I began where the Buddha did. Bodh Gaya in late June is heavy with heat and mango-leaf green. For ten days I sat in silence at a Vipassana centre: no phone, no talking, just the breath and a long bell before dawn in Dhamma Hall. My takeaways are: Impermanence; Keep observing; Respond, not react

When the course ended I walked out into a town that is really a parliament of monasteries. Each country has built its own temple here, and each is stranger and more beautiful than the last: Thai gold, Bhutanese timber, a great stone Buddha sitting eighty feet tall beside the road.

Dhamma Hall at dawn · the 80-foot Buddha · a Thai shrine, the Karma Kagyu temple, and another temple/monastery.

North to Patna, where the Ganga runs wide and brown. I bowed at Patna Sahib, the white gurudwara built where Guru Gobind Singh was born, then pushed through the warm crush of a Hanuman temple painted the deepest red. I am glad as I had to take the route where I could watch Ganga flowing through Patna, but was in awe to take a snap.

Takht Sri Patna Sahib · the marble courtyard · offerings at Mahavir Mandir.

Dwaraka undid me. I visited the Dwarkadhish temple again and again, its carved tower flying a fresh flag each time. Then to Rukmini temple, Nageshwar, Gopi Talab, and Bet Dwaraka, and Bhadkeshwar Mahadev. I stayed in Gayathri Shantivan (highly recommended non-AC stay) and ate thali off a steel plate in the hotel within the premises while the Arabian Sea threw itself at the rocks all night. It was calming to see the evening turn into night, with the sky, sea, and the lighthouse as the points to observe.

Dwarkadhish spire · the thali that fed us  · the Rukmini temple · Nageshwar Jyotirlinga, my first of the twelve · Bhadkeshwar and the lighthouse coast.

Somnath, rebuilt so many times, stands right at the edge of the ocean where the land simply ends. The moment I landed, it was raining. I ventured out to darshan as staying put wasn't an option. I watched the evening aarti and, and visited in the morning again, before leaving to Girnar. After returning from Girnar, I have covered nearby places like Triveni Sangam, Banganga (I guess), and Bhalka tirth.

The Somnath temple at dusk · the shore where the mainland ends · Triveni Sangam, where three rivers meet the sea · Bhalka Tirth, where Krishna left the world.

While travelling from Somnath to Junagadh/Girnar, I found a group that had the same destination, and I asked if I can join them, and they were happy to take me in. It was raining cats and dogs, and I was thinking to drop the climb at Girnar if it stays so, as requested by my friend. But, all thanks to the family, I have started the climb, with the thought that I'll come back once these people give up, and two of them did not. I was concerned that what will happen to us because of the incessant rain, but the kid, Tanish, helped me with a different, positive perspective. The padukas were closed by the time we made it, but we made it nonetheless. It was a lovely group, which made me feel like I was a part of their family. Guddi aunty and Kanta aunty were really cool and very warm folks I have come across. The knees were hurting, but the heart was full, so was the room.

After visiting Ambika shaktipeeth, Jain temple, Goraknath temple, and Guru Dattatreya's paduka, I headed back to Somnath to cover the temples and other areas around Somnath.

The company that made the climb light — Tanish, Me, Guddi aunty, Kanta Aunty, Tanish's mother.

Diu was like the goa of the Gujaratis (I guess), where they can find non vegetarian and booze. It was expensive for no reason. I thought of going around the fort after visiting Gangeshwar Mahadev, but all thanks to the persistent rains, I stuck to visiting Gangeshwar Mahadev and resting in the room for the remaining time.

Gangeshwar Mahadev — five lingas set in the rock that the tide swallows and gives back, the rain refusing to let up.

The Sahyadris above Pune, after visiting a friend with his family to Lonavala. Life is simple and beautiful when you're a kid, but not when you have a kid.

The journey to Bhimashankar has again led to a good company of mechanical engineering students, who took me into their batch. The journey was fun, with getting blocked around 12 on the road, to sharing the room with the five folks, to waiting for the driver to pick the phone up in no network area, and what not. The darshan was good, the journey was beautiful. Grateful to the invisible hand of the God that always protects me, nurtures me, and guides me in one form or the other.

The temple in fog · the vanishing ghat road · the Bhimashankar signpost · the valley when it finally cleared.

After the break in Mumbai, I resumed the travel, starting to Pune, staying in ITC quarters at friend's place on August 1st. It is nothing less than grand. Then started to Aurangabad on August 2nd and reached on August 3rd.

I met a group of friends heading towards the Grisneshwar and joined the same. Visited Grishneshwar temple, it was peaceful experience. Then we had a breakfast and headed to Ellora nearby. Spent most of the time in the Kailasa temple, then went to jain caves and cave 29 where Shiva's marriage was depicted if I remember correctly. Couldn't cover buddhist caves as we were tired already and there was no transport to that point available by the government.

Then we had lunch and I split, and left to Bibi ka maqbara. It was fun roaming around the place alone, and then left to Zostel. It was fun playing mafia with the folks over there till late in the night. That's where I found the possible tripmates for Ajanta tomorrow: Daniel and Badr.

The road to Pune · Grishneshwar, the last of the twelve jyotirlingas · Kailasa at Ellora, carved down out of one cliff · the caves and their reliefs · the jali and the marble dome of Bibi ka Maqbara · and the night at Zostel, where the Ajanta plan was hatched.

I woke up later than what I actually wanted, but in the end, it went well. Three more people joined the part (Or we joined theirs): Nishita, Fiona, and Raul. We hired a car to Ajanta and back, and started off.

Except for Nishita and me, all others are from different countries. We had something in common that kept us engaged and together. The conversations explored different cultures, travel experiences, and the conversations were very rich and fun as well.

We visited Ajanta with an awe and curiosity: Awe on what they achieved, and curiosity on how they did: Did they bring pillars from outside (No)? Why do we need pillars for a cave? How did they do it in the darkness centuries ago? How much time they might have spent on each tiny detail? How can they be so perfect? and so on.

Just beside Ajanta, we had a good viewpoint, from where we could see the waterfalls with a good view. We later ventured into the stream as well for a short while, and it was refreshing.

After returning to Zostel, we played music, fun games like dumb charades and to the moon. This has been the best day so far in my travel.

The horseshoe of caves cut into the gorge · a painted shrine and a pillared hall inside · the rock-cut façades and the ravine in the rain · the caves seen across the valley, the waterfall by the viewpoint, and wading into the stream with the party.

This day started slow in Aurangabad, with a good breakfast, little shopping and walks in the Bagh when it was actually closed for the public. I stayed till 3, and left after bidding adieu to Fiona, with Bhanu bidding adieu to me. The rest journey was a bit inconvenient.

The autowala left me at the wrong destination, I finally took another auto after waiting for an hour for the bus, the reception guy had me waiting, and then had a hearful from him for not bringing the prints. Thankfully, Siddhant stepped in after a while, and guided me through things, and helped me a lot in the process. I realised that I booked darshan ticket instead of Kakad aarti one, and decided to wake up at 2:30 AM to catch the aarti.

The green country between Aurangabad and Shirdi.

I woke up at 2:30 and reached the temple by 4, yet missed the aarti in the temple by a margin of 20 folks. I'm grateful that I could see the aarti in the screen during the queue. The darshan went well, I sat there peacefully for a while, before heading to eat the breakfast and meeting Siddhant. He suggested keeping the luggage at the cloak room and head to Shani Singnapur, which I did.

Finally I saw Shani dev, who has put me through tough times during my college days (Or is it my karma?). I wished for many things, which also include avoiding something that caused severe damage. Hopefully, he'll be merciful this time and help me out. 

I came back to Shirdi and headed Nashik the same day.

The town on the way in · the tall black Shani shrine · the bus ticket, and the road there.

I had plans for the stay at Nashik: Trimbakeshwar and Anjaneri on a day, Saptashrungi, Panchvati the next day, and Sula if feasible somewhere, but the exhaustion and dust allergy threw a spanner in the works. In a hope that I get the thread that will relieve me from this, I headed Panchvati. It gave me the vibes of walking on the ghats in Varanasi for a moment. The river was overflowing, and it was fun to watch. I visited Kalaraam, Sita Gufa, Kapaleshwar temple, and Ram Kund, and headed back. Aunt (The host) was kind enough to spare some salt and turmeric to keep the dust allergy under control.

The ghats where the Godavari is bathed in · Kalaraam temple · Artefact from homestay.

I started to the temple later than I initially thought. I expected it to be similar to other jyotirlingas I have visited in terms of rush and deity, but I was wrong. It took a good two hours or more even with a paid ticket, and the shivling is different than others: a hollow space that holds Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwara. I was split on the next step, and the rains made the decision clear: head back home. I went to Rajbhog thali, and I highly recommend that when in Nashik (It's veg folks, sorry).

During the bus journey, there was a guy heading back to Mumbai, who gave me the thought of travelling via train, which was the cheapest and fastest mode. I booked Vande Bharat, watched Thank you for smoking on the way, and reached.

Trimbakeshwar below the Brahmagiri hills · the temple tank · a last thali · and the buses that carried me back toward Nashik.