Savitri Seva Sadan (Guest House), Vrindavan

Just like any other tourist scouring the net for a nice place to stay in Vrindavan before a travel, I stumbled on to a list of numerous guest houses and hotels available. I had absolutely no idea on what might be a reasonable price for a decent staying place, but the hotel rooms on offer were definitely out of my budget.

So I called up quite a few guest houses and found almost similar pricing ( around 500-700 per night for a double bed , AC room). I ended up booking randomly, where the person on the phone sounded polite !!!
Savitri Seva Sadan is small guest house located on Sanrakh road in Madhuban Colony. [Click here for Google Map view and exact location]

Address: Madhuban Colony, Sunrakh Road, Vrindavan
Ph: 0565-254.0880 / Mob: 931.908.7338

Tariff : Rs 600 (AC room , 1 double bed) [ Rs. 100 for an extra bed]
Meal : Rs. 100 per head (need to inform the manager in advance) - only Vegetarian

The rooms offered were clean and decent and the guest house ambiance was also peaceful. There is power back up facility as well.
The Guest house staff were very polite and also guided us to local places of importance etc. Special mention for the meal. The meal offered is purely vegetarian and is prepared in house. It is simple but very filling ( 2 vegetables, daal, chapati, rice, curd etc) and the helper served us well. 

Some Pictures clicked on site:

Main Building

Rooms and Temple within the Guest  House

Radhe Radhe...

Just came back from Mathura - Vrindavan darshan. If I had to sum up my experience in two words, I would say heavenly as well as chaotic !
The very fact that you are entering a holy land, a place where Lord Krishna once lived, creates an unmatched aura about the whole setting. The local people, temples, the Yamuna river, the trees, Cows and even the sand start looking as if something is different about them. Any where you travel you hear chants of Radhe - Radhe, Krishna - Krishna all day long  (Even the rickshaw pullers say Radhe-Radhe in a pleasing way to request way)! The Lord is around you, somewhere!

Krishna - Balram with Yashoda

On the other side is the place itself, which is chaotic no doubt. Being a popular religious place, it is expected to be crowded and it is. By evenings, there are people all around and everybody wants to catch a glimpse of the Lord, be ready to be pushed and shoved around. But to me, even this chaos looked part of a divine design. To test the resolve to attain that spiritual high that I was so determined to experience when I started out.

But even if you are not the spiritual kind, experience the place as one of the flavors that India has to offer.
A great experience overall.

A Nice Poem

Am Quoting an English translation of a Tamil poem composed some 2000 years ago by Avvaiyar

"It is rare to be born as a human being,
It is still rarer to be born without any deformity.
Even if you are born without any deformity,
It is rare to acquire knowledge and education.
Even if one could acquire knowledge and education,
It is still rare to offer service to the mankind and contemplate on the higher self.
If one leads such a selfless divine life,
The gates of heaven open to greet such an evolved soul."

I Read this poem in Dr. Abdul Kalam's book Ignited Minds. It took a while to absorb the import of this poem but later two thoughts built up inside me. I am sharing them below:

One that India had a thinker/poet of such high capacity as far back as 2000 years ago [Did some research on net to find about Avvaiyars (Tamil: ஔவையார்). It means "respectable women" and is a  title of more than one poet active during various times of Tamil literature].
Hasn't India been blessed always ? Throughout our history, there are countless stories of thinkers, philosophers, scientists and innovators. A well endowed and rich country in more ways than one.
But eventually the thoughts travel to the the present condition of our country which looks a bit less rosy. Is there hope? I believe there is. We, the youth would turn things around for our country.
As Mr. Kalam hopes in his book that the youth would wake up and rekindle the spirit of knowledge and victory.

Second thought was more on the poem itself. Resonating with the spiritual cord.
Drowned in the monotony of our daily routine, we get lost. Isn't it easy to forget who we are and what's our purpose here. Sometimes we don't even bother to find out.
I felt a strange sense of calmness reading the lines. Whatever the situation, there is a scope to be thankful for what we are, today. Aren't we made humans. That was a rare chance that materialized. Is that enough or should we be chasing something rarer. If we are capable enough to be at service to others, wouldn't that be wonderful. Not only we take care of our own lives but can also be a factor for happiness in somebody Else's. What a rarity !!!


Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avvaiyar
Ignited Minds - By Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam

It Started in Delhi

Delhi used to be my world not so long ago.
An area of about 1000 square km or thereabouts and capital city of India. I was born there and had all my education there. It's a place where the weather varies from extreme hot in summers to extreme cold in winters, with  a decent rain during the monsoon season. The landscape is mostly flat, by which i mean that you dont expect to see hills , mountains etc here. The action is mostly in the cultural space. I will explain. Delhi speaks a special type of Hindi, which is derived from Hindi, Urdu, English, Punjabi, Haryanvi and other regional language mix. Delhi eats a mix of different Indian cousines in its own Delhi way.This is because historically, Delhi has always seen people come and settle from all parts of our country, bringing with them their own food and culture. (This was the case with my ancestors as well.) But it doesn't take long to become a big mix and match show. Everything gets absorbed and becomes Delhi.

I was absorbed too. From speaking the Delhi Hindi or relishing the rajma chawal for lunch to  effortlessly playing games in the scorching heat of summers or hurting cold of winters, I would say I was immersed completely. I was reminded that there is a world outside only during our geography or social sciences lessons when we read about a big landmass called India or when we actually ventured out during our summer vacations. But I feel there is a magnetism or some strange power in Delhi, which made us to quickly forget those moments of diversion and revert back to the mean line of thought, ie, Delhi is the world.Growing up in the city, Delhi was all that I knew.

But Delhi's magnetism not with standing, once in a while, I wondered, what would it be like outside. India is so big. What all will be there. Shouldn't  I be seeing and experiencing what India has to offer. Searching for information in books and as questions to teachers, I unknowingly was getting attracted to India. I wanted to cross the wall now.

Around six years ago, I got a chance to do something about this situation. As I had to decide between accepting a job offer in Delhi or outside, I weighed in my options. I chose to leave Delhi.

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