2nd August 2010, 11:40
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| A bike trip to the seventh legendary city I did this trip early Jan of this year. A few teasers ;-) On the way   Ghaat  The cuisine   Coming soon... |
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2nd August 2010, 11:46
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: MH42
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2nd August 2010, 11:46
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2nd August 2010, 12:23
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2nd August 2010, 12:37
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2nd August 2010, 13:16
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2nd August 2010, 22:38
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| Early this year, after a few failed plans, me and wifey finally set off to her home town, the cement town of Sikka, in Jamnagar district of Gujarat (By train). Whenever I hear Gujarat, my stomach starts growling and I start dreaming about the Gujju snacks and sweets – Dhokla, Fafda, Ghatia, Thepla, Oondhiu, Samhara, Dhabheli, Jalebis. The list is endless. One of my favorite destinations in Gujarat is the mythological city of Dwarka. It’s a great opportunity to take the blessings of the lord and cruise along the excellent SH’s of Gujarat – throw in some extremely scenic drives of gigantic oil refineries, various varieties of fields and a plethora of birds. Birds, yes a lot of them and many I cannot name. This part of Gujarat is a ornithologists paradise. My in laws have an old 1997 model maruti 800 but I didn’t want to take a chance with it as it got submerged in the previous monsoons and started rusting from the underbody. The distance from Sikka to Dwarka is a mere 110 KM’s and we decided to borrow a bike from one of our acquaintances. Initially MIL was too apprehensive of we driving down on a bike but citing the distance and the thrill it added to the travel, we finally managed to convince her. D-day arrived. We started off early to catch the early bird (catching its worm or 2). The bike was a mid aged HH splendor, around 6 yrs old. Tank full and we were on the excellent SH92 to Dwarka. The route is a fairly simple and straight rout except for a slight deviation at Okhamandi where the SH joins the NH8E. The route  Early on, we started spotting a lot of Egrets and Cranes flying in the same direction as us. For the first 15-20 KM’s one can see the oil refineries all along the road. You cannot especially miss the ‘mashaal’ of the essar refinery. The Essar refinery  We stop at Khambalia for a sumptuous breakfast of hot ghatiya and 2 types of samhara. For those not very familiar with Gujju ‘snakes’,  most snacks are besan based and are deep fried. Every hot deep fried snack is best had with some Samhara. Samhara is any vegetable, mostly raw papaya or cabbage or onion, shallow fried in some oil, chillies and mustard seeds. SLURP! Me being from south and only introduced to Gujju snakes fairly recently, Gujju snacks, especially the breakfast items are the best. This is one of the best part of my day. Deep fried and care free!  Like I said earlier, the drive is extremely scenic. I have seen some of the best roads of my life in Gujarat. And the state highways are unbelievable. Take a look for yourself: Walking from nearby towns to the abode of the lord  The Demoiselle Crane catching worms in freshly tilled fields   Pelicans waiting for their brakfast of fresh fish   Harnessing mother natures gifts  |
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2nd August 2010, 22:42
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2nd August 2010, 22:58
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TSTN
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3rd August 2010, 00:13
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3rd August 2010, 10:14
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3rd August 2010, 10:55
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3rd August 2010, 13:11
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3rd August 2010, 14:43
| #14 |
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| The land transforms rather drastically from the point where the SH92 meets NH8E near Okhamandi. The umpteen fields that surrounded SH92 make way to sand dunes and salt lakes. The salt lakes are nothing like anything that i have seen before. Its a vast expanse of milky white before your eyes. White to the point of straining your eyes sometimes. I make it a point to stop and explore one of the salt lakes on our way back as we need to rush to the temple to beat the 12.30 deadline (Temple timings are 7.00AM to 12.30PM and 5PM to 9.30PM). The salt lakes after Okhamandi (20Km more to go to Dwarka)  Dwarka as seen from a distance   There is a whole lot of information about Dwarka on Wiki (Dwarka). If one is from South, like me, you will see a notably difference in the Archetecture of the temple. Here is a some history about the temple and diety (Source: Wiki again, link: Architecture) "A temple was built at the site around 400 BC by Vajranabhji, the great grandson of Lord Krishna, however the present structure was built during the 16th century in a typical Chalukyan style of architecture. The beautiful temple rises up to a height of 51.8 mts. Also known as the Jagat Mandir, the temple has two Sikhara. The Nij shikhar (The longer sikhar) is where the deity of Lord Dwarkadhish is placed. The huge temple consists of 60 exquisitely carved pillars and a number of sculptures that depict the influence of various dynasties such as the Guptas, Pallavas and Chavdas (referring to Chavda Kingdom) that ruled Dwarka over the years. The entrance to the temple is from the north, also known as the Moksha Dwaar while towards the south is the Swarg Dwaar, from where a series of steps leads down to the banks of river Gomti. According to legend, the temple was constructed in a single day by Vishwakarma, the lord of construction. The deity of Lord Dwarkadhish is made of shiny black stone and is about 2.25 ft in height. The four hands of the Lord carries a conch, wheel, a metallic weapon and a lotus each and is popularly known as 'Shankh Chakra Gada Padma Chaturbhuj'. It is said that the deity was hidden for years to protect it from invaders while another deity brought from the Rukmini temple was installed in its absence. The original deity was reinstalled during the 16th century after the construction of the new temple." Moksha Dwaar (Enter from here)  Swarg Dwaar (Exit leading to the Gomati Ghaat)  |
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3rd August 2010, 20:00
| #15 |
| Senior - BHPian | The town appears pretty small. But I like the temple dominating the skyline. BTW,yet to see the bike pics.  Are the artifacts recovered from Ocean displayed somewhere? I really get enthralled by the history and especially prospects of finding some conclusive proofs to prove the existence of Mahabharata and Ramayana. The western world has always disregarded the small proves we have and considered the epics as mere mythological. There was a plan to build an underwater museum, I dont know what happened to that. Will you be throwing some light on all these? |
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