If we ever had raasleela, it was here!! The astute
denies but the soul never fails to endorse. Kerala truly is God’s own country!
But god owns a city too- Vrindavan.
There is something
extraordinary at vrindavan that strongly invokes the spiritual in me, beyond
the temple dotted labyrinth and unfailing smell of rabri, peda, ladoos and
kulhar ki chai, and Iskcon. As soon as the board displaying Vrindavan comes
into sight a sense of calm precipitates sifting away the worldly clamor.
For a while the spiritual
takes rest in me. The immediate scene of street strewn with garland sellers and
cacophony of shared autos take me by force to mull over how Vrindavan would have
been in the time of Krishna? Before I
could take myself further on the thought, the throngs of devotees and
reverberation of “hare Krishna, hare hare” beautifully punctuates it. Yes,
there is no other place in the world that equals Vrindavan in giving my soul a
soothing effect.
Everything is so joyous
about the city, right from temples, big and small, to loud pravachans to
motels, hotels to talebearer guides who narrate Krishna’s history in just one
breath. Amidst all ongoing in my mind, my heart never loses its purpose of
spiritual satiation and to catch a glimpse of Krishna’s prime abode in
Vrindavan--Shri Bankey Bihari. Even though God chose the whole of Vrindavan as
his stage for raasleela – the divine play – it is believed that the Bankey
Bihari Temple records divine interventions of his supreme power in the form
of live examples. But before we set foot in the temple premises there is more
to unfurl on the canvas of divinity. A rickshaw ride past vrindavan’s market
and its narrow street is an introduction to the city’s culture. While on
rickshaw, watch the sweet (peda, rabri), shops, kiosks selling beautiful
deities of krishna, precious gems, beads, and all accessories used to ornate
god. Meanwhile pretty ladies under veils and heavy ornaments, and other city
dwellers greet the newcomers with “radhe, radhe, Krishna Krishna” .
Like Lord’s flute the
pilgrimage city is entwined with melodious enticements all along. And why not, the
greenish waters of Jamuna Ji as well Goverdhan hills have stood witness through
quondam years. It was on banks of Jamuna river that Lord Krishna constituted
his play of consciousness—the rasa. Not long before one gets drawn to the
shallow waters here there are old edifices lying incongruously to attract your
attention. Refurbished these may have been in the recent years but basic
structure has not been tampered. One can take a sneak-peak into history of what
it would have been in the times of Krishna. Well, not to wander far off it is
must be reminded that the heart of Vrindavan lies in the NidhiVan, yet another
leela stage of god.
Nidhivan is better reached
on foot so as to not miss the charms of the pilgrimage. All the while you have
bunch of monkeys as companions by your side to add to your city escapades. And
there lies Nidhivan –something like an oasis in the desert –greeting you with
open arms and grove of short dense trees with branches interlocked into each
other. Per se Bhagwat Purana these trees are said to be the gopis who performed
the miraculous rasa with the supreme Lord.
Here at vrindavan there is
more than the eyes can meet. A temple amidst the maze and Radha Kund take you
by force. Samadhi of Haridasa, The Radha Rani Temple, the place where Lord
Bankey Bihari appeared and costume place of Lord Krishna and his consort Radha
Rani.
… at the dusk on rickshaw
the mind is frothy with that dust I had on my forehead. The Brajdham. The streets
smells fresh of monkey poop but its’ gibber is lost in the darkness of the
night; the same night that sets in for yet another dawn of cosmic play- the
rasa. There is more to be excavated but I m invigorated by losing my heart in
the van.. Vrindavan, Madhuban or Nidhivan…
