*** A TRANQUIL DAY IN RISHIKESH AND HARIDWAR ***

*** A TRANQUIL DAY IN RISHIKESH AND HARIDWAR ***
 
On 12th September, the Thiruvonam day i was in Haridwar and Rishikesh. Though i like travelling, the sole reason for my third visit to the place was to perform the rituals on the 12th day after my Grandfather's demisal. With my limited leaves to travel to Kerala on this occasion, Haridwar was the ideal location to pray for the late devotee of Krishna.
 
I reached Haridwar before sunrise and rested on the Ganges embankment. And spent some more time watching people starting their day by dipping themselves in the holy river. After taking a refreshing bath in the Ganges, i approached one of the Pundits to perform the rituals. The ghat was filled with people. Not spending much time in Haridwar i started to Rishikesh. Rishikesh, which is a 45 minutes travel by bus from Haridwar is the ideal place to sit in solitude. I walked to places called Ramjhula and Lakshmanjhula. Walking through the narrow roads in these places was a pleasant experience. In the evening after taking a bath in the Ganges i sat on the embankment watching the holy river & people. Initially i had planned to return to Haridwar by evening to see the Aarti performed at 6 p.m. on the ghats. But the tranquility in Rishikesh made me to spend the evening there than being one among the crowd at Haridwar. After listening bhajan at one of the temples on the ghats i decided to walk. The preparation for a pooja at another temple attracted me and i halted there. The pooja was followed by a pleasant bhajan and aarti. The event seemed not to be a regular one. It was organised by some medical professionals from outside and was participated by a known sadhu and a group of children. After the event i spent more time on the ghats sitting in peace. Finally i left the place in reluctance to catch a night bus to Delhi.
 
This visit brought the memories of my first visit to the place with my friends Hareesh and Vinod. As usual i was missing Hareesh with whom i made many tours earlier.

** ONE RAINY DAY IN MUSSOORIE **

* ONE RAINY DAY IN MUSSOORIE *

  This month I travelled to Mussoorie. We had a long weekend with Independence day & Raksha bandhan fell just before Sunday. Though it is not the right season to visit Mussoorie, i just wanted a getaway from Delhi on this long weekend. I started from Delhi on the I-Day morning and after 7 hours travelling by bus, reached Dehradun. It is quite a big and nice city. From there it is a 2 hours journey to Mussoorie by bus and the route is peculiar for its panoramic view. Mussoorie which is known as the queen of hill stations, is charming and made me feel i am somewhere in Shimla. Walking through the Mall Road in the night is a pleasant experience. Tourists were gathered to see an illuminated Dehradun city from a bird's eye view. Yet some others were enjoying dining, shopping, walk, games etc.

  The next morning i woke up and to my disappointment it was raining outside. Left with nothing to do in the hotel room, i started walking with an umbrella. The otherwise picturesque places one can see from the Camel Back Road were covered in the mist. Yet the walk through the road was enjoyable. Like other tourists i spent a few hours walking in the rain and started climbing The Gun Hill. Once again the mist deprived me of the spectacular view of the surrounding mountains and the Dehradun valley. I spent time on the hill top as the sky cleared partially. There i acquainted with a solitary traveller, Shailesh, who was enjoying the company of himself. The wise youngster hails from Nepal and was on a getaway from Gurgaon where he is employed. 
  Together we climbed down the hill and headed to Kempty Falls, which is 15 km away from the Mall Road. The sky was cloudy en route, and we could see the beauty of the Himalayan valleys only at some points. Two kilo metres away from the waterfalls, there was a traffic jam in the road and we had to climb down through a narrow path in the mountain to reach the spot. The spot which is encircled by mountains is mesmerising and one can swim or ride a pedal boat in seperate pools or take a bath in the pool underneath the falls while the water falls in full swing. I revelled myself in the swimming pool for a while and after watching the falls and people enjoying underneath it, we started climbing the way up to where our cab was waiting. The snarl-up in the road was cleared and i parted with Shailesh after reaching the Mall Road. Now the sky was clear of clouds and i had an eyeful of the Dehradun valley. I spent the remaining hours in the Mall Road enjoying the cool weather and view before i boarded the last bus to Delhi.