Under the Chinar's shade - My thoughts on Kashmir.

Under the Chinar's shade.

I am sure that the poet Iqbal wrote 'Saare jahan se accha, Hindostan hamara....'  in Kashmir. For it is truly India's crown and without Kashmir, India won't be half as beautiful. 

It was with a lot of apprehension that we finalized our Kashmir trip. Worries about the flight schedules going haywire, political unrest, local strikes, terrorist attacks in Srinagar  tormented my mind till the day of our tour.Reassurances from friends and relatives who had 'been there and done that' did little to allay my fears.
Nevertheless the travel bug in me did not relent and the next few pages will outline the details of some  of the most wonderful days of our lives. A trip which proved why Kashmir is truly a 'Jannat'.

Thursday, 10th May 2012,  Mumbai to Srinagar ( 4 hours by flight ex Delhi)

We land smoothly in Srinagar 5 minutes before schedule, my 1st worry about about the flight disruptions done away with. We walk out of the airport and there is Shabbir, pronounced 'Shibbir' waiting with a placard announcing my name. 
Shibbir turns out to a chatter box, eager to please and describe his cordial relations with all the guests he has been with for the past few years. As we drive to our hotel in Srinagar he hands me a dairy of all reviews his guests have about him, needless to say raving ones. It helps soothe my anxious nerves and all my remaining fears vanish.

We reach Srinagar in about 40mins.,check in our hotel, the Lalit Grand, a heritage property spread over 15 acres of lush green lawns, flower beds and the  Chinars. In fact this was the start of my loving relationship with these majestic trees.
After freshening up and lunch, we were to visit the Moghul Gardens, the Nishat gardens being the first. But wandering in  the lawns here, we felt no desire to visit the famed gardens.
We had an excellent lunch of Mutton Kheema, Butter chicken, Rotis, Rice and Dal fry at a local restaurant, Sunset Meadows. Highly recommended for the taste and quantity, but a tad bit expensive.

Nishat Bagh entrance

The Dal lake forms the epicenter of  Srinagar. Most of the stay for tourists in Srinagar will be centered around activities in the lake. The houseboats, Shikara rides and the Moghul gardens which are in the vicinity of the lake. But there is much more to Srinagar than these and I wanted to visit Lal Chowk, the scene of many a protests and old Srinagar, I wanted to see the old Mosques and Dargahs.
We reach Nishat Bagh, the 2nd largest of the Moghul gardens, the Shalimar being the largest and Chasme Shahi the smallest. It is full of tourists arriving in hoardes, posing with the flowers for the cameras. We spot many locals too especially school picnics from the nearby towns. Nishat Bagh, built in 1633 AD by Asif Khan, Nur Jahan's brother means 'The Garden of Joy or Gladness'. Seeing such a never ending panorama of greenery,huge trees and flowers of varying hues dotting the place surely must be gladdening many a heart. An hour passed by effortlessly. 
Shikara ride in the evening on Dal lake was next on the agenda. But since we were to spend the last 2 days again in Srinagar, we deffered the Shikara ride for another day.

We sat on the banks of the Dal lake watching the Shikaras drift by as fishermen cast their baits and waited patiently, the sun playing hide and seek with the rain clouds - it had rained heaving in the morning, gave us our unforgettable moments of joy. The Boulevard Road in Srinagar must be one of the most beautiful city roads in the world, flanked by Poplar tress on one side and the lake on the other, looking more beautiful as the setting sun cast various shades of red and pink in the evening sky.

We spent the rest of the evening in the lawns of our hotel lounging under the giant Chinars.

Friday 11th May, Srinagar (City sightseeing)

We woke up in the morning surpised, to see that the drizzling rain had formed small puddles in the lawn outside. The grass and trees were shimmering as the slanting early morning sun bathed them in its golden light. We had our breakfast and then  explored the vast lawns of the hotel as we  waited  for our car. 

Shankaracharya temple was the our first agenda for the day. I have always been impressed by Adi Shankarcharya.  He was a child prodigy who left his home at the age of 7 years in 805 AD  searching for a Guru, mastered the Vedas at 8, reestablished Hinduism, established the 4 'Mathas' at Shringeri in the South, Dwarka in the West, Joshimath in the North and Puri in the East, before attaining samadhi at a young  age of 32. It was a coincidence and only fitting that we started our tour  by first visiting a temple dedicated to this great man. It is a steep 250 steps climb to the temple and visitors are well advised not to carry any mobile or cameras as photography is strictly not allowed. The view from the top is simply breattaking. We had a bird's eye view of entire Srinagar and the Dal lake with its numerous House boats jostling for space even as the  tin roofs of the houses glistened in the afternoon sun.

Being a Friday, lunch got postponed by an hour as most of the restaurants were closed for Namaz. 

Our driver was reluctant  to take us to Lal Chowk, citing the unpredictable situation there especially after the Friday prayers.
Finally post lunch, we embarked on a tour of the old city excluding Lal Chowk, starting with the Hazratbal dargah. The place was teeming with people who had come to offer prayers here. Bus loads of people were leaving the place, some on rooftops back to theirs homes or work after the prayers. We drove through the narrow bylanes of the old city, lined with old houses. 
Kashmiri architecture is unique in its own way. Houses are made of stone and wood with beautiful arched windows and sloping multi leveled roofs. We saw some abandoned temples and houses belonging to Kashmiri pandits who had fled Srinagar during the height of insurgency. The once upon a time probably elegant mansions looked gloomy with broken window panes and doors falling apart. According to our driver these houses are not encroached upon and some are being reoccupied by the original owners who are returning back. 
Our next stop was the Jama masjid or Jamia Masjid as the locals pronounce it. A very impressive structure, this 17th century Mosque, built first in 1400AD was burnt down 3 times due to its wooden interiors. Even now it is supported by370 wooden pillars almost 58 ft tall made of single trunks of Deodhar  trees. It is a very fine example of Islamic architecture and is unique in the sense that its roof is pagoda like unlike the dome of other mosques.  The place was completely empty as the faithfuls had left after their prayers. The light through the large windows falling on the unbelievably tall pillars of deodhar wood made for an excellent photo op. We spent almost an hour in the quite garden in the mosque as the locals stared at us in amusement as few tourists venture here and fewer still laze around in its gardens.

Photo session in Pari Mahal

Kashmiri Wazwaan

A surprise awaited me when we came out of this place. Food was being cooked in makeshift tent for a marriage function and seeing our enthusiasm and curiosity our driver volunteered to take me in and make me get acquainted with Kashmiri cuisine or Wazwan as it is called locally. He introduced me to the chief chef an elderly gentleman who overlooked the entire preparation. I was shown the art of preparing Goshtaba, Rishta, Rogan Josh, Kashmiri Kebabs, Kheema etc. All the cooking was made on wood stoked fire fuelled by oil from the preparations themselves and the animal fat that it contained. Unfortunately I could wait for them to finish the cooking and taste it due to constraints of time. We had to reach Pari Mahal, our last stop of the day before sun down.

Saturday, 12th May, Srinagar to Pahalgam. ( 90kms approx. 2 1/2 hours drive)

We left for Pahalgam at 11 AM as there was a drizzle throughout the morning and by then the skies had cleared up.

16km from Srinagar, is the town of Pampore, known for its Saffron cultivation. Apparently besides Iran, Greece and Spain,  this is another place in the world which produces Saffron or Zaffran as it is known locally. It is basically the stigma of small purple colored flowers, about 5 lakhs of which produce 1 Kg of the aromatic Saffron. In October, the fields stretching for acres on either side of the road are colored purple because of these flowers in full bloom.

Further down 12 Kms is Avantipore, where lies the ruins of Avantiswami, a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu built by King Avantivarman in the 9th century. This temple along with many others witnessed wide spread destruction in the medieval times by the Moghul invaders.

The town of Sangam, about 40 kms away from Srinagar is well know for Cricket bats made from Kashmir Willows. Shops selling all sorts of cricket bats line the roads. We went to a bat factory and how cricket bats were manufactured. The price of the bats ranged from Rs.400 to Rs. 2000. My son's joy knew no bounds when I bought a bat for him funnily labelled "Kookaburra".

En route Pahalgam

A brief stop for lunch at a local Dhaba and we set for for the final leg of our journey to Pahalgam. either We had an option of either going straight ahead on this road and enter Pahalgam via Anantnag or take a left turn at Bijbehara. We opted for the latter and this de tour which is about 4-5 kms longer,  took us through picturesque villages flanked on either side by Walnut trees and apple orchards, the trees waiting to flower and bear the sweet Kashmiri apples. It was 3.30pm by the time we reached Pahalgam and checked in at our hotel. It was a pleasant surprise to find the Lidder, the river along which Pahalgam has developed, just a few meters walk from the hotel. We had a day to spare at Pahalgam and decided to spare our sightseeing tour for the next day.

Most of the shops were selling touristy stuff in the market and since our hotel was located  nearby we decided to remaining day strolling in the market and getting a feel of the place. The moment we came out of the hotel, ponywallahs pounced on us like on any other tourists and started pestered us to ride the ponies. We had a hard time shrugging them off. It was then the turn of the roadside shawl and dress vendors to force their stuff on us by their unique marketing ways again which we had to evade using ingenious techniques.

As compared to Srinagar, Pahalgam is relatively cheaper for buying dresses, shawls and souveniers, but bargaining is a must.

Tomorrow will be another hectic day. We have planned a drive in the morning and pony ride later in the afternoon.
  

Sunday 13th May, Pahalgam (Sightseeing)

We left at 10 in the morning, a half an hour's delay and drove to Aaru, about an hour's drive from the market. 

Aru

The breathtaking Panorama

After getting down from the car, we were told to walk back and take a left turn.  As soon as we had done that, a breathtaking view of the Aaru valley unfolded in front of our eyes. We felt as if a curtain was drawn aside exposing nature in all her glory. It was pure fairy tale stuff, snow clad mountains behind the green Pine and Deodhar covered hills,  the clear blue skies with floating fluffy white clouds, vast expanse of a green meadow with a rivulet running through it.  it was Kashmir at its best!! We could visualise Heidi walking with us, a basket in hand, a lamb following her. A few meters walk and after crossing a small stream even the lambs became a reality. Herds of sheep were in front of us, grazing in the open grassland. 

Any comparison to Switzerland is unfair to Kashmir. While Switzerland is beautiful in its own way, Kashmir's beauty is unparalleled. She has the attraction of a raw, ravishing and mysterious beauty, which makes Switzerland rather tame in comparision.  My kids started following the sheep,  lost in their own world, while we sat watching the snow peaks in the distance as the stream gurgled past us. We felt we were truly in Paradise. 

" Hari hari vasundhara pe neela neela yeh gagan, Ye kaun Chitrakar hai, yeh kaun chitrakar!" echoed in my ears as we walked lazily along the stream.

A few tourists took the pony ride  to the far end, but we found walking a better way to get a feel of the place. And walking bare feet feeling the grass under my feet and the cool air caressing my face was worth much more than the pony ride. It was past 12.30 pm and we reluctantly left the place as two more places had to be covered.

Chandanbari, the next stop was a bit of let down after Aru. It's a snow covered slope which is full of tourists and snow cover not being too thick was hard, slippery and mixed with the soil giving a white and brown patchy look to the whole place. Using a stick to climb up, my son Triaaksh and me went up the slope slipping occasionally on the snow to see another stream flowing from the base of the hills.
Betaab Valley, another stop on the way, so called after the Sunny Deol starrer,  Betaab was shot here is well laid out landscaped large garden with the Lidder flowing in its midst.
It was 2.30 pm by then. After clicking a few pictures here and sitting by the river for some time we headed back to Pahalgam for lunch. There are a lot of eating places in Pahalgam and Dana Pani which we had noticed the previous evening was one of them. We reached to find it choc a bloc with loud, noisy tourists and could secure a place only after about 20 minutes of wait. The Thali was oily but nevertheless tasty.

We had originally planned to spend the 2nd half of the day taking the pony ride to other places which didn't have accessibility by road and leave for Gulmarg the next day, about 160 kms and a good 4 hours drive away. But the watch showed half past 4 by time we finished our lunch, and so we decided to defer the pony ride for the next day before leaving for Gulmarg.

Evening by the riverside

Our hotel in Pahalgam was located by the riverside. We sat next to the river watching the waters of the Lidder hurtle past us, hearing its roar, the flow getting more torrential by the hour as the melting snow added to the gushing waters, it's grayish green colour borrowing a tinge of pink from the setting sun. 

As I  lay on my bed waiting for sleep to arrive, I again visualized the lofty snow peaks and the lambs grazing. The sound of the water flowing reverberated in my ears and it wasn't  long before sleep took me into a deep slumber, a satisfied one.

Monday 14th May, Pahalgam to Gulmarg  ( 160 kms approx, 4 hours drive)

The first thing I did in the morning was to catch hold of the Ponywallahs, which as I mentioned before was the easiest task of the day.  The difficult part was the bargaining. After using all the possible tricks of the trade and mutual agreement on the price we mounted our designated steeds and trotted off feeling like warriors. Sitting on horse can be a bit unsettling for the first 15 - 20 mins. I always wonder how these horses with their thin legs mange to carry such heavy loads uphill over slippery moss covered rocks. And this is precisely what they did. They seemed to be well trained, moving ahead in the right direction with hardly any cajoling or coaxing from their minders. After about half an hours ride through rocky terrain, mushy soil and crossing a rivulet or two we reached Baisaran.

I couldn't help but hum, " Yeh haseen waadiyaan ye khula aasmaan, aa gaye hum kahan aye mere saajna "

A vast meadow on the foothills of snow covered mountains, The air was cool and pleasant. Fortunately for us, the skies were clear, the sun shining in its full glory neutralizing the chill of the mountain air. Baisaran has been the site of many a film shootings. The omnipresent salesmen rushed towards us as we alighted from our horses and we had to again shrug them off . it had become habit by now and we could do so effortlessly.The locals  brought rabbits and lamb for the children to play with and pose for photographs, all of course for a price.  

We then saw the other 'points' as the ponywallahs call them- the Dabiyan, Waterfall , Kashmir valley view and Kanimarg in sucession which is  a valley full of big stones fallen from the surrounding hills. 'Kani' means stone in Kashmiri and 'marg' is a meadow.

All these took about 2 1/2 hours. Sunita and I got down from our horses after Dabiyan and walked alongside the horses till Kanimarg. Walking always gives you a sense and feel of the place which cannot be experienced in a drive or on the horse back.

We had to now hurry up for lunch and proceed to Gulmarg, which was good 4 - 41/2 hours drive. Our aim was to reach there before sunset as it could be quiet chilly at night, being at about 9500 ft ASL.
Gulmarg is all about snow and Gondola ride. Also it is a place dominated by Gujjars. It was very surprising to see our driver being very cautious of them. Apparently they are notorious and hold the whip in Gulmarg. All them them are pony owners and do not allow tourist vehicles to ply in Gulmarg except to drop visitors at their respective hotels. From the hotel, tourists have to  either take a Pony or walk down to nearby areas of interest. These are anyway not too far off and well within walking distances if you are fit to. These Gujjars do not trouble the tourists except pester them for the pony rides, about which we were well experienced by then.
We had a brief halt at Tangmarg, about 10 kms before Gulmarg to pick up snow shoes on rent  for the next day to walk in the snow. We realized  that this was a very wise thing did  as surprisingly there were hardly any  shops renting it out in Gulmarg.
Since it was late in the evening by the time we arrived at our hotel in Gulmarg we decided to have an early dinner and retire for the night. 

Tuesday 15th May, Gulmarg and the Gondola ride.

Getting a ticket for the Gondola was a difficult proposition as the queue for the tickets start at 7 in the morning. The window opens at 10 Am. The idea of waiting in the queue for 3 hours when on a vacation was appalling. Shibbir had provided me with a contact number of a 'guide' in Gulmarg who would be arranging for the tickets and our 'sightseeing' in Gulmarg.  I have inserted inverted commas for sightseeing as on retrospection we did realized that we could have easily done without one. Tickets for the Gondolas are available online at www.gulmarggondola.com.  The 'guide' turned out to be a tout in disguise.
Anyway to cut a long story short, we paid him for the tickets, Rs. 300 each  for the 1st level, Rs. 800 each for the 2nd level. If securing the tickets was difficult, getting inside the Gondola seemed impossible. There was a long chaotic queue of desperate tourists pushing and jostling each other to get inside the enclosure where the Gondolas have to be boarded. It was worse the getting inside a 2nd class compartment of a Virar local at Dadar during peak hours and the Mumbai crowd seemed more disciplined compared to the hoardes of tourists here.
My experience of boarding the Mumbai locals helped and I managed to get all the 4 of us into the Gondola safe and secure. There isn't much to see or do on level I, so we didn't waste our time there and went straight ahead for the 2nd Gondola ride to level II. 
A white sheet of snow struck us with its dazzling brightness as we got out of the Gondola. We were in the clouds and in heaven. I could almost see the pearly gates with St Peter standing and welcoming me to this heavenly abode. All the irritability at the chaos and disarray we had been through on our way up vanished as we made our way slowly through the snow, our legs sinking knee deep in some places.  This  place Arawaat is about 13500 ft ASL and full of snow. The LOC between Pakistan and India can be seen at at distance and the army outpost as small specks of black on the snow peaks.
If it was the Ponywallahs who pestered us down, it was now the turn of sledge operators and ski wallahs. I would not suggest either. Its better to walk slowly and carefully around here and enjoy the view. Altitude sickness can strike here and hence one has to be a bit careful. 
The skies were blue and clear with clouds floating along. We spent about an hour here and after we were sufficiently content of the place, boarded the Gondola back to the 1st level for lunch. As we were tucking into the delicious and hot Kashmiri Pulao,  the weather suddenly changed. Dark clouds gather overhead ominously at an unbelievable pace. A strong wind started hollering and we could hear the thunder and the mountain tops became invisible as if they never existed. We could hear announcements asking people to vacate the 2nd Level. The authorities stopped issuing tickets to that level. Soon it started raining, first water drops and then hail. We were enjoying the best of both the types of weather and at the same time empathizing with those tourists who could not make it.

" Bambai ka fashion aur Kashmir ka Mausam, kabhi bhi badal sakte hai " ( Bombay's fashion and Kashmir's weather can change anytime)  is an old Kashmiri saying which was proving true itself to be true now.

Later in the evening after spending some time in the hotel room, we went for a walk to a quaint little Shiva temple, the Mohineshwar Temple established by Maharani Mohini, King Hari Singh's wife almost a century ago in the middle of the meadow near the market. It's an enjoyable walk and we got some good views from there. There seemed to be more horses or ponies than people in Gulmarg. 

Wednesday 16th May, Gulmarg to Srinagar.

The day as predicted turned out to be bright and sunny with clear skies. In fact we were feeling uncomfortably hot in the car during the drive back.

Since our check in time was at 2 PM, and we were early in Srinagar, we decide to visit the Govt. Arts Emporium at Heritage road in Srinagar. Drivers were reluctant to take us there pleading ignorance of the place. Whether it was feigned innocence or genuine I would never know, but we reached the place after asking for directions from the pedestrians. It was worth a visit if only to see the magnificent Heritage building in which it is located, and also a wide variety of exquisitively carved Walnut wood  handicrafts ranging from jewelery boxes to beds to 8 seater dining tables and hand woven rugs.

We were to spend the rest of the day and the next 2 nights in a house boat. No stay in Kashmir can be complete with out a day's or two stay in one.And after reaching our house boat on the banks Nagin lake we waited till evening to venture out. On such days it bright till late evening so days are longer. We visited Chasme Shahi. It was too crowded for comfort, so we canceled our plan of visiting Shalimar garden and opted for a Shikara ride on Nagin lake instead. It turned out to be a good idea and the 1 hour ride through the lotus leaves, water lillies and floating gardens, as we watched the sun set behind the mountains inspired us to see the floating market next morning.

Thursday 17th May, Nageen lake, Srinagar, Sonmarg  and back.

We got up at 4 am to leave by 4.30 am. It was pitch dark when we boarded the Shikara. We could hear the Azaan (call for the morning prayers to the Muslims) all around us interspered with the chirping of birds. We entered the Dal Lake through a narrow passage and negotiated our way through the fields of turnips, cauliflowers cabbages,  raddish, tomatoes and spinach. It was astonishing to see such fertile land in the midst of the lake. 

As the sun peeped from behind the mountains, we reached the place where the locals get their fresh produce in wooden boats and sell it to the highest bidders. We saw as boats which were full of vegetables were emptied out into other boats which bid the highest. Money and bunches of vegetables changed hands. 
We sailed gently along the placid back waters of the Dal lake forming canals through old Srinagar and saw a different view of the city from the water. There were shops selling usual groceries to touristy stuff opening on the water front and the locals on boats buying daily goods from them. Shikaras drifted listlessly outside their homes as their owners were getting ready for another busy day.
We reached our house boat by 7.30 AM, had breakfast and then got ready to leave for Sonmarg. This was our penultimate day and we wanted to make the best of it. It was cloudy as we left for the 2 1/2 hours drive. A cloudy day was forecast. It had been a perfect tour for us so far and I was praying for the clouds to clear during the long drive.
Sonmarg is on the way to Leh. So there is lot of traffic, especially heavy vehicles and army convoys on this road, but as they say, sometimes the drive is more beautiful than the destination and as  we reached Sonmarg after enjoying the beautiful drive along the Indus, the cummulonimbus which had gathered overhead were intent on proving themselves and it started pouring. As if this wasn't enough, a cold wind started blowing and it was wet, cold and breezy. No way we could enjoy Sonmarg, about which we had heard so much!! We took refuge in a restaurant and to pass time had an early lunch. 
As the rains showed no signs of abating nor the clouds of clearing, we realized that we had pushed our luck too far. Nothing can be ever perfect and  can be more unpredictable than the mountain weather, we surmised. We went back to our car for the drive to Srinagar into the cosy confines of our houseboat, when on the way a few kms down the road, we saw beautiful cafe by the riverside and decided to have some hot coffee. The rains had subsided by then, but the cloud cover had not. The Gods must have deliberated amongst themselves for just as we finished our coffee, lo and behold the sun was out from nowhere and it was bright and sunny all over. There wasn't a trace of the dark clouds as if the sun had won a battle and vanquished them all and was now ruling unchallenged over the skies. 
This place was so picturesque that we decided against going back and rather spent time sitting next to the Indus as it roared past us. It was 2.30 PM before we realized. We had spent close to 2 hours here doing nothing, but watching the river, the snow peaks and the tall trees around. It was as if we wanted to  pemanantly engrave this image of Kashmir in our minds, never to be forgotten in our lifetime.


Friday, 18th May Srinagar to Mumbai
Time to pack up and leave . We spent the last few hours in Srinagar (since we had to leave for the airport by 11AM) strolling in the garden above our house boat and seeing a bird's eye view of the Nageen lake, which is so called since it curves like a serpent. It is an offshoot of the Dal, but much more quiet. Those wishing for solitude should opt for a house boat on this lake as Dal lake is very crowded and bustling with activity.

Most of the hotels had large glass windows offering a Panaromic view of the valley. I will miss sitting by the window, seeing the morning sun peeping thru the pines trees, warming me with its gentle early morning sunrays while I enjoyed my morning sip of 'Kashmiri  Kaawa'.

My blog may seem emotional at times, but Kashmir has it in her to bring out emotions. It's a pity that the environment here is that of uncertainty, insecurity and mistrust. Under the apparently normal situation, there is a simmering discontent, fear and like the weather in the mountains, one can never be certain about when the situation may take a turn for the worse.

Kashmir, Kashmiris and Kashmiriyat.
I have traveled across the length and breadth of India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Mumbai to Meghalaya. I have met the locals, interacted with them, but nowhere have I found them as pleasant, as cultured, eager to please and well mannered as Kashmiris. I had heard that they were shrewd and cunning, but then who isn't. To survive you have to be. After my limited interactions with the locals, I find hard to believe that these people can create so much unrest and violence in the Valley. And if they have,  there must be reasons for doing so. They are proud of their different socio-cultural, lingual and physical identity - their Kashmiriyat and rightly so. 
The people of Kashmir crave for Independence. We saw a few graffitis on the walls near the Dargah university which said " We want freedom".  They don't want to be a part of either India or Pakistan. They maybe justified and while we can empathize with them, we cannot agree. 
An independent Kashmir is synonymous with a weak India. The strategic location of Kashmir makes it necessary for it to be a part of our country or we will be sitting ducks for our untrustworthy neighbours. The center has to play a more important role and consider including the aspirations of Kashmiris in their policies. Their Kashmiriyat has to be retained and respected.  
The Kashmiris and Kashmir should remain - an ever integral part of India, voluntarily, not by military pressure. 

The Chinar should not be uprooted!!

Spiritual India - Uttarakhand

To escape the humid heat of Mumbai we decided to spend about 8 days in the Garhwal Himalayas and planned for a change to blend tourism with spirituality ;)...and what could have been better than Chardham.
Chardham meaning 4 seats or abodes, nowadays implies the 4 sacred places of Badrnath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The original Chardham meant the 4 holy places in the 4 corners of India viz. Badrinath in the North, Rameshwar in the South lying at the same latitude as Badrinath, Jaganath Puri in the East and Dwarka in the west. Kedarnath and Yamunotri involves a little difficult trek of 14kms and 7 kms respectively and since we had ours kids with us, we decided to do the relatively easier Badrinath and Gangotri circuit where it's motorable right upto the top.
22/05/10

Our journey begins!

Delhi Airport to Rishikesh took about 7 hrs. It was a hot and dusty drive. The AC in the car just couldn't keep out the overbearing heat. Lunch was at Grand Cheetal, decent but too crowded and overpriced. We reached Rishikesh by 6 pm and checked in GMVN Ganga resort, lovely location but basic facilities and a least concerned staff, typical of a sarkari office. We were desperate to witness and photograph the much acclaimed Ganga Aarti so we left immediately by 6.30PM. An easy way of reaching the place where the aarti took place was to take a ferry across the Ganges, said the guide who accompanied us and we gleefully agreed.

The melodious, soulful bhajans,the vibrant, colorful gathering of devotees, the lighting of diyas and letting them afloat on the ganga was worth the journey. After the Ganga Aarti, we strolled through the ashrams and the bazaar littered with shops selling memorabilia, books and CDs of devotional songs. Through out our stay in Rishikesh, wherever we went, the strains of bhajans and religious songs, some unfortunately shrill and unbearable could be heard.

Dinner was a decent affair at the much recommended Chotiwalas'. But there are a lot of eating places serving continental food as Rishikesh is frequented by foreigners. We walked our way back to the resort through throngs of people via the Ram Jhula which was brilliantly illuminated at night.
23/05/10

Rishikesh to Harsil 250 kms
Another day, another long drive!

It is a uphill drive after Rishikesh, along the Ganga, on winding roads. The AC was no longer on as we were climbing up and the heat was getting into us. I and my daughter, both victims of motion sickness swallowed Draminate tabs and carried on trying to divert our mind from the nausea we were experiencing by attempting to enjoy the scenic drive. Intermittent stretches of bad roads due frequent landslides added to our misery. Finally after 8 hours of driving we reached our destination.

A small quaint town about 25kms before Gangotri, Harsil has everything that a nature lover would want. It was as if God had sculpted it in his spare time. Gurgling rivers with bridges, green meadows, tall deodhar trees surrounded by snow peaks complete the picture. A visit to Harsil cannot be complete without a visit to Bagori, a small Tibetan settlement. We were treated to their 'Namkeen Chai' made with butter and a dash of salt. One should spend at least 2 days in Harshil as there are numerous good treks here, a popular one being the Saat Tal trek which can be covered in less than a day.

It was in Harsil that the movie 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili 'and the famous waterfall bathing scene was shot. Unfortunately just as Mandakini has vanished from Bollywood without a trace, the waterfall has also vanished, apparently after a flash flood in the Baghirathi a few yrs back, so I had to be satisfied imagining both the waterfall and Mandakini being there. But the delightful little postoffice in the movie (if you recollect) still exists.

24/05/10
Harsil-Gangotri-Barsu

The 25km drive to Gangotri takes about an hour and half. The final 2kms of the narrow road was choked with traffic pouring in from both directions, so we had to undertake this few kms on foot. Once we reached the temple pretincts we were besieged by the so called priests and on showing the slightest hesitation, they are ready to grab you by the arm and take you to the banks of the river for an elaborate ritual of cleansing yourself of the sins performed so far in life. Even then it's worth taking a dip in the icy cold waters of the Bhagirathi. Here the devout fill small brass and copper pots with the holy water to take it back home to their loved ones. Gaumukh glacier from where the Ganga (or to be technically correct, the Bhagirathi) starts, is 18 kms from Gangotri and takes 2 days of trekking to reach.

From Gangotri we started our journey for Barsu.

Barsu is a very small and remotely located village about 60kms from Gangotri and about 9kms off the highway. Situated at an altitude of about 2000mts it's full of wheat and potato fields. About 1/2hr walk from the village along a cemented road is a lovely waterfall.

The Dayara Bugyal or meadow, full of wild flowers is a 7km trek from the village where overnight camping can be arranged for. We met a group of school children who were coming down from this place after an overnight halt in tents in Dayara Bugyal. The joy on their faces showed the fun they had up there.
25/05/10

Barsu to Karanprayag 250 kms

This was a very long journey which took us almost 9 hrs. We took a shorter route bypassing shrinagar and saving almost 2 hrs. While the previous 2 days we were follwing the course of Bhagirathi and Ganga, now we were driving along the Alkananda. Prayag means confluence and in Karanprayag, the Pindari river meets the Alaknanda. On the way is Rudraprayag where the Mandakini meets Alaknanda and continue further as Alaknanda to meet the Bhagirathi at Deoprayag. This confluence, where the greenish blue water of Bhagirathi can be clearly diffrentiated from the grayish brown waters of the Alaknanda, is the actual Ganga which then flows down the hills and meets the plains at Haridwar. It was dark by the time we reached Karanprayag and we were tired and eager to get a good night's rest. Nothing much to do here except to take a night halt at the GMVN TRH and then proceed towards Badrinath.

26/05/10

Karanprayag to Badrinath 150kms.

The drive to Badrinath even though just 150kms, takes 6 to 7 hrs as the roads are narrow and in a bad shape in certain parts after Joshimath. Also, because they are narrow vehicular movement is permitted only in one direction at a time, so we landed getting stuck in places for 1-2 hrs. Having left Karanprayag at 8.30am we reached Badrinath tired and hungry at around 5.00 in the evening. Fortunately our guest house was located close to the temple and we had a lovely panaromic view of the temple from our room itself.

The relief of reaching our destination and the pleasure of seeing our hotel's location evaporated after some time when we realised that our hotel didnt provide bath or hand towels and we would have to wait in the queue for about 5 hours to avail the Lord's darshan. After enquiries we found that by availing of certain pujas by paying for them, we could access the Lord by a different gate and bypass the queue, which we gladly booked for the next morning at 6 am.

The temple itself is beautifully located above the Alaknanda river, in midst of the snow peaks of Nar and Narayan range. The narrow alleys towards the temple is lined by shops selling the usual religious cassettes, CDs, photos and rudrakshas. In fact the colorfully painted temple looks more beautiful when lit at night.We spent the evening strolling in the market and by the riverside. After an early dinner, went to bed as we planned to get up at 5 am next day for our sojourn with Lord Badrinath.

27/05/10

Badrinath Darshan
Got up at 4 am. Had mixed feelings throughout the night. The excitment of our hotel's location had worn off and to be frank, the sound of temple bells and chants which sounded so soothing initially, disrupted my much desired sleep. With the long, tiring journey, all I wanted was a sound sleep. I was just faliing into a deep slumber when I was awakened at around 4 am by the haunting chants of MS Subbalaxmi's Vishnusahasranama. That ended the story of my sleep, but surprisingly I was feeling fresh and eager to go for our morning puja. We got an easy entry inside the temple, but again had to wait in the queue and took us about an hour to gain entry into the sanctum santorium. I must admit that I am more of a atheist and I undertook this journey more as a vacation in the Himalayas and to beat the Mumbai heat rather than a religious trip! But seeing the hordes of pilgrims who throng Badrinath, some in tattered clothes, braving the cold and who probably saved their lifetime's earning to come here and then wait for hours in the queue, I felt there was something magical in the place to attract so many people from all over India for centuries. With these feelingsI sat for the Puja and had a 15 min darshan of Lord Badrinath. Surprisingly I came out feeling good and blessed. And I wondered how much all those who come here with so much of faith and belief must be feeling!

Our next destination was Mana village, about 3 kms from Badrinath which is a tourist place by virtue of it being the last Indian village before the Tibetan territory starts.

Once an important trading village on the old Indo Tibetan Highway,it is now inhabited for only 6 months in a year. After the Chinese invasion of Tibet the villagers lost their major source of livelihood and now earn their living by weaving woollen. A few places of interest here include the Vyasa and Ganesh Gufas (caves), where apparently the Mahabharata was dictated by Rishi Vyasa to Lord Ganesha.

A waterfall here which forms a small river and flows for about 1/2 a km before meeting the Alaknanda is the source of the mystical river Saraswati.

We then continued on our way to our final destination Auli.
27/05/10
Badrinath to Auli

Auli is beautiful ski resort about 12kms from Joshimath and turned out be an ideal place to unwind after our hectic travel of the last 5 days. It is an army cantonment area and apart from 2 resorts there is nothing else to do in this season except laze around and vegetate.

GMVN's resort here was by far, easily the best of all the places we had stayed so far. It was surrounded by snow peaks (Nandadevi, Nandadevi east, Nanda kot, Trishul) on almost all the sides and we were greeted by clear blue skies interspered by white fluffy clouds and white wild flowers blooming all over the place. Our room had a balcony, so we spent the evening sitting in the balcony and watching the snowy mountain peaks. As the sun set, rain clouds gathered overhead and over the next few minutes completely covered the peaks as if a grey curtain had descended down shutting off the view. I was eagerly hoping for clear skies in anticipation of a glorious, colorful sunset, but alas it was not to be as dark clouds loomed overhead.

28/05/10

Auli

Woke up to misty morning with a slight drizzle, the after effects of the previous evenings weather. After sometime, the mist cleared, exposing the clear blue skies. The sun shone brightly on the droplet covered flowers giving me a good photo op. Afternoon was spent lazing in the balcony listening to dil dhundta hai and hari hari vasundhara. Flies were the only one's troubling me and after some time the lethargy seeped in so much that I was loathe to even shoo them away. By late afternoon, dark clouds had again started gathering and the sun was playing hide and seek with them. We decided to go for a small hike behind our resort to the place where the cable car from Auli to Joshimath starts. It was a steep 200 meter climb and by the time we reached the top we were left hasping for breath, but the magnificient, unobstructed 360 degrees view of the Himalayas made the climb worth every breath. We couldn't help wondering how it must be on a clear day. We found a small flat grass covered clearing and lay on it to catch our breath and looked up to the sky and watched as the dark clouds gathered. It was a feeling I can't describe in words. My thoughts were disrupted by the distant rumble of thunder which grew in intensity and it started to drizzle again as we ran down the slope and covered the distance in less than half the time it took us to come up. By late evening, the drizzle had transformed into a thunderstorm and we had our experience of thunder, lightening and hailstorm in the Himalayas.

29/05/10

Auli to Rishikesh.

Our last day in the Garhwal Himalayas. It was to be another long drive about 280kms and down from an altitude of 2500m at Auli to 310m at Rishikesh. We bid adieu to the mountains as we drove through the winding roads, following the Ganga and the snow peaks of the Nandadevi range fading fron our vision, leaving only memories behind.

As we neared Rishikesh, we saw a lot of riverside camps and rafters enjoying the white water rafting as it is called and were vert tempted to try our hand at one, but our tight schedule prevented us this pleasure.

Back in Rishikesh, we explored the Laxman Jhulla area and were pleasantly surprised to find a lot of eating joints which we had not noticed 8 days back. We shopped for Rudrakshas and other memorablia. Sipping coffee and eating Pastries at CCD (Cafe Coffee Day) made us feel at home after eating Dal/ Rice and Alu Gobi for the past whole week.

Thoughts and tips:

Hotels in all these places have very basic amenities. Most of our stay was in GMVN hotels. The only good thing to be said about them is their location. The staff is lethargic and housekeeping pathetic. Less said about food the better. One thing I should not forget here is the number of times we thanked 'Maggi' for, if it were not for Maggi my son would have gone hungry a few times. Maggi is surprising omnipresent is all the places right from roadside dhabas to better off restuarants. The private hotels are also basic, but the staff go out of their way to make you feel comfortable.

Some hotels like the one in Harshil and Badrinath did not have bath towels and we had not anticipated this, so I leave it to your imagination as to how we must have coped up with it. So be prepared!!

The people everywhere are friendly and honest, unlike what is expected in touristy places. Or I presume we were fortunate enough not to encounter any notorious elements. On the whole it was a fantastic and memorable journey and back in the hustle and bustle of Mumbai, it seems like we have just come home from another world. Truely a heavenly abode!!