Vrindavan Yatra - Part III

Day 4 – Wed 14^th Nov.

Govardhan Parikrama – 24 kms

Had breakfast at 6.30am and left for Manasi Ganga Temple. After paying obeisance to the deity, we started the parikrama on foot on the Parikrama Marg. There is a dedicated road for this purpose.  All the devotees started the parikrama at their own pace. We (me and my spouse) were covering about 5kms per hour. We were told to assemble at “Radha Kund”. So when we reached Radha Kund, we had covered 16 kms. It is said that a dip in Radha Kund is the ultimate purification. Legend has it that Krishna brought the waters of all the holy rivers in this “Kund”.

Govardhan Hill Parikrama in progress

My spouse decided to take the plunge assisted by other devotees. There is a certain ritual to be followed. Surprisingly, the water was quite clean. The steps in the “kund” are quite slippery – one has to tread with care with the help of the iron chain which is provided for that purpose. As per the ritual, one has to take three dips (fully submerged). After the first dip, he was literally shivering (the water was apparently very cold). However, the following two dips were quite smooth sailing! He had to follow the same procedure in the “Shyam Kund” and back again to “Radha Kund” – in all we had to dip ourselves nine times.

Then, it was my turn for the dip. Initially, I was a little skeptical but after seeing my hubby emerging unscathed, I took the courage and also encouraged and assisted by other devotees, I took my first dip. Since I knew what to expect, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I finally completed all the remaining dips too. For changing clothes, a small partition is provided for women only. I hurriedly changed into dry clothes which we had carried with us so that I can assist other devotees with their dips. This was a unique experience and I feel one should do this at least once in their lifetime.

We were then asked to assemble in the ashram for the lunch prasadam. As soon as we had our fill, we proceeded to complete the remaining 8kms of the parikrama.

On the way, we visited the scenic Kusum Sarowar. Legend has it that this is the place where gopis used to pick flowers for Krishna and hence the name Kusum Sarowar.

Kusum Sarowar

On completion of the parikrama, we were told to pay obeisance to the deity of Manasi Ganga Mandir (the same place from where we started the parikrama) and then proceed to our respective buses.

End of Parikrama

 Day 5 – Thu 15^th Nov.

We visited the following temples:

Daoji (Balaram ) Temple in Gokul. It is said that this is the place where the naming ceremony of Krishna and Balaram were performed by Garg Muni.

Brahmmand Ghat – place on the banks of river Yamuna. It is believed that toddler Krishna ate mud at this place and when mother Yashoda asked him to open his mouth; she saw the whole universe in his mouth hence the name Brahmand (universe) Ghat.

Rawal – Birthplace of Radharani. There is a small temple here but unfortunately it was closed when we reached there.

Also visited the other important temples - Radha Shyamsunder temple, Bankebihari Temple and Iskcon – Krishna Balaram Temple

Day 6 – Fri 16^th Nov.

Mathura – Krishna Janmasthan (birthplace) – This temple is heavily guarded and for security reasons we were asked not to carry our mobiles or cameras and hence I do not have any pictures to show.

After the temple visit, we were taken to Loi Bazar for shopping – where one can shop for clothes, handicrafts, japamalas, idols of gods and goddesses, incense etc.

After the shopping, we came back to the guest house for our lunch. The afternoon was left free for us to rest and pack. The group left that night for Bangalore while we stayed on and left the next morning for Mumbai. Our memorable Vrindavan Yatra thus came to an end.

For more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Govardhan_hill

http://vedic-stories.blogspot.in/2012/06/sri-sri-radha-shyamsundar-temple.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banke_Bihari_Temple

Vrindavan Yatra - Part II

During the yatra, our day always began with the "Mangal Aarti" at 5.00am in the Radha Vrindavan-Chandra Temple at Akshaya Patra. And after a sumptuous breakfast prasadam, we would proceed in three buses for the days' itenarary.

Day 3 – Tue, Nov 13

Our first visit was the Radharani Temple in Barsana. We had to climb slightly steep steps (we were told that there are about 300 steps) to reach the entrance of the temple. “Dolis” (a small palanquin) are available for a price (about Rs.300/- per person – you need to bargain) for those who are unable to make the climb. This is a very popular temple and hence highly crowded. After having “darshan" of the deity, we all sat at the open place in the temple and did “Kirtan” for about thirty minutes or so.

Entrance to the Radharani Temple

 

Radharani Temple, Barsana

Kirtan in progress at the temple premises

Next was the Nanda Maharaj Temple. This temple too, is situated at a height and the climb too was quite steep through a narrow lane. This is the only temple in Vrindavan that has the deities of Nanda Maharaj’s whole family – Yashoda Maiya, Nanda Maharaj, Krishna and Balaram and their friends. Here, Krishna and  Balaram both are shown black in colour and they look identical.

Nanda Bhavan Mandir, Nandgaon

Beautiful paintings inside the temple

Our next visit was the “Ter” Kadamba –  “Ter” meaning “to call” in Brij language and Kadamba is the name of a particular tree. Legend has it that, Krishna during his childhood days, used to call his friends under this tree and the branches of this tree was used for hanging food “potli” (snack/lunch wrapped in cloth given by their respective mothers) on the tree. It is said that Rupa Goswami sat under this tree to write his books and to meditate and sing bhajans.

"Ter" Kadamba

A typical Kadamba Tree, Nandgaon

Our next temple visit was Vrindadevi (Tulsidevi) Mandir where lunch prasadam was served. Adjacent to this is the Vrinda Kund.  This place is very picturesque and peaceful with lots of greenery around. We spotted a few butterflies, parrots and lapwings.

 

Vrindadevi Mandir and Vrinda Kund

Next visit was the “Paawan Sarowar”. It is called so because it purifies anybody who takes a dip in it. Legend has it that Lord Krishna used to bathe here daily. Since we reached a little late in the evening, we did not take a dip instead took a few photos of sunset here.

Paawan Sarowar

Thus ended our third day of the yatra.

For more info visit :  http://wikitravel.org/en/Nandgaon

The last and the final part to follow.......

Vrindavan Yatra - Part I

It is said that the month of Kartik is the most auspicious month in the Hindu lunar calendar. It is the festival of offering lamps to Lord Krishna. This year Kartik month began on 14^th Nov and will end on 13^th Dec 2012.

We were delighted when we were informed months in advance by Krishnashreya  (ISKCON) group about the Vrindavan Yatra during the Kartik month. We (me and my spouse) seized this opportunity to enroll ourselves in this tour. The tour was for a week  and our stay was booked in Akshay Patra guest house in Vrindavan. We later found out that 70 devotees enrolled for this “yatra”. Thus began our Vrindavan Yatra.

Most of the group left by train on Friday the 9^th of Nov 2012 and some took the flight. We (me and my better half) took the morning flight to Delhi on Sat the 10^th Nov 2012. We reached Delhi around 3.30 pm and from the airport, we were picked up by the cab driver arranged through Akshaya Patra Guest House.

Then began our journey by road to the guest house in Vrindavan. This took us almost 31/2 hours due to traffic and reached the guest house at 7.45pm with a short break on the way for tea (actually the driver needed it badly) at “Hari Om” Dhaba.

After the usual check-in formality at the guest house, we were given the key to our room. The room looked very cozy and comfortable – with all the usual necessities.

We had a quick wash as we were told that the aarti starts at 8.00 pm. We rushed to the temple.

Entrance to the temple

On the way to the temple, we were awed by the beauty of the huge campus, its’ well kept lawn, lots of greenery, the calm water of the pond with the reflection of the temple in it and the chanting of “Hare Krishna” echoing - we felt we were transferred into the spiritual world. And once, inside the temple we were enchanted by the sheer beauty of the deities elegantly dressed in all their fineries. It was awesome and the aarti that followed was simply breath-taking. The whole place was lit with tiny diyas. The atmosphere during the aarti was simply soul-stirring.

Radha-Vrindavan Chandra - Akshay Patra  - This lovely image of the deity,
I took it from the net. Cameras are not allowed inside

Taken from the entrance of the temple during Sunrise

Reflection of the temple in the Temple Kalyani (pond)

The greenery  surrounding the temple

The Open Air Theatre

The well maintained lawn and garden

Just couldn't resist taking a picture of this squirrel in the garden

After the aarti, we had our dinner at the restaurant – lovely ambience, good service and equally good food. 

The next day Sun the 11^th Nov. 2012 all the other devotees including the organizers arrived in three buses. They were asked to quickly change and be in the buses for visiting the temples in Vrindavan.

Day 1 - Sun 11^th Nov. – visited all the seven Goswami temples.

Day 2 - Mon 12^th Nov. – We started for the Vrindavan "Parikrama" (i.e. circumambulating a sacred place on foot) which is about 9km and on the way visited many temples. Some of them are:

Kaliya Ghat

Kaliya Ghat - It is said that at this very place Lord Krishna jumped into the Yamuna river to kill the huge snake Kaliya

Kadamba Tree

It is believed that Lord Krishna jumped from the this Kadamba tree to kill Kaliya, the snake.

Yamuna river

Madan Mohan Temple - The oldest Temple in Vrindavan

Note:
While in Vrindavan, please make sure you do not wear spectacles (keep it safely in your handbag) as these will be promptly snatched by the monkeys. We were warned about this beforehand. Two of the devotees from our group lost their spectacles to the monkeys. Luckily, one had a spare one; as for the other, she managed to get it back with the help of a local guy.

More to follow in my next post..........

Makhan Chor

Well friends, I am very pleased to inform you that after a very long time I had this wonderful opportunity to do a painting of  "Makhan Chor" (a request from one of my nieces). Then began the search on the net for a good picture and when that was finally found to my liking, it was downloaded and sent for my niece's approval which she okay-ed without any hesitation. So the painting (in oils) on the canvas started right away and I have been at it for the last 40 days. I finally managed to finish the painting a few days ago.With this painting, the void that was left in my blog has also been filled as the “Brush” part of it has been accomplished. I now feel that the name of my blog – Ladle, Brush and Spade stands justified! Thanks to my niece Veena.

 “Makhan” as you all know means butter in Hindi and “chor” means thief. Little Krishna’a childhood pastimes (His Lila) have earned him the nickname “Makhan Chor”. I hope I have captured in the painting his beautiful cherubic form, his innocence and the mischievous smile with that twinkle in the eye while stealing butter. Though I am satisfied with the outcome, it would really give me great pleasure if you all judge this painting and give your frank views or feedback on it.

I also take this opportunity to inform you all that I am taking a break from blogging for a couple of weeks as I will be away on a short vacation. So, here's wishing you all well in advance - A Very Happy, Prosperous and a Peaceful Diwali.

My better- half took some photographs at different stages of the painting -  two of which are being displayed below:

Tofu Bhurji

Recently at one of our friends meet, the topic of healthy foods was being discussed and one of them was Tofu. I realized that though everyone had heard of Tofu but only a few of them had a clear idea on what exactly is the stuff made of or its various preparation.

So, what is Tofu?

Tofu, also called bean curd, is a food made by coagulating soy juice and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. These soft white blocks resemble paneer (cottage cheese). In fact these are sold in the supermarket in packets as soya paneer. Ofcourse, tofu is a much healthier option than paneer. Tofu can be substituted for paneer.

And what is Bhurji? “Bhurji” is another name for scrambled (like in scrambled eggs).  I would like to call “Tofu Bhurji” as vegetarian’s or vegan’s scrambled eggs!

In this preparation of “Bhurji”, I have used very few ingredients. You can spice it up with any masala of your choice and also add a few vegetables if you so desire to increase its nutritive value.

Ingredients:

Tofu	200gms
Onion (chopped)	1 medium
Green chilies (thinly sliced)	2
Ginger (chopped)	1” piece
Salt	As per taste
Oil	3-4 tsps
Coriander leaves(chopped)	1 tbsp

Method:

1. Firstly, crumble the tofu (using your hands) and keep it aside.
2. Then heat the oil (on a medium flame) in a pan.
3. Add to it the chopped onions, thinly sliced green chilies and chopped ginger. Saute them till the onions are translucent.
4. Add the crumbled tofu and salt. Lower the flame, mix well and cover it with a lid. Keep it covered for about 2 mins and remove from flame.
5. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.
6. Serve hot with buttered and toasted bread.

Tofu slab

Crumbled Tofu

Chopped onion, ginger and sliced green chilies being sauted

Tofu Bhurji - almost done

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time      :  about 5 mins

Serves                  : 2 -3

Note:

• This is a healthy breakfast for the whole family especially if you use whole wheat bread or 7-grain bread instead of the white bread.
• I generally serve it with sliced tomato, cucumber and capsicum on the side. I did not have cucumber at the time of preparing this dish.

For more info on Tofu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofu

Quick Oats Idly

Every housewife faces this dilemma in the morning regarding the preparation of breakfast for the family.
And now-a-days everyone is very health conscious and they try to include healthy foods in their daily diet. But at the same time, the so called "healthy foods" should be easy to prepare and tasty too.  My family is no exception. Oats is one such cereal where every one would love to include in their daily diet because of its nutritive benefits but the thought of eating the bland and easy to make porridge is not everyone’s cup of tea. 

But I found, that this quick idly is an ideal healthy breakfast for the whole family and requires only about 20 mins of your time and no grinding !  The idlis too come out very light, soft and fluffy. This is a basic recipe. Variation can be made by adding chilies, ginger or even vegetables (like grated carrot) to the batter. The choice is yours.

 

Ingredients:

Oats	½ cup (about 50 gms)
Fine Suji/Semolina	½ cup
Eno fruit salt	1 tsp (level)
Salt	As per taste
Curd	1 cup
Water	½ cup
Oil	For greasing idli cups

Method:

1. Powder the oats in the mixie. This will take just a few seconds.
2. Place the powdered oats in a bowl. Add to it, the suji/semolina, salt, eno and curds. Mix it well and see that there are no lumps formed.
3. Add water to make a smooth batter. Keep this batter aside for 10 mins.
4. In the meantime, boil water in the cooker (with the whistle/wieght removed) and grease the idli cups.
5. Fill the idli cups with the batter and place the idli stand in the cooker and steam it on a medium flame for about 12 mins.
6. Cool and remove the idlis.

Ingredients 

Idly batter and greased idly cups

Batter filled in the cups

Idlis steamed and kept to cool

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time    :  12 mins

Makes                : 16 idlis

Note:

• I have used Quaker Oats and this recipe came with the pack. The only change I made in the recipe is the use of Eno instead of baking soda. If using baking soda, use ½ tsp.
• These idlis look and taste almost like Rawa idlis.
• Serve it with chutney (coconut or coriander) or sambhar or rasam. 

Black Gram (whole) in Spinach

Hello friends – It’s been a long time since I posted any recipe on my blog.  I was quite occupied this September month with one thing or the other. We just returned from our annual visit to our home town, Katapady, a tiny village in Udupi district for Ganesha festival. We had a nice relaxed time there after the festival and now I am all geared up with some delicious recipes which I shall be sharing with you all.

See here for yet another Dil & Spinach curry

 

Ingredients:

Spinach	2 bunches
Dil / Fenugreek leaves (optional)	1 small bunch
Boiled Black gram (Kala Channa)	1/2 cup
Onion	1 large
Ginger	1’ piece
Green (Or Red) chilies	3-4
Red chilly powder	1 tsp
Coriander powder	11/2 tsp
Turmeric powder	½ tsp
Garam Masala powder	1 tsp
Tamarind juice/pulp	2-3 tbsps
Oil	1 tbsp
Salt	As per taste

Method:

1. Clean, wash and roughly chop all the greens.
2. Cook them in very little water for about 10 mins and allow it to cool. When cooled, grind them ( for a few seconds) to a coarse paste and keep it aside.
3. Next chop onions and ginger finely and slit, green chilies.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add to it the chopped onions, ginger, green chilies and turmeric powder. Saute it for a while till onions are lightly browned.
5. Then add the boiled black gram (channa), spinach paste, coriander powder, chilly powder, garam masala, tamarind juice and salt. Bring it to boil and let it simmer for about 10-12 minutes till the gravy becomes thick.  Remove from flame.
6. Serve hot.

Spinach and  Dil - cleaned and washed

Frying - onions and chilies

Curry kept on simmer

Ingredients - kept ready

Preparation time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

Note:

• This tastes excellent with chapattis or puris or even with plain rice or khichadi.
• In this recipe, I have used Dil leaves. It also tastes delicious with fenugreek (methi) leaves.
• You can also substitute Kabuli Channa (Chick Peas) for Black Gram.
• I had a small boiled potato in the fridge, so I cut it into pieces and added this in the recipe.

Bhindi (okra) curry

Bhindi is also known as okra or lady’s finger. This is one of my favourite vegetable. But, I know a lot of people who dislike this vegetable because of the mucilage (that sticky element that it oozes when okra is cut and it comes in contact with water). Apparently, this mucilage has antioxidant properties and is also good for diabetic patients.

I have noticed that when these okras are cut horizontally, the gooey substance, oozes out more while cooking.  But when you cut them lengthwise, then this problem does not arise. I am sure many of you may be aware of this and there may be some scientific reason for this. If anyone of you knows about it, please enlighten me.

I learnt this recipe from one of my aunts some years back and I prepare it quite often. Its simple easy and tasty too. Similar preparation can be made by substituting okra with eggplant/brinjal. 

You can also check out the earlier recipes of Bhendekayi Gojju and Stuffed okra. 

 

Ingredients:

Bhindi (lady fingers)	250 gms
Onion (sliced)	1
Garlic chopped (optional)	5-6 cloves
Oil	2tbsps
Udad Dal ( split black gram)	2 tsps
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Jeera (cumin) seeds	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	½ tsp
Chilly powder	1-2 tsps
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Tamarind water	2 tbsps
Salt	As per taste
For Garnish
Freshly grated coconut	1 tbsp
Chopped coriander leaves	1 tbsp

Method:

Okras cut lengthwise

1. Wash the okras and wipe them dry with a kitchen towel. Cut off the edges. Halve it and cut each halve lengthwise and keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan on a moderate flame. Add to it udad dal, mustard seeds and jeera. Once the mustard seeds start spluttering, and the sliced onions, chopped garlic, curry leaves, turmeric powder and chilly powder. Stir fry it till the onions are lightly browned.
3. Add the cut okras, mix well and stir fry it again till the okras have slightly wilted. Sprinkle a little water if necessary to avoid it being burnt or sticking to the pan.
4. Next add salt and tamarind water and let it cook in the masala for 2-3 minutes. Switch off the gas and garnish it with freshly grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves.
5. Serve hot.

Sliced onions and garlic being stir fried

Seasoning in process

Curry almost done

Cut okras added and being stir-fried

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time:      20-25 mins

Serves: 2

Note:

• This is a semi dry curry and goes well with curd rice or rice and dal.
• It tastes good with chapattis too.