The road leading to the temple town was hazy thanks to the winter fog and dust.
Growing up in the Doordarshan era along with the staple diet of scriptures on television, I have always been fascinated by the places where our lords (Gods) were born and brought up. So, after visiting the greatest monument dedicated to love in Agra, the Taj Mahal, I took a bus to Mathura.
The road leading to the temple town was hazy thanks to the winter fog and dust. By the time we reached, the town descended into darkness. Finishing our meal at a roadside dhaba (don’t expect five stars here), we got down to searching for a hotel to stay for the night. When we asked a pedestrian, he not only suggested a dharamshala to stay in, but also fixed a rickshaw and bargained for the minimum possible fare for us with the rickshawallah.
The next morning, Krishnajanmabhoomi was the first on our agenda. The place where Lord Krishna was born in the jail of King Kansa is now a temple and people from all over the world come to pray at this historic temple. An enchanting round of the place along with kheer as the prasad was as divine as it could be.
Though Krishna’s birthplace is always an intrigue, it’s Vrindavan where the real fun lies. Krishna’s childhood playground is a place full of positive energy bursting with fun and frolic. The small town houses many temples, but one temple that always tops a tourist’s itinerary is Banke Bihari temple which is more than one-and-a-half centuries old. Though the place is hardly lit up, yet it’s radiant with the bhakti (devotion) of the bhakts (devotees) continuoulsy chanting the name of Lord Krishna.
After praying in this temple to my heart’s content, I walked through the narrow lanes of Vrindavan where delicious street food and lassi lured me to one of the shops.
Back here in Mumbai, whenever I talk about my journey to Mathura and Vrindavan my friends make a face because it’s not supposedly an exotic place to visit for a young man like me. But I wish they could understand how it feels to see the power of faith, in the truest sense of the term.
m_ranjib@dna
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