Traveler's Monologue

Travel Diaries

A vacation is probably the most coveted thing of my life now. A breather. Routine is lethal as Paul Coelho and I opinionate .Being a Bengali by birth and a nomad from heart I occasionally tend to develop a bug in my head , traveler's bug .Calculating ,bargaining and again re-calculating the number of vacation leaves and sick leaves I finally  broke the ice.The bug inside me made  all the arrangements and we were all set to take on the world and explore.Yes I understand its a little exaggeration but it is metaphorically correct, my pulse was exactly feeling the same. Mom and I were travelling alone and dad would join us from Delhi.My last statement is absolutely correct and please stop wondering how mom and I travelling together be alone.We did not have any masculine vibrancy protecting us from the odd, deceitful,exploiting world around us.Repeated alarms and causal warnings induced a substantial fear in my mom and it would be wrong if I say i was not affected. The odds were all synchronized and so were we to dodge them.A suitcase packed beyond its limit though a limitation was put to the number of luggage.Keys misplaced and discoverd in quick succession. Our Journey though began. My first journey on Rajdhani ,happy, part of  a legacy, witness to a railway extravaganza got entwined with the happy traits that elated my mind.But 2 hours to 16 hours 55 minutes is gross, a cheap flight to Delhi could have saved  one  hard earned sick leave of mine. I continued with a mixed feeling.The incessant  good byes and good wishes made the rest of our journey intriguing and safe.Delhi was warm in its welcome.Leaving the city of joy behind we ventured to the city of colours ,rowdies,relentless people.We were already feeling safe with dad around and the casual warnings and alarms receded to oblivion .Bengal Bhavan with its proximity to history made our stay very alluring.

 

The 36th India International trade fair at Pragati Maidan,where my dad represented Bengal Govt., exhibited a maze of colour, culture, handicrafts tradition, cuisines and music. Haryana's vigour and virility competed with Punjab's beauty and glamour, Gujrat's trade, cuisine and kites complimented Kashmirs pashminas , Rajesthan's meenakari ornaments accentuated Hydrabad's Pearl embossed Digital India and Bengal's Shantiniketan still buying accolades for us , precisely India showcasing all its amazing facets in one platform.Folk music was being played in the backdrop of a lazy winter evening as I sat there sipping  hot flavored Assam tea with some spicy Gujrati snacks and accumulating the memoirs of mini India.

 

As I walked through  the lanes of old and very old Delhi picking up the flavor of mughal reign ,a aroma of mughlai mutton chap caught me off guard.Giving into the sinful desire 

I stumbled into one of the road side Dhabas and possibly ordered anything and everything on the  grayish  black tattered menu card.The lachha parathas mutton chap ,tandoori and what not.To add to my delight a glass full of malai lassi arrived at last.In my heart I was a mughal queen then relishing on the infamous dishes but the mere size of the lassi glass cowerd me a little. Triple of a normal household glass.I was done and undone at the same time.

A tourist's Delhi was average but a explorer had a good time.My goodie bag was full and it was time to venture into the lands of holiness,ganga arati and rudraskh.

 

Haridwar. Ganga in hue of sea-green meandering through a paved path of mortality .She flowed washing the dirt and  sin of humanity restoring serenity and peace.You can forget about your  pain ,worries as she takes it all away from you leaving you refreshed. Ganga Arati is not only a ritual but also a complete  exhibition of Hinduism.Hundreds of diyas lit up Har-Ki- Paudi to honor gracious ganga as she gaily rippled by.The harmony between the flickering  diyas, clinging  bells and aesthetic sanskrit slokas transforms every individual to their purest form of divinity.We spend the evenings scouting through the Ram ghat ,Vishnu Ghat ,conversing with locals and correcting their terrific Bengali.Promises were made to meet again ,to continue with the debate of Modi over Didi, to return their hospitality when they visit my city of joy.This time my heart was filled as we traversed through the roads of Haridwar to endorse the history of Rishikesh.

 

A  young, flamboyant,delirious Ganga greeted us in its true virtue.Every temple, every sculpture on our way to Lakshman Jhula had a story to tell.I loved the way people of Rishikesh let their hair down and danced to the tunes of happiness or performed aerobics on the zealous banks of  resonating ganga .The brave hearts went for rafting through the vivacious ganga. Yoga gurus spreading sanity and  tranquility. A mix of culture is evident on the streets of Rishikesh as people from all over the world poured in.Not only I visited the history but also garnered a world culture.As I bid adieu to Rishikesh Chotiwalas Razma Chawal sculpted a place in my heart.

Mussorie,queen of hills ,played a perfect hostess to the exhausted souls.The greenery, the floating clouds ,the distant snow capped peaks,reverberating waterfalls emancipated the gruesome reality of life. Kempty falls renders you speechless.Breathlessly beautiful.I kept my camera aside and stood there numb seeping in its enormity .We drove through the hills brushing past the fluffy clouds to reach Sahasradhara and Dehradoon. A simple livelihood can be so envious at times that with a little pestering from mommy I agreed to dress like a true Pahadi and clicked away animatedly.The spicy cuisine ,purest air ,simple mindedness can be so liberating that you don't have a heart to return.

 

You cannot always have it the way your heart wants it to.But To keep me going till the next vacation I have collected enough oxygen .

  

 

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Samir]

Really enjoyed it . Keep going really pleasant .