Prem Mandir: Magic in one minute

The iconic Prem Mandir made in Italian marble, is bathed in vibrant colors every evening. And trust me, it is a sight to behold! From soothing green and bubbly blue to glittering gold and soft pink, the colors enhance the beauty of the temple. Watch the magic unfold in 1 minute.

This is a daily practice in Prem Mandir after sunset.

Prem Mandir is in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh which was opened to public in 2012. See and know more about this stunning temple here in my blog

P.S- The post made to the list of popular posts on Indiblogger website.

Sweets for living

A peda wala in Mathura, selling pedas for daily living. Peda is a soft milk based sweet, traditionally made with khoya, sugar and flavored spices. The brown ones are pure khoya which have shelf life of 2 weeks and the white ones (covered) have punch of cloves and they last for 2 months. Pedas from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh are the best in North India. 

Sri Krishna Janmbhoomi Temple - Mathura diaries

Day 2: Sri Krishna Janmbhoomi Temple

So what if Mathura has bad roads and a serious traffic problem; that could not dampen my spirits to see the holy town. Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, holds high significance in the books of History and Mythology, drawing lot of tourists and devotees every day. The first of my three day trip comprised visit to Govardhan Temple, Sri Krishna Janmbhoomi and market hopping.

Read my post on Govardhan Temple here. I utilized the second half of the day in Sri Krishna Janambhoomi Temple. 

The main entrance gate 

Sri Krishna Janambhoomi is the very spot where Lord Krishna was born to Vasudev and Devaki in Kansa’s captivity.  The temple has parts of that historical jail, open for visitors. The huge temple premises is on a raised platform, which you can reach via a long flight of stairs.

                     

 

Heavily guarded by CISF, the temple has a mosque in its close proximity. The main shrine of the temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The walls have beautiful paintings depicting the life of Krishna and his various avataars. Everything inside is extravagantly pretty and outstanding. Even the roof walls caught my attention where Krishna Leela was painted in vibrant colors. You can spend time meditating or singing bhajans at the main shrine. The first level of the temple has a prayer hall where the ISKON group sing and dance to Krishna Bhajans. The rhythm of the mridang and manjeera takes you to trans! You end up feeling elated and full of positive energy.

The market within the temple complex boasts of sweets, colourful gifts, idols of God and lovely embroidery work on accessories.

The most interesting and visit worthy place in the temple is the artificial cave that exhibits Krishna Leela at different stages of his life. The dark cave echoes with a combination of sound and light effects to compliment the atmos.

Entry Fees for cave- Rs 5 per person

Tips for first time visitors

-Photography and carrying bags is prohibited inside. Cloak rooms outside the premises charge Rs 2 per item to deposit your bags, cams and mobiles.

-You would be frisked by security personnel twice. You cannot cheat them by hiding your mobile phones in your clothes.

-Though the temple has not mentioned any dress code, it would be wise to dress modestly covering your bare legs at least.

-Footwear is deposited at the shoe stand on ground floor for free.

-Monkeys and dogs are found in large number. Do not bother them, they would not bother you. Do not feed any animal inside.

-Temple opens at 6 am and shuts at 12 noon. Reopens at 4:30 pm till 8:30 pm. Plan your visit accordingly.

Outside the temple, do visit the local market. It turned out to be my best experience here.

Needless to mention, my eternal bond with sweets, brought me here to have the best Peda of North India. 

The little brown sinfully indulgent pedas which melt in mouth make me feel they were made for me. Infact every third shop I saw was named Brijwasi, one of the oldest sweet shop in Mathura. Leveraging the legacy, even the local vendors have renamed their shops to the same. 

Stroll in the market for the best chaat and tikki. We had a plate of golgappa and dahi vada each at Rs 20 from Paras Chaat Bhandar. The gentleman is the most humble vendor I ever met. Do give his stall a try when around Krishna Janambhoomi. 

The best dahi vada plate

Our dinner was from a small eating joint named New Madrasi where we had rawa masala dosa at modest price of Rs 60 each. I ended up complimenting the owner how much I liked the dosa.

Around 8pm, we walked back from Sri Krishna Janambhoomi premises to our hotel (Ganpati Palace), which was less than one kilometer, and the streets had started to bear a deserted look. It is advisable to head back to to your hotel and avoid strolling on roads after 9 pm.  


How to reach Mathura from Delhi- 

By Road:

Mathura and Delhi are 180 km apart. Take Noida Expressway for a smooth uninterrupted journey. The highway is good with thankfully no potholes or repair work.

An alternate route via Palwal is a shorter distance but the journey would be uncomfortable and bumpy due to pathetic road condition.


Trains:
Trains are also available from various stations of Delhi till Mathura Junction and Mathura Cant.
Check the website for trains’ schedule:
http://www.indianrail.gov.in/enquiry/TBIS/TrainBetweenImportantStations.html?locale=en

P.S- This trip of mine was in January 2018.
Also, this post made to the top post on Indiblogger.

One rainy day in Nainital

Continued from Day 2 after trip to Kilbury Forest.

It poured as returned from Kilbury. The roads started to get jam-packed because of two reasons. One rains, and two the last day of Naina Devi Mela. The plan for more local sightseeing had to be canceled. Suddenly God made her presence felt. Nanda Devi Shobha Yatra (procession) crossed our hotel. It was the last day of the Nanda Devi festival before idol immersion in late evening. The energy, the enthusiasm and love of devotees was worth watching as they pulled the rath (chariot) of Naina Devi Maa across the steep lanes amid continuous drizzle.

                         

Devotees swayed singing folk songs and praises for Devi Maa. Prasad was generously distributed to everyone on the streets. Each year the festival is celebrated with much pomp & flare and Devi Maa is given a warm farewell, promising to celebrate next year again.

As rain halted, we sneaked out on Mall road looking for something unique to eat. We enjoyed tea and soya momos. (Veg for a change. Husband please take note of this!). It drizzled again as we took shelter in a tea stall.

Spotted this attractive blue house on the street from the restaurant

We rushed back to our hotel and stayed in till dinner time. Special mention of Hotel Treebo Cloud 7 for the things they have in their rooms for guests. Super cool !! 

As soon as we stepped out around seven it started pouring again, adding to our worries for next day. It was indeed very sweet of the hotel manager to lend us his umbrella for the evening. We headed to China Town restaurant for dinner. The place is usually crowded with a queue in waiting always. The love for momos took husband there and we had a big meal at very economical price.

Don’t expect hygiene, nice ambiance or quick service in the overtly crowded eating joint. Looks like a shabby canteen where people huddle like chickens in coop. I found the food average, just like any eating joint serving Chinese. Half my appetite died looking at the poor sanitation. Back of my mind, I prayed we don’t get an upset stomach.

Shops in Nainital shut as early at 8 pm. Streets start to bear the deserted look by 9 pm. Our plan of buying an umbrella was shattered hence. We were worried for next day which we had scheduled for Bhimtal and Naukuchitaal. How will we carry our expensive camera? The thought was killing us!

Being in the travel industry and having a travel freak wife (yay), husband strategizes holiday very well. So we had premeditated the next day in sequence- a boat ride early morning, breakfast on hotel terrace, check out at eleven, visit the nearby places whole day and board Delhi bound volvo from Haldwani in evening. The success of the arrangement was totally in the hands of Rain God.

We crashed around 11 pm while rains lashed the silent streets non stop. 

Stay tuned for Day 3...


P.s - This trip was in September 2016


By the way this post made it to the top blog of the day on Indiblogger home page