Our Trip to Maharashtra

On 28th Dec 2018, I went on a spectacular trip which I didn't know it would be.  It was a trip to Kolhapur, Mahabaleshwar and Shirdi.  They are all located in Maharashtra.  I, my sister Pragna, my father, mother, Uncle and one of my father's friends,  Venkat uncle were together on this trip.  

First-in-line was a very long journey to Maharashtra's border where Kolhapur is located.  We went on and on past enchanting green fields. Finally in the night around 7.00 pm, we reached Davanagere.  As most of us know, it is a place which is famous for its butter dosa or benne dose.  We went to a hotel and ate the same.  The next morning we left Davanagere at 4.30 am and reached Kolhapur by 2.00 pm. We had our lunch in a hotel and it was a big Mahashtrian thali!  

By late evening we all visited the Mahalakshmi temple.  The majestic temple and its imposing towers were lit with lamps.  Then we went inside the temple and had the divine view of Goddess Mahalakshmi.  As my sister Pragna was short, our uncle Venkat had to lift her up to get her a view of the Goddess.  

Next morning we all woke up very early and went again to have a darshan of Mata Mahalakshmi.  We offered a sari along with our puja items to the Goddess.  I, my sister and my mother joined a group of women devotees who were singing Marathi devotional songs.  My father and uncles joined a group of men doing meditation.  

Next destination was Mahabaleshwar.  It was a beautiful hill station.  On our way to the Parsi point, we saw the sangam of two river.  

At the Parsi point we witnessed the exciting view of the Sun set. 

Next day was the brightest day of our trip.  We went to a place called Mapro in Mahabaleshwar where strawberry is grown. 

Then it was the turn of Pratapgarh fort. We reached its top-most point where they used to fire bombs against enemies.  But the weather was very hot.

Since it was very hot we went for boating in a nearby lake.  The lake was very big and we enjoyed boating together. 

The next part of this hill station visit was seeking the blessings of Lord Mahabaleshwar.

Last program of our tour was visit to the holy temple of Shirdi Saibaba. In this temple we saw the 'padukas and stick' used by the Saint.  And the most exciting was 'baba's duni' (lamp) which is continuously burning since the days of the Baba. Baba's kitchen is also well preserved. 

Thus our trip was a mix of seeking the blessings of Mahalakshmi, Mahabaleshwar and Saibaba and enjoying the natural beauty of western ghats.  All through the return journey we kept discussing about the exciting moments of our great tour.

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