Thursday, June 9, 2011

Kurukshetra - the epic battle ground


Since I wasn't spending the night a Amritsar, I caught a AC overnight bus to Delhi. I requested that the driver drop me off at Kurukshetra, which is 3 hours before Delhi. Estimated time of arrival at Kurukshetra was going to be around 4 am. I was nervous about how I was going to get to the hotel from the drop off location next to the highway. I tried staying up most of the trip as to not miss my stop, but the driver totally forgot about it till we had passed it.

Arrived in Delhi and hated it from the moment I got there. It was about 6.30am and people had literally lined up next to a river taking care of there morning business. It was disgusting!!, but that's India I guess.

Got the bus to Kurukshetra and landed there 4 hours later. I was getting used to the long bumpy bus rides but my butt wasn't. I wasn't drinking enough water so bathroom breaks weren't a problem like it usually is back home. Upon arrival at the hotel I was informed that they did not have a reservation for me. I had already paid the cost online through my credit card and was very upset, plus the front desk were being awfully rude. I decided to not pursue the idea of staying there and went across the road to look into another hotel. This one was twice as expensive and dirty, but I was on the road for 2 days now and needed a shower bad.

After freshening up, I asked for directions to Bhramasarovar. It was right behind the hotel and a few minutes walk. The whole town of Kurukshetra is where the 18 day Mahabharata battle took place. Bhramasarovar, which is India's largest water tank is said to be created by Lord Brahma. I had not taken any water with me so walking around the whole tank was going to be a problem and I had to take a detour to cut the journey in half. Women, men and children were dipping in the holy water. Some were drying their clothes in the sun while I few were sleeping or cooking meals in make shift wood stoves. I paid my respected to the temple and made my way back to the hotel. It was about 3 pm and I had yet to eat a meal. Being cautious about street foods and not liking the selections at restaurants, I had ended up eating almost one meal a day only.I was to attend the evening prayer at Jyotisar that day and had a few hours to kill for now, so I grabbed some samosa and ladoo(I love ladoos!!) and made it back to my room. I fell asleep trying to finish my blog for the previous day.

Jyotisar is where the banyan tree is said to be an offshoot of the one under which Lord Krishna delivered the Bhagavad Gita. There are several banyan trees around but few have been marked and are worshiped. So blessed are the people of India to have the holiest sights that Hindus all over the world worship.Being here made me feel at peace. For some reason I felt relieved and truly believe that Lord Krishna was all around here. I pray that Lord Krishna shall strengthen my faith in him,shower me with his love and care for me upon my journey. I thank him for all that I have and assure him that I will not leave the path that he left behind.

I was safely back in my room and for the first time since leaving home a week ago, I felt lonely.Traveling alone has never been a problem since I could always keep in touch with friends and family through phone calls and emails. There was no internet in this town and find a STD to make a phone call was a difficult task since I was feeling a little nervous in this town. I miss my friends.....................

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