Things to do at Somnath – The Somnath Diary

This is the diary of our travel to Gujarat, the itinerary, and things to do and see at Somnath.

The Gujarat Itinerary

We visited Gujarat in December 2008 during  winter vacation. Our itinerary was as follows:

24th Dec – Rajdhani Express from New Delhi to Ahmedabad (19:55-10:05)
25th Dec – Somnath Express from Ahmedabad to Veraval (22:00-6:15)
26th Dec – Stay at hotel Shivam in Somnath
27th Dec- Depart to Sasan Gir
27th Dec- Stay at Hotel Annapoorna in Sasan Gir
28th-29th Dec – Stay at Gir Jungle Resort, Balcheel Village, Sasan Gir
30th Dec – Depart to Junagarh
30-31st Dec – Stay at Leo Resort, Junagarh
1st Jan – Depart to Ahmedabad

Why we decided to visit Gujarat

Gujarat! It’s not a preferred tourist destination. I agree. We chose it as we felt that in Gujarat it would be easier for us to find homely food. It was a must as my younger son, Tanmay, was only eight months old. Another reason to choose Gujarat was an opportunity to get ample sun. The compelling desire to leave Noida was to avoid depressing days of sunless winters.
( These days aggressive campaigning by Gujarat tourism and having Amitabh Bachchan on board, as its brand ambassador, might have created the right buzz for tourism in Gujarat).

Stay At Moti Mahal Hotel, Ahmedabad

We boarded Rajdhani from Delhi and  reached Ahmedabad the next morning. There was a full day between our arrival in the morning and departure at night. Jaishree was tired. She finds it difficult to sleep in the trains.

We looked for an accommodation in our guide book which was close to the railway station and zeroed in on Moti-Mahal Hotel. It was too near from the station to appeal to any auto driver to take us there. It required convincing and extra-money to persuade them.

For the auto-wallah , extra-money was not the attraction, the reason to agree for the ride was the hope was that we may change our decision and may agree with his suggestion to look for another accommodation, where he could possibly earn his commission.

We needed hotel room only for the day-time, so I was of the opinion that I would be able to convince the hotel manager to offer us a discounted tariff. I could not convince him and we had to pay the full tariff (Rs 550+4% tax).

Ahmedabad – Early Adopter of CNG

The hotel and the railway station are located in the old Ahmedabad – the walled city. Traffic in front of the hotel was heavy and the roads were congested. Luckily our room was not facing the road else the traffic could have been annoying.

We saw many CNG autos there. The adoption of CNG should be the savior of the lungs of the walled city residents else it is evident how polluted the whole place would be!

About Moti-Mahal, Ahmedabad

Moti-Mahal is a budget accommodation. We had a clean room and clean-spacious bathroom with hot water. I found the room small. But even in the peak tourist season they were charging nominal amount, so the expectations were not high as well. However, we felt that even for such a short stay it would be better to stay in quieter areas.

We had a dinner appointment with a relative. We left for their house in an auto at late afternoon. In general auto-wallah’s in Ahmedabad are honest and go by meters. It was an interesting ride.

Kite-flying in Ahmedabad

The city was ready for the kite season. The grand finale of kite-festival takes place on Makar Sankranti, the fifteenth January every year.

Roadside shops were bustling with preparation of the colorful manjaas (thread to fly kites) with glass coating. All these shops were decorated with Charkhis (the spindles), kites and the manjaas. Ours is a country of colors; we are always looking for opportunities to celebrate in colors and, with colors.

Kite-flying is a good sport for computer professionals like me. Our eyes need to look at infinity to reduce the negative effect of continuous staring at screens from short distances. What else can be a better way to do so then indulging in this sport?

We had a nice evening with our warm and jovial hosts. After returning back to the hotel, we tried to find an auto to go to the railway station. We could not find any. Sometimes having a hotel at stone’s throw may not be desirable 🙂 Finally we had to carry the luggage on foot.

Veraval Train Station to Somnath

We reached Veraval, the nearest railhead for Somnath, in the morning, which is around six kilometer from Somnath.

Veraval was a major seaport for the Mecca headed pilgrims before the rise of Surat. It is still one of India’s major shipping ports. During the British reign, cannons were kept at the ruins of Somnath to keep this sea port safe from sea pirates.

Autos were readily available for Somnath. Almost midway between Somnath and Veraval, we felt a strong pungent smell of dead sea fishes. The smell was emanating from nearby “fish-factories”.

In my guidebook, it was suggested to avoid hotels in Veraval, in case someone is sensitive to that smell. It was intolerable for us and I was happy that we decided not to stay there.

First Impressions of Somnath Temple

Coming to the Somnath temple, I believe that the places of worship are for believers and devotees, not for tourists. But I visited Somnath temple more as a tourist. My observations would be accordingly.

We reached temple at noon. Even in winters, sun was harsh by that time. The big concreted space outside the temple was clean. There was a statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel facing the temple; flocks of pigeons were fed by tourists and devotees. Small act of kindness, be it with fellow human beings or with animals or the birds increase the general aura of spirituality.

Pigeons are among the most docile birds. It’s calming to see them eating, and then suddenly flying off and then coming down again all-together. A few kids were enjoying chasing them and forcing them to fly, keeping themselves and the pigeons fitter in the process.

Facilities at Somnath Temple

Somnath temple has received many terror threats, so ample security arrangements have been done to protect it. There was a long queue of school kids waiting for their turn to enter inside.

There were good facilities to leave luggage and footwear outside. Photography is not allowed inside the temple and so lockers are provided, free of cost, for keeping valuables and cameras.

Aarti at Somnath Temple

On first looks, the exteriors of this temple looked impressive. It is planned in the architectural style of the Solanki period. I was of the impression that this much talked about temple is among the rich Indian temples and so I was expecting the construction to be comparable to at-least Akhshardhams. I was disappointed.

Carvings on the temple walls were gross and lacked refinement. In-total it was an unattractive modern construction. This observation is only as far as the touristic external looks are concerned.

The purpose of visit to any religious place should be the aura of spirituality there. On the first day we could not attend the aarti in the temple. Next day we were pressed on by the owner of ShivShakti restaurant to attend it. It was worth it.

The most memorable part of our visit to the Somnath temple was the fervor and the zeal of devotees during aarti and to experience the crescendo of devotion.

After visiting the temple and finishing our meals at Amul outlet, my wife and kids decided to take rest in the hotel. I stayed back to explore the town.

Old Museum in Somnath

My first destination was an old museum that is situated north of the temple. The courtyard of that museum was littered with a jumble of old carved stones, statues, section of roof pillars and torans of the remains of the old temple. All of them were telling the same stories of vandalism, demolitions and destruction.

I wonder how breaking idols could be an act of bravery. It reminds me of Taliban gleefully blowing down the colossal statues of Buddha in Bamiyan in front of the world media. The whole world looked helpless and watched as mere spectators.

Some day in future, Afghanistan will understand the loss they had on that day. Later on I learnt that for local Hazara population of Afghanistan, the giant figures represented the ancestors of their indigenous population. The enormous Buddha statues were considered male and female – the male Salsal (55m) “light shines through the universe” and the smaller female Shamama (38m) “Queen Mother”.

Two years after this outrageous act, when Taliban lost control over the region, UNESCO listed the cultural landscape and the archaeological remains of the Bamiyan valley on its World heritage list in Danger.

While loitering in the museum I noticed that all those remains lacked the refinement and sophistication of  Khajuraho. I remained wondering, was the temple of Somnath really so grand and sophisticated as it sounds in folklores! Or is it that in the series of attacks and in the centuries of negligence, it had lost all that made it so unique.

Old Temple in Somnath

Afterwards, I decided to visit an old temple in front of the new Somnath temple. There was no one to take care of one’s shoes. Before the trip I had bought new Adidas shoes and I was worried about their safety. I realized that God has put a strange condition for me. If I had to visit Him, I had to shun my materialistic affinities.

I explored alternatives and so requested a guard to take care of my shoes and he shrugged my request telling me that he had better business to attend to. I tried to achieve both God and my materialistic belongings.

I took off my shoes at the entrance and did a hundred meter race to have a quick darshan. The distance upto the sancta-sanctorum was more than hundred meters, I had to return midway. God smiled at my attempt.

There was a beggar. I thought of asking him to take care of my shoes. But I could not convince myself that he would remain there till I return. Sadly, in the end, my love for my new shoes won; my tryst with God on that day was not ordained to happen 🙁

Dejected I moved away from the temple towards Somnath’s new museum. It was near bus stand, but was closed for renovation at that time. It is dedicated to regional “coastal life” and maritime events.

There I was told about Sangam and that Sharda Peeth, Bhalka Teertha, Gita Mandir and Surya Mandir are in its vicinity. I walked towards Sangam. It was around one kilometer from the temple.

Is Sangam worth visiting?

I was sure that at Sangam I would not have to take off my shoes and so I decided first to explore it. आख़िर दूध का जला छाछ भी फूँक फूँक कर पीता है (Its literal english translation is that those who burn their tongue drinking hot milk, sip even the buttermilk cautiously. In other words, once bitten twice shy).

I liked the place. So without wasting much time there alone, I decided to return back with the family. When I reached the hotel I saw that the kids and my wife were awake. When I told them about Sangam, everyone got interested.

Buggy from Somnath to Sangam

By this time, the laid back life of Somnath started to absorb us in. We hired buggy to go to Sangam. The whole setting reminded me of Dilip Kumar’s famous film “Naya Daur”. It was a little before sunset. Somnath temple was gleaming in sunlight. It was a beautiful sight to view the glowing temple from the hooded rear portion of the buggy.

Sangam in Somnath

Sangam is located at the confluence of Kapila, Hiranya and vanished Saraswati rivers. At the entrance we bought biscuits for fish. When we threw them in the water it was fun to see shoals of fishes rushing to grab them.

The scene reminded me of a rugby match. A lucky fish moving ahead with its prized possession and other fishes vehemently following it. In this case though at the end the ball ended up being devoured by the hungry players. The interesting sight evoked joy and excitement in the hearts of my children.

At Sangam a few Brahmins were chanting shlokas and conducting prayers around  small shivlingas which they had brought with themselves. A few devotees were taking bath in the holy water. It gave the whole place an atmosphere of calm, peace and religious feel.

Later on I noticed something pathetic. After the prayers the Brahmins left the portable shivlingas unattended on the shore. I witnessed a dog lifting its leg there. Pitiful!

Mr Bagula Bhagat at Sangam

A Western Reef Egret on the shore kept us entertained. Mr Bagula Bhagat sometimes stood still while sometimes it ran behind fishes with his tilted neck – like an old chowkidar of a mango orchard running behind children, who enter inside the orchard excitedly looking forward to enjoying the luscious mangoes; never really been able to catch any of them.

Boat Ride at Sangam, Somnath

Here we took a boat ride and were taken to the point where the rivers Kapila and Hiranya could be seen arriving from different directions, till then with completely distinct identities. Eventually getting married at Sangam and losing their individuality completely.

There were big white water birds. I wondered, are they the Great white Pelicans? I requested the boatman to take us closer to the birds. He declined, explaining that the water was shallow there. It was the closest we could watch those magnificent, beautiful white birds.

Sunset at Chowpatty, Somnath

On Rachit’s insistence after sangam we went straight to chowpatty – the sea beach abutting the Somnath temple.  (Yes, this beach was also called chowpatty like the one in Mumbai). As we reached there, we saw a few kinnars coming towards us. Rachit commented – “पापा, मस्त ताली बजाने वाले आ रहे हैं ” (Papa, the people who clap nicely are coming towards us).

The beach was lively with hordes of tourists sipping coconut water, eating chaats, and taking camel and horse rides. Camels at Chowpatty were conscious about their beautiful faces and all of them could be seen wearing hats to avoid sunburns. Sorry, I don’t have a photograph of that!

Sun was yet to set. It was looking tired but experienced. The fierce yellow shine was paving way to a soothing yellow and the temple was glowing.

Setting sun has its own charm and it never ceases to impress us. Rachit was enjoying the incoming and receding waves, running forward and backward with them. But the camels and horses were also running along the shore and his safety became a matter of concern for us.

We decided to move from chowpatty to finish our meal before the sound and light show at the temple. After dinner,  the toll of continuous two night of train journeys, began to appear. In-spite of  his tremendous efforts and strong desire to see the show, Rachit gave up and so did we. We later realized that he had fever and decided to call it a day.

Click here to read about the Sunset point, Matheran

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