Visiting Somnath temple
Having checked in Tanna Guest House in Somnath in Gujarat State in India run by Somnath Trust a little after 8.40 pm on a Saturday it was time to look for something to eat. During the course of my travel from Ahmedabad i availed two sets of veg toast sandwich which i collected from Kalapi restaurant before boarding the train to Somnath. The train ride has its share of hits and misses and meals offered by Honest Caterer in Ahmedabad Station is least palatable as the oil that is used leads to stomach upheaval. This i am telling you from last year's experience. In Ahmedabad Somnath Intercity train i meet Ms Gita old enough, 70 plus, but saddled with enough energy to carry her own baggage. In Somnath took biscuits from a store near Dilkush tea centre run by Mr Abbas and Mr Shoaib and Chamunda tea centre run by Narain bhai and his son. Perhaps the Amul store wasn't serving delicacies at that point of time.
Having taken two sets of black tea from Dilkush tea centre where i came across a group from Vadodra in Gujarat State i returned to my room and retired for the day. Next morning on a Sunday got ready and visited Somnath temple at 8 and stayed there till 3.15 pm, having participated in afternoon aarti. After returning from the temple had two sets of butter milk and coconut biscuits from Amul store where Mr Junaid was at the counter. Around 4.30 pm i had stomach irritation leading to a course where i settled for curd and curd alone to keep my stomach in order. Having not taken proper meals the entire day i craved for a state where stomach won't throw up again and i would be able to withstand the heat resurgence. On a Monday got up a little after 4.30 am and headed to Narain bhai run tea centre. Post tea i vacated the room in Tanna Guest House with Mr Raju the caretaker marking room vacated on the paper delivered by Somnath Trust and Mr Rajesh giving refund at Somnath Trust office counter. Unlike DElhi where three to four people would gather opposite your place of stay and create nuisance everyday, there was none of such nuisance in Somnath, both in Tanna Guest House and Hotel Radhe.
Checked in Hotel Radhe hoping against hope that searing heat won't nail me down. The room number 103 was on Ground Floor and that was enough to ensure the room would remain cool. Visited Somnath Temple later and came out after afternoon aarti. Took brunch comprising metthi paratha and two set of curd knowing fully well this would keep stomach steady and not stale. Here to be noted is Mr Mahesh of Radhe hotel working in pantry who was very helpful. Around 3.30 pm visited the Somnath Temple again and stayed there till 6 pm. There are no palatable eating joints in vicinity of Somnath Temple and this is one area where work should begin in the right earnest. On Monday evening visited VIP Guest House to hand over Lord Govinda's pictures to Mr Bharat Ghadiya and in his absence it was perhaps Mr Mayur who took the pictures. Tuesday again i visited Somnath temple having participated in afternoon and evening aarti. During the course of the day visited Prabhas Patan and met Mr Ali Ahmed bhai of Sabri store and handed over laminated picture of Lord Govinda (Lord Venkateswara). In Somnath Temple at the merchandise store handed Lord Govinda pictures one to Mr Suresh bhai and another to other person. In Hotel Radhe meet Mr Rahul Mr Mahesh (pantry), Mr Javed, Mr Sunny and Kadi ben. In Somnath meet two boys from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh State with whom i discuss about my trip to Ujjain and Omkareshwar in the month of February. Meet Mr Kumar and Mr Anand from Coimbatore. They Took flight from Coimbatore to Delhi, Delhi to Ahmedabad and from Ahmedabad took train to Somnath. As for Air India Airlines direct connectivity from Delhi to Rajkot, the 9000 and upwards fares even one week before boarding the flight doesn't cut much ice; there is a reigning need for airlines like Vistara and Go Air to step in.
I visited on two different occasions Sri Somnath Maheshwari Bhawan which has a functioning ATM. Meet Mr Jatin bhai from Rajkot who gave class 10 exam. Meet Mr Vijay bhai selling Lord's pictures near Narain bhai's tea centre. In Somnath the surge in the heat and with breeze blowing it made for a mixed picture. Here not to be missed is the point that one should have elaborate meals if one intends to stay in Somnath Temple for long. In Somnath Temple the necessity of having/installing boards at different places of "Observe Silence" is quite strong. Those reciting prayers for long at least for their sake the commotion cruise should be halted and silence should be maintained upfront in the temple premises. The stay in Somnath saw me witness a weather with a hot template mirroring a footfall that was up and moderate with not to be missed observation that vegetable market was all but gone. For taking bananas i had to visit Prabhas Patan where a lone lady or man could be seen selling fruits.
Best time to visit August to March
Somnath notes can't be complete without a reminder that best time to visit the place is August to March, with those intending to visit beyond these months should restrict it to one day. New sets of shops have taken position in Shree Somnath Shopping Centre with none on fruits and vegetables, not inescapable the non existent phone booth. Shree Somnath Trust Sanchalit Alpahar offers food but its quality is debatable. Mr Qasim bhai who has a store next to Mr Ali Ahmed bhai's store was kind enough to call Mr Ali Ahmed bhai from his residence. The stay in Somnath was for three days with enough trace of a longing with the lord; the approach to the temple had two layers of security perhaps remindful of the fact that challenges to security can emanate from any quarter. In Somnath i had the opportunity to visit the Old Somnath temple near Amul Store.
The reigning request would always be to maintain silence inside the temple; the private security guards need to be a little more benevolent instead of pushing the devotees here and there, the high point of temple affiliation are the three aartis during course of the day. Somnath Temple would stay and sail even in challenging times it won't show any imprints of frail. The Dwarkadhish temple in Dwarka in Gujarat is more than 5,000 years old and it looks rocksolid and there is no reason to believe the Somnath Temple won't have remnants of the same template.
Having checked in Tanna Guest House in Somnath in Gujarat State in India run by Somnath Trust a little after 8.40 pm on a Saturday it was time to look for something to eat. During the course of my travel from Ahmedabad i availed two sets of veg toast sandwich which i collected from Kalapi restaurant before boarding the train to Somnath. The train ride has its share of hits and misses and meals offered by Honest Caterer in Ahmedabad Station is least palatable as the oil that is used leads to stomach upheaval. This i am telling you from last year's experience. In Ahmedabad Somnath Intercity train i meet Ms Gita old enough, 70 plus, but saddled with enough energy to carry her own baggage. In Somnath took biscuits from a store near Dilkush tea centre run by Mr Abbas and Mr Shoaib and Chamunda tea centre run by Narain bhai and his son. Perhaps the Amul store wasn't serving delicacies at that point of time.
Having taken two sets of black tea from Dilkush tea centre where i came across a group from Vadodra in Gujarat State i returned to my room and retired for the day. Next morning on a Sunday got ready and visited Somnath temple at 8 and stayed there till 3.15 pm, having participated in afternoon aarti. After returning from the temple had two sets of butter milk and coconut biscuits from Amul store where Mr Junaid was at the counter. Around 4.30 pm i had stomach irritation leading to a course where i settled for curd and curd alone to keep my stomach in order. Having not taken proper meals the entire day i craved for a state where stomach won't throw up again and i would be able to withstand the heat resurgence. On a Monday got up a little after 4.30 am and headed to Narain bhai run tea centre. Post tea i vacated the room in Tanna Guest House with Mr Raju the caretaker marking room vacated on the paper delivered by Somnath Trust and Mr Rajesh giving refund at Somnath Trust office counter. Unlike DElhi where three to four people would gather opposite your place of stay and create nuisance everyday, there was none of such nuisance in Somnath, both in Tanna Guest House and Hotel Radhe.
Checked in Hotel Radhe hoping against hope that searing heat won't nail me down. The room number 103 was on Ground Floor and that was enough to ensure the room would remain cool. Visited Somnath Temple later and came out after afternoon aarti. Took brunch comprising metthi paratha and two set of curd knowing fully well this would keep stomach steady and not stale. Here to be noted is Mr Mahesh of Radhe hotel working in pantry who was very helpful. Around 3.30 pm visited the Somnath Temple again and stayed there till 6 pm. There are no palatable eating joints in vicinity of Somnath Temple and this is one area where work should begin in the right earnest. On Monday evening visited VIP Guest House to hand over Lord Govinda's pictures to Mr Bharat Ghadiya and in his absence it was perhaps Mr Mayur who took the pictures. Tuesday again i visited Somnath temple having participated in afternoon and evening aarti. During the course of the day visited Prabhas Patan and met Mr Ali Ahmed bhai of Sabri store and handed over laminated picture of Lord Govinda (Lord Venkateswara). In Somnath Temple at the merchandise store handed Lord Govinda pictures one to Mr Suresh bhai and another to other person. In Hotel Radhe meet Mr Rahul Mr Mahesh (pantry), Mr Javed, Mr Sunny and Kadi ben. In Somnath meet two boys from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh State with whom i discuss about my trip to Ujjain and Omkareshwar in the month of February. Meet Mr Kumar and Mr Anand from Coimbatore. They Took flight from Coimbatore to Delhi, Delhi to Ahmedabad and from Ahmedabad took train to Somnath. As for Air India Airlines direct connectivity from Delhi to Rajkot, the 9000 and upwards fares even one week before boarding the flight doesn't cut much ice; there is a reigning need for airlines like Vistara and Go Air to step in.
I visited on two different occasions Sri Somnath Maheshwari Bhawan which has a functioning ATM. Meet Mr Jatin bhai from Rajkot who gave class 10 exam. Meet Mr Vijay bhai selling Lord's pictures near Narain bhai's tea centre. In Somnath the surge in the heat and with breeze blowing it made for a mixed picture. Here not to be missed is the point that one should have elaborate meals if one intends to stay in Somnath Temple for long. In Somnath Temple the necessity of having/installing boards at different places of "Observe Silence" is quite strong. Those reciting prayers for long at least for their sake the commotion cruise should be halted and silence should be maintained upfront in the temple premises. The stay in Somnath saw me witness a weather with a hot template mirroring a footfall that was up and moderate with not to be missed observation that vegetable market was all but gone. For taking bananas i had to visit Prabhas Patan where a lone lady or man could be seen selling fruits.
Best time to visit August to March
Somnath notes can't be complete without a reminder that best time to visit the place is August to March, with those intending to visit beyond these months should restrict it to one day. New sets of shops have taken position in Shree Somnath Shopping Centre with none on fruits and vegetables, not inescapable the non existent phone booth. Shree Somnath Trust Sanchalit Alpahar offers food but its quality is debatable. Mr Qasim bhai who has a store next to Mr Ali Ahmed bhai's store was kind enough to call Mr Ali Ahmed bhai from his residence. The stay in Somnath was for three days with enough trace of a longing with the lord; the approach to the temple had two layers of security perhaps remindful of the fact that challenges to security can emanate from any quarter. In Somnath i had the opportunity to visit the Old Somnath temple near Amul Store.
The reigning request would always be to maintain silence inside the temple; the private security guards need to be a little more benevolent instead of pushing the devotees here and there, the high point of temple affiliation are the three aartis during course of the day. Somnath Temple would stay and sail even in challenging times it won't show any imprints of frail. The Dwarkadhish temple in Dwarka in Gujarat is more than 5,000 years old and it looks rocksolid and there is no reason to believe the Somnath Temple won't have remnants of the same template.
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