days in advance. There was only a marginal higher difference in the lowest fare with that of the so called most popular LCC. Even in discussions with colleagues and friends, I was discouraged by most from opting for Air India, considering the unpredictable behavior of its management and staff. However inspite of the odds I decided in favour of a full service experience, after many many years. The timing of the flight suited me the most and was an added factor in favour of my choice.

On the day of the travel last month, we reached the swanky new terminal of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at Kolkata fairly early. There was a tinge of sadness since we were going back to our ‘worktown’ after more than a week of holiday in our hometown. Both our families had come to see us off and we lingered on as long as we could…it is never enough to say goodbye. With a heavy heart we bid adieu and unwillingly went through the security check to boarding gate no. 16. This gate, though usually used for international departures, was opened for domestic flights having connecting international destinations. We walked down the aerobridge and entered the aircraft.

From the moment that I stepped in, I could sense the newness in the aircraft. It was a 3-3-3 seating arrangement. We put our hand baggage in the large curved overhead cabin and took our seats in row 12. The individual in-flight display screens were a welcome change from the LCCs. Even the seats seemed more spacious and had a cushion for added comfort. There was also generous legroom, another helpful feature for a tall person. I took a look around. The interiors had an orange hue. The carpets were spotless. A sweet smell wafted in the air.

We were settling in while the usual automated announcements were being made. We generally tend to ignore these considering them to be customary. They were being made in Hindi followed by English. In the midst of arranging a few necessities for my son, I heard snatches of the low volume announcements. Just then, I literally froze for a second trying to grasp what I had heard. Being in complete disbelief, I quickly sat down and pricked up my ears for the English version…but this time it was unmistakable… “welcome on board the Dreamliner 787….”. It took a few more seconds for the feeling to sink in…yes I was on the world's latest and most advanced aircraft in the sky.  

The grin on my countenance refused to subside for a long long time thereafter. Soon we were airborne. I switched on the screen before me with a removable panel below it and began enjoying the in-flight entertainment. The choices were varied and numerous. After going through the catalogue I selected “P.S. I Love You’, having a penchant for Hollywood! The crew commenced the usual in-flight services in due course. The meal had a good mix of Indian & continental items and tasted quite delicious.

After some time when we wanted to pull down the window shades, we were unable to find the cover lid. With the need to call the cabin crew, I habitually looked up to press the call button but there wasn’t any. I looked carefully and tried to press the panel around the reading light button, but nothing came off it. I then tried to switch off the light but that too had no button to press. Like my curious son, I made repeated attempts without success. I tried to look around quite naively to see if anyone else was doing something similar, but no one seemed to be hassled as I was. Since most of the services were complete, no crew member was within sight. After holding on for quite a long time (when I say this, it was indeed a long time), very unusual compared to any other airline, I managed to get the attention of a passing steward. He solved the mystery in a jiffy…the removable panel to navigate the screen doubled up as the remote control…in other words everything was remote controlled at the touch of your fingers without you requiring to move an inch from your seat!! And there are no window shades, only shade controls below it which regulates lighter or darker shades!!!

A similar ordeal awaited me when I used the washroom…I could not find the flush! The washroom had more room and was very sophisticated with many facilities like a panel to lay a baby for change of diapers. However, my feeble attempt with the various panels and button like devices did not elicit any favourable response. Looking very foolish I came out and stood at the door, trying to find the crew, but alas! no one was around. Other passengers wanting to use the washroom looked annoyingly at me and after waiting for quite a bit, tried their luck elsewhere. At last an airhostess did turn up to explain that there is no need to touch anything when flushing the toilet - Dreamliner’s revolutionary hands-free toilet seat. Just wave your hand in front of the infrared sensor and the toilet seat and lid closes automatically before the toilet flushes!

The remaining journey was thankfully eventless and I continued with the movie. By the time we landed at T3 in New Delhi, I had flown in one of the best innovations of our time and it made an ordinary experience extraordinary.

The 2 hour 20 minute journey albeit some minor delay, ended too soon…just like a dream. We were the last passengers to deplane. I could feel the power of dreams and realized that their fulfillment makes life so meaningful!