May 2012
My first trip to Shirdi happened after a lot of anticipation, anxieties and a whole lot of planning.
Let me start with the reservations. My Maasi and mom wanted to go to Shirdi for quite some time. So on one fine evening of February, I sat in my razai (quilt) and checked out the tickets for Shirdi. Surprisingly, almost all the tickets were booked 3 months in advance. So I had no time to think or ponder over, and had to quickly book the tickets. We traveled New Delhi - Manmad and the plan was to go to Shirdi from there. Another station, Kopargaon, was closer to Shirdi than Manmad but unfortunately, tickets were full so Manmad was all that we were left with.
Finally the day came on which we had to leave for Shirdi. Delhi Metro took us from Gurgaon to Jor Bagh where an auto driver (while taking a hefty amount) dropped us to Nizamuddin station so that we could board our Goa Express to Manmad. In the morning on the next day, a gentleman came near our seats to charge his cellphone as the plug point near his berth was not working. During a usual chit-chat, he told us that the famous Shani temple (Shani Shingnapur) is another destination for all those tourists who visit Shirdi Sai Baba Temple. However, the entry of females in that temple is banned due to some age-old rituals. Thus, visiting that temple was pointless for us (as we were 3 females together). We thus decided to take a detour and visit Nasik (Nashik) instead.
Popping out of the train, I saw loads of grapes, raisins and vada-pav on the railway station at Manmad. From there, we took an auto and reached the Manmad bus station. From there we boarded a bus to Nasik and got down at Adganv Naka from where a road led to Panchvati. Panchvati is an area consisting of 5 old and auspicious banyan trees on the banks of River Godavari. This place is very famous from the religious point of view. Lots of people bathe in River Godavari, like River Ganges, and also perform the 'Kalsarpa yoga' pooja, if applicable. I must say that I have never in my life seen so many onions stacked in one place or seen so many grapevines together, as I saw that day during my road trip from Manmad to Nasik. In the scorching heat, this area was calm, peaceful and clean. The best part about the road trip were the gulmohur trees with their bright orange flowers.
Anyway, so on reaching Panchvati, we visited the temple of River Godavari and just washed our hands & feet (as we couldn't go through the elaborate process of taking a bath). Post this, we visited Sri Kapaleshwar temple, which is opposite the river bank. This temple is an old temple of Lord Shiva and was very quiet and peaceful. Personally, I'm not very fond of hindu religious places as they are not very clean. However, Nasik was a very different experience coz I got to see a different set of people - those who were calm & down-to-earth, unlike North Indians :P
After breakfast at a near-by tea stall, we took an auto to the Nasik bus station from where we boarded the bus to Trimbakeshwar temple. This temple is built at the origin of River Godavari and is an ancient temple in Maharashtra, dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and visiting this temple is considered as a very big thing.
The temple, as expected was calm and peaceful. The crowd, as expected, was in a rush. The area, as expected, was full of stalls and had flowers strewn around. Nevertheless, the visit got over and we boarded a bus direct to Shirdi from there. Thus, we experienced another road trip through the peaceful countryside, through the mountains and in peace.
On reaching Shirdi, we got off at the Shirdi Sai Baba temple complex and searched for a lodge room. After freshening up, we went downstairs to eat. By the time we got free, the entry to the temple was already closed. However, we sat down for aarti at Dwarka Mayi.
What next? Sleep - Get up at 5 - Get in line for 'Kakad Aarti' and darshan. And I was shocked to see layers of lines!! Too many lines and too many people were there, just to catch a glimpse of the idol of Sai Baba. The place was full of people and red roses. After 'darshan', we came down and visited the complex. Ma and I thereafter, got in lines to get some vibhuti & prasad (laddoos! :D). After all the visit and some breakfast, we took a taxi and came back to Manmad from where we were to board our train back to Delhi.
After lunch at a nearby restaurant, we bought some grapes from the station and boarded our train. In the train, we slept like logs and reached Delhi the next morning. And then, on reaching, I ran to office for an 11 am meeting :)
My first trip to Shirdi was memorable not because it was my first time to Shirdi but because it was Mom's first time to Shirdi. And I'm glad I could be a part of the whole thing :)
