[cartrail]

Introduction

This is the travelogue of my trip by train to Shegaon, Shri Gajanan Maharaj Temple. I had done this journey with my family in September 2022. And posting about a year later . Also, this is my first thread on TeamBHP. So, ignore my writing mistakes.

Shegaon is in Buldhana District in Maharashtra. We had booked train tickets for Shegaon in advance as trains on this Mumbai-Nagpur route are mostly full. The plan was to stay for 2 days at Shegaon Bhakta Niwas. And return by Train on Day 3. The total time to travel to Shegaon by train is about 8 to 9 hours. The distance is about 600 KM. There are many trains on this route. One can also reach Shegaon via Road through Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway.

So, here starts the travelogue.

We boarded the CSMT-Amravati Express at 8.30 PM at Thane Railway Station. The station was very crowded at that time as usual. The train arrived in time and it had LHB coaches. The locomotive of the train was WAP-7. The coaches were very clean and seemed to be new. Our 3AC Coach was fully occupied. The journey was quite comfortable. The train was running at good speeds touching 110 Km/h. We reached Shegaon the next day at 5.08 AM on time. There was no delay at all.




Amravati Express at Shegaon Railway Station

The platform was quiet as it was morning time. After waiting for about 5 minutes outside the station, a bus from Shree Gajanan Maharaj Sansthan arrived. The buses run about every hour to pick up and drop devotees from Railway Station to Temple, Bhakt Niwas and vice versa. And also they are free of cost for everyone. This is a very good service by the Temple. One does not need to take a rickshaw because of this.


Accommodation

Shegaon has accommodation facility by Temple Sansthan. There are about 3 Bhakta Niwas in Shegaon. One is near Temple. And the other two are located 3 Km away from the Temple. Anand Vihar Bhakta Niwas and Visawa Bhakta Niwas are huge and have a very beautiful and relaxing premise. These two are good for stay.


Both the Bhakta Niwas on either side of Highway

We were going to stay at Anand Vihar Bhakta Niwas. The bus dropped us at the Bhakta Niwas. In this complex, there are several 2-story buildings that have both cooler and AC Rooms. The cost of the rooms is very affordable with 4 Person AC Room at Rs. 950. The rooms were clean. And also had a Hot Water facility available. Also, the Bhakta Niwas has a huge parking space available.

But online advance booking is not available and rooms are given on a First Come First Serve basis. Room availability might be an issue in Peak Season and holidays. Although there are many rooms available in both of the complexes, AC, Non AC and Air Cooler rooms. There are also dormitory accommodations available for single travellers. The rooms are available only for families. And valid ID proof is required at the time of booking.

Here are some pictures of the Anand Vihar Bhakta Niwas premises.






Visiting Temple

In the morning we had breakfast at Prasadalaya. The Poha, Upma and Sabudana Khichdi tasted good. After breakfast at Bhakta Niwas, we took the Sansthan Bus to Shree Gajanan Maharaj Temple. The temple is very huge and was also very clean. We took Darshan and there was not that rush as it was a weekday. We got darshan in 10 minutes. The crowd is well-managed. The temple is beautiful. With ample space to sit.



After darshan, we returned to Bhakta Niwas by Bus. We had lunch at Bhakta Niwas Prasadalaya. The lunch is available at a donation of Rs. 50 . In which there are 2 curries, chapati, rice, dal, and sweets. The food was warm and tasted good. In the evening tea and coffee are also available. And at night after 7.00 PM we had dinner at Prasadalaya. We do not need to leave the Bhakta Niwas for food. From Breakfast to Dinner everything is available there from time to time. So one does not need to worry about food here.


Anand Vihar Bhakta Niwas Prasadalaya Building

The accommodation facility has relaxing premises with many trees and benches. Also, the Sevekaris of Shree Gajanan Maharaj keep the premise clean continuously. They are seen cleaning with brooms from morning to night. There was not even a single litter on the floor.


The greenery in Bhakta Niwas and Sevekaris seen cleaning the premises.




Idol of Lord Vitthal

Day 2

On the next day, we visited nearby temples in Shegaon. We took a rickshaw near the temple and visited many temples nearby Shegaon. The temples were beautiful. And the greenery was serene. We then returned to Bhakta Niwas.







For the return journey, we were going to board the Nagpur-CSMT Sewagram Express at 1.30 AM. And there was a bus available to go to the station even at 1.00 AM at night. The train arrived at around 2.00 AM and had WAG-7 Locomotive. The coaches were Utkrisht Coaches which are refurbished ICF coaches painted in Yellow. The coach was not clean and the previous passengers had left all the litter on the seat. Also, the coach was not as comfortable as that of the LHB coaches of the Amravati Express. We reached Thane at 11.30 AM.

The trip was very good. The train journey was comfortable. And stay at Bhakta Niwas was excellent. I can say that it is the best Bhakta Niwas I have stayed at least in Maharashtra. Overall it was a good experience. I conclude my travelogue here. Thanks for reading.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[condor]

@carTail, thanks for that post.

Is the Gajanan Maharaj temple his Samadhi sthal or a temple ?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by condor

@carTail, thanks for that post.

Is the Gajanan Maharaj temple his Samadhi sthal or a temple ?

The Temple is indeed the Samadhi sthal for Gajanan Maharaj.

The thread makes me yearn to go to Shegaon, its been a decade since I have been there.