Thursday, August 8, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Confessions @ Trente
“Tring, tring”…the landline phone rang….Maa cried to me “ Piku, can you pick up the phone please, I think it is Buri Pishi”….(Pishi in Bengali means paternal aunt)….i was dozing off on a lazy Saturday afternoon…anyways somehow picked myself up & held the telephone. “Yes Pishi”, “tor maa ke phoneta de” (pass the telephone to your mom).Mom was already standing beside me & then the conversation began….from what I could gather was it was Buri Pishi’s elder son “Sona Dada’s” (Dada means elder brother in Bengali) marriage getting fixed & we were getting invited for the reception in April to Kolkata. “Book tickets darling, we just have 1 month to go, you know the status in IRCTC these days”. “Anyways we need to pay something extra to the tout”. Mom said to me while keeping down the receiver.
“April ...you mean to say right”? “Yeah “came her spontaneous reply. “Starting of the financial year & you want me to take a leave”. “Social responsibilities beta”, pat came the reply. “You cannot avoid them”. “I would suggest write an application to your boss that you would be on leave for 7 days”.
My only reluctance of going to the wedding was not that it was the start of the financial year, not that my monthly sales target would not be achieved, not that it was sultry, hot & humid in Kolkata, the only issue was “QUESTIONS”. In my mother’s words ‘questions arising out of social responsibility”. I was standing a year to go to “trente” (Thrawnte –in French, meaning ‘thirty”). Aged 29, I was 5 feet 5 inches, weighing 50 kilos, looked more like a delhite, but very “ban-ga-li” from heart. You make me wear a sari or Jumpsuit, I never looked my age. I drove my Tata safari, went to the gym, joined swimming, partied, wrote & essentially brought business to my organization. I was “Sales Head” of a top MNC in Gurgaon handing a team of 30 members in the north zone. I was “HAPPY GO LUCKY’ chirpy, bubbly, humorous, loved make up & perfumes, had a passion for travelling & the best part was “single”.
My my…single…the FIRST QUESTION- “So Srabani, when are you getting Piku married?” The one question I always hated from the deepest bottom of my heart”. This was the only question “Social responsibility people – Relatives” in other words had to ask whenever I paid a visit to them. I knew this day Buri Pishi’s invitation had come. “It is very obvious beta”mom’s reply used to be ready.
The same happened at “Sona Dada’s” reception too. I had got myself a beautiful creamish kanjeevaram for the wedding. Every social responsibility venue – new set of faces. No wonder mom’s list of relatives was never ending- quite a large pedigree you see. “
“Ooo maa koto boro hoye gechis, koto boyesh holo re Srabani tor meyer” (Oh my God, she has grown up so much, what is your daughter’s age Srabani?)
This was another most hated query “QUESTION NO :2”.
Uggggghhhhh….all my smile used to vanish, & I used to melt in the crowd. Srabani was my mother’s name. Some of my relatives were quite morally aware of their social responsibilities for mom & her family.
Hence they used to walk the extra mile in getting “a suitable Boy” for me. In typical Bengali households, the mother of the “suitable boy” is the first & prominent decision maker” if she likes your mother & your family & foresees her requirements of an “ideal bouma’ (ideal daughter-in-law) in you is getting fulfilled, Bingo! You cross your first hurdle.
Similar experiences happened with me too.
“Tring tring”.Again the phone rang. “Hello! Is it Mrs. Srabani Bhattacharya?”….i could gauge it was the mother of a “suitable boy “on the other side.” Yes” & I handed over the phone to mom….as mom started speaking I could firmly make out the conversation. Conclusively it came out as this. Initially she spoke of her family, the cultural heritage that her family has, her husband, her son &daughters, her well off social hiatus, her house in Kolkata.
But boy came Question no: 3 -”aapnar meye forsha to “(is your girl fair?) “Ha, ha” another one in my hatred list.
”Ujjwal shamborna “(wheatish) came my mother’s reply.
”Ohhhhh! Mota noi to?” (Ohhh! hope she is not fat) was Question no-4 on the other end.
“Huhhhhhh! Why don’t you figure out on your own? Her Jeevansathi ID is RWT1234”. By that time mom had already become irritated.
“Haan Haan, sure”, was the reply from other side.
“Aapnar jodi bhalo laage aapni janaben” (If you like the profile let us know please.) mom replied.
“In the meanwhile, can you please send a bio data of your son?” “He does not have a bio data.” “OK, then any matrimonial profile ID?” “Yeah he has, please hold on let me ask his father, or probably I shall SMS you.” “Fine, mom kept down the phone.”
“Ping Ping”…the mobile buzzed after an hour. The SMS had come from the Ganguly’s.
“Check out the profile”, mom told me passing over the nokia 1110 handset. As per practice, I logged into jeevansathi.com & found the profile of Mr. Rupesh Ganguly. Engineer by profession, working in Noida, 5 feet 7 inches, dark complexion, and annual compensation 10 lakhs.
“He is a little bald & looked older than his age”. I sobbed. “Never mind Piku, let’s talk it out. If everything goes well, we shall look into the matter.” I shut down the system nodding my head.
Next day was Monday & I reached office late. Pop! My gtalk said, as I was busy making monthly reports. “You have a new chat request from Rupesh Ganguly”
Ahem! Ahem! Accepted.
After the few rounds of occasional “Hi- Hola’s, started the conversation. “So you live alone? “4th hated question. “How does that make a difference?” I murmured to myself. “Anyways I am not going to call you at my place.” “Nopes, with parents.” “Ahuh”.
Official information got exchanged & then was the 5th query “So, any boyfriend”? I felt like closing the chat window. “How stupid can a person be to ask such a question”- If I had a boyfriend, why on earth would I look for an option of arranged marriage. Secondly even if had one, why should I admit that in front of a stranger? Ridiculous! I murmured….can’t be guys normal? Why do they act so weird when they have to talk to a girl on the pretext of marriage?
I came home that day & lamented it to mom. She kept on smiling & urged me to act neutral. I acted accordingly & treated him to be a suspect client – as per my sales profession. By then, Gtalk chats had moved up to mobile texts & since weekend was nearing, the guys overflowing interest to meet me followed. By this time, I could gather this much information from him that he had a house in Noida, he owned a Ford Figo, had a super busy office, few set of friends, never liked Delhi but job made him shift here & the most important part- he would first like to go round with the girl for 6 months & then decide on marriage.
Suitable boys’ mother’s have their own requirements. They want a “fair, slim, working, yet homely girl with good cultural principles’….even though their son doesn’t seem to be a 20 percent fit, then you have guys who pop up in your lives asking you whether you are single, if single whether you live alone or not & if you live alone, are you open to have fun or not?
“Thirty “was a figure, rather an age which always appealed to me since I finished my MBA from Xaviers, Pune. Thirty was the number; it was the threshold by which I had planned to have my second car, a new house, some good bank balance, a sturdy job in a top MNC & a mark in myself. I had achieved all that by then, except for the fact that I cannot handle “social responsibilities” any more…so here I am, writing down my confessions. Confessions when you reach the threshold of thirty in an Indian society, when you want to be on your own, you want to reach those stars, get your dreams fulfilled, you are overburdened with the “harbingers of social customs”- THE PEOPLE – Marriage in India has always been pressured on the girl. Even though we now have grown, matured & evolved, I fail to see the educated Indian in society; you still talk & behave as it was three decades back. Worse still, the young generation guy who wears western clothes, hears more of Britney Spears, cannot think of life without a cellphone, treats friends @ McDonalds, has nights outs & has 3 girlfriends by the age of 18, actually hasn’t changed a bit in his thoughts. Maybe I sound biased, with no intention of hurting the alpha male, whatever I have written here is my true experience. I have confessed every thought that has flashed & disturbed me, my existence of being a woman, an educated, successfully, socially, morally responsible woman. Hope every girl will like it and every boy will think about it…..
Sunday, January 6, 2013
TOYLAND In the Hills!
End of the year, official leaves on the verge of getting
lapsed, family wants outing, you want a holiday not more than 2nights/3 days,
Shimla is the ideal destination in December winters. Only if you are in mood to further
shift into colder temperatures & have some fun in snow. Kalka is the
nearest railhead from Shimla, KALKA SHATABDI express takes you from New Delhi
to Kalka in almost 4.5 Hours. There are 2 shatabdis – one deaparting in the
morning @007:40 hours, the other @ 17:15
hours, both from New Delhi Railway station. There are good number of Volvo buses
also plying between Delhi & Shimla. One can go ahead & get a bus
booking done from Redbus.in or makemytrip.com. There are couple of other trains
also running from Sarai Rohilla railway station to kalka but shatabdi is the best train to travel in terms of time
& conveniency. Once you reach Kalka, there are connecting Toy trains which
can ferry you to Shimla in almost 5 hours. There are a host of toy trains ,
which gives sheer pleasure to children running past 103 tunnels, though the
journey can be little boring for adults. If you happen to reach kalka at night
by the evening shatabdi, you have toy trains like “Shivalik Deluxe ”, “Rail Motor”,
“Himalayan Queen to take you to Shimla. If you reach kalka by the morning
shatabdi, “himalyan queen” is the connecting toy train for the same. In
winters, Northern Railways have big delays in train arrival & departure, so
do not be shocked if Shatabdi departs 3-4 hours late & you miss the toy
train. In that case, you get taxis from kalka to Shimla, small cars like Indica
will charge you Rs.1600, bigger cars go upto Rs.3000. Generally, if you are in
a big group, it is suggestible to hire a bigger car like a Qualis or innova.
Shimla is a small city. It is the only city/Hill station in India which does
not allow cars to come to the “Mall Road” – The most important market place
& business centre of the city. Cars generally drop you near the bus stand.
Even the railway station is nearest to the bus stand. There are “lifts” available to carry you to
the other parts of the city e.g the ridge. The city is divided into various
elevations & for going into each part you can avail the lift facility.
Normally, they charge Rs.100 to Indians for choosing the lift service. The
other surprising part of Shimla one gets to see “Human Porters” who carry your
luggage to the hotel. They also charge somewhere between Rs.100 –Rs.300
depending on the number of luggage & the distance that needs to be climbed
up. Shimla has almost 300 hotels across various segments, Budget, Economy,
Luxury. One can choose a hotel in Mall Road if he wants to live near the market
place. In seasons, a deluxe room may cost you somewhere between Rs.2000-
Rs.4000 in any of the hotels in Mall Road. If you do not want to shell out too
much, you can choose hotels in the Ridge Area, Jakhoo temple road. A deluxe
room for a night costs you Rs.800- Rs.1500 during the peak season. Hotel Wood
land is a good choice. Doing an advance booking (a month ago) via makemytrip is
suggestible . Both YMCA & YWCA also
offers cheap rooms at Rs.400 per night , but it is exclusively on first come
first serve basis. One can divide Shimla trip into 2 parts. One complete day
for local sight seeing, the other day to visit nearby areas like Kufri,
Naldehra, Narkanda. Local Sightseeing attractions are Jakhoo temple (hanumanji temple),
Shimla Church, Viceregal Lodge, Gaity Theatre, Institute of Advanced Studies,
Mall Road. One can ask the hotel for local sight seeing tours. Or one can go to
the “HIMACHAL PRADESH TOURISM’’ office located in Mall Road for booking local
sight seeing tours. They charge you somewhere between Rs.50- Rs.100 per person
in bus or tempo traveller. Kufri is located almost 21 kms from Shimla. Local
tour operators/Hotels charge almost Rs.700 – Rs.1000 for half day Kufri, Faagu,
Naldehra trip. Kufri is the nearest snow point to Shimla. On way to Kufri, you
can see “Sanjauli” home to Bollywood
actress “Preity Zinta”. Enroute to Kufri, one can see “ Green valley”, home to
various animals e.g snow leopard, bear, birds etc. Snow patches starts on way to Kufri. Once you
reach Kufri, one can hire “ponies” to go up to the Fagu valley. Please be
careful negotiating on Pony Rates . As per the union, an average uphill &
downhill journey taking you to Masu peak,
naag devta temple, Fun world & skiing point costs you Rs.380 per
person. But due to increase in crowds, the horse riding exp. Is not good at
all. The path uphill is a rocky terrain with one guy managing almost 4 horses. Once
you reach Faagu valley, you can see China Border, The snow capped Himalayas .
which is like a treat to the eyes. Do try out adventure sports like
paragliding, rock climbing, skiing there. Also do not forget to taste “Maggi”, “Chane”
“Tea” & “ garam pakore” at Masu
Peak. Children can get pictures clicked sitting on “Yaks” brought from Ladakh.
One can also pose himself/herself wearing the local costume “potu” available on Rent of Rs.100.
Kufri, Faagu takes you half day & then you can be back at the hotel. In the
evening, you can walk up to the “Tibetan Market”, try out cakes at bakeries in
mall road & have dinner at chinese market. “Thupka” & momos can be your
winter Shimla dinner. The next day you can be back to delhi via kalka shatabdi
express or you can pack your baggage to depart to other himachal places like
manali.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Amritsar- Golden temple visit
A 3 day weekend, temp. Nearly 30 degrees and not a
spendthrift pocket…..448 kms. From Delhi sounds to be a decent three day trip
to the “Harimandar Sahib “(officially the Golden Temple of Amritsar). All modes
of transport (road/railway/airway) are available on this route. Both Deluxe and
superfast trains depart from New Delhi Railway station to Amritsar Junction.
One can avail the Amritsar Shatabdi, Amritsar mail, Golden temple Express, WB
Samparkranti, Paschim express. Ideal time of travel ranges between 6.5 -10
hours. Reservations done 15 days prior can make you lucky to get tickets in any
of the above trains. In our case, it was a spontaneous decision just 2 days
prior to the journey, so we had the option of Volvo buses left open for us. A
fleet of Luxury AC Volvo buses ply between Delhi & Amritsar daily. Average
fare is Rs. 800. You can either book tickets online through makemytrip.com or
Redbus.in, or directly purchase tickets from the travel agents. Boarding point
is Red Fort, Old Delhi. Since we believed in utilizing time utmost, hence chose
the travel time for night. Boarded Travel point luxury AC Volvo at 10:30 P.M.
Promised arrival time in Amritsar was next day at 7:30 P.M. Although the
booking ticket claimed it to be an AC 2+2 seater Video coach, nothing of such
was present. The journey was not very luxurious, but time of 9 hours just flew
by and we landed at Amritsar bus stand at 8:00 A.M. Being a small city,
distance from the local bus stand to our 3 day abode (Hotel R. S Residency in
Hall bazaar) was just a few kilometers away. The rickshaw Walla charged us R.
30 to safely drop us in front of our hotel.
Being a popular tourist destination, one can book rooms in any of the
numerous hotels available in the Golden temple complex. One can choose to stay
in 2 star, 3 star, guest houses, depending on their budget. A deluxe room in a
3 star costs you somewhere between Rs. 1200- 1500 per night.
 |
| Hotel R.S Residency, Hall Bazaar, Amritsar, 5 mins walking distance from the Golden Temple |
Bus journey not being so comfortable for us on
the 1st day, we preferred to rest the entire day planning to visit “The
Golden temple “in the evening. 5 mins walks down from the hotel, we finally
reached Harimandar Sahib at 7:30 P.M. People from all walks of life thronged
the temple area in hundreds and thousands. After keeping our shoes outside, we
finally went inside the complex. All services to mankind are delivered by the
voluntary “sevaks” of the temple, common man/devotees who render their services
to ward themselves off from sin & doing “punya” in their life. Before
entering the temple, one has to dip his/her feet in the “hari ki pauri”, a
small tank of water to get your feet clean. As you enter the circumbulation, the
peaceful harmonious “gurbaani’ comes flowing onto your ears. Amidst the golden
dusk, we witnessed the “Swarnmandir (Golden Temple), standing tall, calm, royal
in the middle of the “tank of nectar”- (Reservoir of water) considered holy by Sikhism. The golden walls of the temple sparkled in the evening
darkness, the hymns coming out of the main Durbar sahib mixed with the waters create an ambience
of serenity, divinity, love and piousness.
 |
| Golden Temple (Swarnmandir) in the evening sun at dusk |
One can sit for hours and get
absorbed in the flow of the sweet melodious environment created there. You seem
to forget all your worries, pains, sorrow & just get imbibed in the “Gurbaani”.
On the left side is the “Bunge “where the sangat & langars (community kitchen)
are housed.
 |
| Bunge - Place for sangat & langar- community kitchen (langar) |
On the right side is the “Akal Takhth Sahib” the throne of
Guru Gobind Singh Ji, considered as the highest place from where the Guru used
to cite “hukumnamas”.
 |
| Akal Takht Sahib & Miri Piri |
Just opposite to the Akal Takht Sahib at full high mast are
2 saffron coloured flags, symbolizing “Miri & Piri” the 2 great swords of
valiance & bravery held by the Guru during his seat on the Akal Takht
throne. The main darbar sahib is connected to the circumbulation by means of
the Holy Bridge. In order to offer “Karaah Prashad” & to catch a glimpse of
Sri Guru Granth Sahib, one has to pass through the “Darshni Deodhi”, which is 2
storied building situated in front of the Akal Takht Sahib. The darshni Deodhi
is connected to the Main drabr sahib by the hly bridge. The holy bridge is 240
feet long & 21 feet wide.
 |
| Holy Bridge- long queue for offering karaah prashad to main durbar sahib |
Every morning at 4:00 A.M, the holy Guru Granth Sahib is
carried in a “Palki” (palanquin) from the Akal takht sahib to the main darbar
sahib . It is an event to witness in your lifetime. After offering Karaah
Parshad , one can have “langar” in the temple community kitchen. It is
considered highly auspicious to take dip in the Holy tank of nectar. People
from all walks of life, rich, and poor, child, adult, male or female sprinkle
themselves in the holy waters.
 | ||||
| Fishes in the Tank of nectar- an absolute delight to watch them |
 |
| A child taking dip in the holy tank |
 |
| Chabeels- places which offer cold clean drinking water to devotees, located on all 4 sides. |
On the 4 corners of the circumbulation, are “chabeels”….places
for drinking cold water. It is indeed bliss to see loads of women & men
washing the utensils and offering cold drinking water in steel containers. The best
part about the Golden temple is its cleanliness, the awareness, responsibility
and diligence in every worshipper who visits the temple premise with sheer
devotion in his mind. The Marble infrastructure appears perfect white with no
dirt or grime as compared to any Hindu religious place which would have been
soiled like anything. The temple stands aloft, a true epitome of glory, integrity,
bravery built by the Sikh gurus & implicated in the Sikh community. The
temple is open 24X7; one can visit it any pert of day or night.
Other popular religious places are the Durgaina temple
 |
| Durgaina temple |
Durgaina temple
Mata lal Devi temple (replica of vaishno Devi temple). Apart
from these, one can visit Ranjit singh memorial palace, Jallianwala bagh, and
Khalsa College, Attari & wagah border.
 |
| Jallianwala bagh- the biggest massacre ever occured in British India 1919 A.D |
Day 2: Jallianwal Bagh……to be contd.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
"Udhna hai mujhe"
“Pachas rupaiya aur chauvan paise…..aaj din bhar yehi mila
babuji…..ye kuch samaan hai jo nahi beeke….machine mein daal ke hawa nikaal lio….kal
subah phir dekhte hai”…..this was my daily routine after a hard day at work……taking
a shower in our nearby “pokhariya”….came back home to help out mom making the
dinner….lavish dinner for us happened to be four pieces of chapatti with onions…..some
day if mom used to get some extra food from her “malkins”…..it used to be a
treat for us…..me and my brother “baabu”…..but I loved them….i loved their
colours…..green, red, blue, magenta…..speciallly when you tied them together in
a bunch….it was as if a bouqet of fresh flowers..readily plucked in the
morning..to be offered for Puja……I loved the smile on a child’s lips when it
became his property….. “aur bhi lio naa babua…..ye he naa…kutta, khargos,
cycle, fool…tumko kaun sa bhaata hai”…..i loved standing at the traffic signal
& watching the lights change colours….red..yellow..green…..the numbers on
the signal plate had actually taught me
bit of mathematics….i could calculate now…..i loved moving from window
to window….. i loved touching those shiny smiling glasses….which used to roll
down and take my colourful friends inside…..i loved the red colour most…coz it
made those racing cars come to a screeching halt……my work used to start from
9:00 A.M in the morning…..azad nagar traffic signal was my office cabin….had
managed to get a stand from the local “alu kulcha wala’….my brother “Baabu” used to accompany me to work……managing my colourful companions …..blowing them, tying
them in neat bunches, making various shapes out of them…….the cacophony of the
increasing traffic used to allure me…..no matter it was the scorching heat of
the summer or the chilly breeze of
winters….my employment at “Azad Nagar Traffic signal” was permanent……Diwali was
near….and I had prayed to God for a new salwar kameez this time….the once that I
wore had become tattered…yet mom had done some patchwork and it was “kaam
chalau” for sometime….needed to buy a pair of new slippers for baabu too….his
old ones had worn out and there was no money to buy him a new pair…..our
sole breadwinners were my mom…..she used
to work as a domestic help in 4 houses in azad nagar DDA society…..earning a meager
of Rs.400 per house “har kaam 200
rupaiya…..jaaru pocha…bartan”…..and I was “Chunmun Baloonwala”…..It was babuji’s
“naamkaran”…….mom used to recite stories about his bravery at the battlefield…and
her marriage to a “brave soldier”….in those days it was brilliant luck to get married to a valiant
man…..little did she know that once considered “luck” would make her marriage life
so painful…..that she would have to wash soiled utensils at someone’s place…..manage
her lunch and dinner on left overs….never send her children to school…and the
worst of all…..feed and take care of an ailing husband…who had lost his limbs
at the war……all our relatives had deserted us….we came from “ Fatehganj”…a
small village in the interiors of north west UP…….where the birth of a girl
child was still a sin…..and getting married at the tender age of 10 for a sum
of money considered lucky. “Arre ai ladki…..vo hara wala dena…..kitne ki hai?” “Panch
rupaiya madame……kiske lie chawat ho?...gudiya ke lie….to yeh laal wala le jawat
ho..aur acha lagega”….the five rupee coin glittered in babu’s eyes…as he rolled
into the small tin can…supposedly our account box “aaj ki pehli baouni ho gayi
didi”…..i was 11….the blue uniform and the red ribbons with that grey shoulder
bag used to often disturb me in my dreams…..someday I felt I could go to “Padmini
Devi Senior Secondary School” the big board waved at me from a distance to the
Azad nagar traffic signal…..but mom’s wailings every night and babuji’s
sufferings everyday used to bring me back to my reality…..we were destined to
be here…..morning 9 to evening 9…..what could we have asked for more……my balloons
used to be my only amigos…..a new one ..a new colour ..a new shape…..it had
everything wrapped in it…..new wishes..new desires….new beginning….new hopes….some
day I wished..i will accumulate all my piggy bank savings to cure babuji….to
buy mom a new saari…..to gift baabu a new school uniform…….i wanted to be like my
colourful freinds…..so fresh..so colourful..so enigmatic….bringing a smile on
everyone’s face….from a child to a grown up..from a boy to a girl…..i could be
lifted in the air….played with …..used for birthday parties in big hotels and
restaurants….mark independence day and republic day……the best part of all….fly
with my wings spread out….like an aeroplane….fly past meadows….rivers…fly past
schools..colleges…..fly past….Hotel Chandan….(the biggest five star hotel in
Azadpur)…..fly past Governor’s House,..fly past GT road…..fly past
dilli..bumbai..kulkutta….fly past everything “udhna hai mujhe….yehi to chahti
thi mai”………yes I had dreams….i had hopes….every morning sun ray through my
window mesemerised me….coming so far way from us..it used to light up entire
earth…I wanted to fly….fly with my dreams..run with my hopes…..play with my
desires…..someday I wanted to grow up….set up my shop…..study….live in a big
house….have a green garden…..some day..somewhere…where mom wouldn’t hve to work….babuji
was cured….babu could go to school “Was I making too BIG a wish ……..today?? “Chunmum uth jaa….kaam pe jaana hai”…..came
mom’s husky voice in anger…..suraj mama was still smiling on me…..slowly I gathered
myself up…there was lot of sunlight in our “do by do” kholi……
Saturday, June 9, 2012
"La kumaoni affaire"
26th 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
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