Daulatabad Devagiri Fort - An Architectural Wonder!

If you like to time travel, then go to Daulatabad fort (Devagiri fort). You will get a lifetime travel experience here. During our one day trip, after visiting Grishneshwar Jyotirling Temple, we moved to visit 'Daulatabad Fort'. It is also considered to be one of the seven wonders of Maharashtra and a developing tourist spot. Entry point is on the road itself, it can be easily accessed via bus or through cab, and lots of parking available. It is about 16 km of Aurangabad, about 230 km from Pune and about 280 km from Mumbai. 

The way the fort is built and the architecture is certainly worth admiring. Just get your ticket from outside window, and enjoy the fort. The fort is a place of extraordinary strength. It is situated on a hill top and gives breath taking views for the city from top. We just loved it. The Moon Minar (Chandminar) is a tower which can be seen from all around. It was originally covered with beautiful Persian glazed tiles. The fort has 7 gates in zigzag path. The only means of access to the top is by a narrow bridge, with passage for not more than two people abreast, and a long gallery, excavated in the rock, which has for the most part a very gradual upward slope. At the top, and at intervals on the slope, are specimens of massive old cannon facing out over the surrounding countryside. The cannon on the top was so mesmerizing, that we spent 15 minutes at that place. There are cannons which have signatures of Aurangzeb engaved on them. Also at the mid way, there is a cave entrance meant to confuse the enemies. 

The recommended weather to visit Daulatabad fort would be monsoons to experience the beauty surrounding the fort and will also help to climb the fort at ease. But if you are planning some other timings, better to avoid summer's afternoon. The fort gives you a great sight in the evenings. Now a days, the walkway is surrounded by nice green gardens, so it was a pleasant walk. Carry loads of water and don't forget to visit old Bharatmata temple and a 1000 years old Ganpati temple which is located on the fort itself. I just loved the time spent together with Tanuj and Mom, and then moved to Bibi Ka Makbara. 

Recommendation: Certainly a must and worth visit for all tourists visiting Aurangabad, particularly for those who have not visited this fort earlier. In my opinion if anybody wants to enjoy its magnificent view, he should spend atleast 4 hours. Since Daulatabad Fort lies on the route to Ellora caves and Grishneshwar temple, one can plan to visit this fort in the morning, visit Aurangzeb’s tomb, spend afternoon time at Ellora caves and visit Grishneshwar temple at early evening time. 

Near by places of interest: 

Ellora Caves, Aurangabad 

Ajanta Caves, Aurangabad 

Sai Baba temple, Shirdi 

Grishneshwar Jyotirling and Temple, Verul 

Bibika Makbara (Mini Tajmahal), Aurangabad 

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Grishneshwar Temple and Jyotirlinga Aurangabad

Grishneshwar temple, sometimes referred to as the Ghrushmeshwar Jyotirlinga (linga of light) or Dhushmeshwar temple, is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines mentioned in the Shiva Purana. This is the smallest Jyotirlinga temple in India. Ghrishneshwar Temple is one out of five Jyotirlingas situated in the state of Maharashtra. This pilgrimage site is located in Ellora (also called Verul), less than a kilometer from Ellora Caves – a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is about 30 km from the city of Aurangabad, about 250 km from Pune and about 300 km from Mumbai. Enjoy the drive from whatever way you are reaching Aurangabad. 

We got up at early morning 5:30 AM since we had to reach Aurangabad as per plan, and first in the list was to visit Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga temple visit with Tanuj and maa. Tanuj also had fun while driving our new Dzire. Here we reached entrance of Grishneshwar temple at around 12 at noon. This temple is presently an important and active pilgrimage site of the Hindus and attracts long lines of devotees daily. Anyone can enter the temple premises and its inner chambers, but to enter the sanctum sanctorum core (garbha-ghrya) of the temple, the local Hindu tradition demands that men must go bare chested. We were quite surprise to see it, and respected that. One can touch the jyotirlinga here and perform abhishek through Pandits/Purohits.

The Grishneshwar Temple was constructed by Ahilyabhai Holkar who also re-constructed the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi, UP and the Vishnu Paada Temple at Gaya Bihar. There is a court hall inside which is built on 24 pillars. We watched few carvings summarizing various legends and mythologies of Shiva on these pillars. The feeling inside the Garbhagriha is simply amazing. The temple was quite peaceful and calm with very less crowd. As we visited on a weekday, so we had ample time inside Garbhagriha. There is a Nandikeshwara (Nandi bull) in the court hall. The temple houses carvings and sculptures of many Hindu gods and goddesses. 

The temple is made up of Red stone and looks artistic. Photography is not allowed inside temple premises, so we took few photographs from back side and outside areas. You need to keep all your belongings outside only. Better keep your mobile/cameras in your hotel room or vehicle or deposit in the locker which is at the side of the temple gates. We also had a glance at Shahaji Raje Samadhi which is located just besides the Temple. There is small market outside which sells items for worship and handicrafts at very nominal costs. It was one of most peaceful and less crowded jyotirlinga I have ever seen and know. After that we headed for Daulatabad Fort and then Bibi ka Makbara (Mini Tajmahal).

Near by places of interest: 

Ellora Caves, Aurangabad

Ajanta Caves, Aurangabad

Sai Baba temple, Shirdi

Daulatabad Fort, Aurangzeb Tomb, 

Bibika Makbara (Mini Tajmahal)

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Visit to Shri Sai Baba Temple at Shirdi

Quote of the Post: "Shirdi Saibaba Temple truly attracts millions of devotees of all religions, castes and creed from all over the world and deserve to be in India's most famous shrines." - Quote about 'Saibaba Temple, Shirdi' - Sachin Kumar Gupta

If you are searching for Shirdi Sai Baba visit, what you should know about, what to keep in mind, what places to visit in Shirdi Temple, what instructions to follow, what are the Puja timings, you are at the right place. The Shirdi Saibaba Temple, located at Shirdi, Maharashtra, India attracts millions of devotees of all religions, castes and creed who come to pay homage to Shri Sai Baba from all around the world. The temple is a beautiful shrine that was built over the Samadhi of Shri Sai Baba. Shirdi is a small village in Kopargam taluka, in Ahmadnagar District of the Maharastra State. Shirdi is located about 270 kms from Mumbai (MH) and about 190 kms from Pune (MH) in India. If you are planning to travel by train, Kopargaon (KPG), Manmad Jn (MMR), Nasik Road (NK) and Aurangabad (AWB) are 4 nearby train stations near Shirdi.

Important Instructions for Shirdi Sai devotees: These points I have collected after my visits to this place, and also includes family and friend's experiences.

- If you have not visited this place before, make sure on arrival at Shirdi, devotees should immediately get in touch with one of the Niwassthan Office for booking of their accommodation which will be made available after registration of name and other particulars. No deposit is required for accommodation.

- Sai Devotees are requested that they should not keep of their  foot wears any where except Chappal stand. it is near Darshan 'Q' entrance.

- Sai Devotees are requested not to carry their cell phones and cameras in Samadhi Mandir. Please keep it in lockers provided by Sansthan in Mandir Premises.

- All the devotees, especially women and diabetic persons, are requested to eat some food before joining the darshan queue as during heavy rush days time required for darshan will be from 2 to 3 hours.

- It would be best to keep all your belongings in your vehicle only, so you can save some time. 

- Thursday is the day Saibaba is specially worshipped. On this day devotees from all over India visit Shirdi for Darshan of Saibaba.

- For VIP pass, only one family member need to be in queue, and now cashless (card) payments are also available. It may take more than an hour on weekdays and more than 2 hours on weekend, and important dates. 

- Now Online Darshan Booking has introduced for Sai devotees which are providing them an option of not standing in a queue for several hours to have darshan of Siababa Samadhi Mandir. Refer this link https://online.sai.org.in. Devotees need to be first register themselves in the Website and create an Account, after that they can select the Online services like Darshan, Accommodations, Donation, etc and make their payments online.

- It was good to see that the devotees were being offered free tea/ water / coffee while they waited in queues.

- As the Samadhi Mandir is overcrowded at the time of Aarti, devotees should safeguard their ornaments and purses from pick-pocketers and take care their children.

- All the necessary assistance and guidance is readily available to the devotees at the Niwassthan Office of the Shri SaiBaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi.

- As the various dealers and vendors of Pooja articles are not connected with the Shri SaiBaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi, devotees should first fix the price before buying these articles to avoid any trouble thereafter.

- Medical facilities are available at the well-equipped  Hospital run by the Shri SaiBaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi.

- The Laddu counter is always very crowdy. Free dry boondi also distributed in similar 50 gms packet per head.

- The three main festivals in Shirdi are of two to four days each. They are Ramnavami (March/April), Guru Purnima (July),and Vijayadashami (September). 

- There are programme running throughout the year of puja, music (bhajan) public parayana (reading of scriptures and devotional texts) and exuberant processions with the palanquin and the Rath (cart).

Make sure to visit all places within the Shirdi temple boundary. 

Sri Sai Baba Samadhi Mandir

Shri Saibaba Sansthan Temple

Dixit Wada Museum

Lendi Baug

Maruti Mandir

Dwarkamai Masjid

Baba's Chavadi

Adul Baba Cottage

Literature about Shri Sai Baba containing authentic information in various languages has been published by the Shri SaiBaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi at reasonable prices and is readily available at its Book shops near the Samadhi Mandir.

Khandoba Mandir: Khandoba Mandir is situated on the main road. In front of this temple Baba was welcomed by Poojari Mhalsapati of this temple, who said "Aao Sai (Come Sai)", when Baba stepped in Shridi. In this temple there are icons of Khandoba, Banai and Mhalsai.

Daily Sai Darshan Puja Timing: The worship schedule at Shirdi Saibaba temple begins early in the morning that continues till late in night. (As of 2016 - It may change.)

·         4:30: Dwarkamai, Gurusthan, Chavadi open

·         5:00: Mandir opens, Bhupali, Abhishekam at Gurusthan

·         5:15: Kakad (morning) Arati, Naivedyam of butter and sugar to Baba in Samadhi Mandir, Oil offered to the lamps in Dwarkamai

·         5:40: Bhajan in Saibaba Mandir

·         6:00: Mangal Snaan (washing) of Statue and Samadhi in Samadhi Mandir

·         7:00: Darshan begins in Samadhi Mandir

·         9:00: Naivedyam in Samadhi Mandir and Dwarkamai

·         8:00 -10:30: Satyanarayana Pooja

·         11:30: Dhuni Pooja with rice and ghee in Dwarkamai

·         12:00: Mid day Arati

·         12:30: Naivedyam in Samadhi Mandir, Dwarkamai and Gurusthan

·         4:00: Pothi (Devotional reading/Study) in Samadhi Mandir Sunset: Dhoop (evening) Arati

·         6:30: Naivedyam in Samadhi Mandir, Dwarkamai and Gurusthan

·         8:00 - 9:00: Devotional Songs in Samadhi Mandir and other Cultural Programs (if any)

·         9:00: Chavadi and Gurusthan close

·         9:30: In Dwarkamai water is given to Baba, a mosquito net is hung and the hanging lamp is lit

·         9:45: Dwarkamai (the upper part) closes

·         10:30: Shejarati -Shej (night) Arati, after this , a shawl is wrapped around the statue in the Samadhi Mandir, a Rudraksha mala is put around baba's neck, Mosquito net is hung, and a glass of water kept there

·         11:30: Samadhi Mandir closes after night Arati

Apart from these there are other nearby destinations like Trimbakeshwar jyotirlinga, Shani Shingnapur, Renuka Mata Temple, Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, Ajanta and Ellora, Vani Saptashrungi Shakti peeth devi temple, Muktidham & Panchvati Temple in Nashik are located within 150 km from Shirdi that can be visited by the tourists here.

Om Shirdi Sai.

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Farmhouse experience at Camp Temgarh Mulshi near Lavasa

If you would like to visit a nature's place like Lavasa, Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani or Matheran but not as crowded, Camp Temgarh could be right destination near Mulshi. Prior to visit I did not have a high expectation from this place. Camp Temgarh is truly an experience amidst the nature with overwhelming hospitality which is as par with Taj Group of hotels (like my last Kumarakom Kerala trip). I had an awesome outing with Chanchal, Dilip, Sanjay, Satyajit and Sunil. We all friends enjoyed each other's company like we used to enjoy during our engineering days. It was a nice decision that we chose Camp Temgarh for one day stay. 

CAMP TEMGARH: Lavasa Road, Mulshi Taluka, Pune Maharashtra - 411032

Directions to Camp Temgarh - The best thing is that the place is not far from Pune. From Chandni Chowk on your way to Lavasa, cross Mutha Gaon and then Kharawade gaon. 1.5kms from Kharawade on the right is a blue bus stop with Ananda Ashram board. Turn left from the bus stop, go straight for 600 mtrs and turn right. Exactly 800mtrs from here on the right is Camp Temgarh.

We booked bungalow (Rajan's bungalow), for which Camp Temgarh is known among nearby villagers. Though there are cottages and Swiss tents for stay as well. This farmhouse is spread across huge resort campus. We reached there in the evening. Though high-tea time was over, but on request we get ginger tea (adarak vali chai). There is a gazebo which has unique experience during the day as well as night. Evenings are for old movies – hook up the projector in the gazebo. 

This farmhouse is perfect place for celebrating a relaxed bonfire, food, antakshari and dance. Guess what, we had all together under clear sky, and on a full moon night. Chanchal did great job bringing speaker. We had full house game and Teen Patti all night. At this moment, none win or lose as all 500 & 1000 notes were ban through out. In the morning, Beautiful views and surroundings overwhelmed us. We also had small trek to riverside, and loved the morning dew and soothing breeze. We observed many holes (could be of snakes, rats or any other animal) on our trek, so be in shoes and don't leave children alone. I captured the sunrise and many other pictures during my stay. 

We met many friendly people with high quality service, food and atmosphere at CT. All our requests were fulfilled within time. Mahavir and his team are just amazing, they make sure that our stay be comfortable and memorable. I would say - Rajan! keep them, these friendly people are your strength. Tasty fresh food is big big plus at CT. They also have mineral water all the time freely available. They also have refrigerator in the Gazebo to chill beverages. It was surprising to see over-friendly dogs, with whom we play for few time (specially Satya & Sanjay). CT also have facility for multiple options of games as soccer/basketball/volleyball/TT/snooker/badminton, and trampoline for children. We also played as per our choice as we had few in our own kit as well. Biking, Fishing and bird-watching can also be enjoyed here. Good to see dustbins around the farmhouse to dump all the waste. If you are visiting this place during monsoon, don't forget to carry raincoats, umbrellas, good quality shoes, and lights/torch for night. What I feel that rooms can be managed in a better way in bungalow. 

The place is very well maintained and truly fit for family and friends of all age and groups. Great place to celebrate small team events. Only note, this could feel like a haunted place, if visiting on weekday alone or as a couple, unless someone has craze to explore haunted place. But place is quite safe, clean, and surrounded by nature at its best. We will love to visit it again.

After checkout we spent few time at Temghar Dam and then back to Pune. 

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