Into the city of love, the city of might..

The serenity of the aura, the purity of the land, the sensation of love, the chillness of January accompanied by chorus of Autowalas(Auto, auto……) greeted us at Mathura, the birth place of Lord Krishna. We, then, moved to Vrindavan, a town in Mathura where, according to Hindu mythology, Krishanji spent his childhood. After refreshing up at the temporary abode, Pramarth Nikunj, it was the time to actually sanctify by worshipping graceful three-fold bending form of Lord Krishna at ‘Banke Bihari Mandir’(Banke means bent in three places and Bihari means supreme enjoyer) and bestowing the deity with Pedas and flowers to what we call Prasad. There exists something hidden, something unknown inside the temple which calms your soul and takes it to the zenith of joy.

The visit to any place is accomplished when you come back along with its peculiarities. So, lets roam around the Vrindavan market and shop. The stones engraved, the knitted ‘poshaks’, the melodious flutes,  the jeweled ornaments of Gods and Godesses, the t-shirts painted with Lord Krishna image, are some of  many items that captures our eyes. The voices of ‘Bhaiya ye dikhana, nhi bhaiya vo(Bhaiya show this, no show that)’, ‘Bhaiya, ye kite ka(Bhaiya, how much is this?)’, ‘Chlo, ye pack krdo(Done, pack this)’ could be heard all around the place. Besides the ears engaged, eyes couldn’t forget to leave the glimpses of monkeys doing the unusual activities  when the chuckles poured in at the sight of a monkey jumping over and fetching an Uncle’s specs who stood still there in awe for a moment. Another catchy moment was of cows gazing at the ‘yellow’ garland of flowers adorned by almost every human there and plucking it within no less than a second. It was like walk with caution else you could be attacked any time. The shopping alone couldn’t satisfy our empty bellies  when aroma of the food filled the atmosphere around & specially when lassi, ‘Vrindavan ki lassi’ was there. We sweetened our taste buds with lassi and also enjoyed eating the other street-side food besides posing for pictures every now and then, collecting memories.

Sigh! No more hungry. Thus, began our next move towards, Nidhivan. This sacred place itself speaks of mystery and leaves one in a sense of wonder. To a layman, it is just a piece of land covered with trees all over where thousands of pilgrims vist during day time but spiritually, the significance of the immense power bestowed in the place is beyond words. It is believed that Krishanji performs ‘ras-lila’ there after aarti with all the branches of trees turned to gopis. No one, be the birds or the humans are allowed to stay in the periphery of Nidhivan and if anyone stays there,  he or she becomes deaf, dumb, mentally retarded or  to sum up in a condition that can’t verse the spirituality of the place. One place but so many unanswered questions associated to it. Its like you ask yourself- What would be happening? How beautiful would that be? The all trees are bent entangled with each other. It puts into picture the love which completes the word Krishna-‘Radhe-Krishna’, the love of gopis for Krishna. On the way to Nidhivan, we also bowed and blessed ourselves inside ‘Teda Khamba Mandir’. 

Then, we made our move towards ‘Govardhan’, which reminds us about the majesty of Lord Krishna. Bal Krishna lifted the Govardhan hill on his little finger when the town of Vrindavan was ravaged by heavy rains, thus protecting the entire town for continuous 7 days.

On the way back, listening the high-pitched lyrical chants of ‘Radhe-Radhe’(Heck off with ‘Excuse me’),smelling the scent of mustard all around , we paused for appreciating the beauty of ‘Maa Vaishno Devi Mandir’. It was like you step in and exclaim only 1 word ‘Wowwww’. I wished I had 2 more eyes to capture all at once. Such was the beauty, such was the purity residing in the place. I applaud the architects hailing from New Delhi. They had carved out the idols in a way so realistic that I fail to describe it. Even the pictures would have been unable to hold that, probably if the authorities would have allowed cameras or cellphones inside. 

This was not the end. Vrindavan yet abounds so much in ‘Prem Mandir’. They say, ‘Its amazing out there abroad’ ‘India is an untidy country’ only if they have left themselves aloof from the essence of the country. Go, visit the temple. I bet all those lips would be sealed. The gleaming lights in the night seem to talk to the sky giving it their colors.  The fineness of the art, the magnificient lights, are just spell bound. For the first time, I was in no mood to pose for the picture. I only desired to be a keen observant, lay out everyting in my memory so that even a single thing doesn’t go missing. Infact, I feel short of adjectives to put the seen into words. So,folks, putting my pen down here and leaving Mathura’s encounter for the upcoming one. Stay connected.