Vrindavan - the city of lanes

Vrindavan is the city of 'galis' (narrow lanes). No matter where you go, there will be narrow lanes leading into one another. In those little lanes, you will see everywhere an imprint of Krishna. This imprint is pretty interesting to see because on one hand there are people in the streets greeting each other with 'Radhe-radhe' while on the other there is the heavy commercialization of the name Krishna.

The Temples

We were told that the Banke-Bihari mandir is one of the oldest here. So that's the first thing that we wanted to visit. But when we arrived at Vrindavan, the temple was closed (We arrived at 12:30 pm). All the major temples close by 12:30 pm and start re-opening by 4:30 pm.If you want to cover all the temples in Vrindavan, be sure to leave pretty early in the morning- as early as 6 am. Luckily for us The Krishna-Balram mandir (better known as the ISKCON temple) was still open and so we headed there.

The ISKCON Temple

Time for some reading

One thing that immediately struck me was how super-organised the temple was. From shoes-collection to the entry, the management was great. It was as if a corporation is running its operations. Although part of the reason why it seemed manageable was probably because we arrived at non-peak hour. I would like to see how this goes when there are hoards of people lining in.

There are beautiful shops within the temple premises that sell Krishna related items - books, souvenirs, devotional clothing and the likes. The environment of the temple itself was invigorating. When we arrived Kirtan was on. There was a group of people sitting with a mike and several musical instruments. There were chants of Krishna's name and there were people dancing to these Kirtans! Kids adults and senior citizens- everyone was dancing. Heck, even I danced! It was super fun!

The Banke-Bihari Temple

The next temple we visited was in the evening- The Banke-Bihari temple. We were told that it is one of the oldest temples of Vrindavan and I was excited to see the architecture for that matter. However, as soon as the temple gates opened, forget looking at the architecture, I was surprised that there was no stampede. I consider myself lucky that I came out of the temple alive. I have not seen such rush to see the God anywhere!

The Lunch

The lunch we had is a pretty interesting tale. We were hungry with all the roaming around in the sun and I badly needed to sit somewhere cool. And so we headed to the nearest restaurant that we could find which was inside a fancy restaurant inside a fancy hotel. But once we opened the menu, we saw that there was nothing that could give us the authenticity of the place. It had the usual - paneer lababdar, the mushroom, the naan and what not. That is not what we wanted. So my friend quickly searched on Tripadvisor and found an interesting restaurant named Ammaji's. The reviews were great so we decided we will head there instead. But the problem was that the waiter had already served us water and the menu was in our hands. And I was embarrased to simply walk out. But then better sense prevailed (thanks to my friend) and we moved out (with my head bowed down the entire time).

Ammaji's

And thank goodness that we did! The ambience itself of Ammaji's is so inviting. Even when you are standing outside, it's as if the place is calling you inside. It has a rustic and yet a very comfortable look to the place.

The utensils are all earthen. And any place that serves me a welcome drink automatically gets
brownie points.
The concept of Ammaji's is based around Ayurveda. On the first page of their menu they have given a description of which category you fall in - Vata, Pitta or Kapha. Based on your characteristic you can then choose the food given in the menu. Pretty interesting I say!

We ordered - Ammaji's special parantha (kneaded with yogurt), pudina paratha, dal-palak, bhindi kurkure, and cucumber raita. While the special paratha was great, it was a little heavy for my palette. The best out of all this was the dal-palak. You will not believe that dal and palak can taste so good! And would you believe that all of this cost us only Rs 500? Pretty darn affordable I say!

With the owners of  Ammaji's. 

The impression of the owners on us was that of very hospitable people. They are three brothers, one of who was going around every table asking people of their experience. And as it turned out it was opened only 2 months back! The name has been kept on their mother's name (who they called ammaji) and who taught them cooking). Behind the restaurant is their residential Yoga retreat, where people are taught Yoga courses. 

While we were being given a walk-through of the place, we saw a room closed on the outside and when I asked what it was, we were told that it was a cave that was built for their eldest brother in 1997. He stayed in it for 3 years and meditated with no option of coming out before the end of three years! The authenticity of that story is debatable but the story in itself is remarkable.

Ammaji's is a must visit place if you are in Vrindavan, not just for the food (which is great) but also for the story behind this place. Be sure to ask the owner for a walk-through if you happen to come here.

The Shopping

You will find bazaars near every major temple. 

Outside the ISKCON temple, there is a long row of shops that sell the brand name Krishna. This is true of every tourist place I guess. One things that is the highlight of the city, ends up on t-shirts, bags, lockets, and what-not. 

My friend found a gullak after so long!

One thing that really appealed to me were the incense sold in stick and other forms. I bought one by the name of Vrindavan flower to remind me of the place.

There were other things that were being sold like the lockets, t-shirts, bags but that didn't really appeal to me that much.

In the bazaar near the Banke-Bihari temple, you will even find earthen toys being sold- piggy bank, chulha, etc. I thought these were extinct!

The Street Food

Vrindavan me aya, gola chuski kyun nahi khaya!

The street food at Vrindavan is amazing.

No matter which bazaar you go to, you will definitely find lassi, kadai-wala-doodh, dhokla, kachaudi-sabzi, peda, chuski among other things. A must-try as per my list is the lassi, it was heavenly!

Be sure to try every street food that you can get hold of here - it will be worth every penny.

The Stories of the Gullies

We had thought that we will explore the story of the city by talking to older people. And we really did find one really old babaji in a gully offering water to anyone who passed by. We chatted with him for a bit but unfortunately his health didnot support him to tell the stories.

And so our saga of Vrindavan ended. We definitely need more time to cover this place. But whatever we did cover in one day was a satisfying experience in itself.

See you on the next trip! Until then, keep traveling :)