jus bac from like ova 1000kms of travel... ma bones are shaky. rural roads are stil bumpy. so i was bouncing all the way (like literally). the task was to locate our family deity. (who lives in some lost tiny village in maharashtra) so day one began at 6.30... n we were all ready by 7 but the driver hadn turned up... so were there til 8.30 waitin fr him. the journey finally began. we were suppoesd to pick breakfast smwer on the way, but that din quite happen. we finally reached bijapur at 12. a small detour to the "gol ghumat"
it was Xmas day n damn crowded. some n number of schools had thought of gettin kids there fr a picnic. the gol ghumat, is this huge dome like structure. u go to the top of the dome n whisper n ur voice echoes down. it was way too noisy tat day to distinguish one voice from another. ok this gol ghumat is supposed to b the second largest dome in asia.(o is it world?) . was sad to notice it is one of the most ill maintained historical structures. there were names scribbled all over the dome, broken corners never repaired, paint peeling off at places. a stone staircase runs right to the top of the dome. the stairs are uneven, n parts of the staircase are pretty dark, so u gotta walk with real care. the stairs allow only one person at a time, n so it was a looooong walk to the top. we walked around the dome once. i wish it was well maintained, its a structure to look at and feel awe, but i felt none or it. it was not well lit, there were no boards nothin to highlight the significance of the structure o its history.
after a super bakwas lunch at bijapur (cos we were damn hungry by then) we moved on to solapur (some 2 hours frm ther). aft a chai break n restockin weith lots o fruits n water we moved ahead, to bumpier terrains. the roads were lined by lush green fields that reached to the horizon, interspersed by tiny villages. i witnessed one of the most spectacular sunsets of my life over the fields.
i sat by the window all thru, never once leavin the sun. the air turned cooler as the sun moved down. the colors were few, the light yellow, on the pink tinged orange, the bright greens turnin a shade darker n more. the sun smiled goodbye over a waterbody far off, n then as we moved it pulled over blankets of lush darkness..
by the time we reached the temple it ws like 6.30. days bein shorter it was almost dark. we were greeted by a bunch of monkeys, that followed us to the temple. m nt much of a religious person, so i spent the time admiring the temple and its structure, while others bowed their heads.
when we walked out of the temple, it was pretty dark. somebody started talkin of wishes. it had been my grandparents wish to visit the temple atleast once in their lifetime. it was fulfilled. mom wondered if there was smtin she shud hav prayed for, the time in temple ran so fast, that we had barely ne time fr second thoughts.
wat do we pray for? for health, wealth, strength, wishes...? if god lies in me, i d rather pray to myself.
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