Day 3 - (Dec 24th)
I stare at the blaring alarm. Its 4:50 in the morning. My eyes hurt, the head aches, the stomach churns with the acidic leftovers of yesterday's meals and I really don't wish to abandon the warmth of the bed. Sleep beacons me seductively. But alas. We are on a schedule and I don't want us to be late like yesterday...
Well, turns out we were late today too. In fact, to my horror, we were the last to arrive. We were late by 10-12 minutes. The entire bus was seated and eager to leave. I just hung my head down and entered the bus full of accusatory glances.
Left at 6:20 pm. Next stop Ozar.
While the sun is fighting to come above the horizon, night has descended on our bus. People, all cocooned up in sweaters and jackets, are dozing away as the bus blazes a shuddering trail through the darkness towards impending dawn.
Yesterday had been quite tiring, but a decent enough sleep can work wonders for your mood. I am feeling fresh and looking out at the nature's glory zooming past the window.
Ozar is more than 100 kms away from Chinchwad. The trip is scenic with farm lands on either side of the road. Especially past Junnar and Narayangaon.
A golden Sun reflecting off the water, green fields zooming past, the sky changing shades from black to dark blue to purple to orange to gold to light blue, a misty haze obscuring the horizon - such is the scenery that greeted those of us still awake.
We arrive at Ozar around 8 am. The air was cold, crisp and sharp - and very invigorating.
There is a footwear stand near the temple but many people leave their footwear at the very entrance.
Like Moreshwar temple, the wall-hugging queue, bordered in by ropes moves along most of the courtyard walls. Instead of making serpentine mazes to manage queues, they have erected a couple of makeshift metal staircases. You will need to climb up and down a few times - which can be difficult for those with problems in the knees.
Lady luck smiled on us today. There was hardly any queue and we were treated with a nice long Darshan of the Vighnahar Bappa. Just looking at the majestic idol I was overwhelmed. It was the first time in my 3 day trip that I had a modicum of spiritual solace.
So many of us go on pilgrimages, visit famous temples, throng the spiritual corridors, become small but necessary cogs in the machinery of Religion and God-business. And in all this rigmarole, we forget to spend a few seconds in silence simply contemplating and connecting with God. Not asking, not complaining, not even being in awe of the supreme being. Just listening to the inner silence - until we tune out the din outside and tune in to the rhythm of nature around us that is God. That was the overwhelming feeling I got as I gazed at the beautiful majestic idol of Lord Vighnahar.
The Darshan is also possible from the hall outside, if there is not too much crowd. We walked away satisfied and spiritually sated. By the time we were out, the queue had quadrupled and overflowed right out of the main entrance.
The public restrooms are a bit farther than the temple - just beyond Bhakt Bhavan No 1/2 and at one end of the huge open parking which lies near the lake. So the plus point here is that you need not go to the washroom barefoot.
Had a quick breakfast of upma and tea at Hotel Vignahar. Upma was quite nice, if a bit less in quantity. Tea was good too. Left by 9:45 am for Lenyadri where we would take the darshan of the last remaining Ganapati of our tour.
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