Hi everyone again,
This blog is on my trip to Ranchi, Kolkata and Chennai....hope you like it.
The main purpose of this journey was to go to our (me and my family) Guru's Ashram in Ranchi.
JOURNEY TO KOLKATA
December 23rd, 8:55 P.M
The first leg of the journey began, with our train, Nilgiris express leaving for Chennai. My family and me was really excited that this dream trip was finally materializing! We hardly could wait for the next day.
We reached Chennai early next morning and directly booked a room at a nearby hotel (called "PICNIC HOTEL") and refreshed ourselves. Since our flight to Kolkata was scheduled for departure only at 4:30 pm, I had to kill a lot of time till then. While the rest of my family was already getting into the mood for meditation, I could hardly wait for the take-off (Thats because it had been 13 years since I last flew... i had forgotten how it actually felt to travel in a plane). I slept for a lot of time and after getting up, did the last bits of messaging I could do before I got charged at Kolkata.
Finally, after having our lunch at a nearby restaurant, we left for the airport. Though we were early, the feeling of waiting for 2 hours vanished from my mind as soon as i caught the sight of a plane taking off! Whou, i was damn thrilled, especially when I saw a Jumbo 747 cargo carrier land on the runway....it felt like the best thing I've ever seen.
In some time, we learnt that our flight had been delayed by an hour or so. This felt like a death-shock to us, as we had to catch a connecting train on the same night from Kolkata to Ranchi. Thats when i nicknamed Air-Deccan to "Air-Dhakkan", you can never trust the scheduled timings with this airline! Since, we could do nothing but hope for the best, my Dad started praying, while I was getting tense. So I decided to explore the airport. The airport felt like paradise, equipped with all the latest stuff to keep the passengers entertained while waiting for the plane.
My dad's prayers worked! The incoming flight had landed earlier than the estimated delay. Wasting no time, we queued up for the flight and in no time were inside the plane. I was most thrilled on getting inside the plane, I felt like a small kid totally having an ice-cream for the first time! The moment the plane took-off, I could feel a lot of adrenaline in me....whou, the Geforces...thats when u get a faint idea how a formula one racer feels on the driver seat!
The flight journey was really nice....the air-hostess made it nicer! :)
Incidently, where my Dad and me were seated was where the emergency exit was placed. Though we carefully listened to the instructions regarding operating the emergency exit, we were confident that we wouldn't need to use it. The sight from air was splendid, we could see the coastline of India as we flew over the Bay of Bengal.
ARRIVAL AT KOLKATA
After two hours of flight, we arrived at Kolkata at 7:30 pm, a place much cooler than Chennai (only from the weather point of view!). We were a bit nervous, because we thought that the railway station was around 50 kilometres from the airport, and getting there in time in Kolkata traffic would be difficult. We hired a taxi. Initially I thought that the bad roads were just a part of a city, but then, later I learnt that i was wrong! The whole city looked like a "Mega-Slum". Every road looked like a dirty street worthless of having a name.
If you're a citizen of Coimbatore, you'd be scared to death the way the drivers drive around the town....everything feels like a near-miss! One notable thing in Kolkata "Roads" was that the drivers hardly use their headlights. Though initially I looked totally crazy, it started to make much sense later. The driver told us that no one found the need to use the headlights...the streetlights were doing their job well! Talk about energy conservation!
Atlast, we were at the railway station, 1 hour earlier. Thanks to Adbul Kalam's visit that we ended up landing at Kolkata on a Christmas eve sunday, when the roads were totally deserted. Later we realized that we were under a misconception that the railway station was 50 kms from the airport, while it was only 25!
THE LAST LEG OF THE JOURNEY
At the railway station, we were royally looted by a porter who demanded 150 bucks for carrying our luggage to the platform. Though me and my dad resisted the porters "help", my mom was reluctant that the porter carried the luggage. So we bargained with the porter and he finally agreed for 80 rupees. Even this was a big mistake. The platform was hardly 75 metres away and 80 rupees was way too much for just 4 puny baggages! I suggest that its better to carry your own luggage than ask a porter to do the job...they'll take you for a ride if they learn that you're an outsider!
After a brief dinner at the railway station, we boarded the train. Thanks to mom that we booked an A.C coach (It was actually cooler outside the coach and what we really wanted was some warmth!). We learnt from our fellow passengers that the weather at Ranchi was really cold, around 8 degrees or so in the morning and a max temperature of 15 degrees...that is COLD! So, well prepapared with sweaters, we slept peacefully after a day that felt like the "world's most amazing race"! Just before sleeping, we thought how everything turned out in our favour right from the morning. After thanking the Almighty, we finally took a nap.
Next morning, precisely at 6 am, we reached Ranchi. Only after getting out of the train did we realise how true our fellow passengers were regarding the weather. It was freezing cold! The Ashram being very close to the railway station, we hired two cycle rikshaws. The rikshaw driver looked like a frail old man, pedaling with all his might uphill in bitter cold! In 5 minutes we were within the premises of the ashram.
Days at the Ashram
Christmas Day
Though it was really cold at Ranchi, we could feel the warmth of our Guru in the Ashram. We were greeted by one of the Sevaks, Mr. Panda and were given a room with four 4-poster beds equipped with mosquito nets. Not wasting much time, we refreshed ourselves and got ready for the morning session of meditation. I couldn't really meditate as I was feeling sleepy after the night travel. After the meditation session, delicious breakfast awaited us. We went to the central kitchen and what we had over there, felt like food from the Heavens itself! The food, though very simplistic, had a divine taste....we could feel that it had been made with a lot of love. We relished each and every bit of it in total silence, after which we headed for our room and took bath.
Since Jesus Christ is considered as one of the Gurus, we celebrated Christmas in a very grand manner. There were bhajans, Pushpaanjali and swamijis all around. The whole atmosphere was so spiritually charged that it was hard for our minds to waver around! After this session, we were roaming around the Ashram. Everything here looked really beautiful, there were blossoms all around....an attribute to the spiritual vibrations that prevailed there. We enjoyed every little moment in the Ashram. Even in the smallest things, we could see the miracle of God.
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The Christmas Celebrations
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The Ashram
The Ashram looked just like the way one would picture it to be after reading jataka tales or the like. It was so full of trees, that it was hard to find a place without shade (but we were in search on sunlight at the moment....it was really cold!).
The trees not only bore flowers, but also delicious fruits. A famous Lichi tree in the Ashram under which the Guru preached the lessons, was a sight of attraction, there was something special about it. There were a lot more things in the Ashram worth a mention like the Japanese ponds, bamboo trees, the vegetable gardens, etc. One must go there to find out how it really feels.
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Dad and Sis near the Goshala
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We were taken care of like an infant that had to be attended time to time. It was not only because of the environment that the whole atmosphere was spiritually charged, but also due to the presence of great swamijis. We were lucky to get close to one Swami Pavitrananda. Just being in his presence made us really happy.
So, just like that, the four days at Ranchi came to an end in no time.....good times don't last long. We felt really bad, that we had to leave the Ashram, the Divine company, the Delicous food....
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The lichi tree
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Anyways, everything has to come to an end!
My mom, Me, Dad and Swami Pavitrananda
On the fourth night, ie on the 28th, we boarded the train to Kolkata.
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A blossom at Ranchi(left) and Smriti Mandir (right)
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Mom, Guiga ( a brazilian devotee), me, Dad (left) and The Cabbage garden (right)
The Day at Kolkata
We arrived early in the morning at Kolkata and headed directly for the Ashram. The Ashram is situated at Dakshineshwar on the banks of river Ganga. The Ashram contrary to the rest of the city felt like heaven. There was a wonderful pond which housed a lot of eels, again great blossoms, etc.
Having arrived late, we missed the Meditation session, and directly had our breakfast. Soon after breakfast, we refreshed ourselves, and left for some places at Serampore in Kolkata which were of great significance to our Guru.
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The pond at Kolkata with the eels
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We came back to the Ashram, had our lunch left for one of my father's old friend's place at Kolkata. Again, during the whole journey, I could see only a Trashcan of a Kolkata. The "roads" were highly congested, with trams adding to the traffic jams. The buses looked like they have never been upgraded since India's Independance! I pitied the condition in which people were living in this place.
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The view of the ganges from the Kolakata Ashram
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We finally arrived in the business area of Kolkata, where my dad's friend was staying. After a brief rendezvous, we headed for the Airport. On the way, we had our dinner at Haldiram's. Though we were getting late, I sneaked a few Rosso Gulas, Sondesh. Only on the way to Airport, i could see some really nice sights. This was "New Town Kolkata" which was built especially for IT buildings. Only when I feasted my eyes on these buildings, I realized why people still leave here!
Again at the airport, we found that the flight was delayed by four hours! Thanks to Air-Dhakkan! The plane took off at 11:35 pm and we were in Chennai at 1:20 am.
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The Dhyana Mandir at Kolkata Ashram
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The Ancient buses at Kolkata (left) and Our family with my father's friend at his office
The Grand Finale- Coming full circle from Spiritual to Material
After arrival at Chennai, we directly headed to my cousin's place...where we are welcome any time. We reached there at 2:30 am, and despite the hour, we were greeted with so much warmth by my Aunt and Uncle, we instantly felt we're home! We slept immediately without wasting much time.
In the morning, we had a lot of fun at my cousin's. Incidentally, it was my cousin's grandfather's 80th birthday....so we were in for some serious celebrations!
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Mom and sis at Hotel Green Park
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We went to a Hotel Green Park at Chennai. The ambience at the hotel made us feel like we were in a different kind of a heaven! There was celebration in the air. One notable thing about my aunt (named Radha) is that she's a really trendy kind of a person, but at the same time a really loving person at heart. She won the first prize for best dance, at the same hotel on the new year eve. Being with her, one would forget all their worries! (talk about similarities between the spiritual and material people!)
After some great partying and mouth-watering dinner, we thanked our hosts and left for good ole coimbatore!
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My familia with Radha Athai
At dawn, we were back to our own place! And again, it was a new year eve. Since I had already had my part of fun, I didn't feel like going out for parties...though I met my classmates at an ice-cream parlour.
This new year, though distinct from the others, was the most memorable one in my life. Even after coming home, we are so spiritually charged, it feels like we've carried the Ranchi ashram with us!
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