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Chikamaglur Trip-16th-18th May,2014

Chikamaglur Trip-16^th-18^th May,2014

It all started one Friday morning when my youngest sister who was on leave called us and said lets go to Chikamaglur. My elder sister comes every year and stays for a couple of months. And both of us meaning my younger sister  and me travelling she has been always complaining that this time you all take leave as she also wanted to travel. I could not as I already had taken some 10 days leave  in April and my new company certainly would not give me leave within a span of one month .So I was really not sure whether I should go or not. In fact my family had travelled to Coorg and Mysore and came back two weeks back without me. But this time I was tempted to as it was a weekend and I had not till now seen Chikamaglur. So I decided to buy time and suggested we leave in the 2^nd half preferably after 4 pm as I would have finished my work too. First my younger sister Kala did not agree as it would be late by the time we reached as she was the one who was supposed to drive and the second thing was we were only ladies travelling this time three sisters and my mom. But the most important thing was to first check out the place where we had to stay as it was an impromto decision and none of us was first of all ready and also did not know the place where we could stay so booking was out of question. Kala and me were  busy calling friends and checking  out the best place to stay. Finally she suggested a couple of resorts which I checked out which were a little costly but then as there were ladies only in this trip we said okay. But then the last minute I too remembered one of my contacts and then called him .He suggested a place which was not listed in the website but I knew it will be the best as I trusted him . Kala wanted to go to her choice of resort and I wanted to go the one which my friend suggested. Finally we decided at least to leave the house first and on the way we can decide which place to go.

We all four of us left late around 3:30 -4 pm and we started calling all the places that Kala had decided first. Luckily for me all the places were booked in advance and hence no rooms were available in any of her place .So finally it came to me. I called up my friend and had the rooms booked in the place called Bagmane Heritage. Chickamaglur is some 280-300 kms from Bangalore and the place where we were going was another 25 kms from Bangalore. We took the Hassan Highway as that was the best route and I had travelled earlier in that road when I had been to Kalasa, another place near to Chikamaglur. One  of the best  highway roads travelled I must say. Whenever I have travelled this road  I have  enjoyed as there is no  traffic ,smooth road and you feel that you are the only ones on the road .Good we took that route as we could reach faster as we had left late. We reached Hassan in an hour and a half and Kala also is a good driver. From Hassan we took the Belur and Chikamaglur route.  We did not stop in between which I wanted to as the scenery on the way tempts you to stop and enjoy and take snaps which I had done last time I travelled with Mushtaq and Suma to Kalasa which is the same route by the way. By 6:30 we had reached Chikamaglur and from there we still had another 25 kms to go and it was getting dark. I started calling Krishi who was the owner of the Homestay who gave us directions but then we got a little confused .And the network was also getting weaker as we were in Ghat section. So we took a u turn and came back to a place where I got network, called up Krishi again and took directions once again and continued. This place where we had to go is in Mallandur  and we reached there by 7:30 pm .The Homestay is still in the interiors and we had to continue  for another half an hour  in a badly maintained mud road .My mom and sisters got scared as it was dark and we could not see one single person on the road. And in these places which are mainly coffee plantations each house is very far from another one. Also there is no proper lighting. Kala was losing her cool  blaming me for bringing us to a place where there is no proper roads and getting scared and all that driving had exhausted her as well and she started telling that we will go back .Plus there was no network  in any of our mobiles to call Krishi and recheck once again. All around us was only forest and mud road ahead with not a single soul in sight. We did not know what to do and as this was the first time we ladies only were travelling we decided to turn back and head towards Chikamaglur. We had almost gone some 5 minutes that we saw one car coming behind us .He started honking his car horn and kept following us. Kala was panicking I do not know why .I told Kala to slow down saying it could be Krishi .Well it was Krishi who had seen  our car lights from his Homestay and saw us reversing and came behind us.He told us to follow his car we took a u turn once again and followed him. To our surprise, we  saw that the place where we had backed out earlier  was just 5 minutes from his Homestay. So we finally reached Bagmane  Heritage at around 8:30 -9 pm.

I loved the place instantly as it reminded me of Nammane in Kalasa .This place was even ancient than that place. The front portion of this place is 250 years old and the back portion is 300 years old.I am always fascinated by ancient homes, scenic beauties, no network,  farms, a typical home stay where you get the feel of staying in a home and not a hotel  with all the basic facilities and comforts  being provided so the minute I entered I knew I was going to love my stay here. This place is in a very secluded place.My mom too liked it. But the problem started with both my sisters Kala and Vandana. Kala is someone who would opt for a nice resorts with hi tech facilities . Vandana was okay but this time she was influenced by Kala. Anyways we could not do anything that late. So we thought of deciding tomorrow. Meantime Krishi  introduced his family, His wife Pallavi, which we learned after someone is an excellent cook, his two kids Akyan ,son and  daughter Prakyan and 2 dogs Bingo , a 3 year old German Shephard and Ruby, one and a half year old local breed. I instantly fell in love with Ruby who is very active and a naughty one and also  extremely jealous if we petted Bingo .The family is very hospitable. As we were all tired first we had tea. After sometime, Krishi arranged for a bonfire in his estate. Then he offered us betelnut wine which had an excellent taste. Usually I take a sip but this time I had the entire glass. In fact all of loved the wine. We invited Krishi’s family also to join us but because Pallavi had to cook dinner for us , she went to the kitchen. Meantime we had a good time around the bonfire enjoying wine and starters, taking all kinds of funny snaps. By the time we finished it was around 11 pm. We had our dinner by 11.30-12 am .Pallavi had cooked biryani, chicken, mutton ,rice ,sambar ,rasam and  raita  .We were famished. We ate well and retired to bed. Before going to bed krishi had told us about the next day itinerary. He wanted us to take us for a small trek in the mountain. I was ready but the challenge was to make Kala and Vandana agree as they had their inhibitions of staying there and they wanted to decide that first. I told Krishi I will inform him tomorrow and we all went to sleep.

Next day morning Vandana started to like the place and by the time Kala also agreed to stay back it was already 9 am. I heaved a sigh of relief. So we went off for a plantation walk in Krishi’s estate. But before that Krishi got some toddy to taste. This toddy is made from Byne tree which he later showed us in his plantation. I had never tasted one so was tempted to try it. It tasted somewhat like buttermilk  and I had one big glass .Krishi said it should be tasted in empty stomach. If tasted in the evening you start getting that high. It is some 300- 400 acres of his land where he has grown coffee, pepper which are the main crop here. He showed us two different varieties of coffee –Robusta and Arabica out of which Arabica yields higher returns. In his plantation we saw different varieties of beautiful, poisonous mushroom. He also showed us Bison marks-wild buffaloes which were quite common in his plantation he said. Well the walk lasted for an hour. After we returned we had a heavy breakfast of dosa, idlis, chicken etc which was very well prepared. We also saw around the house which has everything which will now be an antique piece from an old Palki. We saw Krishi’s old collection of coins,old brass and copper vessels. Upstairs there is a large hall which can house some 25 people and has a large open window where you can have a lovely view of the mountains. Behind their house they have grown lot of spices.I saw a Cardamom plant too. Now that we had only one day in fact half a day, we had to plan our itinerary well. After taking an hour break, Krishi took us to Kavikal Matha which is on very high altitude with nice scenery on top. Normal cars cannot go as it was a very steep climb so we had to hire a jeep which took us there. I must say it was a lovely view on top where we could view Mulyanagiri hills on the opposite side. But definitely not like the one we saw in Kalasa. Kalasa was excellent. We took a small trek down the hill , took snaps and came back on the top. By that time it started raining. While returning we visited the Matha which worships Shiva. Krishi told us that there is tale of how if one does not leave slippers at the designated place, the bees which reside in the hills beside the temple come and sting those people. The temple was closed and the idol had been moved to the priest’s home .We prayed, took coffee in the priest’s place and returned. It was around 4 pm when we reached the Homestay .We had a late lunch which Pallavi had prepared .By that time Krishi had taken permission from the wildlife sanctuary .Our next trip was to Bhadra Wildlife sanctuary located in Mutthodi forest. It is a reserve for tigers. The entry is Rs 400 per person. I was hoping to see one as I was not able to see it in Ranthambore, Rajasthan. The entry timing is from 3 pm to 6 pm. By the time we finished lunch and went there it was 5:30 pm. The last jeep which takes visitors had gone inside. I was not sure if we could go inside as there was only one jeep and by the time it came back it would be closing time as it is a one and a half hour safari inside. Krishi somehow managed to arrange for a jeep for us which was not a safari jeep but the one that the forest ranger uses. By the time we left inside it was already 6 pm. We all were excited hoping since it was evening we might sight some tiger as it is a nocturnal animal. As it not an open jeep ,it was covered on both sides and top by the plastic sheet. So it was a fight between 3 of us sisters to sit in the corner where we could view and take pictures. I did not budge .So Vandana gave the other seat to Kala. Kala had her Zoom camera and I was clicking pictures from my Tab. The only animals we saw in abundance was only Bisons, not even one single peacock. The funny part was that there were a lot of fleas around in the evening and in the jeep and they were all biting Kala only. Krishi told her that these fleas usually come near Bisons, wild buffaloes. The entire journey the fleas troubled Kala. She was busy slapping her body everywhere. I just could not control my laughter. We were highly disappointed. But the journey still continued as we had paid. By 6:15 pm it was already dark. Both my two sisters are Big Darpoks. They were so scared of travelling in the dark inside the jungle.in fact they kept telling me to close the plastic cover in the back of the jeep for the fear where some predator might jump at the back of the jeep as it was open. But I did not. So Kala who had been fighting for her seat in the corner kept sliding slowly from the corner to the middle and finally to the other corner just behind the driver’s seat. It really was a funny scene to watch. In fact it was really pitch dark inside the jungle and the driver also drove very fast putting the flashlights of the jeep only later. Finally we made it to the entrance at 7:30 pm.The driver told us later it was the first time that any visitors was so late in side the forest. I guess it makes our first Night Safari in our Lives.But like I told very disappointing as we did not sight any animals except Bisons. We came out of the santuary by 8 pm and you can call it irony we sighted Sambar Deer on the main road. We paid Rs 400 for seeing nothing in the forest.

We reached Bagmane by 8:30 pm. All of us had tea and coffee. By that time Pallavi had prepared some nice kebabs for starters. This time she had also prepared some desserts along with the dinner. My stomach was really full from a heavy lunch so I had only desserts for dinner. We again had a late dinner and by this time Kala’s mind had also changed because she was chatting a lot with Pallavi and taking her recipes. We slept of late.

Next day it was time for us to leave. We had to check out at 8 am as we had plans to see Belur and Halebid on the way to Bangalore both of which are Heritage sites and also Kala wanted to reach Bangalore before evening for fear of getting struck in traffic. We took leave of the wonderful family of Krishi’s who were excellent hosts after taking few pictures with them. This time Kala took Krishi’s number. I am sure she will have plans to visit this place again as she had really enjoyed. Visiting this palce once again with my friend’s definitely is in my Itinerary.

Trip To Rajasthan-Ranthambore

Day 3 and 4-Ranthambore
Wildlife had always attracted me.That is one reason Kunal included Ranthambore in my itinerary. I reached Ranthambore by 3 pm.That was where Narendra was to give a last drop to me and head back to Jodhpur.
Well I reached Ranthambore Regency where my booking was done and checked in. The lunch which was a buffet was  served at the hall was closes at 3:30 pm.So I freshened up and had  my lunch.Kunal had arranged for 2 safaris ,one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. I could have gone in the same day I checked in as the safari starts at 3:30 pm. But I decided to relax that day and informed the reception I would do the safaris tomorrow.i was tired and retired to my room ,a very nice and pleasant room and watched some tv since they served us dinner which starts at 7 pm to 10 pm.After having dinner I slept off early as the morning safari starts at 5:30 am. I asked for a wakeup call though I am used to waking up early.I was up and ready by 5:30 am where they served us tea and biscuits and when the entire group arrived ,we boarded the canter which was supposed to take us to the wildlife sanctuary. Canters are like army trucks which can seat some 20 people. But the tops of the trucks are open .One can opt for open jeeps or canters.Jeeps are much more costly.
 Ranthambore National Park is one of the largest national parks in northern India. It is situated in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 110 km northeast of Kota and 160 km southeast of Jaipur, Ranthambhore was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955 by the Government of India and was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973. Ranthambore became a national park in 1980. In 1984, the adjacent forests were declared the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary, and in 1991 the tiger reserve was enlarged to include the Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi sanctuaries.
Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary is known for its tigers and is one of the best places in India to see these majestic predators in the jungle. Tigers can be easily spotted even during the daytime. A good time to visit Ranthambore National Park is in November and May when the nature of the dry deciduous forests makes sightings common.
Well we reached the santuary by 6am .Each canter and jeeps are accompanied by one naturalist who will show us inside the santuary.We reached the entrance where the naturalist took permission for entering and we made our way in. The core park area has been divided into several zones and the safari vehicles go on one of those zones. Since there is a good chance of not sighting a tiger in one outing, people usually take more than one ride.In fact I felt lucky as the very first turning of the forest, the naturalist made us listen to the warning sounds of Sambar deer which we sighted after some 5-10 minutes on the opposite side of the hills. Everybody was excited that they might sight the tiger.After screening up and down the hill we were able to see the leopard just a few hundred metres from the 2 sambar deers.We waited to see whether it will attack the deers or not. But I think it was not hungry as it quietly walked away from the deers. That was the first and last of the carnivorous animals of the cat family that we all saw. After that, the safari which is of  almost 2 hours took us all around the forest but we did not see any tiger but we were able to see the pug marks of the tiger right in front of our vehicle. In between we were able to see the spotted deers and peacocks and baboons which were in abundance. The naturalist stopped the vehicle in between so that we could click some pictures of the deers and the peacocks and the baboons.In fact a peacock came right in front of our vehicle and spread its beautiful wings.We waited and watched till it danced and took a 360 degree turn and then walked away. A beautiful sight.We also saw the Antelope ie the Nilgai which is one of the largest Asian antelope. The mature male appears ox-like and is also known as the blue bull. A blue bull is called a nil gai or nilgai in India, from nil meaning blue and gai meaning a bovine animal (literally 'cow').We finally made our way back to the resort and reached by 9:30 am.I had breakfast and there other groups were talking that they were able to see the tiger.
I was hoping to see the tiger in my afternoon safari .The weather being hot, it is natural for animals to come out near the water bodies. I went back to my room took bath and relaxed. Lunch was served at 1 pm but I was not hungry as I had breakfast late.so I had little. Soon after it was time for us to go for our 2^nd round of safari. By 3:15 pm everybody had assembled and we all left once again by 3:30 pm.This time there was a different naturalist who made us all sign one paper saying we would be solely responsible for ourselves  in case  anything happens. Once we had signed we all entered the santuary. This time also we were not able to see the tiger.The weather was very very hot.I had taken a stole to cover my head.We sighted the usual animals that we saw in the morning and in addition a baby crocodile relaxing on the rock near a pond and a mongoose.In fact the naturalist stopped at 2-3 different places in between and we kept watch for some 15-20 minutes in each place as the forest authorities had told the the tiger had gone that way since morning.We were there in the santuary till 5:30 pm  and then we headed back.I was disappointed.We reached our resort at 6 pm .I took a head bath as the forest track was a dusty track .
I Relaxed for a while till I was called for dinner.I befriended a British old man who was on a 2^nd vist to Ranthambore with his son. He told me that yesterday they were able to see the entire tiger family. I became more disappointed.We had dinner together  and then took leave from my new friend and retired early as I was to checkout early morning by 6:30 am.
My train to Delhi was at 7 am. The kitchen staff had packed breakfast for me on the way which was in my package .The hotel arranged for a car to take me to the station and see me off. I had requested Kunal to arrange for somebody who could help me find the platform and train to avoid any last minute confusion.I took leave from Ranthambore. The train arrived at 7:30 am.The car driver helped  me keep the luggage inside the train and went away.The train was there maximum for 10 minutes at the station and started moving towards Delhi. I came back to Delhi with a lot of wonderful experiences of my Rajasthan trip.

Trip To Rajasthan-Jaipur and Pushkar

Day 2-Jaipur

Kunal had booked a cab for me. The Driver Narendra was his office driver only.So he was the one who will take me to Jaipur,Pushkar and then Ranthambore.I took leave of the Rathores-Kunal ,Nishi and Shashank. From now on I would be travelling alone and I was thrilled and a little  scared too.From Jodhpur, Jaipur is some 5 hours journey.On the way Narendra was telling his story –how he became a driver from being a servant and now has his own cab.In between he also showed me the 2 of the vegetables that are used for making the sabzi that  I was talking about in my previous blog.it was growing in  the bushes on both sides along the roads.On the way I made a stop to  Pushkar  which is a town in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. According to the Hindu scripture Padma Purana, Brahma saw the jhantu Vajranabha (Vajranash in another version) trying to kill his children and harassing people. He immediately slew the demon with his weapon, the lotus-flower. In this process, the lotus petals fell on the ground at three places, creating three lakes: the Pushkar Lake or Jyeshta Pushkar (greatest or first Pushkar), the Madya Pushkar (middle Pushkar) Lake, and Kanishta Pushkar (lowest or youngest Pushkar) lake. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the flower ("pushpa") fell from Brahma's hand ("kar") as "Pushkar".
Brahma then decided to perform a yajna (fire-sacrifice) at the main Pushkar Lake. To perform his yajna peacefully without being attacked by the demons, he created the hills around the Pushkar — Ratnagiri in the south, Nilgiri in the north, Sanchoora in the west and Suryagiri in the east — and positioned gods there to protect the yajna performance. However, while performing the yajna, his wife Savitri (or Sarasvati in some versions) could not be present at the designated time to perform the essential part of the yajna as she was waiting for her companion goddesses Lakshmi, Parvati and Indrani. So Brahma married Gurjar girl, Gayatri and completed the yajna with his new consort sitting beside him, holding the pot of amrita (elixir of life) on her head and giving ahuti (offering to the sacrificial fire).
When Savitri finally arrived at the venue she found Gayatri sitting next to Brahma which was her rightful place. Agitated, she cursed Brahma that he would be never worshipped, but then reduced the curse permitting his worship in Pushkar. Savitri also cursed Indra to be easily defeated in battles, Vishnu to suffer the separation from his wife as a human, the fire-god Agni who was offered the yajna to be all-devouring and the priests officiating the yajna to be poor. Endowed by the powers of yajna, Gayatri diluted Savitri's curse, blessing Pushkar to be the king of pilgrimages, Indra would always retain his heaven, Vishnu would be born as the human Rama and finally unite with his consort and the priests would become scholars and be venerated. Thus, the Pushkar temple is regarded the only temple dedicated to Brahma. Savitri, thereafter, moved into the Ratnagiri hill and became a part of it by emerging as a spring known as the Savitri Jharna (stream); a temple in her honour exists here.

There is very strict security in and around the temple. People visiting the temple cannot take take big purses and mobiles inside. They need to keep it in the locker facilty given to them Hence I was not able to take even one snap of the temple. So I prayed and came back. Actually the plan was also to see Ajmer, Durgah but time did not permit and I had to reach Jaipur too. So I  left for Jaipur. By now I was hungry and had the lunch which Nishi had packed for me. After chatting with Narendra for sometime I dozed off.So by 2: 45 pm I reached Jaipur,The Pink City. Kunal had booked Radoli house for me.Radoli is one of old haveli’s converted into a hotel. I told Narendra to have lunch as he still had not had lunch and told him to meet me at the hotel in half an hour. After freshening up I went off to see first City Palace ,Jaipur. The palace and Jantar Manter closes by 5 pm. So I had total 2 hours.One hour to see City Palace and the other hour to see Jantar Mantar. It was 3:30 pm when I reached City Palace. I made a tour in the Palace.City Palace, Jaipur, which includes the Chandra Mahal and Mubarak Mahal palaces which includes Diwan-I-Khas and Diwan-I-Aam and other buildings, is a palace complex in Jaipur, the capital of the Rajasthan state, India. It was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the head of the Kachwaha Rajput clan. The Chandra Mahal palace now houses a museum but the greatest part of it is still a royal residence. The palace complex, which is located northeast of the centre of the grid patterned Jaipur city, incorporates an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. The palace was built between 1729 and 1732, initially by Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber. He planned and built the outer walls, and later additions were made by successive rulers right up to the 20th century. The credit for the urban layout of the city and its structures is attributed to two architects namely, Vidyadar Bhattacharya, the chief architect in the royal court and Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, apart from the Sawai himself who was a keen architectural enthusiast. The architects achieved a fusion of the Shilpa Shastra of Indian architecture with Rajput, Mughal and European styles of architecture.

After viewing the Palace I entered Jantar Mantar which is next to the Palace. The Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Sawai Jai Singh who was a Rajput king. The title of (King) and Sawai was bestowed on him by Emperor Mohammad Shah. Jai Singh II of Amber built his new capital of Jaipur between 1727 and 1734. It is also located in Ujjain and Mathura.
It is modeled after the one that he had built at the Mughal capital of Delhi. He had constructed a total of five such facilities at different locations, including the ones at Delhi and Jaipur. The Jaipur observatory is the largest and best preserved of these. It has been inscribed on the World Heritage List as "an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period.I wish I had taken the help of a local guide to explain me the instruments but I had little time and I had to go back to the hotel too. It was already 6 pm.I purchased a few souverniers and then proceeded back to the hotel .On the way I clichked some snaps of Hawa Mahal.I reached hotel by 6:30 pm and sent Narendra .But I told him to come early as I had to checkout the next day at 7:30 am.The plan was to checkout at 8 am am and on the way visit Amir Fort and Jal Mahal and then proceed towards Ranthambore.I had breakfast at the hotel before checking out and Narendra took me to Amir Fort.On the way we stopped at Hawa Mahal and I took some snaps of mine.We reached Amir Fort By 8:30-9 am.This time I arranged for a guide who could take me around.
Amer Palace is located in Amer, 11 kilometres from Jaipur, Rajasthan state, India. It is the principal tourist attractions in the Jaipur area, located high on a hill. Amer Palace (Hindi: आमेर क़िला, also spelled and pronounced as Amber) is located in Amer, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Jaipur, Rajasthan state, India. It is the principal tourist attractions in the Jaipur area, located high on a hill. Amer Fort was built by Raja Man Singh I. Amer Fort is known for its artistic style of Hindu elements. With its large ramparts, series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks the Maota Lake, at its forefront.
The aesthetic ambiance of the palace is seen within its walls on a four level layout plan (each with a courtyard) in a well turned out opulent palace complex built with red sandstone and marble consisting of the Diwan-e-Aam or the "Hall of Public Audience", the Diwan-e-Khas or the "Hall of Private Audience", the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace) or Jai Mandir, and the Sukh Niwas where a cool climate is artificially created by winds that blow over the water cascade within the palace. Hence, the Amer Fort is also popularly known as the Amer Palace. The palace was lived in by the Rajput Maharajas and their families. At the entrance to the palace near the fort’s Ganesh Gate, there is also a temple dedicated to Sila Devi, a goddess of the Chaitanya cult which was given to Raja Man Singh when he had defeated the Raja of Jessore, Bengal in 1604. (Jessore is now in Bangladesh).I also visited Sila Devi Temple inside the Fort Premises. On the right side of the Jaleb Chowk there is a small but an elegant temple called the Sila Devi (an incarnation of Kali or Durga) temple. The entrance to the temple is through silver sheet covered double leaf gate with raised relief. The main deity inside the sanctum is flanked by two lions made in silver. The legend attributed to the installation of this deity is that Maharaja Man Singh sought blessings of Kali for victory in the battle against the Raja of Jessore in Bengal. The goddess instructed the Raja, in a dream, to retrieve her image from the sea bed and install and worship it. The Raja, after he won the battle of Bengal in 1604, retrieved the idol from the sea and installed it in the temple and called it as Sila Devi as it was carved out of one single piece of a stone slab. At the entrance to the temple, there is also a carving of Lord Ganesha, which is made out of a single piece of coral stone.
Another version of the Sila Devi installation is that Raja Man Singh, after defeating the Raja of Jessore, received a gift of a black stone slab which was credited with link to the Mahabharata epic story in which Kansa had killed older siblings of Lord Krishna on this stone. In exchange for this gift Man Singh returned the kingdom he had won to the Raja of Bengal. This stone was then used to carve the image of Durga Mahishasuramardini who had slain the demon king Mahishasura, and installed it in the fort temple as Sila Devi. The Sila Devi was worshiped from then onwards as the lineage deity of the Rajput family of Jaipur. However, their family deity continued to be Jamva Mata of Ramgarh.
Another practice that is associated with this temple is the religious rites of animal sacrifice during the festival days of Navrathri (Nine days festival celebrated twice in a year). The practice was to sacrifice a buffalo and also goats on the eighth day of the festival in front of the temple, which would be done in the presence of the royal family, watched by a large gathering of devotees. This practice was banned under law from 1975, where after the sacrifice is being held within the palace grounds in Jaipur, strictly as a private event with only the close kin of the royal family watching the event. However, the practice of animal sacrifice has been totally stopped at the temple premises and offerings made to the goddess are only of the vegetarian type. The guide told me that during Navratri two times Pooja is done one by the local Brahmins and the other one was by Bengali Brahmins and Prasad given is both veg and non veg .One jug has ganga jal offered and the other jug has wine given as Prasad. After  seeing the fort the guide took me to the Jaipur Handicrafts Emporium where they showed how colours are made from original gem stones and block printing done using the colours. It was already 11 pm. And time for me to bid farewell to Jaipur. On the way I stopped near Jal Mahal and took some snaps and proceeded toward Ranthambore.