As I mentioned in one of my blogs last week, I visited my hometown for my cousin's wedding. The day after the wedding, my family and I visited a temple. This temple is a very important part of our lives because it is the main God (Devta) of my mother's village. Every auspicious occasion in my maternal grandmother's village begins with worshipping it. Once a year, during April (Baishakhi), a huge fair is held here. People from many villages, both nearby and far away, come here with their gods. The morning after my cousin's wedding, we all set out for Danda Nagaraja Temple. After covering 600 meters on foot, we covered the first 5 kilometers to the Ganga River by taxi.
We had planned to take a holy bath there and then proceed to the temple. The route to the Ganga River ghat passes through the Vyas Temple. This place is considered famous and sacred because of Vyas Rishi.
The main market here is called Vyashatti. Shopkeepers from many villages settled here and started small businesses like ration shops, dhabas and vegetable vendors. The ghat we visited is known as Vyasghat. This is a bathing ghat for the villagers, and people who have passed away are cremated next to this ghat. This entire area of Vyasghat and Vyas temple is called Bhwaata by the locals. Saints stay here in the temples; they provide free food and stay to the people who have no one in the world.
The ghat we visited is called Vyasghat. This is the bathing ghat for villagers, and the people who are cremated at Satkar Ghat are carried from here. The entire area of Vyasghat and Vyas Temple is called Bhwaata by the locals.
After bathing, my mother poured water on the Peepal tree. She told me that when she lived in the village and used to come for a bath, she would pour water on this same Peepal. Our connection to old activities runs deep. We may go far away for many years, but when we return to our roots, we try to find old memories again.
Danda Nagaraja Temple is about 30 kilometres from Vyasghat. It is around 35 kilometers from the main Pauri Garhwal. After reaching there, we visited the temple. This temple is a Nag (Snake) Devta temple. This is a very famous temple located top of the mountain, about 4900 ft, and the Himalayas are visible from here.
This is my mother's village, and this is their main god whom they worship. The married daughters always return to visit this temple whenever they come home. So, whenever we visit the village with my mother, we always come here. My mother says there used to be a lot of snowfall in her village. People would stay indoors for a few months, storing grass for the animals and rations for the family. Gradually, the snowfall stopped. In my childhood, when we visited during summer vacations, we used to wear a sweater even in May and June. Our village is located on a riverbank, and it’s in a valley, so it gets very hot during the summer. I only saw snowfall here once as a child.
A two-day fair is held here on 13th and 14th April during biashakhi, which attracts a huge crowd. Many devotees come from their village with their Devta. Many believe that God descends upon them. My grandmother, that is, my grandmother's sister, came with us as she had also attended the wedding. Her village is also near this temple. The priest who performs the rituals at the temple is also from her village, called Lasera. Everyone knows her well; she is one of the women from her village who believe the Nag Devta descends on her.
During our childhood, we used to pluck baskets full of flowers every evening for a month before the fair and put these flowers early morning near the doors in each family. Women used to gather at the village chowck every night for a month to sing folk music till the fair. One day before the fair all the family used to give money to the children. We would take this money to the fair and buy our favourite food and things.
After visiting the temple, we went to our maternal uncle's house, stayed there for a while and then returned to our village.
Disclaimer: The photoraphs clicked on my phone One Plus 13s, and translated in google translate from Hindi to English. Photo collage created in the phone.