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

 

City Of All Faiths!

 

Getting up early morning (or perhaps late night) to catch a morning train is quite exciting, more so when it flags off travel on a long weekend. That is exactly how we felt as we completed last minute packing. The cab had come on time at 4.45 a.m. and we were off to the New Delhi railway station to board the Shatabdi Express to Ajmer. The journey took about 7 hours with halts at Delhi Cantonment, Gurgaon, Rewari, Alwar, Jaipur and Kishangarh. We boarded an auto rickshaw from the station after briefly bargaining with the driver. There are many who will swarm around you as soon as you step out of the station and can demand anything between Rs. 150/- to Rs. 200/-. It’s better to check the approximate fare with your hotel before arriving.

Our hotel,  The  Royal Melange  was  located  bang  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  We  were provided with a super deluxe room. The room was very spacious  and spotless clean. There  was  an  almirah  with  a locker soon  after entering the room. A  little  passage gave  way to  the  main  area,  giving  the  room  an  L-shape. The double  bed  flanked  by side tables on both sides,  a  sofa & center table  adorned  the  main  area  of  the room.  With a 32” Sony LED on the opposite wall,  it was a perfect setting for a 3 night stay.  A large mirror  beside  the  TV and  a wooden  chair  in  front of it made up  the  dressing  area. The large  windows  on both walls  had  beautifully designed  curtains. In spite of the furniture, there was  sufficient  space to lavishly pace  up and  down the  room. The overall  décor of the room was  very  inviting. The toilet  also appeared new with modern lights  fitted and sanitary  stuff from  Grohe.

  

After entering the room

Comfortable & Cozy!

The Dressing Area

Sofa & Center Table

The in-house restaurant served only vegetarian food (not even egg) but it had all types of cuisine on its menu. We tried various dishes from hakka noodles to sizzlers, from paneer pushteni to pineapple raita. The food was quite tasty, though at times appeared to be quite oily. Since the hotel had room service, most of our meals were ordered in the room. The food was brought to the room within reasonable time. However, there were some glaring misses (such as tissue paper, sugar sachets with coffee, clearing of plates etc.) and sometimes calls remained unattended even after reminders. The room tariff had breakfast complimentary. The buffet spread had regular items on all days with limited variety, but I must mention that the food was well prepared and the staff took good care while we were in the restaurant.

  

The In-House Restaurant

Table Settings

Paneer Pushteni

Sizzler Named Jewels of China!

Pineapple Raita








Buffet Breakfast

Breakfast...Yummy isn't it?

 

Next Week: Watch this space for our sight seeing ventures in Ajmer!