Day 4:Some more impressions of Haridwar

Dharamshalas(rest houses for piligrims) and Ashrams (hermitages and places of meditation) are synonymous with Haridwar. They have been established by various swamis and yogis and religious institutions over the years. I wanted to stay at a dharamshal in Haridwar but couldnt get a decent one there. I stayed at one in Rishikesh though.

Milk made sweets and delicacies of Haridwar are famous like, rasmalai, rabri and halwa. All hotels and restaurants at Haridwar serve vegetarian food. Alcohol is prohibited.

These mirror artifacts shops dot the busy streets of Haridwar.

You would find many such beads and malas in many shops in the streets of haridwar.

"Gangaji main tel sabun lagakar nahana kapde dhona sakhth mana hai. Aisa karne se paap lagega."

This is what the wall message reads. I smiled when I read it. It means, "Taking a bath at the Ganges with oil and soap is not allowed. If you do so, you would be cursed by the Gods". Nice ploy by the authorities to coerce the sentimental devotees to keep the Ganges clean.

The busy Haridwar

Lord Shiva manning Haridwar

Day 3: Har Ki Pauri- Haridwar

Its 5:30 pm. I am sitting besides the Ganges at Har Ki Pauri. I secured a vantage point from where I would be able to witness the Aarti clearly. Aarti at Har Ki Pauri, of which I had heard so much about. My stopover at Haridwar was only to see the Aarti. All the reading and research that I did about Haridwar drove in one point: Do not miss the aarti at Har Ki Pauri.
And so I am here today in flesh and blood to witness the same. I can sense the ascent in the speed of the flowing river. I am careful to keep my shoes away from the waters, since it is considered disrespectful. I am waiting to get dark. People around me are gradually perching themselves over plastic sheets waiting for the Aarti to begin.

Yutaka, from Kyoto, Japan

I have a bunch of foreigners besides me who are getting restless waiting. I tell them, "Another 1 hour". They sigh. Meanwhile we click pictures and share information about each other. They are in India for an internship program in an NGO.

I look back and am stunned to see every inch of the ghats occupied by milling crowd. I felt elated to be occupying the front row.

And then the Aarti began with the rendition of "Om Jaye Gange Maate". I get goosebumps instantly when the whole gathering joins the aarti aloud. The whole of Har Ki Pauri reverberates with the chants. The experience is soul stirring.

Even the most hardened soul would begin to get the pious and sacred vibes within himself. I felt the same. The dark banks were now illumined with hundreds of diyas which were being offered to the Ganges.

I spent a quiet moment absorbing the experience. After the Aarti was over, I bade farewell to my foreign friends and strolled back towards my room.

DURING THE DAY at Har Ki Pauri:

Earlier at noon I had taken a quick dip in the Ganges before visiting the temple.

I had slowly and consciously touched the waters, realising the sanctity and relevance of the place. It was cold.

I was also scared to get into it. For some reason, the flow of the Ganges is too strong and mighty at the ghats in Har ki Pauri. I held on to the iron fetters and stepped into it gingerly. The waters stung me like bolt. I took a deep breath and took a full dip inside. It was invigorating. I braved the dip twice more and came out. Its widely believed that a dip here at the Ganges would wash away all your past sins. I felt cleansed. I felt really ;)

Day 3: The wierd looking tempos on Meerut Road

Soon after you hit the Meerut Road from Delhi, you will witness them dotting the roads and sideways rather imposingly. It looks terribly ugly, with its hood cover open laying bare its inner contraptions. When in motion, you can actually feel its interiors snorting, whishing, puffing and swooshing in comical orchestration.

I am not sure they were manufactured that way, or the hood has been removed. But they werent just one or two, but many many of them.

You wouldnt find them again after touching Roorkee. These species only inhabit this part of the world and may be are on the verge of extinction.

Day 3: Delhi to Haridwar on Bus

(Delhi Nizamuddin station)

4:40 am: Reachd Delhi Nizamuddin station. Got down the train rather groggily as I had slept like a log the night before. The kind TC had bestowed opon me a berth inspite of me not having a reservation. Though a bribe of 100 Rs did the trick, still I am very much thankful to him.
Getting a bath at the station waiting room got me fresh as a daisy for the day ahead. Meanwhile my gaze fell on the newspaper headlines:

"40 dead in Islamabad blasts"

Not a good note to start the trip to Haridwar. I shook myself out of it and caught an autorickshaw to ISBT bus stop, from where I would get my bus to Haridwar.

(ISBT Bus Depot)

6:30 am: Purchased a bus ticket to Haridwar for the Uttarakhand Pariwahan bus. It cost me 116 Rs. There was a tinge of chill in the air and with it the familiarity of the city. I have always loved Delhi. I have stayed here for two years. Got my first job here. Memories came gushing. A quick munch on 'chole bhature' and then I sat plumly in the front seat adjacent to the driver, snugging my leather jacket a little tighter and enjoying the early morning ride.

(Meerut)

7:10 am: I crossed Meerut and am dissapointed that it is raining. I ask the driver and he said its been raining since a week. The newspaper carried a piece mentioning about 20 people being killed in land slides due to incessant rains in Himachal. Though I am not heading to Himachal, still not a good sign again. Lets see if I can salvage something good out of it.

( Kathauli)

9:05 am: I am at Kathauli. A busy town and its still raining. 20 minutes stop at Cheetal Hotel. Sipped tea and clicked photos.

10:00 am: Sky has cleared. Mist around. Feels good. Mood is ebulient. Can see sugar cane fields on either side of the road. Children on their way to school. As I write, the Sun is out beating down hard.

10:20 The milestone reads, Badrinath 399 kms

11:20 am: Enter Uttarakhand border.

11:50 am: Reach Roorkee
Roorkee to me is synonymous to IIT. Have heard about this place since ages. On face value it looked a very neat and planned town. Could be because of the army cantonments.

( Haridwar)

12: 15 am: Wow I am at Haridwar.

Day One: Secunderabad to Delhi

What a start to the much hyped trip of mine! At 8:30 pm at Secunderabad station, when I asked at the enquiry, on which platform Sampark Kranti would arrive, I invited a godamn-you-good-for-nothin look. I sensed danger. The guy smirked and said, "Sampark Kranti left at 5:30 pm already". I was flummoxed. It cant be. I had seen the ticket timings atleast a dozen times and registered in my mind. In a frustrating bid to prove him wrong, I pulled out the neatly folded sleeper class ticket and thrusted onto him. He gave me an even meaner look. "Dikhte to padhe likhe ho"(seem like an educated one), he retorted. I scanned the ticket again and realised my folly. I hadn't looked a bigger fool than now ever before. I had mistook the time of purchase on the ticket for the train timing. I beat a hasty retreat from the place, gathered my wits and pondered my next course of action.

I cancelled my ticket and picked the next following train, Dakshin Express at 11 pm without reservation.

My adventure had begun. But this was uncalled for.

The Great Himalayan Odyssey begins tomorrow!

Ok the D-day has finally come. I would be on my first ever solitary voyage to the mighty Himalayas from tomorrow which would last for the next 15 days. I would be away from the civilization surrendering myself completely to the laps of the great mountains. My excitement in all these days of awaiting has reached its zenith and is now mildly replaced by tentativeness. Because I havent travelled this long ever alone. But even that feeling is tantalizingly alluring. The reason I picked Himalayas was because of its enormity and magnanimity. The stillness and giantness of its presence is so self assuring that you would want to see it eye to eye and get all your questions answered from it. That’s exactly what I intend to get. To find answers to all my questions that have been plaguing me all my life. Because its the Himalayas who have seen it all for 5000 years. The bear testimony to the changes in civilizations that have come and gone. Be it the Aryans Be it the Mongols or the Indo Europeans. I want to recharge my batteries and come back afresh to lead the next course of my life. To shake myself up of all the drudgery and mediocrity and start living again in all its truest sense. A big influence for me to take this trip the book, “Autobiography of a Yogi”, which speaks about the great sages and yogis of India who walked these mighty mountains and glorified India. I hope to meet someone from their lineage and attempt to gain some sagely wisdom. But I am unsure if mortals like me can actually be blessed with such divine serendipity.

So where all I intend to go. I have no fixed agenda. There is no fun in planning when you visit such places. You should follow your instincts and surrender to the force. I would take a train till Delhi. But after that I have no prepared plans. Bus, hitchhiking, biking, walking? I have no clue.




So here is where all I plan to visit.:

From Delhi—> Haridwar—>(give a miss to Rishikesh on my way up)—>DeoPrayag—> Srinagar(nope this is not the Kahmir waala Srinagar)—>Rudraprayag—>Chamoli—> Joshimath—>Auli—>Valley of Flowers—> Badrinath—>Mana

Of the above places, Deoprayag is the place where Alakananda and Bhagirathi merge to form the Ganges on the way to Badrinath.

In Rudraprayag, Mandakini and alakananda meet.

Joshimath: The religious centre, established by Adi Shankaracharya, which he called Jyotirmath,

Auli is a skiing resort which hosts the skiing festival every year.

Mana village is the last Indian village before Tibet . Mana village has the Ganesh and Vedavyas caves, where veda Vyas penned the Mahabharata.


From Mana—> Joshimath—>Gaurikund—>kedarnath—>Uttarkashi

I will give their details when I be there. But with whatever little I researched , each of these places are special and exciting in their own ways.