Finally, I got to see the very hospital in Fatehpur where my mother delivered me as an infant boy the District Hospital at the centre of the city. I even ventured inside to see the wards and the operation theatre, and I was really very happy to chat with the nurses, I told them that I was born here in the hospital in 1974. This was a novel experience as I meandered through the old City of Fatehpur on a electric rickshaw, which we had hired for the benign from our hotel The Pushpa Raj Hotel.

Fatehpur District Mens Hospital

Then I wandered out to see the Om Ghat which is almost ten kilometers from the main city centre. This is a ghat on the banks of the Ganges where the great sage Bhrigu prayed and mediated. One has to go through many villages and real enter the interiors of Uttar Pradesh to get to the Om Ghat. We crossed villages like Lal Gang, Chandipur, Khatoli and many more this was backward and beyond. Most villagers are into farming staple grain crops the rest hear buffalo’s, cows and sheep. There are water reservoirs that feed water to the huge agricultural farmland.

It was late evening when we arrived, and I got some good shots of the ghost as the sun was setting. Fatehpur is a small town and not a lot of development has taken place there are no facilities near tourist spots and a lot of the city looks run down and broken. Most people run shop and live in half-baked houses. But this as the place of my birth and I was thrilled to be here after fifty years.

The Kali Khoh Impel is situated in Harare near Mirzapur. The temple is built-in honour of Ma Kali who killed the demon Rakht Beej here. It was said that the demon would would come back to life as another demon wherever his blood fell on the earth. Ma Kali chopped the demons head and drank his blood directly not letting a single drop fall on the earth.

Ma Kali Khoh Temple

The opening time is 4;00 am and the closing time is 10:00 pm, one can take an electric rickshaw to the temple complex. One has to walk a distance to get to the Ma Kali temple. It is also a tantric temple as I saw many goats inside the temple complex no doubt waiting to be sacrificed the goddess is then given the blood of the animal as an offering.

The Kali Khoh temple is around 2 km form the Vindhyavasani Temple. The temple is situated in a densely forested area and thus it has a unique mystical and spiritual charm. One has to pass through large farm and agricultural land to get to the temple. The pope of Mirzapur rely on farming as a source of income and staple crops like Wheat, rice and corn grow here in the plenty.

The goddess is seen as a protector of their crops and the forest land as well, it protects the animals and the people of the village.

The temple at the entrance has a fierce looking female form with two large eyes which stare at the devotee. The temple walls are painted red and there are shlokas and images from ancient stories of the purina’s and vedas inscribed on its wall.

The inner sacrum has a large black stone depicting Kali with large eyes marked in white the goddess has her red tongue sticking out.

This temple is the centre of Tantric worship and Tantra. There is a inner courtyard with a pond and there is also an idol of the Kamakhya Devi, the goddess is offered blood here. The festival of Navratri is celebrated with gusto here and devotees are encouraged to drink and bathe with the water of the pond in the centre of the courtyard.

One can take sweets and flowers to offer to the goddess from the nearby shops of which ether are in plenty. There are tea shops selling samosa and poori as well for visitors.

The temple has three large domes painted in gold paint. One dome is circular, and the others are shaped like a triangle. Images of the goddess are carved on these domes that can be seen from the inner courtyard, they stand tall and majestically stare at the Vindyachal hills.

At the doorstep of the temple below the orange and red coloured steps sits a pandit beating the drum, he sings hymns to please the goddess.

The inner temple sacrum also has stone sculptors of lord Hanuman, but it is the black stone image of the fierce goddess that stands out and stares one in the face. On the side of the temple there is a place next to the courtyard where Havan’s take place and people perform antic rituals to please the goddess.

One can ring the large brass bells and pray for prosperity and good luck form the goddess. As we walked out of the temple, I meet a very interesting man called Sumant Prasad Mishra who had been dressing up as load hanuman with a large golden mace, his face painted orange. He told me he has bene sitting under the tree dressed as hanuman for over thirty-two years, almost a lifetime. I got some great pictures with this unique Bhakta of lord Hanuman who has been sitting on the steps of Kali Khoh for almost eternity. Now that is real Bhakti and devotion. This was like meeting the mannequin of Lord Hanuman and I was thrilled to have a chat with this great and patient man.

The Fort Chunar is located thirty-two kilometers northwest of the District of Mirzapur, it is located in the town of Chunar.

The fort os situated at a 40 Kim distance to Varanasi and has seen the rise and fall of many dynasties and kingdoms in the region. Akbar age Mughal Emperor visited the fort area while hunting in 1575 and decided to capture the fort, he saw it as a strategic location as the fort was situated on top of a hill, overseeing the Ganges River along with all they major trade routes to Eastern UP.

The fort was attacked by Emperor Humayun in 1532 AD. Sher Shah Suri also took control of the fort for some time. The Chunar Fort was also under the control of Maratha Rulers in the latter part of the 17th century. The fort is also known with the name of Chandrakanta Chunagarh and Charandari.

Chunar Fort

The fort is at an elevation of 250 feet above sea level and one can see the vast expanse of the Ganges River form the fort. One has to pass through the lush green Chunar Hills which run parallel to the river Ganga to get to the fort. This part of the Mirzapur district is heavily dependent on farming and one can see paddy fields and corn plantains all across the hills.

There are many legends that are mystical and magical about the fort and one is of its legendary ruler Vikramaditya. The king’s brother Bharthari decided to live the life of a hermit and started living in the Chunar fort area. Realising that the king Vikramaditya visited the fort and found the whereabouts of his brother through another saint Gorakhnath. He then built a house for his brother to live in. It also believed that the soul of another saint and hermit Bhatinath remains trapped in the fort and roams the fort area formless.

I for one managed to take pictures of a dilapidated area of the fort which had huge Pipal trees with roots falling from the sky. It did remind me of the first scene of the serial Vikram or Betal. It was really eerie and I felt the formless soul of the hermit around me floating up in the air, I almost saw the spirt fly form one tree root to the other.

We managed to get a local guide for Rs 200 who showed us some unique symbols carved on the sandstone walls of the fort.” These are key words like passwords, which were sued to get to the treasures the kings had hidden deep in the walls of the fort.” The guide informed us. One could get the glimpse pf the entire gangs flowing through the region form this fort and that was magnificent.

The most fascinating thing that I saw was the tomb of a great mediator and baba. This was the tomb and samadhi of Raj Yogi Bharat Hari. He was a great hermit and a devotee of the gods a great Sanatana, who lived by Dharma and through worship. I managed to see his samadhi and even meditate in his chamber. The inner room of his Samadhi has walls full of images and photographs of almost all Hindu God’s and Deity, it’s as like a wall of Fame for all Indian and Hindu Gods. The walls of his samadhi had all the images form Krishna, Durga, Ram, Hanuman, Durga, Ganesh, Laxmi and many more. The inner sanctum of the Samadhi housed the idol of Lord Shiva with a huge trident. This was a spiritual place where people could get the holy man’s blessings. I for one really loved the images of all the gods the man was really in love with his maker it seemed to me.

I even managed to take a look at the square holes on the fort walls these were used by archers to shoot arrows, the holes in the wall were made in a zig zag fashion, so that one could shoot arrows but the enemy arrows would not harm the solider protected by the fort walls. There were barracks meant for soldiers and even a jail a dungeon deep inside the fort. The exist where covers so that the prisoners could not get any sunlight and would have to remain in the dark all the time.

It was once said one who rules Chunar Fort will also rule India. There is also a stone slab where shade is provided by the Pipal Tree. It is said that God sits here under the Pipal tree for nine hours in a day and shifts to Varanasi for three hours. There is a Bawdi about 200 feet deep where the queen and their helpers would bathe, and there would be flowing water there at all times. In the lower area of the fort there are Astabal’s which were built to house the king’s horses. It will ate a few hours to see fort completely and observe it intricately.

It took us about one hour to reach the Chunar fort form our hotel, and we did the journey by car, but it was worth it and a learning experience.

After my adventures at the Chunar Fort I decided to venture towards the famous Sri Durga Mandir in Chunar not very far away from the fort area itself. It is the temple of Goddess Durga who is seen sitting on a tiger at all times. On route to the Durga temple, we passed through small town and village roads, this area is also famous for its clay murti’s of gods and Hindu goddesses.

Sri Durga Dham Chunar

These mud and clay idols are much in demand during the festival months of Deepawali, Dussehra and Navratri. The clay oils of Laxmi and Ganesh are used during Pooja’s in almost every home, as people celebrate Diwali. The street’s where full of shops on either side selling these lavishly painted clay idols of Hindu sides and goddesses. I managed to chat up with a few shop keepers who demanded money for taking pictures of their idols and shops. But I managed to get my pics free of cost.

We were soon at the Durga Temple and before we entered, we bought some raw coconut, garlands and flowers along with a red chunni, which where our offerings to the goddess. One has to go down a considerable flight if steps and then climb up a bit to get to the entrance gate of the Durga temple, but the walk is worth it. One has to enter through a small gap in the wall, the inner sacrum of the temple is fully painted with saffron colours. One can see the large statue of the Tiger own the left and there are brass bells dangling from the ceiling of the temple.

To get to the main Durga idol one has to bend very low and enter through a very narrow gap at the bottom of one of the temple walls. Not everyone manages to get through and many people have been known to return as they were too fat to get through the narrow entrance. But images I slithered through the gap like a serpent and came out in the other side just in front of the feet of Durga the mother goddess.

The temple floor is made from marbles and there are tridents kept all over the Durga temple. There is also a place where another poojari sits, that’s the Nariyal Bali Sthal, that is the place where one can crack the coconut that are meant to be offered to the goddess as a sacrifice. It is like an offering to Durga.

On the steps of the temple priest offer flowers and blessings to the devotee by putting a red tick on their forehead. The temple is small but looked very ancient. It was indeed a place where one could seek the blessings of the divine goddess Durga Maa.

Srimad Bhagwat Geeta is the scared book of the Hindu’s it is the ultimate Dharma Shasta. Swami Adgadanand Ji is the holy saint and guru who has written the Yathartha Geeta, this is an interpretation of the holy scripture. The ashram is built in the glory and name of this great yogi and saint. Adgadanand is now ninety-seven years old, but people can still meet him in the evenings and get his blessings.

Swami Adgadanand

My last stop was to see this great ashram. We had to remove our shoes before we entered. The ashram serves lunch and does a Bhandara to feed its many devotees. There are stall where copies of many of the Maharaj’s books are sold to visitors. One can sit in a large courtyard and get an audience with the great saints. I managed to eat in the ashram a healthy meal of aloo, dal and poori. The ashram has a Bhandara every day and visitors and always feed here. One can consult holy men and mingle with other seekers in the ashram. The place is very clean and serine, it is quite and tranquil, just walking around the ashram is fun.

We also managed to chat up with the guy who ran the Ashram a man by the name of Narad Maharaj, he was always draped in a red piece of cloth. I offered him fruits and peda and he in turn blessed me.

I took some rest to escape the heat under a large tree and was fascinated by the colourful flowers and fruits that grew for the tree, it was really very unique.

But the best part was the journey back form the ashram, we passed through flowing streams, water gushing from the earth flowing wildly across the plains and hills of this very unique and spiritual region.

The goddess was the eight child of Devaki who the evil king Kansa wanted to kill but the Devi escaped from his grasp and flew up in the air towards the sky, but before that she professed the doom of the evil Kansa by stating that the man who would slay him has already been born.

It is at a distance of three kilometer from the Vindhyavasani temple. The mother goddess has eight hands to bless her devotees, the idol is kept in a cave, and one has to slip through a very narrow opening to get to the cave and touch the feet of the goddess, her idol is jet black in colours and the goddess is covered with flowers and marigold garlands. One need or climb 160 steps to get to the temple as the cave is on a steep hill. One can also use the rope way to get to the temple. We tried tow times to get a Darshan but failed both times as the rope way was still being renovated.

This was going to be my last attempt to get the blessing of Ashtabhuja and I took another route a took span kingly new auto to get to the temple and I had an astute Auto driver called Ram Lakhan who was ready to drive me up the hill to the edge of the temple. I had to complete the tritons Parikrama and its as a must that I had to visit the Devi’s temple.

With try help of my auto I navigated many small roads across villages and farmland to finally get to the hill where the temple was. In between I stopped over to see a huge water Kund a reservoir of water that was called the Tantric Kund.

Finally, we climbed up with some Prasad and flowers and I managed to get a glimpse of the goddess, I prayed with all my heart and even tied a red chunni. This was a way to make my prayers be heard by the goddess. Their sheer idols of Lord Hanuman as well, I worshipped at the feet of the idol of Kaal Bhairava, it was a deep spiritual experience what I enjoyed most was ringing the brass bells whenever I asked for a boon from the goddess.

They say that even now the grant Rishi and Sage Markandeya is meditating and praying to the goddess Ashtabhuja, and that he resides in the cave on the left of the Devi. The temple was full today as the month of Navratri are on and then there is Deepawali. There was a havan kund in the Centre of the temple.

There are also small temples of Lord Shiva and Ganesha. There is a lot of positive energy and vibrancy inside the temple, and it is a must visit for devotees of the mother goddess

I managed to say my prayers and felt blessed when I walked out of the Ashtabhuja temple.

After the prayers at the Ashtabhuja I felt invigorated and was ready for another journey onwards to Bhadoi which was a hour’s drive from Mirzapur district. This was going o be a drive to the interiors and the back and beyond villages and small towns of Uttar Pradesh. We passed many villages and tehsil’s as we drove towards the Sita Samadhi Sthal. The very place where Ma Sita was engulfed by the mother earth, and she took Sita with her. A huge crater appeared, and Sita just went into it as the earth engulfed her own daughter. The very spot where that happened is now a temple and a Picnic spot called the Sita Samadhi.

Sita Samadhi Sthal

The Sita Sthal is between Varanasi and Allahabad also connected through a railway line connecting Jung Ganj station. The site is where Sita was engulfed by mother earth and the spot is 11 km away from Jung Ganj Market. As Sita was discovered in a furrow in the earth by King Janaka, she was finally taken away by earth as well. The mother took the daughter back in her bowls and the Samadhi of Sita was built their to celebrate this moment the Sita Samadhi Sthal came into being and devotes throng to this place. When one enters the huge complex the first thing to see is the large statue of Hanuman. It is really tall and huge, I first got by fore hand painted in saffron and then got myself clicked with the monkey god.

The drive to this spot was a learning experiences as we drove through villages whose names I had never very heard like Gopi Ganj, Hanuman Ganj, Aurae, Jhoosi this as real UP and most of the land was agricultural, corn, wheat, barley, Goud everything grew in these lands. Most people where into farming, cow and sheep herding or sold clothes and brass wear.

Bhadoi District is also famous for its thriving carpet industry, but we did not have much time to explore that aspect of the city.

I walked across the gardens and walkways of the Sita Samadhi Sthal and was pleased to see flowers in full bloom in the garden. At the back of the garden was a huge pond with floating lotus flowers all over. This was tree place where Sita went for her baths and would bathe with her other female helpers.

There is a marble temple in honor of Sita and one can get a Darshan. Below there is another temple right at the spot when she was taken in by mother earth. There is a glorious statue of Sita just on the very spot.

There are caves with statues of Shiva on top and step garden around the pond, one can even go for boating in the water, but I preferred to have a meal in the local vegetarian restaurant. With out a doubt this was the best vegetarian lunch I have ever had. It was great paneer, yellow dal, milk kheer, ghee chapati and vegetables. I have never tasted such great home food ever and I love it. This was the Hight light of my entire day.

We spent a few hours at the site just walking around and observing the crowd, they’re where a lot of people just enjoying a picnic with their families. It’s as also a place for families to come and relax in the shade of tress and walk on lush green gardens.

It was afternoon and was getting hot, I decided to pack up and move towards Allahabad our next destination. The plan was to erst for a day in Allahabad before we move to the holy city of Chitrakoot which is going to be my next trip.

The temple is a major tantric temple situated on the Vindhyachal main road, it has the deity of Lal Bhairav, which is another form of Kaal Bhairav, the deity has a red face depicting it is Lal Bhairav indeed.

Lal Bhairav

The red statue of the Lal Bhairav is inside this temple and one can get the blessings of the lord form here. There is also an ancient water source called the Nag Kund in front of the temple. It is believed that the red state of the Bhairav grows by a seed length every year. That is the myth about the temple, it is also a place for tantric worship and practice. People perform very rare and ancient rituals in this temple. There are statues of other forms of Lal Bhairav in the temple as well.

I managed to even chat up with a tantric sage who gave me a huge sermon that tantric rituals and powers are only meant to do good, and he does not allow anyone to sue tantra to do negative things or cause harm to others. The man listened to me patiently as I touched his feet, and he very happily gave me the holy Bha Bhuti this is ash form the ritual and havan fire which is given to the devotee. I smeared the ash on my forehead as I prayed for Bhairav’s blessings.

The place had a strange and eerie feeling their where one forces around for sure as I could feel it. I did I silent prayer asking for the death of Vijay Palande the man who had stayed my dad. I did the same prayer at the Khali Khoh temple, I don’t know why but I just wanted this the most from the goddess and I prayed for it with all my might.

After doing a short reiki of the Vindyavasani temple yesterday we decided to visit the temple for the morning prayer the temple opens from eleven am to one pm. So after having a filling breakfast of poori, aloo and jalebi we decided to head towards this very ancient and famous temple in Mirzapur district. I also came to know about another amazing g fact about Mirzapur that the line of the Indian Standard Time passes through the clock tower at the centre of Mirzapur City.

Vindyavasani Devi Temple

We arrived at the foot of the temple and the just walked up towards the entrance the temple area is full of shops selling flowers, Prasad and garlands. We managed to get a shop owner who allowed us to keep our shoes in his shop. We also got some people who would help us transcend the daily morning rush and take us through a much faster VIP route right to the deity itself. We had to [ay a few thousand for this extra fast service right up to God. Who says God comes cheap in today date. After that e picked up a basket of flowers and garlands and moved towards the long due gadded towards the sacrum of the great idol. The Devi was waiting for me, and I just tore through the tick line of devotees as my helpers pushed other aside so that I could pass and move fast through the line. The helpers were making room for me, and I managed to by-pass the line. There was a lot of pushing and shoving right up to the brass bells.

I was excited and I climbed with all my strength, I even managed to ring the huge brass bells a few times till as pushed by a cop and came inside the sacrum were the idols kept. There was heavy police presence at least two dozen cops monitored each movement of the devotees. I got a few seconds to look at the idol and I managed to say a prayer as well. It was all great fun but one had to hustle to get a good look at the idol. In just a few minutes I was out of the temple into an open courtyard. I managed to venture into a huge marvel room where havan’s were going on and people where lighting Diya’s.

The only thing a bit negative about this place is that a lot pandits and beggars keep chasing devotees all over the place asking for money and even the temple pujari’s I found to be very greedy. But apart from that I found the place very spiritual and purifying.

This Divine Shakti Pitha is situated near the backs of the holy river Ganga. Vindyavasani is the reincarnation of Goddess Durga and the is Gul Devi for people of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Vindhyachal was also the place where Lord Rama and Sita came when they were sent to exile with Laxman.

The place was full of Lions, Elephants and other wild animals. It’s as also the place where the dreaded thugs the Pindari’s once operated. It is the only place that has the individual temples of all three goddesses Laxmi, Kali and Saraswati. The place of vindhyachal is also famous for tantra and other tantric practices. The war between Goddess Durga and the demon Mahisasura took place here.

The Devi also known as Yogmaya was the sister of Krishan who prophesied to Kansa that the boy who would finally slay and kill him has already been born, saying that the goddess vanished and flew into thin air.

A must visit is the Rameshwar Maha Dev Temple. The temple is part of the Maha Trikon of Vindhyachal region. This was where lord Rama had placed the idol of lord Shiva. The temple is dedicated to Maha Dev and is thronged by worshippers. One has to climb a few flights od steep to get to the inner scan of the temple. What stands out are the huge brass bells at the entrance of the temple.

Maha Dev Temple

The high black sone the Linga and it is at the centre surrounded by the idols of Nandi and lord Ganesha. One can sit and mediate around the Linga and say their prayers. There are huge trees around the temple area and flower shops all around. The locals will often guide you to the Linga. One just need to be patient with the village folks as they are always asking for money, apart form that it is a peaceful place, tranquil and serene away from busy traffic and marketplaces at the centre of the city.

It is one kilometer form the Vindhyavasani temple and situated near the Ram Gaya Ghat. It is here that Lord Rama performed the shard of his father at the instance of the sage Vashisth.The Vindhyavasani, The Ashtha Bhuja and The Rameshwar Mia Dev Temple are the triloka of Vindhyachal region.

Devotees like to walk around all the three temples as part of a ritual called the Triloka Parikrama.