Sarnath Lion Capital Of Ashoka

Our happiness knew no bounds and our smile was plastered from one ear to another. After all, it was time for another childhood dream to turn to reality- visiting Sarnath. The place that houses the Lion Capital of  Ashoka aka Ashoka Pillar, the iconic National Emblem of India.

Sarnath is considered as one among the 4 holy sites that are related to the life of Buddha. This is where, after attaining enlightenment Buddha gave his first sermon. This event is known as the "the turning of the wheel of the Dharma."

At the end of 12th century, all the buildings and structures were destroyed by Turkish Invaders and the site now shows the ruined state of what was once a thriving school teaching valuable lessons of Life.

According to Hiuen Tsang, the temple at which Buddha used to meditate was 61 meters tall and we can now only see the remains of this temple.

One such ruin that stands tall at 128 feet is the Dharmekh Stupa and it is believed that at this spot the first sermon was conducted by Buddha. On this structure, we spotted intricately carved stones with geometric patterns, leaves, swastika and many others designs.

The Ashoka Pillar is a monolithic sculpture of four lions standing back to back and is entirely made of sandstone. The four lions represent power, courage, confidence and pride. The base of the pillar though still stand in the original place, the Lion Capital is on display in the Archaeological Museum in Sarnath.

Another master piece in this museum is the massive monolithic ten armed Shiva who is also sporting a beard. This sculpture depicts a fierce lord Shiva killing a demon and collecting his blood in an urn as it was believed that every drop of blood from the demon that touches the earth will give birth to another demon. Another striking feature of this fine sculpture is the weapons in Shiva's hands, especially the maze that is made out of human skull. One has to preserve this sculpture in their memory as photography is prohibited inside the museum and safe deposit lockers are made available.

The ruins and the site are maintained very well by ASI. The pathways are very well laid out and are a beautiful sight. These pathways are pretty much used by snakes as well to cross over and hide under one of the many ruins. So do not be surprised if you come across one.

Sarnath would be an ideal day trip from Varanasi as it is only 15 km away.

Patna AKA Patliputra, Capital Of Mauryan Empire

A few places tend to leave an everlasting impression on you when you visit them. It could be due to their scenic beauty, stunning architecture or history. Then there are places like Patna where it is the people and their hearts that enhance the beauty. Planning a trip to the so called lawless state of Bihar, we had our inhibitions and it would be completely wrong if we did not admit that we were concerned about our safety. But we were put to shame by the beautiful people of Patna and they taught us the most valuable lessons of all- It is a grave sin to have sweeping general perceptions and to not get into the cycle of typecasting based on a few incidents alone.

A chance discussion with fellow passengers in the train and they went out of the way to tell us about how safe and cheap it is to take shared autos, they found us a decent accommodation, dropped us there and even treated us to plates of piping hot momos. As if this was not enough, they got their bikes the next day so that we could roam the city of Patna and like true hosts they never expected anything in return. It was not just them but every other person we met in the city from auto drivers to people accompanying us in the shared auto to the caretakers and guard of the patna state museum. All of them treated us with so much kindness and went out of the way so that we have a great time in their city.

They proved the age old golden Indian tradition true "Atithi Devo Bhava"- "Guest Should Be Treated Like God." In general for the three days that we were in Patna we experienced a whole different world contrary to the views expressed by the media and mean jokes circulated on social media.

Apart from the warmth of these awesome people, the city offers a lot to keep travellers on their toes and we started off with the Patna Museum. It is definitely a must visit as it houses relics that are very precious. The museum is divided into different sections bronze and stone sculptures, terracotta gallery, textiles, weapons, artifacts, paintings and an entire section dedicated to Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India. The thankas displayed near the staircase on the first floor surely grab your attention.

Among all the sculptures, the one that stands out is the Didarganj Yakshi. This sandstone sculpture over 6 feet in height and made from a single stone with well polished surface is one of the finest examples of Mauryan art. It was excavated from banks of Ganga and is considered one of the most precious examples of ancient Indian sculptural art. Even the backyard of the museum has centuries old sculptures.

Another interesting aspect of the museum is a 200 million year fossil tree. It is 58 feet in length and was found near Asansol in 1927. You can also spot World War 1 canons that are on display here. The museum also houses Buddha relics, Buddha's ashes and manuscripts with Gold and Silver inscriptions. If you want to see these manuscripts and Buddha's ashes, the museum tickets are priced at Rs.100 per person. If you want to give it a miss, the tickets are Rs.15. Even though we felt the pricing is unfair we highly recommend you visit these exquisite or one of a kind relics. Camera charges are Rs,100.

Golghar, one of the iconic monuments of Patna, was constructed by an Englishman to store grains for the British Army after the tragic famine of 1770 which killed millions of Indians. This stupa shaped monument with a spiral staircase was designed in a manner for laborers to carry the load up, drop the load and descend from the other set of stairs. With a storage capacity of 140000 tonnes it could provide food for thousands of people. The panoramic view of Patna from the top of this 79 meter tall monument and the scintillating sunset over the ghats is a perfect site. However, this place tends to get a little crowded around sunset.

Kali Ghat/ Kali Mandir is a revered place of worship over looking one of the many ghats with the mighty Ganges flowing by her side. The main deity is Kali Maa. It is considered as one of the holiest sites of Patna and attracts hordes of people. People do not just come to the temple, they make sure that they visit the ghat after praying to Goddess Kali to offer their prayers to Ganga. Earlier the devotees used to let the diyas float in the Ganges but now thanks to PM Narendra Modi's 'Swachh Bharat' mission, this practice is highly discouraged and the diyas are now left on the steps of the ghat. The neighboring building is Patna University, one of the most prestigious university of Bihar.

Takht Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara is one of the holiest sites in India for Sikhs as Patna is the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh ji, the tenth Guru of Sikhism, This beautiful Gurudwara is a sight to behold and like every other Gurudwara, a sense of peace and calm prevails. Your trip to any Gurudwara is incomplete if you skip the Langar. The best part about the Sikh community is that they welcome people with a very generous heart and offer food irrespective of the faith they practice, their social status or any other discrimination. The rich or poor sit shoulder to shoulder and dine like one big family. A visit to this beautiful Gurudwara might be chaotic as it is set in a super busy market place and the roads are very narrow and congested.

Shaheed Samrak Park aka martyrs memorial is dedicated to seven martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice of laying down their lives fighting colonists in a bid to hoist the National Flag on the Secretariat building during the Quit India Movement. The bronze statue of these young students portrays the determination and the love for their motherland not willing to give up on their mission even after facing bullets. It is very important and supreme duty of any Indian to remember and respect every man and woman who fight fiercely for the freedom and prosperity of India. This park is a couple of kilometers away from Patna High Court.

Haldiram's in Boring Road is one of the best veg restaurants to dine in. 'Boring road' contrary to the name is a happening lane in Patna. It is a street food lovers paradise with several thelas (food carts) that serve excellent street food. We were surprised to find a few carts selling delicious momos. A small shop, Blue Moon, sells a wide variety of 'Kathi Rolls' aka Frankie. This place is pretty easy to find as it is often mobbed and that would be your tell tell sign. If you are not a big fan of street food this lane is still a big hit as it also has several fine dining restaurants. To cater to your sweet tooth, head to Sweet Home, they have a huge range of sweets confectioneries and bakery items. The sandwiches at this place are a must try.

If you are in Patna on a Monday it would be a better idea to reschedule your entire trip as all attractions remain closed. Patna comes second only to Gwalior in terms of unnecessary honking that result in a headache if you spend long hours on the streets. Patna is very hot even in the month of September, the sun is pretty severe on you throughout the day so be sure to keep yourself hydrated and be well equipped with sunglasses, hat and sunscreen. The Bihari dialect is something we fell in love with. 

When we visited Patna, Bihar was gearing up for one of the most unpredictable elections and there was a lot of debate about who would win the State elections. During one of our evening strolls we saw technology being put to great use. PM was interacting with the locals through digital media and trying his level best to convince them to back his party. 

We stayed at Royal Executive Guesthouse at Boring Road residential colony. Their rooms are basic and clean and their service is good. During our entire stay in Patna shared autos ruled Patna city and we never had to hire a private auto or cab. One can reach any corner of the city by waving down one of the several autos and to reach far off parts one might have to take more than one shared auto. The charges are very nominal with the minimum charge being Rs.5 and the maximum we paid was Rs.13 per person. However if you are riding in one of these for the first time be careful and always have a tight grip.

Aurangabad City Of Gates

When we think of Aurangabad, the first thing that comes to our mind are the sister caves Ajanta & Ellora but this beautiful city has its own charming history that makes you fall in love with this place. It had close to 52 gates during medieval times though only a few of them have survived the test of times. This place offers a lot to explore from Temples, Caves, Monuments to Museums, Textiles and Local Cuisines. It is a very pleasant, clean and traveler friendly city, the infrastructure is top notch and it was very appeasing and nice to see quite a few trees occupy sides of the road. To our delight, the footpaths were broad and free of any kind of encroachments.

We commenced our Aurangabad trip by visiting Grineshwara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the 12 Jyothirlingas, believed to be the last shrine or 12th Linga and is considered sacred among Hindus. The temple tower is made of red stone and the architecture within the temple premises left us awestruck. The carvings, pillars, paintings and statues are the highlight of the temple. Since it is one of the 12 Jyothirlingas, it is highly commercialized and people try to sell you one thing or the other right from the parking lot. Camera and phones are prohibited inside the temple and have to be deposited at a nearby counter.

Bibi Ka Maqbara is a mausoleum built by Aurangzeb's son, Azam Shah, in memory of his mother. This monument is an imitation of  Taj Mahal but fails to ignite the charm, aura and a feel of being lost in time.

The lesser known Aurangabad Caves are only 2 km away from Bibi Ka Maqbara. These caves are on par with the magnificent Ajanta and Ellora caves but do not hog the limelight. It would be a good idea to hire an auto or cab to visit Aurangabad caves as it is in the outskirts of the city and there are no other means of transport. If you want to hire an auto we highly recommend Mr.Krishna (9130194847) a very honest and thorough gentleman who makes sure that the travelers have a good time. He is pretty flexible, patient and informative.

Chatrapati Shivaji Museum tucked away in a small corner of Aurangabad is a must visit not only for history buffs but for everybody to learn more about this fearless warrior. Shivaji is very well known and respected widely for being a fierce warrior, great patriot and true liberal. Under his able leadership, our country flourished and thrived. He never differentiated people based on their caste or creed giving them opportunities depending on their skill set. Under his rule, women enjoyed great rights and were respected and honored. This compact museum lays down the legacy and artifacts from Shivaji's period.

As you enter the museum you are greeted by massive cast iron canons and huge teak wood doors. The museum is classified into different galleries exhibiting exceptionally well preserved armory - swords, pistol, barrels, canons, guns, lead balls, knives, daggers, Madu (deer horn) body armor. Artifacts range from portraits, paintings, oil lamps, candle sticks, religious importance items, extensive mughal era coins from Shivaji's period. spice box, stone and ivory sculptures, jewelry boxes. The best part about the museum is the wide collection of beautiful silver nutcrackers and 1600 AD Paithani Saree and shawl still in mint condition. They have an extensive collection of great manuscripts. The museum is very well maintained and is sparkling clean with each artifact clearly visibly through glass. The museum is closed on Thursdays.

En-route we saw a lot of handloom shops selling the famous Paithani and Himroo sarees. Paithani sarees - A Golden heritage of 2000 years, these pure silk sarees are completely handwoven with great care and fabulous artistic work. Silk from Paithan was traded for gold and precious stones ages ago. Even today, the work is handwoven in pure silk and silver. Himroo is also another traditional weaving art which is a mix of silk and cotton. This art is slowly fading away and efforts are being made by the government and weaving industry to keep this art alive.

Be sure to stop by one of the stores and check out the work. Paithani  silk weaving centre in Lokmat Nagar is the perfect place to shop and also see the weavers in action handcrafting every single saree. Government Of India, Ministry Of Textiles run a training centre for weavers here. The centre has sarees, handwoven exquisite carpets with 900 knots per sq inch, shawls, artifacts and the likes. It would be safe to say you could buy genuine stuff from this outlet.

Ajanta Caves, a World Heritage Monument, is not just known for its magnificent architecture but also for the elaborate mural paintings highlighting the life events of Buddha. Our Exclusive post on Ajanta can be found here.

Ellora Caves stand as a testimony for secularism with 3 different religions coexisting in harmony in the same premises. Apart from that, the mystery surrounding the architecture of these caves and the possibility of receiving help from extra terrestrial beings to finish the mind boggling carvings makes these caves even more intriguing. Our exclusive post on Ellora.

Trip to Aurangabad is not complete if one fails to visit the "Only Crater Lake In India" Lonar.

CIDCO serves as the perfect locality to stay, there are several hotels that fit all budgets and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from. To taste authentic Aurangabad biryani we recommend Karim's. Their Chicken biryani is simply amazing, it is a semi dry gravy mixed with rice and quite spicy. The chicken pieces are super tender and finger licking good. Apart from the most amazing biryani,  Karim's outlet comes highly recommended for its delicious Kathi Roll, mouth watering kababs and Kheema Pav. Another excellent biryani eat out would be this tiny place called Zaika, behind Naik college, Cannaught Place.

If you are a vegetarian we recommend 'Pakwan Thali Restaurant' at Jalna road CIDCO, specializing in Rajasthani cuisine. If you crave for Maharashtrian vada pav, Pet Puja outlets serve yummy vada pav.

To enjoy street food  and not count the calories, Cannaught place is an excellent hangout area. It serves best and clean street food. For the sheer variety that this area has to offer, it would for sure serve as a paradise for any foodie. The stalls range from Kebabs, Dum Biryani, Shawarma, Chinese, desi food and of course superb chaat. The best place to have chaat is 'Icy Spicy' behind LIC office. Their pani puri is a must try and of course you wont stop at one plate. They also serve pizzas, sandwiches and the likes. However, their stand out dish has to be their Ice Gola. They serve Ice Gola with 3 or more Golas, each topped with different flavors and is sinful. We also recommend Chatpata chicken kebabs at the Koyla Biryani joint. If you are a sweet pan freak, do try the different varieties of sweet pan at Sai Samart pan house.

While in Aurangabad do try out different varieties of 'Mastani' which is a blend of 3 fruit juices and topped with rich scoops of ice-cream. We ordered the one with extra dry fruits doused in colorful essences.

If you have a couple of hours to kill and wondering what to do, worry not the ProZone mall is a great place to hangout, it offers everything from High-end Jaguars to ice golas. The mall has a good food court with different cuisines to choose from. For adventure and sports enthusiasts there is Decathlon and for the movie buffs there is Satyam Cinemas.

We on the spur decided to watch a Marathi movie and were excited to read the synopsis of the movie Killa and immediately bought the tickets. This beautiful film captures the emotions of a young boy and is very well scripted. No wonder it won the National Award for the best Marathi film.

We stayed at Thrimurti Guesthouse, a budgeted place with clean rooms. The best part about the hotel was the helpful management. Their location is another plus as you have a whole lot of restaurants, shopping markets, CIDCO bus terminal and Mall all at a walk-able distance. To cover longer distances, there is easy access to autos at any point in time.

Gorkha - Land of Fearsome Warriors

"Better to die than be a coward" - the motto of the world famous Gorkha soldiers.

The place from where the Kingdom of Nepal was expanded by Prithvi Narayan Shah, has a history of courage, bravery, unquestionable loyalty and impressive combat skills. It was Prithvi Narayan Shah who foresaw the Britishers plan to colonize Nepal. After unification of Nepal, with the might of Gorkha warriors, Nepal succeeded in fighting British forces and prevented colonization of Nepal. No wonder the Nepali army is also known as the Gorkha Army as they are the direct descendants of the mythological Kirant tribes who fought and defeated legendary warrior Arjuna in Mahabharata.

This historical place was our destination from Dhulikhel and the ride of 160 km on Prithvi Highway was absolute bliss. River Trishuli never lets the rider off her sight, as she flows parallel to the highway making it one of the most stunning and scenic highways. A fantasy road for every biker as the smooth winding mountain roads unfold dramatic landscapes. Once you reach Abu Khaireni, take a detour and 24 km of curvaceous and uphill roads lead you to the historic town of Gorkha.

We expected heavy traffic on Prithvi Highway as it connects Kathmandu to Pokhara but were pleasantly surprised to find the entire highway pretty much to ourselves. Passing through the villages on the way, we realized that it was the last day of Tihar festival and we saw everyone celebrating Bhai Tika, a festival where sisters apply tika on their brothers' forehead and pray for their long life, health and prosperity.

On reaching Gorkha, we were taken aback by the sight of thunder showers, lightning & wind speed of 80 to 100 km per hour, all this during the month of October. A stark contrast to spectacular view of the sun setting behind mountain peaks a few hours earlier during the day. The thunders faded away early in the morning and our eyes welcomed another surprise - the Gorkha valley being painted milky white by the clouds.

The prime attractions are the Gorkha Durbar Palace and the Kali temple within the same complex, the Gorkha museum & Manakamana Temple.

We rode to Gorkha Darbar & Kali temple perched high up on the mountain. This could be reached either by foot or by road. Be warned, if you choose foot you will have to climb 1700 stone cut steps. We choose the easier option and hit the road and boy! it was quite a treat. The view of the snow clad Himalayan peaks en-route are simply superb.  Gorkha, in terms of stellar views, easily surpasses Kathmandu or Dhulikhel. We highly recommend you visit this town. The Palace complex houses the Durbar and Kali temple. The palace has 35 rooms, 105 windows, 62 doors and 5 halls. The Nepali army is stationed here.

On the way to Durbar palace while on one side you are treated with views of the Himalayas , on the other side you are greeted with man's sarcastic answer to nature's beauty- pile of plastic bottles. It is really sad to see how we are slowly ensuring that our future generations do not enjoy even a little bit of Nature's beauty by polluting it to the maximum level possible.

On the way back from Durbar Palace, make sure you stop over at the Gorkha Museum. The museum exhibits the lifestyle, weapons, portraits, utensils of the Shah dynasty. Above all it has intricate and exquisite carved wooden doors, windows & pillars. The red stone structure and the whole complex stands as an unquestionable example of the other side of fearful warriors - their craftsmanship.

The museum attracts hardly any visitors but we were very happy to see 2 kids around 7-8 years old who were waiting patiently for the ticket counter to open. They just had the exact amount of money required for the entry ticket and with the enthusiasm of learning more about their culture, heritage these kids went about admiring everything that was there in the museum and were in awe with all the artifacts. We were very proud to have seen these kids.

If you are a lover of collectibles or looking for a souvenir it would be a good idea to pick up a "Khukuri,"- the traditional weapon used by Gorkha soldiers. In earlier times, it was believed that Khukuri had to taste blood every time it was drawn on the battlefield, if not the owner had to cut himself before placing it back in it's sheath. It is considered a taboo to drawn the weapon out of it's sheath for no reason.

Manakamana Temple- 35 km from Gorkha towards Kathmandu is the famous Manakamana temple. The term Manakamana is drevied from two words "mana" meaning heart and "kamana" meaning wish. Situated atop a hill, this temple can be reached  via trekking an unpaved road for four hours or by cable car. We choose cable car which offers a thrilling experience as it climbs the 1300 meter hill at a steep 80 degree angle and reaches the top in a couple of minutes though the wait in the queue for the ride takes a lot of time. In the end, it was completely worth it as the cable car offers breathtaking views of  the Trishuli river, Prithivi highway and the valleys around.

Once you reach the other side there is utter chaos and we were taken aback to see so many restaurants and hotels offering free wifi, satellite TV for quite an isolated destination.  The temple itself is in a sorry state as the foundation has decayed,  the structure has weakened due to earthquakes in the past and the wooden planks are infested with termites.

This temple is famous for wrong reasons though. We were shocked to hear that this temple attracts lots of devotees who pray for a male child. Also, animal sacrifice is a part of Goddess worship in Nepal and this temple sees most of the devotees offering animals for sacrifice.

We checked into Hotel Gorkha Bisauni. This budget hotel is the best in Gorkha with prime location, inexpensive tariff, basic rooms, fantastic views, 24 hr running hot water, exclusive parking, wifi, friendly staff and great service. The hotel offers rooms with attached and common bath.

The hotel balcony can definitely bring out the artist in you. With the various colors in the sky at dawn and dusk, it serves as the perfect place to bring out the paint brush and fill in your canvas with the most vibrant colors that nature has to offer.

If you wish to stay closer to the Palace, we stumbled upon Hotel Brindaban on the way to Kali temple, this hotel offers fantastic views of the Himalayan peaks and is secluded away from the town. However, we were unable to check it out as it was closed during Diwali.

A word of caution- If you are travelling to Nepal during the Tihar festival plan your trip well as the hotels are closed and they wont take in guests during that time. Also make sure you have some packaged food as the restaurants and even kirana stores tend to be closed leaving with no option to purchase food items as well.

Next Stop Pokhara.