Patna

A campus recruitment trip to my home town proved to be another opportunity to revisit the golden memories of  childhood. I started with a walk to the Zoo just to remind how I used to run or cycle to this place every morning with bhaiya.

The Zoo was crowded for Tuesday morning which was unexpected. Watching closely I realized most of the crowd was couples who found the controlled wildness more suited than polluted high streets. Moving out quickly, I took an auto that took me directly to Gol Ghar. It is as representative to Patna as Jantar Mantar or Hawa Mahal is to Jaipur.

The view from top of Gol Ghar is worth mentioning. The spread of city along the banks of river Ganges is clearly visible. After taking few pics I descended and walked to Gandhi Maidan area which has most of the cineplexes and eating joints. There I took a bus to my school, walked a bit around and then moved to Station area.

My plan was to visit Patna Sahib but it was thwarted by the short winter day which meant it was dark after 5. Instead I settled for samosas and chandrakalas at my favourite joints near the station.

Pavapuri

Trip: Gaya > Rajgir > Pavapuri > Gaya

Pavapuri was a short while from Rajgir - a drive of two hours. The first glimpse was enough to leave an impression. We parked our car on the roadside and took the only bridge for the majestic marble structure that was visible at the middle of a large lake.

Pond@Pavapuri

The bridge itself was made of carved red sandstone. The fishes in the lake had been allowed to grow large. The     Mahavir Temple, as it grew larger to sight, was a spectacle to watch.

Bridge to Pavapuri Temple

The temple is famous for being the place where Lord Mahavir was enlightened. It is a remarkable coincidence that the two places where Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavir each were enlightened is not more than 50 miles apart.

Marble gates@Pavapuri

Sitting on the cool marble stairs of the temple was pleasant with the lake view in front. The lukewarm winter weather of late November morning was complimenting the overall atmosphere. We simply sat and chatted for a  while before starting back for Gaya.

Rajgir

• Rajgir has two major tourist spots apart from ruins of the great Magadh capital that Rajgir once was. One is the Peace Pagoda atop a hill and other is the famous hot water sulphur spring.
• Rajgir is a one day trip from Patna. Gaya is even closer and with an early start one may cover Rajgir, Pavapuri and Bodh Gaya on the same day.
• Take or rent your own vehicle. Go on a Monday if possible. Don't miss the ropeway. Don't miss to take a holy dip in the hot water spring.

Early morning drives in the fad end of November under the warmth of rising sun is a luxury that Bihar didn't know of until Nitish Kumar happened. So now the road between Gaya and Rajgir is wide & smooth and only an hour affair. We were in Gaya for a cousin's wedding and decided to take advantage of our location.

Four corners of Shanti Stupa@Rajgir