Changes seen in Somnath, Gujarat

Changes seen in Somnath


The previous story on Somnath tried to look at the arrangements in and around the temple and suggested areas where improvisation could be undertaken. With a stay of three days, the attempt to seek an extension was not possible given the rush that Somnath trust run guest houses were seeing. Here one should be careful enough and lay stress on a room in old guest house as it comes for 350 rs and are spacious enough. You are lucky enough if you can get a room in the blocks that are adjacent to the somnath trust run bhojanalaya. The day i reached and waited for a room, i was amidst some who were prefering to reserve rooms in the new guest house that had recently come up. If i was not mistaken, there was a family comprising over five members and they had booked probably two to three rooms in the new airconditioned guest house and had paid 7400rs . Probably for each room the tariff may have been 1500 plus for a day with a sizeable surety. It could even be higher given the plush surroundings the rooms may have come up against in the new guest house.

The gentleman who had come to book the rooms wanted to be doubly sure that ac rooms were being given to him and in response the trust people assured him of double airconditioning. The thought that could have crossed many would be the rationale for seeking such plush rooms in Somnath. There have been airconditioned rooms in the old guest house which came for 400 rs in 2007. Perhaps the ac rooms in the old guest house have been dispensed with and the ac facility comes in new guest house. As for Somnath trust personnel, handling the guest house room responsibility, some among them need to uplift their conduct.  Hope more mature conduct is visible.

Apart from visiting the temple and roundabout the stay in Somnath saw me search for a cyber cafe which i discovered in Prabhas Patan. This is the only cyber cafe in the entire area and for other option one has to go all the way to Veraval. As for mysore sandal soap the search was exhaustive and in stores in Veraval some could be gained with no stores keeping the said soap in Somnath. As for one change from last time, it has been the attempt to keep photographers from functioning right opposite the temple.Photographers who used to take pictures a few metres away from the temple have been clearly told  to stay away from the entry/exit gate and park themselves near the amul parlour. This has affected their trade and perhaps a meeting of mind between trust people and photographers could bring the desired results.

Reservation centre but no phone booths
Shree Somnath shopping centre has new signboards and some new shops. More merchandise stores have come up. Absence of std/pco booth in the shopping centre has been hampering the smooth movement of devotees and others. Second there are no vegetable/fruit vendors in the shopping centre either. The shopping centre boasts of more tea outlets but no phone booth options. One of the major improvements from the past has been the functioning of computerised railway reservation centre (functioning from 8 to 2pm).

Meals from Somnath trust bhojanalaya
Meals from Somnath trust run bhojanalaya was hearty and an experience not to forget. Coming for 25rs, the standard was more than satisfactory. On the last day i could not take the meals as the rush was huge.
Somnath post office is located next to a dharamsala and a visit to the same is a must for postcards and other postal activities. The staff is helpful and the premises neat. Though small but it handles the expectations of customers quite well. As for the st bus stand it is in urgent need of a facelift.  The solitary guard at the somnath st bus stand in the night is quite exhausted and old. Perhaps a breathing space by putting him on a rotation and giving him the desired rest would be handy for the security of the bus stand as well.
Hotel Shivam ( near Somnath Temple)and the old man running it was very helpful. Hope to meet him in future.


In Prabhas Patan:
- annapurna bhojanalaya
- mahila chalit prakash nasta griha
- aryan gents parlour
- shivam provision
- shri somnath mart
- std booth
- ram medical stores
- nk provision store
- neel deep chemist
- abc medical store
- sabri store (staff here is very helpful)
In Veraval (for mysore sandal soap)
- madhyam pan and cold drink
-  neel kamal

All in all Somnath was a wonderful place to stay.