Just once awhile I get the chance to travel places, and I try to
make sure there's always something new I learn, something I bring back.. hardly
ever something palpable!
Mathura lied en route a recent trip. It isn't a very
attractive tourist spot, but there was something about that part that
caught my attention..
the Idgah mosque next to the Krishna Janma-bhoomi mandir- the
latter is what Mathura is renowned for, the place where our beloved maakhan-chor was
born..
 |
| not that scenic.. |
Mathura, no matter how important a place it may be in Hindu
religious history, is still one of the many dishearteningly unkempt places in
Uttar Pradesh. Brushed up roads and ad-hoc shops alongside, with little children
tagging along, trying to make some sales of beads and idols- the place is torn
between classic India and frequent visits from firangs. I
believe ISKCON has to be thanked for its contribution in the form of a growing
number of devotees, both at home and abroad. Outside the area of the janma-bhoomi, the
lofty buildings still carry remnants from the times of the kings- intricately
carved windows and balconies with stone jaali, red
sandstone walls with domed tops and what not.. it seems
insignificant, but we may (and would) never find out the stories of the people
who once inhabited these..
But moving towards the main area, shops and vendors cover up the
street sides to an extent that one wouldn't imagine that at some point in
history, this formed an important trade center, and a proud Yadava king might
have taken his colorfully ornate tableau along that very street, with trumpets
and drums announcing him, and his subjects bowing courteously at the sight of
the Majesty.. *long thought*
another antiquity is a grand lake with elaborate steps on four
sides- which must have formed the city center at some time. It was surprising
to see that people hardly cared about the lake. It just sat there and spoke of
history. I couldn't take a pic of it, the camera had to be left up in the bus.
There were drain pipes at some depth down, wonder what time they belong to..
should've photographed it.
Inside the temple, the scene has lost its sanctity in most
part, for people who visit look more like, and are, tourists. An incredible
part was some old ladies sitting around a khol being played
and singing devotional songs.. the strength and effectiveness of untrained
vocals! One finds an ill-beseeming number of daan petis (donation/offering
boxes) placed strategically around the temple. The main temple complex is
admittedly very beautifully and grandly kept. And as has been the Hindu way of
holy places, a large number of other gods find their shrines and
associated daan petis around the temple. A falsely
crafted gufa charges a mere 3 Rupees for a person to explore
scenes from Krishna's childhood. Then there's always the quaintly co-existing
and separated-by-barbed-wires mosque nearby.
Mathura ke pethe are undeniably the
best (and something palpable to bring back) :)
I bet there's a lot I have missed- the banks of the river
Yamuna, Vrindavan and Gokul, the stories that still find themselves
scattered in the little villages.. but that's another trip!
