When I was a kid, an outdoor trip mostly means to Vidyapatidham. Vidyapatidham, also called as Bajidpur or Vidyapatinagar is a historical Nirvana place of great Maithili poet Vidyapati. It is only at ten Kilometers from my hometown Dalsinghsarai. I remember visiting this small temple town almost ten times with my brother, my cousins and other relatives. Some of these trips were by bicycle and more than twenty years back. After darshan in temple, we used to eat puri-sabji or chana in small eateries outside temple. Sometimes we used to buy some wooden toys and famous Badh lai (a sweet dish) as well.
Vidyapatidham is believed to be the place where the renowned poet breathed his last in search of Maa Ganga. Due to his failing health, he was not able to reach the banks of Ganga. Local stories says that the Ganga river changed its course to reach him to fulfill his wish. There is a famed temple of lord Shiva in Vidyapatidham in commemoration of this great poet and devotee of Lord Shiva. A statue of Vidyapati is placed in the middle of the town. This place can be reached by train and there s a tourist bungalow as well to host people.
This year when I visited my hometown on Durgapuja holiday, we planed to visit this small rustic temple town again. A family trip to Vidyapatidham temple was always in the wish list of my mother. We hired E-rickshaw which charged us two hundred rupees for both side journey. Reaching there doesn't take more than half hour. When we entered in the temple premises, I felt the time is stuck and there is no major changes except newly painted boundary walls.. Flower vendors are sitting on chowkis with big umbrellas above them. People used to wash their legs from same well before entering into temple. Devotees taking walk in numerous temple around the main red colored Shiva temple. After puja, we came outside temple premises. Walking in temple lane reminded me my old days in Vidyapatidham.
