October 20, 2023

Friday, 11:00 PM

Imperial Grand, 

Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh,

India

Much of today we spent editing the video for the evening upload. So after getting the video almost ready for upload, I stepped out in the evening at around 3:30-4:00 PM, and went straight to the market to shop for some clothes because pretty much all clothes I have are black, or shades of black or grey or some such, which are wholly inappropriate colours to wear to the temples. And for the first time I got such good and comfortable clothes so cheap. Not like I did not know that they stick a label and raise the price, but still it always feels good to get a lot for not so much! And then I purchased some girly stuff to be place and occasion appropriate (not really, but it’s still better to not look out of place unnecessarily). And while I was picking clothes, I realized I need to pay better attention to what I am eating and also do a bit of exercise. I also realized that nothing hits one harder than shopping for clothes when your weight is rising. Alright, so with a heavy heart at the rising weight, I visited the temples, limping (no, the heavy heart did not cause the limp; it was the fall I had the other day, which is yet to stop hurting me).

The first place I visited was Ramghat, which is located close to the Harsiddhi Temple, and is well-known for the Kumbh Mela, which is held every 12 years and holds a significant place in Hindu religious traditions. Ujjain is one of the four places where Kumbh Mela is organized, the other three being Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Haridwar and Nashik. I got some wonderful pictures and footage at Ramghat. 

At Ramghat I also met Avinash, a young boy, who approached me for the teeka. I wondered if he attended school. He told he was an orphan and lived in an ashram nearby. We find a lot of such children at religious places. I wish we, as a society, could do something to let children like Avinash have the opportunity to make a choice about the kind of life they want to make for themselves rather than have and be content with the life their circumstances fashion for them.

And then I decided to bother the pujariji of the temple with my questions about Ujjain and the mythological tales associated with it. Pujariji was kind enough to patiently tell me the story, which I am keeping for tomorrow apart from other things (too tired to tell now). Stay tuned!