KP On The Go!

Introduction Alandi is well known as the residence and final resting place of Sant Dnyaneshwar - one of the most important figures of the Warkari sect and one of the principle saints of Maharashtra. The town is thus a major place of pilgrimage in the state. The town lies just to the north of Pune city, on the banks of the Indrayani river which it straddles with immense bathing ghats. Alandi - under lights I have been meaning to visit Alandi for a long time, but for one reason or the other, that never happened. Until this time. -x-x-x- An Accidental Visit On a midnight drive to a place further north from Pune, we passed through the town of Alandi. While crossing the bridge over the Indrayani we were caught by the sight of the sprawling and empty ghats and decided to halt for a while. The illuminated ghats of Alandi -x-x-x- The Sounds Under Lights The visual delight of the ghats under lights quickly transformed to a more musical one with each step we took - for...

Introduction The temple of Lord Tungnath in Uttarakhand - at an elevation of about 3200m above sea level - is supposed to be the highest Shiva temple in the world. The temple is accessed after a hike of about 3km from the road-head at Chopta. The temple is one among the revered Panch-Kedar shrines and sees a steady flow of devotees. The summit of Chandrashila lies about 1km ahead and above the temple of Tungnath. At an elevation of 4000m, Chandrashila acts like an elevated platform of sorts with a majestic - almost 360 degree - view of the Himalayan peaks. The sunrise at Chandrashila -x-x-x- A Small Challenge A quick tip - always backup your photos as soon as possible. I lost mine - quite a few lovely ones from the trek included - when my phone went dead all of a sudden. Only two - the ones uploaded on Instagram - survived. The loss of pics means that the post will have to be described in detail without any visual cues , i.e. a wall of text. I hope you all bear with me...

Introduction A few hours ride south of Pune, along the route to Mahabaleshwar one crosses the small town of Wai on the banks of the Krishna. Wai is a town of medieval temples; a town of ghats that straddle the Krishna as it flows silently. The river forms an integral part of the Wai narrative. It provides, it nourishes and it hold no grudges to the humans who choose to live next to her.     Wai - The Krishna and the Mahaganpati Temple ... ... and the Ghats, the bridges, the Sun and a bird -x-x-x- The Siddheshwar Temple This small temple lies on the southern bank of the Krishna, on the way from the bus station to the Ganpati Ghat. The main shrine is non-descript, but the view from here is amazing. Nandi of the Siddheshwar Temple on the southern bank Overlooking the Mahaganpati Temple -x-x-x- The Ganpati Ghat This is the main ghat of Wai and houses the Mahaganpati Temple and Kashi-Vishweshwar Temples.   The Ganpati Ghat and its ...

Introduction 7 am on a cool October morning; inside a bus heading from Khandwa to Indore, I was sitting next to the driver, eyes on the road, with a ticket up to Omkareshwar Road Station. Also, I was shivering. not so much from the cool air, but more from weakness and an imminent fever. The toll of a heavy work week was already showing on my body and mind and all I wanted to do at that moment was to curl up and sleep; if only the driver would stop honking. The Omkareshwar Temple and the Narmada Omkareshwar - the abode of divinity on the banks of the Narmada - one of the twelve Jyotirlingas - was where I was headed. This was my first foray in to the state of Madhya Pradesh; and as far as beginnings go, mine had not been a good one. -x-x-x- A Little About Omkareshwar The temple town of Omkareshwar is largely split into two sections: the town proper on the southern bank of the Narmada and the river-island of Mandhata which houses the main Omkareshwar Temple. The other imp...

The Experiment As far as I know myself, I've never been excited for attending a major religious congregation of any kind. Frankly, I've never been excited to be anywhere close to places that expect massive throngs of people. I prefer the quiet and the calm almost as a rule. Despite all this, in the scorching heat of May, I found myself in the middle of a crowd of millions who had thronged by the banks of the Kshipra at Ujjain - a part of the Simhast Kumbh Mela, 2016.   The flag flies high ... A procession of tribal folk from Gujarat makes way through the crowd I'm not sure why I accepted the invite - Shilpa, a traveler/photographer friend was traveling there - maybe, just maybe to let go and explore my limits unhindered. I'm not sure. All I know now is that for one and a half day I was part of something huge. -x-x-x- The Start Of Something ... En-masse We arrived at Ujjain by lunch-time. The hordes of pilgrims were already streaming in along with us....