"La kumaoni affaire"

26^th May,2012………7:00 A.M…………

A cool breakway passage in sveltering 45 degress….…..sitting back in my office on  a Friday evening flipping sightseeing areas on “google baba’……nainital hit me….alternate Saturdays being a weekly off, devising the plan was not difficult at all…”Redbus" came to the rescue….and my brief escape for 2 days to 25 degrees was hitched……additional assistance on hotel booking  was made by Cleartrip.com….thanks to the online industry client partner association I enjoyed….so here started the caravan….travelling 300 kms overnight on road by Kingsway Roadway Travels from Ramakrishna Ashram Marg ,(Delhi) to Mall Road (nainital)…..the Ac was quite effective in the bus…despite occasional brawls between fellow passengers  popping up enroute……the morning sun rays woke me up at Haldwani….and the farsighted silhouette of the hills beckoned me more as the bus started taking the meandering terrain……groups of deodar and pine winked through the glass pane window…..it took us 45 mins to finally get down at nainital mall road from haldwani….Deepakji was ready with his santro with his “mehmaan nawazi”…….and soon we were making way to Bhowali (Bhimtal) to our home for 2 days – “Hotel Maya Regency”……we happened to be “memsahibs from the capitol” considering the welcome received from “Nandanji’ the “hotel caretaker”…mom easily by that time had developed a son like rapport with him….very soon we came to know his originality from ‘Almora” and he  got a warm invitation to the Roy family home in delhi…….a sumptuous breakfast followed…”poha’, maggi and paranthas with milk coffee….was enough to keep our stomachs filled till evening……a quick shower and getting into travel attire, off we were again in Deepakji’s grey santro…..amongst the chuckling deodars…..nitanjali’s Nikon Coolpix was a better version than my Kodak C480…so the video clips were mine and the still ones her’s………our first halt was the hanuman mandir at nainital…..since it is always consideed auspicious to start your day with blessings from the “sankat mochan”;…….while coming down from the temple we were summoned by his living lookalikes……were freed only after the ‘prashad’ was distributed…..our next destination was “Dorothy’s seat”…”khurpatal lake”….”suicide point”….specifically to mention “on horses”….deepakji  used to cite stories of Britishraaj way back in 1800’s……their architectural intellect, and their creations…noteworthy was the White coloured “Governor house” and the “court building” we got to see as proof on our way …..it was 11 in the morning….”suraj mama” was smiling with his soft rays but the breeze apast our ears carried a lot of freshness with it..it was like sipping a mint mojito….in air conditioned restaurant in delhi….finally we reached the horse station……………..the tout charged us Rs.650 each , since we were 3 ladies…special “khidmat’ was for us….for the next 3 hours...we were no less than “jhansi ki raanis’…..aboard on new means of travel…the total distance was 21 kms uphill..and den returning back …..mom got “sultan’….nitanjali’s hero was “jugnu” and mine was “raju”…….soon we were trotting past pine, deodar oak &spruce jungles….there was no pukka road….the jerks were casual…..the jungle insects kept the adventure intimidating…..it was approx.. 20 mins….dat we passed "suicide point" and reached "Tiifin top" & Khurpatal lake…..the view was stunning…blue waters in the shape of a cow’s feet…amidst the hilly stepped meadows from great height…..Hamid , Rashid and Altaf were ready for the photo clicking session and they were truly experts in the trade…….Rashid was the main horse instructor..and soon we became adept at horse riding…..specially mom..who was taught to pull the Chords of the horse in a similar manner as a “car steering”…….my knee bruised itself as it got kissed by a dead tree trunk…..and I was bitten by a jungle fly too…..”Dorothy seat” was the next halt…..Dorothy madame used to paint her canvas siting here…and once one of her pictures had flown away in the mind..in the pursuit of getting it she had fallen off and died….at a height of2300 metres above sea level… the scenic view was phenomenal….we spotted “St.Johns’ Church" at a distance and "Nainital zoo' was also waving at us…….the ride again began downhill…..we were carefully taken to our place of start……next halt was “Cave gardens”…..6 caves……swarmed with children inside……my main area of interest was the ropeway and boating in “Naini Lake”…..but lack of time made us miss the ropeway and China peak(2600 metres above sea level)…since there were forest fires..and the smoke shrouded the mightly Himalayas……it was already 4.30 P.M …..and deepakji insisted that boat ride was relaxing in Sattal”…..enroute..there were small halts with photo sessions….of Ramtaal…Laxmantaal and Sitaltaal…Purna Taal, Nal Damyanti taal (named after King Nala who drowned in this lake), Garud taal and Sukha Taal( dried up lake). An evening amidst oak trees and rich greenery was a complete stressbuster ……we found ourselves kayaking in “suresh’s Boat’……fondly referred as “pal tola nouka”(in Bengali) by me……the placid waters  refreshed us with its coldness,vitality and exuberance…….my heart wanted me to stay there for ages…such was the silence of the woods….no fear..no pain..no strain……nitanjali insisted on “cuppa chai and challi”…..but maggi was the requirement of the day tooo……amidst the giigling waters of the lake…it was truly a feast for the occasion…….it was already 8:00 P.M …..and we needed sleep….so room no 210 was the only choice….           

Continued…next day – Mukteshwar………….28 th May,2012