A little town called Deshnok, 30 kms from Bikaner, holds an intriguing sight: the Karni Mata Temple, home to over 20,000 rats. 'Kabbas' as they are called, these rats are worshipped because it is believed that they are reincarnated family members of Karni Mata. White mice are revered even more because they are considered to be Karni Mata and her sons.
Shetpal village in Sholapur district of Maharashtra, is known for snake worship. This village has a custom that can be only described as frightful. Each house in this village has a resting place for Cobras in the rafters of their ceilings. No cases of snake bites have been reported in this village despite snakes moving about freely in every household.
Now, here's something that is morbid and fascinating at the same time. The New Lucky Restaurant has an ambience to kill for. This coffee house is built on a centuries-old Muslim cemetery. The graves lie between the tables, and are said to belong to a 16th CE Sufi saint. The restaurant is always bustling with guests and the owner says that the graves are his lucky mascots.
At a height of 1115 feet, the Nohkalikai Falls near Cherrapunji is India's highest plunge waterfall. Fed naturally by rainwater, this waterfall is named after the tragic tale of a woman called Ka Likai. After the death of her husband, Ka Likai remarried. But her new husband was extremely jealous of her love for her daughter. He murderd the daughter, and to hide the evidence, cooked up her remains into a meal. Kali Kai searched high and low for her daughter but cannot find her. Her husband offers her the meal, as she is exhausted. After eating, she discovers to her horror, the daughter's fingers lying in basket filled with betel-nuts. Grieved and anguished, she throws herself off the cliff, giving the waterfall its name, 'Nohkalikai' meaning 'Fall of Ka Likai.'
The small historical village of Lepakshi is home to many ancient relics and architectural marvels. One of them is the Hanging Pillar of the Lepakshi temple. Amongst the 70 pillars of the temple, one hangs without any support! Visitors pass objects under the pillar to check if the claim is true. According to locals, passing objects under the pillar brings prosperity to one's life.
Located on the mighty Bramaputra, Majuli, the world's largest river island, is a celebration of the creations of God and man. The scenic beauty of this island is the closest one can feel to the heavens. Majuli is also a popular cultural hotspot for various schools of thought that propagate the teachings of Srimanta Shankardev.
Throughout the year, people visit the Jwala Ji Temple of Kangra to seek blessings from the Goddess. In the centre of the temple, a hollowed stone holds a flame that has been burning for hundreds of years. According to the legend, Lord Shiva's wife, Sati, immolated herself in anguish when her father disrespected her husband. A furious Shiva danced the Tandav Nritya carrying the burnt corpse. In doing so, she fell into 51 parts and landed on the earth. Each of these locations turned into a religious shrine for the Hindus. The Jwala Ji of Kangra is believed to be Sati's fiery tongue.
If you thought mummies were to be found only in Egypt, you are mistaken. In a little village called Gue, in Himachal's Spiti district, lays the remarkably well-preserved 500 year-old mummy of Sangha Tenzing, a Buddhist monk from Tibet. It was found in a sitting position, with skin and hair intact. This is probably because, the monk started mummifying himself while he was still alive. Natural mummification, as compared to chemical enbalming, is a complex procedure and is extremely rare. The mummy was discovered after an earthquake in 1975. It is now on display at a temple in Gue.
Kolukkumalai Tea Estate is an hour and half long drive from Munnar. Towering at a height of 8000 feet above sea level, this tea estate rises above the plains of Tamil Nadu, heralded by beautiful rugged mountains on all sides. It's hard to decide which is more breath-taking: the scenic landscape or the flavourful teas produced here.
If there is any place in the world where you'll come across a shrine where flowers and liquor bottles are offered to a motorcycle, it has to be in India! At Bandai, Jodhpur, Om Singh Rathore died when he crashed his Bullet into a tree while riding drunk. The police claimed the bike and took it to the station. The next day, the bike was found at the spot of the accident. They brought it back to the station, emptied the fuel tank and chained it. Yet the bike miraculously found its way back to accident spot the next day. The motorcycle was moved permanently to the location and the Om Baba (or Bullet Baba as it is popularly called) Shrine was erected. Every day many passers-by come to offer their prayers. The spirit of Om Banna is believed to protect travellers.
The monolithic statue of Gomateshwara, also known as Bahubali, at Shravanabelagola, towers above all else at 60 feet. Carved out of a single block of granite, it is so large, it can be seen even from 30 kms away. Gomateshwara was a Jain saint, who according to legend, was the first human in his half time cycle to attain liberation. The monolith was built by Chamundaraya, a minister of the Ganga Dynasty between 978 and 993 CE and is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Jains across the world. Standing at the feet of this massive monolith, looking up, you'll understand how big the world really is, and how small we are in comparison.
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