M for Mussorie
As i mentioned in Up!!, Mussorie was our favorite summer destination. When the temperature became unbearable in Delhi, all you had to do was whine in front of Papa about the heat and a trip to Mussorie was guaranteed. This may sound like Mussorie was our summer capital, that we had umpteen trips to this hill town, but thats not the case. Our trips to M can be counted on fingers, they werent too many. Just that in childhood, if you revisit a place too often then you think that you own it. And for a forgetful person like me, if i can recall a lane or a landmark in a city, it means i have been there enough times. Additionally, in those days not many middle class families ventured out so much to non-home towns. Summers were rather spent with relatives and cousins.
However much i have boasted about the frequent visits to M, i must confess that i have very little memory left of M. Though there are 2-3 peculiar things i remember, because they were...peculiar. For instance, i remember that i do not use to feel uneasy on these long hours trips like i do now. Can be attributed to the fact that i was very young, me and sister could sleep in the back seat of our fiat car, all stretched out; and we didnt had to bother about driving etc. We enjoyed the terrains, we gleamed at the sight of monkeys, we asked the most irritating question ever - kab pahunchenge papa?? We collected moss from the rocks, we were told it was good for our money plant, we collected dried pine fruit, and after collecting one too many, promised our mum that they all will form part of our some handicraft project (obviously, we threw them after we grew old when we realised they were still lying in our cupboards - mums are so right). We invented games on the road, like collecting points on a particularly colored car and seeing who won at the end of an hour. Red yours, white mine. (in those days there werent too many colors on cars anyway).
Another memory is of getting foto clicked in traditional attire. You know those fotographers who coax you in getting just one foto for memory sake. And this attire is as heavy as its accompanying jewellry. And in velvet green, velvet blue, velvet red!!! My sister used to detest it completely, i used to love it. Now, that i have grown up, i realise why she hated it so much. These guys are still good in business, huh. And how!! Once it must have been so hot in Delhi, that almost everyone headed towards M to take a break. So many cars caused traffic jams in M, haha!! And then the petrol pumps ran out of petrol. Clearly, they were not prepared for this sudden attack on their resources. And to our shock and amazement we could spot our neighbours, uncles and aunts, in this queue whom we thought we had left in the heat.
Taal-talk
A trip to Nainital was offered to all who landed themselves in 9th grade in BVB. There was an optional "trekking and mountaineering" course, which couldnt be fitted in Aravalis in Delhi. Some deal was made with some ashram cum mountaineering centre in Nainital, for the "pupils to learn discipline through yoga and trekking!". Everyone loved it, and why not. What could be more sensational than spending 10 unsupervised days with your classmates at the dawn of teenage!! A group of about 40 students, along with some "friendly" teachers headed to Nainital.
The ashram guidelines given to us were no cakewalk. Rules and more rules for even odd jobs like bathing or eating. The first jolt of shock came when the bus carrying us stopped atleast 2 kms ahead of the ashram. It was a steep road up to the ashram. We were school kids, still used to our parents carrying our bags. And here, we were expected to carry our luggage to the ashram - drag, carry or drop. The amount of khoon (literally) and paseena that went into this humongous task made the other tasks look petty. Getting up really early, doing unneccessary yoga, cleaning your dishes, eating bhindi- tamatar (yuck), sleeping at 9!! And not to forget the real purpose - the mountaineering training. Utterly dangerous! But we did it all. Climbing, repelling, river crossing - i had a 7inches long gash on my neck because of the rope one tied to oneself while repelling. Took ages to go, and so did the suntan + grime.
And oh, the lake!! The lake visit is a historical event in my life. It was a day of great revelation. On that day, i awakened to the fact that i have hydrophobia. I cant bear the sight of large volumes of water, with no foreseeable end. Explained my fear for learning swimming, and boat rides. Along with me, another boy did not go for the customary boat ride - no phobia, his mother had made him promise he wont do it!!! Filmy, huh!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Jammu-Katra - VaishnoDevi
Jammu was part of our elective course in BArch. We were assigned to do a "Sustainable Development Plan for Katra" and that is how we landed in Jammu. A classmate of ours, native to Jammu, organised stay of atleast 20 odd students, at his house!! Generous!! And through his contacts, helped us get into the dusty files in dilapidated offices of Jammu MC to help us plan better. Katra is a small town, the base city from where one embarks upon the journey to Vaishno Devi (VD). Its a slowly disintegrating town succumbing to the load of tourists it has to cater to. Like all base towns to famous pilgrims, this one also faces problems of sustainability and co-existence. I had never seen Katra from this perspective. Once earlier, when we had done our obligatory VD trip, we had stayed one night in Katra, ignorant to its pathetic state. Katra didnt excite me much in school, because it was an academic exercise.
Jammu on the other hand was full of excitement from the time we landed there. A bomb blast at the railway station just a few hours before we were to arrive there. Consequently, minimal options for transport and communication. We walked to the house of this classmate. It wasn’t a pleasant walk on a sunny cold morning since we were tired from the overnight journey and the fear of another blast lingered on. One couldnt call back home since all telephone lines were disconnected, mobile phones were almost non-existent. Roaming around the city after dark was banned. Had to quickly shop for famous walnuts and Rajmah, without the fun of exploring and bargaining. The whole idea was painful at that time, but thrilling when one would narrate it later to other friends and relatives.
And a visit to Katra is a waste without a trip to VD. My first visit to VD was quite painful (as happens with most of us), i had silently promised that i would avoid doing another one. But if the whole bunch of friends are going, then you cant be a coward and stay behind. So i did it the second time also. Just that the second time was less painful, because one knew what one has signed up for. The first visit to VD was with family and another close relative. The elder switched between foot and khacchar. The kids were expected to walk all the way up, which given the age was acceptable. Frankly, the information that the mandir is about 14km from the base didnt bother me in those days. This is because in those days i couldnt comprehend the length of a kilometer. So 14 or 48 would have meant the same. However, these kilometers on hills are exaggerated. I remember i was highly disappointed when we reached ardhkuwari - and was told that this is just the half way. In my mind, i had already crossed 20 kms, if not more. And to admit the rest, in my two visits to VD, i have never dared to go in the cave for ardhkuwari. Some sitting outside the shrine will not hesitate in recalling how one fat lady got stuck because the ceiling is so low, or how one old man couldnt move coz his legs got stuck in the stone - and still encourage you to go. How sadistic!! I have no jigra to land myself in such "tight spots". With full faith and devotion in my heart, i felt Gods will be pleased with my 14km trek and ignore my inadequacies.
After treading those 14 neverending kms, we came to the VD bazaarlane, which houses dharamshalas, puja shops, shoerack shanties, toilets and open bathrooms. And the scene is like any other pilgrim bazaar. People elbowing meeker people to get in line to take bath, to have the first look of mata after curtains have been opened, to get prashad, to get back their shoes from shoeracks, to get back as fast as possible to their khaccharwallah, all in all to get back to Katra asap. It is all so in fast-forward mode, as if climbing all the way up and getting a peek at the shrine was all but a routine to them, chalo ye bhi ho gaya types. Isn’t the whole idea of a pilgrim to rest your mind and think in peace for once. This rushing-rushing to everything is like normal office days na?
Anyhow, we didn’t rush (or did we??) (That’s a nice thing about being kid, your routine is controlled by elders. So all the planning and time-management is left to them while you are left to enjoy the nuisances.) We must have taken the shower, oh yes, the shower in a poorly managed bathroom, filthy and waterlogged. And the chill in the water didn’t help to overcome nausea at the sight of this filth. Then queuing up for darshan, and the cave didn’t intimidate me as much as I had expected. It was the “new” cave, easy walk. And then finally to the garbh-griha, and what is it – “blink and you miss it” darshan of mata. Just a couple of second inside the garbh-griha, no introductions to the goddess, bow the head and off you go. Is that what I toiled for all the 14kms and equal number of hours for????? God I tell you!!!!
Jammu on the other hand was full of excitement from the time we landed there. A bomb blast at the railway station just a few hours before we were to arrive there. Consequently, minimal options for transport and communication. We walked to the house of this classmate. It wasn’t a pleasant walk on a sunny cold morning since we were tired from the overnight journey and the fear of another blast lingered on. One couldnt call back home since all telephone lines were disconnected, mobile phones were almost non-existent. Roaming around the city after dark was banned. Had to quickly shop for famous walnuts and Rajmah, without the fun of exploring and bargaining. The whole idea was painful at that time, but thrilling when one would narrate it later to other friends and relatives.
And a visit to Katra is a waste without a trip to VD. My first visit to VD was quite painful (as happens with most of us), i had silently promised that i would avoid doing another one. But if the whole bunch of friends are going, then you cant be a coward and stay behind. So i did it the second time also. Just that the second time was less painful, because one knew what one has signed up for. The first visit to VD was with family and another close relative. The elder switched between foot and khacchar. The kids were expected to walk all the way up, which given the age was acceptable. Frankly, the information that the mandir is about 14km from the base didnt bother me in those days. This is because in those days i couldnt comprehend the length of a kilometer. So 14 or 48 would have meant the same. However, these kilometers on hills are exaggerated. I remember i was highly disappointed when we reached ardhkuwari - and was told that this is just the half way. In my mind, i had already crossed 20 kms, if not more. And to admit the rest, in my two visits to VD, i have never dared to go in the cave for ardhkuwari. Some sitting outside the shrine will not hesitate in recalling how one fat lady got stuck because the ceiling is so low, or how one old man couldnt move coz his legs got stuck in the stone - and still encourage you to go. How sadistic!! I have no jigra to land myself in such "tight spots". With full faith and devotion in my heart, i felt Gods will be pleased with my 14km trek and ignore my inadequacies.
After treading those 14 neverending kms, we came to the VD bazaarlane, which houses dharamshalas, puja shops, shoerack shanties, toilets and open bathrooms. And the scene is like any other pilgrim bazaar. People elbowing meeker people to get in line to take bath, to have the first look of mata after curtains have been opened, to get prashad, to get back their shoes from shoeracks, to get back as fast as possible to their khaccharwallah, all in all to get back to Katra asap. It is all so in fast-forward mode, as if climbing all the way up and getting a peek at the shrine was all but a routine to them, chalo ye bhi ho gaya types. Isn’t the whole idea of a pilgrim to rest your mind and think in peace for once. This rushing-rushing to everything is like normal office days na?
Anyhow, we didn’t rush (or did we??) (That’s a nice thing about being kid, your routine is controlled by elders. So all the planning and time-management is left to them while you are left to enjoy the nuisances.) We must have taken the shower, oh yes, the shower in a poorly managed bathroom, filthy and waterlogged. And the chill in the water didn’t help to overcome nausea at the sight of this filth. Then queuing up for darshan, and the cave didn’t intimidate me as much as I had expected. It was the “new” cave, easy walk. And then finally to the garbh-griha, and what is it – “blink and you miss it” darshan of mata. Just a couple of second inside the garbh-griha, no introductions to the goddess, bow the head and off you go. Is that what I toiled for all the 14kms and equal number of hours for????? God I tell you!!!!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
UP!!
I went back to my list in the Travelator and picked up destinations which are way above the sea level. Basically this blog will account for my experiences in mountains, indian and not foreign. Common man in India, travels to mountains for 2 primary purposes. Number one, is to chill out. A feature on how to beat the heat this summer in a magazine i was reading recently, listed "hill stations" as one of the heat busters. And very interestingly wrote how, when the temperatures sore high, we wish we were born in mountains than in plains. So true. I remember, in childhood, parents used to drive us to Mussorie to save us from the heat. "Heat" during those days was not even as hot as it is now!!! Number two is pilgrimage. Why our gods have decided to station themselves in non-imaginable-non-reachable-highly-dangerous locations is something i will not question. And why, every year, millions of Indians go to these places to prove their devotion is again unarguable. I say so because i am part of this group. Devotion yes, but in my case its predominantly the curiosity to see the seat of al-mighty. Fascinates me to the core; even the myths and stories on how they (our Gods) went about accidently discovering these hideouts.
Coming back to my list - it includes category A) Jammu - Katra, Mussorie - Nainital, Kasuali, Manali, Chakrata, Ooty (its hilly, right?) ; category B) Rishikesh, Badrinath - Kedarnath - Gangotri, Neelkanth, VaishnoDevi. I will write about them in seperate articles...
Coming back to my list - it includes category A) Jammu - Katra, Mussorie - Nainital, Kasuali, Manali, Chakrata, Ooty (its hilly, right?) ; category B) Rishikesh, Badrinath - Kedarnath - Gangotri, Neelkanth, VaishnoDevi. I will write about them in seperate articles...
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Where there were no chakkars?
Prologue: When i started this blog, i wanted to write about Chakrata. As i proceeded into it, i realised i had so much to say about road trips per se. So i will reserve this blog for the latter function and write another one, which inshallah would be a collection of experiences from most of our hilly tours.
Here it goes......
I am a nervous wreck, when it comes to driving long hours on highways. And if it involves undulating terrains, the nerve thumps 100 times faster. So when my husband proposed that we go to Chakrata, a small hill town slightly north-west of Dehradun for our second anniversay trip, i wasnt much convinced. Considering that our honeymoon trip also involved long hours of hill driving, i was not sure whether we (I, mostly) wanted to repeat the experience. Now, at this point, it is crucial to understand what comprises a "fun-trip" for the two of us. To me, its more of spending time at the destination, whether hillside, seaside or streetside. To my dear husband, the journey is the fun part. And to conclude that a trip to far off place which involves air travel will get thousand thumbs down is an easy assumption. So invariably, we are left with destinations close to Delhi which involves a road trip. Ofcourse, far off destinations are also considered for road trips but they often fall into the "no long chhuti from office" category.
My idea of celebrating an occassion, or enjoying "having fun" has more to do with the state of mind - peaceful, clutterfree and de-stressed. Now long hours of road journey not only makes me nervous, but also introduces a whole array of disastrous scenerios, panic situations and uneasy feelings in my brain - not to forget the uninvited stomach pains, which to a great extent dampens the spirit of vacation - but for me, just me. Husband on the other hand feels superbly thrilled and excited. His vacation starts the very moment he decides on a destination, and the mode to approach it. God, only if i had his nerves!!! And what i fail to understand the most is why, and WHY do we have these trips for romantic occassion (honeymoon, anniversary). Why cant we like other couples, hold hands, embark a plane, be greeted by a pretty women, get a welcome drink at the resort, lay by the poolside and click some happy moments. Why is it us who have to start at ungodly hours, drive on bumpy roads, at times no roads, be inch close to screeching trucks, tag behind buffalo carts, walk steep distances from parking to the hotel, get bitten by bed bugs (coz small hillitowns wont have 5stars na!!) and hit the pillow early because tomorrow will be another adventurous day. The whole idea of driving leaves me unenthused, to say the least. The halo of romance and love in the air goes poof!!
But to give devil its due, and to lift my spirits at the end of any long journey up the mountains, there is always the breathtaking scenic beauty, the love of my life beside me and some surprise snow :). No choice but i have to admit i love it and i know when i say i love it, it means another hillside trip in the coming.
Here it goes......
I am a nervous wreck, when it comes to driving long hours on highways. And if it involves undulating terrains, the nerve thumps 100 times faster. So when my husband proposed that we go to Chakrata, a small hill town slightly north-west of Dehradun for our second anniversay trip, i wasnt much convinced. Considering that our honeymoon trip also involved long hours of hill driving, i was not sure whether we (I, mostly) wanted to repeat the experience. Now, at this point, it is crucial to understand what comprises a "fun-trip" for the two of us. To me, its more of spending time at the destination, whether hillside, seaside or streetside. To my dear husband, the journey is the fun part. And to conclude that a trip to far off place which involves air travel will get thousand thumbs down is an easy assumption. So invariably, we are left with destinations close to Delhi which involves a road trip. Ofcourse, far off destinations are also considered for road trips but they often fall into the "no long chhuti from office" category.
My idea of celebrating an occassion, or enjoying "having fun" has more to do with the state of mind - peaceful, clutterfree and de-stressed. Now long hours of road journey not only makes me nervous, but also introduces a whole array of disastrous scenerios, panic situations and uneasy feelings in my brain - not to forget the uninvited stomach pains, which to a great extent dampens the spirit of vacation - but for me, just me. Husband on the other hand feels superbly thrilled and excited. His vacation starts the very moment he decides on a destination, and the mode to approach it. God, only if i had his nerves!!! And what i fail to understand the most is why, and WHY do we have these trips for romantic occassion (honeymoon, anniversary). Why cant we like other couples, hold hands, embark a plane, be greeted by a pretty women, get a welcome drink at the resort, lay by the poolside and click some happy moments. Why is it us who have to start at ungodly hours, drive on bumpy roads, at times no roads, be inch close to screeching trucks, tag behind buffalo carts, walk steep distances from parking to the hotel, get bitten by bed bugs (coz small hillitowns wont have 5stars na!!) and hit the pillow early because tomorrow will be another adventurous day. The whole idea of driving leaves me unenthused, to say the least. The halo of romance and love in the air goes poof!!
What I am also capable of, is, transfering my anxiety to the co-travellers. If the co-travellers happens to be driving the car, then god only bless him/her. Over time, i have learned to control my "break", "dekho", "aaaieeee", "mummyeeee", "What WAS that" and all the hindi swear words. But in spirit, they still build adrenaline inside me and mirror the horror on my face. A constantly instructing-on-driving co-traveller is the worst form of humiliation for anyone who is driving, good or bad. And i know this because i drive and i hate it too. Husband once gave me a serious warning (he is not known to be very serious so when this one came i knew he meant it) which starts scrolling in my brain as soon as i take my seat. Still, fear control hi nahi hota.
Interestingly, i consider myself a traveller (haha) and i should, by definition, be enthusiastic enough to savour any adventure which poses itself during travel. Fulfilling other aspects of travelling comes easy to me. Those around me know i am superbly organised, will have everything one can ask for during the travel, if not, i can improvise. I dont feel nausea or chakkars on winding roads. I can blabber continuously to entertain (or i feel i do). I can sing songs (pathetic though they may sound), i can dance (to my amusement) and i can offer small snacks (i am always prepared)! So basically, hardware-wise i have proper control, software-wise i fail. By software i mean whatever i explained in the first two paras which one should have which i cant muster.
But to give devil its due, and to lift my spirits at the end of any long journey up the mountains, there is always the breathtaking scenic beauty, the love of my life beside me and some surprise snow :). No choice but i have to admit i love it and i know when i say i love it, it means another hillside trip in the coming.
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