NEELKANTHESHWAR

Impromptu plans work out the best! I had another such experience when we wound up at Neelkantheshwar one Sunday morning. The original plan included travelling to Kaas pathar which is place around Satara having a volley of beautiful flowers. It has recently become a tourist destination and is now known for the beautiful sights it offers for 2 weeks in a year when the flowers are in full bloom. As of 9:30 pm on Saturday night, this was the plan. At 10 pm same day, our destination and timings had completely changed.

We heard some first-hand experiences from people who had been there the day before and the week before. Apparently, this splendid view was as crowded as any place in Mumbai or Pune would be. Moreover, since it had rained heavily for a few days before, there was mud all around and vehicles had to be parked a kilometer or two away from the main area. Believing this hearsay, we decided to skip this plan and instead made a new one of going to Neelkantheshwar which is around a 100 kms from Pune.

I had been to Neelkantheshwar once before, during my college time. What I had completely forgotten was how steep the climb till the main area was. Huffing and puffing, getting more breathless and tired than my approx. 50 year old relatives, (I doubt how they can still be so enthusiastic), we finally reached the top after almost 45 min of climbing. The scenic view from each stop point was a short relief punctuated by the daunting task of keeping climbing. The buttermilk at the foot of the mandir was refreshing. I, for one, was relieved that my stamina ordeal compared to my relatives was over!

Neelkantheshwar is a beautiful place located at the top of a hill overlooking the Pashan dam. Intermediate rains have kept the area evergreen and the view was beautiful. This place has a very interesting concept. They have depicted scenes from mythology with the help of immovable human and animal figures. Most of the scenes have a small nameplate giving an idea of the story portrayed. Exploring the area and trying to figure out the story depicted by the scene was the most fun part.

                           Picturesque view of the Pashan dam from up the hill

The most interesting part was the level of detailing in each and every scene. Like in the scene depicting Draupadi Vastraharan, the entire scene is shown in the most grueling details. While we have Dushasan trying to disrobe Draupadi, there is Krishna who is providing more and more cloth to Draupadi so that her saree never seems to end. Watching this whole ordeal are the Pandavas sitting with Shakuni with the chessboard in front of them. In the background are Dhritarashtra and Gandhari; ofcourse with a cloth covering her eyes. It was very interesting to notice each and every small detail described!  

                            The Raslila depiction - Krishna dancing with gopis

                                                                    Bakasur and Bhima scene  

                     Kumbhakaran from Mahabharat and people trying to wake him up from his sleep

This was just one of the many my mythological scenes depicted in the huge area with statues. Along with this, there were status of the 7 rishis whose lineage we carry, statues of all main Gods in excruciating detail (Indra riding in his rath) amongst many others. Apart from the mythological scenes, there were scenes depicting our saints too. We were enthralled with Gorakumbhar, Tukaram, Dyaneshwar and their stories. 

There were many scenes which I had no clue about but which are deep rooted in our mythology. Some baby born from an elephant's ear, a baby being born from the bark of a tree, and many such scenes looking at which I realized the need to read and understand our mythology in detail. Ramanyan and Mahabharat have become famous for obvious reasons but there are so many other equally interesting and informative stories from mythology. 

This all is built around a main Shiv mandir. The Shiv mandir is said to be auspicious such that wishes asked there are usually fulfilled. They also have a free prasad lunch for everybody there at noon. Small refreshment huts serving tea, coffee, onion pakoras can be found, though more options are available on crowded weekends. 

                                                                            View while walking down the hill

Walking down was as pleasant as climbing up wasn't. We could stand at every picturesque location and enjoy the nature (and click pictures ofcourse). It was all a downward slope and a cakewalk compared to the upward climb; and we were at the starting point in no time. Ended this short and interesting trip with an amazing lunch at Mirch Masala on the way back home! Was home for my weekend noon nap along with being refreshed and happy with the interesting short trip!