A delightful sojourn: Hyderabad to Kolhapur road trip

A road trip from Hyderabad to Kolhapur has many fascinating places to visit. A pit stop, at the most, makes a fulfilling journey

A road trip from Hyderabad to visit three shrines in Maharashtra proved to be an interesting and enriching experience, exposing us to different terrain crisscrossing three states.

Guided by our ‘Google expert’ we read aloud the names of villages en route (to kill time) wondering if we would reach our destination as suggested. We knew we had a good 10-hour journey on hand that included both immaculately maintained highways as well as bumpy stretches.

As our vehicle touched Bijapur, ‘Gol Gumbaz’ and imposing structures around it seemed to beckon us. The majestic dome framed against a blue skyline was an exquisite piece of workmanship that we could not ignore and a visit to the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur was ironically our first halt.

One of the most striking and grand royal tombs to be built in India, ‘Gol Gumbaz’ referred to as the Taj Mahal of South India. It is built with grey basalt stone and happens to be India’s largest antiquated dome.

We were pleasantly surprised to see the large turnout of visitors on a working day and figured that there were indeed many like us. Huge trees and lawns surround the Gol Gumbaz and a museum within the complex showcases the history and culture of the Adil Shahi rulers of Bijapur.

The dome rests on a huge cube like structure with dome shaped octagonal towers on all four sides that are seven storey’s high. Each tower has a staircase opening onto a round gallery inside the dome. We were stuck by the beauty of the dome constructed in the Indo- Sarcenic style by architect Yakut of Dabul.

Visitors who walk up the stairs reach the round gallery on top and the amazing acoustics ensure that the softest sound made here trickles down earning it the name “Whispering Gallery”.

Voices of kids speaking in hushed tones reverberated all the way down where we stood transfixed by this beautiful marvel. The stop was truly worth it and we continued our onward journey to Kolhapur.

We stayed at Kolhapur and rose early for the morning darshan on Friday, considered a very auspicious day.
On reaching Mahalakshmi temple at 4:30 am we found a steady stream of devotees pouring in.

One of the 18 Shakti peethas where the eyes of the Goddess Sati fell, the Karveer (Former name of Kolhapur) region is associated with the presence of both Lakshmi and Vishnu, who are said to be ever present here.

Another story from mythology talks about how an upset Lakshmi left Vaikunta unable to bear the insult to Vishnu by the sage Bhrigu. Lakshmi settled here to observe penance after learning that Vishnu as Lord Venkateshwara had married Padmavathi (an incarnation of Lakshmi).

The black stone Mahalakshmi idol is three feet high and sheltered by a silver hooded Seshnag, the serpent of Vishnu. Unlike most Hindu idols that face north or east Mahalakshmi faces the west.

Clad in a beautiful parrot green saree with a striking pink border, the idol of the goddess said to be made of gemstones weighing 40 kilos is stunning. Sun rays fall on the face of the four-armed goddess from an opening in the wall during Sankranthi and Ratha Saptami and during the equinoxes.

Inside the temple complex is the Dattatreya temple and shrines for different gods. It is believed that Dattatreya visits every noon to seek alms from the goddess.

The ancient 6,000-year-old idol of the Goddess also referred to as “Ambadevi” represents prosperity and those who worship her they say are either freed of desires or have them fulfilled.

Our second stop of the day is two-and-a-half hours away at Pandharpur, the famous abode of Vittala. After standing in a serpentine queue for over two hours we got a glimpse of the Vittala idol.

Idols of Vittala, Rukmini (called Rukmayi here) Sathyabhama and Radha all carved from black stone and are truly captivating. The surroundings of the temple and the pathway, however, left me squirming in disgust.

Betel nut marks on the walls, plastic covers and empty bottles were strewn all over, dirt and filth on unclean pathways and water running from taps greeted us all through our long wait.

Why are authorities unconcerned about cleanliness in and around places of worship? There were so many questions in my mind.

Why should we not use the Swacch Bharat campaign to clean up important places of worship? Since there was no one in authority that I could voice my concern, I decided to quickly move on to the third pilgrimage centre, Tuljapur, which is one hour from our next halt Solapur.

It was 6.30 in the evening by the time we reached Tuljapur to see the temple of Goddess Bhavani worshipped by Chatrapati Shivaji and countless devotees ranging from royals to commoners.

The goddess is believed to have presented Shivaji with the famous Bhavani sword for success in his expeditions. Self-manifested or swayambhu, the idol has eight arms (ashtabuji) holding different weapons as well as the head of the demon Mahisha.

The incredibly beautiful idol is a treat to the eyes and we moved on reluctantly as the guards kept repeating… “Chalaa… Chalaa… (Keep going)”.

Back home we realised that the journey itself was as beautiful as the destination at each point and that is exactly what road trips are all about.