[JUSTIFY] Dear Friends, I will be giving you a detailed report of my missing hide-out place> Friends who have taken the pleasure in playing the game postively and in true spirit in my thread http://www.indusladies.com/forums/community-chit-chat/36691-malspie-missing.html can now read where I was and what I was up to. Just promise me gals, you will not give your FB till I finish my posts in this thread. Your patience would be appreciated by your friend Mals [/JUSTIFY] Look for more in the next post here. .
Hello Re Hello Dear Friends, Love you all! I had immense pleasure in posting the thread “Malspie Missing”! Hey, neither wanted special attention nor was I looking for adulation! It was posted with a spirit of fun and games and most of my friends stepped in with their guesses! Few of them threw me out of my skin with their near to close guess, I preferred to be tight lipped as I wanted to crack the suspense in a separate thread! There is no harm in playing such games! Don’t you all agree with me? Hey gals, now is the time for the cat to Meow out of the bag! So, Malsy Meows loudly and willingly shares her 2 day hide-out with her friends in IL! I was caught up in my routine and had actually forgotten my birthday approaching fast! I never forget my birthday and the celebrations are always in advance. Shopping, partying etc. is all done systematically. My family believed in a big bash with cutting cakes at home followed by music and dance. September had put me under trying times and I was actually going through extreme stress, the typical me, who do not like to share her grievances with anyone, kept it to myself and with the grace of God, I sailed through it. Each of us has to go through this cycle sometimes in life. The wise say, “Your conduct is not known till you are tried by the Lord”. Post the melee, I had only one thought in mind, Navaratri celebrations. Time has always been a matter of concern for me, I was determined. Once I decide on a plan, I will never retreat! I was hitting the pillow at 12 and waking up <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:time Hour="4" Minute="30">4.30 a.m.</st1:time> from the first day of the Navaratri. continues in the next post
After my first round of prayers, one of my friends called me with a surprise message for me. “Mals, we have planned a big surprise for you. Pack your bags and put up your leave application!” Gals, just ask me to pack my bags, smitten by travel bug, I love to be on the move! Four of us were going out of Mumbai! Wow! We four pals are like chips of the same block with little difference in approach to problems and such differences do not matter. We take our car and move out quiet frequently! We are thick pals’ dearies and I pray to God, it should remain like that forever. “It’s your birthday on 3rd October and this surprise gift awaits you.” I enjoyed the news every bit and at the same time was shocked how I could ever forget my birthday as I love myself the most in the world! Ha! I have to set time aside to shop, it is going to be hectic with no help at home too and postings and interactions in IL should not stop! Now you all know the reason, why I would stay awake till 12 past midnight! I had my consultancy work too which is galloping with full zeal and a 10 hour job in hand! I had zeroed down a boutique during Ganesha Festival and wanted to buy some apparel from there! It seems God was waiting to answer my prayers after the tiring previous month! I must have tried at least 10 of the suits before finalizing on 3 of them, keeping in mind the office decorum! The owner was impressed by my “loose purse strings”. He ordered some cold drink for me! I was not captivated by his hospitality or his looks! He was catering to my needs and that made me give him 2 thumbs up! My bill came up to Rs.4200/-. Though four of us had decided to meet up before the big day, it did not happen. My lack of enough sleep was slowly catching up with me. To start a day at 4.30 and end it past 12 was getting on my health! I had started feeling little weak too! I put up my leave application and got it sanctioned with a “big fat lie”. My boss sent me away with a ‘heavy heart’. My fellow members who are working in MNC will relate to this part of the narration very well. You can die in office but cannot take a leave! I am a bit planned traveler so have to pack things in advance before the due day. “Rani” our car got ready for the big day, her tyres were checked for “air”, some cushion pillows were thrown in for comfort, ‘Pen drive’ was loaded with hip hop songs and few bollywood hits, fuel tank was full and ready! In Hindi, Car comes under the masculine gender, but our car is the other way! She is very possessive about her owner and does show signs of aggression if anyone drives her! ...continued in the next post
The clock struck 12.00 at night as usual and the messages were jamming in from all corners. It was fun attending to calls to listen to sweet good wishes, reading loving messages from my friends. I wound up at <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:time Hour="0" Minute="50">12.50 a.m.</st1:time> with an alarm set for <st1:time Hour="3" Minute="30">3.30 a.m.</st1:time> For the first time, I missed the alarm and snoozed to glory, woke up at 4.00 (applauding my sensory nerves for being prompt!). God what a loss of 30 minutes! I immediately kept the butter box out and pulled the cake. Kept the milk to warm up on slow fire, mopped the house. Fixed some 15 to 20 cuppa tea, quickly had my shower after finishing the usual morning routines. There was no time to spare. <st1:City><st1lace>Mobile</st1lace></st1:City> was jamming up again with text messages. We assured each other that we are getting ready for the show! Decorated my temple with flowers, lit the lamp and bowed before my “Friend Ganesha”. It was Friday and my day of some long prayers, so carried the prayer books with me to recite through the journey, poured piping hot tea in two large flasks, dressed up bread loaves extravagantly with peanut butter and packed them neatly in air tight containers, cut the cakes (cream less) in easy to hold and eat pieces and packed them in air tight containers, carried some “murukku (chakli)” and dry fruits. Friends obliged with drinking water along with paper napkins. Girlies, wondering why a birthday girl has to do so much work and others are walking in free! Well, dearies, let me tell you, I cannot bear hunger and my lack of sleep can drive me in to a spinning headache. Secondly, you will never find a good joint (with respect to hygiene) on the highways. By the time we spot one, I may faint and fall! So, I always carry some food and every one welcomes it. My friend who will be driving the car has pulled a nerve on his right leg and is actually limping with pain! He is the best to be with, when you have long distance travel, he speeds up, races and at the same time cautious too. We love his driving skills. I asked him to let my other friend drive, but he was adamant. He believed that God is testing him and he should pass the test. “I will drive as I do not have pain, when I am sitting, only while walking it hurts me”, was his final decision. I was the last member to roll in the car, birthday song was sung and they praised my new outfit too. Where is the “Goodie” bag they asked me? I passed the bag to one of my friend sitting behind. The wonderful journey began with a small prayer to my “Friend Ganesha”. It is fun driving in the wee hours of the morning, with the sun yet to rise, the soft light giving various shades to the sky, chirps of the bird, swaying leaves of the trees, smile on everyone’s face with a hope of a better day than yesterday, driving becomes pleasure! I told my friends, I need to pray and it will take at least 2 hours for me to complete it, they quickly put off the music. Four of us always jam together and they are aware I adhere to my prayer routine. I removed my sandals and started my prayers. Saptashathi and Lalitha Sahasranamam were read. There was pin drop silence in the car. The atmosphere had become divine, no whispers, no talks; everyone was listening to the recitation quietly and attentively. We drew towards Kalyan and proceeded towards Igatpuri. I had finished my prayers by then and it was time for a quick bite and “garam chai”. The masti time had started after the initial quiet two hours. Songs were played in loud volume, we had surs and taals jamming with each other weirdly, balancing ourselves with the chai and eatables was fun with the car going on 120 kmph! In <st1:country-region><st1lace>India</st1lace></st1:country-region>, if you get a road to drive in this speed, you have to thank your stars. We took a break in a quiet node on the highway, it was time for the girlie’s to relieve themselves! Gals, it is fun to be amongst the bushes, with eyes rolling around to see, hope you do not have sneak looker around! The tragedy of Indian Highways is we do not see any signage or milestone for a long distance! Where have we reached! The map in hand was serving its true purpose. At last we had reached the much awaited place “Goti’, it is from here we need to take a turn and proceed to the first destination. We took a turn towards Jawhar and the panoramic view on both the sides was breathtaking. Four of us are nature lovers and we do no mind driving a little extra mile to enjoy nature at its best. My friend was feeling a bit comfortable with the cushions on his back and one on the seat too! He had made up his mind; he will be driving us to and fro. Being a true “Taurus” it is difficult to cajole him. ....continued in next post
Here we stopped the vehicle only to enjoy the view and click some pictures of it. Few years ago, stopping vehicles was never a concern, now with threat of bomb blasts, bandits, hooligans vandalizing swords on the highways, the guys were a bit cautious! We girls enjoyed the special attention and care that was showered on us! It was time for another round of “garam” cuppa. We quickly finished the bread butter and cake too and some ‘murukku’! Gals, when you are traveling, you seem to have more than one stomach! We drew down further and now it was time for me to shoot my head out to ask for guidance. Luckily, the destination was not very far. The concern was we wanted a nearby parking so that our friend will not have to walk much. His leg was certainly hurting but the spirit was high! Luck played hard as we also had to look in for safe parking too, with four large baggage’s, music system etc.. I am the one who plays truant here. I do not get convinced with safety very soon, while the other three take it easy. Some philosophical sentence echoed in the air, “What is in our fate will not be taken by anyone”. I gave a deaf ear and they know, unless I am convinced, I will not step out of the car! Car thieves are at large too! I was not prepared to add agony to our existing fate! Finally, we spotted a large parking space. Most of them had come down with drivers so their car was taken care of. Our Rani will be left alone; I got off and looked around to judge the place. I could see few hutments around the parking space. Had to give benefit of doubt, my friend can drive long but he cannot walk! Rani took her position, I whispered in her ears to give me a “silent alarm” if she smells trouble. I am very attached to Rani! I gave a last look at the baggages; I called my friend and ordered him to keep the “blue bag” down on the carpet! For some strange reasons, he did not argue and quietly followed my order. We had to walk down for around 7 to 10 minutes. Two of us were holding our friend who has hurt his leg, the person walked ahead was me as I speak Marathi well. ... continued in the next post.
[JUSTIFY] We reached our first destination – Trimbakeshwar – One of the 12 Jyotirlings of India. There is a good shoe stand on the right side of the main entrance of the temple. Cell phones were not allowed inside and had to be deposited in a sneaky corner shop for Rs. 5 per phone. We were reluctant as the guys had very expensive cell phones. There was no choice, the sun was high and we did not want to waste our energy in walking back to the car. My friend whose leg was hurting was sitting on a chair which he had spotted in one shop. I ran to deposit the mobile and in return she gave me a token. In a hurry, we forgot to switch off the mobiles. The queue was serpentine and we were worried for my friend. He will not be able to stand for long time. We had to pass through “metal detectors” before proceeding to the temple. There were no booking offices for Puja, Abhishek etc. All of us wanted to perform “Maha Rudra Abhishek”. As though God heard our hearts desire, one Brahmin walked towards me and asked me If I wanted to perform any Puja or Abhishek. I answered in the affirmative, he asked me to quit the queue and follow him. Malspie, her usual self was reluctant, “You cannot take the money and send Prasad, we want you to perform it now!” Yes, I will do it for you now itself”, he assured. He whispered something to the policemen at the gate and asked us to come from the other way (tsck..). We were happy to get this extra privilege today only coz we had an ailing friend. He was limping with us very slowly. The puja samagrahi was ready and we only had to sit in circles. After the “Maha Rudra Abhishek” the Brahmin whispered again something to another Brahmin standing at the door of the “Garba Graha”. No one was allowed to go near the ling which is around 3 feet down. In fact there is only a small “pit” from where water keeps coming throughout the year. We got special privilege for praying for “one full minute” while the people standing in the queue were whisked away. We paid the Brahmin and moved for the pradakshina. There were installation of two new idols or Lord Ganesha and Shani Devata as per the wishes of the devotees. We prayed to all the small idols around and walked back. I asked my friends to take their time and walk slowly. I ran to the mobile counter and collected our mobiles (they were all fine with text messages and missed calls!) and paced to the shoe counter. He threw four pair of shoes in front of me. My friends had reached and now it was time to move to our Rani. My secret worry was still on, but cleverly hid it from my friends. As we reached the parking space, I quickly went near Rani and had a look at her and the belongings inside. Oh! They were all safe. My friends looked at me and smiled and I knew what did that mean. We had some Tropicana Mango Juice and none of us were hungry. From here we proceeded to our next destination. Prior to that, I want all of you to read about the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace><st1laceName>Jyotirling</st1laceName> <st1laceType>Temple</st1laceType></st1lace>. [/JUSTIFY]
[justify] About Trimbakeshwar – One of the 12 Jyotirlings in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1lace>India</st1lace></st1:country-region>. Trimbakeshwar is one of the 12 Jyotirlings in <st1:country-region><st1lace>India</st1lace></st1:country-region>. It is situated on the banks of River Godavari in Nashik District, <st1lace><st1:City>Maharasthra</st1:City>, <st1:country-region>India</st1:country-region></st1lace>. Devotees who visit this place attain salvation and a dip in the holy river, washes all our sins. It is also wrote in the puranas that Lord Ganesha was born here, Lord Rama has also visited Trimbakeshwar. Other Rituals Apart from holy rituals like Ganga Puja, Ganga Bhet, this pace is also famous for activities like “Shraadh” (annual death ceremony), Mundan Ceremony (Thread), etc.. Other Places of Interest On the Northern bank of <st1lace>Godavari</st1lace>, there is Nilsangameshwar, Vivah Vinayak, Satya Narayan, Dhaneshwar Mahadev, Tarangeshwar, Setupaleshwar temples. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are planning to go for a Rudra Abhishek, you need not buy any articles from the vendors outside. The priest will give you inside the temple complex. Location of Triambakeshwar Travel Route and Kilometers Kopar Khairane – Kalyan – Igatpuri – Goti – Trimbakeshwar (Via Jawhar) = 190 kms You can also travel from Goti to Nashik and take another route to Trimbakeshwar, this reaches you faster but you will not get the scenic beauty of nature, which my lens has captured on the way. From Nashik Railway Station, buses and cabs ply to this holy shrine which is 38 kms away. Individuals who want to perform Shraadh can stay in Dharmashalas for 3 days. Local Priests also provide large houses for lodging and boarding. <TABLE class=MsoTableList2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid gray 1.5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 192" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=1><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; BACKGROUND: #efffef; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.7pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; mso-shading: white; mso-pattern: gray-20 lime" vAlign=top width=289>By Air <TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; BACKGROUND: #efffef; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.75pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; mso-shading: white; mso-pattern: gray-20 lime" vAlign=top width=289><st1lace><st1laceName>Nashik</st1laceName><st1laceType>Airport</st1laceType></st1lace> is 39 kms away from the Holy Shrine</B> <TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 1"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; BACKGROUND: #efffef; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.7pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; mso-shading: white; mso-pattern: gray-20 lime" vAlign=top width=289></B> <TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; BACKGROUND: #efffef; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.75pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; mso-shading: white; mso-pattern: gray-20 lime" vAlign=top width=289></B> <TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 2"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.7pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" vAlign=top width=289>By Rail</B> <TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.75pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" vAlign=top width=289>Nashik Station is 44 kms from the Holy Shrine</B> <TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 3"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.7pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" vAlign=top width=289></B> <TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.75pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" vAlign=top width=289></B> <TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 4"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; BACKGROUND: #efffef; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.7pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; mso-shading: white; mso-pattern: gray-20 lime" vAlign=top width=289>By Road:</B> <TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; BACKGROUND: #efffef; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.75pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; mso-shading: white; mso-pattern: gray-20 lime" vAlign=top width=289>State Transport Buses Ply between Nashik and Trimbakeshwar </B> <TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 5; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: black 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.7pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: gray 1.5pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid gray 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .75pt" vAlign=top width=289></B> <TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: black 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; WIDTH: 216.75pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: gray 1.5pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid gray 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .75pt" vAlign=top width=289></B> </B> ...continued in next post [/justify]
[JUSTIFY] We returned to our Rani who is always well behaved. It was time to move on to our next destination. Our next destination was nothing less than 130 kms from Trimbakeshwar. We again got in to the jamming mood, thanked our stars for the quick darshan of the divine Jyotirling. The journey was enthralled with good music, jokes and snippets of our life. We did not bother to halt anywhere and drove straight down. The rain god was kind and poured heavily, the journey became more pleasant with wet branches dancing with the wind, animals grazing merrily drenched in the rain, star like headlights of the cars twinkling in the rain, people running around for cover, vendors selling “sacks of Onions and Garlic” on the way, covering themselves with thin Plastic Sheets! We were in no mood to stack our car with Onions and Garlic, anyways! Suddenly, we found a R.T.O signaling down our car for ‘halt’. With threats all around the world, we thought it was just the routine investigations and like proud citizens of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1lace>India</st1lace></st1:country-region>, we let him do his investigations. The R.T.O. was repeated asking the females to remain in the car and not to come out. He wanted only the owner of the car to get off and talk to him! (Strange). I got off the car more than once and the R.T.O signaled me to step in and sit quietly. When I asked him what the matter is, he again asked me to relax. He found all the papers in order and was in a fix now! He asked my friend to give him 200 Rupees and he quietly agreed. We were short of time to argue and let it pass! For a few seconds, I hated to the rules and the corruption in <st1:country-region><st1lace>India</st1lace></st1:country-region>! As we had made our bookings in the famous MTDC Resort – The Pilgrimage Inn, we did not have to face the hassles of looking for shelter. The Resort is just 3 to 4 mins walk from the Holy Shrine of Shirdi Sai Baba located in Rahata Tahasil in Ahmednagar District of <st1lace>Maharashtra</st1lace>. Yes, my dear folks, our next destination were Baba’s shrine. The divinity of the place was felt the moment we entered Shirdi. Both the sides of the road is lined with vendors selling Puja Articles, like dhoop, incense sticks, loban etc.. Do not take them away for the price quoted by them, you have to use your bargain skills buddies. Tea and snacks are available at subsidized rates at the Prasadalaya Block in the <st1lace><st1laceType>Temple</st1laceType> <st1laceName>Complex</st1laceName></st1lace> run by the <st1lace><st1laceType>Temple</st1laceType> <st1laceName>Trustees</st1laceName></st1lace> from <st1:time Hour="10" Minute="0">10 a.m.</st1:time> to <st1:time Hour="22" Minute="0">10 p.m.</st1:time> We wanted to fresh up and hit the plate by now. <st1lace>Maharashtra</st1lace> is reeling under power cuts and the resort was not spared. Generator of the resort was down due to rain water seeping in. The restaurant ‘Neem’ in the resort was closed for lunch and was making preparations for evening snacks. We went to our room which was very spacious and airy. It was like a perfect studio apartment. It must be the only resort that gives you a toothbrush, toothpaste and comb along with other toiletries like medicated soap, oil etc. We quickly freshened ourselves and my friend whose leg was hurting laid down a bit. It was time to have some sumptuous food to kill our hunger pangs. The hotel opposite our resort was hygienic so we decided to hit the plates there. Yummy Tawa Paneer, Vegetable Kolhapuri, Rumali Rotis, Butter Parathas, Boondi Raita, Pineapple Raita was laid for us to dig our fingers. None of us exchanged a word, throughout the course. We give 10 on 10 to the cook in the hotel, it was really yummy. We summed it up with steaming hot Nescafe. The short and plump waiter whom I nick named as “drum” would beat a hare. He was too good to be working for a hotel in Shirdi! We returned back to the resort and by now generator was up and running. We switched on the AC and had a nice 45 minutes nap. [/JUSTIFY]
