Mount Abu - In Seventh Heaven! (Part 1)

 

Twilight delight!

We had looked forward to visiting Mount Abu for its famed Dilwara Temples and scenic beauty, since a decade. Just being there gave us a high. Reaching the highest point in Mt. Abu, Guru Shikhar, with a beautiful Lord Dattatreya's temple, perched on a majestic huge rock, took us straightaway to seventh heaven! So this was heavenly bliss! We could feel the Divine aura envelop us in its cozy warmth. 

We purchased beautiful, dirt-cheap, framed prints of exquisite Rajasthani, miniature paintings as mementoes of our visit. We bought a set of 8 paintings titled, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, after each note of the classical music, which were (according to the enthusiastic salesman), to be hung on the wall, in that particular sequence only, shaped like the high and low keys of the harmonium!

Our hearts were already singing in unison! A snap clicked by our affable, smart, tourist guide, is treasured by us. It shows us in ethnic splendor, a Rajasthani ensemble complete with baubles and other accessories like the odhni and turban. Hubby and I resemble a local Rajasthani couple, in all that traditional finery.

But one has to be really fit to see Mount Abu as most of the places in our itinerary were located atop high hills, where one has to trek up and down hundreds of steep steps. Phew! As all of us managed to see all those places, our energetic guide declared that all of us were used to eating desi ghee, and were hence as fit as a fiddle! His certificate bolstered even the faint-hearted amongst us, like a fragile newly- wed bride and her over-solicitous husband!

Guru Shikhar - The highest point in Mt. Abu

Mount Abu is a small place which offers a variety of places for sight-seeing. All the 'points' can be seen in a day. The people are friendly. The climate was just right, as we went there in the second week of February. It was chilly in the nights and morning and warm in the day-time.

The Nakki lake was bewitching with all its twinkling lights at night. A restaurant shaped like a motor launch, at the edge of that vast lake, added zing to the experience.

To be continued....

The copyright of this travelogue and photographs is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

This travelogue had been published in the Spice Edition of Sakaal Times, dated 1st June, 2014.