Hi ya…
Its the first and the last day of my trip to native place, Adhoi. Well… What do I say about this place. It’s a mixture of a residential areas, lush green fields, man-made gardens and it is a cream area of archeologists (or archaeologists). The massive earthquake on January 26th, 2001 (sorry, I am bad at remembering dates) proved to be a mixed fortune for my fellow Vagadites. Though many people died but then the status of poorer class changed. And surprisingly, Adhoi has been given a heritage status like Harappa and Mohenjodaro civilizations.
The earthquake changed everything except the helpful nature of people. In the coming days of my blog, I intend to tell you the stories of few such people who have picked up the bits and pieces of their lives, who have dared to accept the challenge thrown to them by their destiny and about those who have not given up themselves to pessimism.
Coming back to my holiday trip, I have reached my destination to seek the blessing of Ambe Maa. The ambience is hauntingly eerie. Animals, mostly dogs, have made the old Adhoi as their abode. The structure at most of the broken and cracked homes is very weak and risky. It reminds me of the buildings of Mumbai that have been declared unsafe by the court and BMC.
Me and my cousins decide to throw a feast for our fellows in our bloodline after we return from a place called Saat Aambli Wala Dada. Not many people believe this, but we feel Mataji is happy by the way we organise such ‘aathams (meaning the 8th day of a month in a hindu calender)’. We then make our way towards Saat Aambli Wala Dada. There is a story that says one of our ancestors died at that place in a well to be safe from dacoits. His sister jumped in the well in order to save him. But she too died in the process. The legend says that the spirits, or whatever it is, of these two people guide us in our life and they help us whenever we face difficulties at any moment of life. Some people believe it and some don’t. I do. We finish our lunch and make a swift visit to new Adhoi village that is about 2 kms aways from the old one.
To make the trip more exciting, we go to visit other places like Bhachau, Ravechi Mata’s Fair, Samakhiyali Sai Dham and Ramdev Pir at Vondh. Finally its time for dinner at Hotel Aashirwad near the highway. We reached the station to board the train back to Mumbai with RAC tickets. It’s tiring but hoping to visit next month at Adhoi again…