Chaturshungi Temple

Chaturshungi Temple Entrance

          The Chaturshungi Temple is located on the end of Senapati Bapat Road in Pune. The temple derives its name from its location. Chatur means four, the temple is located on a mountain with four peaks, thus the name Chaturshungi. 

          Stories that go back during the reign of Shivaji Maharaj state that there was a merchant named Durlabhseth Pitambardas Mahajan, who was a believer of Goddess Saptashrungi. He has visited all her temples to worship the Goddess. But as he grew older he couldn't travel and that became a barrier for him. One night the goddess appeared in his dreams and told him that if he can't visit her, she'll come to stay near him. She told him to dig at a certain place in North-West Pune. Durlabhseth followed the instructions and when done digging, a statue of the goddess was found there. 

           Durlabhseth then built a temple there and visited the temple regularly to worship the deity. The temple has been renovated now. Apart from Saptashrungi Devi, there are temples of Ganpati, Goddess Durga and Vetal Baba. Steps are constructed for devotees to reach the hilltop where the temples are. One has to climb more than 100 steps to reach the top. The Chaturshungi Temple is 90 feet high and 125 feet wide.

          The temple has a large premises now with canteen and parking facility. Vendors can be seen on the left hand side inside the premises while going to the temple selling flowers and other puja items. There is also an office of the Chaturshungi Trust which now looks after the temple. There is a large area where people are seen spending time.

       Devotees visit the temple every now and then but the temple is most crowded during the Navratri Festival. Thousands of devotees flood the place to worship the deity. The management prepares for the festival well in advance. Ques are seen on the main road outside the temple. This is also a great opportunity for vendors. Balloon, toys, masks, flowers, agarbattis, dhupbattis, prasad, pedhas, ayurvedic medicines, name it and there will be a vendor selling it around the temple during the festival. 

         So it can be said that Maa Saptashrungi is showering her blessings upon everyone.

What Made Me Fall In Love With Travelling......

image courtesy- http://www.issaquahhighlands.com/event/travel-night/

      Find a person in the world apart from a new born who hasn't traveled even once in life. I'm sure there won't be any. Everybody travels. While some travel for work, there are some who travel for leisure. Then there are a few who travel for fun or for a holiday. & the rest are like me, who travel because we love to travel.

     Every traveller has a different story about why they chose to be a traveller or what made them fall in love with travelling. I ain't a full time traveller yet, but today I'm going to share with you'll what made me fall in love with travelling.

    When I was a kid I remember that I would always be travelling during my holidays. I was never home when I had my vacations. I was either at my grandparents place or at some of my uncle's or aunt's place. And when all of my family had a vacation we would have a family trip. I have seen many places when I was a kid. All thanks to those family trips I've had. 

    Now who doesn't like to visit different places. We all do, right? As a kid even I loved to visit new places. & because the trips were after the stressful exams, visiting a different place took away all the stress. But as I grew up, I realized it wasn't just about hoping in some ride and going to a new place to take a break. I realized I don't just love to travel, what I actually love is getting to know the lifestyle of the people of the place that I visit. Hearing the language they speak, eating the food they eat, wearing the kind of clothes they wear. It was all this that I love. 

     And thanks to the diverse culture of India, I have never seen the same thing at two different places. Everything was different everywhere. The language, the food, the clothes, everything changes region to region. The one thing common was the heart-warming welcome of the people wherever we went.

    I loved what I saw. But you see I never really got a chance to experience all these things. Because all the trips were planned according to a holiday, most of it included sight-seeing and shopping. So I never really got a chance to go and spend time with the locals and get to know about their place from them itself. & because my family thought I was too young to travel alone, I never really got to do what I really love to do.

    But now, I guess its time. I have finally convinced my parents to let me travel. Because travelling will let me go and explore different places. & because I love to explore and travelling will let me do that, I fell in love with travelling.

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Fashion Street

If you love to shop till you drop, but are on a fixed budget, this is the place to be- Fashion Street. Like the name says, you'll get everything related to fashion here. Clothes, footwear, accessories, jewellery, deodrants, makeup, just about everything is available here. & all this at a reasonable rate.

The stalls at fashion street sell almost everything (related to fashion). Fashion street is a congested place, but is a paradise for every budget shopper.

It is situated between Hotel Grand Darbar and East Street. The entrance is a small lane & then there are parallel and perpendicular lanes all over with a stall at every step. There aren't shops at fashion street, just small stalls. These stalls sell everything from a pyjama to a one piece and from slippers to shoes. The chaos and the rush will let you know that this place is quite popular.

Now one must be good at bargaining. I remember my mother and aunt buying this at 20-25% of the price quoted. The conversation sounds something like this-
Shopkeeper- 400 me aayega yeh
Mom- nahi nahi 400 bahot jyada hai 100 me de do.
Shopkeeper- arre nahi madam 100 bahot kam.
Mom- nahi nahi bhaiyya bara bar hai.
Shopkeeper- accha chalo last 200.
Mom- nahi bhaiyya 100 barabar hai.
Shopkeeper- 100 bahot kam hai madam, hisab se bolo na.
Mom- accha chalo last 120.
Shopkeeper- 150 kardo abhi final.
Shopkeeper packs the item.
Mom- yeh lo 140.
bammm!!! price quoted ₹400 bought at ₹140. So basically this is what happens at fashion street. If you are an expert at bargaining you can get something at even 10% of the price quoted & if you suck at it like myself then maybe you can get it at 80-90% of the price quoted. But hey, I at least try to bring a few pennies down.

And the golden rule for shopping at Fashion Street- 'If the shopkeeper doesn't agree to the price we quote, move on there are many stalls here selling the same thing. So if you don't get it here at a low price, you'll surely get it there.

So there are no designer pieces here & not even quality pieces. The clothes you buy might go only for 3-4 months, but its totally worth the price you pay. & if proper care is taken they can last you up to 2 years. I've made my clothes and accessories work for up to 1.5-2 years.

& finally when you get tired and thirsty and hungry after all that shopping there are even food and soda stalls to drive away your hunger and quench your thirst.

So 2 things that you need to be good at while shopping at Fashion Street-
1) Bargaining (coz bargaining is King)
2) Proper caring (to make you stuff last as long as it can)

Happy Shopping!!

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Tribal Museum

      I have been living in the city for the past 14 years. But, all my childhood was spent in a small town, and maybe that's why I haven't been able to sink the cityness into me. I still love remote places. Places close to nature, with not much population & without the hustle and bustle always draws my attention. So I was looking for some place to have a holiday and I stumbled upon Silvassa, the capital of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. While looking for what is Silvassa famous for I found about the tribes in Silvassa & while doing that I also found out that there is a Tribal Museum here in my city.

      It was obvious that I had to go and visit it. So I went to the tribal museum which is located near the Don Bosco Bridge. The tribal museum mainly focuses on the tribes in Maharashtra. There were different rooms which displayed everything related to the tribes and tribal people. 

     The museum is named after Dr. Govind Gare. Dr. Govind Gare was born in Nimgiri village. He was fond of education and in spite of adverse conditions he was able to gain a degree in Social Science. He even got a doctorate degree and after that started work on Tribal Development. He was the director of the Tribal Research & Training Institute from 1976 to 1989. In these years he bought in many welfare schemes for the development of the tribal people. His services laid a solid foundation for the Research Centre. He had received many accolades for his prominent work for the tribes. 

photos of different tribes

       The first room of the museum has photos of the people of various tribes. Each section had the name and the specialty of that particular tribe. There were Halbi, Kawar, Koli Dhor, Malhar Koli, Ka Thakar, Dubla Dhodia, Varli Katkari, Madia, Mavchi, Pawara Kokna, Bhil & Ghagni Tribes.

musical instruments

      The second room had many interesting things. Musical instruments made from pumpkin, utensils, hunting equipments, decorations and even things related to black magic that the tribes use. The other room had warli paintings, fishing gadgets & bamboo craft likes hats. On the other side was the mask section. It displayed various masks, Narad, Ravana, Mahadev, Ganpati, to name a few. 

warli paiting

     After these rooms of displays there was an open area with huts of the different tribes and sculptures of the tribal people. After this there was again an indoor section. This displayed the jewellery and the clothes of the tribes. There were other day to day things that tribes use, like combs, tobacco containers, etc. The other room displayed the deities and even welfare schemes for the tribes.

tribal hut

tribal jewellery

tribal clothing

     So basically, the tribal museum is one place to see everything tribal. Almost every the tribes and everything related to the tribes is put on display here. So if you want to know about the tribes in Maharashtra this place is a must visit.

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A Day Trip To Baneshwar

         Since we all are very busy doing our own things, we don't get enough family time. So I and my mom decided to take some time off & go out somewhere. But the temperature was soaring high. So we decided to go to have a day trip to Baneshwar, a place about an hour away from our house.

entrance of the temple

         So Baneshwar is famous for its waterfall & the Baneshwar Temple. Nanasaheb Peshwa built the temple thinking that if a shivalay, pushkarni & dharmashala are built in such a beautiful place, it will be a shelter for the people. Moreover, the places will have a beautiful surrounding. So, keeping this in mind Nanasaheb built the Baneshwar Temple on the banks of river Shivganga in the year 1749. At that time the building of the temple cost ₹11450 approximately. There are many sites with all this information so I won't go much into the details.

The Baneshwar Temple

       So I and my mother left for Baneshwar. On reaching Baneshwar we found out that there was a wedding in the temple, due to which the places was much crowded than the other days. There were people all over the place. I had been to Baneshwar before, that time there were only 10% of the people that were there now. But, nevertheless I and my mom were there to see the place, not the people. 

the information board

      We both were hungry so we had bhel. It costed us ₹40 but it was as good as having lunch. The quantity was enough. Then we went to the temple. The temple is covered from all sides and the door is at the southeast side. We obviously had to take out our footwear & the floor was burning hot. We had to almost run from one place to another due to that.

the Ganpati Temple

      On entering the temple premises there is a large display of information in marathi on the right hand side. On the left hand there is the office and rooms and stuff like that. Then there are two furrows with lots of fishes and turtles it it. Cute little turtles. One furrow has the nandi through which the water comes in. Besides the furrow on the left hand side is the temple & on the right hand side is a Ganpati Temple. We offered our prayers there and left to see the waterfall.

the furrow

    There was an entry fee for it, ₹10. Upon inquiring the people told me that they've made developments so the entry fee. But honestly speaking, I didn't see 1% difference since I had last  been there. But, never mind. Then I and my mom started walking towards the waterfall. It was nice and cool here due to the many trees. On our way to the waterfall me saw many families who had come there to have a day picnic. Some were eating, some playing, some sleeping. Then we went ahead and lost our way. Not really, we had to go where the waterfall starts, but we reached down where it ends. & guess what, there was no water. 

the dried river

       We then found the way to go to the top. There was a watch tower kind of a thing there. The river and the waterfall was completely dry. There wasn't even a drop of water there. I guess it was because it didn't at all rain last year. So there was no water and the sun was blazing right on top of us. So we didn't wait there much long. Then we reached the place where the families were. It was like a big playground with benches. We sat on the bench talking. 

families enjoying themselves

       I then saw fields on the sides. I don't know what its was, but there were some fields. Then we left and went to the nursery which was opposite the children park. The park is just in front of the parking. We just had a walk there and then went to the Buwasaheb Temple & then left for home.

the fields

the nursery

     So we just wanted to go out somewhere instead of just sitting at home. So we ended up visiting Baneshwar.

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The Day We Celebrate Holi

Holika Dahan

       Holi is celebrated all over India every year in the month of March. Popularly known as the festival of colours, Holi has all the people big or small soaked in festivity and drenched in colour from head to toe. But, how many of us know the real reason behind celebrating Holi? I'm sure most of us do. But the thing is that we have forgotten the reason why Holi is celebrated and according to our convenience very easily converted the festival into something of our liking.

        The name Holi is derived from Holika. According to legends, Holika was the evil sister of Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu was a king who had seeked a boon from God that no one could kill him. This made him feel powerful and made him greedy. He felt he was more powerful than God and wanted people to worship him. However, his own son Pralhad refused to do so. This made Hiranyakashipu much angry and he tried every bit like putting Pralhad in a vessel of boiling oil or throwing him off a mountain to kill Pralhad. But none of them worked and Pralhad was saved everytime by Lord Vishnu. 

          Upon seeing the failing attempts of her brother to kill Pralhad, Holika offered help and said that she would sit on a burning pile with Pralhad to kill him. Holika had a boon that she could stay safe in fire, but, it worked only if she entered the fire alone. Holika must have forgotten this and entered the fire with Pralhad thinking that nothing will happen to her. However, as the boon only worked if she entered the fire alone, Holika was burnt to death by the fire and Pralhad was once again saved by Vishnu. This was the victory of good over evil.

         The legend has a story, but there was also a scientific reason behind celebrating Holi. Now the weather has mood swings (because of us humans, of course), but before the weather was all good all set. The day of Holi was the end on winters and the start of summers. So in olden days on the day of Holi people would burn a bonfire for the warmth & the next day would apply the ashes on the body and bath with cold water. 

        We still see Holika Dahan, but now, colours have made a way through, way before Rang Panchmi. The main reason behind celebrating Holi is the Holika Dahan, the victory of good over evil. However, people don't seem to get it. Therefore, people start to play with colours way before Rang Panchmi & the amount of water wasted, I better not talk about that.

        Like I said in the beginning, we have completely forgotten the main reason behind celebrating Holi and very cleverly converted the festival into something that we want. And I am not returning home all drenched in colour and writing this blog. I am not even someone celebrating World Water Day a day before and then wasting all the water saved the next day on Holi. I have stopped playing Holi from the past 10 years, because I realised that this is not Holi that we our playing. It is just wastage of water. I am not against celebrating Holi, I really love to watch people play Holi, meet friends, have fun, etc,etc. I am just against people not realising the main reason behind celebrating Holi. & I just hope that this bit, helps people realise what is Holi really celebrated for. Lets do our bit to save the earth. Its better to save than to sit and cry later. So, if you can please try to save water that is wasted during Holi. & celebrate Holi with true spirit and not just to show off. & save the colours for Rang Panchmi.

Saras Baug (Garden)

        Everybody living in Pune & even some living outside Pune is familiar with this place, Saras Baug or Saras Garden.

             

   

           Saras Baug is famous for its talyatla Ganpati meaning the Ganpati in a pond or Ganpati of the pond (don't know how exactly to say it). So basically, there is a Ganpati Temple built in the middle of a pond, thus the name talyatla Ganpati. This is the main source of attraction. Many people and devotee come to Saras Baug to seek blessings from the deity.

           If there are children in your house- Saras Baug, want a place to study- Saras Baug, you have guests over, take them to- Saras Baug, want to hang out with friends- Saras Baug, want to spend time with someone special- Saras Baug. Because Saras Baug has a garden and hawkers and a khau galli (a lane with food stalls all over) it becomes a perfect option for people to spend time.

            Saras Baug or Saras Garden wasn't always a garden though. An artificial pond was built on the banks of the Ambil canal in 1750 during the reign of Shrimant Nanasaheb Peshwa.  At that time it was at the base of Parvati Hills. It took a total of three years to complete the work of the pond. While building the pond an artificial island was also created and kept reserved for a temple and garden. The pond spreads in approximate 25 acres of area. This pond was used to row ferrys. After sometime a garden was created on the island and Shrimant Sawai Madhavrao Peshwa named the place Saras Baug. In 1784 Madhavrao built a small temple and established an Ganpati idol there.

           In around 1869 many places in the city were handed over to the municipal corporation, at that time everything except the island on which the temple is, was transferred to Pune Municipal Corporation from Mumbai Municipal Corporation. In 1966 Pune MNC developed a garden in place of the lake.

          Saras Baug is completely different now, than what it was 100-150 years ago. Now there is no pond, just a garden and the temple. However, keeping the significance in mind the temple is still surrounded by water from all sides. Now if one goes to Saras Baug, the first thing that comes at sight from the entrance is the temple. Since the traffic in Pune has become crazy,  a bridge is built to help people cross the road. While one goes from the bridge, you can see atleast 4-5 tota maina (couples) either hugging or pecking. This is quite a shame as Saras Baug has an historical importance and is also a home to a deity. But as my research says, couples are most likely found on historical sites.

       The garden is filled with people. Many come to spend time and some come to sleep. Yes, you can see people sleeping under the shade of a tree. The water around the temple has many fishes in it. So people stand besides the water either watching the fishes of feeding the fishes.

      The Ganpati Temple is quite big. There is also a museum which displays different Ganpati idols. Saras Baug is lit up with diyas and floating lanterns in Diwali during the Diwali Pahat. Diwali Pahat is a program celebrated every year on Padwa. It begins at around 5 AM. Almost all Punekars are seen here. The place is so filled that even mobile networks have congestion. During Diwali Pahat diyas are kept is several shapes and forms and people light them up, there are also orchestras and celebrity visits to entertain the people. This is the time when the place is the most crowded.

        Other than Diwali Pahat there isn't much rush in Saras Baug. It is a quiet place with people spending time there.

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