Mahanandi: Part 2

The temple is in the middle of a forest. Dad said that it had hardly changed since his last visit there. There is a spring that supplies water to a well inside the temple where people take a dip before going into the temple. I was reluctant to get inside at first because the water didn't seem too clean. But I changed my mind after a while, only this time, I couldn't find our driver, who had the car keys, so I could get my change of clothes. The dip in the well just wasn't for me this time.

When we reached the temple, I saw a sign that said that between 10am and 11am, the entry into the temple is free. Awesome, I thought, it was 10:30am, so our timing was perfect. However the gatekeeper there was suggesting to everyone that came there that they should probably buy the entance tickets because if they took time swimming around in the well, they would miss the free darshan times. The paid darshan was Rs. 3. OK, not bad. As I went to buy the tickets, the guy at the counter asked if I wanted the regular darshan or the special darshan. What's the difference, I asked. Well, he replied, in the special darshan you actually get to touch the idol inside. Hmm, I don't particularly care but I thought my dad would like it. So I got these tickets instead, for Rs. 20. When I went back to my dad with the tickets, he said that we should get tickets for the "abhisekham" (ceremonial showering of the idol) as well. Turned out the price for darshan with abhiseskham was Rs. 125. So I went back to the counter and convinced the guy to take back the Rs. 20 tickets and give me tickets for the abhisekam instead. He grumbled about taking tickets back but agreed in the end. Then he asked me if I wanted regular abhisekham or special abhisekham. What's that, I asked. Well in special abhisekham you get a "kanduva" (an over cloth) and two laddus. For Rs. 250 each. OK fine, give me those instead. Also, apparently you could only use each abhisekham ticket for two people, so I had to purchase a second ticket. With those tickets in hand I asked him if he would give me the materials for the abhisekham. That's a separate purchase, he said. Rs. 80. So basically, for a darshan that would have been FREE, we ended up spending Rs. 580. And we weren't close to being done.

The abhisekham was well worth it. They got us sitting next to the idol and made us perform the abhisekham with our own hands. My parents were really thrilled. BTW, the extra Rs. 250 we paid for the special abhisekham was totally worth it because it turned out that you were not supposed to wear anything above your waist (only for men) as you performed the abhisekham, and there was no way in hell I was going to sit there shirtless for any amount of time without something to cover myself. As we were finishing, the pujari asked for "dakshina", dad paid him Rs. 30. From that point onward, the way to exit the temple was a big maze. They had interconnected all the mini-shrines inside so that you would have to pass all of them as you left the temple. And at each station the pujaris were offering their own services for performing archanas at moderates prices, which they were still NOT supposed to do. Some were offering lamps to be lit at 9 for Rs. 20. SOme were selling rudraksha beads at Rs. 5 each. It was a bit ugly to watch but atleast it was better than that temple in Jammu. (Dear Jammu temple, your position in the top 2 WORST temples in the world is secure.)

We got to eat lunch at the same place we had breakfast a few hours earlier. It was a really nice hotel/restaurant with very nice service. Our waiter treated us like we were from the groom's side at a wedding! Even as we gave our orders together, he insisted on serving us only after we finished each course so that the items wouldn't get cold! Very nice of him. As I am typing this we're still about 100 kms from Hyderabad and I'm hoping the rest of the journey will be uneventful.