THE BANAJI FAMILY AND THEIR DESCENDANTS - WE VISITED JEJURI - 17 JUN 2018

Mr MN Vasanth Kumar after his retirement undertook a challenging task of compiling the history of our family. Bits and pieces of information about our family were told to us by our parents, aunts and uncles. Somehow in our mind, it remained more of a folk lore than history. His untiring research took him to many places in Karnataka, number of libraries, museums and record offices. In December 2001 a large number of family members gathered at the residence of Mr MS Shankar Rao in 1st block Jayanagar, Bangalore for the book release function. On that auspicious day “THE BANAJI FAMILY AND THEIR DESCENDANTS” was released. The book is an outcome of excellent research work painstakingly carried out by Vasanth over a number of years. The book has chronologically documented the history of the "Banajis".

Historical records mention about Nagoji Rao who was perhaps the earliest known member of the Banaji family. He was born in "Jejuri" a small temple town some 50 km South East of Pune, Maharashtra. The family of Nagoji Rao migrated to Mysore, Karnataka sometime in the early 1700. They later on became an integral part of history of Karnataka. I am a very proud descendant of this lineage, like many other members of our large family.

Vasanth Kumar who later on changed his name to Vasanth Banaji is responsible for taking us 300 years back in history and connecting us with our ancestors. I am extremely proud to be able to trace my roots back to eight generations. It is an extremely exhilarating experience to be able to trace ones lineage.

To preserve this excellent work of Vasanth and make it available on line for future generations, I entered all the data and notes in https://www.geni.com on 27 Aug 2008. Since then I cherished a very strong desire to visit Jejuri. Visiting Jejuri was a pilgrimage of sorts.

I along with Jayanti went to Pune Khadhakvasla to attend a function in the National Defence Academy. I took this opportunity to visit Jejuri on 17 June 2018.

The Main Temple

The town is known for being the venue of one of the revered temples in the state, known as the Khandobachi Jejuri. We decided to go around the town and visit the temple. The temple, which was constructed between the 15th and 16th centuries by Maloji Raje Bhosale, grandfather of Chhatrapati Shivaji, currently has only one way to its sanctum sanctorum. Devotees have to climb 400-odd stairs and there is no other route by which vehicles can reach.

After a very daunting climb we reached the temple premises to join thousands of devotees who had come to seek the blessings of the deity. We choose to go through the fast track entrance to avoid extremely long queues. We were ushered in to the sanctum sanctorum, only to be pulled out within a minute of seeing the deity. In that short time I prayed for the well being of all the Banajis.

The wait

Hanuman Idol outside the temple

Huge stone lamp structure

The main entrance

His Idol is typically depicted with four arms, in one of which he holds a Bhandara-patra or the bowl of turmeric powder. Bhandara in Marathi means turmeric. Khandoba is worshipped with turmeric, belfruit-leaves, onions and other vegetables.

The temple premises are covered in a layer of haldi – turmeric powder, giving it a very distinctive and different experience to what we have been used to.  Haldi is very freely thrown on all the devotees, their face and forehead is smeared with haldi and all the idols are soaked in layers of haldi. The air is full of fine haldi particles.

After the visit - all haldi

Jai after visiting the sanctum sanctorum

Visiting Jejuri and the Khandoba temple was extremely satisfying. It took us back some 300 years and I suppose this was the closest we could reach out to our ancestors.

View of the town from the top

Another view

Another temple below the hill.

Bath from 25 to 29 Apr

After a hectic journey from Bangalore to London via Abu Dhabi we landed in Heathrow in the afternoon. We travelled by bus and taxi to reach ‘King William Cottage,’ in Tunley village close to Bath around 6 pm. In spite of our heavy suitcases, the travel was comfortable. Tunley is a small one road village in Camerton, Somerset, near Bath. The houses in Tunley are a post-war age and are made of the traditional Bath stone. Tunley is a typically quiet English village.

Tunley Village

Without any delay we were introduced to the English weather, as the locals say they have three seasons - a cold season, a wet season, and a cold and wet season. The temperature had dropped to 5* C with a slight drizzle and very strong breeze.

King Williams Cottage and Inn

Entrance and the sitout

On a rainy day

Once we entered our cottage, we were overwhelmed with the ambiance of the place. The owner of this Airbnb property had taken immense care to provide   every possible thing necessary to make our stay comfortable. The place was exceedingly clean and tidy, very elegantly decorated and above all warm and homely. The evening was spent in winding down and relaxing. Shubi, ably assisted by the rest, prepared a homely meal. The huge space, total privacy and creature comforts of the cottage set the tone and character of our trip.

Sushama all thrilled

Shubhi busy whipping up a meal

All are pleased with the cottage

On arrival in London we had taken a local SIM, which is very essential during your stay to communicate with each other and especially for the GPS. Without the GPS it is almost impossible to drive around.Bath is an old city known for its Roman built baths dating back to 60 AD. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon. It attracts a very large number of tourists, especially during the months of April to July.

The Circus is a historic street of large townhouses in the city of Bath, Somerset, England, forming a circle with three entrances - 1768

Royal Victoria Park is located in Bath, England. It was opened in 1830 by the 11-year-old Princess Victoria seven years before her ascension to the throne and was the first park to carry her name,

Pulteney Bridge crosses the River Avon in Bath, England. It was completed by 1774, and connected the city with the land of the Pulteney family which they wished to develop.

Pulteney Bridge view - 1774

Eye catching advert

Tourism in UK is extremely well packaged and marketed. Visiting any attraction is quite expensive by our standards. We took a Hop on Hop off tour of the city and spent quality time exploring the Roman Bath and the Jane Austen Centre, situated in an original Georgian townhouse. Here we learnt about the story of Jane’s time in Bath, and the effect that living here had on her and her writing. We walked a lot, taking in the sights and getting a feel of the city. As you walk along Sydney gardens, you can still imagine ladies in their dresses walking demurely down the street, while dashing young men go down the cobbled streets in curricles. The streets still have an old world look and feel to it.

The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath, commonly known as Bath Abbey,

 Shubhi back to the future in Jane Austins home

Jai writing with a quill

Wants to be an author ???

Finally the Roman Bath

After an exhausting bath

In the olden days people in England had to pay ‘Window Tax’. The number of windows one had determined the tax one had to pay. As you drive along you cannot fail to notice very old houses with just one or two windows. The numbers of windows also are less at the top of the house as the nursery for the children and the servants’ quarters were situated on the topmost floor.  Queen Victoria visited Bath as an eleven year old.  Someone made a comment that the princess wore a dowdy dress and had thick ankles. Apparently the young princess was so hurt that in all her years as queen she never once returned to Bath. Once whilst passing through Bath by train, she ordered her maid to shut the blinds of her carriage, so that the people of Bath could not see her. One can easily finish seeing Bath in a day. The names of a number of roads and buildings were familiar to the ladies because of Georgette Heyer’s novels. 

Restaurant food is pretty expensive, but the helpings are huge. Two of us would share one dish. It worked out well for us as Sushama and I are non veg and Jai and Shubhi are vegetarians. We had our first ‘Fish and Chips’ here. It sets you back by 12 £. The Haddock was delectable. Beer costs 4 to 5 £ a pint.

Lager Comfort

Our first Fish and Chips

The next morning we drove to Stonehenge. After visiting the Great Wall of China, the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, it was extremely disappointing. However for Sushama and me it was a good drive and we learnt how to deal with the GPS, road signs, weather, traffic and the rest. It took some time to get used to driving in UK. It’s good to have one person as the navigator to help out with the turns, exits, speed limits and directions. Sushama and I took turns at driving and navigation. Jai and Shubhi were very vocal back seat drivers.

Finally 'Stonehenge'

I don't know why we are laughing

Extreme Heavy Weight lifting

Brazing the weather

Pre historic dwellings

One to six heave

The last day in Bath was spent driving aimlessly towards Camerton and beyond. We stopped in a few villages to enjoy the country side, the pubs and inns, tasting local cuisine, the market place and the rest.

Typical country side - fascinating

Ice Cream halt by the road side - Village drive

Before entering the pub on Totter Down Lane - Poulton Village

High Five for finding the right pub 

With the lady of the pub - talking history

Cheers in the pub garden

Crown Inn - one of the oldest

We took a beer and lunch break at the ‘Crown Inn’ an extremely old pub in Paulton. Chance favoured us and we landed up in Glastonbury. What a charming, magical, mystical town! Full of colourfully dressed people, tarot card readings, pyramid stones and crystals of all shapes and sizes. The whole town is believed to have been a part of the isle of Avon, King Arthur's place. It has so much character and it absolutely invites you to explore every nook and cranny to find exciting hidden treasures from incense sticks to various strange apothecary type lotions of a myriad different colours. It was a lucky find, hidden away in the middle of a staid English countryside. If one is familiar with the TV serial ‘Dharma and Greg’, Dharma’s friends and family can be found in Glastonbury. It also hosts one of the biggest open air music festivals each year. ‘Glastonbury Festival’ is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts. In addition to contemporary music, the festival hosts dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret, and other arts.

Entrance to Glastenbury - Says it all

A very colourful shop

Next to her favourite colour - Tabebuia rosea

Village Centre

It was a perfect note on which to end our visit to Bath.

Dinners are served very early in pubs, from around 6 to 8 pm and it remains open till 11 PM for drinks. Because of the long drives, the weather and our itinerary we mostly ended up in the cozy comfort of our cottage in the evenings. Single Malt, Vodka and Beer kept us company. Throughout our trip, each time we stayed at an Airbnb, we would visit a general store and stock up on bread, butter, jam, fruits, salads, chicken roast, cheese, eggs, ice-cream and other essentials to support us.

It was one long, endless round of fun.