The plan to visit Uttarakhand started with the three of us- my two classmates and I from PGDM, being bored with our routine. We sat down and ordered a lot of food at the usual restaurant we go to and had a conversation about wanting to get some physical exercise to check our endurance through nature.
We made a few calls to the tourism department, enquired with a couple of tourist partners who helped us plan our trips, learned about things and jotted down the details with our grease filled hands and we had a plan already. Yes, instantaneous plans always materialise.
We chose a travel partner to help us through the plan as we wanted to backpack instead of going for a package tour.
Delhi-Rishikesh
I was filled with so much energy of fruition of the plan that my excitement won over my sleep that night as we had to leave Bangalore the next morning. We reached Delhi on a chilly morning in October to be picked by our chauffeur who would drive us to our first destination, Rishikesh.
We obviously did have pitstops along the Delhi highway, at restaurants. The parathas there were so tasty and filling.
We entered the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand which includes prominent places out of which we decided to cover a few in our journey.
We reached Rishikesh forenoon to find ourselves with plenty of time to explore parts of Rishikesh by foot. We walked through the Laxman Jhula and Ram Jhula, the two prominent bridges over the river Ganga which connect two parts of the town and were hungry already as it was time for lunch.
We quickly grabbed something to eat and walked towards a place we had in mind and didn’t want to miss going there. It took us quite a long walk and a lot of enquiry about where the place is from the locals. After almost giving up on it and if not for a “Babaji” guiding us the right path, we wouldn’t have reached- The Swarg Ashram aka The BEATLES Ashram. In fact, when we asked for the place by its name “Swarg Ashram”, no one seemed to know of its existence and only when we mentioned the word “Beatles”, we were shown the way.
As we entered the place, it felt like A Day in the Life of the Beatles and there was a feeling of Something which would change In My Life. We spent a lot of time around the ruins of the place filled with graffiti, the museum with the journey of the Beatles from their visit to the time they left the place. It was mesmerising. I told myself “I Feel Fine and would want to come to this place Eight Days a Week”. The time passed by and I felt “I Should’ve Known Better that us visiting this place was time bound”.
[Only a Beatles’ fan will get the absolute words I have mentioned. For the others, it’s the mention of a few songs by the band]
It was time to leave the ashram and walk towards the next serene place to feel the sanctity of Rishikesh - Triveni Ghat, to witness the evening Arti offered to the river Ganga. Each day, the priests come out to the ghat dressed as sharp as a platoon but soothing at the same time with the tilaks on their foreheads to perform the holy ritual of offering the prayers to the all giving river. Every individual comes into this place with lot of noise inside and outside and once the Arti is over, walks out with peace and calm.
To be continued...
Comments