Vrindaban, Mathura & colors

'Whenever YOU splash HOLI colours on SOMEBODY, YOU give THEM a promise of being TRUTHFUL towards THEM always, maintaining a lifelong BROTHERHOOD with THEM and showering THEM with all the possible LOVE. '

When we were kids, my father used to buy us dry colours and mix it with water on the morning of Dol-jatra (one day before Holi in North India). We used to fill our ‘pichkari’(s) with the colours and scared as we were – two little kids (my sister & I), could only master up the courage to splash coloured water to our parents, much to the charging of Maa and sneaky chatters of our neighbours, it not that I was a polite kid, it was just that we were living as tenants hence we were taught a particular code of conduct to follow even in the day when we were supposed to say ‘बुरा ना मानो होली हे’.

It was alright though, we were enough us siblings, enough of playmates for each other. No worry at all. Still there was a dream in my eyes, a desire , to once at least enjoy the flavor of the Holi that we see in movies, and thankfully I did, eventually.

“Imagine there's no heaven / It's easy if you try / No hell below us / Above us only sky

Imagine all the people / Living for today…"

I can’t imagine though, I have seen people living for today, in the streets of Vrindaban and I have also seen heaven in their eyes, in the atmosphere, in that day. Heaven is, what you make of it. Where everyone is happy, always. As is the case for every soul in Vrindaban. They have no worry as Krishna is with them in their heart, in their mind. I didn’t realize though then, Radha was also with us, in our eyes. We three outsiders searching for eternal peace in the land of Krishna on the festival of love while chasing the rainbow and chanting in our heart ‘राधे, राधे – श्याम मिलादे’.

“सच्चिदानंद रूपाय विश्वोत्पत्यादिहेतवे!! तापत्रय विनाशाय श्री कृष्णाय वयं नम: !!”

(sachchidananda roopaya vishwa uthpathyaadhi hethave | thaapathraya vinaashaaya Sri Krishna vayam namah)

We pray before (vayam namah) Sri Krishna, the personification of Supreme Brahman (Sachidananda Roopaya - SAT CHIT ANANDA - Existence, Consciousness, Bliss), the cause (hethave) for creation, sustenance and dissolution (uthpathyaadi) of the universe (vishwa), the vanquisher (vinaashaaya) of three (Thraya) afflictions (Thaapa) - Adhibhauthika, Adhyaathmika, Adhidhaivika.

We were a group of three. Subhankar Mukherjee (Abba da), Sobitri da and myself. We had planned this trip almost one year ago, but the details were finalized only a month before the journey, hence there were some issues with lodging. Then again I was never famous for planning perfectly. We had to filter out some places due to the limited duration of our trip, in-spite of that, this was one of my most memorable one. As I had the perfect partners for the occasions.

The journey:

DAY -1: [KOLKATA - NEW DELHI - MATHURA] – 15th March '19(Friday)

I know that I am a man made of many mistakes, but the biggest mistake of them all is trusting my luck during a holiday trip’s transport. We were a good 01:30hrs early in airport. But, as destiny would have it our indigo flight was in total 7 hrs and 30 mins late, an information the ground crew told us gradually (thoroughly unprofessional on their end I would say. But, given the state of aviation industry now a days, I guess tough luck). By the time we reached Delhi, it was almost midnight, we missed our train from NDLS to Mathura, had to take a general ticket and reached Mathura on the next morning. The train was alright. But, there was a chill in the air during our waiting on New Delhi station for which we were not prepared. We only had think t-shirt as we couldn’t anticipate it would be that cold.

Anyhow, this neither Abba da not I was unaccustomed to such scenario, it was happening to us since Madhya Pradesh, hence we managed.

Holi, the Festival of colours has been celebrated in India for thousands of years. Though it is celebrated in all over country, in Braj it is especially famous for being celebrated on astonishing level. Braj or Brajbhoomi, here encompasses a mytho-historical region covering Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandgaon, Barsana and Govardhan – which spreads through mostly within Uttar Pradesh and some in Rajasthan. Holi as a festival has both the religious as well as a fun filled tone.

DAY - 2: [LATHMAR HOLI : BARSANA, NANDGAON] – 16th March '19(Saturday):

I would like to give a disclaimer here. I am not at all uncomfortable with huge crowds, though I have a habit of losing things. Hence, Barjbhoomi, being its rowdiest best during this time – I handed over my camera to Subhankar da from the very beginning. So, most or may be all of the pictures shown in this blog are snapped by his hand only. Also, due to the flunky-ness of our journey and travel constraints we did miss to capture some key moments of the festivities, I have tried my best to elaborate them with words and sketches. The judgement on their quality is preserved for the readers.

We reached Mathura on Saturday morning and reserved an auto for Vrindaban.

A month back, I tried booking our lodging at the Iscon temple, Vrindaban. But there were no rooms available during our stay. Hence from their website, I found out about other nearby places and mailed them all. I only got a positive response from Bhakti Vedanta’s Neeraj Saigal (double bed non-a/c room @ Rs.550/day)

The auto dropped us near Dhanuka Ashram at Ramanreti road, Vrindaban. From there Bhakti Vedanta’s Tamal Krishna House was only a few minutes walk, still we missed it quite a few times. At last we called the caretaker of the lodging via Neeraj ji, to guide us there. (one may reach Neeraj Saigal @ +91-9837137529, 7895002902 Or, neerajsaigal65@yahoo.com)

I forgot the name of caretaker dada there. He was a second generation Bengali living in Vrindaban, whose father was the caretaker before him. He helped us getting a good driver and car at affordable rate for Barsana and Nandgaon. We freshened up quickly, had a brief breakfast and by almost 9:30 AM, started our journey first to Barsana, the village of Radha rani.

A sketch of Lathmar celebration, Nitish Bhattacharjee

Lathmar Holi in Barsana has the custom for women of Barsana, to beat the men of Nandgaon with Lath, who of course protect themselves with a shield. This year it was originally scheduled for 15th March (Falgun Shukla Navami), we were one day late. Still, even then it was in full swing (as Navami tithi was not over yet), the crowd was amazing, there was nothing but colors filled in the air. The world seemed soaked within a rainbow. Yellow being main, as it is the favorite color of Krishna, who is also called Pitambar for preferring yellow cloths. On the same day (i.e. 15th) and just the day before, Barsana also celebrated Laddoo holi, we came to know about it later, through a elderly Kaka on 17th while visiting Radharaman temple in Vrindaban.

The legend is, When Krishna was young, he cribbed to his mother about Radha being fair while he himself was dark complexioned.

Mother Yashoda, suggested him to colour Radha with colours to make it even. Hence, Lord Krishna visited Barsana to meet Radha for Holi and teased her and her friends. The gopis (ladies) decided to teach Krishna a lesson by beating him with laths (sticks). Now, the same event is re-enacted with men from Krishna’s village (gops) Nandgaon and women from Radha’s village (gopis) Barsana.

Men dress up traditionally with turbans and shields, pay their tributes at the Radha Rani temple and then gather in the streets to be beaten by the the women (on their shields). Their energy is catalyzed by the bhang-laced ‘thandai’. Meanwhile, the citizens of both the villages sit inside the temple, singing ballads, in what is called the ‘Samaj’ ceremony. The atmosphere is enthralling; a visual treat. Everything is red an yellow: the air, the floor, the people.

We were at Radha-Rani/Ladli Temple in Barsana, atop a small hill called Brahmagiri, where they begin Falgun Shukla Navami with a dose of sweetness. Residents perched atop the terrace and platforms of the temple throw laddoos, confectioneries and candies at the crowds below, who jump to catch these blessed offerings.

It is believed, when Lord Krishna and his playmates came to play Holi at Barsana, this great news was celebrated by Barsana people with ‘laddoo’. And, the custom is still followed. Once laddoo Holi ends, Lathmar starts. Unfortunately, we missed both. But the festivities following this events that we witnessed were amazing in their own right. Within 15 minutes of us reaching there, colors from different directions used us as their canvas. We were mixed with the crowds, it seemed that there were no individuality. All are of same colors mixed as one. Happy, blessed, energized.

The colors were organic, made with dried Palash flowers, harmless. There were men on the temple floor wearing ghungrus on their legs and dancing with the tune of Phagun Utsav and Krishna in their heart (Bhakti/Vaishnav poets from different eras have written songs about the festival, known as Hori, a kind of thumris. There are competitions of singing between villages, especially between Barsana and Nandgaon. Listening them was a blissful experience).

Here, everyone yearning for Krishna is seem as Radha, it was gender-less, all of us are gopis for that moment. I should mention here that number of women, I saw that day among the crowds were very less, There were mostly foreigner women and some local ones. The teasing was very apparent. Many would consider it not safe for women, My view is for women, if they want to visit Barsana during this time, they should be able to take things playfully just like the foreigners, then there is no issue. Otherwise, one might feel violated. Anyhow, there is enough policing available. But, I didn’t witness it to be really helpful. For people over there the act of coloring random , unknown women seemed very normal. And there is a very famous saying in Sankskrit – ‘यस्मिन् देशे य आचार: पारंपर्यक्रमघात’ (yasmin deshe ya aachar: paaramparyakramaghat, Act according to where you are).

When Shukla Navami ends, the formal beginning of Lathmar in Nadgaon is indicated, with people of Nandgaon inviting the people of Barsana though an event called Phag Amantran Utsav. Men from Barsana visit Nandgaon to colour the women with Kesudo (an orange coloured flower that leaves its colour in water), water and Palaash.

It is noted, since Krishna and Radha couldn’t marry, the guys and girls of Nandgaon and Barsana till date don’t marry each other. Although I have not authenticated the information in anyway.

When we reached Nandgaon, it was about 1 PM, Falgun Shukla Dashmi had just started. In Nandgaon, Lathmar starts late, at the afternoon unlike Barsana where it starts early morning. Krishna lived in Nandgaon as a young man and played Holi with Gopikas and Radha. So, in Nandgaon , he celebrates the festival as a youth. While our car was going towards Nadgaon, I saw people from Barsana (mainly men) in tempo travelling with earthen shields. It was time for women in Nandgaon to return the favour.

Nandgaon is at a distance of about 7 km from Barsana. Men come carrying flag of the Larily Lal Temple in Barsana to win over the temple of Shriji in Nandgaon, whereas the men of Nandgaon try to take the flag from them. Just before the Lathmar starts, in an enclosed area, right beside the Shriji temple, a group of men prepare for the Lathmar among themselves in a dance ceremony with sticks (can be found in my video). This is followed by Lathmar just before the Sun does down.

Our day was mostly done. Hence, we journey back to Vrindaban to wait for the next day. I brought a turban with me from Barsana as a souvenir to commemorate the day and also to save my hair from color splashes for today and the days to come. It was on that evening I discovered, Abba da chooses specific moniker to call people, according to geography of the place he is visiting. His choice for Braj was ‘Bhayoo’ which he unleashed on the teenage ice cream seller that day. We will meet this boy again later on this story, as was promised by Abba da that day (check Day 4).

DAY - 3: [PHOOLON WALI HOLI : VRINDABAN] – 17th March '19(Sunday):

It was Sunday. Today was the day for Phoolon wali Holi. I woke up about 7 AM, Abba da informed people and circling the streets from about 5:30 AM onward. The street surrounding Tamal Krisha house is called ‘Parikrama Marg’. And as the name suggest, people of Vrindaban used it that day to do parikrama (circular walk) around Vrindaban.

My elder cousin (Amit Saha), informed me Sadhus in Vrindaban does parikrama in this road everyday throughout the year following the trail of lord Krishna. During Holi week they are joined by almost every inhabitant of Vrindaban, specifically on holidays (Sunday being one). Today was ekadashi, the last one before Holi. On this day, Banke Bihari temple at Vrindaban built by Swami Haridas (great Indian music teacher, housed his little Krishna idol here to prevent it from the hands of Mughals), celebrates a unique Holi with flowers, and hence the name Phoolon wali holi (Flowers' Holi). It is just a 15-20 minutes affair starting on about 4 PM, flowers are thrown at the devotees by the temple priests.

At Banke Bihari, the idol of Bihariji (Krishna) was dressed up in white coloured clothes. We reached there following and submerging into the parikrama crowd, bathed in gulal and colored water. While Abba da kept finding different angles to take snaps while, shielding the camera lense with hands or sometime with our collaborative body movements.

In temple Goswamis (priests) sprinkle colours on everyone using buckets or water guns. The atmosphere was made electric with lively bhajans (songs) in background and people dancing in its tunes.

Taking pictures inside Banke Bihari temple is not allowed. Myth is once a princess had come to worship Lord Krishna here. She continuously stared at Krishna & made a strong eye contact with the statue. After that, she went back to her Palace but surprisingly the statue of Lord Krishna also went along with her so Vrindavan people placed another statue of Lord Krishna in Banke Bihari. The Original statue is there in Gujarat as the princess was from Gujarat. Hence locals don’t allow anyone to make any eye contact or click picture of Krishna’s statue. They have kept the curtain in front of the stage to restrict the same, though I still saw a few taking pictures in the temple.

Vrindavan, the place of Radha-Krishna’s secret rendezvous has other attractions also. Following our chat with a Kaka on the exiting staircase on Banke Bihari temple (which I mentioned before, while stating how I came to know about Laddoo holi) and a sumptuous breakfast with puri and lassi. We once again followed the crowd to reach Ranganathaji Temple. Possessing the distinct charm of Dravidian Architecture this temple is devoted to Lord Ranganath, another name for Vishnu. After this we visited Radharamana Temple (temple of Gopala Bhatta Goswami).

We were going wherever the wave of crowd was taking us. It was like a never ending line. After our stop at Madan Mohan Temple (the oldest temple in Vrindavan, located on the banks of Yamuna, dedicated to Lord Madan Mohan, another name of Lord Krishna). Abba da suggested that we turn back. Some of the roads were blocked and we were already some 6-7 KM away from our stay. The roads were unmovable in the reverse direction due to huge crowd. Hence we shifted to a parallel route though the gali-mohollas. Google maps to our rescue, we navigated swiftly keeping our sun-glasses and camera tightly secure from prying eyes of monkey, in every nooks and corners of inter-connected sub-roads. I saw a lot of houses and shops with Bengali name plates. And could hear occasional chatter in my mother tongue. I guess most of us Bengali's have a soft spot for Vrindaban. For some it is so deep that they choose to stay in there permanently.

Later I found out that we had missed a few spots that day, viz. Govinda Dev Temple and Radha Damodara Temple (original deity was hand-carved by Rupa Goswami). Although I have no regrets. As the world I had seen is enough for one lifetime.

DAY - 4: [WIDOW’s HOLI : MISSED OCCASION, ISCON & KESHI GHAT] – 18th March '19(Monday)

In old India, it was a story of a difficult life. Banished form homes, forced to live in ashrams wearing only white clothes and detachment from all things colourful. This was the life of a widow. New India is all about breaking regressive customs. I know we are not successful always and everywhere. Hence, it becomes even more special, as today was the day to be counted as one for the good ones.

On widow’s Holi, a few years back the widows of Pagal Baba Widow Ashram, Vrindavan decided to break the norm, at least for one day and play with colors. They were soon joined by Gopinath Temple.

The actual plan was to visit these temples and participate in their festivities, but we couldn’t. On the night of 17th , Manohar Parrikar the then C.M. of Goa and a major contributor of Pagal Baba Widow Ashram (as told by locals, not verified) passed away. So the authorities on request of the widows (again as told by the locals, not possible to be verified) cancelled this year’s celebration.

We had a day to kill and no plan whatsoever. After having our morning bath and some breakfast, we loitered around Vrindaban for a while and entered the famous Hare Rama Hare Krishna Temple.

One of the major temples of Vrindavan, this was built by ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness). We booked our lunched here for today with Temple’s special and spent till afternoon on its campus. In between chanting ‘Hare Ram, Hare Krishna’ over a total of 108 lotus symbols, visiting bhajan kshetras and having a paid, sumptuous lunch – I lost my temper arguing with a temple guard with Abba da and Sobitri da to the rescue. As I don’t always have basic control over my emotions, it is best for me not to travel alone for all parties concerned.

Once the sun lost its glaze, we left the temple compound and took a Toto (vehicle) towards Keshi Ghat (it cost us some Rs 80/- for three people).

Keshi Ghat (little east of Chir-ghat) is one of the most important Ghats in Vrindavan, located on the banks of River Yamuna. It is believed, in this Ghat, Krishna came to bathe and confronted and killed the demon Keshi (a gigantic horse demon sent by Kansa), making this a pilgrim spot. It is only ghat which is still visible as remaining part of ghat tradition in Vrindaban. It was built by queen of Bharatpur, Laxmi devi in late 17th century in a Rajasthani architectural style.

Their are many small but ancient temples near this ghat (e.g. Madanmohan temple visible in the backdrop). A person offered us a guided tour claiming to belong to an upstanding Brahmin family. We politely declined.

The 500 year old ancient tradition here is worshiping of goddess Yamuna in day and the famous ‘Yamuna maha-arti’ in evening daily.

According Radhanath Swami, ‘Keshi demon represents the anartha of pride in ones own devotional practices and achievements. Keshi also represents the sense of vanity and ego. Keshi was a horse. Horses are controlled by pulling their mouth with ropes. So, Krishna put His hand right in the mouth of Keshi and controlled him. Proud people often boast about themselves with their own mouth and criticize others. So, one should curtail these demoniac tendencies by restricting ones tongue from engaging in prajalpa (unnecessary gossip) and by chanting the holy names of Krishna’

We witnessed Yamuna-arati that day while taking a boat ride in the river, it took us very near to the temple ghat and stood still. Abba da took stills, while I recorded the magic in motion.

Once the arati ended, we returned back to fulfill Abba da’s promise to the ‘Bhayoo ice cream seller’ (check Day 2).

To kill time we entered the nearby ‘Prem-Mandir’, the elegant temple shaped by Shri Kripaluji Maharaj in 2001 and opened to public from February 2012 onward. It is a temple made out of white marble dedicated to Radha-Krishna and Sita-Ram. Built in the Rajasthani-Gujarati architectural style, with carved doors and windows.

The temple hosts statues of Krishna and his admirers, portraying essential occasions surrounding his life (e.g. lifting of Govarthan mountain). The pillars are intricately engraved with beautiful statues that depict the Kinkari and Manjari Sakhis serving Radha Krishna in a variety of ways. The lighting of Prem Mandir changes colour every five or so minutes. Photography inside was prohibited.

The day was ‘done’ and we were literally ‘dusted’. After having dinner we went to our beds.

Later, I came to know we missed Chhadi Mar Holi today in Gokul (although, safe to be said we would have avoided it even if known due to the location, explained on Day 6). People in Gokul village celebrate with a small delicate stick called Chhadi. It is a very delicate version of Lathmar from Barsana and Nandgaon.

DAY - 5: [AGRA] – 19th March 2019 (Tuesday)

Banke Bihari Temple celebrates Holi for multiple days (this year from 17-20th March 2019). As we have already been there, we decided to utilize this day differently. Our stay in Vrindaban was coming to an end. After having our breakfast and clearing our dues with Tamal Krishna house for the last three days (Rs 2700/- for three person), our pre-arranged car from Abba da’s connection picked us up from near our stay from a single day Agra tour which began with Fatehpur and Sikri.

Writing about places to visit Agra in detail is a job for historians and other experts. Even while blogging it should be done in an expansive manner and as a separate topic altogether. Hence, I will skip most of it to keep the focus on Holi itself and just highlight on how the day was spent, so that others can plan accordingly.

Fatehpur Sikri, a town in the Agra District, was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Akbar the great. There was a village called Sikri which occupied the spot before. Akbar's son Jahangir was born at Sikri after which Akbar began construction of a religious compound to commemorate the Sheikh who had predicted the birth. The city came to be known as Fatehpur Sikri, the "City of Victory", after Akbar's victorious Gujarat campaign in 1573. We took a guided tour here to know about Buland Darwaza (built in honor of campaign in Gujarat), long fort wall (Delhi Gate), the Lal Gate, the Agra Gate, summer palace and winter palace for Queen Jodha, Tomb of Salim Chishti, Jama Masjid, Diwan-i-Aam, Diwan-i-Khas, Ibadat Khana, Hujra-i-Anup Talao (residence of Akbar's Muslim wife), Mariam-uz-Zamani's Palace (building of Akbar's Rajput wives) etc. One has to account for the cost of entry, battery run bus fare (for travel inside the complex) and guide fare while coming to Fatehpur Sikri. Make sure with your guide beforehand if you want or do not want to make additional donations near tomb of Salim Chisti for ‘Chadar’. As usually this leads to very rude confrontations (from Abba da’s previous experience, specially on Fridays).

We changes cars (as per travel agency’s convenience) afterwards, before stopping for lunch. Today, lunch was a costly affair. As, we were on vegeterian diet for the last few day (non-veg is a rarity in Vrindaban).

Our next stop was Agra fort, one can see Taj Mahal far ahead from some windows inside this fort. It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. It was captured by Ghaznavi for some time, but in 15th century A.D. the Chauhan Rajputs occupied it. Soon after Agra assumed the status of capital when Sikandar Lodi shifted his capital from Delhi and constructed few buildings in the pre-existing Fort at Agra. After the first battle of Panipat (A.D. 1526) Mughals captured the fort and ruled from here. In A.D. 1530, Humayun was crowned here. The Fort got its present look during the reign of Akbar (A.D. 1556-1605). There was guide available here also, but we skipped availing them. Diwan-i-Aam (hall of public audience), Sheesh Mahal, two fort gates (Delhi Gate, Lahore Gate/Amar Singh Gate), Jahangir's Hauz (monolithic tank for bathing), Shahjahani Mahal(in between white marble Khas Mahal and red stone Jahangiri Mahal, set transitionally, earliest attempt of Shahjahan to convert existing red stone building), Ghaznin Gate - tomb of Mahmud Ghaznavi at Ghazni (Sir John Marshall had placed here a notice-board which describes, Lord Ellenborough, the Governor General, in historic proclamation claimed, that these were the sandalwood gates of Somnath which Mahmud had taken to Ghazni in 1025 and the British had thus avenged an insult of 800 years back. This false claim was made just to win the goodwill of the Indian people. The gate is, in fact, made of local deodar wood of Ghazni and not of sandalwood), Jahangir's Chain of Justice (Zanjir-i-Adl) are some of the attractions here.

Shah Jahan was deposed and restrained by his son, Aurangzeb, in the fort. It is rumored that Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with a view of the Taj Mahal. The fort was the site of a battle during the Indian rebellion of 1857, which caused the end of the British East India Company's rule in India, and led to a century of direct rule of India by Britain. Because the Indian military (the Parachute Brigade in particular) is still using the northern portion of the Agra Fort, the Delhi Gate cannot be used by the public. Tourists enter via the Amar Singh Gate.

Our day tour was done. The car dropped us near our pre-booked hotel. We rested for the evening to start at about 9:30 PM for our night tour of Taj Mahal (our stay was very close to Taj Mahal, about 2KMs). It is to be mentioned here, ticket for this tour has to be reserved beforehand and there is very limited availibility and this can not be done online. We could achieve it by whats-app-ing our id’s to the travel agency some two days before. Ticket costs Rs 610/- per hear (as of 19th March 2019) and there was rigorous security checking. Cameras were allowed, but mobile phone, digital watches or any other such stuffs were not.

Greats has written poems, stories, book and whatnot about Taj Mahal. I can spent probably a billions words describing it. Don’t think it would do any justice. We will come back here again tomorrow for the day tour. For now, let these pictures suffice:

DAY - 6: [AGRA – MATHURA - GOVARDHAN] – 20th March 2019 (Wednesday)

Last night’s tour a disaster w.r.t. our travel companions. I am disgusted to say there were many Bengali families expecting light & sound show of Taj Mahal to make it cost effective. They didn’t appreciate the unadulterated beauty of Taj under the moonlit sky nearing Purnima (Full moon). It is to be mentioned here – the nightly tour of Taj Mahal is only allowed a few days before and after full moon; that also from a stage fare placed, never up close. We had to listen to their constant disapproving commentary.

Today morning, at around 6:30 AM, it was crowded in Taj Mahal, but placid in sense everyone was sub-merged in their own thoughts. No one was bothering anyone. We spent about some 3 hrs in Taj Mahal campus wondering about whether to take leave at all. I already mentioned, I don’t posses enough vocabulary to describe Taj Mahal. Hence, I would quote Rabindra Nath Tagore here,-

“এ কথা জানিতে তুমি, ভারতেশ্বর শাহজাহান | কালোস্রোতে ভেসে যায় জীবন, যৌবন, ধনমান ||

শুধু তব অন্তর বেদনা, চিরন্তন হয়ে থাক | সম্রাটের ছিল এ সাধনা ||

রাজ্শক্তি বজ্র সুকঠিন | সান্ধ্য রক্ত রাগ, সময় তন্দ্রা তোলে, হয় হোক লীন ||

কেবল একটি দীর্ঘশ্বাস.

নিত্য উচ্ছসিত হয়ে সকরুণ করুক আকাশ | এই তব মনে ছিল আঁশ ||

হীরা-মুক্ত মাণিক্যের ঘটা | যেন শুন্য দিগন্তের ইন্দ্রজাল ইন্দ্রধনুর ঝটা ||

যায় যদি লুপ্ত হয়ে যাক | শুধু থাক ||

এক বিন্দু নয়নের জল, কালের কপোল তোলে শুভ্র সমুজ্জল, এ তাজমহল ......“

There is huge gathering of foreigners in Agra throughout the year, today was no exception. Abba da dedicated his whole photography skill towards them, while myself and Sobitri da was enjoying and enthralling ourselves. As time was passing by, we returned for our breakfast and checked out of the hotel to catch a train towards Mathura, back to the Holi festivities.

Agra to Mathura unreserved chair cars (train) are quite frequent, clean and very cheap (it cost us Rs 50/- per head). Once in Mathura, a car driver approach us for day long Mathura tour, he dropped us in our hotel to pick us later. This time the hotel cost was very high, tomorrow being the main Holi. Mathura do not have great accommodations, the cost is too much, service not at all satisfactory. After taking a brief bath and rest we started around Mathura in the car, our first stop was Gokul.

Gokul is a municipal town in Mathura district. The belief is, Krishna lived as an infant here on the left bank of Yamuna. Vasudeva brought him in this village, by crossing Yamuna at night just after his birth. So, in Gokul, he continues to be treated as an infant.

Temples in Gokul have baby Krishna in a Jhoola (swing). While in such a temple we were asked to swing the swing in a manner of rocking the cradle. Just a note of caution to the tourist about here, go at your own risk. People here are really pushy for donations. If you are a devotee it would suit you else it is unnecessary hazard. As it was for us. Even though I consider myself devoted enough, It was quite a discomforting experience for me, as the people - I thought treated us with harshness as we refused giving huge donations.

Our next stop was, Krishna Janma Bhoomi Mandir build around a supposed prison cell where it is believed Krishna was born. There are multiple constructions in this temple site, making it more like a temple complex. History suggests, these temples were destroyed multiple times, latest by Aurangzeb around 1670. Then he erected an Eidgah there (viz. Jama Masjid, built by the Mughal governor- Abd-Ud-Nabi on his command). Hence, when the new temple complex was built, the mosque and temple remained side by side.

There is heavy police security around these parts. We witnessed large numbers of Vaishnavites on the main temple compound (I derived their origin because of how they were dressed and the fact they were talking in Bengali).

There were other places to visit too, like Radha Kund, Govardhan Hills etc. But we weren’t too keen. Our trip ended near Dwarkadheesh temple at Vishram Ghat.

The Dwarkadheesh temple, had famous architecture and paintings once. May be due to lack of maintenance or some other reason I found the glory missing. Built in 1814, by Seth Gokul Das Parikh, the treasurer of then Gwalior State(Scindia), with donation from Shrimant Daulatrao Scindia, Maharajah of Gwalior, Dwarkadheesh means God or king of Dwarka, where Krishna has shifted from Mathura and settled. The main deity here is of Dwarkadheesh, a form of Krishna seen in a black Marble idol. With him is the White marble idol of his counterpart deity Rukmini Devi. Gradually decaying ceiling paintings showcase various aspects of the Lord's life and Rajasthani architectural designs and carving fill some parts.

When you climb the few steep steps leading to the inside of the temple, the very first thing that you see are the five rows of carved pillars, dividing whole courtyard into three segments; the right lane is for women and the extreme left one for men. In the center lane, the entry is prohibited other than for those having VIP pass. Guess money matters everywhere. We spent some half an hour there, stepped out, drank lassi and returned to our hotel for the night. Tonight was the night for holika dahan.

Holika Dahan is celebrated on the night of Falgun Purnima by lighting up fire with cow dung cakes on various road junctions in Mathura. While we were returning back from Dwarkadheesh temple to our hotel we could see many such heaps arranged throughout the road made up with cow dung cakes, wooden blocks and other inflammable. Our driver for the day told us that the local priests get the honor to light up such ‘Holikas’ from where locals carry small burning wood sticks to their homes to burn tiny ‘Holikas’ within their compounds.

Illustration of Holika Dahan - myth and practice, Nitish Bhattacharjee

Holika Dahan ceremony or burning of the effigy of Holika has a story behind it. In an attempt to punish his son Prahlad for worshiping Vishnu, his father - demon-king Hiranyakashipu asked his sister Holika to hold him in a blazing fire. Holika had a boon that meant she could never be burnt. She sat on a pyre clutching the young Prahalad, but was burnt to death while Prahlad was freed unharmed as he was chanting the name of Vishnu throughout. It was from Holika, the term Holi originated. This is the soul and essence of Holi.

DAY - 7: [NIZAMUDDIN – AFGHAN NEW YEAR] – 21st March 2018 (Thursday)

Last night our driver suggested us to skip the main Holi day in Mathura, we were unsure. He explained the flavors of Holi are over what is left is ‘Keechar Holi’ which can be hazardous for outsiders as people here tend to get rowdy. I still had a lingering wish to stay but the team decided otherwise. Hence we left our hotel very early that morning to take another unreserved train towards Delhi. But not before being colored while walking towards to Mathura station by separate local groups.

On reaching Nizamuddin station in New Delhi, after having some food we booked an auto to take us to a budget hotel for the day and took rest for till that evening. Another surprise was waiting for us on that evening. That day was Nauruz too i.e. the Afghan new year and we were at the ‘Mini Kabul in India’.

I have another small article detailing the exploits of the evening spent in Nizamuddin. If one wishes, you can find it here. I felt it deserved its own space in the blogosphere.

Our trip was done our flight was on 22nd March back to Kolkata. Once back here while researching for this blog I realized something, ‘Information’ is ‘Knowledge’ only if found on time. As I found somethings late. So I will finish this up by listing some missed opportunities so that others could plan well : -

Visiting the most popular chaat place called 'Shreeji Chat' in Mathura.
Partaking Bhaang in the form of thandai, cold flavoured milk (though I doubt whether I would have liked it).
Witnessing 'Phaguwa' - tradition of brother-in-laws visited their sisters-in-law and giving them a gift. Usually, a box of sweets on Chaitra Krishna Pratham (this year it fell on 20th March).
Witnessing 'Holi Procession' in Mathura, from Vishram Ghat to Holi Gate (around ten vehicles decorated with beautiful flowers and having kids dressed as Radha and Krishna paraded across the city).
‘Jalti Holi Se Panda ka Nikalna’ in Falen, Kosi - to commemorate the safe passage of Prahalad through fire. A panda or a priest prays at the Prahalad temple in the village, takes a dip in the Prahalad Kund, walks through the giant fire while chanting Prahalad's name (Falen is believed to be the village of Prahalad).
The biggest Holika effigy burning at the Holi Gate with cultural program celebration.
Mukhrai Charkula Dance on Chaitra Krishna Dwitiya – in the village Mukhrai of the Nani (maternal grandmother) of Radha (belief is when Radha Rani was born, Mukhrai lit up the lamps on the chariot wheels and danced with it on her head). The lamp is a giant circular wheel-like formation with the 4-5 story of 108 lamps and weighs upward of 30-40 kgs.
Huranga Holi at Dauji Temple (28 km from Mathura, in town Baldeo) - Women of the family that built the temple beat men in courtyarded of the temple and rip their clothes. Dau Ji is how Balram, the elder brother of Sri Krishna is lovingly called. In a region of Braj called Baldeo, this temple is dedicated to Balram. This was a part of Khadir Van, one of the 12 forests of Braj. In fact its not called Holi, but Huranga (riot in a way) - which means a much more aggressive form of Holi! (Took place on 22nd March this year)