Sarnath - Where Buddha gave his first Sermon

It was the last day of my 3 days trip to Varanasi, I had my train back home in the evening. Though it was quite a sunny day still I decided to visit Sarnath to soak into the peaceful and serene aura of Buddhism. Sarnath is located just 12 kms from the holy city of Varanasi. The deer park in Sarnath is where Buddha first taught dharma after attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya. Sarnath is also one of the four most sacred sites for Buddhists which Buddha himself sanctioned for pilgrimage.

 The Dhamek stupa.

The Dhamek Stupa.

Sarnath has previously been known as Mrigadawa "deer park" or Ishipatna means the place where holy men fell to earth. The currrent name Sarnath means "Lord of the deers".
Dhamek Stupa which is the main point of attraction at Sarnath was constructed by the great Mauryan King Ashoka. The stupa is cylindrical in shape and 34 meter in height and 28.3 meter in diameter.

Dhamek stupa.

The lower portion of the Stupa is covered completely with beautifully carved stones. The borders of Dhamekh Stupa have delicately carved geometrical and floral designs and figures of humans and birds. The base of the Stupa is made of stone with the upper areas of brickwork which probably once had a carved stone fencing. It is believed that Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon at the Dhamekh Stupa.

Carvings on the Dhamek stupa.

Excavated Structures around the stupa.

Dhamek stupa and the excavated area.

How to reach Sarnath ?

Sarnath is located just 12 kms from the main city of Varanasi. Autorickshaws and other public transport are easily available from Cant station. So the place is easily accessible from any part of the city.

Some Interesting Conversations With People Of Varanasi

To satisfy my unending quest I never miss a chance to interact with the local people while travelling around. As I strongly believe one can know the place in the best possible manner only by interacting with the locals. And there are several other advantages of having conversation with locals like, you can hear some great stories, some interesting, some inspiring, some funny and at the end it makes you feel more confident and sometimes you can end up being good friends.

A conversation with baba Somnath.

A potrait of Baba Somnath.

It was little after dusk I was walking back towards Assi Ghat when I saw him sitting on the steps of the ghats busy crushing weed for his evening dose. Quite attracted by his appearance with his permission I clicked a few potraits of him and had a little conversation with him. Baba Somnath belongs to Bashirhat area of West bengal and choosed the ascetic way of living when he was 24.
I was quite surprised when he started revealing his past life which he left behind before becoming a sage. His real name was Soumendra Nandan Bhattacharya and he came from a top class family from West Bengal with relatives like B.C.Roy. He has completed his Masters in hindi sahitya and was very much capable to speak on every possible topic like politics and current affairs.

When I asked "Baba why did you choose to live like this"?
His answer was "I don't understand the concept of being selfish, and I seriously did not liked the selfish world and if I had lived for sometime more in your world I would have also become selfish. And why should I cry for a handful of rice."
An Inspiring conversation...

Somnath Baba crushing his evening weed.

Vishal Posing for a Potrait.

Vishal, who comes from Chandigarh is a Sanskrit student and has just passed his ISC examinations.
When asked about his subject, he said "while the whole world is busy and running towards modernisation I want to turn back the pages of our culture and study about the root of all languages Sanskrit". The ganga Arti was about to start and I had a small conversation with Vishal while enjoying the serenity of the Ganga arti on the ghats.

Baba ram posing for a potrait.

Baba Ram was the most jovial baba I ever met. Baba has recently been part of  some bollywood movies which have been filmed on the ghats of Varanasi. Baba has also covered the holy Amarnath yatra twice but this year he could not go for it because of some paper work issues. I met him twice and he always had some very interesting and funny stories to share, he was always ready to pose for a photograph. After a refreshing conversation we had our evening tea together.

Showcasing some actng skills

Potrait of a sadhu

The Magnificent Fort of Ramnagar.

 India has a very rich cultural heritage and history, which can be seen through numbers of forts and palaces present in our country. The forts, palaces and the architectural wonders are the immortal mark of the several dynasties and kings who have ruled India in the past. So, while travelling I never miss a chance to explore these architectural wonders. Here is a photo story from my visit to Ramnagar fort located in the state of Varanasi.

View from the Fort ground

Manin entrance of the Fort.

The Ramnagar Fort is located on the eastern bank of Ganga River opposite to tulsi ghat. It was built in the year 1750 in Mughal style of architecture by Kashi Naresh Raja Balwant Singh. The fort is the royal residence of the king of Varanasi since eighteenth century and currently the king of fort is Anant Narayan Singh.

Colorful Elephant on the entrance.

A balcony of the fort.

A beautifully carved Balcony.

The Buggy used by Kashi Naresh.

 The building is constructed with sandstone and has some very beautifully carved balconies, it also houses the Ved Vyasa temple, a museum and a Hanuman Temple. Only a part of structure is open for public and display and the rest of the residence is still used by the King's family as residence.
The museum which is also known as Saraswati Bhavan has got a collection of American Vintage cars, Ivory antiques, silver and gold made palkis.

End of the Fort.

View of the balcony.

The Veda Vyasa Temple.

How to reach the fort?

The fort is situated 14 kms from the main city of Varanasi, it is easily accessible using the Pontoon bridge available during the summers and winters. In the monsoon season one can take auto from BHU which takes around 20 minutes. You can also opt for a direct ferry service available from the ghats of Varanasi.

The Special Chinese Breakfast in Kolkata

The iconic Yellow taxis, Tram rides are a few things which always strikes your mind whenever it comes to the city of joy Kolkata. But wait, Kolkata is also a foodie's paradise and a true mecca for every street food lover. There is something very special for every foodie travelling to the city or trying to explore the city of joy, "The special Chinese Breakfast" served every morning at the Terreti Bazaar or The China Town located in the eastern part of the city. 

A Chinese breakfast stall.

A breakfast stall.

Some tasty steamed momos.

The breakfast is served on the streets by the people of the Chinese community and are literally very tasty and worth having. What makes this breakfast more special is its time of serving, the market starts at early morning 6 am and runs till 9 am. So while the half of city keeps sleeping you can have this amazing breakfast, a treat for every early morning person like me.

Some more steamed momos.

Another breakfast stall

Cheuan aunty serving breakfast.

I had a 2 minute conversation with Cheuan aunty who has been into this breakfast business since last 12 years.
There are also some vegetarian dishes served here, so no problem if you are a vegan. The must try items over here are Chicken and pork Momos and meat balls.

A monk having breakfast early morning.

But how is Kolkata connected to the Chinese community?

The area of Tangra is located in the eastern part of Kolkata about 5 kms from the main city. The area gets its name Chainatown as the large numbers of people staying here have their origin from China or eastern Asia. The area of Tangra which is the only Chinatown in the whole country has some of the best Chinese restaurants in the city and one can experience the old Chinese charm with the chinese temples and the cultural centres located here. This place gives you a true taste of Chinese culture in every sense. 

A visit to "Bharat Mata Temple".

Varanasi is said to have around 22000 temples, each and every temple is beautiful and has its own religious values. But of these large numbers, the most interesting temple I find was The Bharat Mata Temple which is one of its kind and the only temple dedicated to Bharat Mata in the country as per the people around there.

The sign booard on the entrance of the temple.

The Bharat Mata Temple is located inside the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith campus in Varanasi.
The whole temple is made of stone. It was built by Babu Shiv Prasad Gupt and was inaugrated in the year 1936 by Mahatma Gandhi.

The main building of the temple.

I woke up a little early in the morning to visit the temple, as I thought there would be a long queue of devotees outside the temple premise as I met a day before while paying a visit to another famous temple. But to my surprise, I was the only person at that time inside or around the temple premises except a few security guards who were busy chatting among themselves.
The temple is very beautifully built around a large garden area and has some patriotic songs written on both the sides of the entrance door of the main hall.

Song written on the entrance door.

Songs written on both the sides of the door.

But the most interesting thing about the temple is the large marble structure which is a huge map of mother India carved in marble. Yes the map is of undivided India as the temple was constructed before partition. It very beautifully represents the plains,oceans and all the Himalayan ranges surrounding India .
A must see for everyone visiting Varanasi.

The monolith structure of undivided India.

The structure of  Mother India.

A potrait of Mother India inside the temple.

How to reach the temple ?

If you are travelling from BHU, the temple is 7 kms from there and you will easily find an auto for some 15 or 20 rupees. From Godowlia Chowk it is 3 kms and you can take auto or rickshaw from there. From Varanasi Cant Railway station its just 2 kms, you can either walk or take a rickshaw from there. 

The Mini Khajuraho of Varanasi.

Just a few meters walk from Dr. Rajendra Prasad ghat is situated the Lalita ghat. Along the stretch of the Lalita ghat just a few steps above is located a very old and beautiful temple of  Lord Shiva also know as Kanthwala Temple or mini Khajuraho. The temple was built in 1800 to 1804 by the then king of Nepal Rana Bahadur Shah. It is a very beautiful piece of construction which resembles the Nepali style of architecture. Because of the similar pagoda construction style, it is known as a replica of the Pashupati Shiva temple in Nepal. And yes the temple is looked after by Nepali sadhus so you will mostly find Nepali sadhus here, as all the religious people residing in the temple premises are Nepalis. I was also told about the dharamshala inside the temple premises which still belongs to the Nepal Government.

The main temple premise

The temple situated a few meters above the ghat's edge gives some of the most breathtaking views of the ghats and holy river Ganges. I did not find any heavy crowd of people or noise around except bird's chirping, so the environment inside the temple premise is very calm and peaceful. One can easily spend hours observing the beauty and silence around the magnificent temple.

A young boy on the temple door

A baba busy reading inside the temple premises

A Sadhu reading holy book

The most beautiful part of the temple is the exquisite wooden work that it exhibits on the walls and the pillars.

A bird carved on the wooden pillar

The upper portion of the door.

Beautiful wodden work on the temple door.

But why is it called The Mini Khajuraho ?

As I said earlier, this temple is also known as mini Khajuraho because the sculptures carved here are similar to the Khajuraho group of Monuments. Here you can have a glimpse of a few interesting sculptures in the pictures below.

Sculptures resembling Khajuraho monumetns.

Sculptures resembling Khajuraho monuments.

Next story coming soon..!

The Banarasi Paan and Thandai

Paan is basically our very own Indian mouth freshner made with beetle leaf, areca nuts and some other sweet spices. People prefer having it after meal to remove bad odour from mouth and sometimes tobacco is also added as an ingredient to consume it as a stimulant. The preparation of Paan totally depends upon the type of ingredients added into it.

Banarasi Paan in in the making.

But when it comes to the very famous Banarasi Paan which has proven its fame from the old Bollywood songs to the menu of top notch Indian weddings, we do not really need any introduction to define it.
And as I was in Varanasi last week for 3 days I tried many different varieties of Paans and had my mouth stuffed with the tasty Paan almost everytime I went out.

Preparation Of Banarasi Paan

Beetle Leaves kept in front of the shop.

My first experience of Banarasi paan was at Deepak Tambul Bhandar which is just after a few shops on the right side of Vishwanath Gali. This is a century old shop and it really served the tastiest Paan. And they also have a very particular style of serving it, they served with right hand, with left hand touching the elbow of right one which is the famous Nawabi style. 

Quite interesting

THE MAKING OF BANARASI THANDAI.

And yes of course Thandai is another must have drink from Varanasi. Thandai is a milk based drink mixed with crushed almonds and other dry fruits and finally served with a large scoop of malai over the top. 

Syrup of almonds and dried fruits

A little amount of Bhaang being mixed

This drink can also be consumed with bhaang (a paste prepared from the leaf of cannabis plant). 

If you really want to enjoy the drink, have it with a little amount of bhaang.

You will find many thandai shops around the main Godowlia chowk. I had my thandai at a shop named Badal Thandai which is run by Manoj Mishra whom you can see in the picture below serving freshly prepared thandai.

Thandai ready to be served.

This is the 3rd part of my travel story from Varanasi a lot more coming soon.