VADODARA, May 17: Even as people are looking for faster, comfortable and sophisticated modes of travelling, Jaisingh Ganpat Mohite, 71, believes in walking a 40-km stretch to the shrine of Lord Ranchhodji in Dakor three times every month. Though he is not the only one to undertake the pilgrimage, Mohite stands apart from the crowd as he has not faltered even once in the past 26 years.Nothing -- torrential rains, scorching sun, or freezing winters -- has ever deterred him from undertaking his holy journey.
Mohite, who lost his father at the age of two and had to give up school after the primary section, recalls first visiting the shrine with his mother in his early childhood. But his passion really took shape when he accompanied a friend to the shrine. His friend had vowed to walk to the shrine on five consecutive purnimas hoping that his wife would be cured of cancer.
Though his friend stopped the pilgrimage after he had lived up to his vow, Mohite -- who now earns a living by selling bags near the Government Press in Anandpura after retiring at the age of 60 from a textile mill -- decided to continue with it. ``That was the turning point in my life,'' he says. His journey to Dakor on every purnima, and on both agiyaras (11th phase of the moon) of the month, has now become a habit for him.
The journey takes about 14 hours. ``I start at 4 in the morning and reach there by 6 in the evening,'' he says. Mohite remembers walking through fields and also through the Mahi river. But with cataract affecting one of his eyes, Mohite today uses the roads and the bridge while on the journey.
``The river gets flooded during the monsoon and it is riskier,'' he explains.His pilgrimage (called Khada Punam, or walking without a break) has also added to his experiences. Mohite was once attacked by some robbers. Though this did not scare him from undertaking his pilgrimage, he has since avoided the Sarsa route.
Once, while walking through the fields of Chhani village, Mohite sprained his ankle. ``The journey was painful. But I completed it within the normal time schedule,'' he beams, as he thinks he passed a `test'.
After reaching the temple, Mohite takes a darshan, attends the aarti and takes the next bus home. He cannot afford to spend more time there for he has to be back at his larri, which has been a constant factor in his life since the age of 17. ``My clients are demanding,'' he says, adding that he is the only earning member in a family of nine.
But Mohite is a little sceptical of publicity. ``I do (the pilgrimage) with the Lord's shakti,'' he says, apprehensive that the shakti may wane if he went out of his way to court publicity.
