....................to the Banks of Godari Ganga

Hmm, come summer, come mangoes!

                             Early on Tuesday morning, we headed for Bhadrachalam. We reached Vijayawada to pick up Uncle’s elder brother who was eager to have the blessings of Lord Rama. On his suggestion of a ‘shorter route’, we got stuck on narrow village roads for nearly an hour and a half, but I got the chance of clicking a tree full of tender mangoes and a flock of sheep.  I also saw a standing crop of corn- I just loved it, even if our ‘Driver Mama’ got annoyed.

The flock of sheep that excited me but annoyed my uncle

                To reach Bhadrachalam, we crossed the Godavari bridge beyond which we spotted the temple tower. Excitedly I began to sing, “Adigo Bhadradri, Gouthami Idigo Choodandi” (Yonder, we can see the  Bhadradri and here, we can see the Godavari).
Alas, it was summer, so the river had almost dried up. So, it was a case of “Gowthami idigo ledandi” (we can’t find the Godavari here). Now, you might wonder why I added the word Ganga to the title. If you were a Telugu filmy music lover, you would know of a song from the 1990 film, ‘Seetharamayya gari Manavaralu’, that Ganga arrived on earth as Godavari,  just to ‘wash the feet of Bhadragiri Ramayya’! Around 4 p.m., we started for Sri Ramagiri, about 40kms away. We drove into the interior of the Vali- Sugreeva sanctuary/ Dandakararanya and found fields on either side of a narrow, deserted road. At Sri Ramagiri, there was a rock alongside a brook where Goddess Sita was said to have dried her saree. We could get yellow and maroon stones, symbolizing turmeric and vermillion respectively, over there. There was a part of the brook, covered on all sides by dense trees, which served as Sita’s private bath.

Sita's private bath

The image of Sita. We could get the yellow- and- maroon stones here

 There was a rock, named after Surpanakha, which visitors stoned. There was a ‘Parnasala’ (weed cottage), which was a part of a Telugu film, ‘Sri Ramadasu’.

From the 'Parnasala'

From the 'Parnasala'

From the 'Parnasala'

From the 'Parnasala'

      

We prayed at a Rama temple on the banks of the Godavari. When told about a boat ride, we excitedly got into the country boat and enjoyed the twenty- minute ride. We got to learn over there that Lord Rama’s Vasantotsavam, which happens on a boat in the river, was taking place, of late, in Sri Ramagiri and not in Bhadrachalam, because of the shallow waters over there. Is it the same old place where a flood in the river became a threat to the temple long ago, I wondered.

Sunset on the River Godavari at Sri Ramagiri with the Papikondalu in the background

 After the ride, against the backdrop of a clear sky, we saw a beautiful sunset and returned to Bhadrachalam after having a look at the ‘loving face’ of a statue of Sabari at the Pournami cottage of the A.P. Tourism Department.

            

The doting Sabari at the Pournami Cottage, Bhadrachalam

Sabari feeds Rama with tasted fruits, Pournami Cottage, Bhadrachalam

On Wednesday, after the rituals concerning the visit to the temple got over, we headed back home. This time the ‘Driver Ramudu’ a.k.a Uncle decided to navigate the route himself, and we travelled via Khammam to save an hour of travel, dropped the elder uncle on the banks of the River Krishna in Vijayawada( Goddess Kanaka Durga may please excuse us for not visiting Her, in spite of being in Her place on two consecutive days), reached home, freshened up, completed dinner and got on to the train to Chennai.

                Looking back, the arduous journeys were extremely enjoyable, weren’t they? They could also be considered as journeys from Seshachalam to Nallamala to Dandakaranya.

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