Having stayed in Dwarka the next stop was in Somnath

Having stayed in Dwarka the next stop was in Somnath

Having stayed in Dwarka for close to six days, the next destination happened to be Somnath for which a readily available bus i could get access to on a Monday. Prabably i was at fault at not keeping the excitement quotient in check when i sighted the GSRTC bus heading towards Porbandar on Nov. 28th morning right after my exit from the third gate (Rabari gate) of Dwarka. THe consolation this time round was that the departure was not shadowed by looming arguments or someone going expansive on argumentative perch. Peace was running thick and the dwarka departure showing me the stage of a bliss.

Once inside the bus, it was teeming with numbers; still the realisation pretty strong that seat would come in due course if not a case of being readily pampered. But that was not the case to be as one co-passenger having raised his voice in alarming proportion for not getting the seat of his choice; this dislocating him to a place next to my luggage and the fury and anger drowning me was enough to shed this piece of journey and as i deboarded the bus at Harshad, the wait for the next transport began. Used this time to scale steps to Harsiddhi Mata temple. THe view from the top was amazing and if possible one should scale the steps to not only pay obeisance to the reigning deity but have the breathtaking view of the sea.

It were the two glasses of lassi in a space of half an hour and acts like this that occasionally set the raging debate on tummy's proclivity to go in a stage of disrepair (this followed late in the evening when i reached Rajkot) and how i fail to read the warning signals and yet let the eruption take its due proportion. Post lassi intake, the bus i sighted and boarded was the one headed for Porbandar; intersped with takes from others on how foolish i was in keeping the wallet in the front packet not realising the gravity of losing it all in one flat act. One had nothing good to talk about Porbandar, the region he hailed from; more upfront in his desire to paint it as a place where losing is rampant thereby letting others to go full throttle on their anger vent.

Once in POrbandar, decided to give a miss to a bus about to depart for Somnath and waited for the next one. Half an hour later got the desirable seat in the bus and was on the way to Somnath. Came across one Alli staying in Patan; he told me Alli is spelled with double l. At Patan deboarded the bus as it intended to go towards Diu. From the sample of interaction one could make out Alli to be a man of peace; describing in detail some city ride incidents that took place on roads. Further he went on to sketch details of his life, having been raised in Pattan and his daughter who is a lawyer.

In Patan took another transport to reach Somnath. Well it was late in the night and as against two in the morning i reached last time round, this time i was there well before nine had set in. Got into Somnath Trust Residential Quarters and stayed there for four days. Inducements were far and thick to take private lodges but i refused them point blank since a simple accommodation with an attached bath was all i desired . Perhaps with no tv around - watching tv on days can give you all sorts of ache - i had to have something up my sleeves to kill time. After Somnath Darshan, it was the search for tea and paper that took care of the idle time. On occasions the day ride to Veraval in search for a newspaper saw vendors like Girish probe further into my paper fascination (kya aapko paper ka shauk hai?). Interaction with Girish and others revealed that prior to their dislocation near the bus stand they were right across the road for years together and it was a decision thrust by the Trust. Hope the Trust would look into their grievances and do some justice as the likes of Girish had been selling their wares right across the road for ages before being dislocated to another place.

Somnath was great for the simplicity it brings on table and whatever view one could get during day or night of the sea was no less fantastic. Next to the Shiv shakti Restaurant & Parota House (Breakfast, South Indian, Pav Bhaji, Punjabi and Gujarati) is Dil Khush Chai, doodh coffee centre. Adjacent to that is one shop from where i used to take my water; sometimes it had the staff to attend to customers and sometimes none. Used to have the meals at Somnath Trust run bhojanalaya and the quality looked to be better than last time. Still advisable to be loyal to Somnath TRust rooms for their simplicity. Except for the tea which is prepared inside and on occasions the noise that filters in late at night there are no dearth of moments to cheer in Shiva's abode . It has been over three years since i tried chhas from Amul parlour; hope to catch on the next time .

On the final day i made a beeline to a village in Patan. Adjacent to the temple is the VIP Guest House. Few metres away is Annaporna Bhojanalaya Shiv Bhojanalaya. THen there is Mahila Mandal Sanchalit food joint offering breakfast, aloo paratha, methi paratha, jeera paratha & pooha. Adjacent to that is a shop (run by mother-daughter duo) from where one can collect honey, soaps & peanuts for their durability. Moved deep inside the village in search of mysore sandal soap and could not collect this time round; perhaps the daughter doing BBA was correct that mysore soaps are hard to get. As i left Somnath and was on the way to Veraval, the shared auto service came cheap and has enough momentum to carry a sizeable load.