Usually, our day to day lives comprise of work, home and work..I believe “all work and no play makes jack a dull boy”. Similarly, i wanted a break from the monotony. It has been four years since am working continuously and I wanted a short break. So me, bro and mom went to Kolhapur for a short trip cum vacation. Around 250kms from Pune. The place is an agricultural hub – sugar barons as we call it. Zooming through the NH4 highway surrounded with scenic beauty. Hills, trees, crops – jowar, sugarcane, etc. The place looked breathtakingly beautiful and quite unlike the crowded Pune city that has become a concrete jungle.
We traveled via Sangli to Karad to Kolhapur. On the way we had small pit stops where we just roamed in the farmlands, met local farmers, took a sample of jowar that was not yet fully ripe for harvest but the view was so good we couldn’t resist it.
Then we went on to the Mahalaxmi temple at Kolhapur- they say it is one of the oldest temples in India. The original temple is built out of single stone. We visited the place and it had a feeling of serenity around it. However, it was crowded with hordes of devotees. Long queues were a feature of the place. Despite the long queue, we were taken through a separate route since Uncle is a Trustee at the place. Hence, the whole Darshan went on fast I would say. Though this set me thinking that “Money makes the mayor go, so will god be happy if we donate more??” It was not strenuous but on the whole it felt wrong…
Any way leaving the moral effect out the temple is beautiful with the Devi dressed in a Sari and wearing jewellery. The place has a southern touch since it is at the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka. We paid our respect and left for another place.
We had lunch at my uncles place – we had masoor dal, bhakhri (bajra roti) and aachar; it tasted yum and then went on to visit farms – the place felt so peaceful away from the commercial noise…I didn’t feel like leaving the place. Then my uncle asked me if I wanted to buy Kolhapuri chappals. To which my mom stared at me and said, If you need them buy them…if not don’t buy. 😦 I am fond of buying varied types of chappals…
Once we visited a few more places, we left for home..a pleasant trip indeed with lots of fun on the way. 🙂
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