Leaving Somnath; Reaching Dwarkadish; Leaving for Nageshwar, Okha; the real gems
After staying for two days in Tanna Guest House of Somnath Trust i decide to shift to Shyam Guest House on Jain Derasar road in Somnath. Mr Wasim of Shyam Guest House repeatedly persuades me to take a well furnished room for two days. Hail an auto driven by Mr Altaf and reach Shyam Guest House on a Sunday. After getting ready head to Somnath temple. In the afternoon head to Bhabha restaurant to take meals. In the evening head to Veraval to do a story from Cyber Town (the Digital Online Hub) run by Mr Jaydeep C. Chauhan. Mr Chauhan is kind enough to lend his laptop. He is very humble and i extend my best wishes to him.
Sightings in Somnath
On way to Prabhas Patan
- Way to Shree Somnath Trust VIP Guest House and Sagar Darshan Atithi Bhavan
All sea facing room
- Raj restaurant Chinese, South Indian
- Gajanand Guest House
- Hotel Metro
Samrat restaurant ghar jaisa khana (Home Food)
- Nandi hotel
- Hotel Shiv Darshan
- Bhola Guest House
- Sagar general store
- Raunaq ladies wear
- Sheetal ice cream
- Shivam Provision
- Santosh Tea Stall
- V L Shah Dharamshala
- Mira Enterprise
- Gokul Dairy farm
- Shraddha beauty parlour
- Shiv Shakti kirana bhandar
- Nikunj Digital Studio
- Vivo Jayant Telecom. Here AC is very effective
- Prince Jewellers
- The cool
- Ashrat traders
- Neeldeep chemist
- Sabri medical store Here i Meet Mr Yaseen
- Sabri store Here i meet Mr Ali Ahmed bhai whom i could not meet on previous occasion as he had to attend Urs in Surat.
Meet Mr Anant Rai H Mehta from Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Coming from Dwarka to Somnath and from here expected to go to Diu and from Diu the travel time to Ahmedabad (all places in Gujarat) i am told is 11 hours. I also happen to meet Mr Srinivas who has done his studies from IIT Madras and at presence working in Reliance Refinery in Jamnagar. The other day Mr Dharmesh bhai was willing to give lift to Shyam guest house which i politely declined.
Monday after taking tea from Mr Narain bhai run tea centre i return to Shyam Guest House to get ready. Participating in afternoon aarti is followed by taking meals from Bhabha restaurant. The search for Mysore Sandal Soap takes me to different shops with none in a position to give out even one pack. In the evening meet Mr Suresh bhai of Somnath Trust who is kind enough to hand me laminated pictures of Lord Somnath. A little after 8.30 pm leave Shyam Guest House for Somnath railway station. Meet Mr Jayesh bhai of Jalaram store near SBI ATM who is able to recall the laminated picture of Lord Venkateswara i gave to him in December 2015 when i visited Gujarat. In Somnath railway station there is a big clock right up there which one won't find hard to notice. There is a waiting room for ladies. The general waiting room has fewer occupants as it has offensive odour. The taps from where one can collect cold drinking water is in a hall which too is soiled. These aberrations apart, the station is neat and clean. While waiting for train which will depart at 10.30 from Platform One, i begin to have grapes which are in abundance in Somnath and beyond. They are fresh and entire stock comes from Nashik in Maharashtra State.
Repeated announcement about train to Dwarka; meeting a group from Silchar in Assam State
There is repeated announcement about the train meant for Dwarka pulling in the station and one need not board unless it has come to a complete halt. Leave Somnath at 10.37 pm. Some time in the night Rajkot comes. Semi fertile land at 7.20 am. Bhatiya comes at 8.07 and Dwarka 9.07. In the train come across a group from Silchar in Assam who talk about train connectivity from the city of Delhi to Northeast India. The group comprises among other people Mr Bimal Kumar Malakar and Mr Arun Kumar Seal. Mr Malakar has taken VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme)and in his place his son has been absorbed in railways whereas Mr Seal continues to work in railways. Not to miss the important role played by pointsman and other staff members in railways which forms core of our discussions. In Somnath they stayed in Bharat Seva Sangh Ashram. They too are headed towards Dwarkadish. For return journey they would take a train from Dwarka at 2 pm on Friday and reach Guwahati on Monday at 6 am. Right from there the ride to Silchar would take six hrs.
There is another family from Gwalior in the train whose daughter Divya studying in class 12 has developed vomiting tendency given the stale food she had in one of the restaurants. One has to be extra cautious while taking food and water when one steps out of home.
On a Tuesday from Dwarka station i head to Balaji Bhawan. After checking in the room i head to Krishna Vijay tea centre where i meet Mr Batuk bhai and Mr Shyam bhai. After taking three to four cups of black tea which they dish out with comfortable ease i get ready to go to Nageshwar temple. I hail an auto driven by one who probably goes by the name Mr Gorung. Leave for Nageshwar from Dwarka at 11.40 am, reach Nageshwar at 12.17. Here in Nageshwar i come across Mr Rajkumar Gautam looking after temple security and he is very helpful. I get phone numbers of Mr Jitu bhai the photographer and Shivam studio. Having spent considerable time in and around the temple i leave from Nageshwar at 1.45 and reach Dwarka at 2.20. Covering a distance of nearly 40 kms and being at my service for almost three hours i have to shell out a little over 300 rs and that looks reasonable.
Leaving for Okha the same Tuesday
The bus from Dwarka to Okha leaves at 4.32 pm. Meet Mr Kushang Acharya a class 10th student of DAV school, Mithapur.
At 4.39 comes Varvaa and here i sight Ambassador car bearing Gujarat number GJ 9719
At 4.43 Okha 23 kms away. We are on State Highway 25.
At 4.52 Okha is 14kms away
At 4.54 comes railway crossing
Going past Tata Chemicals Ltd Mithapur.
At 5.00 going past Janta restaurant, Keval computers
At 5.04 Udhyognagar At 5.07 Naval Park
Meet Mr Suresh bhai who conducts group tours. According to Mr Suresh bhai a group at present is covering 11 Jyotirlingas in the country by bus. The 12th Jyotirlinga Kedarnath would open up in summers. The duration of the tour is 35 days with each person supposed to shell out Rs 28,000. Mr Suresh bhai tells me the area before Okha has huge bauxite reserves for making aluminium.
At 5.13 Office Area proceed slowly
At 5.15 we are in Byet Dwarka Jetty
Okha nagar palika sabhi yatriyo ka swagat karta hai
kripya swatchh rakhe (Okha Municipal Council welcomes all tourists. Please maintain cleanliness)
At 5.16 National Coastal Security Academy
From Okha railway station Mr Zala Jaswant gives lift and i am in Okha sea shore at 5.18. I am visiting Okha sea shore after six years. The new addition is coming up of barricades at some places.
Later Mr Narsi bhai kasta gives lift .
Visit Om Kaleshwar Mahadev Mandir (Shiva temple) across railway tracks. There is recitation of maha mrityunjaya mantra inside temple. Later meet Mr Kada bhai of Shiv tea centre. Here i come across Mr Mansuk working in indian railways. Later i meet Mr Baluba again running a tea centre. I hand over laminated pictures of Lord Venkateswara to Mr Kada bhai and Mr Baluba. Incidentally, i met both gentlemen in 2015 when i visited Okha.
In Okha station come across reservation, current reservation and enquiry counters. The station is neat and clean to the last mile. There is Saurashtra Mail stationed there which carries passengers to Mumbai everyday.
Take a share taxi GJ 08V 6082 from Okha at 6.45 driven by Mr Jagdish bhai who is very alert and cooperative. In the taxi come across Ms Naseem and Ms Habiba among other members from minority section (Muslims). They have discontinued their studies. Their father who is an engineer works in the Middle East. They deboard well before Dwarka. Reach Dwarka at 7.35pm. Take dinner from Annapoorna Bhojanalaya. Tuesday was a hectic day with a packed schedule that saw me not only going to Balaji Bhawan from Railway Station, Nageshwar from Dwarka and even going to Okha from Dwarka. The people by and large were simple and true to their commitments. The sets of black tea from Krishna Vijay Tea Centre in Dwarka and Kada bhai Tea Centre in Okha were handy. The weather was not hostile ; the ride was with fewer hiccups and people were in no mood to spell out the length of river called Nile. The Gujarat State least to be disillusioned by different communities presence; they all living under same roof gives them a sense of pride and showcases them as real gems.
After staying for two days in Tanna Guest House of Somnath Trust i decide to shift to Shyam Guest House on Jain Derasar road in Somnath. Mr Wasim of Shyam Guest House repeatedly persuades me to take a well furnished room for two days. Hail an auto driven by Mr Altaf and reach Shyam Guest House on a Sunday. After getting ready head to Somnath temple. In the afternoon head to Bhabha restaurant to take meals. In the evening head to Veraval to do a story from Cyber Town (the Digital Online Hub) run by Mr Jaydeep C. Chauhan. Mr Chauhan is kind enough to lend his laptop. He is very humble and i extend my best wishes to him.
Sightings in Somnath
On way to Prabhas Patan
- Way to Shree Somnath Trust VIP Guest House and Sagar Darshan Atithi Bhavan
All sea facing room
- Raj restaurant Chinese, South Indian
- Gajanand Guest House
- Hotel Metro
Samrat restaurant ghar jaisa khana (Home Food)
- Nandi hotel
- Hotel Shiv Darshan
- Bhola Guest House
- Sagar general store
- Raunaq ladies wear
- Sheetal ice cream
- Shivam Provision
- Santosh Tea Stall
- V L Shah Dharamshala
- Mira Enterprise
- Gokul Dairy farm
- Shraddha beauty parlour
- Shiv Shakti kirana bhandar
- Nikunj Digital Studio
- Vivo Jayant Telecom. Here AC is very effective
- Prince Jewellers
- The cool
- Ashrat traders
- Neeldeep chemist
- Sabri medical store Here i Meet Mr Yaseen
- Sabri store Here i meet Mr Ali Ahmed bhai whom i could not meet on previous occasion as he had to attend Urs in Surat.
Meet Mr Anant Rai H Mehta from Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Coming from Dwarka to Somnath and from here expected to go to Diu and from Diu the travel time to Ahmedabad (all places in Gujarat) i am told is 11 hours. I also happen to meet Mr Srinivas who has done his studies from IIT Madras and at presence working in Reliance Refinery in Jamnagar. The other day Mr Dharmesh bhai was willing to give lift to Shyam guest house which i politely declined.
Monday after taking tea from Mr Narain bhai run tea centre i return to Shyam Guest House to get ready. Participating in afternoon aarti is followed by taking meals from Bhabha restaurant. The search for Mysore Sandal Soap takes me to different shops with none in a position to give out even one pack. In the evening meet Mr Suresh bhai of Somnath Trust who is kind enough to hand me laminated pictures of Lord Somnath. A little after 8.30 pm leave Shyam Guest House for Somnath railway station. Meet Mr Jayesh bhai of Jalaram store near SBI ATM who is able to recall the laminated picture of Lord Venkateswara i gave to him in December 2015 when i visited Gujarat. In Somnath railway station there is a big clock right up there which one won't find hard to notice. There is a waiting room for ladies. The general waiting room has fewer occupants as it has offensive odour. The taps from where one can collect cold drinking water is in a hall which too is soiled. These aberrations apart, the station is neat and clean. While waiting for train which will depart at 10.30 from Platform One, i begin to have grapes which are in abundance in Somnath and beyond. They are fresh and entire stock comes from Nashik in Maharashtra State.
Repeated announcement about train to Dwarka; meeting a group from Silchar in Assam State
There is repeated announcement about the train meant for Dwarka pulling in the station and one need not board unless it has come to a complete halt. Leave Somnath at 10.37 pm. Some time in the night Rajkot comes. Semi fertile land at 7.20 am. Bhatiya comes at 8.07 and Dwarka 9.07. In the train come across a group from Silchar in Assam who talk about train connectivity from the city of Delhi to Northeast India. The group comprises among other people Mr Bimal Kumar Malakar and Mr Arun Kumar Seal. Mr Malakar has taken VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme)and in his place his son has been absorbed in railways whereas Mr Seal continues to work in railways. Not to miss the important role played by pointsman and other staff members in railways which forms core of our discussions. In Somnath they stayed in Bharat Seva Sangh Ashram. They too are headed towards Dwarkadish. For return journey they would take a train from Dwarka at 2 pm on Friday and reach Guwahati on Monday at 6 am. Right from there the ride to Silchar would take six hrs.
There is another family from Gwalior in the train whose daughter Divya studying in class 12 has developed vomiting tendency given the stale food she had in one of the restaurants. One has to be extra cautious while taking food and water when one steps out of home.
On a Tuesday from Dwarka station i head to Balaji Bhawan. After checking in the room i head to Krishna Vijay tea centre where i meet Mr Batuk bhai and Mr Shyam bhai. After taking three to four cups of black tea which they dish out with comfortable ease i get ready to go to Nageshwar temple. I hail an auto driven by one who probably goes by the name Mr Gorung. Leave for Nageshwar from Dwarka at 11.40 am, reach Nageshwar at 12.17. Here in Nageshwar i come across Mr Rajkumar Gautam looking after temple security and he is very helpful. I get phone numbers of Mr Jitu bhai the photographer and Shivam studio. Having spent considerable time in and around the temple i leave from Nageshwar at 1.45 and reach Dwarka at 2.20. Covering a distance of nearly 40 kms and being at my service for almost three hours i have to shell out a little over 300 rs and that looks reasonable.
Leaving for Okha the same Tuesday
The bus from Dwarka to Okha leaves at 4.32 pm. Meet Mr Kushang Acharya a class 10th student of DAV school, Mithapur.
At 4.39 comes Varvaa and here i sight Ambassador car bearing Gujarat number GJ 9719
At 4.43 Okha 23 kms away. We are on State Highway 25.
At 4.52 Okha is 14kms away
At 4.54 comes railway crossing
Going past Tata Chemicals Ltd Mithapur.
At 5.00 going past Janta restaurant, Keval computers
At 5.04 Udhyognagar At 5.07 Naval Park
Meet Mr Suresh bhai who conducts group tours. According to Mr Suresh bhai a group at present is covering 11 Jyotirlingas in the country by bus. The 12th Jyotirlinga Kedarnath would open up in summers. The duration of the tour is 35 days with each person supposed to shell out Rs 28,000. Mr Suresh bhai tells me the area before Okha has huge bauxite reserves for making aluminium.
At 5.13 Office Area proceed slowly
At 5.15 we are in Byet Dwarka Jetty
Okha nagar palika sabhi yatriyo ka swagat karta hai
kripya swatchh rakhe (Okha Municipal Council welcomes all tourists. Please maintain cleanliness)
At 5.16 National Coastal Security Academy
From Okha railway station Mr Zala Jaswant gives lift and i am in Okha sea shore at 5.18. I am visiting Okha sea shore after six years. The new addition is coming up of barricades at some places.
Later Mr Narsi bhai kasta gives lift .
Visit Om Kaleshwar Mahadev Mandir (Shiva temple) across railway tracks. There is recitation of maha mrityunjaya mantra inside temple. Later meet Mr Kada bhai of Shiv tea centre. Here i come across Mr Mansuk working in indian railways. Later i meet Mr Baluba again running a tea centre. I hand over laminated pictures of Lord Venkateswara to Mr Kada bhai and Mr Baluba. Incidentally, i met both gentlemen in 2015 when i visited Okha.
In Okha station come across reservation, current reservation and enquiry counters. The station is neat and clean to the last mile. There is Saurashtra Mail stationed there which carries passengers to Mumbai everyday.
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