DAY 172 - BUDDHA GAYA

172) FRIDAY, 16 DECEMBER 1977 : 0KMS. - BUDDHA GAYA

 

We walked up to the Chethiya  and surrounding areas, which had been repaired. The ruins were assembled to the original form. It is a big Chethiya  in a form of  large square conical.  The outer base was adorned with bas-relief stucco of various Buddha images. Inside the Chethiya,   the principal Buddha statue  is enshrined in the western side.

Maha Bodhi Temple -  http://munichtomadras1977.blogspot.com

 
  
The (Sri Maha) Bhodi tree on the west of the Chethiya is so large,  it is the fourth sprouting of the original tree, which grew from the same root. 

MAHA BODHI TREE - http://munichtomadras1977.blogspot.com

There are Buddha’s footprint on the right side of (Sri Maha) Bhodi tree. When we were on the elevated level of the Chethiya,  we walked  to the (Sri Maha) Bhodi tree and it was visible that there were  branches  without leaves.  However, Tilo tried to reach out his hand and could grab two leaves with his endeavor.  I later learned that if the police or guards saw this,  we would be fined RS. . 5.-

 

 

BUDDHA FOOTPRINT SYMBOL - http://munichtomadras1977.blogspot.com

From the  Phrasrimahabhodi temple, we visited Thai temple of Thailand which was replicated from the Marble temple in Bangkok. At the entrance of the monastery, there are sculptures of two guarding giants instead of two lions. Inside the monastery, there is a Buddha model of Buddha Shinarath. There is no painting of the Bhudda’s biography on the  walls but it seemed  attracting interest of tourists, both foreigners and Indian guests because of its beauty and glittering golden decorations  of the building. 

 

Thai temple in BUDDHA GAYA- Photo : pswami.com.br / Bing images search

Situated near the Thai temple is Japanese temple with the bell tower.  There is a large bell which can give a good resonant sound. The Japanese temple looks simple from the outside but the ceiling inside  was overlaid with watercolor paintings or Japanese prints of varieties of flowers, birds and natural scenes. They are very beautiful.

Beside the Thai and Japanese temples around the area of the Chethiya, there are also Tibetan, Burmese and Chinese temples as well.

 

DAY 171 - BUDDHA GAYA

171) THURSDAY, 15 DECEMBER 1977 : 355KMS. - BUDDHA GAYA

 

We traveled through KHAGARIA, BARAUNI, BAKHJTIYAPUR, BIHAR, NAWADA GAYA until BUDDHA GAYA.   We had  to cross the Ganges in BARAUNI city and drive along the coast as far as to BAKHJ.  On both sides of the road it was a vast plain along the river banks of Ganges. People are living in this area more crowded than in any other parts that we passed. Along the way we drove, there were lots of vegetations and orchards. 

 

BUDDHA GAYA - Photo : matthieuricard.org / Bing images search

We arrived in BUDDHA GAYA nearly dusk.  At night around the Chethiya, we saw oil lamps burning bright in rows instead of the candlelight (because of frequent power failure).  There were Tibetan monks seating while chanting in front of the (Sri Maha) Bhodi tree where (it is believed that) the Lord Buddha achieved his enlightenment (on the west side of the Chethiya). 

 Monks chanting under Bhodhi tree - Photo :  thezensite.com / Bing images search

I waited until a bit late at night when there were less people to pay homage to the (Sri Maha) Bhodi tree and Chethiya by lighting candles and incense-sticks and prayed  dedicating the merit to my parents, siblings, teachers and friends, everyone.  I  tried jumping to pick some fresh leaves of the (Sri  Maha) Bhodi tree  (I thought that a lot of people did), because the branches were elevated high and some lower branches  having  only few leaves at  testimony. It has been told that the (Sri Maha) Bhodi tree was the  fourth sprouting of the original tree (from the original roots of the 600 years old) that was cut by the Muslim fanatics  in the 14th century.

DAY 170 - KURSELA

170) WEDNESDAY, 14 DECEMBER 1977 : 217KMS. - KURSELA

 

At approximately  10:00 p.m. last night,  a police officer came to knock at our campervan  and advised us to be careful of robbery as we parked in unsuitable remote dark area, if something happened  nobody would  be able to help.  Anyway,  since we had problem to start our campervan,  we insisted to park overnight  at the same place as we  were  not  afraid of robbery  because there were  cars passing  all night and  the tea plant was  just  across the road.

In the morning,  we were  invited to visit the tea factory, not a modern one and not so clean.  There were  piles of leaves on the ground  that might have been  trampled. There were many female workers on duty  selecting  tea leaves (picking up stems  out of tea leaves). 

Picking tea leaves - Photo : kalimpongnews.com / Bing images search

It was explained that tea  leaves that we saw were the top  leaves (Orange Peakoe). It is the top grade and tiny size of tea leaves which render the most tea flavor.  Secondary grade tea  and lower grade have larger leaves.  Tea leaves are  picked from only the top 1–2 inches (about 3 leaves)  of the mature plant. The smaller the leaf, the more expensive the tea.

Top tea leaves - Photo :  hopearoundindia.com / Google images search

   

Collected tea leaves are graded by the machine (a metal plate with holes the size of tea leaves, according to their needs) by letting them pass through grading holes down  to the large tray after curing. 

Tea grading - Photo : hojotea.com / Bing images search

After our visit to tea manufacture, we headed down to the south via KISHANGANJ, PURNIA, KURSELA. We saw tea plantations everywhere  along  the way (more than other vegetation).  There were  mango orchards that reminded me of  my auntie’s  orchard and her  Mango  candy.  There were also pineapple and cassava plantations.  We saw a stall selling teals (tied up together – alive), we asked to buy some to set  them  free but we could not communicate  to understand  and finally we did not buy one as we did not see a suitable location nearby to  leave them to survive.  I felt a bit guilty !

 

Tea hill  -  Photo : hojotea.com / Bing images search

Sadly ... on the way,  an unlucky  bird (bittern or egret) ran across the road in front of our campervan. I heard the loud thud, but we did not see any blood traces or a bird in nearby area.  So if this bird was not dead, it might be  badly  injured.