25th - 30th Nov 2015 : Somnath Trip

'Ok so my trip is confirmed' a wide smile greeted me the moment I saw that my ticket got confirmed from a waiting list of 44. Thanks to my colleagues who used their contacts to get it confirmed through emergency quota. 'You do know that this trip isn't  important' my conscience confronted me. 'Naah' I grinned but quickly added 'don't want to back down now. Chalo yaar kuch apne liye Bhi karte hein' and as I intended earlier informed all near and dear that I would indeed make this trip happen what so ever. 

25 Wed 23.00 , Secunderabad station 

Oh my goodness, there are so many people travelling tonight. It's like a refugee camp out here on platform 1. Families - large and small, kids, bachelors, elderly and infants; there was very little space even to walk. 'What have I done' I thought. There are so many who seem to be making this journey with an actual purpose as I saw lots and lots of luggage moving around and I on other hand planned this journey just for the sake of it. As soon as the announcement was made, a large crowd made a brisk walk towards the end hoping to get some space in general compartment. If only I didn't get the seat through EQ someone worthy would have surely got my berth. 'Not a good start' I felt and  went to check out the chart for our train just to know if my ticket would have got confirmed if it still stayed in waiting list. Turns out that I would have at least got an RAC for sure. Got into to S3 38 and sat there as people from different traditions and religions started walking in. The person sitting next to me was accompanied by his friend who were travelling till Jamshedpur. A young guy came to us and was telling that his parents got one of the seats confirmed in our coach and the other in S2. I invited myself in to the conversation and told him That I don't mind exchanging my seat for that matter. Priceless was his gratitude which I didn't even deserve in the first place. 'I am travelling alone. I have no concerns at all' I said. The guy sitting next to me thanked too in spite of him being a total stranger even to those old parents. We greeted each other with a smile and our mutual concern was conveyed through that silence. Side berths were occupied by a group of Muslims who were making plans to adjust somehow thanking God for at least  confirming their seats in RAC. What an incredible view all together.For days we have been seeing people shouting the word intolerance  in social network and Internet of a virtual world where in real India everything just comes down to one thing 'life of a common man'. What's more iconic was that the old parents weren't being accompanied by anyone which added more concern to their family who came to give them a warm send off. Guy next to me spoke confidently "please don't worry. We will take care of them. Parents are parents, we are happy that they are coming with us" with a great relief the family parted away after taking  blessings by touching their feet. I was so delighted to see typical family Sanskar being followed whole heartedly. 'Please take care' their son said as he got down from the train which slowly started moving 'Don't worry my son' the old lady replied 'God will take care of everyone of us' we all happily nodded on hearing that. As the train picked up its speed I made my way to S2 28 where I was introduced to a 3rd class kid Zian travelling with his mom during a long vacation to meet his dad. I am told that they would be going till Ahmedabad which is apparently where I get down too. That's it for today. Hoping for an epic journey ahead. Dear Shiv, good night.  

26th Thursday 11.00 am

Last night when everybody brought heavy rugs and shawls with them l should have taken it as a hint that it's going to be a cold night in spite of closing all windows. The only shield I had with me was a jacket and I really wished it could hold well. I swapped my berth with Zian's mother since it only made more sense that she Sleeps with her son peacefully rather than on the side lower. My own sister had a great difficulty doing the same on our last train journey and we were in fact in AC two tier then and this is a sleeper class. Though she happily exchanged her berth, she indeed warned me that it's going to turn colder by midnight. 'How bad can it be?' I thought only to wake up at 3.00 am cursing myself 'Idiot, what's your master plan now' I quickly realized that the upper berth was empty. Jumped over it to sleep for an hour and then came down wrapped a towel over my face to avoid cold wave and slept like a bear in hibernation. 

Somewhere around 7am I woke up to the sound of a family who walked in to the train. Many people boarded the train in that stop, didn't know where we were but I sat down giving space to few of the ladies who were looking for a place to sit. Having reassured that the seat they were sitting was reserved for me, they requested if they could sit until they reach their destination - Akola. How far is the only question I asked for which the old lady replied  already thanking "4 hrs" it was no longer a sleeper class for reserved. People all around were compassionate to share their berth for kids, infants and old ladies. It was an awesome atmosphere altogether as my berth was shared by three more ladies one of whom was carrying a beautiful child. Tried sleeping for sometime as I could still feel some headache due to last night's severe cold but in vain. Somewhere around 9 am I came back to consciousness when they were having their breakfast. They offered me some but I was not hungry. Later I bought three oranges realizing that I cannot skip breakfast and what's more better than freshly ripen fruits. Akola finally arrived and the family left. I took no time to open the windows and let some fresh sunlight barge in as it was already 11.00 am. The lady with whom I exchanged my berth sat next to her son who was still sleeping. She smiled and said "now you will have enough space to sleep peacefully at least for a couple of hours" I smiled in return hoping the same. Two college students once again requested if they could sit till the next stop. I took out dairy of Anne frank accepting the fact that it's more relieving to share space with people in need then be greedy to have luxurious sleep. As the journey went on many different people shared my berth. 

'Swach Bharat' when it was first announced a year back, many doubted that it's a task impossible and with the mindset we have, a cleaner India is just beyond scope. How proud I am today to tell everyone who doubted that they were ridiculously wrong. Travelling with my own kind - the common folk is always a great experience. A family wanted to eat custard Apple - mother of two kids gave them one each and instructed to hand over the leftovers only to her so that she could collect in a cover. A lady opposite to her was throwing orange peels on the floor when someone sitting next to her said "didi kachra bahar phek dho na please" (sister, please throw that crap outside the train but not on the floor) she took it sportively and threw those peels outside the window. Now throwing garbage outside the window is still not right but hear me out. Orange peel is organic and degradable and technically it's going back to earth from where it came from. More over I come from a past where train was anything but a trash can. And looking at how it's been treated now - a home on wheels is indeed a dream come true. Things have improved so well that a gentleman was not allowing his wife and kids to wash their hands by putting hands outside the window. "There is a sink provided to us for things like this. All we have to do is walk till the end of the coach".  His wife spoke in a low voice "people are in the way I don't think our kids will be able to do that". We looked at both sides and she was right. He nodded in agreement and replied "let's wait till the way is clear, give them napkins so that they can wipe their hands. Our actions should never cause inconvenience".  My words may sound classy but all this conversation was happening In typical Hindi Indian style which was the best part. My beautiful India, already doing the best it can to change for a good future. 

26th Thursday 8.00 pm

Someone asked me last week, how can you travel alone for so long without being bored. Books, music, strangers and sleep : I replied. So confident was my reply but except music and sleep, I was not so proficient with the other two. Well this trip gave me hope as I had very good conversations with people I was accompanying with like a big whole family. Diary of Anne Frank kept me busy all day while I was still looking for a way to sleep if given a chance. Was not that hungry to have heavy lunch but everyone else had and were preparing to get some nice nap. Didi graciously offered me help requesting others to set up middle berth so that I can get some sleep "bhaiyya so jayo thodi Der, Ahmedabad pahunchthey rath ho jayegi" . she and her son Zian were going to Ahmedabad too where she will be received by her husband. Had really good sleep after a Lengthy morning. Woke up somewhere around 5pm in the evening and enjoyed awesome bhelpuri. Back to the book and interacting with kids, light dinner and hopefully we will reach Ahmedabad past midnight. Lucky is a one year old kid walking in the coach greeting us with a wide smile. His dad was quickly a known person to many since he had to wander around and introduce his son In a lightly embarrassed mode. However we got used to having fun with such infants who keep us reminding how awesome our childhood was. Zian was playing some game on a tab when lucky's father passed on a remark " kids these days play only with cellphones and tabs , looks like they are toys for them." I had a different point of view but remained silent. Kids these days learn from their elders, no wonder cell phones made them curious as we keep using them all the time. I took out a Rubix cube and gave it to Zian asking him to try solving it. Crazily, even lucky started playing with it. For the next few hours Rubix cube was the new toy explored with enthusiasm and excitement. Zian had to accept a hard fact however that I cannot solve it completely but only one colour at a time. Setting the expectations right paid off well as he only asked me one colour to solve without embarrassing me much. 

27 Friday 1.00 am, Ahmedabad

Train was right on time and we thus reached Ahmedabad. Free wifi in station helped me post this article in Internet. I must say this trip keeps giving me more surprises as I travel to those parts of India which I could only remember when playing business board game. Lucky's father invited me to Rajasthan and I assured him that I will pay a visit some day for sure. Got to go now. Need to get some rest before getting on to the next train to Rajkot . 

8.40 am 27th Friday, Rajkot 

I had a completely different picture about Rajkot first time when I heard its name and seeing that there are so many trains going that station but In reality it hardly has 3 platforms. However adding heritage value to this place, it's really well maintained. After a chilling cold journey yet Again I reached Rajkot. From here how I reach Somnath is completely up to me as I did not book any ticket from here since the next train to Somnath was only after 11.00 am and I would only reach Somnath by evening 6.00 pm. Now that I realized that Dwarka was just 4 hrs away I took a train directly to Porbandar from here so that I could also pay a visit to Gandhis birth place which is in between Somnath and Dwarka. This saves a lot of time as I don't have to make a round trip to Dwarka from Somnath if Somnath was my first destination. So here is the intended plan. Reach porbandar by afternoon, spend some time over there and by evening reach Dwarka visit all places and start to Somnath by night. I will have a complete day to spend in Somnath tomorrow which is more than I could ask for. Awesome.

Rajkot Railway station - Welcoming us in its traditional attire

27 Nov Friday  , 2.30 pm , Porbandar 

Called up a friend to ask for places to visit in Porbandar as the only thing I know is that it's the birth place of Gandhi. The moment I stepped out of the station , went to an autowala to take me to Ramdhun mandir thus giving this visit to Porbandar a peaceful start. Here one could always see someone chanting 'Jaya Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Raam' which seemed to be a quote heard all around Gujarat just like 'Hare Rama Hera Rama Rama Rama Hare hare... Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare' chanted for Krishna.

Ramdhun  Mandhir - A must visit temple to sit and meditate listening to soulful music

Then went to Sudhama's temple which enlightened me that Porbandar was once called as Sudhamapuri being the birth place of Sudhama - Krishna's best friend. No wonder this historical place had to provide one more saint like person to free this country in the name of Satya and Ahimsa. Sudhama's presence once again reminded me how beautiful friendship could be in a persons life when one has unconditional admiration towards their loved ones. This temple has a wonderful maze for kids to explore and an architectural wonder built right behind the main temple which was dedicated to Indian classical music.

Sudhama Temple - An age old friendship that shattered all barriers

A five minute walk took me to Kirti mandhir which was the birth place of Gandhi. Quite interesting was his life style which could be depicted in all the pics kept for exhibition. One could also walk into kasturba maa's house and Gandhi's mansion. I am forced to call it a mansion because a three stories bungalow is where Gandhi grew up. He did enjoy all pleasures in life before giving up for the sake of poor people. How his approach to non violence tricked so many into following him is still a mystery to me and that's what I wrote on the visitors book kept to take comments from us.

Kirti Mandir - Gandhi's house in the left corner, Rest built later as a museum to honour his Life

One thing is certain, Porbandar is a place which gives peace the moment we step in. Our mind turns numb as if a great burden is taken off from our head. Those lovely roads, age old houses now turned into stores, authentic Gujarati language, Porbandar was indeed a place unadulterated by English for most parts I visited. Took an auto to visit Bharath Mandir. The first surprise was that it was constructed In a palace like area where the palace is actually an Arya kanya gurukul. Autowala asked me to wait till 3.00 pm as Bharath Mandir is closed during lunch time. What exactly is Bharat mandir I wondered which collected Rs.4 as entry ticket. I was first greeted with a beautiful garden filled with peacocks, what impressed me more the flowers which bore one of my favorite colors, the color of hope. Ahead was a large room, having four big doors one on each side.

A beautiful garden welcoming us to Bharat Mandir

What could this be I asked my self only to have a jaw dropping moment.  True to its name Bharat Mandir is indeed a temple dedicated to Mother India. There was an Indian map made of marble in the middle with many pillars in the whole room. Each pillar was engraved with great people, Saints, gods and legends who shaped India for what it is today. Walls had paintings of scenic wonders scattered all over our beautiful country. Spent almost an hour in that one room - indeed a temple worth visiting.

Awesome depiction of Mother India

Opposite to  Bharat mandir right across the road was Tara mandir. There should also be a planetarium near by as I am told but could not find its exact location. From a strategic point of view visiting a planetarium in a coastal location means an epic view free from clouds and pollution. 'There is a show happening in the next 5 mins' Man who gave the ticket for Tara mandir told me, I was charged a mere Rs.8. I replied looking at a dome 'sure I would but I also want to visit planetarium, where exactly is it' I asked. He laughed not at my ignorance but my innocence for not being able to get the logic. 'Tara Mandir itself is the planetarium' he said 'show is in Gujarati, I hope you don't mind' he added. One more surprise to my eyes - I might actually walk into one of the oldest planetarium, smiling for such a clever name I thanked him.

Planetorium - A visual wonder

For the next 20 mins I was lost in space under the dark dome along with a group of school kids who came there for excursion. Half of the time I was simply amazed on how it worked and rest of the time figuring out Gujarati. Had the best experience in spite of the language barrier as it was a live show and the guy demonstrating talked from dhruv Tara to hadron collider in Switzerland and also mission Mangalyan. Walked out of the Gurukul with lot more happiness and useful information which would give anyone who wished to know why our country is indeed a paradise on earth. 

27th nov, Friday 4.30 pm, Porbandar 

The next place to visit was Champad beach and residing next to it - Gandhi memorial. Autowala informed me that the bus stand is very close to the beach and should I choose to take a bus, I can simply walk. Porbandar should be just like any other beach I hoped so and visiting it should just be another formality because the city I walked into has a beach and even though I cannot enjoy a beach fully because I don't know how to swim, I at least get a view of it. Went to vendor nearby to buy Parle-G biscuits and I gave a Ten Rupee note. He didn't have enough change with him so handed over a 5 Rs note which was Beyond recognition. I was pleasantly shocked to the core. I laughed out loud and wondered "is this note even valid?" For which he joined me in the laughter so as to not offend me and kindly replied "sir ji ye note Porbandar mein tho chaltha hein " (sure, it will work atl east in Porbandar) his words made me curious and so asked him further " why so?" And with pride filled eyes he said "yeh Porbandar hein Sarji, yahan paise denewale haath ka ijjath hothi hein, paison ki nehin" (this is Porbandar, a lending hand gets more respect than the money it holds) I had no words to counter that argument. In a very simple language he taught me a very good lesson that money was always meant to be used, good or bad deed depends on the person using it. At first it was difficult to believe his words but when I tried to buy something else with the same note at one or two stores near by they had no problem accepting it with a smile. Never wanted to know what the real intention is behind using such torn notes in Porbandar but decided that 'The torn 5 Rupee Note' will be the only souvenir I take from Porbandar. It will be a gentle reminder for me every time I tend to lean more towards money instead of people.

 Walking on the beach sand, I realized something peculiar about 'me in Porbandar'. Being on the west coast, this is the first time I was standing on the higher side of Arabian Sea, surprisingly clean and walk-able. The last time I was in Arabian Sea coast was at Juhu Mumbai and let's not get into the details to feel sad about Juhu's pollution. The tides at Porbandar were a bit violent and interestingly more pleasant.

A beach with bright blue waters in the sun

Walked almost for half an hour and reached Gandhi memorial which for some reason was not open. Standing outside the gate, saw the garden with Gandhi's statue meditating with his famous quote encrypted on the wall 'my life is a lesson' there were also his three famous monkeys in their immovable positions see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil. How ironic I thought for a while. Millions died during partition, hatred spread among religions, castes, states and social statuses for selfish motives of few, people continue to insult my country  even though she is doing her best to give us all the best opportunities to live a peaceful life yet there he sits in silence, apparently the father of our nation ignoring everything and also asking us do the same because it worked for him so it should work for everyone else. If only there was someone to give me wisdom just like none dared to give him that infinite silence and a deaf ear will only cost more than what's bargained for. Walked back to the bus station only to find out that the next bus to Dwarka was at 6.30 pm

Gandhi Memorial overshadowed by growing real estate nearby

Note : I am right now travelling back  to Rajkot from Dwarka in a train on 29th Sunday to catch train to Secunderabad from rajkot at 5.00 am in the morning. I will try to continue sharing my experiences as realistic as possible keeping my feelings subtle since its a lot more emotional ride than I anticipated and I am always falling short of right words to describe what it's like to make this happen. This is just to let you all know that what I mention from here on is keeping in mind what it's been at that moment instead of what actually happened later on. The coincidences are just a part of this awesome journey so whether it's dramatic effect or reality is what I leave to the readers imagination. 

27th November, Friday - 9.30 pm, Dwarka

I wanted to reach Dwarka by evening then travel through the night to Somnath. Figured out dwarka is just 100 kms away from Porbandar and Somnath is 120 kms from Porbandar the other way, making Porbandar as a middle point. My only intention is to reach Somnath by sunrise so that I can visit the temple for its first Arthi. Having found out that the next bus to Dwarka from porbandar is at 6.30pn couldn't wait that longer as I would reach Dwarka only by night and might have to make a night stay. So took an auto and went to railway station only to be informed to my fictitious inconvenience that there is no train from Porbandar to Dwarka in the evening. My only option was to move back to the bus station by taking an auto.

No its not a heritage building - Its Porbander's Railway station

Travelling back in auto to the bus station, I understood two points. 1. I will have to figure out way to reach Somnath from Dwarka at least by early morning hoping there would be a bus or train late in the night and 2. Many people on this part of the region have something or the other in their mouths all the time. For the benefit of doubt I don't want to assume what they eat to be Gutka. Most of them are really good  both by looks and by heart but the moment they open their mouths to talk, prejudice walks in. I have nothing against people who have such habits and I am sure they have a strong reason as it's very difficult to accept that they do it at the cost of their own teeth and unavoidable ulcers. At first I wanted to be pitiful to the women of this region who unconditionally accept their partners in spite of their habits but later on saw the reality that they really don't mind and people like me blindly judge not wanting to know the hard truth. How funny this all is now when I think about it. Men who take so much care of their parents, treat wives as goddesses, protect their children with all might and ambitious in their endeavours are yet judged by strangers like me just because they chose a habit unfortunately a dangerous and addictive habit. 

Rs.90 was the ticket to Dwarka and sharp on time was the bus at 6.30 pm. Boarded it in spite of having way too many buses going to Somnath from Porbandar. Slept for almost an hour and was then woken up by the invitation of a Dhabawala who was calling us to have dinner. 20 mins is all we have to choose and eat. One of the side effects of Hindi being my first language at school and yet not being fluent in speaking is that my Hindi is mostly mixed up and depends on the mood. Sometimes it's shudh Hindi which funnily includes kinthu, Paranthu, kadhachith and sometimes its influenced by hyderabadi and sometimes I mess up sentences in mid way figuring out how to end them so I resorted out to the most optimum way of talking in Hindi now that I travelled to western India where English is still considered foreign. Just use simple words and always end with a question so that you are sure to get an answer. First comes Gujarati of course followed by Hindi as preference here. So walking into that hotel took a chance with a simple question "shakahari hein na?" The owner was more than happy to answer that everything there was pure veg and offered me Gujarati thali somehow figuring out that I don't belong there. He was right and Thus I had the most delicious Gujarati meal after a long time. Somewhere around 9.15pm, reached Dwarka as the bus halted on the main road, I was guided by some People over there that the main Dwarka temple was a 5 minute walk. After a brisk walk and a sharp turn came my biggest shocking moment. Standing magnificently was Dwarka temple, so big, beautiful and majestic that I could not take any more steps but stood like a rock till it sank in to my mind consciously 'this is indeed a great structure built with awesome precision and perfection Glowing like a palace under moon light. Some great architects imagination was now an inspiration to the latter generation.

Dwarka Temple - Glowing in Moonlight

Came back to my senses when someone urged me to go fast as the temple would close in 5 minutes. Bags or any electronic gadgets were not allowed so went to the place where baggage was being kept for free. Even the persons over there asked me to just dump my bag and walk into the temple as it would close soon. Walked inside the temple still unable to take my eyes of the structure. Excited like a young infant playing with new toys, I touched the walls only to feel its sensation and believe that it indeed is real. Went towards people who were merrily chanting Dwarkadeesh's name. There I saw, lord Krishna's mesmerizingly  decorated idol inviting me to chant his name and clap hands in tune. For the next 5 minutes I was lost in deep ecstasy and admiration of my dearest friend. There he was welcoming all of us with a child like smile. Stood there until the curtain was drawn and calling out his name one last time - "Shree  Dwarkadeesh ki Jai".

I stayed inside the temple for ten more minutes walking around anxiously in awe and amazement. Sat at one point to  calm myself from all the excitement and after few minutes there was only one word I could hear - Somnath. Even though there was a lot to see in Dwarka, this trip was intended for Somnath - spend at least a day in Somnath - that's the plan. I can always come back As I found out that the 8th Jyothirling - Nageshwar was just 17 kms away from Dwarka. I can always visit Dwarka peacefully when I come to visit Nageshwar next year. Thanking time for being so nice to give me at least 5 mins darshan in Dwarka, I set out to find a way to go to Somnath which at that moment almost looked impossible. An auto wala told me that there were no buses at that moment and the last train to Somnath from Dwarka leaves at 8.40 pm. The first bus to Somnath next day would be at 7.30 in the morning. I still took an auto to the bus stand to make one last try before making a halt at Dwarka for the night. Standing on the deserted road, quickly realized that it was a bad idea to stay there, so started walking towards a near by hotel. Just then a private bus took a turn and stopped for some bystander to board. I ran towards the bus and asked if it was going to Porbandar. I thought if I could make night stay at Porbandar instead then may be I can take an early morning bus to Somnath. Luckily it was  headed to Porbandar, took a wild chance and asked if it go further to Somnath and indeed it was. Lucky me I thought for a moment and boarded it without second thoughts. 

28th November, Saturday 3.30 am , Somnath Outskirts.

As soon as I Got into the bus, one who collects money asked me just to be Sure "Somnath for real?" I replied once again confidently "yes" but only this time I looked around and found that the bus is completely booked and I will have to make this travel by standing all through the journey. 'How hard could it be? Just 4 hours' I thought not taking into account  that I had been travelling continuously for the past one day. Taking Rs. 200 from me he whispered "so Somnath it is but you will have to travel like this" I nodded in agreement walking further into the bus and just then a stranger handed over me a plastic chair to sit in the walkway. That's right, in a 3+2 seater, the space in between was being used to sit with the help of a plastic chair. Emotionally moved by such a humble gesture I asked "for me?" And he replied with a smile showing that he too will be sitting right behind me once I settle. I quickly realized that though it's late night, I at any cost should not fall asleep as it would only make matters worse if I drool in sleep and cause further inconvenience to already irritated passengers. I could already feel their disgust for having to put up with all this specially families with infants and old couples. The best way I could see to not make it more difficult for them is to stay awake and sit still. I got an idea which involved music and upbeat songs. This was an ongoing discussion with many of my friends that SS thaman's songs, though have a bad reputation for plagiarism and cheap beats, actually are very catchy and can keep one awake during long drives. So without further delay I took out my iPod and started making a new playlist with all up beat songs which also included all Thaman songs. From a pool of nearly 300+ songs I came up with 90 songs which were sure to have great energy. These include Tu Tu Tu Meri from Bang Bang, Magudi Magudi from Kadal, Beat it from Michael Jackson, Urvasi Urvasi from Premikudu, VIP title song, Devudaa from temper and of course Down Down, Boochaade, Boochade, Aaja Saroja, Champesindhey Champesindhey, Samaya Samaya composed by Thaman. All I now have to do is stay awake to these songs and calculate time based on songs length. Taking each song for an average of 4  minutes, I figured out that 15 songs would comprise to one hour. I successfully then had a play list good enough to make me travel through 6 hours. With a wide smile I started the first hour of journey listening to those songs in sequence and I must say it really made me forget about my tiredness and anxiety for travelling in such ridiculous circumstances. Music once again came to my rescue when I mostly needed it. 

In the second hour, as we crossed Porbandar , I sensed that someone was smoking. At first I was not ready to believe it, why would someone smoke in a bus that's plain stupid and of course not acceptable by law. But when I actually saw smoke coming out from a guy holding a cigarette I dropped dead in shock. Travelling with his wife and kids, he had no issues at all smoking and even not care for passive smokers, for him it was just like having a fruit or a biscuit. Neither remorse nor shame, he continued as if it was his damn right. It didn't matter why no one else spoke out on this because I could not raise my voice either. For the next one hour, it was the most disturbing journey I had to make sitting helplessly cursing my self for such hypocritical views. Not just one but there were few more who happily smoked and I was only finding excuses or reasons on why I did not speak out. 'That's right. That's what you can only do. Find excuses so that when u mention this incident in future you would only sympathize how helpless you were and blame everyone around for being irresponsible' a voice spoke out sitting on my head. 'No, I don't blame anyone, I am not helpless and I can make this an issue but I won't and I can't and I blame myself for that' I replied. I heard a loud laugh from the voice 'damn right you will shut your mouth. You will be ridiculed if you speak, you will be hated more, worse you will be asked to get down.'

I was not ready to assume any further ' I don't want to assume even if this fear of silence continues to consume me' until then the voice which was invisible then took a shape of a monkey and sat in font of me and spoke with pride 'that my friend, is the answer you were looking for.  You wanted to know why Gandhi's non violence worked so well, It worked because they all chose to ignore me.' 'Who are you?' I asked hoping that my illusion at least gives me an explanation and strength so that I can forgive myself for being silent all along without raising my voice over those who broke the law. The monkey quickly jumped on the head who was smoking and said 'I , my friend, am the invisible 4th monkey which Gandhi did not mention.' I tried recollecting the three monkeys statue which I saw at Gandhi's memorial earlier that day - see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Now that I took their names the invisible money introduced himself as 'think no evil' and continued further 'you must be wondering why I said think no evil instead of do no evil. It's because the moment you think of committing some evil it's as bad as you doing it so if you truly want to walk the path of Ahimsa, live a life where you don't even think of any evil actions. This seemed so ridiculously impossible for even Gandhi that he ignored me but you see that's exactly why you will not raise your voice not because of the fear or assumption but  because even you want to ignore me. Not a single day goes by where man doesn't stop thinking evil, he will never be judged by his thoughts but by his actions so what goes in his brutal mind will never be known to anyone except his own conscience. So as long as one continues to ignore his own conscience, I will remain invisible happily laughing and proving yet again that Ahimsa and Satyagraha are only fancy words used as propaganda for power.' And laughing hysterically it vanished into that thin smoke as I sat in silence accepting every word I just heard.

Is this how Non-Violence and Satyagraha made more damage then it should? Imagine this bus to be the whole country for instance and those who smoked did that because there was no sign in the bus which said  'No smoking' just like nobody put a disclaimer on our country as 'No Invading' They smoked until the cigarette was over just like the British who left this country after incurring heavy economic losses in world war 2 and of course draining almost everything from this land. And those who remained in silence, protested in silence, sat there ignoring all the atrocities; were later praised for their path of non-violence and asked to rule in the name of democracy. Millions died when partition happened, there were stories when girls in Sikh families volunteered to die in the hands of their own families instead of getting molested during riots, I can still recollect the agony of an old Sardarji who narrated that incident where he lost his sister. And when all this happened, our so called Satyagrahis turned their back because they didn't want to see it , they didn't want to hear it and they obviously didn't want to speak about it. they had a better excuse - to save a million a thousand sacrifices are necessary, Ironically years before those who chose violence as an answer to eradicate British rule also had a similar notion. The difference was that, in the latter category, they were talking about their own sacrifice but not the lives of the innocent.  In spite of all this we continue to hope to change ourselves, our attitude for a better tomorrow because we cannot change our past but accept it, learn from it and evolve from it. Though I will feel guilty for not stopping them from smoking, I will make sure that the 4th Monkey will no longer be invisible for those who wish to follow Non-violence.We don't really have to preach anyone other than ourselves to no think of evil making that as a conscious choice. As always it's difficult but its not impossible. I then noticed a couple having weird conversation at the back, I could not understand what they were talking, didn't want to look back either but someone then called me to help them out.. I could only make out from their expressions that the lady was feeling dizzy and wanted to get down . From the place I was, walking to the front was a herculean task as there were easily 6 to 7 people sitting in the walkway. I silently prayed that nothing should happen to her. Luckily the bus stopped at a Dhaba where she got down and had some fresh air.  As the bus started, I walked to the front and stood up facing everyone eventually making them conscious that some guy is watching them. The last one hour went by rather quickly as the excitement that I would finally reach Somnath crawled back in.

28th November, Saturday 11.30 am , Somnath

At 4 am in the morning I finally reached Somnath. Bus was on its way to Okha so it dropped me on the highway along with a group of people who also wanted to visit the temple. Auto's were readily welcoming us to take us near the temple which was almost a kilometer from the highway. Once I got down from the Auto, I slowly walked towards the temple only to realise that it's still dark and I can hardly see anything but I could hear huge waves thrashing against the rocks. I was definitely on the coast but there was no sign of the temple. I couldn't even recollect any pictures of Somnath temple which at that point was a pleasant surprise since I will be genuinely happy to see the temple later that morning with my naked eyes.  I also noticed that there was heavy security and a big notice near the entry informing the visitors that the whole area is being maintained by Somanth trust which includes accommodation. This indirectly means that just like Tirupathy, we will not find any private lodges for stay unless we go to the highway again. We were also informed that the Aarthi happens three times a day - 7 am, 12 pm and 7 pm while the temple will be open from 6 am to 9 pm. I have to get freshed  up before the first Aarthi and that was the only plan I had in mind. I then walked on the deserted road to find where the administrative office was to find out if there was any luck finding accommodation. 'Yes there is one AC room but it costs Rs.700' told me the guy at the counter'. What will I do with an AC room, all I need is some space to fresh up and leave to the temple. Moreover it didn't make any sense of me taking up a complete room which could be used by a small family who will surely need a place to stay. I then convinced myself that since I do not give any offerings at Hundi, I would rather give this money to the trust directly in the form of room accommodation. Took the room and I was pleasantly greeted by a two storey building right across the administrative office and all I had to do was find the room number and walk in. It's only after I saw the bed, that long lost tiredness seeped back in. It was already 5.30 and if I really take a quick bath and charge my phone, I could leave my bag in the room and walk to the temple. Then I came up with a better idea, Why even keep a room occupied just for the sake of a bag?. We were informed that the temple had, near its premises, a free cloak room where all our luggage including all electronic gadgets will be stored since none of them are allowed inside the temple for security reasons. So I thought of vacating the room immediately after freshing up. But then time had other plans indeed, as soon as I came out of the restroom after merely washing my face, I dropped dead on the bed, setting an alarm for 6.30 am hoping that a one hour quick nap will get me rid of all the pain and stress to have a fresh start. I could still remember the words of my colleague teasing me, 'If you are not going for Aarthi, then there is no point of visiting Somnath' He kept on saying these words every time I shared my plan to visit Somnath one day. 'Chill buddy. It's just one hour.' I told my self. When I finally woke up its was 8.30 am and the haunting words came back as an irony 'It's just one hour'.I laughed hysterically instead of being upset or irritated since I understood that I offered silent prayers to the sacred temple first which was my physical body and without its help I would have never made this journey in the first place. Those 3 hours of rest was something it earned for a strenuous journey it had to go through because of me. Silently freshing up after being free from all thoughts, I vacated the room and walked to temple by 9am

Somnath temple - A symbol of Hope and Patience

There it stood at the coastal tip of India, with the great ocean as a sole witness - the mighty Somanth temple, the first in the list of 12 Jyothirlings. A flag on the top of the temple dome with OM on it, hoisted to a Trishul piercing the sky, The temple greeted me with pride as a pleasant breeze pulled me towards the entrance. Kept all my luggage in the cloak room and walked towards the first entrance of the temple in midst of a great security which was similar to what I had witnessed at Akshardhaam Delhi. The main entrance was an open invitation to everyone who carried only their thoughts, devotion and admiration towards God & nature but not any kind of electronic gadgets with a selfish motive to capture and save them in their pockets. we were greeted immediately as we passed the first entrance with a huge garden towards our right and a humongous ocean on our left. And right in the middle stood the main temple which became more magnificent with every step taken towards it. With no further delay I walked into the main temple and sat there for almost an hour consumed in great admiration and awe looking at the beautiful Idol. Contrary to other famous temples of India where we only get a glimpse of the main Idol, Somnath shared its joy by giving us ample time to spend time with the Idol as there were not many pilgrims on that day. I sat there watching my dream come true. While many advised me to make such trips with family or friends or choose a right time in the old age as all such visits to a temple are usually boring unless there is a strong motive behind, I chose  a motive to be the only reason to make this trip keeping all excuses behind on why I shouldn't go to this trip all on my own. The next couple of hours were lost in ecstasy chanting Shiva's name for some time and then remembering every person's name who ever came across in my life. It's my way of sharing my memories in Shiva's presence on how my life turned out to be so awesome with presence of such people around me. And at 11.00 am, I walked out of the temple for a short break to have my breakfast, wander around for a while and go back inside for the second Aarthi of the day which was scheduled at 12 Noon.

28th November, Saturday 3.30 pm , Somnath

I walked back into the temple at 11.45 am along with a huge crowd who were as excited and emotionally moved like me to witness Maha Aarthi. Slowly the chanting of 'Om Namah Shivaya' began as a group of young kids starts ringing the bells in tunes. We also had a Basuri playing a similar tune which I was aware of since my childhood but I used to hear it in a Sai Baba temple. Apparently it was the same tune but with different lyrics. Many were chanting the actual lyrics whileI started clapping hands in sync for 'Om Jai Jagadheesh Hare'