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“पैंथर जोड़ा हमारे घरों तक पहुँचा या हमनें उनका घर छीन लिया?” – सच क्या है?

पिछले कई दिनों से लोकल मीडिया, आबादी क्षेत्र में पैंथर के आ जाने की खबर लगातार छाप रहे हैं। स्थानीय अख़बारों से लिए आकड़ें बताते हैं कि साल 2019 में अबतक, पैंथर के आबादी क्षेत्र में आने और उनके द्वारा शिकार करने की लगभग सात से आठ घटनाएँ सामने आ चुकी हैं। सभी घटनाएँ शहर के आसपास के गाँवों की थी, इसलिए ये लाइमलाइट में नहीं आ सकी। इन सभी घटनाओं में जान-माल का नुकसान ग्रामीणों का हुआ, इसलिए ये घटनाएँ चर्चा का विषय नहीं रही।Panther in gulab bagh

तीन दिन पहले शहर के स्मार्टफोंस पर एक विडियो वायरल हुआ जिसमें एक पैंथर को माछला मगरा की पहाड़ियों पर घुमते देखा गया और बिजली की गति से गली-गली यह बात पहुँच गई कि “पैंथर आया हुआ है दूध-तलाई मत जाना।”, “करनी माता साइड पैंथर दिखा, उधर मत जाना।”

दो दिन पहले गुलाब-बाग़ के चौकीदार ने एक पैंथर जोड़े को गुलाब-बाग़ में देखने का दावा किया। सभी के होश उड़ गए। क्यों उड़े होश? कौन है पैंथर के शहर में इतने अन्दर तक आ जाने, के पीछे का ज़िम्मेदार? मेरा तो यह कहना है कि पैंथर में दिमाग होना चाहिए कि वह गुलाब बाग़ कैसे आ धमका? उसके जैसों को तो यहाँ पिजरों में रखा जाता था। अब इतनी हिम्मत की गुलाब-बाग़ में वह खुले में घूमे? उसे पता होना चाहिए कि यह इंसानों का इलाका है, यहाँ उसकी कोई जगह नहीं है।

Panther in gulab bagh
Courtesy: toi

यह सब आपको वकालतनामा तो नहीं लग रहा न! अगर नहीं लग रहा है तो आप ग़लत हैं। लेकिन यह कोई कोर्ट-रूम ड्रामा नहीं है। उस छोटे से कमरे के बाहर का ड्रामा है, जहाँ इन्सान और जानवर एक ऐसे कोंफ्लिक्ट में फंस चुके हैं जिसका अब कोई अंत दिखलाई नहीं पड़ता।

सारे साँप ज़हरीले नहीं होते ठीक वैसे ही सभी इंसान भी गिरे हुए नहीं होते। लेकिन साँप होना बदनाम होना है चाहे वह ज़हरीला हो या न हो और यही बात अब इंसानों पर भी लागू होती है। दोनों को यदि एक ही कहावत में पिरोया जाए तो “एक मछली पूरे तालाब को गन्दा करती है ” कहावत एकदम सटीक बैठेगी।

Panther in gulab bagh
Courtesy: Manhotel

कुछ दिनों पहले परसाद में एक बच्ची को मार डालने वाले पैंथर को मार दिया गया। बच्ची का मरना वाकई एक दुखद घटना थी लेकिन उस पैंथर को मार देना कहाँ तक सही था? क्या ‘प्रशासन’ जो कि अपने आप में बेहद भारी-भरकम शब्द है, पहले सचेत नहीं हुआ? वन-विभाग की क्या ज़िम्मेदारी बनती थी? क्या उनके पास और विकल्प मौजूद नहीं थे?

मुझे कोई उम्मीद नहीं है कि इन प्रश्नों के उत्तर मुझे मिल ही जायेंगे और यदि मिल भी जाते हैं तब भी एक इंसान होने के खातिर इतनी समझ तो है कि उस पैंथर को मार गिराने का काम, कोई बहादुरी का काम नहीं माना जाएगा।

हम विकास और स्मार्ट बनने की दौड़ में अंधे हो चले हैं। सिक्स लेन, अहमदाबाद ब्रॉडगेज़, होटल, अपार्टमेंट्स सभी अरावली की छाती को चीरकर बनाए जा रहे हैं। इस दौरान लाखों पेड़ इस तरह से काटे गए जैसे किसी युद्द में भयंकर नरसंहार हुआ हो। उनके कटने से वहाँ की ज़मीने लाल नहीं हुई लेकिन उसका असर अब दीखने लगा है। गर्मी का हद से ज़्यादा बढ़ना, बारिश की कमी, जंगली जानवरों का आबादी क्षेत्रों में आना, इसके उदाहरण हैं।

Aravalli Destroyed
Courtesy: Down to Earth

मैं अमेज़न के जंगलों की बात नहीं करूँगा और न ही मैं अपने आप को इस लायक मानता हूँ। मैं अपना ही घर नहीं संभाल पा रहा तो दूसरों के घरों की चीज़ें क्या सही करूँगा! सभी उदाहरण यहीं के हैं। इसी अरावली के, जो हमें मानसून आते ही आकर्षित करने लग जाती है और हम उसपर कुदाल चलाने पहुँच जाते हैं।

हम अधिकारियों-अफसरों की बात नहीं करें तो बेहतर है। वे क्या समझेंगे! उन्हें तो AC के रिमोट मिले हुए हैं, कारें मिली हुई हैं और बंगलों में उनके निवास हैं। मैं, मेरे जैसे लोगों से बात कर रहा हूँ। जिनके मन में शहर और शहर की प्राकृतिक धरोहर के लिए प्यार तो है पर वे इसे कहीं दिल में दबाए बैठे हैं।

Aravalli Destroyed
Courtesy: Down to Earth

मैं आपको बता दूँ, जिस समय मैं यह आर्टिकल लिख रहा हूँ, मेरे एक-एक शब्द पर एक-एक पेड़ कट रहा होगा और उसकी चीख़ तक नहीं निकलेगी। हो सकता है, इस आर्टिकल के अंत तक यहीं आसपास एक और पैंथर को त्रेन्क्युलाइज़ कर, मार दिया जाए और फिर जश्न की तैयारियां शुरू कर दें। लेकिन उस पैंथर का कराहना, इन पेड़ों को काटती, ज़मीनों को चीरती मशीनों की चिन्गाड़ में दब जाए।

यह भी हो सकता है कि आने वाले समय में इन बेज़ुबानों की आवाज़ बनने वालों पर भी कुदाल चला दी जाए। लेकिन हक़ीकत की दहाड़ दूर तक जाने वाली है। वह आज नहीं निकलेगी लेकिन आने वाले कल में, अगली पीढ़ी के कानों में ज़रूर गूंजेगी और तब वे हमें दुत्कारेंगे और कहेंगे, “हमारे पूर्वज बहुत दोयम दर्जे के थे यार।”

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Places to Visit

Karni Mata Temple- Legend and History

The beauty of the city which one can devour from the hillock of Karni Mata Temple is one of the many angles from which Udaipur is captured every day. I’d say this one is a better angle. Shri Mansapurna Karni Mata Temple, located on Machla Hills near Din Dayal Upadhyaya Park, is at a perfect height which is accessible through either around 150 m of stairs starting from Din Dayal Park and reaching straight up to the temple or a 4 min. Ropeway route. Surprisingly, the temple has a large well- maintained area covering most part of the hillock. The panoramic view of Lakes, Palaces, whitewashed, closely placed houses, Gulab Bagh and all the area surrounding the hill is addictive. One can actually see the shades of water of Lake Pichola from here.

Udaipurblog

Legend

The main Temple of Karni Mata in Deshnok, also known as “ the Temple of Rats”, is 30 km from Bikaner. Karni Mata was basically a Hindu sage who was born as the seventh daughter of Charan Rajput clan in 1387 AD in Suwap village of Jodhpur district. She was believed to be the incarnation of Goddess Durga. Her original name was Ridhu Bai. She was married to Depoji Charan of Sathika village but after just two years of married life and despite the initial mockery from her husband, she married off her sister Gulab to her husband and left the village forever in order to fulfill her desire to leave all the worldly affairs and live life like a Nomad. After wandering for some time with her followers and herd, she reached Deshnok and finally settled here and also by then she became Karni Mata. The temple is famous for its enormous population of 25,000 rats which are religiously known as “Kabbas”. The story behind the rat population is that once the stepson of Karni Mata, Laxman, fell and died in the Kapil Sarovar in Kolayat Tehsil in attempt to drink water. After continuous pleading from Karni Mata, Yama, The God of Death, agreed to retrieve her son as a Rat and also permitted all her male children to be reincarnated as Rats. The Kabbas are known to be very holy and feeding them with sweets and eating the food nibbled by them is considered as “prestigious”. The temple in Udaipur too has a considerable number of white and black Kabbas. Karni Mata laid the cornerstone of two major Forts of Rajasthan that is Fort of Jodhpur and Fort of Bikaner. On March 21, 1538, while returning Deshnok, the Convoy halted in order to drink water near Kolayat Tehsil. When the followers got back to her she was nowhere to be found and after much search, she was never found hence she just disappeared then and there at the age of 151 years.

Indo Vacations

Overview

The temple in Udaipur was built by Maharana Karan Singh to mark the boundary and safety of Udaipur when the area of Machla Magra was built for residency purposes between 1620-1628. The temple was abandoned for a long time before 1997 when the temple committee restored and renovated the premises and it is still in progress. The temple premises is quite large and peaceful. The stairway path to the temple is a 10 min long journey and it is fulfilled with viewpoints, rest shelters, and water cooler. To the left of the stairway, at a bit distance, lies a high structure with holes in the walls. The structure used to be the place where kings used to hide and hunt and place their guns out through these holes. It can be visited but only at your own risk as it is not maintained and might have snakes and other animals. If you take the stairway, you might also sight peacocks and their symphony is the loudest in the morning. Apart from the temple structure, there are elongated premises up to the ropeway station and one should be extremely careful about the monkeys as they chased me not once but twice. The  4 min. Ropeway journey in bright red, yellow and green cabins start from the banks of Lake Pichola to the Hill of Machla Mangra along the 387 m long cable.

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“Shri Mansapurna Karni Mata Temple” is a must visit as it does hold the powers to fulfill wishes and offers more than just peace and tranquility, it offers Udaipur at its best.

 

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Places to Visit

Dudh Talai – Deliberate Potency of Aestheticity

Doodh Talai and Lake Pichola

Dudh Talai is a dainty lake in Udaipur studded with enhancements of human pleasures. The lake beautifies the south-east part of Lake Pichola and has an affable view from the twinkling places like City Palace, Jag Mandir etc. The small inlet of this lake, contributes its water to the larger lake Pichola. This place is unique with the presence of conspicuous view of Shiv Niwas Palace on its southern side and is adorned by two parks which adds grace its shore. M.L Verma Garden and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Park are showcase of modern architecture and allows one to stroll along its beauty. It is located at the coordinates: 24°34’8″N 73°41’9″E

Doodh Talai Udaipur

Manikya Lal Verma Garden :

The Manikya Lal Verma Garden or the Rock Garden, on a hillock near Dudh Talai is the best place to catch a spectacular landscape and is carved out of a rugged rock at an attractive eminence. There are curved stones inducted in the bottom of the garden and the small stream of water goes across through it. It was constructed in year 1995 by Nagar Parhisad (Municipal Council) Udaipur. The blue and white paint is unfortunate but adoption and use as ‘public open space’ is probably the best way of managing India’s brilliant heritage of stepwells. A peep from here gives a panoramic view of sediments of nature. The grandeur of this garden lies in its wall maintained smallness. The scene of dusk, which appears shuddering through the ripplets of the gloomy lake Pichola is astonishing. There are steps constructed to reach to the garden, as well as a separate road for vehicles.

Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Park :

At the same elevation of Maanikya Lala Varma Park there is another garden called Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Park. It was developed by Urban Improvement Trust (UIT) Udaipur. The lake is horizoned by masterpiece like Pichola Lake on west and the beautiful City Palace in the north and the rocky M L V Garden in east. These places together make a chain of ‘must visit’ tourist attraction of the city. It also has Rajasthan’s first “Musical Fountain” manufactured by “Yagnik Mechanical Engineering Works”. In this colored milieu fountains dance according to the tunes of music. On the other hand it is a sunset point, from where the sun sets in the lap of lake Pichola reflecting crepuscular light.

The Ropeway :

A ropeway to Karni Mata temple was constructed between tourist spot Deen Dayal Park, on the top of hill near lake Pichola and the Machhala Hill. Inside the temple there is a white stone idol of the goddess Karni Mata. It was built by the businessman Kailash Khandelwal in collaboration with UIT. It is a delightful ride of 500 meters over a fixed grip mono cable and is the first ropeway of Rajasthan. It is not just a 4 minute ride but a joyful adventure, the altitude bounded with scenery and the people bouncing in the air is so experiencing that one can just fall in short of words. It gives a breath-taking view of the city including Lake Pichola, magnificent City Palace complex, Sajjangarh Fort and many more, from its cabin. Being the major attraction the ropeway system has also developed the ease to visit the temple and other historical sites at Machhala Hill. The ticket costs Rs.69/- per adult.

To add more attractions for tourists, boat rides and camel rides are also introduced near the Dhudh Talai pond, by Udaipur Municipal Corporation.

Being a famous relaxing spot of the city it offers a serene and scenic environment with beautiful lake side drive and one can spend a very intimate quality time here.

 

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Places to Visit

Hangout Plan for the Weekend: Doodh Talai

Be it a school going child or a working man or woman, a college student or a housewife, everyone desperately waits for the upcoming Sunday, from the parting Sunday night itself. Weekend is the time to refresh yourself from a long tiring week and fill yourself up with new energy for a new working week; 2 days to hang out with friends, plan an outing with family and sensationalize your taste buds with delicious cuisines.

Hmmm I know, you must have already started thinking of a weekend plan in its greatest pace but this boiling heat would have put a brake on every plan of yours. But but but “When UB is here, there is nothing to fear”. These 3 years of my college life has made me a graduate in making hang out plans be it summers, winters or monsoon. So we’ll be helping you out for few upcoming weekends with ‘hang out plans’, recipes of some appetizing dishes, and restaurants in the city where to dine with your friends and family, and lots more.

This weekend let’s plan an outing at “Doodh Talai”, popularly named as DT among youngsters. It is at the Pal of Lake Pichola that will soothe you with its calm waters. It’s the place of beautiful gardens, the lush greenery of which will keep you cool despite the rising mercury outside. Be it a hangout plan with your friends, or to spend time with your family, there’s the perfect location and the perfect plan.

You can spend your afternoon in the various gardens of DT like DD Park or Deen Dayal Park and Manikya Lal Verma Park. Put a Reverse Gear in your age and start playing all those games you used to play in your childhood like Pakdam Pakdai, Hide and Seek, Vish Amrit, Nadi Pahad, and many more. You can even play Cards or any board games like Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, Business, Monopoly or the best of all times Antakshari. And I can bet there won’t be a pinch of stress left inside your mind after playing these games. There is also a Love Garden made especially for the love birds in the city but let me warn you – It’s Sunday, a family day. So if you are planning for Love Garden then just plan it on a weekday. 😉

Next in line to visit is Karni Mata Temple by Ropeway. You are sure to enjoy this Ropeway Ride. You can even enjoy over snacks in the Restaurant made over the hilltop. On returning back, you can sip your evening Tea, ek kadak adarak wali chai, at the Pal of Lake Pichola. As the sun sets down behind the scene, you can enjoy Jungle Safari Ride or a Boat Ride in Lake Pichola, capturing the panoramic view of sunset in the Lake.

Doodh Talai | UdaipurBlog
Pichola-Doodh Talai | View from Karni Mata | Image Credits: Deepankshi Chittora

There is also a Musical Fountain Show that plays in DD Park after sunset. You can breathe the scent of water and feel the splashes on your face while tapping your feet and watching the streams of water going up and down and changing its color on the beats of music.

At the end of the day, you can enjoy dinner in your favorite restaurant (PS: If you don’t have a fixed/favourite, There are too many of them nearby), chatting and laughing over the table. Your favorite ice cream scoop will make a perfect ending of a perfect weekend. Take as many photos as you can while posing wildly and stupidly at the camera. Months later, these snaps will help you recollect those golden moments.

Now there will be no more Monday Blues, but only an energetic start of a new week. Wishing you a Happy Sunday and a Happy Week ahead. 🙂