Travelogue: Pachmarhi Trip - Day 3

After a good sleep at Highland Hotel, Pachmarhi, we were fresh for the adventure that awaited us the next day. Hotel is, almost, in the middle of the forest, so we were excited to hear the chirping of Birds and to feel the freshness of the air. Sound was evident enough in the room, but its intensity increased as I walked out of the room. To enjoy the aroma and the nature little more, I went for a small walk in the forest.

I walked on the main road connecting A to the outside world. The air was fresh and cold. Everything, in the morning, oozed serenity and provided rejuvenation to the body. After a short time, Mayuri joined me. After spending half an hour, we returned to the hotel, to prepare for the day’s adventure.

We had fixed the driver in the evening so that we could start early in the morning. Though we asked him to come at 8:00 Am to start the trip early, but Mr. Pappu came at, his usual time, 10 AM. So from the beginning, we were already 2 hours late.

Without wasting time, We started to the base of the Dhoopgarh. Dhoopgarh is the second highest point of Madhya Pradesh. Dhoopgarh is primarily known for Shiva temple. Devotees offer Trishul to Lord Shiva when Shiva fulfills their wishes. After reaching the top, you can see the Trishul lying in the heap weighing 1 kilogram to 100s of kilograms. According to our guides/instructors, it was only 1700 steps to the top. Mayuri was sure that she could finish this climb within 1.5 hours as she has already climbed 10,000 steps at Girnar Mountains.

It was hardly a 30 minutes drive to the base of Dhoopgarh. We were told to choose LEFT on all the turns that helped us the most in our journey. As soon as we entered the forest, there was any other soul except us. At the start of the journey, there was a temple inside a cave, and a Panda was sitting to shed his boon on people who were reducing burden of their pockets. After choosing LEFT for 3-4 times, we reached a point where it was tough to decide the correct path. Even after having the urge to move to RIGHT (Because it seemed the correct path to us), we took the LEFT turn.

We were already in the dense forest, and we were unable to locate a walkable path. Even though, we were scared, but we kept moving in the same direction. Soon enough we realized that we took the right decision. We saw the people who were climbing the staircases. It took us approximately half an hour from parking to stairs starting point.

Oops, Vishal it is not merely 1,700 stairs. Let me rest a little

Soon enough we realized that 1,700 was not merely the steps instead it was a jungle walk of approximately 3 Kms each side. After one and an hour, we were at the peak. As told by villagers, devotees have offered so many Trishul that it has become difficult to maintain all these in the temple. So such unwanted offers (Offers with no resale value) all were lying on the ground of the temple.

Forest, we reached from one end to another in this forest.

I went inside the under construction temple without considering that two monkeys were already in the fight over the offerings offered to Shivling. These both little monkeys considered me as another shareholder, so, according to the game plan, one monkey ran away with the offering whereas another monkey tried to scare me off from the temple. But it was an over smart creature. So instead of providing me the chance to run, it caged me inside the boundaries, built with Iron Pipes. It was sitting on the top of the door, which was the only way to come out of the cage. I convinced myself of the intentions of Chota monkey after throwing few nervous glances at the monkey. I submitted in this fight without imagining the upcoming scenes and requested an outsider to help me. As soon as Chota Monkey saw me resigning in the Man2Monkey fight, it considered me a waste of time and left the premise after another monkey who had already started enjoying the offering.

Heap of Trishul, Do you believe me Now?

We returned to our Jeep within another hour. It was a nice walk in the middle of the Jungle. It would have been a better and enjoyable walk if there were not any stairs.

Picture Perfect, my beautiful wife

We visited another Shiva temple that is situated at the base, and the idol is established in the middle of a cave. Though there were others temples on the hill, but I did not have any intention to meet all the gods, so I skipped a few. On the way back to Market, we checked other viewpoints.

On the way to another view points

For lunch, we were dropped at Nandanvan restaurant. All the drivers drop their customers to the same restaurant. The restaurant is located on the four-way road and edge of the forest. So location can be one reason that all the drivers chose the same location. However, food at restaurant was tasty as well as cheap. Pappu came within half an hour after finishing his lunch.

Shortly we started for Pandav caves. Buddha followers used these caves for the living purpose. These caves are referred as Pandava caves because number of caves is five. But people linked these caves to Pandava’s. Entry/exit for these caves is from a well-maintained garden developed by local authorities. This garden serves as a nice picnic spot for the local people.

Pandav Caves

From the Pandav caves, we moved to the Panchmarhi Lake. It is not a huge water body, but it attracts lots of people and offers various fun activities including boating, chit chatting over the coffee, and horse riding. As per the information received later, the lake is a water collection pool that serves the people of Pachmarhi in case of the water problem in the area.

Munmun, in the backdrop the beautiful lake and sunset

Now it was time for our last but most awaiting sight i.e. Sunset point of the day. As always rising sun and setting sun generates the magic with the help of sky, but in mountains that enigmatic beauty multiplies to manifolds due to support of these hills. We waited patiently for the sun to go down behind the mountains. It moved slowly and intently. As if it was telling us that it is not the end but the preparation of better tomorrow.We sat for some more time to salute the surroundings to give us the joyous day. 

Sunset point at Pachmarhi

Pappu dropped us back to our hotel room. We enjoyed the dinner at Hotel Highland. It was tasty and fabulous. Mr. Jeet and another friend were our guests of honor today. After seeing off our guests, we retired to our room, to get ready for another fun-filled day that included a trek to waterfall from Jungles.

Travelogue: Pachmarhi Trip - Day 2

We had planned to reach Pachmarhi as soon as possible; so second day we left the hotel room by 8:00 AM without wasting time in breakfast. I didn’t know that there are no government buses in Bhopal. Public Buses, essential for intercity transfers, were not operated in Bhopal for last 10 years. Bus stands were in complete mess and buses were running on the mercy of local transporters. I asked the conductor about the timings of the bus; conductor told me that bus would start as soon as there are enough passengers in the bus, and accordingly to bus conductor the bus would take 6-7 hours to reach Pachmarhi, hardly 200 km from Bhopal. Hell, we ditched the plans to take the bus instead planned to take the train which was running 2 hours late from the scheduled time.

Anyway it gave us the chance to taste Poha and Jalebi. Oh, but the Poha were not as good as I expected. (Later, I came to know that in Bhopal Indori Poha are not served; instead shopkeepers are misusing the name of Indori Pohas). After trying it at various shops, I gave up. We boarded in the train after waiting for 3 hours at railway station, but reached to Pipariya Junction by 1 o’clock.

It was not hard to find a vehicle to take us to Pachmarhi from Pipariya. We found a cab and within an hour we reached Pachmarhi. On our journey we were told mysterious stories on the vehicle. A guide and a family told us that a lady must not keep her hairs open and walk outside the room. Another mystery was about a pool where people die without any significant reason. According to them, there are various mysterious stories about the place and all the deities of the region must be provided enough reverence from the tourists.

We were planning to check the facilities in the hotel that is run by MP tourism. So we planned to stay with Hotel Highland, Pachmarhi. Though driver and guide tried to convince us to not to take the hotel, but we were adamant to check the facilities in the Hotel. Later we found that hotel rooms were quite good and spacious. We spoke to the manager and told him the purpose of our visit. He gave us some insightful information about the place, and rejected all the myths that locals told us.

There are numerous places to visit in Pachmarhi, so based on the time available we sorted out the important places. We were planning to start the tour in the evening but the driver asked us a exorbitant amount for the ride in the evening. So we dropped the plans to visit any place except Jata Shankar which is just a km walk from the hotel.

Jata Shankar Temple

We planned to walk to the Jata Shankar, a temple in the middle of mountains. Kids, as guides, were eager to guide us to the caves. We hired one guide to understand more about the place but later we felt that guides were fooling people, though it did not matter much. Guide told us about the quality of medical herbs present in Satpura range, and it was quite a important information to us.

My Partner in Crime and My Wifey

We visited the place and later met Jeet. Jeet, lieutenant of Indian army, was undergoing training in Pachmarhi. We went to the market with Jeet and his friend. We spend some time in market. In the market we had awesome Samosas at Laxmi restaurant. End of the day we enjoyed our dinner at Highland hotel, and retired to our room.

Travelogue: Pachmarhi Trip - Day 1

In the process of exploration, we had already covers ten and more destinations in this year. In the continuation of our exploration, we were planning to explore unseen and less explored beauty of India so we decided to visit Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, and Pachmarhi, a hill Station in Satpura mountain Range.

We reached Bhopal in the morning. The biggest task, after reaching Bhopal, was to find a decent hotel to rest a little. Auto drivers offered us the rides within 20 rupees to some good family hotels. But being a shrewd person, I declined all such offers. It made me struggle for almost half an hour, and finally I got an indecent hotel in cheap rate.

At 10 AM, we checked out the hotel assuming that we could cover Bhopal by lunch time, and start for Pachmarhi. We started our trip with Laxmi Narayan Temple. Though the temple is new and it’s just like any other Hindu temple, but it offers a panoramic view of Bhopal overlooking both the lakes and other important monuments. As temple didn’t offer much, so we excluded remaining temples from our itinerary.

Laxmi Narayan Temple, Bhopal.

We moved to Birla museum which is adjacent to the temple. The museum exhibits the demolished but beautiful idols, ancient art object and artillery, and other objects representing the life style of people living in ancient Madhya Pradesh. All these artifacts were found during the excavation of various sites across the state. There were innumerable items to observe; so we rushed through them after examining a few with complete intent. Oh! I do not have any photographs from the gallery, as the guard kept an eye on us only.

Our auto driver was kind enough to leave us near Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya - National Museum of Mankind which is situated next to the Bari Lake. We filled our tummy in a restaurant near the lake. Don’t expect to fill your tummy with the things you desire, because these restaurants do not operate fully until noon.

We started exploring the national museum of mankind with the intent to finish the tour within an hour. This museum can be divided in two major areas i.e. outbound and inbound. Outbound area is spread across various hectors to demonstrate the life style, home, culture of various tribes, people, and states, whereas inbound area exhibits the human evolution, living style of various tribes of India.

We ignored few of the places on the way. First major halt was at Fisherman village. It village was primarily to represent the living style of fisher mans across country. In the similar fashion, living styles of various states i.e. Rajasthani, Gujrati, Oriya, Keralite, Nagpura, and etc and its tribe were demonstrated on the way to internal museum. We were really exhausted by the time we reached to the inbound museum.

Gallery to demonstrate the Art work of various states

Poles erected in front of a tribe house, Outbound portion of the Museum

Creations of a porter

Inbound museum has 13 galleries in it. Each gallery is rich with thousands of artifacts about the style, living, fashion, ornaments, rituals, weapons, and etc. It became way too difficult to keep track of each and every artifact. Information received today was way too more than a mind could hold. Now every new area or gallery was becoming intolerable. We were looking for food as we had already spent 4 hours in the museum.

Oriya tribe's house

The only restaurant, approved by central government, was another 500 meters away from the inbound museum. To add to our existing irony, there was not any meal available for next one hour. Anyway we managed to flatter the owner and sneak out two plates for us after waiting for 30 minutes. We had already missed our deadlines, but we were still positive about leaving Bhopal. So we planned to drop by at another important sight for 15 minutes only.

Van Vihar is a zoo situated next to the lake. Animals are not sheltered into cages but they have been provided enough space to survive. We hired bicycle, provided by MP tourism, to stroll through Van Vihar. It took us around 3 hours to cover the complete zoo on bicycles. It was the ride of approximately 12 km in the zoo. We were ecstatic with the use of bicycle after so many years in such a beautiful environment.

We getting ready for our ride in the park/zoo/Van Vihar

Lake glitters with the light of Run, on the way back from Van Vihar

Now we were sure that it was not possible to leave Bhopal today, so we relaxed at the lake for a while. Gathering, in the evening, near the lake was very similar to a fair in a town. People of various ages were swarming it. Couples were sitting under a tree shade and were engulfed with each other without the knowledge of people around. Elderly folks were walking briskly to keep their body and soul intact. Ladies were all around eatery stalls, and boating facilities. Due to a little emergency, we had to leave the place little earlier than planned, but it all was fun to become a spectator of such a lively environment.

Udaipur Trip

It was a long awaited trip. I was consulting/requesting/offering/asking my friends to accompany me to Udaipur for a long time, but no-one was free to travel with me. Some friends were planning to go to some weird places, so I convinced them for Udaipur. Though it was hot, it was either this time or never. So predictably, I chose first and we were off to the city of lakes and Venice of west.

I planned to visit all important places of the city i.e. City Palace, Mansoon palace, Jagdish Temple, Gangaur Ghat, and Saheliyon ki Baari. Deepak, my friend's big bro, turned out to be a nice and well informed guide and he helped me to plan the places in an efficient manner.

In this part of India, Every tourist is welcomed by royal and enormous palaces, vivid and large lakes, and evergreen and colourful monuments, but tourists, visiting Udaipur this week, were greeted with more lively, colourful, and entertaining activity. Udaipur was celebrating Gangaur which is Rajasthan’s most known and fabulous festival. Thanks to unwanted, stupid and painful delays from my friends, now I was part of Rajasthan most fabulous fest @Rajasthan's most enjoyable city.

We started our day with brunch at Srinath Restaurant, which is at a walking distance (approximately 100 meters) from Railway station. This place is popular for authentic Gujurati and Rajasthani food. We all ordered Rajasthali Thali. They served us at least 4-5 vegetables, Raita, 2-3 sweetmeats, papad, salad, and breads of various varieties in a huge thali(plate). Food was so tasty that even after stuffing heavily, I was pushing a little more into my stomach. The restaurant surely exceeded our expectations.
My recommendation: If you want to eat good and authentic Rajasthani food, you must not miss this restaurant.

We were 4 people. 2 among us wanted to find the history of Udaipur and get acquainted with monuments whereas other 2 were interested in cozy wind and cold water at the rooftop of some hotel. So we split our paths based on interests.

Our expedition started now. We started with the City Palace which is the most popular and visited tourist place. Palace was built by Maharana Udai Singh. This palace is an exuberant display of Mughlai and Rajasthani architecture. Udaipur's Maharaja owns the palace and resides in it's one section, though this particular section is not open for public.

City Palace

We hired a guide, but he was in great hurry. Though he was helpful, he was neither informative nor patience enough. He rushed us through the various places of the greater historical significance and skipped lot of information. He was more interested in explaining us the various phases of peacock's sex life than explaining us the importance and significance of various artifacts, and places in the palace.

After entering through the main Tripolia (triple) gate, are the Suraj Gokhda (public address facade), the Mor-chowk (Peacock courtyard), the Dilkhush Mahal (heart’s delight), the Surya Chopar, the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of glass and mirrors), the Moti Mahal (Palace of Pearls), the Krishna Vilas (named after Lord Krishna), Shambu Niwas (royal residence now), the Bhim Vilas, the Amar Vilas (with a raised garden) that faces the Badi Mahal (the big palace), the Fateprakash Palace, the Shiv Niwas Palace (the latest addition to the complex), and the princess marriage mantap. Apart from these places, the palace has a crystal gallery, which contains lot of Rajputana artifacts. Entry fee for the crystal gallery is too huge, so it is seldom to see Indian tourist entering the gallery. Apart from the crystal gallery one smaller gallery also exists in palace. This gallery demonstrates history of the palace, kings and his dynasty, and Udaipur in pictures.

A picture at Museum

As most of the palaces in Rajasthan, this palace can also be rented to organize marriages. Though it is quite a nice business, but such businesses do not do justice to the greatness of such historical palaces. Government must really restrict owners to play with such artifacts which have such a great national importance.

Anyway it took us 4 hours to visit the entire palace, and we were really exhausted with the heat, and length and breadth of the palace.

It was already 4 o’clock in the evening and we were yet to visit many places before returning to Gangaur Ghat. We headed to the Sajjan Garh palace. It is situated in the outskirts of the city, on a hill top. It was built to watch the monsoon clouds; hence, it is popularly known as Monsoon palace. Along with rain predictions, kings and queens used the palace for hunting. It offers a panoramic view of the city's lakes, palaces and areas.

Palace has three floors. Among these 3 floors, first 2 are accessible to general public. It is surrounded by Aravali Range. Views from the 1st floor are indescribable. One side of the palace unleashes breathtaking views of the Udaipur city, whereas another side unfolds awesome views of the range. Many people visit the palace to see the glorious sunset. Though the Sun was still too high to elope, but as last vehicle was returning from hill top, so we returned without viewing the sunset.

Udaipur From Mansoon Palace

Aravali Range From Monsoon Palace

It was too difficult to find an auto from the outskirts of the Udaipur, but we found few generous folks who made sufficient space for us. We reached to the ghat by 630 in the evening. Huge ghat was packed with crowd. Ladies were in blue, red, yellow and other bright color. Kids were in their best possible attires. Westerns were trying to breathe in human ocean and get glimpse of Gan and Gaur idols, which were carried by ladies on their heads.

Many idols of Gan and Gaur were already deposited at the Ghat, and women were still bringing more. In the middle of the ghat, actors were performing Kachchi Ghori dance. Finally Udaipur’s queen and her subordinates brought royal idols in a big boat. In general all idols deposited should be submerged into the water, but in Udaipur, people take their idols back to houses and bring them again in next year’s celebration. It is a great tradition to save the water from pollution.

Someone from the crowd also danced with actual performers.

For us, Udaipur festival came alive after royal boat returned. Stage shows were commenced. Now it was time for music, dances, and live performances. First actor performed Shiva’s destruction dance. It was followed by Rajasthan’s welcome Song Kesariya Balam Aayo re. Then it was Goomar dance, fire dance, chart dance, Teerah Taali, and Raas (a musical performance of Radha Krishna’s affair). These 4 hours were the best hours of our trip. I never expected my trip to be so entertaining and thrilling.

Once festival was over, we realized how hungry we were. So we rushed to Santosh Restaurant to have my favourite food i.e. Daal, Baati, and Churma. Food was not as good as it was suggested. Anyway it filled my stomach and desire to eat Daal and Baati in Udaipur.

Day 2 was not as entertaining as Day 1. We started quite late today as well. After having some snacks, we visited Bagore Ki Haweli. It was restored as a museum from ruins. This is a small Haweli with many rooms. Museum started with a room which has many puppets of various sizes, mimicking various people, decorated in bright colors. Other rooms unlocked various Rajasthani cultural activities e.g. Shadi, war, courtrooms, weapons, and clothes etc. Though things placed in Haveli can provide good outlook of Rajasthani culture, it didn't attract me much because things were neither catered nor displayed in an efficient manner.

As it was hot and we were hungry, so we spend 2 hours in a café (Do not remember the name). It was quite near to Jagdish temple and Bagore Ki haweli. It was nice, peaceful café. 2 hours went without much fuzz.

After filling up our stomachs, we went for boating in Fatehsagar Lake. It was quite sunny by the time we reach the lake, so we killed 2 more hours in the nearby park. Around 5Pm, We took a ferry to reach to the Nehru Garden, situated in the middle of the Lake. Though the park was not startling, but there was a certain kind of romance in the environment due to eloping Sun. We returned with another ferry after spending some more time in the park.

Senset

Enjoying the Sunset and in love with Nature.

It was the time for dinner. Few people wanted to return to the city to some hotel which serves Alcohol, whereas I did not have such inclinations. So based on Deepak bhai's recommendations, we went to Raajbagh Restaurant.

It was a perfect restaurant for me. It has tables in open, which are adjacent to the Fatehsagar Lake. You could smell the water from your table. Lights were dim and every table was lit with candle. So it turned out to be a candle light dinner at the shore. I did not really care much about the food at such a nice place. Every item tasted cold, but good. Waiters were also good. We spend some quality time at the restaurant and left the restaurant quite late.
I must recommend this place to all people, mostly couples, to visit this nice restaurant. In nutshell, you would not go for food, but for the aroma and charm of the place.

In Udaipur, you do not get any kind of transport after 11 PM. So we were stuck at some unknown area without a hope of any public transport, but one unknown person helped us and drove us to a place where autos were available. So all in all, horrendous day ended with a smile on our faces.

Around 12 o'clock, I boarded to bus and left Udaipur. It was one among the best trips of my life.

Ahmadabad Trip: Mahudi

As Ahmedabad does not host lot of historical, religious, and scenic monuments, so my friend planned to visit nearby religious monuments. We started with Ghandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat. The city hosts the oldest Akshardham temple in India. So we planned to visit this temple first, but after turning up at it's empty gate, we realized a loophole in our plan. We visited the temple on Monday, which is the only resting day for the temple staff in a week.

Though we were disappointed, still we had planned to visit other temples. Hence rather than considering it as a set back, I welcomed it as a well timed relief. Mini Amarnath temple was next in line. This temple is a replica of the Amarnath temple. Amarnath temple, situated in the Himalayas, is the most popular and dangerous Hindu shrine. You need to walk, and trek a little to reach to the mini Amarnath temple's. This hall imitates a natural cave and it has a Shiv-ling. The Shiv-ling is created artificially using snow and maintained at -5 Deg C to save it from melting. If you have any temptation to touch the deity, you must be prepared to donate 1000 Rs. Apart from the main hall, this temple hosts 10-12 other Shiv-lings which are replicas of the most popular Shiv temples across India.

Next temple was a Jain temple. This temple, widely known as Ghantaghar Mahaveer Ji jain temple, is situated in Mahudi. Maudi is 35 Km away from Ghandhinagar. The temple is quite beautiful, but it is associated with plenty of rumours.

Second hall which host Idol of Ghantaghar wale Shri Mahavir Ji

Temple is spread across a huge area. Along with three prayer halls, it has a museum, library, inn, parking lot and mess. Out of 3 halls, biggest hall hosts idols of 24 Jain Tirthankars. The oldest and prodigious idol, which belongs to Padam Prabhu, has been placed in this hall. The architecture of the hall is quite impressive and elaborate. Second hall is dedicated to Ghantaghar wale mahavir ji, he is known as the guardian of the temple. Third hall has idol of Yognistha Acharya Bhagwant Shrimad BuddhiSagarSuriSwarji Maharaj Sahebji, who put the foundation stone of the temple. Main attraction of the temple is 2 bells i.e Ghanta(in Hindi). One of these bell weights couple of tons. This bell is used only once in a year on Diwali and it's sound can be heard at few miles away from the temple. Second bell weights 40-50 kg and it has been places at the top of marble ladders.

Sukhadi, as a Prasad, is offered to the deity. Sukhadi is prepared with Pure Desi Ghee, wheat flour and Jaggery, and it is quite delicious. Rumours say that if you taje the Prasad out of the Mahudi village intentionally or unintentionally, then you will face fierce consequences. As per local people, whoever tried to take Sukhadi home, didn't even reach home. They were met with an accident before reaching home. It must be eaten or distributed in the temple premise only. So keeping all these rumours in mind, the devotees are prohibited from taking this outside the temple premises.

However list of prohibitions does not end here. You are prohibited to take photographs in the premise. As per the rumours, deity is still active in the temple, and if he is captured in the photographs, then he can create problems in your life.

After visiting the premise, we went to the exhibition hall and found a narrator who narrated the complete story of the temple. He told us all the mysterious phenomenon associated with the temple and he supported most of these events with unconvincing stories and reasons. This session lasted for 90 minutes, and we collected some history, and unconvincing theories about the temple.

Mahudi temple was our last frontier for the day, still the day was not yet over as our nights were already booked for another Garba session.

Ahmedabad Trip: Garba Nights

I planned my trip to Ahmedabad at the time of the Navratri, so that I could enjoy world famous Gujarati dance, i.e. Garba and Dandiya. My friend's explanation was so elaborate, and enticing, that missing Garba, this year, was inevitable. So in the Navratri I was in Ahmadabad for three nights and each of the three nights was Garba night due to my friend's efforts.

Garba and Dandiya are Indian forms of dance these were originated in Gujarat, an Indian state. Many traditional Garbas were performed around a central lit lamp of different avatar of Shakti Maa, but now Garba has been changed drastically over the years. Now Garba has mixed with Dandiya and it has become more vibrant, and dynamic. Traditionally guys wear Kurta-Pajama and girls wear Chaniya-Choli-Dupatta. It is celebrated in the Navratri, 9 days celebration, just before Dussehra.

On day one (Seventh day of Garba), we reached to the party hall quite late, but the hall was lively, and completely packed. It was filled with vibrant colors, loud music, and enthusiastic Gujjus. Thousands of people, who were dressed in colorful and traditional Gujarati attires, were present in the hall and they were dancing with never lasting enthusiasm. Atmosphere at the hall was highly jubilant, and elated.

Though the hall was filled with few thousand people, but nobody, in the entire hall, was concerned about others. Everyone was enjoying so much that the existence of others was inconsequential.

After  Music was halted.

We started the Garba without losing any other moment. First I learned a few steps, and I joined the group. Though my confidence level was low and my feet were not dynamic, but still I tried my best to maintain the rhythm with others.

Due to the regulations in Ahmadabad, music stopped at 12AM, and all of us had to leave the party hall. As our night started couple of hours back, so after leaving the party hall, we went to the hotel for the dinner instead leaving to our homes. We had the special Gujarati dinner which was delicious, but it did not have any Gujarati dish. After having the delicious dinner, we all departed to our homes.

Next day we went to Chokhi Dhani. We were late again, and by the time we reached to the place, people had started leaving. Even after, so many people had already left, the hall was yet overpopulated, and the remaining bunch was not in any mood to stop. Music was loud and wild. Everyone was fully engrossed in the beats. Due to the yesterday's dancing experience, I was able to move my feet at the Garba beats. We formed a circle and danced around it. Lot of people joined our formation, and sometimes we joined other formations to keep the Garba alive.

Again, the Garba lasted for one hour only, but this hour was filled with fun and it was highly rejuvenating. People were gasping for more, but there was not any music for them.

Group at second day@Chokhi Dhani

Though the Garba was over, but the night was still young and refreshing. We had tea at a closed shop and later had the dinner on a road side restaurant. At the restaurant, we treated ourselves with the south Indian food which was cooked in the Gujarati style. Till now I was not able to find a decent Gujarati restaurant, so at-least one more day I had to wait for the Gujarati meal.

Earlier I had planned to leave the next day, but citing a holiday on Vijaydashami; I stayed there for one more day. As it was last, and the most important day of Navratra, so I planned to spend this auspicious day with my friends, instead spending this day in the train.

Third night was way too bigger than first two nights. We went to ONGC Ground, Ahmadabad. It was big stadium filled with thousands of people. This ground was divided in 2 different parts. One was a circle in the middle of ground where only girls were allowed whereas remaining people were allowed outside this circle. This time we reached to the ground around 11PM. Last night we all lacked a good group. People who accompanied us in last days were busy with some other friends. Due to this, we ended with the people who were more interested in sexy girls in the ground.

People performing garba@ONGC Ground

Time stops, but clock does not. After 2AM we all were forced to leave the ground. We returned to the society and it was still active, and alive. Most of the residents were out in the garden and they all were enjoying the Dandiya. So after playing it in a smaller group for some time, we joined all of them. After spending an hour in the Dandiya, we roamed in the streets which were still filled with people. Every street had one tent to play the Garba. Whether the street was a small, or a big street, or belonged to the paupers, or the riches, it had its own establishment of Maa Shakti.

Dandiya at the Society Garden.

I completely enjoyed the Navratra in Ahmadabad. It was not the dance, it was not the beats, it was not the time I spent but it was the energy of the people. In these days, you do not need friends, and you can mix with anyone and everyone. It is much more than Diwali in north India; it is much more than Teej in Rajasthan. It is as big as Chrismas, but it is more social than this. Every person irrespective of age, sex, and religion enjoys the festival of Navratri and beats of the Garba.

Ahmedabad Trip: Adalaj Stepwell

18 hours bus journey to Ahmedabad was an awful experience and a lesson to plan trips in advance. Due to my laziness, I was not able to book train tickets which cost me my comfort and sleep. Anyway, after reaching to Ahmedabad (21st Oct), my beautiful host showed me the hotel and left me there for uncertain number of hours. After spending 4 dreadful hours in hotel room, I was taken out for Ahmedabad tourism.

We went to Adalaj Stepwell, which was approximately 10Km far from my hotel. The Stepwell is a well surrounded by steps situated in Adalaj village. A larger section of the monument is inaccessible to people, so it is difficult to understand the place well. But still the location was worth spending the time.

Direct from Wikipedia

The stepwell was built in 1499 by Muslim king Mohammed Begda for Queen Rani Roopba, wife of Veer Singh, theVaghela chieftain. The step well or 'Vav', as it is called in Gujarati, is intricately carved and is five stories in depth. Such step wells were once integral to the semi arid regions of Gujarat as they provided basic water needs for drinking, washing and bathing. These wells were also venues for colorful festivals and sacred rituals.

Though the monument is small, yet this place is a wonderful and marvelous piece of Hindu architecture. Design engraved on stones and walls is prodigious. It is the five story monument where every story is supported by beautiful pillars erected in symmetry surrounding the well.

Apart from the well, this monument has a well maintained garden to rest; that's why this monument is used as a gutar gu place for lovers. This Stepwell is freely accessible to the public so sometimes you may catch some live action in the garden.

I feel everyone, visiting to Ahmedabad, must visit Stepwell once to know, and see the rich architecture, and the profound planning of ancient time.

PS: I was not aware about the place, so I did not carry my camera; hence I could take any pics at my own. Pics used in the blog are taken from other sites.

Gujarat: Ahmedabad

I always wished to visit all Indian states. My intention to travel different states is to know culture, religion, people, standard of living, dressing, traditions, and other such important aspects of inhabitants living in the state. Most people will suggest me to find this information on internet, instead taking trouble in visiting. But I do not think that it is possible to visualize or understand the society without spending time with them.

I have heard a lot about Gujarat in past, but I never got a chance to visit the state. For me Gujarat is synonym to Mr Modi, communal violence, rich Gujju people, love city, garba, developments, state where BJP has anarchy, and Dhokla.

Now I have got a chance to stay in Ahmedabad and feel state's real nature, find state's characteristics, and know more about the state. This trip will surely change or strengthen my perceptions about the state.

In this trip I am going to see Navratra festival, and if I am lucky enough, then I will get a chance to participate in Garba (Gujarati Traditional dance). Apart from Garba, I am going to meet lot many Gujju people and will get to know their prospective. Next comes the snacks. We always get to eat Gujarati dishes in north Indian, or south Indian fashion. This time I am going to taste Gujarati dishes cooked in Gujarati style.

Hope I will enjoy the trip and learn a little about the state which is always in news for one reason or other.

Himalayan Adventure #2 - Day 1 : Ghangaria

It was our second trip to the Himalayan region, so this time we were more experienced and matured. Instead of leaving thread hanging, we thought to plan the trip minutely and smartly. As compared to our previous trip, this time we had a plenty of time to cover nearby areas. Along with covering nearby areas, time was sufficient to cover, rest, and enjoy the planned places. Experience and mistakes of the last trip were also considered while planning.

This time we started late in the evening i.e. 11 PM. We didn't want to spend a night in Rishikesh. So we planned to reach Rishikesh early in the morning, and continue our journey. As most buses, operating at these routes, are pushback, so we planned to use the fare well.

There were some glitches in our plan like any other perfect plan. In our plan we didn't consider Kawariyan Season. Due to the festival season, Bus stands were overcrowded with pilgrims, and buses were nowhere to be seen. Every bus, entering the stand, was chased and filled within seconds. In such a chaos, a bus conductor persuaded us to take the Dehradoon route. He assured us to reach Dehradoon within 6 hours. But we promise, to break it. So this bus conductor was no exception.

Our bus started at 12AM in the night, and reached Dehradoon at 8AM in the morning. Our fight with time had started. We rushed to catch a bus to Rishikesh, which took one hour to reach Rishikesh. All buses going to Badrinath were already left. So instead of wasting time, and losing other favourable options, we planned to split the journey into two parts. We planned to reach Rudraprayag first, and take another bus or shared taxi to Joshimath. So We boarded the bus going to Rudraprayag. We reached Rudraprayag at 3PM. Our fight with time was not over yet; we faced a lot of difficulties to find any vehicle to Joshimath. In normal days, it was possible to find shared taxis, but any taxi wasn't available at Taxi stand today. Anyway we got a bus to Joshimath after waiting for half an hour. We reached Joshimath around 8PM, so considering the risk involved in journey at this time, so we planned to rest at Joshimath.

Joshimath is a big town, which has a good number of options for night stay. Houses in town are scattered all across the mountains. Highest visible house is approximately 500 ft higher than the market. This town remains inhabited in winters also, though it receives a heavy snow fall during the peak winters. Town's market is decent, and it is equipped with everything required for day to day living. Due to transportation cost, daily household things are also costly in the town, but people have to suffer those additional costs due to their territorial position.

After spending the night in Joshimath, we started to Govindghat early in the morning. We reached Govindghat 10 AM. In general Sikhs travelling to Hemkund Sahib spend their night at Govindghat Gurudwara, which is situated next to Alaknanda river. Govindghat Gurudwara does not offer much to see around so we did not take any substantial break at Gurudwara.

The Bridge after Govindghat Gurudwara, which is built to Cross Alaknanda River.

UK government has laid out a nice concrete road for pilgrims visiting to Hemkund Sahib, and it made our task little less challenging. Distance between Govindghat and Ghangaria Gurudwara is approximately 13-14 KMs, which is accountable distance to even walk in a single day. However nothing could change our mind. We were carrying our luggage with us, so we had to climb with these bulky bags.

Start of the Trek is littered by horse dung. So this small stretch does not only smell heavily, but also it causes lot of problems in rainy season. After crossing this stretch, road is pleasant, and covered with trees. Valley is musical with the sound of rushing water. At the time of our visit, weather predictions were favourable to us.

Lakshman Ganga River

We walked first KM easily without any pain, but we already knew the long run. Soon every additional 100 meters were posing new challenges. Path was filled with green and huge trees. Lot of flowers were also enhancing the beauty of the place.

We were moving slowly, but time was never a constraint to us. Even if we would take 7 hours to reach to top, then also we would reach at 7 o'clock in the evening which was acceptable to us. We took multiple breaks at regular intervals to manage our breath and body well. In spite of tiredness, we enjoyed the beauty of the nature. Every step was unfolding breathtaking views behind the mountains.

River@this place was flowing like a river, not like a fall. So we were able to spend some quality time here.

Kunal, lost in the world of water. Must be thinking of words.

River Bank, cluttered with indisputable owner river bank: pebbles

View of the valley from the River bank.

We stayed at place, above in the pictures, for half an hour. Though, it would have been awesome to spend the night under the stars, but we did not have enough resources to settle down in open. This place was 7 kilometers far from the starting point, so other 7 kilometers were still remaining. Though this trek had already demonstrated our health strength, stamina, and capabilities, but against all other odds, we were determined to win.

After walking little further, a bridge declared completion of 7 kilometers, and in addition, it announced new challenges on the way. It announced the start of another climb on another mountain. It was little steeper than the one we completed.

Hemkund Sahib is one among many pilgrimages for Sikh community, so lot of Sikhs were trekking with us. People, of different ages, were rushing to finish their climb/day. Every person, returning from Hemkund Sahib, was encouraging tired people. Additionally most of them were carrying glucose pack, toffees, and water bottles, to help people in need. Helpful nature of each individual toward another was worth a praise, and it was second most satisfying aspect of this trip.

Sun was moving faster than our climb. Our trip was nowhere to end. We kept walking, resting and walking. Though our shoulders were aching due to weight, though we were sweating due to climb, but our goal was not achieved yet and we were still 3 kilometers away from Gurudwara.

Though we were tired to the death, but we could not ignore the beauty of the mountains. They were changing colors with the Sun. These mountains were covered with ice at some places, with long trees at few, and with everything or nothing at rest other places. All these gigantic mountains were telling us, that nothing, even human, can be larger than these.

Fall on the way. I am not sure which angle was used to take this picture, but it is a nice capture.

Water demonstrating it's destructive powers.

Green valley with silver coating.

Nange Pahars

Yeh kisi shayar ki mohtaj nahi,
Ise kisi ashik se ashiki ki pyas nahi.
Ise kisi chayakar ke chitran se pyar nahi...
Yeh  ek  fiza mein ghula aisa nasha hai, jise jindagi ke rukne ka intjar nahi.

We kept moving, and on the way we crossed helipad, temples, and river streams and after 7 hours of suffering, and trekking we reached to Ghangaria. We were there in the town. Town is not big. It has few shops, few hotels and restaurants. We headed to the Gurudwara because If we were allowed to stay in Gurudwara, then our stay and dinner was free of any charge.

Way in which Sikh community is serving the humanity is worth appreciating. Any human is always welcome to their premise, irrespective of his cast, religion, cult, colour, region, and reason. He can eat, sleep, and mingle with them without any resistance. I went to clerk's window to ask for beds, and I got 2 beds without any question other than my name for their records.

After putting burden off from our shoulders, we enjoyed the awesome tea. We treated ourselves with 2 glasses of tea. Later dinner i.e. Prasada was splendid, and extremely tasty. After dinner, we retired in our beds without any further delay. Though we were tired, but our sleep eluded us. As the person sleeping next to our bed was producing excellent sounds while snorting.

The day must be summed as a tiring, but scenic, and soothing, with a nice healing end.

Himalayan Adventure #1 - Day 2 : Tungnath

DeoraiTal was a great experience to us, but our fun was not limited to this place. Saari is a small place so shared taxis are available till 8AM in the morning, but after 8AM you have to hire a private vehicle to commute. Our guide had instructed us to reach to Saari before 8AM, but we could not leave the lake  early in the morning. We reached to the village at 9AM, but as expected this place was already deserted. Shopkeepers were the only people who were left behind to assist us. In the end, our guide arranged a cab for us which cost us 800 INR.
 

Distance between Chopta and Saari village is 35 KM. Roads are spiral, narrow, and steep, but these are maintained well. Both sides of the Roads are covered with big and old oak trees. Drivers are trained well for such roads. Though these drivers drive on such risky roads with considerable speed, but they understand their responsibilities. At last We reached to Chopta around 12 noon. 
 

Chopta is small settlement and Commencement point to 3rd of Panch Kedar. It is 2680 meters above sea level. This place is resting place for trekkers and pilgrims. Chopta/Tungnath is more commercialized than Saari Village as it attracts higher number of Hindu pilgrims. Hindu pilgrims prefer to spend their nights at hotels available at Chopta whereas trekkers prefer to trek to Tungnath and enjoy spectacular Sunrise/Sunset. 
 

While leaving Saari, we didn't have appetite for breakfast, but we were starving now. So we planned to trek right after lunch. Lots of shops and restaurants were available so we stuffed our stomach. Before starting our journey, one gentleman offered us his help. He asked us to contact Mandir Samiti people and hand them the piece of paper that he gave. He has mentioned his name on the Paper, but forgot to provide any other information on it. (BTW you don't really need any information. At top you will not find many options to confuse)

Started for Tungnath trekking from here.

We pulled up our socks for uphill trekking which was a 4 KM's walk. This trekking path is built with stones and cement, and it is steeper than the Deorai Tal trek. One side of the path is covered with the green grass and other side has breathtaking view of the mountains series. We were walking slowly and taking more breaks to enjoy the views, to get familiar with the environment, to maintain my breath in lesser oxygen density area, and to carry our heavy bags. At last We hired a porter to carry our bags which gave us the freedom to enjoy the surrounding. Finally, We took 2 hours to reach to the temple premise.

Breathing time.

Entry Point to Tungnath

Tungnath Temple, It almost remain less populated.

Tungnath temple is the highest temple among all Panch Kedars. Tunganath (literal meaning: Lord of the peaks) mountains form the Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys. Located at an altitude of 3,680 m (12,073 ft), and just below the peak of Chandrashila. Tungnath temple is the highest Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is believed to be 1000 years old and is the second in the pecking order of the Panch Kedars. It has a rich legend linked to the Pandavas, heroes of the Mahabharata epic.

The temple is a small premise, you can rather call it a room of 200 square feet. It is built with stones. Simple temple structure is the most attractive and beautiful thing about it. Main sanctum is surrounded with other deities. In compare to other Hindu shrines Tungnath attracts less number of devotees, that's why this place is less populated and polluted.

At the peak there are very less options to stay and eat. In general Hindu devotees trek in the morning and return back in the evening so the People, who stay overnight, are either trekkers or bird watchers. For these people, Mandir Samiti has build one guest house which has 4 rooms. These rooms are cheap (400 INR only), comfortable and spacious. Apart from the guest house there are few other places for overnight stay which might be as good as other room, but we settled in guest house room. Food is quite good, just like home cooked food, tasty and cheap. We were actually tired after trekking so we took some rest before having our lunch.

Chandrashila is an another peak accessible from the Tungnath and it is 1 Km walk from the Tungnath. Lodge caretaker asked us to accompany them in their evening walk to the peak. The way to the peak is quite easy and manageable. But due to less oxygen and non availability of water, I was breathing heavily. So I quit the walk in the middle. I returned back to the room, but Kunal walked to the top with other people.

Sunrise I think.

Chandrashila is  summit  of the Tungnath . It literally means "Moon Rock". It is located at a height of about 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level. This peak provides a spectacular view of Himalayas,especially Nandadevi, Trisul, Kedar Peak, Bandarpunch and Chaukhamba peaks. Sunset and Sunrise views, from the peak, are the biggest charm of the place.

As our planning was not adequate, that's why we didn’t have enough cloths to sustain in the cold, and it posted little trouble to me as well. In the evening I was down with fever, and we could not find any medicine. In the meantime Kunal returned from Chandrashila. He took spectacular shots with his camera and was too happy. I missed it all, and I was little sad about it, but I did not lose my hopes.

Morning didn't bring any good news and I couldn't encourage myself to trek to Chandrashila in these conditions. So I ditched the trekking plans, whereas Kunal woke up late. He didn't have enough time to climb to the peak before sunrise. But still he found few people walking in different direction. He followed them and reached to a place where lots of people were assembled to view Sunrise. They told him, the view from both the places are same. So without missing anything, he returned happily with astonishing Sunrise shots.

Sunrise

Sunrise

Around 9 AM, we got ready for return journey. We walked around the temple a little, took some photographs and had our breakfast before trekking down to Chopta. We trekked down with our friend and lodge caretaker. We reached to Chopta and took a cab to Okhimath. From Okhimath, we took a shared cab and reached to Rishikesh safely (safely because cab's tyres were punctured once and blasted once, scary is not it) at 7 PM in the evening.

Walking back to Chopta to return back to same Noisy City

Man with hope.

It was an exciting trip with new experiences and challenges. We achieved a lot but I missed a little too. Everything was special as if somebody has read my heart and crafted the surrounding to match my taste. Though I regret to miss Chandrashila and I would come back to Himalayas and I would achieve the height, higher than the height that scared me this time. 

Few Points to Remember:
1. Do not hire private cab, you will surely get some other bakra who has hired it and can take you to your destination in very less money.
2. Do not talk to middlemen, they are little extra burden on you.
3. Take water with you while trekking.
4. Carry minimum weight with you.
5. Must carry medicines in case of urgency.
6. Must carry enough warm cloths.
7. There is no electricity at Tungnath, so carry your own source of light. Candles is also helpful.
8. Cellone's mobile network is only network available there.

Contact Information
Deorai Tal - Negi Mountaineering(Bhawani Singh) - 09410940110
Tungnath - Sandeep Care taker at Mandir Samiti Guest House - 09458081787 

Trip to Deorai Tal