322. Travel Blog
If you thought the butterfly effect was just a terrible 2004 movie starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart, think again. The film was just a new take on a much older concept.
The butterfly effect is the idea that small, seemingly trivial events may ultimately result in something with much larger consequences – in other words, they have non-linear impacts on very complex systems. For instance, when a butterfly flaps its wings in India, that tiny change in air pressure could eventually cause a tornado in Iowa.
above two paragraphs courtesy www.science.howstuffworks.com
I too had my own small butterfly effect that resulted in my travelling 7 different cities in 7 days😊! It all started somewhere in September last year when my father’s davasam (annual ritual) came up. When I talked to the pandit to come and do the ritual, the total cost including the food, seemed very very high. At that time, I had no other option other than to go ahead with the ritual. Then my wife and me decided that instead of giving money to the pandit and the cook every year, we can donate the same money to some children’s home. We scouted around places nearby and finalized upon one boy’s home. We went and saw the setup and finalized it for donation every year for my father’s death anniversary. We donated some food items to the children’s home as a start.
Now, since I will not be doing the ritual from next year, it was decided that I should go to Gaya and do the final rites there for my father. Since the trip was going to be a long one, I checked out other sites near Gaya that can be covered during the same trip. After much searching, I found an itinerary that covered 7 cities in 7 days, including Gaya. I sent my enquiry to the site and got quotes from 3 vendors. After checking out their itinerary and finding out what all places they were covering, I checked out each city and added my own items to the list. I sent the updated list to them and asked for a revised quote. I told them that I will book my tickets to Varanasi airport and they have to pick me there. And after the trip, they would have to drop me back to the Varanasi airport for my return to Hyderabad. Luckily, Indigo airlines flew direct to Varanasi from Hyderabad! After bargaining, I finalized on one vendor. The total cost included complimentary breakfast and dinner for all days. Since we were a group of 5, we finalised on Innova A/c car. All the hotels were to be of 3-star and above. I have come to realise that as you age, these are the things that you have to careful of😊, as this comes under the “essential” category!! You come tired after travelling throughout the day; and if the bed is not good, it spoils your night as well as the next day’s trip😊!
In the meanwhile, I started giving out feelers to my relatives and friends that I am going to travel these places in March 2024 and if anyone was interested to join me and my wife. My wife’s brother was interested as he too wanted to do the final rites for his parents at Gaya. He said he would be free once his daughters’ 10th board exams were over. It was getting over on 13th March. He said he can come to Hyderabad and we can start the trip from there. So, it was decided that he will travel from Chennai on 14th night and come to Hyderabad on 15th morning. And on 16th morning we will proceed with the tour.
The cities that were to be covered were Varanasi, Ayodhya, Prayagraj (known as Allahabad earlier), Chitrakoot, Bodh Gaya, Gaya and Sarnath.
I then contacted my cousin Ravi and asked him if he knew of anyone in Gaya who could help us with doing the ritual there. Since he is in the Army, he contacted the army unit in UP and gave me the phone number of a priest in Gaya. I spoke to the priest and gave him my requirements. He said he would do the ritual and confirmed the visit. Since at that time, the dates were not finalized, I told him that it will be between 16 and 22 March and I will confirm the date when the itinerary gets finalised. He agreed to the same.
With all the things in place, we started on the morning of 16th March and came back late night to Hyderabad on 22nd night at around 1am.
The itinerary looked like this…
Day 1 – Varanasi sightseeing
Day 2 – Varanasi to Ayodhya via Prayagraj and sightseeing in Prayagraj (289 kms drive)
Day 3 – Ayodhya
Sightseeing and drive to Chitrakoot (275 kms drive)
Day 4 –
Chitrakoot Sightseeing and drive to Varanasi (260 kms drive)
Day 5 – Varanasi
to Bodhgaya and Bodhgaya Sightseeing (250 kms drive)
Day 6 – Gaya
visit for Pind Tarpanam and drive to Varanasi (260 kms drive)
Day 7 – Varanasi
and Sarnath sightseeing and night flight to Hyderabad
It was really a hectic trip with 5 days of at least 5-6 hours drive! By the last day, I was totally looking forward to reach Hyderabad and crash for 2-3 days sleep😊!!
Over the next couple of blogs, I will take you to these cities and show you the interesting places that each city has to offer!
Cheers till next time😊!!
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