A tale of 2 Dargahs

The Haji Ali Dargah was constructed in 1431 in memory of a wealthy Muslim merchant, Sayyed Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, who gave up all his worldly possessions before making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Hailing from Bukhara, in present-day Uzbekistan, Bukhari travelled around the world in the early to mid 15th century. He travelled to India with his brother and finally reached Mumbai – near Worli. He then decided to reside there permanently for the spread of Islam.

Until his death he kept spreading knowledge about Islam and his devotees would regularly visit him. Before his death he advised his followers that they should not bury him in a graveyard but should drop his shroud ('kafan') in the ocean and should be buried by the people where it is found.

His wish was obeyed by his followers. That is why the Dargah Sharief is built at the very site where his shroud came to rest in the middle of the sea where it perched on a small mound of rocks rising above the sea.

There is another mausoleum built across the bay. It is believed to be the tomb of Ma Hajiani, the sister of Haji Ali. This mausoleum was built in 1908 in honour of Ma Hajiani, a saint believed to be the sister of Saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.

According to legend, they died at sea and their bodies were washed ashore, a few metres from each other. They were then buried at the respective spots they were found. Subsequently, two tombs were built — Haji Ali for the brother and Ma Hajiani for the sister. At the Ma Hajiani Dargah, women frequent in large numbers, making offerings of red or green glass bangles, red indicating one’s wish for marriage, and green for offspring.

Above info sourced from Wikipedia and an article in The Hindu.

Humayun's tomb in Delhi.

Humayun’s tomb is the first garden tomb in the Indian sub continent. It is the tomb of Emperor Humayun, the 2^nd ruler to ascend the throne after Babur who was the 1^st Mughal Emperor.

It was commissioned by his wife and chief consort Empress Bega Begum in 1565, 9 years after his death, and completed in 1572 under the patronage of the 3^rd Mughal Emperor Akbar, Humayun’s son.

Located in Nizamuddin, East Dehli, Humayun’s tomb or Makbara-e -Humayun is one of the best preserved Mughal monuments and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.

This tomb is the starting point of the Mughal architecture in India, a combination of Turkish, Persian and Indian architectural styles. This style peaked during the reign of Shah Jehan, the 5^th Mughal Emperor who commissioned the famous Taj Mahal.

Kaas plateau

If Uttarakhand has its Valley of Flowers, Maharashtra has a plateau of flowers in Kaas, Satara. The Kaas Plateau also known as "Kaas Pathar" is situated in the Western Ghats’ Sahyadri range, around twenty six kilometres from Satara city. The name Kaas originates from Kaasa tree (Elaeocarpus glandulosus). The leaves of this tree turn from green to red as they mature and the tree gets white flowers only for 15 days in the month of March. The area of the plateau is approximately a thousand hectares. This falls under the Sahyadri sub cluster of Western Ghats which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In June 2012 UNESCO has announced this location as a Biodiversity World Heritage Site.  Kaas plateau is classified under VOLCANIC PLATEAUS which are produced by volcanic activities. These plateaus are mainly formed by two types of rocks namely basalt rock and porous lateritic rock which is a red coloured stone rich in iron and aluminium allowing most of the water to seep through or drain off. There is only a thin layer of soil which supports vegetation only during the rainy season which makes Kaas a unique ecosystem. Kaas is one of the hotspots of biodiversity.

At the fag end of the monsoons from mid-August to October for a short period of time, the Kaas plateau blooms with a variety of flowers in a beautiful display of colour carpets. You will find different coloured flowers during every morning and evening.

According to Dr.Sandeep Shrotri, there are over 1,500 types of plants in Kaas – 156 botanical families, 680 genera, 1452 species, 400 medicinal plants, and about 33 endangered varieties in Kaas and the neighbouring Koyna area.

Having heard about the carnival atmosphere that prevails on weekends, we visited Kaas on Sunday and 

Monday. We were distressed to see the hordes of tourists trampling over the flowers, setting out carpets to have their snacks on the beautiful floral carpet of nature. On weekends the authorities do not allow car parking on the plateau and you have to park a couple of kilometres away where parking space is provided. From there you have an option of taking a State Transport bus for a reasonable fare to go to the plateau or you can walk since it is not a very long walk. It took us about an hour to cover a distance of about 5kms and reach the parking spot. Such was the traffic! Since we had planned to visit it on Monday too, we decided to 

drive through and visit the Kaas lake on the other side. This is indeed a beautiful, serene place. Among the locals, Kaasa means a lake and there is a beautiful serene lake as you get down from the plateau and this could be another reason for the place being named “Kaas”. The Kaas Lake is a perennial source of water supply to the western part of Satara city.  It also has a tapri (roadside kiosk) selling ‘dabeli’, ‘bhelpuri’ and chai. Nothing, fortunately is available on the plateau itself.

After spending a restful night in a hotel in Satara, we had a sumptuous breakfast of ‘kandey pohey’ and checked out and were on our way yet again to revel in the colours of Kaas plateau.

On the way my birder friend Nandan who blogs at Timenplace, showed me plenty of birds all along the way and on the plateau too. 

It was such a pleasant sight when we reached the plateau and saw that there were barely five to six people.

We parked and went along the paths on the plateau, clicking the beautiful colourful flowers and the awe inspiring landscape.

This plateau is a must visit for all nature lovers, birders and photography enthusiasts.

Getting there:

By Road: From Mumbai it is 280kms and 107kms from Pune

By Train: Satara is the nearest Railway Station and is well connected by Indian Railways. The Kaas plateau is around 30kms from the Satara Railway Station.

Magical Orchha!

Drove into Orchha in the afternoon from Jhansi.

Orchha was founded in the 15th century AD by the Bundela chief, Rudra Pratap Singh, who became the first King of Orchha.

History confronts you at every step from the minute you enter Orchha. Stay anywhere and you are bound to sight some palace or the other either from you room or from the roof top.

The first palace that we visited was the Raja Mahal. This palace was built by Rudra Pratap Singh.

It has beautiful paintings on the ceiling and murals on the walls. Fortunately these paintings can still be seen in

its original colours!

Then we visited the Jahangir Mahal. The Jahangir Mahal was constructed after Vir Singh Deo of Bundela Rajputs revolted against the Mughal Emperor Akbar. 

It was completed in 1598 by the victorious Mughal Prince Salem (later known as the Mughal Emperor 

Jahangir) after defeating Vir Singh Deo of Bundela, a sworn enemy of the Mughals.

By the time we were through visiting these palaces it was evening and we were advised by our guide to go 

over the bridge over river Betwa to view a fabulous sunset against the Chhatris or Memorials built to honour 

the rulers of Orchha.

Next morning it was time to visit the Chhaturbhuj temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It was built in 875, 

during the reign of imperial Gurjara Pratihara dynasty.

Adjacent to that is the Ram Raja temple. Both, the Chaturbhuj temple and the RamRaja temple have a fascinating myth. The King of Orchha, King Madhukar Shah Ju Dev was a devotee of Lord Krishna while his wife Kamla Devi, was a devotee of Lord Ram. One day both of them went to Lord Krishna’s temple but the temple had closed by that time.  They decided to join a group of devotees who were singing and dancing in the praise of lord Krishna outside the temple. Lord Krishna and Radha were so pleased that they too danced with them. After that incident, the King asked the Queen to accompany him to Mathura, the land of lord Krishna, but the Queen wanted to go Ayodhya , the land of Lord Rama.

The queen left the palace and started the long journey to Ayodhya (Rama's birthplace) on foot to bring Lord Ram with her to Orchha. She didn’t tell the King before leaving but she ordered her servants to start building a temple (Chaturbhuj Temple) for Lord Rama.

After reaching Ayodhya the Queen started praying to Lord Ram close to Laxman Fort near Sarayu river.. The queen fasted and prayed for about a month but Lord Ram did not appear, so eventually in despair the queen decided to jump in the Sarayu river. Just then something magical happened, Lord Ram appeared in child form in Queen’s lap.

The queen was ecstatic and began to cry. Lord Ram told the queen that he was happy with her prayers and she could ask for a boon, at which the queen asked Ram to come with her in child form to Orchha. Ram agreed to go but he put forth three conditions: 1) I will travel only in Pukh Nakshatra, when Pukh Nakshatra will end I will stop and resume only when Pukh Nakshtra sets in again. In this manner I will travel from Ayodhya to Orchha on foot along with a group of sages. 2) Once I reach Orchha, I will be the King of Orchha and not your husband. 3) Since child form of Ram would travel in Queen’s lap, the first place where you seat me will be my final place of stay and will be famous by the name of Ramraj".

The Queen agreed and started her journey to Orchha with baby Ram in her lap. Since the queen traveled only in Pukh Nakshtra it took them 8 months and 27 days to reach Orchha from Ayodhya on foot (between 1574 to 1575). King Madhukar Shah meanwhile had a dream where Lord Krishna scolded him on discriminating between Lord Ram and himselfand reminded the King that Lord Ram and he are one and the same, there is no difference. The King was very apologetic when he woke up and found out that the queen was returning from Ayodhya. The King went to receive the queen with horses, elephants, servants, food, etc. and apologized to the queen. The queen did not accept king’s apology and refused the comforts offered to her by the King. The Queen claimed that she now possessed everything one could ever ask for (Lord Ram in child form).

On returning to Orchha the queen went back to her palace with baby Ram and retired in her room for the night thinking she would take Lord Ram to the Chaturbhuj temple the next day. But according to Lord Ram’s conditions he took the first place where he was seated hence Lord Ram transformed into an idol and got transfixed in the queens palace itself. To this day the Ram Raja Temple is in the Queen’s palace and not in the Chaturbhuj Temple which is right next to the palace.

Orchha is geared to cater to all tastes. It has a wide range of restaurants listed in Lonely Planet and these restaurants display that fact.

How to reach:

By Rail: Jhansi railway station, 16 km away from Orchha, is the nearest railway station. Jhansi is situated on the major rail route and there are regular train services to the major cities in India.

By Air: Gwalior is the nearest airport to Orchha (116 km) and is well connected to all major Indian cities.

By Road: Many private and Government Transport bus services are available to reach Orchha from Jhansi (16 km). Orchha is well connected by buses with Bhopal, Delhi, Varanasi, Khajuraho and Gwalior.

Jhansi - A tribute to Rani Lakshmi Bai

We reached Jhansi at around 11am on our way to Orchha. 

We visited the Jhansi fort which is very well maintained. It has a long and fascinating history that you can read here.

This fort was built in 1613 by Raja Bir Singh Deo of Orchha. It changed many hands before Rani Lakshmi Bai ruled Jhansi after the death of her husband and used the fort as her residence. 

Panch Mahal (Five storied palace of Rani Lakshmi Bai)

Inside the palace

Along the walls of the fort

A view of Jhansi city from the fort

A statue of Dhyan Chand (India's greatest hockey player) atop the hill

In 1858 she led forces against those of the British East India Company.  Jhansi was besieged by the forces of General Hugh Rose in March and April 1858; it was captured on 4 April 1858. Rani Lakshmi Bai was able to make a daring

escape from the fort and the city when a British victory was imminent by jumping over the walls of the fort astride her horse with her son.

There is the Kadak Bijli cannon used in the uprising of 1857. The Central India Campaign was one of the last series of actions in the Indian rebellion of 1857, (also known as the First Indian War of Independence or Indian Mutiny).  At Jhansi, British officers, civilians and dependents took shelter in the fort on 5 June. They emerged three days later and were murdered by the rebellious sepoys and irregulars. Rani Lakshmi Bai had no complicity in this act but was nevertheless blamed by the British (the rebels were then the only armed force in the city and no British forces were there to oppose them).

How to reach Jhansi:

By train: Jhansi is well linked by Indian railways. Jhansi is an important railway junction in the Delhi-Mumbai route. Jhansi is connected to all major cities in India by rail.

By air: Nearest airport to Jhansi is Gwalior airport. Gwalior airport is 103 km away from the heart of the city.

By road: State public transport buses connect Jhansi with all major cities around Jhansi. Regular bus services are provided between Gwalior and Jhansi (103 km) and between Khajuraho and Jhansi (175 km). Deluxe private buses also ply between these cities.

Cliff Jumping in Hampi?

Whenever the word Hampi is uttered I travel back to my trip to Hampi and the ruins of the Vijayanagara Kingdom appear before my eyes.

The impressive VijayaVitthala temple complex with its numerous halls for various functions like marriage, 

religious rituals and the massive kitchen therein. The carvings on those walls, pillars and ceilings are awe 

inspiring.

Reference Wikipedia The name is derived from Pampa, which is the old name of the Tungabhadra River on whose banks the city is built. . The name "Hampi" is an anglicized version of the Kannada Hampe (derived from Pampa). Over the years, it has also been referred to as Vijayanagara and Virupakshapura (from Virupaksha, the patron deity of the Vijayanagara rulers).

Be as it may, after witnessing the Alive is awesome ad of Cinthol soaps, where they talk about adventure bathing, I started doing some earnest research on the topic with special reference to Hampi as I plan to visit there again next month. And voila! I discovered that I could possibly indulge in Cliff jumping into the chilly waters of the lake. What I intend to do is do a minimum of 2 jumps. The first one to acclimatize and then soap myself with the aromatic Cinthol soap and jump in again and rid of the soap by the time I surface!

It will be something like the Deep Cave Bath in the Cinthol video.

Sure sounds awesome! Do try it too and let us know what you felt about it!

Mandu- Steeped in history!

Our next stop was Mandu, a distance of around 70kms from Maheshwar.

Mandu or Mandavgad is an ancient city in ruins in western Madhya Pradesh. This fortress town which is around 100 km from Indore is celebrated for its fine architecture.

It was an important military outpost and its military past can be gauged by the length of its wall, which is nearly 37 km with 12 gateways.

Apparently, Mandu was a fortified city even in 6th century BC but gained prominence in 10th and 11th century under the Parmars who called it Mandavgarh. It has had a long history under various Rajputs, Mughal rulers and the Marathas but once the capital of Malwa was shifted back to Dhar by the Marathas under Maharaja Pawar, the slide in Mandu's fortunes that had begun with the absconding of Baz Bahadur, plummetted.

There is plenty to see in this wonderful city. Some of the must see monuments are

The Jahaz Mahal or Ship Palace which is situated between two artificial lakes. This two storied architectural marvel is so named as it appears as a ship floating in water. Built by Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din-Khilji, it served as a harem for the sultan.

Hindola Mahal or Swing palace is so named due to its sloping side walls. The Hindola Mahal might have been constructed during the reign of Hushang Shah about 1425

Hoshang Shah's Tomb - India's first marble structure, it is one of the most refined examples of Afghan architecture. Its unique features include the beautifully proportioned dome, intricate marble lattice work and porticoed courts and towers. It served as a template for the construction of Taj Mahal in Agra.

Jami Masjid - Inspired by the great mosque of Damascus, this beautiful structure is striking in both its simplicity and architectural style with its large courtyards and grand entrances.

A reservoir constructed by Baz Bahadur for the purpose of supplying water to Rani Roopmati's Pavilion.

Roopmati's Pavilion - A large sandstone structure originally built as an army observation post it is known today as Roopmati's Pavilion. Rani Roopmati - the love interest of Baaz Bahadur lived here and is said to have gazed at the Baz Bahadur's Palace - situated below and also at Narmada river, flowing through the Nimar plains far below, a river which the queen revered.

Baz Bahadur's Palace - Built by Baz Bahadur, this 16th-century structure is famous for its large courtyards

encompassed by large halls and high terraces. It is situated below Roopmati's Pavilion and can be seen from the pavilion.

Getting there:

By air - Indore Ahilyabai Holker Airport is the nearest airport to Mandu. Mandu is about 100 km from the airport.

By rail - Nearest railhead is Ratlam railway station, which is about 125 km away from Mandu. This station is well connected to the rest of the major cities in India and is an important junction in the western railways.

By bus - Regular deluxe and semi deluxe buses are available from Indore (100 km), Bhopal (278 km), Ratlam (125 km) and Ujjain.