nasik and trimbak

ok... it's been a while since i've had a decent connection so you're all going to have to go away, make a brew (and maybe a sandwich) and settle in for a bit of a read.

ready? ok then let's begin. on monday 7th i took an early morning train from cst to nasik. the station was heaving as it was peak rush hour time and the volume of people getting off the train and dispersing into the already busy streets of mumbai was almost beyond comprehension. i had left the hotel really early and had missed breakfast, so i chanced my first bit of street food from the platform side. fearing the galloping squits i gingerly took my first bite of a crazy spicy omlette triple decker sandwich - 20 Rs. it was great, so in my usual fashion i breathed it in and was ready for more. i opted not to tempt fate however, and set about finding some caffeine. the coffee over here either comes black and bitter or milky and oh-so-sweet. i opted for the latter, figuring the extra sugar would give me the energy for the 4 hour trip to nasik. as i sat on the platform (my rucksack is a pretty comfortable seat btw) i was surounded by porters, all in their distinctive red uniforms. "from where are you? are you married? are you working? do you like india?" the questions came thick and fast. i responded as best i could in my newly acquired hinglish accent, and when i pulled out the wodge of photos i have of my family the group got even bigger and more questions were thrown my way. a crazy, bearded old man came and started talking with me, i couldn't really understand much of what he said but we shared a cigarette and then it didn't matter if we could understand each other or not, we had some common ground. as we smoked the sun rose, bathing everything in a wonderful pinkish grey.

i boarded the train - i was in 2AC which means two-tier air conditioned (not 2nd class ac as i first thought.) i had opted for the upper berth so i could sleep if i wanted without having to wait for the rest of my compartment to vacate the bottom bunk / seat. part of me was very scared at leaving the bubble of the westerner-friendly city and heading out to a town that is really a pilgrim's rather than a tourist's destination. as the train pulled out i decided to leave the worrying about it until i got there. i sat and sipped chai and watched the outskirts of mumbai blend into the hills and plains of northern maharashtra. the journey would take me through part of the deccan traps, about as volcanic a region as you can get. parts of it looked like the surface of the moon - the worrying could definitely wait as i had plenty of scenery to keep me occupied. sharing my berth was a family from lucknow, mr and mrs shukla and their adorable little daughter shivyanshi. i don't think i've ever seen such a cheeky face! they had been in mumbai to visit mrs shukla's brother who is in the navy, and they were travelling back to their home in lucknow (here's a map - pretty far eh?) we got to talking, and mr shukla is a geologist, working for the indian geological survey. nedless to say we sat and spoke for most of the second half of the trip, all the while taking chai for 5Rs from the boys who came down our carriage every minute (or so it seemed!) yelling "chaichaichaichaichaichai". there was a vegetarian breakfast, which i again ate at lightning speed. since i have been here i find that even if i have just eaten, i am always ready to eat more. maybe i will one day be able to hold my head up high and stand proud in the presence of the great mr. blunt when it comes to eating :D

after exchanging contact details and a promise to meet up in lucknow i left the train at nasik road. i had booked my stay at the hotel abhishek the day before, so i grabbed an autorikshaw and headed off - nasik city centre is 10 km from the train station. wow. now i was in india. the traffic was barmy, the driver seemed to lean on his horn the entire time, weaving in and out of motorcycles, cement trucks, buses and the like showing absolutely no fear. i held on for dear life and hoped i would make it there alive! i checked into my room, and decided to stay there for the rest of my time in nasik. what i had seen on my trip to the hotel was nothing like the india i had seen in mumbai. hopefully the photographs will go some way to explaining. i smoked about 5 cigarettes and drank an entire 2 litre bottle of water and decided to man it up and get out there.

nasik is beyond insane. i felt uncomfortable for most of the 2 hour walk i took around the area close to the ramkund, attracting lots of stares. i was the only westerner i saw during that time and it freaked me out. the city is a hodgepodge of temples, shrines, street vendors, collapsing houses, building sites, people, rikshaws, vans, motorcycles, cows, bathing ghats, shops, chai stalls, and litter. as i rounded a corner and went over a bridge i was met by the spectacular sight of the large ramkund on the banks of the godavari river, one of the 7 (i think) rivers which are of great importance to the hindus. i have just sat here for a few minutes failing to put the feeling i had when i first saw it into words - hopefully this picture will give you an idea. i walked across, and took some photos of the temples i passed and some street scenes. everywhere you go in nasik there is a temple, shrine or other holy place. it is a very holy city as it features prominently in the hindu epic the ramayana as the place to which rama and sita were exiled to. after my walk around the teeming backstreets attracting stares everywhere i went i made my way down to the riverside and had a drink and cigarette. it was amazingly quiet there although the street was still very close by. a couple of teens came up and stared at me, so i waved and said namaste. the instant i did that they broke into big wide smiles and peppered me with questions asking me my name, where i was from etc. after that i found that if i waved and said hello the people would grin at me and do the same - maybe i would be ok after all.

i had some street food, a crazy potato and spinach deep fried ball of yum, and headed back to my room to plan the next day's trip to trimbak to see one of the 12 jyoti lingas. these are the holiest temples to hindus, they believe that by visiting all 12 they will be released from the eternal cycle of life and achieve freedom. i had kind of made the plan to do my best to see all 12 on my trip so i was quite excited about seeing one so early on. trimbak is a small village around 30 km away from nasik set in the hills and only reachable by local bus. little did i realise at the time but trimbak would make nasik seem like vienna.

i woke at 5:30 - my sleeping pattern is so very screwed up at the moment (as i write this it is 2am local time and not a whiff of tiredness.) as i lay there trying to sleep i wondered if i had made the right decision coming here, as i was so far away from my comfort zone. i spent a great deal of time thinking this over and decided that this was exactly the reason i was here. overcoming the fear i had felt in the afternoon on my walk around had felt so liberating, and the sense of relief and joy at seeing the grin on the boys' faces when i had waved and said hello was exhilarating. as long as i kept my wits about me and stayed calm i knew i would be ok. i left the hotel at 7am and found somewhere to grab some breakfast nearby. nasik in the early morning is very different to the hustle of late afternoon when i was out in it before. as the sun rose everything was in a steely grey light and very calm. it was quite chilly and i found that i was cold even though i was in long sleeves and trousers. there were lots of kids around, all very smartly dressed and heading off to school. the lane next to my hotel houses a couple families who lived in shacks, a few of the elder members sleeping outside on mats. as i watched the dawn from my window i saw a mother and her young daughter emerge from one, immaculately dressed and on their way to school. i saw a lot of bookstores the day before devoted entirely to educational books - "learn C++" "learn secretary skills" and so on. it seemed to me that a great deal of importance was placed on learning here - maybe this will be the case in all the cities i visit but i have nothing to compare it to so far. at around 7:30 the roads started to liven up and the noise of the day before started to return. i ate in the manas pure veg family restaurant, having an idili fry and a coffee. i have no idea what it was but it looked like a load of potato wedges, and i couldn't make out what it was by breaking them open or indeed by their taste (all i can say is they tasted of fried, if that makes sense?) for 30 Rs including the coffee i wasn't complaining!

after i had eaten i headed towards the bus stand, over the holkar bridge once again. i had a stunning view of the ramkund with the rising sun in the background. it really took my breath away and i took some time to stop and drink it all in - early morning worshippers coming down to the water's edge to bathe and wash away their sins. i got a bit lost on the way to the bus stand. i made the mistake of asking "is this the mg road?" rather than asking someone to point the way. not understanding and not wanting to offend, people would just smile and do the crazy head wobble thing they do here which means yes. being lost wasn't such a bad thing as i got to wander around the back streets and take some pictures without feeling like i was intruding on people's lives too much or being stared at. eventually i conceded defeat and grabbed a rikshaw to the bus stand.

the bus was everything i had expected it to be, basically a tin can on wheels with no suspension. the journey took 50 minutes through stunning countryside, small villages, and vineyards (this region has a microclimate very similar to the wine producing areas of the mediterranean) and cost 29Rs. when i got there i joined the throngs of pilgrims and made my way towards the temple. trimbak is a maze of markets, stalls, street food vendors, beggars, touts and open sewers. all the while i was there i felt slighly nauseous, the sweet smell of incense mixed with human faeces. an interesting combination to say the least. non-hindus are not permitted in the main temple so i took a few snaps of the outside and moved towards the gangadwar bathing tank where pilgrims come to bathe in the waters fresh from the source of the godavari. an immense feeling of calm came over me as i watched the procession of pilgrims immersing their bodies in the water, young and old, rich and poor. i felt priveliged to be able to witness what is an intensely personal religious experience, and i was hesitant to take pictures. a robed man saw me and came and offered me a cigarette. his name was piush and he was from gujurat. we spoke about the 12 jyoti lingas and he was very happy to hear of my intention to see them all. he said it was ok to take pictures, posing for one himself. as i made my way back to the main temple through one of the fresh produce markets a younger man came up to me, fresh from the tank. he looked invigorated, something about him seemed so alive, so fresh. we chatted awhile and then went our own way.

the bus trip back was uneventful and feeling tired i headed back to my hotel. when i awoke i was determined to see more of the city, especially the area around the ramkund in the full swing of the day. i was far too nervous the day before and the saraf and bhandi markets seemed way to scary. feeling a renewed sense of purpose following my trip that morning i went for it. and i am so glad that i did. i spent hours wandering, looking, talking, drinking chai, sitting, soaking up the atmosphere. it was a stunning experience, one i am certain i will carry with me for ever.

next on the list is aurangabad, to see the caves of ellora and ajanta, the fort at daulatabad, a mini taj mahal, and dinner with a local businessman his friends and some important politicians from the state of bihar.