Mathura... Inside Out.

Well, starting at 5:40 am from my place to catch a 6:00 am train from H.Nizamuddin station, me and Vasanth reached train at 5 minutes to 6 in the chilly cold of a overcast morning on my bike without helmets.
Ayodhyā Mathurā Māyā Kāsi Kāñchī Avantikā I

Purī Dvārāvatī chaiva saptaitā moksadāyikāh II - Garuḍa Purāṇa I XVI .14

Ayodhya, Mathura, Hardwar(Maya), Varanasi(Kasi), Kanchipuram(kanchi), Ujjain(Avantika), Puri and Dwaraka(the lost town of Dwaravati) are the Seven holiest cities to visit for Hindus. 

My score is five out of six existing!

It had rained all day before and we were really skeptical about the weather. I checked the satellite feed from INSAT 3C and was pretty convinced to find clear skies. But my expectation were being continuously tossed around by the view outside the train window... when the sun looked like moon and nothing was visible after 10 meters of distance. The fog was playing its part and our train was already running late from the scheduled time.

Just as my GPS told me we were closing in Mathura, the weather started to clear off and I was able to see NH2 running parallel to the train track and cars successfully defeating us in speed.

We got down at the Mathura Jn. Having had our breakfast in train only, we headed straight to Holi Gate on a cycle-rickshaw. 

From there onwards, it was a pair of cameras and two of us capturing the morning activities like breakfast of jalebis and kachoris, the distribution of milk and milk products, the cleaning up of clogged drains, the people striding towards temples and coming out with huge chandan smeared foreheads.

We headed straight to the river and hired a boat. We were on a focussed mission, to map 24 ghats and their extent along the river and be able to photograph it before we lose the sun on the face of the ghat.

We went up and down the stream twice to capture the ghat from a distance and then looked at all the possibilities of outcomes and designs to the other side of the river.

The Depth of the river and the clarity in sky made sure that the river acts like a mirror, and gave amazing quality to the photographs.

We had two bridges crossing over the river and both were framing the river in a unique manner.

We left the boat and went on a walk along the ghats capturing various important locations and then reaching on that railway bridge which had a pedestrian movement alongside. We crossed the river over that bridge only to find that the distance is very much pedestrian friendly and people do miss such a link across and are forced to use the railway bridge.

We were really thirsty by the time we had walked across the bridge and back. We went over to buy water and the walked into the Chatta Market to eat jalebis.

Then we walked back to Holi Gate and tried to find a decent place to sit and eat lunch.

We went to a restaurant called "Cyber Cafe" and had decent lunch.

We again took a cycle rickshaw back to the railway station and bought "General" tickets. Now we waited for the train to come and then leave, as it was too crowded to even think of getting in. Just after that came another one and we found that the General coaches were relatively empty and we could find the seats to sit and even sleep upon. That was a situation I saw after a very very long time.

And there came the end of our journey at the same place as it started, only difference being the sudden downpour which started as we entered Faridabad. It was fine by the time we got off at Nizammudin and I could race my bike back without getting drenched!

And there was a parallel activity which made the day. I bought "2 states" by Chetan Bhagat and started reading it while on the station, waiting for our return train. As soon as we found seats in that general compartment, and I continued reading, I got a chance to hear a parallel "straight from the horse's mouth", and i didn't miss it! ;-)