Pandharichi Wari : Part 7

 

Saswad to Jejuri:

Friday

June 16th

Again I was up by 2:30 am knowing how the bathroom lines will get impenetrable with every passing hour. The water stream in the bathroom was really weak. I managed to take bath in whatever little I got after much waiting for the tumbler and bucket to fill up. When I came out I realized they had to call a water tanker that day because the temple reserve had run out of water overnight. Women after me had to go out fill buckets and come in take their bath. 

I had thought I may be able to catch some sleep before others got ready but the commotion over water made it impossible to go back to sleep. I rolled my sleeping bag, packed my laundry into the suitcase, put a new dressing on my foot and sat there simply watching the show around. The Latur group got ready by 4:30 pm. As soon as we heard that the truck was ready outside to take our bags and bedding we were the first ones to hand these over. I set out on the walk after that accompanied by the Latur group. 4 ladies and two men plus me. It was just before 5 am. 

There were warkaris already on the road heading to the main road. Police were diverting traffic to other roads and guiding warkaris to keep away from roads designated for vehicles. We reached the highway ( Pune Pandharpur road) and proceeded. At 6 am there was the sun rising to the left of the road from the fields in the distance. 

We walked non stop until 8 am when we took the first break for breakfast. There was a gas station and some trees planted along its compound. We found a place under one such tree and sat in a circle. The Latur ladies had come prepared with homemade chivda, chakli, ladoos. I shared the fig and date rolls bought from a store. Must have spent less than half hour there to rest and refresh before getting back on the road. The ladies purchased mogra gajras on the way and gave me a couple too. 

My foot dressing was loose and the wound was dripping fluid. I was having a hard time dragging the leg. The group with me was kind and considerate, slowing down to keep with me. Much to my relief I spotted a medical booth. The older of the two gentlemen in the group( he was the father of one of the ladies) accompanied me inside the booth. I went to the team doing the dressings, showed them my wound and they did the needful. The gentleman from Latur started telling them” hyaa pan doctor ahet. America hoon alya ahet”. She is a Dr too and has come from America ! The team smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. They probably wondered why is she here when she is not used to walking in these conditions? 

The new dressing allowed me to walk a bit better. At least for a short time! 

A few miles after resuming the wari we women needed to use a restroom. Across the highway we spotted a restaurant and behind the restaurant was what looked like public toilets. Several women were seen around those toilets. We decided to go check. Turns out the toilets were locked. The women were using a public tap and washing clothes or bathing in the open. Behind this area were fields extending far beyond where the eye could reach. The women with me said let’s walk there. So I joined them. We shielded each other as we emptied our full bladders into the soil. As we tidied our sarees and started walking back to the road we saw a young man on his phone out there. It was obvious he was taking videos and photos of women who were relieving themselves in the open.  Such a pervert!!  The women with me gave him an earful and were eager to report him to police. As they expressed their disgust to some of the women washing clothes, those women shared their sob stories. One of them had her entire money stolen when she left her bag aside while washing clothes. 

From there we made it to the junior college compound where we were told lunch would be served. We were a good couple of hours ahead of schedule. Several other warkaris had put their irlas( plastic sheets that served both as ponchos cum bedding) in the verandas of the college and were resting. When a couple of them left, we moved in with our irlas to lay down. We had easily napped for an hour and a half before someone called out that our dindi people had arrived. Lunch was served standing , in dried leaves disposable plates. There was khichadi, kadhi and some papad. Plus one ladoo for each person. It was sufficient. 

We were one of the first ones in the line and therefore first ones to be done. Without wasting more time we were back on the road. I was trying hard to keep pace with the others but it was getting increasingly difficult. Finally I told them to carry on, that I would catch up sometime. 

The sun was getting unbearable and so was my foot. I took breaks every 2 kms or so. Once I stopped to buy water at a restaurant. Once just requested to use a spare chair under the tent of a vendor selling towels. An occasional customer stopped to enquire about some goods, one out of five or six would buy something. I wondered how these people made any money during the day. 

Jejuri was still 6-7 miles away. I dragged on till I reached the main chowk( square). There I asked a man which way was Ahalyabai Holkar wada. Earlier even the police had claimed ignorance about this place. Luckily this man happened to know where it was. I took the road he pointed to. 

This road went through residential areas and had a gradual uphill slope. The slope became steeper as I kept walking. My eyes had started searching for rickshaws or another means to take a ride. The foot was dripping, hurting, burning and getting swollen. After nearly 3 kms on that road and distant view of a wada/ fortress on top of the hill where this road was leading, my heart was beginning to sink. How in the world was I going to be able to walk to that wada if that is the Ahilyabai Holkar wada? I really couldn’t take it anymore. 

A woman was sitting on a small porch outside her home by the road. I asked her in desperation. Is there a taxi or someone to give me a ride to Ahilyabai Holkar wada? She looked at me with compassion and said “ you made it this far. The wada is just around that next corner to the right”.  So it wasn’t the wada on top of the hill ! Little did I know that the one on top of the hill was the famous Khandoba temple of Jejuri. 

I walked in the direction the lady had pointed and sure enough. There stood an old stone building, wada, with a sign on it. Ahilyabai Holkar Wada. Right across from it was the Ahilyabai Holkar Vithoba Temple. 

A few warkaris from my dindi had already reached the wada. The organizers were given rooms downstairs. The other warkaris upstairs. There was a large courtyard in the center upon entering the wada. Immediately to the left upon entering were the restrooms. To the right was the stone staircase leading to the rooms upstairs. Men were given a big hall and women were assigned two big halls. The Vidarbha sisters were resting in one room. 

I had barely put down my plastic sheet to rest when someone announced that they were going to open the Vitthala Mandir for women to stay. That would be a lot easier to haul bags and bedding than carry it all up the tedious stairs. In the meantime someone informed that the truck carrying our belongings had a flat tire and would take some time to arrive. 

As soon as it was announced that the Vitthala Mandir was opened there was a frenzy amongst women to go grab a place. A big group from Sangli coveted the space along an entire wall to the far side from the temple entrance/ road. One row would sleep along the wall near the entrance. And one row in the middle of these two. I was lucky to find a spot under a ceiling fan in that middle row. Soon every possible spot on either side of me was taken. And the Latur group had not even arrived. When they did, they were left to choose the small area next to the shrine of Vithoba Rakhumai in the temple. Another person I knew to use that crammed space was a lady named Uma Swami. This lady had achieved the feat of completing the Narmada Parikrama in 8 months or so. This is one of the toughest pilgrimages. On one occasion while staying at the Karha Devi temple in Saswad I had taken my towel to wash at one of the taps. She was washing her clothes there and would not let me get my dressing wet. Despite my reluctance she got my towel out of my hands and washed it herself and handed it to me. 

I had secured a place to rest that evening but my foot had reached a point where it needed more attention than just the dressings so far. If I was desperate enough to seek a ride to the destination earlier that afternoon, I had the insight that despite my best intentions I would not be able to walk the next day. I had reached my limit of walking with the wound. Though with a rather sad heart, I dialed Manisha’s number to tell her I need help. Within 5-10 minutes she called me back. Abhay and Manisha’s cousins from Mangalvedhe were coming to get me. The younger of these two lived in Pandharpur with his wife and kids. The older lived with his mother( Abhay’s maushi), wife and kids in Mangalvedhe in the ancestral home. In less than half hour from my call to Manisha they were on their way. It was about 6 pm that time. It wpukd take them 3 hours from Pandharpur to Jejuri. 

By that time the truck with our bags etc had arrived. Everyone was crowded on that small street to take possession of his/ her belongings. Mine was amongst the first to be loaded in the morning hence one of the last ones to be unloaded that evening. Once the truck moved out of the way and the crowd dispersed I went in to speak to the organizers that I am forced to take a break due to my foot. Ghadyalji was a kind man. He told me to keep him informed and welcome to rejoin the wari at any juncture if I felt better in a few days. That was reassuring. 

Around 8 pm we were summoned for dinner. Everyone was seated in the central courtyard. I found a place on a step nearby. Two other senior ladies seated themselves on chairs next to me. One was Mangal Phatak and the other was Mrs Shindikar, both from Pune. They were longtime participants in this dindi. We chatted introducing ourselves as we waited for dinner to be served. 

Just as dinner was being served one of the senior organizers Dr Kulkarni came up to Mrs Phatak. He was quite angry. He had spotted a lady in the dindi sitting for dinner wearing a nightgown. The dindi rules were that ladies must wear sarees at all times during the wari. Dr Kulkarni was aghast to see this lady blatantly ignoring the dress code. It amounted to obscenity for him. He told Ms Phatak that the organizers tend to turn a blind eye when women wear such gowns at bedtime. But wearing it in full view of everyone at dinner time was absolutely unacceptable. As a senior member and woman he requested Ms Phatak to speak to the concerned lady about it….but only after dinner. He went away just as fast as he had come. 

The dinner concluded and I took leave of Ghadiyalji. Ms Phatak gently spoke to the lady about not wearing gowns during the wari. She nodded in agreement. Everything was fine.

All women returned to their beddings in the temple across the road. I waited to break the news to everyone because another frenzy would ensue to grab my place. I quietly went up to Uma Swami who was totally crammed in the tiny space near the shrine. I told her I was leaving and that she could take my spot to sleep for the night. She hugged me and thanked me and asked me to stay in touch. Then whispered into my ears” I meant to tell you, you look like Madhubala( actress)” . I smiled at her. We both had a soft spot for each other since earlier on in the wari. 

Next I went to inform my friends from Latur and Vidarbha. And also Shubhada Paranjape and Chitra Biwalkar. Both of the latter had sustained some serious sun burns on their arms and back. I had bought an extra sun coat on the way besides the one Prachi Bhide( Prasad’s daughter) in Alandi had given me. This unused sun coat I gave to Shubhada to use. Soon the entire gang of women in that room got a whiff of the news that I was leaving. Another sweetheart Radhika Velankar from Baroda came and gave me a hug. Two other ladies whose names I don’t know and who I had not been introduced to all this time came to me requesting a ride with me so we could find a hotel to share some place. Unfortunately the car really didn’t have room for more people that night.

My brothers in law Vikas and Vinayak Karmarkar reached the temple at 10 pm. They took longer because of several detours on the way due to the wari diversions. I was waiting for them outside on the steps of the temple for over 45 minutes since the women inside turned off the lights and were preparing to sleep. 

We loaded my belongings in the trunk of the car. A Good Samaritan from Jejuri had got in the driver’s seat to bring them from the main road to the wada as the route was tricky to find in the night time. After he got down on the main road the original driver took over, Vikas sat in the front seat, I was in the back seat and Vinayak in one seat behind me. We chatted till another hour or so on the road. They took a break for dinner at Lonand where the palkhi was scheduled to stop in a couple of days. Vikas insisted I eat ice cream. My protests had no effect on him. The three men finished their dinner and we were back in the car. I was tired and didn’t realize when I fell asleep. It was only when we were on the outskirts of Pandharpur that Vikas woke me up. 

To keep me comfortable they had booked an air conditioned room at a hotel adjoining Vinayak’s home. Both brothers accompanied me up to the second floor, got me settled in my room and took leave. Vikas would carry on in the car to Mangalvedhe which was another 20 km away. Vinayak promised to come by in the morning with breakfast and tea. It was 2:15 am when they left. I took another 30-45 minutes to change, wash my day time saree and other clothes and put them to dry in the bathroom.  

It was a very clean room. The bathroom was clean as well. The bed was comfortable. Airconditioning worked. There was tooth paste and soap in the room. And most importantly, much needed privacy after a long time. There was sadness of leaving the wari but deep in my heart I knew I had made the right decision at the right time. I bowed to Panduranga in my heart and slept in peace.