The idea of travelling sometimes pop up from the most unexpected places that one can think about. Keeping true to this statement our trip to Rajgir and Nalanda was a perfect example. One of my brother's colleague's wedding was scheduled to be held in Rajgir and my brother along with some of his colleagues were all set to attend the wedding. My brother requested me to join them. Initially, I was a bit reluctant to join a group of complete strangers but when my brother told me that his colleague, Shri Manish Kumar whose marriage was set requested him to take me along to attend his wedding, I gave my consent. Since childhood I have heard a lot about Rajgir but never got a chance to visit the place in person so when this unexpected venture showed up I was more than excited to fulfil my long awaited desire.
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| All know the way, but very few actually walk it... |
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| Beauty perishes in life, but is immortal in art... |
Rajgir is an ancient city in the Indian state of Bihar. Surrounded by hills, it's known for its holy sites. Remains of the Cyclopean Wall, which encircled the city centuries ago, still stand in the center. Rajgir was the first capital of the ancient kingdom of Magadha which eventually evolved into Mauryan Empire.
The city is in a valley surrounded by seven hills: Vaibhara, Ratna, Saila, Sona, Udaya, Chhatha, and Vipula.
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| Team Rajgir... |
According to the plan we started our journey on 5th February, 2022. We boarded Doon Express (13009) from Howrah Junction at around 8.25 P.M. Three of our team members didn't get confirmed sleeper berths so they had to settle in second sitting. During the whole train journey I got familiar with my brother's colleagues which set forth the tune for the upcoming journey. Our train reached Gaya Junction at 4.55 A.M the next day i,e., 6th February, 2022. The temperature in Gaya at that time was ten degree so we decided to halt at the station till the dawn broke. We passed time sharing lighter moments amongst ourselves and a few cups of coffee. From the station we could hear the prayer chanting of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha which was located nearby.
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| At Gaya Junction... |
With the first rays of sun we boarded a Vikram Auto (Big Autorickshaw) and moved towards The Buddha Resort where the occasion was scheduled to be held. We were among the first few to reach the destination and soon found that the hosts had not arrived yet. So, my brother called up his colleague and he instructed the resort authorities to allocate two rooms for us. Our team got divided into two parts, four each and settled in our respective rooms. After freshening up we went for the Bodh Gaya sight seen.
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| Hotel Buddha Resort |
Bodh Gaya contains one of the holiest of Buddhist sites: the location where, under the sacred Peepal tree Gautam Buddha (Prince Siddhartha) attained enlightenment and became the Buddha. We visited Mahabodhi Temple complex, Great Buddha Statue, Thai Monastery, Royal Bhutan Monastery, Chinese Temple, Daijokyo Buddhist Temple, Vietnamese Temple and Bangladesh Buddhist Monastery. Unfortunately, all these temples and monasteries were closed on that day due to Covid restrictions so we had to witness all these holy sites from outside. At Mahabodhi Temple we saw many Buddhist monks had gathered together to offer their prayers to Lord Buddha. I felt immense pleasure in witnessing the rich cultural diversity as people from different religion intermingle to offer their prayers to the almighty. Truly incredible India!
We had Litthi Chokha and Alu Paratha for breakfast. When we returned the hosts had already arrived. After taking shower we settled in our respective rooms. At around 3 o'clock in the afternoon we went for lunch downstairs. After lunch we sat in the resort lawn and chatted for long hours. Afterwards we got too tired from the day long exhaustion and went for an afternoon siesta.
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| Maha Boddhi Temple, Gaya |
When we woke up we found that people were gearing up for the night long party and the sound systems were playing hard. We quickly dressed up and went downstairs to join the wedding party. The resort was well decorated. The bride and the groom arrived in gracious attire illuminating the occasion. After having dinner when we went to our rooms the occasion was on full swing but as we had to travel early the next day we called it a day.
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| At the marriage ceremony... |
Next day i,e., 7th February, 2022 when we left the resort the hosts were in a deep slumber. We boarded an Auto from the resort and reached the bus stand where our bus to Rajgir was waiting. We could not find time for our breakfast so had to settle for biscuits only. At around 10 A.M. our bus started its ongoing journey and reached Rajgir at around 1.30 P.M. We booked two rooms at Hotel Raj and quickly left for our lunch as we all were very hungry. We had Chicken Thali for lunch before leaving for Nalanda in a bus.
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| Nalanda University Campus |
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| Architecture is a visual art and the buildings speak for themselves... |
From Nalanda we went to visit Mahavir Jain Temple situated nearby. We also intended to visit Pawapuri but sadly the temple was closed for the visitors due to Covid restrictions. After such an eventful outing we relished our experience on our way back to the hotel.
Rajgir have some wonderful street food delicacies. At evening Sourav and I went to taste a few of them namely vegetable burger, alu tikka chat, steamed momo and Panipuri. Rajgir is also known for its Pedha (sweet delicacy) so we tasted them as well. We both were so loaded that we had to skip our dinner. Rest of our team members completed their respective dinners with Roti and Egg Tarka. That night we chatted for long hours reflecting on our journey so far and shared few lighter moments as well.
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| On the way to Vishwa Santi Stupa, Rajgir |
Next day, i,e., 8th February, 2022 our team got divided into two parts. The first group left hotel early in the morning to book tickets for the Glass bridge while the other completed the hotel check out formalities. I belonged to the second team while my brother went with the first team.
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| The Tanga ride was fun... |
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| Viswa Shanti Stupa, Rajgir |
Japanese Peace Pagoda or Vishwa Shanti Stupa is one of the most beautiful places of Rajgir. The rope-way ride to the hill top adds to the thrill. We spent around two hours at the hill top as the view from the top was breathtaking.
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| Peace begins when the expectation ends... |
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| Rajgir rope-ways are pure adrenaline rush... |
Then we visited Ghoda katora lake deep inside the adjacent jungle. My love for jungle is wide known and truly speaking the serenity of the place touched our souls. We were reluctant to leave the place but had to as we were chasing time.
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| The root of suffering is attachment... |
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| At Ghoda Katora Lake... |
Our next destination was Bimbisara Jail. But I was disappointed to see that a place of such historical importance was ruined due to lack of maintenance or negligence. I would request authorities to be more vigilant and conserve sites of such historical importance.
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| Bimbisara Jail |
From Bimbisara Jail we went to Veerayatan Museum. It is a beautiful place and hundred percent recommended for the tourists visiting Rajgir. Finally, we visited the Bramha Kund hot water spring in Rajgir. My brother, Sourav and I decided to bathe in the spring but the water was too hot which deterred us.
Soon our time at Rajgir came to an end. We had our lunch at Hotel Green and packed sweet Pedhas for home. Time flew and before we could realise we were sitting in our train (13233) Rajgriha Express and headed for Baktiyarpur Junction. At Baktiyarpur we had to wait for few hours before boarding our train (12352) Howrah Express.
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| No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again... |
As yet another trip came to an end I realised that one should not leave any opportunity to visit places with new people as you never know that people who are strangers before a trip might become friends for life afterwards. I spent nearly four days with people who were completely strangers to me but as I came back I made seven great friends, two of them younger than me & most of them elders. I take this opportunity to thank my brother's colleagues who never let me feel out of sorts in their group. Someday somewhere may be in a new journey I will again share light moments with Sajal da, crack jokes with Dipak da, go on a walk with Kartick Babu & Aparti ji, share rooms & spend quality time with Debanjan & Sourav.
Until next time...
(Picture Courtesy: Sourav Kundu and Piangshuk Mukherjee)
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