Iskon Temple Ujjain
First thing we met our friend from over the road as she had invited us to join her and her friend for their morning walk. They took us near the railway line where people were selling bunches of greens to feed to the cows. We bought a bunch and tried to feed the baby cows but some of the larger ones nudged their way in too.
Next we walked under the railway to a road lined with trees. We then spotted a dinosaur amongst the trees, followed by some giraffe!! The middle of the road was lined with different statues of animals, in amongst the trees. This seemed to be a 'green area' where people came to exercise away from the traffic.
As we walked on we noticed a painted wall and recognised the picture. It was Mowgli and Bagheera from the Jungle Book. There were various scenes along the wall, followed by some statues. The Jungle Book was based on a national park in the center of India.
When we arrived back, our friend's father invited us in for chai, whilst she showed us the roof terrace which she had painted. Our friend is only 16 but very talented. She showed us various artwork, sang for us and showed us a video of her dancing at the Iskon Temple. She is now studying for her entrance exam to do her MBBS to become a doctor.
We met various members of the family, including her 74 year old grandfather who is a wrestler. He showed us some of his yoga moves, including standing on his head and also putting his arms between his legs and holding his body on his arms. Very impressive.
Next was dad's turn...he plays many instruments and played his tabla drums for us whilst his daughter sang. What a talented family. Back downstairs, an auntie produced a plate of fresh papaya for us before we left.
We started to head towards the Iskon temple with a view to grabbing some food along the way. We found a man selling bananas so bought a few, ate them and fed the skins to the cows.
Before we knew it we were at the temple. We found there was a restaurant there so went to see what was on offer. A thali was the only option so Darryl had one. Christine still hasn't quite got her appetite back so only wanted a snack.
After eating we headed to see the Iskon Temple itself, only to find that whilst Darryl was eating, the temple had closed for the afternoon (13.00-16.00). So, we went in search of food for Christine. Unfortunately there wasn't much around. There was a small cake stall at the temple so we shared a slice of fruit cake to keep her going. We wandered further and had a coffee but still hadn't found any 'proper' food for Christine.
We decided to just follow the road and eventually found a restaurant and Christine had an aloo tikki burger. Over the road was a shopping mall which had a Mr DIY (Darryl's favourite Asian shop!) So we went to have a look.
It was then time to head back to the Iskon Temple. There were beautiful statues of Krishna and people playing music and singing. On the way out we met an Indian lady who has lived in England for the last 35 years and chatted with her before heading back.
On the way back to our accommodation we bought some coke and peanut brittle for energy! Back at base we had time for a short rest before our friend's father came to collect us. All 3 of us climbed on his motorbike. He was taking us to the gym where his grandfather trains (Guru's Gym).
We were welcomed to the gym by the coach, who we later discovered was a silver medalist. We watched as boys from around 5 years old upwards did yoga and acrobatics on a mallakhamb. This is a large pole which they twist their body round, hold themselves in strength poses and then stand on top and summersult off. It was incredible to watch. There were also people climbing ropes and doing similar movements on the rope. We were given a tour of the gym, had a group photo and Darryl did a small video from them about our experience at the gym. We really were not expecting any of what we saw.
Our friend's father then took us to hus friend's sweet shop and we tried various, delicious Indian sweets and some crispy savour snacks. He asked us which was our favourite of each and very kindly bought us some as a present to take away. We then walked down to the river to see where the 12 yearly Khumba Mela Hindu pilgrimage takes place and saw where the thousand and thousands of people would bath in the river, which was lined by various pretty temples.
Next he asked if we would like to listen to some singing. We went to a small temple up a little hidden street and sat and listened to the Friday evening singing. We were then invited to join them for a meal in an adjoining room. Everyone made us feel very welcome.
After a very busy day we eventually fell into bed around 11.30pm. What an amazing, unexpected day that was.
