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Chapter 9 The hidden well
Day 8
Patan, 130 kms from Ahmedabad. The history of this elegant carved well is nothing short of a fairy tale.
This Rani ki Vaav
Every step you walk down, you are welcomed by yet another set of extremely beautiful carvings.
You climb down greeting the various forms of Gods. This Vaav is designed like an inverted temple, that marks the sanctity of water as the God.
It was a heaven for photography, where no angle could go wrong.
Some self-clicks as well!
A word of appraise to the people who dug this well out in such well-preserved manner. This was hidden for hundreds of years, and yet the way it stands now, it can never be guessed that all of this was underground. It must have taken immense skill and will power to slowly brush away all the dirt to reveal the inside beauty. Hats off to the people who have carried out such a task with great precision.
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There are many squirrels in the campus. Not too camera shy either.
The Sun temple is another amazing piece of history that one must visit in Gujarat. Constructed a thousand years ago, Sun temple was built by the decedents of Sun gods. It is a large campus with three main structures: Surya Kunda, Sabha Mandap & Guda Mandap. The first Suryakunda or Ramakunda is a big stepped tank. It has temples on the four sides, and one can climb down to the water level using the steps similar to Rani Ki vav.
The beautiful geometric symmetry, the dazzling pattern repeated on the four sides is eye catching.
There are four temples located on the four entrances to the Kunda, each with different deity.
Two huge arches with beautiful carvings form a gate towards the Sabha Mandap, the next structure in this campus.
It is a magnificent hall, with carvings depicting stories from Holy Scriptures such as Ramayana and Mahabharata. It has 52 pillars depicting the weeks in a year.
The intricately carved ceiling of the Sabha Mandap.
In its prime days, there used to be a gold idol of Sun complete with his charioteer and seven horses. It was kept in a 15 feet deep pit, which was filled with gold coins. The rays of rising and setting sun would fall on the idol. But this temple was plundered by Mahmud Gazni, who took away the gold idol.
Wandering around the campus was a calming experience, where each and every spot the eye landed upon was brimming with beautiful carving.
A child decided that he wanted to join me on my motorcycling trips, and left his parents for me! I walked him back to his parents, consoling him that his biker-years are yet far away.
A selfie!
After going click-crazy in the Sun temple, it was time to head back to our nest for the night. Gujarat has beautiful roads all over, and it is a heaven for bikers looking for fast and journeys. We crossed the long 100 kilometers from Modhera to Ahmedabad with no trouble.
There are a number of new temples all over Gujarat, where perhaps the next modhera or next rani ki vaav are taking shape. We halted at one such temple that we saw from the road.
Today we drank from the cup of history. The amazingly restored sites of Rani Ki Vaav and Sun Temple intoxicated us with their grandeur. This was our last night in Gujarat. It was long into the night when we finally stopped chatting about the past seven days, and drifted to sleep.
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Chapter 10 Returning home
Day 9
After a week of riding in various parts of Gujarat, the return journey was just a formality that needed to be done. I started a little late from Ahmedabad, after getting Ellie washed. It was a pleasant January day, and the roads beckoned us for riding fast and safe.
For lunch, I halted at Vadodara for meeting a friend, and finally we had the best Gujarathi thali. I can wholeheartedly recommend going to hotel Amantran in Vadodara for tasting the authentic Gujarathi thali where your taste buds will go wild. The thalis at Ahmedabad or any other places just faded in front of this, and it was a perfect sendoff meal on this trip.
The rest of the trip was uneventful.
Chapter 11 Thoughts about the trip.
Gujarat is a state with a big heart and amazing roads. It may as well be the first state a beginner long distance rider can visit, being so near from Mumbai and Pune. Hardly any steep roads or rough patches (unless you decide to ride in the Rann), the tour is forgiving for any mistakes of a newbie motorcycle tourer.
Even after my 3000 kilometers of riding, I have not seen all of Gujarat. The white lands of Great Rann of Kutchh beckon from a distance; the flute of Krishna teases from Dwaraka; the sea calls me from the beaches of Mandovi.
The food is great. A little on the heavy side with all the vegetables being subjected to various treatments with ghee and sugar, but very tasty nonetheless.
The crafts of Gujarat are amazing, and living in their full glory in the interior villages. The closer you go to Bhuj, the more you see of the traditional clothes and houses. It is not just for show as well, the people are actually living in the traditional culture outside the cities.
But moreover, the thing that calls me back to visit Gujarat is the people. Be it the old men sitting in tree shades at Dasada, or children waving from roads in the villages, or the ladies shyly stealing glances at the biker couple at Bhuj. The individuals of Gujarat are as distinct as the intricate carvings at the Rani ki Vaav, and yet together they resonate to form the grand picture of a tourist welcoming state.
This first visit has planted the seeds of lot many future trips, while leaving a sweet memory in our minds that will last forever.
__________________________________________________ _______________________________________
That's all, folks! Thank you for joining me on the writing adventure for this travelogue
I'd appreciate any comments/suggestions.
Day 8
Patan, 130 kms from Ahmedabad. The history of this elegant carved well is nothing short of a fairy tale.
This Rani ki Vaav
Every step you walk down, you are welcomed by yet another set of extremely beautiful carvings.
You climb down greeting the various forms of Gods. This Vaav is designed like an inverted temple, that marks the sanctity of water as the God.
The Sun temple is another amazing piece of history that one must visit in Gujarat. Constructed a thousand years ago, Sun temple was built by the decedents of Sun gods. It is a large campus with three main structures: Surya Kunda, Sabha Mandap & Guda Mandap. The first Suryakunda or Ramakunda is a big stepped tank. It has temples on the four sides, and one can climb down to the water level using the steps similar to Rani Ki vav.
The beautiful geometric symmetry, the dazzling pattern repeated on the four sides is eye catching.
There are four temples located on the four entrances to the Kunda, each with different deity.
Two huge arches with beautiful carvings form a gate towards the Sabha Mandap, the next structure in this campus.
A selfie!
There are a number of new temples all over Gujarat, where perhaps the next modhera or next rani ki vaav are taking shape. We halted at one such temple that we saw from the road.
Today we drank from the cup of history. The amazingly restored sites of Rani Ki Vaav and Sun Temple intoxicated us with their grandeur. This was our last night in Gujarat. It was long into the night when we finally stopped chatting about the past seven days, and drifted to sleep.
----consecutive posts auto-merged-----
Chapter 10 Returning home
Day 9
After a week of riding in various parts of Gujarat, the return journey was just a formality that needed to be done. I started a little late from Ahmedabad, after getting Ellie washed. It was a pleasant January day, and the roads beckoned us for riding fast and safe.
The rest of the trip was uneventful.
Gujarat is a state with a big heart and amazing roads. It may as well be the first state a beginner long distance rider can visit, being so near from Mumbai and Pune. Hardly any steep roads or rough patches (unless you decide to ride in the Rann), the tour is forgiving for any mistakes of a newbie motorcycle tourer.
Even after my 3000 kilometers of riding, I have not seen all of Gujarat. The white lands of Great Rann of Kutchh beckon from a distance; the flute of Krishna teases from Dwaraka; the sea calls me from the beaches of Mandovi.
The food is great. A little on the heavy side with all the vegetables being subjected to various treatments with ghee and sugar, but very tasty nonetheless.
The crafts of Gujarat are amazing, and living in their full glory in the interior villages. The closer you go to Bhuj, the more you see of the traditional clothes and houses. It is not just for show as well, the people are actually living in the traditional culture outside the cities.
But moreover, the thing that calls me back to visit Gujarat is the people. Be it the old men sitting in tree shades at Dasada, or children waving from roads in the villages, or the ladies shyly stealing glances at the biker couple at Bhuj. The individuals of Gujarat are as distinct as the intricate carvings at the Rani ki Vaav, and yet together they resonate to form the grand picture of a tourist welcoming state.
This first visit has planted the seeds of lot many future trips, while leaving a sweet memory in our minds that will last forever.
__________________________________________________ _______________________________________
That's all, folks! Thank you for joining me on the writing adventure for this travelogue
I'd appreciate any comments/suggestions.
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