** 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. 

- DARSHAN AT KOTTIYOOR TEMPLE -

- DARSHAN AT KOTTIYOOR TEMPLE - 
 
  During my stay at Kerala in June 2008, I travelled to Kottiyoor for the first time. Kottiyoor, a one and half hour drive from my hometown Thalassery, is known for the Lord Shiva Temple situated there. It is believed that the Shiva Lingam there is self-born. Kottiyoor is a forest area and not very much inhabited. It is a beautiful place spread on the banks of river Bavali. The temple Akkare Kshetram is open only from May to June in a year and attracts large number of devotees from remote places. 
 
  On that crowded Sunday morning I was accompanied by my friends Raju Mohan & Devapriyan. We saw large number of people heading to Kottiyoor. Prior to enter the temple premises we had a bath in Bavali river and joined a long and slow-moving queue. The temple, a simple hut like structure with palm leaf roof, is situated in the middle of a pool of water. The mountainous outskirts and the greenery make the spot simply beautiful. After standing for a few hours we had Darshan. Soon the temple was closed for a short time for Puja and followed by elephant procession with musical accompaniment. On way back we saw the queue was becoming longer and longer. Now we crossed the river and visited another temple called Ikkare Kshetram which is a normal temple structure and open throughout the year. After walking out we could not refrain ourselves from entering one of many a food stalls out there. The place is full of stalls with local goodies. And soon we started back to Thalassery.