Thursday, May 20, 2010

Day 33 (May-14) : Bodhigaya

        We decided to enjoy Bihar and not rush through it. So, after Nalanda we halted at Bodhgaya, the place where lord Buddha is said to be enlightened. The B.S.T.D.C. hotel was beautiful. It took some effort to find it. We initially gave up and went to a decent looking hotel called Siddarth. The rate was 5000/- a night with no guarantee of AC as electricity was unreliable. We resumed our search and finally found the BSTDC hotel. The rates were just 735/-, the location was much better and uninterrupted AC was assured!! I think people underrate government hotels.

We learnt that standard food like mixed veg too gets the local flavour.

             Bodh gaya, is a very peaceful place. The Bodhi vriksha there is of the fourth generation. It is presently 150 years old. There is no problem of Pundas there, so the place gives a better peaceful effect. Some things are unexplained, for example, the question of what exactly am I? A constellation of thoughts perhaps, but you are something else of course to be able to observe it!. The answer of this question is what Buddha probably experienced.

We left Bodhgaya by 12:00 PM and reached Ramnagar before 5:00 PM. Ramnagar is one side of Ganga while Varanasi on other side. My father had spent 4 years in Ramnagar and we went to see his old college and house. We also had the famous lassi there. You had to fight through the crowd to get it. Other than that, I found it to be a peaceful place. Two or three peacocks had settled on a tree behind my dad’s old house. Ramleela takes place on avery big scale in this place. The entire city becomes the stage, and people who are rich enough see the thing from elephant backs.

Reached Varanasi in night and checked in a UPTDC hotel near railway station.


Small stupa

Bodhi vriksha

The middle column in railing is from Ashoka's time ie 2300 years ago!

Penancing monk

Buddha's statue

Dharam chakras

Thai temple
Sunset on Ganga in Ramnagar

Ramnagar fort. It belongs to King of Kashi (Varanasi).
Diving in to Ganga for a bath

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1 comment:

  1. brennNovember 2, 2026 at 4:31 AM

    I have seen the poverty in india as well as the harsh conditions many of us are living in. It seems like the max gdp is redistributed in the favour of the more fortunate alone. Yet, you can see that here in india, or perhaps anywhere in the world where there might be a scarcity, people don't need reasons to be happy. Perhaps its their only option, but yet I feel, that india is perhaps the most developed country in case of people happuness...

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