Lord Brahma – He is the creator of the universe. He is a supreme god in the diverse version of Hinduism. He is created by his own accord and is believed to be the creative aspect of Lord Vishnu. Several Puranas describe him as emerging from a lotus, connected to the navel of Lord Vishnu. Very few temples in India are primarily dedicated to Lord Brahma and his worship. The most prominent Hindu temple for Brahma is the Brahma Temple, Pushkar. Other temples include a temple in Asotra village, Balotra taluka of Rajasthan’s Barmer district known as Kheteshwar Brahmadham Tirtha.
It was a lazy Saturday afternoon. After a hearty lunch at hostel mess, my bong group was confabulating about the hectic schedules we had the week before! We were all feeling exhausted and wanted to escape from the humdrum life. One of my friends, Sanit (a regular library visitor, who has read a book about Nashik!), suggested that we should go for a trek. I could see there was a spark in everyone’s eyes. Indeed, this was the perfect time to go for a trek! Rain, Greenery, Cloud, Long drives and Friends. A perfect combination that could energize us for the battle forward. We decided and made our arrangements then and there. We decided to meet early morning next day!
The Sunday morning felt like a dream that we’ve longed for! We quickly got ready for our adventure and met everyone at the main gate. Our ride for the day, a Tempo Traveller along with a pilot, was waiting for us with a broad smile. We quickly counted ourselves, 13 it was, and took our seats in the 14 seater bus. We started our journey through the green city. I was guiding the chauffeur through my navigation skills. We soon passed the hustle bustle of the city and was speeding through the highway. We could see the small green hills, covered with patched of grey clouds, scattered in front of us. And one of them could be our destination. It was few kilometres to reach Trimbakeshwar, but our driver dada informed us that we can take a detour to Anjaneri first. Anjaneri is believed to be the birthplace of Hanuman. I was excited to hear about it and we decided to visit this place first.
The way to Anjaneri was rocky and muddy. As it was raining moderately outside, we decided to take the bus to the maximum height possible. The bus took sharp turns on the steep slope and made its way through the grassland. We were thrilled to the core. We reached a spot where the slope became flat and the path ended. There was murbid water flowing down the muddy path. One by one we got down and suddenly we felt the serenity of the place. The place was noiseless. Only we could hear the sound of water flowing from a distant place and a feeble sound of a bird. We quickly made our way through the scattered bushes towards the feeble sound of stream. After climbing a moderate slant of the hill, we took a turn and we found the Anjaneri waterfalls. At the first sight we were perplexed what kind of waterfall it is. There were a series of small streams of water falling from a green cliff. But there was a cloud of water floating in the mid-air which are moving upwards. I have never seen such an awesome waterfall. I enquired with driver dada, how is it possible that the water is falling and again floating upwards. Driver dada told that this is what Anjaneri is famous for. Here the wind is so strong and directed towards a single direction that the droplets float upwards towards the upstream. It joins back to form a cloud around the waterfall. On a sunny day, we could have seen a beautiful rainbow. I made my mind to come back to Anjaneri to find the end of the rainbow!
We spent about an hour admiring the scenic beauty of the nature and its game. We clicked pictures, chit-chatted and had a mini picnic of snacks. Our driver dada insisted that we leave early as Brahmagiri Trek has more special moments for us. We paced towards our ride and left Anjaneri. Our next destination was just few kilometres away. We reached near the parking lot of Trimbakeshwar. We took an auto from here as there was no provision of big vehicles to enter the hill base. We reached the base and was quite shocked how tall and magnificent the view looked from the bottom. It was like a huge Green structure with white lines. The cloud was passing by the humongous lush green hills. We felt motivated to quickly reach the top.
I enquired with a local tea vendor about the geography, vegetation, wildlife, birds, etc. that dwell on this beautiful hill. He gave informative stories about the place and how it became famous. After a quick tea break, we started our climb of 2000+ stairs. We were slowly ascending, not because we were unfit, but we were really enjoying the drizzle and the view. The stone stairs were flushing down with cold rain water. The sky was grey and the clouds were playing there game. The track was crowded with many amateur trekkers and photography enthusiasts. We took frequent breaks on our way to the top and really relished the moments. The stair became steeper as we were nearing the top. Few of my friends were quick enough to bypass the slow trekkers and was racing who could reach the top first. I was more like languid traveller, enjoying my moment, clicking photos, chatting with nearby visitors. I reached the top, slow and steady!
The Top of the Brahmagiri Hill won the heart of everyone. It was a paradise on earth. The lush green meadow, the clouds passing through us and the light drizzle mesmerized our soul and mind. There was a small lake with clear water and high ground all around it. My friends and I rushed towards it to get the perfect shot. We felt like this is the most desirable place to stay. The whole of nearby areas could be seen from the top and we could see the busy nashik city far away. The long steps to the top seemed to be a worth climbing as the view made us forget about all the pain. It was a perfect trip for us and we enjoyed the most as this was the first trip with my MBA friends from college. A trip to remember forever.
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