The Island of Narmada - Omkareshwar. Review on Omkareshwar

The Place named Omkareshwar is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas site in India. It contains the famous Jyotirlinga temple of Shiva, alongwith some other attractions too. It is a perfect weekend getaway for the families. Connected well by road, and worth a visit for religious tourists. I went there twice, once with my family, and once with my wife, so here is the detailed account of Omkareshwar.

The Location- As we may know about Hindu mythology that there are 12 sites where Shiva Jyotirlingas are situated. Out of those 12 sites, one is Omkareshwar, which is situated in Madhya Pradesh, the central state of India. It is situated at a 77 km distance from Indore, a major city of India, and around 61 Km from Khandwa. Omkareshwar Mandir is situated on an island in the midst of Narmada river, the island's name is mandhata, and is located in Khandwa district. On one side of the island lays a big Dam for power generation. It is said that the island was in the shape of Indian Hindu symbol "OM" (as written in Hindi)

How to Reach - Omkareshwar is well connected by the road from nearby cities of Indore and Khandwa. First and foremost information - MP does not have a government bus service, and you'll find private buses plying everywhere, even on Government bus stands. From Indore, you can go to Sarwate Bus stand, situated near Indore Railway station, and can get a bus from there. Only take those buses who said to drop directly to Omkareshwar, and do not take buses who said to drop midway at Mortakka/Sanawad. Omkareshwar lies on Mortakka turn on the Indore to Khandwa route. It is 25 Km from Mortakka. You may get buses from outside the bus stand, the buses who said you to drop directly to Omkareshwar may have another setting. Either they will take you directly or they will drop you at Mortakka from where connecting bus of the same company will be there, you don't need to pay extra for them, you just have to maintain tickets to show further. It will charge Rs. 60 one way. From Khandwa side too, you'll get direct buses to Omkareshwar. Buses from Indore will take around 2-2.5 hrs. If you're planning to go by train, then follow this way. You can get a meter gauge train to Omkareshwar Road station, which is exactly situated at the Mortakka turn. There are 2 trains serving the station from Indore side - 52973 Hingoli Fast Passenger, starting @ 0125 hrs (drop at OR station @ 0426 hrs ) and 52975 Ratlam Akola Fast passenger starting @ 0855 hrs (drop at OR station @ 1204 hrs), but they are mostly late by few or more minutes. From Khandwa side, you can get 52994 fast passenger @ 0245 hrs, 52988 fast passenger @ 0445 hrs, 52992 unreserved passenger @0645 hrs and 52974 fast passenger @ 1315 hrs. For going back its better to stick with private buses, as they will drop you directly at your rRajeev_Vermactive destinations. You can also opt for private taxi, which has charges on per km basis. Consult fully before opting for them.

What to visit - After getting down at Omkareshwar bus stop, head straight towards Omkareshwar mandir, after walking about 1-2 kms through the bazaar. Right at the bus stand you'll find paid and filthy toilets, if you want to use, use it as no other options are there. You can go to the mandir by crossing the bridge over Narmada river, or you can opt for crossing by boats. The boatwalla will charge Rs.5-10 for crossing the small river, it'll take just 2-3 minutes to cross. For full boat at your expense (just for 2), it'll charge Rs.50. You can also opt for bathing in the mid of river, charge comes for Rs.50 per person, where the boatwalla takes you a little further in the downstream river. You can opt for full circle of island, charges vary from Rs.300-500. The boat travel ceases during rainy season, as there is a big Dam full of the water on the other side, and after opening the gate the water rushes to the place. Till you get at the mandir, you'll get many Pandits asking you whether you want to do "Shiva-abhishek", and will say about charging you less, and taking less time, do not opt for them, since "abhishek" is not possible on real shivalinga, they use to perform it outside the mandir on some depiction of Shiva, and I will not consider that as real. Also, When you take Prasad for the mandir, do not take coconuts, since coconut will not be plated to Shiva. You'll also get pandits offering you shortcuts to visit the Shivalinga for just few bucks, you'll find some line at the steps of mandir (after you deposit your shoes at free-shoe counter), and which goes inside in a haphazard manner (no maintenance, if you get inside try pushing slowly to come in front of others), but I'll still say do not opt for short-cuts, since if you are really visiting a mandir, go as per the line or straight way goes. Even in that haphazard line, you'll not waste much time. On a sunday, maximum 1-2 hrs are required. After visiting the main mandir, you can visit other mandirs situated at the vicinity, and then you can opt for "parikrama", which is real-long and covers climbing many stairs on above the island, and on a hot afternoon, it can take a lot of your energy. After that you can go to Mamleshwar temple which is on the other side of Narmada (from the side you came). You can cross the river now by another bridge named as "Mamleshwar setu". It is said that the actual jyotirlinga was broken into two pieces and situated at both these main temples, so it is said to visit this very old temple for sure after visiting the main Omkareshwar temple. After visiting, you can shop in bazaars, and always ask for the correct and short way towards the bus stand, or else you can lost in the gulleys. If you reach the place by 1200 hrs, you can complete visiting it in just 2-3 hrs, excluding "parikrama".

Time to Visit and costing- Anytime is fine, but do try to visit during less-heat time, i.e. summers, since if you're opting walking on bridges, and climbing many stairs on "parikrama", then the intense sun's heat will take a toil on you. For a trip of two, it costs around Rs. 417 excluding any stay (as it was not required) and lunch including bus tickets and buying some eatables/prasad/boat journey.

I've visited the mandir twice, and everytime I was amazed by the location and the journey to the island, You can opt for this weekend getaway if you're on a tour of MP.

GRuchirG.

(: in the process of growing-up :)