My mind was playing Avril's 'Keep Holdin' On' and my brain only had one thought at that time. 'Do - not - fall'. Ignoring all the passers-by and the beautiful houses on either sides of the road, I only hoped I would reach the locally famous Devi Temple in Old Amravati without falling off the rickshaw (I was fourth-seat).
It was just 10.30 in the morning, but the sun burned. Everyone who knew I was off to Amravati with a friend (whom I shall call 'A'), had warned me about the heat. And right they were. The normal summer temperature there is 45 degrees. Amravati district falls in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. At least to those of us who live in the cool/warm-not-hot/cold Mumbai, the entire Vidarbha region is known for it's extreme weather.
Amravatians start their day at 4 am, since the sun is up and about as early as 10. This justifies their oh-so-early lunch and dinner times. (Imagine the level of living stress. Almost none. Beat that.)
We actually planned this short trip because we needed to get out of Mumbai and give the wannabe photographers inside us a boost. Well, that, and that A had to visit her grandfather and didn't have company and I was jobless and I happened to love travel. Reasons enough?
The journey to Amravati is not very long. 12 hours, maximum, depending on the train you choose. The Amravati Express is hardly ever late. It leaves from CST at 8.05 pm, reaches Amravati at 6.30 am.
There is nothing particularly tourist-y in Amravati but it's a good change from the busy city life. Stay inside, listen to Coldplay or Shobha Gurtu or Opeth - take your pick, make yum food, sleep, and you're safe from the hotness outside after 5 pm. Roam the streets, bask in the glory of those wow houses, and take lots of photos. That's Amravati for you.
Anywayyy...
The main attraction of this Devi-cha-mandir for us was the Bangdi Bazaar around it. One has to go to shops and specifically ask for glass bangles in Mumbai. There, they had a market for the same. Oooh.We stood there, in the bazaar, taking in the vibrance and the energy and the colours around us. It was beautiful. You'll know what I mean if you've been to Vaishnodevi in Kashmir or the Hidimba temple in Himachal or Kashi Vishweshwar in Benaras or even Kanyakumari.We got our bangles. And, we clicked pictures, too.
This trip, too, like all others that I've been to, taught me a lot.
For example, the part of Amravati where we were living was beautiful. The small lanes, the bazaars, the big houses, the festivities and celebrations. Do you have a visual in your head? Good. Now imagine the bazaars and streets without any women. That's the actual scene.
Girls there are still brought up only to be married off and produce children. Yes, they are educated, but not so that they learn; so that they are qualified enough to get married. Girls as young as 9 are surrounded by moral boundaries that neither A nor I ever had. The only way to pass time in vacations, even, is to sit at home and play cards all day long or do whatever that doesn't involve going out. How bad is that, huh?The next time you throw tantrums when your mother refuses to send you for a movie, think. Stop complaining about every other thing.
Life does not end at one movie, n'est-ce pas?
Gargi, We don't know each other but I happen to be that A's mama. I read your blog with a lot of interest since Amravati is extremely close to my heart. Not only because I was born there but because I spent almost every summer vacation with A's mom while growing up and have millions of great memories. That house in Bhaji-Bazar has a Gaicha Gotha on the ground floor. The legend goes that after entering this world, the first place I visited was that Gotha. I don't remember it but almost everyone who was in that house on that fateful day does and reminds me from time to time that I was born in a gotha!
ReplyDeleteYou write well and I enjoyed it very much. Thanks for rekindling my memories of that great town. Not sure if the Rasvanti's are there already but that used to be the highlight of our visits, drink lots of sugarcane juice with ginger and lemon.....ah, not sure if I should thank you or blame you for taking me far far away from where I sit right now.....