Book Review: No Place Like Holmes by Jason Lethcoe

What would you expect from a book that tries to be clever (and only succeeds in eliciting a groan) with its title? I read Jason Lethcoe's No Place Like Holmes, without expecting much from it. At no point in my reading did it feel that the book would attempt to change my opinion of it. No Place Like Holmes, and we might as well get this out of the way, is yet another book that tries to sell itself by trying to provide an alternative to Sherlock Holmes — the detective, the history of his times and the hagiography around this fictional legend. Jason Lethcoe, however, is no Arthur Conan Doyle and his Griffin Sharpe comes off as a watery adolescent imitation of the great detective.

When the novel opens, Griffin Sharpe (so called, as you must have guessed, because he is sharp, has keen eye that notices every tiny detail, and has a "mathematical mind"), a young American boy, has been sent to live with his uncle in London for the summer at 221 Baker Street. Griffin has never met his uncle. Griffin, naturally because he has heard so much about Sherlock Holmes, and because he wants to be a detective one day, is inclined to believe that the great detective is his uncle. Griffin hopes finally of meeting someone who will understand and encourage his mathematical bent of mind and his observant eye. It turns out that, Griffin's uncle lives at 221A Baker Street under the shadow of the great detective residing at 221B. Griffin's uncle, Rupert Snodgrass, is also a detective — one who is extremely bitter about the success and the fame of his neighbor (Snodgrass’ goal in life to solve a mystery before Sherlock Holmes). It also turns out that Snodgrass is extremely poor (all the cases go to Sherlock Holmes) and hence resents having his nephew is with him for the summer. Snodgrass, however, has the knack for inventing astounding steampunk devices (think of the devices you see in Wild Wild West) that include a mechanized butler and a submersible.

Griffin is extremely disappointed to find the unkind Snodgrass and not the cool Sherlock to be his uncle. However being a "good Christian,” (and more on this later) he tries to understand, forgive and help his uncle. An opportunity soon presents itself when Griffin stumbles upon a case that is supposed to be for Mr. Holmes, but as he is not home at the time of the problem — the case becomes Snodgrass’ to solve. With Holmes not available to take the case, Griffin convinces the client to come to his uncle. Griffin and his uncle then step in and take the case.

Mrs. Dent, the client, believes that the Loch Ness Monster, which suddenly appears in the Thames, swallowed her husband. Those who were witness to his disappearance believe the same.  Griffin and Rupert are on the case and need to figure out what really happened. From then on, the nephew and the uncle plunge into a mystery that is heavy on action. Events and vile plots threaten not only the Queen and the Big Ben but also Sherlock Holmes and all of London are at risk. Nasty villains and quirky characters and technology (Snodgrass' inventions) populate the narrative. Interwoven in this adventure are some of the well-known characters from Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Mrs. Hudson appears, as does Dr. Watson. With Sherlock Holmes around can Prof. Moriarty be far behind? The arch nemesis of Sherlock Holmes is also a part of Lethcoe's plot.

In the process of unraveling the mystery, Snodgrass comes to appreciate his nephew's intelligence and unique abilities. Griffin comes to know why his uncle is so embittered about Sherlock Holmes. Snodgrass also finds his true heart, and thus redemption, beneath all his disappointment and bitterness. Throughout the book, Griffin is concerned for his uncle's well-being. This finds expression through Griffin's attempts to force his love for god and faith upon Snodgrass.  In fact, it is this theme of religion and redemption that comes across strongly and intrusively in No Place Like Holmes and mars the mystery/adventure that the tale is supposed to be. Griffin and his uncle often find themselves in difficult situations at various points in the story. They overcome these quite easily with Griffin praying to God for help. Perhaps the author is trying to preach "Christian values" and humility towards God through the book, but this emphasis on faith and Christianity comes across as heavy-handed. The emphasis on Christianity, Christian values, etc jars more because none of it flows with the rest of narrative. The numerous religious and Biblical references are all intrusive and irritants. Even with Griffin, his faith and advocacy of religion go against the grain of his essential character — that of a scientific and mathematically-minded adolescent. Each time, in the story, when he prays to God for help, it may reinforce religious values but it breaks the narrative flow and makes for bad story-telling. I think, most readers — even young ones, would recognize that the prayers and faith have been hoisted on to the story to make a point and resent the way religion detracts from the story.

With an obliging God to turn to, you know how the story is going to turn out for Snodgrass and Griffin. The two unlikely heroes will of course save the day. But what about Sherlock Holmes? What is his role in the entire mystery? And does Snodgrass change his view of Sherlock? Possibly these are the only questions whose answers intrigue you in Jason Lethcoe's attempt at a mishmash of mystery/adventure and Christian teachings. No Place Like Holmes will attract readers with its promise of an alternative "history" and perspective on Sherlock Holmes but it is difficult to see the story maintaining the attraction through the course of the novel. Which should worry the author and the publisher — No Place Like Holmes wraps up in such a way that leads to believe that we have not seen the last of Griffin Sharpe and his eccentric uncle.

Hopefully, Lethcoe will leave Sherlock Holmes and other loved fictional characters alone in the sequels.

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Note: I received Jason Lethcoe's No Place Like Holmes free from Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze as part of its Book Reviews by Bloggers program.

Do you Still Invoke a God?

I don't want to give advice to people about their religious beliefs, but I do think that it's not smart to bet against the power of science to figure out the natural world. It used to be, a thousand years ago, that if you wanted to explain why the moon moved through the sky, you needed to invoke God.

And then Galileo and Newton came along and realized that there was conservation of momentum, so things tend to keep moving.

Nowadays people say, "Well, you certainly can't explain the creation of the universe without invoking God," and I want to say, "Don't bet against it."

Caltech physicist Sean Carroll, on the power of Science and that of God, as he explores the idea that our universe is part of a larger structure and holds forth on entropy and the irreversibility of time.

Immense Irony Happens

The Vatican rejects the atheist notion that evolution proves there is no God as absurd. 

Why? Because it is not "proven." 

What proof of God's existence you may ask? Have some faith.

Social Networking and Religion

People are considering "Facebook Fasts"  —  giving up Facebook for the 40 days of Lent  —  and joining groups like "Giving up Facebook for Lent" . And some are listing tips on how to go about surviving all this social networking deprivation.

What next? Just imagine the possibilities: Giving up Facebook for Navratri, Giving up Facebook for Shravan (or the token, Giving up Facebook for Shravan Mondays), Giving up Facebook for Muharram . . .

My parents (if they knew how to use computers, were Internet savvy, had Facebook accounts, and were caught up in this "social fasting") would probably start the group  — "Giving up Facebook for all Tuesdays, Thursdays, Ganesh Chaturthis, Ekadashis . . ."

Would you observe a Facebook fast for religious reasons? Which occasions?

Do you Believe in God?

Well, someone's gotta be on the other end of the string.

Devout Odyssey: Ashtavinayak, Tuljapur, and Kolhapur

(Or) To Ashtavinayak, Tuljapur, Kolhapur, and Back Again in 45 Hours

Yep, rub your eyes, and read that again — Ashtavinayak, Tuljapur, Kolhapur, and back again inside of two days. We did it. Over the 8th and 9th (and a bit of the 10th) of January 2009. This post will tell you how. And more.

Pre-requisites: 

• One crazy brother
  
• One vehicle (preferably the SUV types, we used a Scorpio)
  
• One good driver
  
• One reluctant blogger
  

It is commonly known that a typical Ashtavinayak trip, arranged by the tours and travels operators, takes about three days. If you have a vehicle of your own, this trip (to what are considered to be amongst the holiest temples dedicated to Ganesha and usually undertaken by Maharashtrians at least once in their lifetime) can be managed comfortably in a day and a half. The best route and itinerary, for people in and around Mumbai, and which I have used in my earlier trips, for the trips is: Mumbai/suburbs - Ozhar – Lenyadri – Ranzangaon – Siddhatek – Morgaon – Theur (halt for the night) – Mahad – Pali – back to Mumbai.

A trip to Tuljapur to visit the Tulja-Bhavani temple and to Kolhapur to visit the Mahalaxmi temple typically involves an overnight train/bus journey, a visit to the temple and an overnight train/bus journey back to Mumbai. 

I have visited the Tulja-Bhavani and the Mahalaxmi temples once before — we had hired a car and made this trip along with Panhala in four days. Ashtavinayak has happened twice already and my last visit in August 2007, was particularly memorable for the sheer amount of greenery on display. Last year we couldn't make the Ashtavinayak trip for various reasons — both my brother and me couldn't get leave at the same time, office and other commitments, etc. My brother typically visits the Ashtavinayak at least twice a year (ya, he is one of those devout types). With no visits last year, I knew an exercise in brownie points collection would be in the offing and was looking forward to the trip. But I hadn't reckoned with the pent up spiritual fervor in my brother. Having not said hello to the Ashtavinayak temples all of last year, he felt that he needed to do something extra to compensate. So he decided that a trip comprising the Ashtavinayak temples along with a visit to the Tulja-Bhavani and the Mahalaxmi temples at Tuljapur and Kolhapur would have the requisite spiritual quotient for him to make up for the last year. I agreed — I like to travel and the more places the better. 

My sis-in-law had ruled herself out very early and we felt that without her a three and a half day itinerary would be quick (my sis-in-law is prone to travel sickness) as well as comfortable. We spent a few days in figuring out the details and "optimizing" the route we were to take. Since we wanted to visit Tuljapur and Kolhapur after Ashtavinayak it meant rejigging our usual route. We found that of all the eight temples, Siddhatek is closest to Tuljapur, with a state highway that goes straight to that place and we planned our itinerary accordingly. This time our itinerary for Ashtavinayak was as follows: Pali – Mahad – Ozhar – Lenyadri – Ranzangaon – Theur – Morgaon – Siddhatek. From Siddhatek we would go to Tuljapur, and from there, via Solapur, to Kolhapur and then back. That was the broad plan. When we got a hang of the dates on which we could probably make the trip, we came up with the following:

Day 1, Thursday, 8th January 2009, following an early start, was to be used for visiting 6 or 7 of the Ashtavinayak temples. Depending on the time taken through the day, we would halt for the night either at Theur (which got my vote, for it has decent facilities for an overnight stay) or at Morgaon (which has passable rooms on hire). The next day, Friday, 9th January 2009, we would first head to Morgaon, if we had stayed overnight at Theur. If we managed to reach Morgaon on the earlier day we would press on to Siddhatek to visit the last Ashtavinayak temple on our list before heading to Tuljapur. We planned to halt at Solapur, which is just off Tuljapur, for Friday night. Saturday morning 10th January 2009, we would drive to Kolhapur to visit the Mahalakshmi temple. We planned to stay that day in Kolhapur and then head back home on Sunday morning, reaching Ambernath (where I stay) in the late afternoon.

What happened in actuality was totally different. I hadn't reckoned with my crazy brother. And I hadn't taken into account the absence of my sis-in-law for this trip who would have slowed us and restored sanity to the trip.

Ashtavinayak

As planned we started early morning on Thursday, waking up at 04:00. The hired vehicle arrived at 05.00 and we were off at 05.15 (with an impatient and relieved sis-in-law all but urging us out of the home so that she could get back to her sleep and peace). We reached Pali at around 07:10. After the darshan and quick round of chai, we drove to Mahad and reached it around 08:15. Darshan was followed by picking up a substantial amount of boiled peanuts — which both my brother and I love — that was our breakfast. We then headed towards Ozhar via Karjat and through the Karjat - Murbad Phata which touches the road that goes through Malshej Ghat at Tokewade. We halted for a few minutes at the top of Malshej Ghat to stretch our legs and watch the monkeys. We were in Ozhar by 11:30 AM and then on to Lenyadri (climbing up and down 307 steps under the hot sun is not advisable) at 12:20 PM. Lenyadri is where we had our lunch (yummy Misal Pav for me) and purchased a variety of raisins — Lenyadri is known for its grape vineyards and the raisins made from local grapes are of excellent quality. We started for Ranzangaon around 13:30 and (due to patches of bad roads) reached it around 15:45. 

The drive to Ranzangaon is through numerous farms and villages and small towns — Narayangaon (which is home to most of the dishes of the GMRT — radio telescope), Junnar and a few others. What was surprising as we drove past these villages was to find them apparently deserted. There were a few people working in the farms that surround these villages but their numbers were hardly enough to account for the number of homes that you could see in each village. Where were all the people? Watching saas-bahu TV soaps? Or sleeping off the afternoons? Or did zombies attack and devour them all? The mystery was finally solved when we took the main streets of some of these villages. It was the "market day" in that area and it looked like the entire population of the village had descended on to the single street haggling and milling about purposelessly, shouting out good natured and contradictory directions when we asked for them, and generally having a jolly good time.

Ranzangaon was where we got delayed a bit. The temple had some kind of a festival going on and there were people queuing up to get into the temple. We did the needful and walked out — my brother and our driver to look for some tea. I declined the beverage and decided to hunt for guava (or peru as it is known in Marathi) and which the Ranzangaon market around the temple is famous for. Now let me confess, while I will not touch a yellow, ripe guava, I love the green, raw ones — a liking which sometimes the vendors (and other people, including my friends and family) find peculiar. I looked around the market and soon found an old aaji (Marathi for grandmother) who had a basket full of the fruit. I approached, smiled, and started looking for the most unripe one. The aaji studied me for some time, apparently liked what she saw, and started pointing out to me a choice of the best she had — the ripe ones. I shook my head and told her that I was interested in the unripe fruit. She looked at me like she had never seen a creature like me. I soon found what I was looking for — a dark green guava, as large as my palm and handed it over to be cut and smeared with a mixture of salt and chili powder. The guava was so raw and hard, that the poor aaji had to use one of the iron kilo weights on the knife to get it to cut through the fruit. When she had cut it, sprinkled it with salt and chill powder, and handed it over to me, she noted my beaming face. I took a bite of the fruit and beamed some more at which the nonplussed expression on her face was replaced by a smile and she inquired, "Khula re tu?!!" (Are you mad?!!). I nodded and pushed off.

From Ranzangaon we headed to Theur. We soon discovered a short route which passed through Koregaon and Lonikand and brought us right in front of the temple at 17:30. We had not only made up the time we lost in Theur, we were now ahead of our schedule. This meant that we would not be staying in Theur but going to Morgaon. We were in Morgaon at 19.15 and my brother decided to press on and visit Siddhatek as well. We had made good time and were by now about a couple of hours ahead of our planned schedule. I had my misgivings about what he was proposing. For I realized this meant we would have to stay the night at Siddhatek and while it is a scenic place, it is a bit oddly placed in the entire Ashtavinayak tour — being entirely off the track and in the middle of nowhere. As a result nobody prefers to stay the night in Siddhatek and consequently there are hardly any places in that village where idiots like us can stay for a night. But my brother pulled rank and said that he had heard there was a tourist hostel being built in Siddhatek and he was confident that it would be ready and that I was just being finicky. "In case it is not ready, we will find something. You just don't want to rough it out . . . " And he made a few more remarks on the same lines. Which are not entirely false — I don't unnecessarily seek discomfort if a comfortable option is easily available. Support for my brother came from an unexpected corner. Our driver, by then had got speed lust in his eyes, "Nobody manages to visit all the eight temples on the same day. That would be some kind of a record, pulling it off." And he said it in a tone that conveyed to my brother that it would be the devout thing to do and he would earn more spiritual brownie points from the almighty for doing it. So . . . my advice of staying at Morgaon was ignored and we pushed ahead to Siddhatek and made it there at 20:50 just in time before the temple closed. 

Prayers done, we started looking forward to our dinner and for a place to stay. The first had been easily taken care of. Siddhatek is on the banks of the Bhima river. On the other bank from the village, are huts which provide excellent rustic Maharashtrian fare cooked over wood fires — jowar and bajra bhakris, zunka, thecha (crushed green chilies with seasoning), two vegetables, rice and raw onions — all of it as much as you want and only for Rs. 40 per person. We had placed our orders on our way to the temple. Now we turned our energies to finding a place to stay before walking across the bridge on the Bhima River for our dinners. Our initial inquires got a gleeful response, "There is no place to stay in Siddhatek." Further inquires revealed that the village had only two rooms which were let out to visitors and both of them had been booked already. Our driver helpfully pointed out that he was going to sleep in the car anyways and so it was no problem for him. A local then told us that the new hostel (which my brother had been talking about) was ready but it was not operational as nobody had been found to inaugurate it yet. We decided to take our chances and headed there — and it turned out to be a complex of two structures, the hostel building and a huge hall, the kind used for humongous weddings, next to it. The complex is excellently located, overlooking the Bhima River. We rooted out the caretaker who confirmed what the locals had been telling us all this while — the hostel wasn't operational and in any case it didn't have any beds or any bedding or anything at all inside but for a few lights and ceiling fans. He advised us to go back to Daund, the nearest town, 50 km away —"That might have a lodge." Having passed through Daund enroute to Siddhatek, I wasn't very hopeful. Daund however was also in the direction opposite to the road that we intended to take the next day for Tuljapur. Going to Daund meant "wasting" a 100 km. The nearest town, Baarshi, on the Siddhatek-Tuljapur route, we were told was a 100 km away. I had to exercise a great self-restraint to tide over the urge to bean my brother one on his head. My brother then wheedled a bit with the caretaker, with our driver joining in. The fellow finally agreed to give us a place to stay in the hall next to the hostel. It turned out to be a single room which opened into the huge hall. The hall itself was large enough to accommodate about 2000 people. The bathrooms and other facilities were at the other end of the hall from the room. While our room had a functional lamp and a fan, the hall itself had no electricity. The caretaker also informed us helpfully that due to load-shedding policy of the MSEB, the electricity would conk off at 4:00 AM. Any water for any use had to be ferried from the "kitchen" of the hall. While I looked about grimly, my brother opened further negotiations with the caretaker and he came back to inform me that the fellow had agreed to provide the bedding and make other arrangements while we had our dinner. So we headed across the river for a fine al fresco meal on the banks of the Bhima. When we came back to the room, our driver said he would sleep in the vehicle. Bedding arrived in a few minutes. It turned out to be two thin sheets and one pillow. That, said the caretaker, was all he could manage. The "other arrangements" were in the nature of a bucket and a mug. And a candle and a matchbox. We would need the candle to navigate the hall in the morning. Well, there was nothing but to accept the arrangements. My brother had turned gleeful by then — "like camping out" he kept repeating. I was stoically silent. I took the pillow and asked my brother "to camp out" (and he had the gall to look affronted).

Our tiredness and the excellent dinner ensured we could get some sleep in spite of the thin sheets and the cold. We were up at 5:00 in the morning, finished our baths in the darkness (freezing water), and were driving towards Tuljapur by 06:30 on Friday.

Tuljapur

The drive to Tuljapur was highly pleasant — these being roads not much used to traffic and bordered by either farms or open country for most of the way. We passed through Rashin, Karmala, and Baarshi (the only town on that route of any substantial size) but human habitation is generally sparse on this route. Except for an occasional State Transport bus and a tractor or two, there is no traffic. We sighted many birds on this drive — Himalayan pied mynas, kingfishers, drongos and (to my great

 surprise) quite a few Indian rollers. We stopped enroute in some village for a breakfast of misal-pav. Except that by the time it reached our table, the pav had been replaced with puris. "The pav is stale,” said the tapri owner, "but the puris are hot and fresh." So misal pav became misal-puri and it was yummy. (Have I ever told you that the Solapur-Kolhapur area serves the best misal in Maharashtra?) Post breakfast we continued towards Tuljapur, and though the road was bad in patches, we covered the 200 odd km to Tuljapur in four hours. We were in Tuljapur by 10:45.

This was my second visit to the town (the first being about three years back, in March 2006) and this one only served to reinforce my low opinion of the town — it is every western cliché about India come true. It is dirty, nay, filthy — the entire town is a dump. The temple premises too are dirty as well as the temple itself. I was surprised and dismayed to find that even the inner sanctum of the temple where the idol of the Tulja-Bhavani resides was also dirty. Devotees offer a concoction of buttermilk, bananas, and sugar to the goddess. Oil is also offered. And powdered turmeric. And all of this is poured over the idol. We had managed to arrange an entry right into the sanctum . . . and was it yucky! All those offerings had spilled over and crushed underfoot. This had been mashed by the feet of the hundreds of devotees who get an entry into the sanctum. And this yucky and slippery stuff was all over the temple. In fact the entire temple is a hazard — one false step (entirely possible in the murky and badly lit interiors of the temple) and somebody might slip and break a bone or two. And it smells worse then it looks. All that buttermilk, and bananas and turmeric and oil combine to give off an odor which will linger in your noses long after you have left Tuljapur. And did I tell you about the crowds? Tuja-Bhavani is the family deity of Shivaji and so is immensely popular in Maharashtra. People come in thousands everyday to visit the temple. On Fridays, which it was when we were in Tuljapur, the crowds double. And the crowd is unruly and caught up in "religious fervor." They mill about the temple and the town and add layers to the filthiness of the town. One day it might take the effort akin to the Herculean cleaning of the Augean stables followed by some excavation to find the real Tuljapur under all that filth. I am immensely surprised that it is so (I have heard that Pandharpur is worse and I don't intend to make a visit to confirm if that is true). Maharashtra takes very good care of its temples — all the Ashtavinayak temples are beautiful and clean and well managed. And here is this temple which probably makes more money than all Ashtavinayak temples put together and look at the state of it. I also wonder what the civic authorities of the town are up to — for this is also a favorite with politicians. Bhavani, with the Shivaji association, is a prestigious visit for a politician to make.

Anyways, we managed to ignore the filth and say our prayers. Or rather my brother could. I was more engaged in keeping one wary eye on where I was standing in the filth and another on the crowds — my brother is as much a devotee as I am a skeptic and he actually managed to close his eyes and pray. In between watching the ruckus created by the crowd and the ensuring that I kept my footing I managed to find a few moments to pay attention what was happening in the sanctum. There were about five assorted priests all engaged in doing different things. One was pouring the aforementioned offerings on the goddess (and ensuring he got some on himself). Two others were singing (bellowing) aartis (different ones) at the same time. One was collecting and counting the money left as offerings by devotees. Another was assisting, with choice curses, the two policemen to regulate the crowd. One of the policemen was adding to the noise by blowing a shrilly whistle.

Was I happy to get out! Out of the temple and out of Tuljapur!

Kolhapur

By this time it was only noon and we decided to change our plan of staying in Solapur (which is 45 km away from Tuljapur) and head straight to Kolhapur. We would reach Kolhapur late in the evening, stay the night there, visit the temple for darshan in the morning, and then head home. So off we went. Now the Solapur-Kolhapur route is amongst the most scenic in Maharashtra — virtually the entire road is bordered with green fields of sugarcane, wheat, jowar, bajra. Vegetables and onions also abound as do orchards of pomegranates, chickoos, and vineyards. There is a particular stretch which runs next to a windmill farm up in the hills. And in season, you also find mushroom farms next to the road. I want to do this drive at least once in the rains or just after, when Maharashtra is at its prettiest.

As we headed towards Kolhapur, my sis-in-law called to check on us and to inform us that the petrol pumps were on strike and closed. At that point we had about just enough fuel to reach half way to Kolhapur. If the strike was not called off in the next couple of hours, we would have to stay put somewhere on the state highway. 

So instead of admiring the scenery (well, I did a bit of that too), I kept my eyes peeled for a petrol pump which was doing business. Enroute we had some good food at a dhaba (where we were served, apart from a tast chicken curry, an excellently prepared local freshwater fish called "Pankaj." I inquired if that fish was a pet and hence the name and the owner of the dhaba was nonplussed. "Does Pankaj have a surname?" I continued and received a belligerent, "The fish is called Pankaj" in response). 

Soon after we did find a petrol pump dispensing fuel and topped up the tank. We now have enough fuel to get us to Kolhapur and nearly to Pune, enroute home, informed our driver. So, if we don't find another petrol pump that will sell us fuel, I told my brother, the Pune-Bangalore highway will be our home tomorrow.

We continued to Kolhapur and made good speed. The road is good and our driver was in rare form. Hours later, around 50-70 Km from Kolhapur, just outside Miraj, we found another petrol pump that was doing business and topped up again. "We now have enough to get us back to Ambernath" our driver informed. At that I noted a speculative look come into my brother's eye. I turned to the driver, and he had the same speculative look. I should have put my foot down then and asked them to stop behaving like idiots on speed. But you know how respectful I am of elders and so I didn't nip the idea forming in their heads in the bud. 30 minutes later when we had halted to pour some tea into ourselves, my brother, and the driver had a summit meeting (from which I was excluded) and then they both turned to me and my brother said, "We should be in Kolhapur by 18:45-19:00. Let us head straight to the temple and if we complete darshan by 20:00, let us head home straight away."

WTF!!!

Now let me admit, I wanted to take a leisurely look at Kolhapur in the morning. It is a decent; actually, a beautiful, city, and I had liked it when I had visited it earlier (the same time as my first Tuljapur visit). And I was looking forward to sampling some of the local cuisine and explore Rankala lake and partake some gulkand ice cream which is sold around the lake. And I wanted to photograph the Mahalakshmi temple and Kolhapur in good light. Alas! Our driver, when I put the question to him, said he felt alert and fresh enough to drive back home. A couple of breaks and some tea would suffice. And he added, "It is better to be home and rest at leisure rather than wake up early and then head home." My brother had already started muttering how we could complete the entire trip inside 48 hours. Our driver added his two bits, "Just think! Praying at both the Devi temples in a single day!" And like earlier, he said it in a tone that conveyed to my brother that it would be the devout thing to do and he would earn more spiritual brownie points. He over-ruled my misgivings and protests and it was decided to head home if we complete the darshan by 20:00. Well, if you can't beat them, you join them. My brother, had the gall to question if I could manage the late night? And I smirked, and flicked the non-existent dust off my cuffs (actually there were no cuffs, but there was lots of dust) and said, “You forget, I work for an e-learning company. I work more late nights in a month than you entire office manages in a year." Which turned out to be true — as the journey progressed, I grew more and more alert, while my brother dozed in the back seat of the vehicle. 

Anyways, the short of it was I agreed to the plan, pumped up the vehicle's music system and we headed into Kolhapur. 

Needless to say, we completed the darshan by 20:00. I should admit the temple looked beautiful in the night. And it is such a more beautiful and clean place compared to Tuljapur. However photography had to take a backseat; I did manage some though. As for my plans to explore some of Kolhapur and sample its fabled cuisine — perhaps some other day.

Back Again

At 20:20 we turned out of Kolhapur city and pointed the vehicle's nose to Mumbai. I once again jacked up the vehicle's music volume. And our driver, with visions of a speed record, clocked the vehicle at 110 kmph. And kept the speedometer needle there. The Pune-Bangalore national highway is a part of the Golden Quadrilateral project and is in excellent condition. With a single 30-minute halt for some tea and to stretch our legs, we skirted the outskirts of Pune at 23:15. Half an hour later, we hit the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Another 30 minutes and we were off it and into Khopoli where we halted for a late dinner and some more tea. From then on, when we started again in about 45 minutes, we were the only vehicle road on the road. The Khopoli road which goes on to Ambernath via Karjat, Neral, and Badlapur is a lovely drive and has very little traffic even in daytime. At that time of the night, we passed only three vehicles by the time we reached Ambernath. We reached home at 2:15 AM on Saturday. We had completed our entire trip, around 1500 Km, in 45 hours.

I climbed up the stairs and hit the doorbell a couple of times before my bleary-eyed sis-in-law opened the door. "What are you doing back so early? You were supposed to be here on Sunday afternoon," that was even before she had allowed me to step into the home. I realized my brother had neglected to inform her about our change in plans. "Ask your husband," I told her pleasantly. She did and then gave him a tongue-lashing for driving so much, and so fast, in the night. Then she turned to me and said, "And what about you? Couldn't you talk any sense into him?" I paused for a moment, and inquired politely, "Talk sense into your husband?" She accepted that argument. 

How was the trip? Largely good. An experience (especially the horror that is Tuljapur) in itself and at least we achieved a speed record. But I prefer not to hurry from one place to another, because then you are just reaching destinations without having traveled at all. One day I would like to retrace this trip (preferably in the monsoons or just after) at a more leisurely pace. I might then even drum up enough courage or curiosity to revisit Tuljapur.

All the pictures:

Ashtavinayak: Pictures | Slideshow 

Tulja-Bhavani Temple, Tuljapur: Pictures | Slideshow 

Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur: Pictures | Slideshow 

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For readers who are interested in such things, here are the sordid details:

Routes:

Ashtavinayak: Ambernath – (via Panvel, Vadkhal Naka, along the Mumbai-Goa Highway, Nagothane) Pali – (via Khopoli) Mahad - (via Karjat, Murbad Phata on to Karjat-Murbad Road, Tokwade, Malshej Ghat, Otur) Ozhar – Lenyadri – (via Narayangaon and Junnar) Ranzangaon – (via Koregaon and Lonikand) Theur – Morgaon – (via Daund) Siddhatek.

Siddhatek to Tuljapur: The state highway that starts from Siddhatek and passes through Rashin, Karmala, Baarshi and enters Tuljapur. (If you are not doing the Ashtavinayak trip, take the Solapur road from Pune and take the turn just outside Solapur to Tuljapur)

Tuljapur to Kolhapur: Via Solapur (you drive through the town in about 5 minutes) – Mangalveda – Miraj – Kolhapur.

Kolhapur to Ambernath: Pune-Bangalore Highway to Pune, through Katraj tunnel, to Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Khopoli, Karjat, Neral, Badlapur, Ambernath (Alternatively you can drive down the entire expressway and turn in Mumbai if you stay there, or take the road through Panvel and Shil Phata to Ambernath and the towns around it).

Distance Covered: 1470 Km.

Timings (I noted the timings):

Day 1, Thursday 8th January 2009 (Ashtavinayak)

05:15 - Start from Ambernath to Pali

07:10 - Reach Pali

07:30 - Start for Mahad

08:20 - Reach Mahad

08:40 - Start for Ozhar

11:30 - Reach Ozhar

11:55 - Start for Lenyadri

12:20 - Reach Lenyadri (temple visit + lunch)

13:30 - Start for Ranzangaon

15:45 - Reach Ranzangaon

16:45 - Start for Theur

17:30 - Reach Theur

17:50 - Start for Morgaon

19:10 - Reach Morgaon

19:30 - Start for Siddhatek

20:50 - Reach Siddhatek (stay the night)

Day 2, Friday 9th January 2009 (Siddhatek to Tuljapur, Tuljapur to Kolhapur, Kolhapur to Ambernath)

06:30 - Start from Siddhatek

10:50 - Tuljapur

12:15 - Start for Kolhapur via Solapur

13:40 - 14:35 - Lunch

19:10 - Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur

20:10 - Start for Ambernath

20:20 - Pune-Bangalore highway

22:05 - cross Satara

23:45 - Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Day 3, Saturday 10th January 2009 (Khopoli to Ambernath)

00:15 - Khopoli (halt for dinner)

01:00 - Start for Ambernath

02:15 - Ambernath

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Earlier posts:

Ashtavinayak (August 2007)

Solapur, Tuljapur, Kolhapur, Panhala

Book Review: The Flood: A Novel by David Maine

Many writers have taken a story from the Bible, layered it with their ideas and interpretations, developed the characters, and fleshed an entire novel from a few lines. Of these Biblical stories, the tale of Noah and the Flood, from Genesis, surely is one that has be told and retold many times before. Julian Barnes, for one, did a wonderfully irreverent account of the story through the eyes of a stowaway woodworm in A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. 

David Maine, in his debut novel, The Flood: A Novel, too tries his hand at retelling the world's best-known disaster story. Unlike Barnes, Maine is not particularly sacrilegious or flippant. He does occasionally poke fun at the story and the characters but largely uses the tale to muse on the nature of faith and god, families, relationships and how people cope with a catastrophe created by a god intent on scrubbing the world clean.

Maine's Noe (as Noah is called in this tale. Some research showed that Maine names his characters from the Douay-Rheims Bible which was translated in English from Latin) is a 600-year-old paterfamilias who is introduced to us while he is peeing. A cantankerous and churlish Yahweh talks to Noe whenever he needs to express displeasure with his creations. A few pages into the book, when Noe hears Yahweh outline his plans to cleanse the world — that humanity is to be destroyed in a flood, Noe pees himself. This, along with the blurbs, prime the reader to expect that the author is out to have some fun with his source material. That expectation is however soon belied. While Maine does occasionally have some fun with his story and his characters, we soon realize that he is not treading that path. Maine is rather looking to flesh this Biblical episode in a way that allows him to raise questions on the role of God and faith in human lives, the nature and stuff of relationships, and (often) the role of women in this story. He achieves this by rarely departing much from the original tale. Rather he explores the psychological detail that such a story offers.

When the Yahweh tells (orders) Noe to build the ark, he pisses himself, then weeps, and then calls his family together and orders them to start building. Noe may be 600 years old, but hurries with the project of building and readying the ark believing "great age was not an obstacle to great deeds." His family lets out a collective groan, privately think he's nuts — his wife remarks "So when Himself starts with the visions and the holy labors and the boat full of critters, what am I supposed to do? Talk Sense?" — but don't dare disobey him. Noe, anyways, can't tell them much, except that the boys have to build a colossal boat, and that the girls (the wives of his boys) have to travel to their respective homelands, gather, and bring back every species of animal they can find. 

So the sons start on the boat. Cham designs and oversees the building of the ark with Sem to assist him. Jahpeth goofs off. Sem's wife, Bera, travels south and finds a menagerie in her savage father's kingdom. Cham's wife, Ilya, goes to the north and returns with bears and wolves. Jahpeth's wife, Mirn, looks for insects and other critters under rocks and in the soil. People gather around to watch and to jeer – "It's not every day you see a ship growing in the desert." Some offer to buy room on the ark. Noe refuses, explaining that one can board the ark only "with a pure heart." As the clouds gather and build in the sky, Noe's family debates about how the animals ought to be packed in.

Eventually the rain starts and the waters rise and the world becomes a waterscape. Unlike the Bible, Maine does justice to the enormity of the catastrophe. In Genesis, the story of Noah's ark and the wiping away of all life save that is safe on the boat, is narrated, if I am right, in about 4-5 verses. Here we watch the community that had gathered around the Ark wash away. The world's population is swept away, and Noe rejoices: "They were unclean in the sight of the Lord. . . Old is this world, a thousand years or more. It had grown heavy with filth and weary with sin. Now it has been scrubbed clean."

 

Maine also beautifully conveys the humanity of it all — of the characters trying to get a perspective and understand such an event. Ilya reflects "A pang cuts me whenever I remember him, or the matriarchs, or my uncles. All gone now. But I can't give in to grief about them - if I start I'll never stop, there are just too many dead, whole peoples, whole civilizations. I hold their memory off, at arm's length, and concentrate instead on measuring rainfall and striving to understand what is happening. If such a thing can truly be comprehended."

Maine re-tells this catastrophe and the events before and after it, in eight voices — The Flood is divided into succinct chapters told from the perspective of the various characters. While Noe's wife, three sons, and three daughters-in-law  —  tell their own stories in their own voices, a narrator takes over the chapters devoted to Noe. It is an eminently readable and clever narrative allowing the reader for a 360-degree perspective on episode. 

It allows Maine to explore two fundamental ways (within the boundaries of the world depicted in the novel) of looking at the world. One view which believes that god reigns over everything (primarily held by the men in the novel). Another which believes that god rains over everything (primarily held by the women in the novel). And why these perspectives matter — for it is the viewpoint which decides how one tells and how one listens to a story. The book attempts to explore this by often having chapters with these juxtaposed viewpoints follow each other (It is subtle and not as explicit and blatant as I have made it out to be). 

Apart from earnest explorations into theology and faith, this narrative of eight voices comes together, naturally and strongly, to form a marvelous description of a family trying to cope with a crisis of worldwide proportions. Once confined to the boat, and with nowhere to go, they tire of each other, bicker, grow bored, complain about the sameness and the paucity of the food, the stink and try to cope with the irritation of having to put up with each other and the animals and the hopelessness of the situation. The sons have a crisis of faith — in themselves, in Noe, and in Yahweh. The women are altogether more practical and often provide witty and acerbic assessments of the situation and the other characters. It is the three daughters-in-law (who are not named in the Bible) that are the most fascinating characters in the book — practical, focused, clever, crafty and cunning, tough and more capable than any of the male characters. Bera, Ilya, and Mirn (and to an extent Noe's wife) are arguably Maine's most engaging characters and serve to bring in a feminist perspective to this Biblical tale. Their interactions with one another and the other characters in the novel give the book its primary strength — an examination of the dynamics in the interrelationships amongst the characters.

While The Flood questions and probes the tale from Genesis and contemplates and muses on life and relationships (the nature of love) and God and faith, Maine, every now and then (very rarely), seems to remember the immense ironic and comic potential of his source material and sprinkles a few funny episodes (Noe's vision of Yahweh as a testy ant) in the story. This however, to me, is where the book fails. It is as if Maine couldn't decide if his novel was to be a deeply serious affair — with solemn observations on faith, God, and insights into relationships or a totally postmodern, irreverent, and funny take on the flood. In trying to include bits of both he doesn't do enough justice to either.

There is, however, a lot to enjoy in this novel. It is energetic and fluent and easily read in a sitting or two. While it is serious in some parts and irreverent in others, and it may well be confused whether it wants to be more of one or the other, The Flood is never uninteresting and makes for an engrossing read.

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Nuggets from David Maine's The Flood: 

On the Nature of Love

How to Kill a God

Men are so Amusing

Is God in Everything?

Opium of the People

What I always suspected:

Benny Shanon's drug-focused reading of the Bible proves Moses saw God because he was stoned.

What about other religions and prophets? Don't you agree most of them (ok, all of them) in today's world would have been either in a rehab clinic or receiving psychiatric treatment?

Link via: Ajeya Row

The Double Face of Harry Potter

The Vatican has stepped up its continuing efforts to save the souls of little misguided children and adults who read Harry Potter books. An article - The Double Face of Harry Potter - in Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano condemned Harry Potter, describing the fictional wizard as ''the wrong kind of hero'' who led youngsters to an "unhealthy interest" in satanism.

Despite the values that we come across in the narration, at the base of this story, witchcraft is proposed as a positive ideal. The violent manipulation of things and people comes thanks to knowledge of the occult. The ends justify the means because the knowledgeable, the chosen ones, the intellectuals know how to control the dark powers and turn them into good.

This a grave and deep lie, because it is the old Gnostic temptation of confusing salvation and truth with a secret knowledge. The characterisation of common men who do not know magic as 'muggles' who know nothing other than bad and wicked things is a truly diabolical attitude.

[. . .] we are told that, at the end, some things are not bad in themselves, if used for a good purpose: violence becomes good, if in the right hands and (used by) the right people, and maybe in the right dose.

Thus Harry Potter proposes a wrong and malicious image of the hero, an unreligious one, which is even worst that an explicitly anti-religious proposition.

Reports here and here.

More on Philip Pullman and His Dark Materials

Philip Pullman talks to John Mullan about plot, morality, language, and Milton in His Dark Materials in the Guardian book club podcast. Quite a fascinating interview though there are a few moments when you can't help hoping that the interviewer would stop demonstrating his learning and his deep reading of Pullman's texts and let the author speak.

It is wonderful to hear an author explain and think aloud on his craft. Don't miss Pullman's responses to the audience's questions at the end of the interview.

Some excerpts:
On the criticism of his interpretation of the Bible:

The criticism comes it seems to me from people who think there is only one way of reading the Bible and its their way and if you read it another way, you are doing something wrong or evil or something. Well that's not what I believe. I think there are many ways of reading the many books of the Bible because they are all not the same thing at all. Its appropriate to read one part of it as history, another part of it as poetry, another part of it as law, another part of it as . . . nonsense and so on and we should use our judgement out here - judgement which is formed by our education, by our experience of the world and reading other things to decide which is the appropriate way to read it in each case rather than the one literally . . this is literally true and if you read it any other way you are going to go to hell which is the fundamentalist way of reading the bible which I think is wrong. Simply wrong.

On the autocracy of authorship and the democracy of reading:

. . . Here I am wondering if I should interpret my own work and tell you what it means. I am kind of reluctant to tell you what things mean because as I am the chap who wrote it that gives me a sort of authority in this field but I am not sure that I do have that sort of authority because if you think you have got a theory about what Dust means and you have worked it out you have every right to do that. When the book is finished and published, the autocracy of writing - it is an autocratic procedure. I am a despot. I am tyrant when I write because I have the absolute power of life and death over every sentence, every comma, every character. I can kill them, I can bring them to life, I can cut off this, end this chapter, and start somewhere else. I am the authority. No one can tell me not to do it. But once the book is published the autocracy of authorship comes to an end and the democracy of reading begins and that's the point where I cease to have any authority. I can't tell you what it means. I can tell you what I think it means . . . and so can anybody else. But if I tell you what I think it means that'll, because I wrote the book, people might think that is what it really means and there is no more argument about it. But I don't want that to happen. I want there to be discussion about it. I want you to think what all the things it might mean . . .

Listen/Download the Guardian book club Pullman podcast (47 minutes, 49.2 MB mp3 file )

Elsewhere Leslie Baynes wonders if the ferment about His Dark Materials is just Harry Potter vs. Fundamentalists redux, a clash that generates heat but no light? Probably not.

If you are intrigued by what Pullman had to say about authorship and reading, do read this post on the Death of the Author.

And here's an earlier Pullman post: The Art of Darkness.

The Art of Darkness

Excerpts from an interview with Philip Pullman:

[. . .] "I'm fundamentally a storyteller, not a literary person, if I can make that distinction. If I wrote a story that had enough vigour and life to pass into common currency and be recounted by people who had no idea that I was the author, nothing would give me greater pleasure."

[. . .]

"It's a foolish thing for the teller of a story to answer critics. If you're putting forward an argument, you can argue back and demonstrate why your argument is better than theirs. But if someone doesn't like a story you've written, what are you going to say? ‘Well, you should'?"

[. . .]

"I dislike his (C.S. Lewis's) Narnia books because of the solution he offers to the great questions of human life: is there a God, what is the purpose, all that stuff, which he really does engage with pretty deeply, unlike Tolkien who doesn't touch it at all. ‘The Lord of the Rings' is essentially trivial. Narnia is essentially serious, though I don't like the answer Lewis comes up with. If I was doing it at all, I was arguing with Narnia. Tolkien is not worth arguing with." [. . .]

The complete interview here.
Do trawl through the comments and discussion at the end of the interview — there's much to be gleaned from them.

God Annoyed With Salwar-Kameez

The deity at Kerala’s Sree Krishna Guruvayoor temple, astrologers claim, is annoyed with a change in dress code for women which now allows them to enter the temple wearing a salwar-kameez.

“See, these statements are being made based on what happened today [Sunday] when a ritual was taking place. When he [Sharma] asked for a piece of cloth to be brought, the cloth was cut into two pieces while he wanted an uncut cloth. Sharma made the comments after seeing this,” said Nambiar.

Since October 31, a team of nine people, including the temple priests, has been engaged in the rituals and prayers to find out whether the Gods are happy or not. The ritual is being held in Guruvayoor temple after 17 years.

“The rituals began on 31st and these priests give out their opinions as and when they go ahead with their rituals. These are all preliminary findings and when their entire rituals get over in another 10 days’ time, they would come out with a full fledged report on what are all the changes required to make the deity happy,” said Nambiar.

Immense curiosity happens: What happens if god changes his preferences daily? Micro-minis on Monday, bikinis the next day, and capris and frilly tops on another day, hot pants on the weekend? After all god is whimsical, no?

And why wait for 10 days for a report to change the dress code? God should send the priests and astrologers daily e-mail and SMS alerts about his preferences.

Don't you wonder what a wonderful job it will be to have: Chief Priest - Dress Code? The job satisfaction, undoubtedly, will be immense.

The History of Religion

5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds.

This map shows how the geography of the world's most well-known religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism, evolved over the centuries.



Link via: Amol and India Uncut

Ashtavinayak (August 2007)

While the office continued to dominate my life for the last so many days, I did manage to sneak off to tour the eight Ashtavinayak temples on the weekend that followed the 15th of August. Nothing like a short trip to recharge yourself at least for a week if not more. This was my second tour of the Ashtavinayak and this time I really loved and enjoyed it. Partly the reason for this could be that unlike the last time there were only three of us making the trip—my brother, sis-in-law, and me managed to keep parents and other religious minded neighbors from joining us and (as mean as it sounds) converting it into an oldies picnic. We also had a comfortable drive this time around (unlike the last time when there were eight of us packed in a single Qualis with all our luggage). The lack of any elders in supervisory capacity also ensured that we didn't have to mind our Ps and Qs that very much. We could set our own pace, find some time to explore the areas around the temples a bit without having to feel like that we were abandoning the elders, and even sample of the local food. And though my brother and sis-in-law had misgivings about my choice of reading material (both of them, like my parents, are extremely devout), and despite of my sis-in-law lecturing me a bit about it (Actually, I didn't read the book at all during the trip, having carried another one with me, but it was worth taking along just to observe how much it discomfited my brother and sis-in-law.), much good time was had.

The tour was memorable, however, for the sheer amount of greenery that was on display. Maharashtra is primarily a dry state. Browns and yellows dominate the landscape of robust mountains and its the color that most of us associate with the region. But after a couple of months of rain it is amazing the amount of green that bursts forth from the soil. There is a coolness and a refreshing moistness in the air. The Ashtavinayak temples are bang in the middle of Maharashtra's agricultural belt. Fields of sugarcane, paddy, onions, vegetables, bananas and grape vineyards abound and are lush with green and produce. Rivers are full and the daunting mountains are transformed with a blanket of green covering them. It's a sight very soothing for the eyes and you may be as morose and as soul-weary as they make them, but you can't help feel a little joy in all that plenty.

You will find pictures of the Ashtavinayak trip here. To view a slide show, complete with detailed captions, click here.

If you want to see how much Maharashtra's landscape changes in the rains, take a look at these pictures from my last year's (January 2006) trip of the Ashtavinayak.

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Update: October 5, 2007

A couple of readers e-mailed to ask me to put in some more details regarding the trip. A few friends had expressed disbelief when I told them that we completed the Ashtavinayak trip in 1.5 days (The regular tours & travels package trips take 3 days). Most of them wanted to know how to plan the trip, particularly the order in which to visit the temples. While am unable to do a proper post, here are a few details.

It's best to make this trip towards the end of the monsoon and the days before winter sets in. From maybe the mid-August through to September and early October. In any case not after Navratri and Diwali sets in -- with the festive season setting in you can expect to encounter heavy crowds at each of the temples. For the same reason avoid the month of Shravan. Post Diwali, its "prime time" right through summer with resultant crowds. Avoid all Tuesdays, whichever be the month. Also avoid Sundays and, if you can manage it, Saturdays too.

We started early on a Friday morning and were back home the afternoon on Saturday.

The route that we took will work the best for people from Mumbai, New- Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan and the surrounding suburbs. Overall, you traverse approximately 750-800 kms on this trip. So if you are driving your own car, get a basic servicing done. We hired a Scorpio.

The route and other details:

Stage 1: To Ozar
We started early morning around 5:30 AM and headed towards Ozar. The road to Ozar goes via Kalyan, Murbad, through the fabulous Malshej Ghat to Otur. From Otur you turn off from the state highway towards Ozar which is situated on the banks of the Kukadi river. The road is bordered on both sides by sugarcane fields and makes for a lovely drive. We reached Ozar around 8:00 AM. Temple visit, photographs and all done in 20 minutes.

Things to do and look out for:
It is one of the best sections to drive through in the entire trip. Malshej Ghat is awesome but drive through cautiously as the ghat is usually covered in a thick drifting fogs particularly that early in the morning.

The shops around the Ozar temple are a good place to pick up miniature Ganapati idols and other religious paraphernalia.

Time taken: Approximately 3 hours

Stage 2: Ozar to Lenyadri
We left Ozar at 8:30 AM for Lenyadri. Take the road that turns to the left after leaving the Ozar temple and ask the locals for directions towards Lenyadri. Lenyadri is quite close to Ozar and the drive shouldn't take you more than 30 minutes. The road passes alongside sugarcane and onion fields. You will know you are in Lenyadri when the sugarcane makes way for banana plantations and vineyards.

The Lenyadri Ganesha is in a cave at the top of a mountain. So be prepared to haul your bulk up and down 307 steps.

Things to do and look out for:
Lovely views of Shivneri (the birth place of Shivaji) and the area around from Lenyadri.

The "tapris" at the foothill of Lenyadri are a good place for breakfast. Most of them will offer excellent Kande-Pohe, Misal Pav. Try either or both (lunch on the Ashtavinayak trip is usually had late).

Lenyadri is also a good place to stock up on a variety of raisins at throwaway prices.

Time taken: Approximately 1.5 hours

Stage 3: Lenyadri to Ranzangaon
We left for Ranzangaon from Lenyadri around 10:00 AM. You drive through Junnar, touching the foothills of Shivneri, and on to Narayangaon. The drive from Narayangaon till you hit the Pune-Ahmednagar highway is wonderful. Fields of sugarcane, pulses, bajra, and vegetables, and the occasional thicket of woods border most of the route.

Things to do and look out for:
Keep an eye out for the local wildlife as you drive. Mongooses are frequently spotted. You will also glimpse an occasional snake.

As you cross Narayangaon, keep looking to your left and you will soon see the huge dish antennas that make the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope.

Time taken: Approximately 3 hours

Stage 4: Ranzangaon to Siddhatek
Siddhatek is across the Bhima river. The drive is through the heartland of Maharashtra's sugarcane growing region. (In the harvesting season, you will find yourself stuck behind a line of endless tractor-trailers hauling the sugarcane away. While the progress is slow, you can lean out of your vehicle and pluck a sugarcane stalk from the trailers passing by.) In August, the roads were clear of any traffic apart from the occasional bullock cart or a state transport bus and some two-wheelers. You do get caught in some traffic in the town of Daund but that's about it.

Things to do and look out for:
Kandi pedhas in the shops next to the temple. These spoil quite quickly so polish off whatever you buy on the same day.

Have lunch on the banks of the Bhima. There are a few small huts on the bank on the other side of the bank. You place your order on the way to the temple. By the time you are back from the darshan piping hot Maharashtrian fare is ready and served with much hospitality. The food is basic: a choice of bajra and jowar bhakris, zunka, thecha (crushed green chillies and garlic, with some oil), a vegetable, rice and dal, raw onions and some chutney -- all of it as much as you can eat. And once you are done, the hosts will insist on serving you some more food. The food is cooked over wood fires in earthen chulas and is very tasty. You eat sitting on a mat next to the river. Awesome experience especially for city slickers. A word of caution: go easy on the thecha. It easily can cause a stomach upset if you are not used to having hot, spicy food.

Time taken: Approximately 3 hours

Stage 5: Siddhatek to Morgaon
You have to retrace most of the drive back to Ranzangaon from Siddhatek before you take the turn towards Baramati and Morgaon. The countryside after you take the turn towards Morgaon off the highway is different from what you would have got accustomed through the day. Not too many fields but there's a lovely ghat to cross.

Things to do and look out for:
The trees inside the temple premises that are identified by my name.

Have some tea at any of the tapris outside the temple. It is the end of the day and you will need it.

It will be dusk by the time you start back from Morgaon. Keep your eyes peeled for peacocks once you hit the open country. If you are lucky, you might spot one. If you are really lucky, you might spot two. We did. Morgaon, in Marathi, means the village of peacocks.

Time taken: Approximately 2 hours

Stage 6: Morgaon to Theur
Your drive to Theur will be largely after nightfall. Most of the drive is along the highway that goes to Pune (Theur is the closest Ashtavinayak temple to Pune) so expect much fast-moving traffic till you take the turn that leads towards Theur. Theur is set in the midst of banana plantations, sugarcane fields and, off-late, stud farms. There are also a number of jaggery making units in the small town. In season, a sweet aroma lingers overs this temple-town.

You should be in Theur by 8.00 PM and this is the place where you will stay for the night. The accommodation is basic: clean rooms with beds and a bathroom attached (300 Rs. a night). If you are looking for comfort and luxury, stay in Baramati or in Pune. Most of these "boarding houses" will also offer home-cooked meals for a nominal cost.

Things to do and look out for:
Reserve your temple visit for early next morning (6:00-6:30 AM) when there are hardly any devotees around and the temple has just been swept clean and it's premises sprinkled with water.

Take a shower, have dinner, and then browse through the small shops around the temple. You might find some lovely miniature Ganapati idols.

There's a Vada-pav vendor near the temple's entrance who makes very good vada-pav. He shuts shop as soon as all the vadas are sold. This can be as early as 8:00-8:30 PM.

Sleep.

Time taken (to reach from Morgaon): Approximately 2 hours

Stage 6: Theur to Mahad
Start early from Theur, at around 6:45-7:00 AM. You have to get through Pune and it is a good idea to start early to avoid traffic and hit the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Leave the expressway at Khopoli. From Khopoli, Mahad is 3 kms away.

Mahad is the closest Ashtavinayak temple to Mumbai. Expect to see some crowds here.

Things to do and look out for:
Turn off the road on the outskirts of Pune city (towards the Expressway) and drive into a "Joshi Vadewale" for breakfast. Hot batatawadas and bhajiyas with lots of elaichi tea make a good breakfast.

The shops around Mahad's temple are a good hunting ground for miniature Ganapatis and other religious items. Also a good place to pick up boiled/roasted corn on the cob and groundnuts.

Time taken (inclusive of breakfast): Approximately 3 hours

Stage 7: Mahad to Pali
This is a lovely drive, along the Sahyadris, through thick woods and paddy fields. You might encounter some traffic in Khopoli. Drive carefully: the road passes through numerous small villages and Pali itself is a town of narrow streets and too many buses.

Things to do and look out for:
Good place to shop for papads and other similar dried foodstuff. The shops also sell good kokum and Amla sherbet without any artificial preservatives. Most shops will allow you to sample the sherbets before you decide to buy them.

Time taken: Approximately 2 hrs

Stage 8: Pali to Mumbai/Thane/Kalyan/Ambernath
There are quite a few possible routes from Pali. You could drive back to Khopoli and take the road that goes to Mumbra. You could also come back to Khopoli, go on to Karjat, and then take the road that goes parallel to the railway tracks right up to Ambernath and then goes on to Kalyan and Thane. From Karjat to Ambernath this is a lovely drive with the Sahyadris and paddy fields on one side of the road and more fields and the railway trucks on the other.

Alternatively you can take an even more scenic route back. Take the road that goes to Roha and Nagothane from Pali. Most of this road parallels a river on one side and dense woods on the other. Then it hits the Mumbai-Goa highway which in this season is a strip of tarmac amidst fields and wildflowers. You drive through Vadhkal Naka (in case you haven't picked up stuff from Pali, this is another good place to stock up on papads and assorted stuff) Karnala and Panvel and to Shil-Fata from where you can turn into New Mumbai/Mumbai on one side and Kalyan and Ambernath on the other. This is the route we took.

Whichever the road you take you should be home by around 3:00 PM on the outside completing the Ashtavinayak tour in a day and a half.

Things to do and look out for:
Drive carefully and enjoy the scenery.

Time taken: Approximately 2.5 hrs

Overall Time taken: Approximately 34 hrs

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Update - 14 Jan, 2009: Devout Odyssey: Ashtavinayak, Tuljapur, and Kolhapur

Benares Vignettes: Religious Art

Note: Click the picture to open a larger image.

I noticed this painted on a wall next to a small restaurant in Benares. The restaurant is very close to the Kal-Bhairav temple, actually a stone's throw away — if one throws in the right direction and makes the stone take a couple of turns around tight corners in the narrow alleys that lead to the temple.

Back to the painting: I have tried fathoming what it was that the artist was trying to convey. But it's umm. . . well I found it a bit diffcult to stop smirking horribly and laughing when I saw the painting for the first time much to the chagrin of my friend.

A week and some days later, I may no longer laugh but the grin persists.

What do you think?

Why the Artist Didn't do a Chocolate Muhammad

Sweet Jesus! It would have been a career killer.

The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot

. . .digested and recounted by Jeffrey Archer and Prof Francis J Moloney:

Chapter 1

1. This gospel is written so that all may know the truth about Judas Iscariot and the role he played in the life and tragic death of Jesus of Nazareth.

2. Judas Iscariot was a good man. He was the world's fastest runner, always told the truth and was the greatest storyteller Jesus had ever met.

3. I know this to be true because biblical scholars can't actually disprove it.

4. Writing in an even more wooden style than usual is God's sign of my sincerity.

5. All the other gospels are wrong.

Chapter 2

1. Judas was a disciple of John the Baptist. This makes a big difference.

2. Some of the stories about Jesus were nothing but Greek myths, or so I've read somewhere.

3. A great deal of what Jesus did next happened in much the same way as it is written in the other scriptures, except Judas was much more important than those liars Matthew, Mark, Luke and John bothered to mention.

[. . .]

Why we Need Hardline Religious Leaders. . .

Some hardline Muslim clerics in Australia are encouraging their followers to cheat the tax system because they consider paying income tax contrary to Islamic law.

Now, will some right-thinking religious zealots (of whichever religion) in India stand up and do their religious duty? I am willing to renounce atheism and accept and pray to whatever god it is that you want me to.