TRAVEL IDEAS: A Pilgrimage Special: At Buddha's Birthplace

The paper reported today that rescuers searched for more than 100 missing people after a steel footbridge collapsed in remote western Nepal, sending scores plunging into icy Himalayan waters. The only place I visited in Nepal was Lumbini and that was of course, during my recent pilgrimage. I remember bridges there were rather narrow and only one vehicle could cross it at anyone time and it was really a wonder that there was no traffic light or a police to direct the traffic. Lumbini is really a small drab town in Rupandehi District but being the place where Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama who later became the Buddha, it has become an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists besides Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya, and Sarnath. .In Buddha's time, Lumbini was supposed to be a beautiful garden full of green shady Sal tree under which Siddhartha Gautama came into the world. Our visit to Lumbini was mainly to visit Mayadevi Temple which marked the exact spot where the birth took place. There, we had a prayer session at Asoka pillar which is just outside the temple.

Visiting Mayadevi Temple in Lumbini, Nepal...