Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Gangotri Dham, Uttarakhand in Himalayas !

Bhagirathi at Gangotri, Coming from Gomukh

        Uttarakhand is truly called "Devbhoomi", I felt it when visited there in the last decade. Situated in the southern part of the Himalayas it is the abode of many important Hindu temples, the origin place of famous rivers and confluences of rivers. Of the many religious places, visit to four of them are called "The Char Dham Yatra of Uttarakhand". These four places are:--

1. Yamunotri Dham -The place from where River Yamuna originates.

2. Gangotri Dham -The place from where the River Ganga originates.

3. Kedarnath Dham - One of the twelve "Jyotirlingas" and Famous Shiva temple near river Mandakini. 

Before the holy trip, we took
 a dip in Ganga at Haridwar

4. Badrinath Dham - Famous "Vishnu" Temple near the river "Alaknanda" and one of the four "Dhams" (Jagannath Puri Dham, Rameshwaram Dham, Dwarka Dham and Badrinath Dham) located in the four corners of India. 

 Other important religious places in Uttarakhand are Haridwar, Rishikesh, and Dev Prayag. At Dev Prayag is the confluence of rivers Bhagirathi and Alaknanda. In addition to these, there are "Panch Prayag" (Five confluences including Devprayag), Panch Kedar (Five temples of Shiva named Kedarnath, including the above-mentioned Kedarnath Dham), and Panch Badri (Five temples of Vishnu named Badrinath, including above mentioned Badrinath Dham). Many other religious places and these famous "Dhams" alongwith holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna truly make Uttarakhand "Dev Bhoomi" (The land of Gods).
A small town on the hill slope
enroute Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand
 

My mother had earlier visited two of the four main Dhams, Jagannath Puri Dham and Rameshwaram Dham. She had a wish to complete the rest of the two Dhams visits, Dwarkadhish Dham and Badrinath Dham. Though she wanted to visit Dwarka first when some of my relatives came back from Badrinath and Kedarnath Dham and described their pleasant journey, I decided to visit Badrinath Dham first. From them, I came to know about "The Char Dham Yatra" of Uttarakhand. But after a lot of thinking we finalized that out of these four, we would not go to Yamunotri because it required about 14 km on foot / horse-ride journey. We had time constraints and could not afford to exhaust my old mother. Kedarnath Dham was also a difficult journey but it was an equally important religious place. This Shiva-linga being one of the twelve "Jyotirlingas", we could not miss this opportunity. The road to Gangotri dham was motor-able so we decided to visit there too. We decided to visit first the Gangotri Dham then to Kedarnath Dham and finally to Badrinath Dham. Though many travel companies offer package tours for these visits, but I decided to travel by rented car because it gives one sufficient time to enjoy
Milky water of a stream meeting
the Bhagirathi River between Uttarkashi and
Gangotri- Simply fascinating
the scenes and move according to will. 

          That year the doors of Badrinath Dham had opened in the first week of May and on the very first day, Mr Anil Ambani had visited there. Our journey started in the second week of May. We four persons, my mother, wife, daughter, and me, set on a "Chevrolet Tavera" vehicle from Faridabad, NCR very early in the morning. By noon we reached Haridwar. Since we were on a holy trip, we all took dips in Ganga here. Next in Rishikesh, we had to wait for half an hour since the driver had to complete some formalities of registration. From here the journey began on the hilly roads and the topography changed completely. The roads have been made by cutting the hill slopes. So on one side of the road, only the high mountain side is visible and on the other deep downhill slope full of forest and mostly some hilly rivers can be seen. The scene all around is lovely. There were many very small springs of water coming to the road from the uphill side. The population was very thin. Some villages along the road had very few houses visible, that too at different levels. I think people in these villages will naturally be fit and healthy because the difference in levels certainly consumes more energy from the body in moving from place to place. No need for morning or evening walks. Due to the nonavailability of plain land, these people utilize whatever land is available by step farming. 
First view of a snow-capped peak en route Gangotri
 that filled us with instant joy

We had never visited the Himalayas before. It was like a new world for us people living in plain areas. By the afternoon, the summer days of NCR had changed to pleasant days like September in these hills. We stopped three or four times for snacks, refreshments, or meals. By the evening we reached Uttarkashi which was like some small town and the holy river Bhagirathi flowed through the middle of it. Lovely place. 

           That was the time before I had started using the internet on a full scale. I had never tried online booking of hotels and we reached here without a hotel booking. As the evening descended we felt that such a town would not come soon on our onward journey, so a search for a hotel began. But we could not find a suitable one and the other end of the town got near. Just as we were thinking of searching back in the town, we saw a hotel named "Vijay Raj". There was space for Parking of vehicles in front of the hotel and the hotel itself looked clean. We asked for a room and they said that rooms were available. I saw the room that was on the first floor. The room and toilet were clean and affordable too. Later, we realized that since we had started our journey early in the season, tourists were comparatively fewer in number and we got rooms without prior bookings.
Bhagirathi Ghat and the other side of the river
at Gangotri, Uttarakhand

           All the day we had traveled about 425 km. Exhausted and hungry we took our meal and went to bed. The night was somewhat cold like February days. We had a good sleep and awoke early in the morning to get ready. When I came out of the room. the scene behind the hotel was lovely. We had not noticed last evening that there was a high hill very near to the hotel and on the misty morning, it looked wonderful.

            By 8 AM we came down near the counter to check out. After payment, the counter staff gave me a leaflet which was an advertisement for his hotel and information about the "Journey of four Dhams". Luckily there was a road map of the region showing different routes of four "Dhams". Later this map proved to be very helpful when we got back from Gangotri and set on for Kedar and Badri Dhams.  

            We came to near our vehicle, the driver too was ready but he had done a mistake. Last night before going to bed he had locked the gear rod for the safety of the vehicle. It was a push lock and needed a key only to open it. The driver had thought that its key was in his bunch of keys but in the morning while trying to open it he realized that the required key was not there. He tried other keys from other vehicles parked but of no use. He rang the vehicle owner back in Faridabad who said that the key was with him only. He advised the driver that if it does not open with other keys, try to break the the lock by hammering. More than half an hour passed, and other drivers and the hotel staff gathered to advise and help. Ultimately it had to be break opened by hammering. Relieved, we sat in the vehicle and started our onward journey to Gangotri. 

 
Awesome view from Bhagirathi Ghat at Gangotri,
Uttrakhand. It is a thin river with
water laden with eroded soil
      The day was sunny, weather pleasant but the road ahead was not in best of its condition. On the left was nearly vertical face of the mountain and on the right was the holy river Bhagirathi flowing 30+ feet down. The river here was not like the Ganga we had seen in the plains. At many places, its width was nearly 100 feet only but the current was faster and the river bed was full of stones, rocks, and pebbles. One can visualize the river goddess as a teenager here, frisky and naughty while at Varanasi she is mature and sober. At many places, small streams fell from a height to meet Bhagirathi. Due to the fall, the water of the streams looked milky. The scenes were fascinating. I had a Sony Ericsson camera then, having a 2 mp camera only, but its pics were satisfactory. On the way, I snapped many pics from the moving vehicle. 

             After a long pleasant drive, we crossed a bridge and the road ahead was near the other bank of the river. Now the river Bhagirathi was on the left side and the mountain on the right side. soon we reached a place where many tourist vehicles were parked and tourist activity was visible. On inquiry, we got to know that there was a hot water spring (गर्म कुण्ड) and some tourists were having a pleasure time in taking baths. Perhaps this place was Gangnani. Since we had no prior idea of this place or hot water spring we were not prepared, so refrained from it and went ahead. 

              Since the Himalaya is a series of mountain ranges, it has a vast width, and length many times the width, traveling on these roads does not give a visual idea of the distance or height of the destination. You see the high mountain on the side of the road and think that just crossing it you will be able to see to a distance, but no, what you see is that there is even a higher mountain ahead to cross which was not visible then. But after some time, you get accustomed to it. I was just feeling like that when we crossed a visible mountain and the higher mountain ahead in the distance looked somewhat different. Then I noticed that its top was white and exclaimed in joy realizing that the top of the mountains were capped with snow. I showed it to my daughter, wife, and mother. We were happy because we had never before seen snow-capped mountains. Since our journey was to an even higher level more and more such scenes came to give us pleasure.

             It was surprising that the width of river Bhagirathi was wider at some places at this higher level than that at Uttarkashi. We crossed the river many times and the vehicle started to go up a very dangerous valley called "Bhairo Ghati". We could see many vehicles negotiating the steep slopes and hairpin-bends turnings above us. At around 1 pm we came near Gangotri. The Bhagirathi here was flowing between the mountains that were not far apart. The speed of current was high and in centuries it had cut so deep gorges here that it was hardly visible. Only the sound of fast river flow amid rocks was coming to us. 

The Ganga Mandir near river Bhagirathi at Gangotri, Uttarakhand

            Our vehicle was stopped at a place behind the line of vehicles where the police were checking the papers. The driver went there with the papers and after 15 minutes we started again. Soon we reached Gangotri where the road ends. Ahead is only the path for pedestrians. The width of Gangotri is not much. All the vehicles were parked beside the road where some space was available. On the other side of the river a stream called "Kedar Ganga" was falling to meet Bhagirathi. We got down and went on foot for some distance to reach the temple complex. First, we went down to "Ghat" and saw the river flow. The depth of water was not much but the flow was through a rocky bed and fast. We touched the water with our hand and it was ice cold. Altogether it was very dangerous to get into the water for a bath. Slippery rocks, fast current, and very cold water - the combination was so risky. We had already taken a bath at the hotel in the morning, put on fresh clothes, and had not eaten anything till then - so we were ready for puja and darshan, but had there been safe waters at the "Bhagirathi Ghat", we would have sure taken a dip in it. Seeing us near the water the local "Pandits" too advised not to get into the water and said that in these places taking a dip in river water is not as important as in Haridwar, Prayag, or other places in the plains. The "Darshan" of "Bhagirathi" is as important as taking a dip. Even in those conditions, I saw a person taking a dip in the water with his 8-year-old son and he was near a rock about 30 feet away from us. Some people are really ready to take risks. So we took 'Panch Snan' - washed both hands, face, and both feet - and sprinkled the holy water over ourselves. On the "Ghat," there is a temple of "Raja Bhagirath" whose stupendous effort (known as भगीरथ प्रयत्न in Hindi and Sanskrit) brought the Holy Ganga to the earth from heavens. His name, the Ganga here is called "Bhagirathi". Going up the steps we stood in the queue for "Darshan" behind about 100 devotees. After half an hour we got a "Darshan" of Goddess Ganga.

Near Gangotri, Uttarakhand at this place the river Bhagirathi is flowing down in a gorge. It is not visible from this side but the sound of flow can be heard. The other side side of the river is visible with snow-clad and vertical rocks.

            After the "Darshan" was over we felt hungry and took our lunch in a local dhaba. We stayed there for half an hour more and enjoyed the lovely surroundings. Above the Gangotri, there is only a path for pedestrians that goes beside the river up to "Gomukh" where the glacier melts and river Bhagirathi emerges. There was a notice that said that one would have to take permission from the competent authority to go to "Gomukh". Since the ecosystem there is very delicate, restriction on the number of persons going there is necessary. Already, due to global warming, the glaciers of the Himalayas are receding, even the "Gomukh" has gone hundreds of feet higher than it was thirty years ago. 
We saw these black mynas with yellow
beaks at Gangotri, Uttarakhand

           Now it was time to return back. so we got into the vehicle and started our journey towards Uttarkashi. Around 4:30 PM we were in Uttarkashi. The driver filled his vehicle's fuel tank and I purchased some eatables for the onward journey and then we started our onward journey to "Kedarnath Dham". I had the road map given by 'Hotelwala' early in the morning. From here we did not take the road by which we had reached here yesterday, but crossed the river "Bhagirathi" and went ahead along the shortest route. We wanted to travel as much distance as possible before the evening. This route had very little traffic and the hilly area was full of forest. Mostly the pine trees were visible and fallen dried fruits of pine were numerous on the road and the roadside. The road was better than the "Uttarkashi-Gangotri" road but sharp turnings in the receding light in the jungle were very risky. Fortunately, the driver was an expert. In the evening after more than an hour's drive, we reached a place named "Dhauntri". It was like a village but some shops, dhabas, and places for a night halt were available. We had traveled whole of the day and were tired, so decided to stay here for a night. The hotel available was not as good as "Vijay Raj" where we stayed last night but in a small place like "Dhauntri," we could not have expected more. It was like villagers had turned their house into a lodging facility and themselves looked after it, so nothing was professional about it. From the entrance at the road to the room where we stayed, there was a level difference because the building (and in fact the whole village) was situated on the slope of a hill. About a hundred feet down the hotel there was a river flowing which we could see from our room window. We took tea and ordered for supper. From the locals, we collected some information about the route to Kedarnath Dham. At 8 PM we took our meal and went to bed. After the exertion of whole day we had a good sleep.

  Continued .. in ...the next blog Jai Kedarnath !!

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Monday, April 27, 2015

Baba Basukinath Dham, Dumka district, Jharkhand, India

Baba Basukinathdham Temples at Basukinath (Jarmundi Block),Dumka, Jharkhand, India.


        By the grace of God Shiva, I have visited a number of Shiva temples including many Jyotirligas but there is something unique in Baba Basukinath Dham that attracts me the most. For the last twenty-five years, I have been visiting this temple which is located in a village-like surrounding at a distance of one km from the Deoghar-Dumka highway in Jarmundi block. Most of the visits were a part of Baidyanathdham, Deoghar, and Basukinathdham puja on the same day. Since not eating till worship is complete, is a practice in our society we would get up from bed early in the morning at Deoghar and take our baths and put on fresh or new clothes and rush to Baba Baidyanath temple, then complete our worship in an hour or two and then head towards Basukinath by our car or taxi. We would worship Baba with "Gangajal" and then try to offer "Jal" to each and every god established all around the courtyard. Final worship of Hanuman ji under a banyan tree midway to "Shivaganga". After paying "Dakshina" to 'Pundas' and donations to beggars outside the temple and taking "Prasad", we the hungry lot would rush to a "Dahi-Chuda" shop nearby and fill our stomachs. Then someone would say it is only 'Meetha-Meetha" (Sweet taste) we need "Namkeens". Then the shopkeeper would give some veg dish and "Pakodas". We were satisfied with the food but my wife would be complaining that she had not taken tea since morning and she had a mild headache. So the next step would be a tea shop with madam giving instructions to "Chaiwala" like make good tea, add extra tea leaves, boil it for extra time, make it hard and everyone will take a glass of tea but she would take two. Since many of the "Pundas" know her there, she would invite one or two "Punda Ji" whom she would see near the tea shop for tea. After enjoying tea we would say it is a "Devsthala" (God's place) so 'Paan' is desirable. Thus 'Paan' (betel leaf) completed our food part. Our next work would be marketing in the local market for about two hours and this part of the journey I disliked much. Wife and children enjoyed it as they purchased "Pedas" (A sweet made by drying milk by boiling), "Baddhis" (Thread necklace worn as prasad), bangles, earrings, toys, worship-related items like God's photos, statues, "Shankh" (conch shell), "Saji" (Flower basket made of bamboo, cane or brass), etc. So it was "shop till drop" before we would return to the hotel at Deoghar.
             Other journeys here were in the Hindu month of "Aashadha" which comes in the monsoon time. My father-in-law used to perform "Navaratri Puja" with his family at Basukinath Temple. In a room in the temple courtyard the "Kalash" was used to be placed and worshiped. Their family stayed for nine days at "Kamla Punda Ji's" guest house about 300 m away from the temple. They used to bring all the necessary items for this long stay by one of their own buses and return back after 'Puja' in the same way. Father-in-law would invite us to this "Puja" every year. During my posting at Dumka in the first part of the last decade of last century I used to visit there with my family. While my wife stayed there I would return in a day or two. These visits were an opportunity to know this place at a close distance.
                Now my father-in-law and his family do not come here for "Aashadha Navaratri" due to health issues but I used to visit there during my second posting at Dumka in 2006. This time for repair of some of the govt buildings, especially before 'Sawan' month. All the govt agencies had to work hard for preparations before "Sawan Mela" because this month witnessed a heavy rush of "Kanwariyas". During these visits, I also went to see a nearby "Ashram". My boss was one of the patrons of this "Ashram". He told me that this "Ashram" was established by a learned yogi who was a "Shiva-bhakt". He had a knowledge of 'Ayurveda' and was a lover of vegetation. I saw many rare trees there that are less known. One I remember was a gourd (Louki in Hindi) tree. Usually, gourds are grown on creepers but it was a small tree (in fact a shrub). Another was a shrub which flowers gave vermilion like powder when pressed and they called it "Sindoor ka ped" (vermilion tree). Apart from this, the yogi Baba knew the art of converting mercury to gold. Though any science student would say it is impossible but in the ancient times a lot of labor and research had been done on this process. I have seen many articles confirming that this thing happens. I personally do not believe in it. But my boss said that whenever the "Ashram" had a crunch of funds he would make gold from mercury and send one of his followers to sell it in the town. But he would never do this to collect huge wealth and he did not give this technique to any of his disciples. Baba is no more now and it is being run by the institution of Deoband, U.P. where Baba belonged.
               The construction of this temple is just like the "Baidyanath-Dham" temple, Deoghar but on a smaller scale. The "Shivaganga" (Holy pond) has similarly green stagnant water in which devotees, mostly from villages, take a few dips before going to the temple. We never dared to take dips in it and only sprinkled its water over ourselves with our hands. Its slippery steps are dangerous too. Once we visited here when "Shivaganga" was being cleaned. For it, whole water had been taken out. In the middle of the pond bed, we saw a 10'x10'x10' deep excavation in which a 'Shivalinga' and other gods had been made a long time ago. This submerges when "Shivaganga" is refilled after cleaning. The cleaning is done once in many years.
           Till three years ago this place, Basukinath, was reachable only by road but now one can go there also by train as Dumka-Deoghar is connected by railway line. In future when this rail route is extended to 'Rampurhat' in West Bengal, Basukinath will be reachable from both ends by rail. The work on this rail project is in progress.
             Since "Nandi" (Shiva's bull) is God's vehicle and gatekeeper, A big welcoming "Nandi" idol has been made at the triangular junction on the Dumka-Deoghar highway where we take a turn to Basukinath. "Nandi" is loved by Shiva very much, so bulls around Shiva temples roam freely everywhere and they are fed by the devotees. Here in Basukinathdham, the bulls roam inside the courtyard of the temple feeding on "bail-patras" and flowers offered to gods by the devotees. I remember a small bull that was physically disabled lived in the temple courtyard when we used to visit there in "Ashadh Navaratra" many years ago. My little daughter was very much interested in it. She would touch it and feed 'bail' leaves. Even now whenever she goes there with us, she would look for it but now we do not find it.
Lively temple of "Baba Basukinathdham" at Jarmundi block of Dumka (Santhal Pargana),
Jharkhand, India
            The name 'Basukinath' means 'master of Basuki'. 'Basuki' is the name of Shiva's snake and he adorns Shiva as garland on his neck. 'Basuki' is a 'Naag' variety of snake so 'Basukinath' is also called 'Nagesh' or 'Nageshwar' meaning God of "Naag". The priest here claims that this is one of the twelve "Jyotirlingas" mentioned in 'Shivapuran' and they have written "Nagesh Jyotirlinga" near the entrance of the main Shiva temple here. "Puranas" say that "Nagesh Jyotirlinga"  is in 'Darukavan' and they claim that the area around here is the 'Darukavan'. Whatever it may be most of the people in India think that 'Darukavan' and "Nagesh Jyotirlinga" are near Dwarka in Gujarat. Though there is no forest in a radius of five km from the temple, beyond that the forest has lovely and unique properties. It is thin and the trees found abundantly are "Khajur" (Date palm) and "Palash". The "Khajur" trees in a hilly landscape give a perennial beauty but come the month of March (in the spring season)  the unnoticed "Palash" trees come to full bloom in orange color. It looks like magic. It seems as if some artist has painted his canvas mostly in orange like a fire. The effect is fascinating and mesmerizing. You can see this wonder travelling on the Dumka-Deoghar highway, and even more on the newly built Dumka-Deoghar railway. The forest in the whole of the 'Santhal Pargana' area is like this.
              The priests here will tell you that Basukinath Mahadeva is the "Foujdari Baba" and that is his court is a 'Foujdari' court. It is an Urdu word. In Urdu, courts are of two types -"Deewani" and "Foujdari". "Deewani" courts hear the cases of lands and other disputes which take a long period to come to a decision while "Foujdari" courts hear matters of a criminal nature and take comparatively less time. So these priests mean that "Baba Baidyanath"  is a 'Deewani' court that will take time to fulfill your wishes while "Baba Basukinath" is a "Foujdari" court that will listen to you quickly.
                 And what a sweet 'Maithili bhajan' is sung here with full humility. It is like this .."बाबा बासुकीनाथ हम आयल छी भिखरिया, अहाँ के दुअरिया ना। ." ( O, Baba Basukinath! I the beggar have come to your doorsteps ...) .This song is named as "Nachari" (नचारी). Equally sweet "Bhajan" is "Vimal vibhooti budha barad vahanava se, lambe lambe lat latkaye baba Basuki..".   
              Though many types of pujas, marriage, Mundan, and Upnayan are performed here "Dharana" and "Phulaish" are two worship-related acts that have taken my attention. If a devotee of "Baba Basukinath" wants to get his wishes fulfilled but does not succeed he sits on "Dharana" here, meaning he will give his full time at the temple and will not return to his home till his wishes are fulfilled by "Baba Basukinath". Many people remain on "Dharana" for months. "Phulaish" is performed by an eager devotee who wants to know whether his wishes will get fulfilled by "Baba Basukinath" or not. In general "Phulaish" is said to have happened if a devotee during his worship of a deity (with wishes in his heart) places a flower over an idol and after a few seconds the flower falls down. It is said to be an indication that god will fulfill his wishes. But here "Phulaish" is performed with "Akshat" (rice soaked in water) and betel-nut. A heap of "Akshat" is made over Shivalinga and the betel nut placed on top of it. The devotee and others wait for a slide with the falling of the betel nut. Till this happens all pray loudly "Give o Lord, give". This loud prayer starts a vibration in the air and the process of "Phulaish" is hastened. This "Phulaish" is said to be an indication that the wishes of devotees will be fulfilled.
               I have found this place very lively, peaceful, and full of devotional energy. So do feel many of the people of adjoining states. I have seen many devotees traveling from Deoghar to Basukinath by giving "Dand". They keep a stick in their hand and lie down on the ground with face down, then mark on the ground with the stick as far as they can. Now they stand up and go to the mark and repeat the process again and again. It is called the "Dand". I salute their devotion and courage. 
         "Jai Baba Basukinath !!"

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Friday, January 9, 2015

Jonha waterfalls near Ranchi, Jharkhand ... ! Awesome !!

Jonha Waterfalls near Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

         It was one of those rare journeys that were not religious. We had planned to see Jonha Waterfall on the 2nd of January 2015 (my daughter's birthday). It was her demand for this birthday. Residing for such a long time in Ranchi but not seeing the natural beauty around Ranchi was already in my mind, So I accepted her demand. But this New Year's Day saw bad weather all over north India and even on 2nd January it rained, the temperature dropped and the Sun remained behind clouds. Thus our plan of 2nd January failed. We fixed it for 5th January which being a holiday and sunny day was a perfect option.


Local artists selling their handicrafts at the entrance of
Jonha Waterfalls near Ranchi, Jharkhand

           We planned to leave our place at  11 AM so that we reach there around noon. But the preparation for the journey took time and we could set on only at 1 PM. The traffic in the town was not less like Sundays. We had to wait for 10 minutes to cross the busy "Kanta Toli Chowk''. I was also getting some problems in driving the car due to the specs. Earlier in the morning I got my specs broken and had to wear an old one. As we drove farther on the Purulia road the traffic gradually got lighter. Except near two railway crossings, the road was good. The turning for "Jonha Fall" is about 40 km from Ranchi. About 15 km before this turning we felt that the forest area was ahead of us. Sal trees were more in number than the other trees. The road ahead slopes downward and

The water of the  "Rarhu" river just before
going down the 'Jonha' waterfalls,

Ranchi, Jharkhand.

more zigzag. At the turning to "Jonha Fall" a concrete gate is made. Near it is written on a signboard "Take a turn for Jonha and Sita Falls here". So we turned right through that gate. We saw local people selling some fruits like guava and papaya on the road side near the gate. From the gate onward we saw security forces all along the road. After a few kilometers drive down the road we reached the place where the road branched out in two. The left one was for "Sita Fall" and the right one was for "Jonha Fall". So we turned right. Our destination was just a kilometer away. Before reaching there we faced a drop-gate from the tourism department. On the board we read a fee requirement of Rs.5/- but the people collected Rs 20/- from us and handed over four tickets. So we thought that the rate was for each person. When we reached the entrance of the place it was a surprise for us. The parking place was full of vehicles and the big sound boxes of picnic parties were on full blow. The place was buzzing with holidaymakers. In fact, a scene of "Mela" was there. I parked my car at a place that was about four feet down a slope. The parking fee was Rs. 20/-. The parking boy saw my aged mother and suggested that we should not go down the steps, instead there was a slope on the right side that goes to the river. We followed his advice. The slope was recently concreted and

People having a fun time near
 "Jonha" waterfall, Jharkhand, Ranchi

about 200 feet down we reached near the river. It was full of rocks and water was flowing through them. People were enjoying themselves on the rocks and some youths were dancing in tribal style on high-volume 'Nagpuri Songs". But we realized that it was the portion of the river just upstream of the waterfall and to see the real beauty of Jonha waterfalls we would have to go down the steps. So it was decided that my mother and wife would stay at some suitable place and my daughter and I would go down the steps to see the waterfall. We took some pictures here and returned to the entrance. Many local artists were selling handicrafts made of bamboo and a soft wood called "Doodhi". Showpieces were wooden sunflowers, hearts with arrows, and wooden knives and swords. We had to go twenty-five steps up before the descent to the waterfalls started. There are some small shops here. About a hundred feet of gentle slope down, flights of stairs to waterfalls began. At this point, we got an idea of how much down we had to go. My mother and wife stopped there because going down to waterfalls was easy but coming back upstairs was very tiresome. So the rest of us went down the stairs and saw the waterfall from different heights of steps. It was a fascinating scene. Everyone present

Gate at the entrance to the way to Jonha Waterfalls,
Right turn on the Ranchi-Muri road

there was enjoying in his own way. And there were hundreds of people present near the waterfall. Some were eating, some were dancing, some walking through the rocky waters, and a lot of people engaged in shooting pictures. It looked as if almost all of the stones were occupied by someone else. The main waterfall has about 60 - 70 feet of straight fall and the width of the river here is about 200 feet. Near the fall water is not deep and it flows gently ahead about a hundred feet before falling again about 8- 10 feet down. This place looks like a small natural dam because the longitudinal rocks appear to be blocking the flow of the river. This river is called "Rarhu". From this place, the "Rarhu" river flows down in many small steps. About a hundred feet downstream another small river meets from the right side. You can say it is a small "Sangam". One of the eye-catching scenes was created by a few people who were taking a bath near the main waterfall in their briefs only. Though at many places it was advised through signboards not to enter into the water few people seemed to care. This waterfall is relatively safe due to the gentle flow of water about a hundred feet after the fall. In this distance water is shallow. We remained there for about twenty minutes and shot many pictures. It was a lovely place to visit. Then the hard part of our journey began, I mean coming back upstairs. It was the tiresome ride of about two hundred steps. We took a few minutes to rest four or five times during climbing.
           The steps are covered with 'Kotah' stone and the rise of steps (height of an individual step) is comfortable. We saw my mother and wife waiting for us. The time was 04:30 PM and we got hungry. So beneath a tree, we opened our lunch packets and ate 'Paranthas' stuffed with 'Sattu' (roasted gram powder), 'Aloo- Gobhi' vegetable, and curd. The sun was to set within half an hour and we wanted to get out of the forest area before sunset. So we packed up and started our journey back to Ranchi.
             Driving back was a bit difficult for me because the Sun was near the horizon and just in front of me - we were going exactly west. My old power specs made the problem even worse. But back home we all were happy. The trip was fantastic. We are lucky that so much natural beauty is spread all around our town. Hundru fall, Dasham fall, Sita fall, and so many dams are tourist attractions. I told my daughter that during her or her brother's vacation times, we will plan to visit more of these attractions. 

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