Prayag Raj Day 5

 

7 April 2026 

*Day 5* PrayagRaj 

We woke up really early and in the dark of the night just before the glimmer of dawn I was chanting Hanuman Chalisa in the line to take Darshan of the Bade Hanuman or लेटे हनुमान. M

It is said after the war of Lanka Hanuman was tired and stopped here for rest as suggested by Sita Mai. Therefore is in शयन अवस्था or sleeping pose. 

The official site of Prayag Raj mentions that this mandir was established by Samarth Ramdas. Located on the banks of the Sangam in Prayagraj. It is 6-7 feet below ground level and the murti is 20ft and faces the south therefore दक्षिण मुखी with Ahiravana under his right foot and Kamada Devi under his left foot, and he is protecting Rama and Lakshmana with his left hand and holds a Gada in the right hand. The picture is from the internet. 

I had a lovely Darshan as we descended down the steps and some kind men allowed us to move in the front for a better view. Never stereotype people. There are good people everywhere. 

After Darshan we were taken to the sand banks where we were boarded on to small row boats 🛶  which took us to the Triveni sangam of Ganga Yamuna and the underground Saraswati.

Frankly even though the Triveni sangam स्नान bath is considered auspicious and this is where पिंडदान is performed. I was so turned off by the arrangement there that I did not even go on to those other boats. I simply prayed sitting in our row boat. I had collected the holy water in a small bottle to bring home but the high particulate matter just made me empty the bottle right back into the sangam. The Environmental Technologist in me was very disturbed there. Faith made people into sheep following blindly. Here too dumping flowers and floating Diyas without a conscience. For me the Sangam Darshan was enough. I swept up a palm full of water applied to my eyes and ब्रह्मरंध्र and remembered my ancestors. I did not need a ritual for closure. My Baba had categorically told me not to perform any rituals for him after he was gone. I am privileged that I could do whatever possible while he lived ❣️

Near the mandir is the Fort built by Akbar. The locals tell the story that Akbar wanted the land on which the Lete Hanuman rests. He tried moving the murti but failed miserably and had to give up!

My group friends the Phadkes and Kashikars

That’s Mrs Chitale in action

After sangam darshan we returned to the hotel had breakfast and started our journey towards Ayodhya in the uncomfortable Tempo traveller 🙂‍↕️ but we had some fun Antakshari 😃

Prayag Raj Day 4

📸 Shabdmrut Paryatan

6 April 2026

*Day 4* Prayag Raj

Waking up early was such a good habit on this trip. I woke up and drew the curtains to soak up in the lovely mildly warm sun after the drizzle last night. 

After breakfast we were on the way to Prayag Raj. It was going to be a 4-5 hrs journey we were informed. The roads were excellent so we did not mind the long distance travel but a tempo travel wasn’t comfortable for those hours. Within Varanasi since the roads are narrow there was no choice but for Prayag Raj a big bus would have given more comfort. 

Somewhere around noon we stopped to pick up samosas and they were served hot in the tempo traveller with Amul masti chaas to wash them down. 

We reached the hotel in Prayag Raj where we were going to stay for a night. I did not like the room. It was congested with a single bed a middle room in a row of rooms on the ground floor. However since it was just a night I didn’t complain to the tour manager. The courtyard was lovely though. I walked there with a new friend Sonal from our group after dinner enjoying the lawns before we retired for the day. 

Coming back to the afternoon we had lunch and rested a bit before we went to the Chandrashekhar Azad Park.

We drove through Prayag Raj city. It had decent roads and a green cover that was pleasing. It reminded me of Lucknow. As we passed the Allahabad University of Prayag Raj it hit me that this was Allahabad city of the past ! I am so glad the old name was restored. Public memory is so short and that if you visit a renamed city you know it only by the current name. Unless you notice remnants of the past. 

We reached the memorial park dedicated to the martyr Chandrashekhar Azad and bowed our heads in reverence for his supreme sacrifice at the young age of just 25 ! 🫡

Parth Bawaskar passionately narrated the story of Chandrashekhar, his becoming Azad and how he shot himself behind the Jamun tree that still holds its ground. Read about it here. 

That Jamun tree

How he chose sacrifice over being arrested by the British. It brought tears to our eyes and we paid obeisance by singing our soulful Rashtra Geet Vande Mataram lead by Mugdha Vaishampayan. The park reverberated with the sobriety of 200 people singing in unison.

We then assembled for Parth’s निरूपण on Valmiki Ramayan. This young man has researched well and has a command on the subject. His sharp intellect and passionate delivery impacts the audience.

On this day Mugdha arrived and FINALLY we were thrilled as she was the star ⭐️ attraction for Shabdmrut Paryatan. Their concept of Valmiki Ramayan by Parth and Mugdha singing Geet Ramayan on this tour is Unique highlight. This is the feature that drew me to join this tour.  

Mugdha is our Alibagkar girl who as a child emerged as celebrity in the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs Marathi. She blew the TV audience away with her classical trained singing. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to listen to her on this retreat for the next 4 days ! 

Mugdha was swarmed with admirers for a selfie. It was her birthday few days ago so we celebrated it on her first performance day for us.