Day2 - 17 May 2008- Haridwar and Rishikesh

Having had a good night's rest, and keen to cover as much ground as possible within the limited time at our disposal, we set off at 7.45 AM in the direction of Rishikesh. Ever since I read ( and re-read) books on and by the Himalayan Master,Swami Rama, I had nursed a hope of staying at the Ashram founded by him (called Sadhana Mandir) at Ram nagar, a few kilometers away from Rishikesh. So, that became our first stop for the day.

Away from the hustle and bustle of Rishikesh town, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, Sadhana Mandir is located on the banks of the holy river, Ganga or the Ganges. Surrounded by beautiful flowering plants, mango trees and a lotus pond, a quiet and serene atmosphere pervades over the ashram. The ashram totally lived up to my expectations!

It has about 30 guest rooms which open out to the view of a wide and calm River Ganga flowing along at its own sweet pace. A tarred road on a tank bund separates the Ashram buildings from the River. Across the river , can be seen dense jungles and small hillocks.

I chatted briefly with the manager Mr. KP Singh, a retired police officer, and found that the room rent was so inexpensive! Just Rs. 200 per day incl of food ! WOW ! I pledged then and there that I would return and spend more time at the Ashram some day.

After spending about a half hour inside the premises and walking by the peaceful bank of the ganges, listening to the chirping of exotic birds and other sounds of nature, we proceeded towards Ram Jhula near the town of Rishikesh. Ram Jhula is a modern and picturesque suspension bridge, with Himalayan foothills in the backdrop. It has room for only foot traffic and in India that includes feet of cattle, so, one has to be careful while walking ! The nearby Laxman Jhula is an older bridge more famous for being the location where some of the well known Hindi movies have been shot. There are several “touristy” ashrams which one can visit along the banks of the river to learn Yoga and meditation. For the adventurous, there is the possibility of experiencing river rafting on the Ganges from the several adventure sports companies located upstream from Rishikesh. One could spend endless hours shopping for stones, gems, necklaces, although it is better to have a guide with you if you want genuine stuff. (Yes, one could get ripped off in holy places too !)

A few pictures later, realising that the dull roaring sound was not from the river below but from my stomach, we broke fast at a very famouseatery called 'Chotiwalla's' The name roughly translates into "Man with a tuft of hair like an antenna". I was amazed at the variety of cuisines this joint had- Chinese, Gujarati, Punjabi, South Indian, you name it...Apparently, It is an ISO 9000 certified eatery. Now, thats food for some thought, eh?? :-)

A garishly made up actor sits outside the eatery dressed as a Chotiwala and serves as an excellent advertisement to get hungry tourists inside. Like everyone else, we posed for pictures with him.

As I watched the River Ganga from high up on the multi storied Tryambakeshwar temple, I was struck by a thought. The range of activities that people perform on Gangaji is amazing. They wash themselves in it, immerse the ashes of the dead, they use it for white water rafting ; and some rather unmentionable activities as well. And Yet, the mighty river moves on- Undaunted and unperturbed- almost challenging man to try and disturb her.

Like at Haridwar, religious tourism reaches a Zenith at Rishikesh. Spirituality and religion are for sale everywhere - from sacred beads to ‘OM’ emblazoned T-shirts to books and CDs on Yoga and meditation, gemstones and jewellery. There is no dearth of buyers and business is booming. The ubiquitous ‘foreign’ tourists in search of Nirvana are a big help in improving the economy of the area! Most of them are very “clued in”- totally at ease with the local culture, cuisine and incredibly, even the sometimes annoyingly hot weather. You can see them everywhere - typically in grungy dresses with Indian spiritual motifs, staying at Ashrams, eating local cuisine, shopping, even bargaining for goods ! (Not something one could do in a western mall ! )
It really made me sit up and think – how a lot of educated Indians aspire to ‘Go West’ to get rich and have it all and here you can see ‘the westerners’ leaving the material comforts of their homes in the distant west and thoroughly enjoying their quest for Nirvana in places like Rishikesh !

Coming back to the Journey, we proceeded towards our next halt of the temple called Neelkanth Mahadev. This is where lord Shiva is said to have swallowed poison and locked it in hes throat , in order to save Humanity from its effects. Due to the poison, His throat turned Blue , hence the name Neel Kanth (BlueThroat) . Frankly, I did not find it different from any other crowded temple. But the road to and from the shrine had many interesting scenic spots along the way!

On the way back to Haridwar, stopped for lunch at Raiwalla at Midway resorts. Had a rather overpriced lunch there and set out for the Chandi Devi temple at Haridwar. The temple is on a hill overlooking Haridwar and can be reached via a ropeway, Since I had not used the ropeway in India at all, I was looking forward to the opportunity. A short ride of 5 minutes later (costing Rs 80 per person for a 2 way ride. Totally worth it... considering the views en route and the utter silence of the hills as the ropeway ascends ...!

Back to our accomodation by 7.45 PM, we had missed the very popular Ganga Aarati held daily evening on the banks of the River Ganga. Instead, after dinner, we sat down on the riverfront at 'Har-ki-Pauri' for about an hour just watching life go by. The entire riverfront is a big, brightly lit marketplace with people selling a lot of the 'spiritual' sounding knick knacks and a huge number of vegetarian hotels all providing vegetarian fare.

I also ventured into the parallel road of the riverbank to meet my travel agent and the walk was priceless.It is something like mixing the street of Las vegas squeezed into the space of a small room. Blindingly bright lights, rows of shops selling curios, jewellery, souvenirs ... and oh so delicious Sweeets like rabdi and Jalebis!! Yum Yum !

Another day gone.. quite tired but also excited and ready to begin the main journey the next day... See you tomorrow as we start off early morning towards Yamunotri, the sacred birthplace of River Yamuna.

Day1 - 16 May 2008- Delhi.

Travelling for 2 nights and a day in air conditioned comfort in the Rajdhani express was alright, but getting out at 6 AM to the Delhi heat was altogether another experience. Especially, for someone used to the cooler climes of Bangalore, It was like being thrust into a blast furnace without any protection. :-)

We had arrived at Hazrat Nizamuddin- the railway station for the area named after a renowned Sufi master , Nizamuddin Auliya .

My cousin Namita had very thoughtfully arranged for her car and driver to pick us up from the station and drop us to a hotel that I had booked. As we drove past the 'Dargah' of Nizamuddin, looking at the wide open space and the towers within, I had the urge to visit it right then. Somehow, didn't do that. Will go one day, for sure.

The hotel , named Gold regency- no less (!), was just minutes away from the New Delhi railway station from where we had to take the train to Haridwar at around 4 PM. So, we had close to 9 hours of stopover at Delhi.

The paharganj lane where the hotel was situated, was as narrow as can be and I was quite amazed when the driver turned around the Honda city in a classic 3-point turn within that small lane. The lane was full of shops and got extremely busy as the day progressed ( See Pic).

The entrance to our hotel did not look too appealing and I suddenly had misgivings about having taken a room there. Would we have to stay in a matchbox sized room with cockroaches for company, I wondered.

To my relief, the lobby looked better and the room was not too bad either. In fact, at Rs 500 for an AC double room, I thought it was a steal. Ask me why? Because I remember having shelled out 35 Euros (Around Rs. 2100) for a much smaller room, minus the AC, in downtown Paris a few years ago. In these matters, there's really no place like my wonderful India ! Mera bharat truly Mahaan !

My dear friend Gaurav Gupta, the quintessential Delhiite, member of my team and lunch group at my previous firm, called and said that he'd come over to meet us at the hotel around 10 AM. All of us had showered and had a brief nap by 9.30 AM and were ready to go out, the heat notwithstanding. So, Gaurav comes in and says, "Chalo". I asked "where"? And he replied Gurudwara bangla sahib. It was located close by and really worth a visit. I was intrigued because I had never heard of this place before.

Although in the heart of the city near connaught place, the Gurudwara is housed in quite a large area. As I saw the spacious structure with golden domes and a large lake called as the Sarovar, I was mesmerised. I felt a sense of peace pervading the entire area. The inner sanctorum has the holy book of Sikhs, the 'Guru granth Sahib' placed on a golden pedestal. The hall is simple yet elegant. Devotional music can be heard at al times. There is a small tank where water is said to emanate from a natural spring and is called as 'Amrit'.

The water from this pond is said to have been sanctified by the 8th guru of Sikhs, Shri Harkishen Sahib. When he visited the site many years ago, there was an epidemic of smallpox in and around Delhi. At the request of the then owner of this area, Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur, the Guru visited the place and kept his feet in the pond. Since then, whoever drank the water, got cured of the small pox. Even now, it is considered holy water and everyone who visits the place does partake of the 'Amrit' which is said to have healing powers.

When we went in, there were volunteers pouring the 'Amrit' from the tank into the palms of devotees and visitors. Everyone just filed in a line, drank the water and moved on. For some reason, one of the volunteers (very good looking sikhwith designer glasse, I noticed) pulled us aside and even without us asking, narrated the story and the background of the holy water , including the details about when and how it all occured. In some way, I felt we had been blessed.... because I noticed no one else was being given any kind of special treatment like us. I took it as a good omen and the thought suddenly struck me... Wow ! What a way to begin a long pilgrimage- An unscheduled trip to a holy site with holy water and special treatment thrown in

as a bonus!

Back to the hotel and a simple yet delicious packed lunch from my cousin Namita's place. We asked Gaurav to share the food with us and amidst a lot of ribbing about his impending marriage, we had a nice conversational lunch among the 5 of us.

Lunch over, Good byes were said to Gaurav and Namita. It was soon time to catch the train onward to Haridwar at 4 PM. Although I had made the reservation for the train online, I had not been able to get AC or even a sleeper ticket. The coach was a chair car and WITHOUT A/C! I thought that since it was just a 4 hour journey, we would somehow manage it. Big mistake !

The heat was truly ON! and for the next 4 and a half hours, I must have sweated a few buckets for sure...What a relief then that as the train approached Haridwar around 8.30 PM, mother nature showered rains all around and the air became cool ! I thought it was the perfect end to a gruelling, hot, 5 hour journey.

Tushar Nath, the main man from Haridwar based Shivalik travels was there waiting for us outside the station with our rented white Ambassador car which would be our mode of transport for the next 10 days or so. Although, quite an eyesore compared to modern cars, it is THE best car for Indian roads, especially Indian hill roads. Extremely rugged, the older version can still seat 3 people in the front and 3 at the back comfortably with lots of space for luggage in the boot. Arvind Sharma, the cab driver, who would be our friend, companion and guide for the 'Char dham' circuit, turned out to be a pleasant chappie who was a local and had been in the business for the last couple of decades. Finally, reached Manidweep Ashram, our accomodation at Haridwar, arranged very kindly for us as mentioned earlier, by Superintendent of Police of the neighbouring district of Rorkee. Had a quick dinner outside and crashed. Oh.. what blessed sleep ! Dreaming of what the journeys hold for us over the next 10 days !

Back to blogging ... after a 2 year gap!!

Finally.... my writer 's block (or rather blogger's block) seems to have gone! Hopefully, I will be more regular in blogging now.

My first post was 3 years ago... almost to the day- May 12, 2006. I was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on an assignment. I had an audience online to share my thoughts with.... I had felt so excited!

My last post was in January 2007. And then something happened... too busy at work, home, life in general... and I stopped doing something which I feel comes so naturally to me... writing about myself :-)

So, what prompted me to get back to blogging Now???

A trip. Or rather, the memories of a trip - which I made with my parents exactly a year ago. Everything about the trip now seems quite amazing. The manner and speed in which it got planned. The complete confidence with which we planned it...blissfully unaware of so many possible ways in which it could go all wrong. The wonderful support that we received from so many quarters, some of it totally unexpected. The many instances of divine grace which seemed to flow like a stream throughout the journey. So many occurrences when things went totally wrong .. and then righted themselves ... miraculously :-). The total experience of India as it IS. The fresh mountain air... The rivers and streams... The heat and dust. The sights and sounds ... For some time, the feeling of being detached from the world...( imagine.. No mobile network for TEN days!!)

All these and more memories flood through my mind and make me want to share them. As it happened. I had wanted to write about it all soon after the trip... but never got around to it...

So, finally, after a long break, I have the perfect excuse; no, the perfect reason, to get back to blogging. Be warned though... when the urge strikes, I really churn out long posts... So, read at leisure... :-)

For the next couple of weeks, I will share through this blog whatever happened on that day exactly 1 year ago.

Here goes... First some background to the trip itself.

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Sometime last year, around this time, I realised that I had not taken a big break from work for a long , long time.It looked like my work-life balance was heavily tilted towards the work side.I really, really needed a break! Soon after, my mother asked me– “Son, When are you taking us to Badrinath?” That did it. I decided to start planning a trip to Badrinath. After all, what better way to take a break than to get away from it all and breathe in some fresh mountain air? For the uninitiated, Badrinath, up in the north Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, is considered as one of the holiest places for a hindu to visit. While looking it up on the internet, I found that a lot of the pilgrims who visited Badarinath also visited Yamunotri, Gangotri (sources of the Sacred rivers Yamuna and Ganga respectively) and Kedarnath. Collectively, the four sites are termed as ‘Char-Dham’. Now, I thought-How about that? It made sense to cover all the four places as we were anyway traveling so far. My parents then went a step further saying that they wanted to visit another 3 sacred sites in the towns of Varanasi, Gaya, Allahabad. This was becoming a full fledged pilgrimage across north and central India and I was getting really excited just thinking about it.

We would need at least 10 days in the mountains for the 'char dham' and a week or so for the other sites. Some quick calculation and we found that even if we did the trip as soon as we could, it would take at least 18 days to cover completely. Which meant at least 12 days of vacation from work!! At first, asking for that much vacation seemed daunting, but soon I realised, it was perfect timing.. I was in the mid of transitioning from one role to another and work wise, it was not a particularly busy period for me. The first of the many miracles happened : My bosses were kind enough to approve the entire 12 work days of leave!

Now, on to the actual planning.. We thought of travelling by train to Hardwar with a change-over at Delhi. A rented taxi for 10 days would have us covering the 'Char Dham' circuit from Hardwar to Hardwar. Then, on by train to Varanasi, Gaya , Allahabad and finally back to home sweet Bangalore.

The enthusisasm was so high that the potential problems of the very short notice available for booking travel and accomodation at 10 different destinations just didn't occur to me. Thank God it didn't... otherwise I would have abandoned the journey before it began!

As it happened, we got help ... in various ways. A retired senior police officer -(ex) colleague of my dad (God bless him :-) ) - put us in touch with the local police SP who helped to book good accomodation for us at Haridwar. The local police SP also checked on and ensured that we had a reputable travel agency to rent the taxi from at Hardwar for the Char dham trip.

My dad's colleague, through local police again, also ensured that we had excellent and very reasonably priced accomodation at Allahabad with a car at our disposal thrown in for good measure.

The internet came in very handy for making the train bookings... few clicks of the mouse and I had my printed tickets in hand. No more waiting in long queues at railway stations.

Also booked a hotel room just opposite Delhi Railway station for a very reasonable rate through the internet. Truly, the power of the internet has revolutionised India as never before.

Finally, we were all packed and set to leave Bangalore for Delhi by train on the night of the 14th May, 2008. As we chugged along in the auto rickshaw to the railway station, I was still in a daze that we were actually doing the trip. I also had a couple of other thoughts- I was sorry that I could not take my wife and daughter along- Daughter was just over 2 years old and wouldnt be able to take the rough and tumble of the trip. The other thought was... How the hell did we manage to stuff in about 11 (or was it 8?) pieces of baggage AND the three of us in ONE auto???

Anyways, Got into the right train at the right time (you will realise why I mention this later)- the Rajdhani express from Bangalore to Delhi - It is really comfortable and it was a pleasure to travel in for 2 nights and a day. Reached Delhi on the early morning of 16th.

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So, what did we do on the 16th May, 2008? That, my dear reader, is in my next post which I publish on the night of 16th May, 2009. Till then... Ciao and have fun !