We were going to see the tigers. But when I saw the queue of vehicles at the entrance of the forest, I knew I wasn’t going to see even a domestic cat. It looked like a Jeep sales mela! Nevertheless, driving through the bumpy forest road flanked by tall Sal trees with sunlight streaming through the canopy of leaves is an almost meditative experience. At the end of the half-an-hour drive was the Sitavani Temple — an Archaeological Survey Of India (ASI) protected heritage site inside the Sitabani forest bordering Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand.

Sita is believed to have lived here with her sons, Luv and Kush, after Rama sends her on exile. It is also here that she’s believed to have disappeared into Mother Earth during agnipariksha.

A flight of stone steps leads to the ancient temple and a pond below. But before that, one encounters a relatively new temple. Here, you’ll find a man in saffron robes surrounded by ‘framed’ paraphernalia trying to attain nirvana, possibly. I don’t know about the spiritual value-add of his to the place, but he is an excellent photo-op.

According to ASI, the temple site is said to have been the hermitage of Maharishi Balmiki. The amlaka stones, one headless dancing Ganesha sculpture, doorjamb, decorated columns and carved slabs scattered near the temple prove the antiquity of the site. 

From the temple, there’s a pathway leading to a pond a level below, where believers believe that Sita is said to have bathed. It is a rich emerald green in colour, surrounded by tall trees and a thick forest on the far side. It has an ethereal beauty to it and looks like a scene straight out of Avatar.

In this place, it is very easy to close your eyes and imagine a world of yore — a time when gods are said to have roamed the Earth alongside humans.

(The author is a travel writer, photographer and artist. She blogs at www.asunnysquare.com)