Trip to Mallikarjun in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh - Part 2

This post is in continuation to my last post :

1. Trip to Mallikarjun in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh - Part 1

Trip to Mallikarjun in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh - Part 1 - See more at: http://atlasshrugged-eccentric.blogspot.in/2013/08/trip-to-mallikarjun-in-srisailam-andhra.html#sthash.mv4m4K0K.dpuf

Trip to Mallikarjun in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh - Part 1 - See more at: http://atlasshrugged-eccentric.blogspot.in/2013/08/trip-to-mallikarjun-in-srisailam-andhra.html#sthash.mv4m4K0K.dpuftr

Trip to Mallikarjun in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh - Part 1 - See more at: http://atlasshrugged-eccentric.blogspot.in/2013/08/trip-to-mallikarjun-in-srisailam-andhra.html#sthash.mv4m4K0K.dpuf

Trip to Mallikarjun in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh - Part 1 - See more at: http://atlasshrugged-eccentric.blogspot.in/2013/08/trip-to-mallikarjun-in-srisailam-andhra.html#sthash.mv4m4K0K.dpuf

Trip to Mallikarjun in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh - Part 1 - See more at: http://atlasshrugged-eccentric.blogspot.in/2013/08/trip-to-mallikarjun-in-srisailam-andhra.html#sthash.mv4m4K0K.dpuf

Trip to Mallikarjun in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh - Part 1 - See more at: http://atlasshrugged-eccentric.blogspot.in/2013/08/trip-to-mallikarjun-in-srisailam-andhra.html#sthash.mv4m4K0K.dpuf

Our next stop was at Srisailam Dam which is constructed across the Krishna river and is the 3^rd largest capacity hydroelectric project in the country. 

Dam area started as soon as the forest stretch is over. It is another good place for photography. After capturing the scenic beauty of the Dam in our digital cameras, we also asked the local photographers to take some pictures who promised to give us hard copy instantly as it is always a challenge to convert the digital images in hard copy due to time and laziness. 

Finally, at 10:30 am, we reached in the premises of temple. There was not much rush in the temple but still we purchased 100 bucks ticket to expedite our Darshan. Also, it is advisable to cross the forest stretch before 6 in the evening, so, we do not want to take a risk although there was ample of time. Also, with parents it is always good to be extra safe. 

We spent a good time in the temple and luckily got a chance to touch the shivling as there was not much rush. However, the people without any ticket were allowed only a glimpse of shivling and that too from a distance. It is something not fair; however there is no other option to control the rush for the temple management committee which witnesses a tourist as much as 1 lakh/day during the peak seasons.  The temple is well managed and very clean as compared to the temples in North India.

We came out at 1pm and purchased some laddu and rice as prasadam. After having a light lunch, we again started for a local sight-seeing. 

We went to Akash Ganga, ropeway counter; however, we decided to give it a miss. On our way back, we visited another temple called sakshi Ganesha and it was said that Darshan won’t be considered as completed without visiting this temple. After this, we started journey back to Hyderabad.

While returning again we stop at Dam to buy water bottles and tried to capture the beauty of Dam from different angles.

We reached at 6 pm in our flat. The total journey was 462 km. 

This is the first time, I have visited this place and it was very pleasant experience. It seemed to me that this journey pressed the refresh button of my life and bring back the freshness. This place has really very pure vibrations and energy.  It is a must visit for all and has something for all from spiritual people, adventure seekers to nature lovers.

Trip to Mallikarjun in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh - Part 1

This post is about our recent trip to Mallikarjun which is one of the twelve Jyothirlingas of Lord Shiva situated at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh state.

Let me also list down all the 2 jyothirlingas to avoid the confusion between various other Shiva temples and to assist you if you already started recalling them on your fingers.

S. No	List of 12 Jyotirlingas	Status if visited (Yes)
1	Rameshwar Jyotirlinga	Yes
2	Mallikarjun in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh	Yes
3	Bhimashankar, Near Pune in Maharashtra
4	Trimbakeshwar in Nasik, Maharashtra	Yes
5	Grishneshwar, Near Aurangabad in Maharashtra	Yes
6	Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
7	Omakareshwar in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh
8	Nageshwar in Dwarka, Gujarat
9	Somanath in Gujarat
10	Vishweshwar Jyotirlinga, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh	Yes
11	Baidyanth in Jharkhand
12	Kedarnath in Uttaranchal

By the grace of god, I was lucky enough to visit the 5 jyotirlinga, however, only 3 are covered as travelogue in this blog. 

8^th August 2013

Our journey was started at 6:30 am in Toyota Innova from our flat near Kondapur, Hyderabad. We were 5 members, me, my wife and parents in law and brother in law. The weather was cloudy and perfect for the road trip. Our driver was kind of maniac and drove very fast. After driving at average speed of 120km/hr at 40 km long toll, he gave a glimpse of what is in store for us in the remaining part of journey. This speed was calculated by toll plaza only and was mentioned in the toll bill. 

Our first stoppage was at check post when we were about to enter the forest. We have already covered the 150 km and reached at the slopes of Nallamala hills. The next 70 km drive through the forest was very interesting, full of excitement of spotting the animals but apart from numerous monkeys on the road and Boards enlightening the visitor about the importance of flora and fauna, we didn’t find anything. It was, however, expected. The greenery, road, weather was perfect. It was one of the beautiful tracks that I have covered in my life. The complete track was covered with trees on both the sides and forming a sort of canopy providing us a shade. There was endless picturesque and a very good place to spend some time in lap of nature.  I want to cover this track slowly but the driver was driving at 100 km/hr beside the Policeman warning that killing any monkey will attract a fine of 5000 and any other species/animals will be dealt on case to case basis. There were some truly amazing views of the distant roads hidden amidst the mountains while ascending the valley. Road safari packages were also available which will take you inside the core of the forest, however, we were not here for any adventurous trip, and rather it was a spiritual trip.

 Click here to read part 2

2 Most Memorable gifts of my life

Memorable gifts that I still remember and will always remember:

The first gift that I remember was the slam book given to me by my brother. The weather was very bad that day and the winds were blowing very fast. We came back from school and were gossiping at upstairs. I kept asking him for a gift. Then he suddenly take me in my grandfather’s room and gave me my gift. My grandfather’s was watching some black and white movie. The memories of that moment keep flashing in my mind once in a while. That gift later came out to be of immense use. My complete family filled that book and that is how I came to know about them more and today when i read that slam book. My grandfather favorite movie was Dard. My father’s passion was horse travelling. One of the thing that my Baba wrote in my slam book was that he always wanted to be rich which makes me little uncomfortable. His last days were quite struggling due to financial and health reasons.But I think he is one of the most satisfied soul for doing so much for all of us.

The other gift was the song AYE Sanam by Abbey.

This was the song that me and my brother like very much. On my birthday, when I returned from the school, I went straight to the refrigerator to grab my glass of lemon . Mother used to prepare it every day for us. Those were the days when she was not a teacher. My brother usually came early from school as in higher classes, there were only five periods. As he came early from school, he went to get that song recorded in the same cassette we were listening in those days. When we are having our lunch, he played it. When all the songs was finished, I began to change the cassette when my brother told me to wait. Suddenly, this song started and my brother said, Happy birthday. That was one of the most memorable moment of my life.

I am deeply regretted for not including many gifts from my loved ones. They are equally good and memorable. It is just as these were the events that I want to record.

I also remember many expensive gifts but the associated feeling was missing. Sometime, we give gift just for the sake of formality without having feelings behind it. Such gifts can’t be remembered for long.

Besides, what I personally feel is that the best thing is neither take gifts nor give. But today, I find this realization of mine not accurate. When you give gift with full of feeling and love for that person, then you feel very good and with gift, you are also giving the feelings to that person. Finally, I would say it depend on the type of relation you are sharing whether to give or not.