Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Rishikesh - A Reverie (Part 1)

The sudden realization - that its been almost a month since i penned down something for all you guys to read, is enough to wake me up from my over-stretched evening siesta. Unlike what the situation may point to, i wasn't experiencing any kind of writer's block (Ha! as if i am a 'WRITER'!!!), nor was there any dearth of things to write about. On the flip side, there are actually a bit too many things i wish share. And i dont really know from where to begin.

A lot has happened in the last fortnight of April. It was the fortnight which marked the end of my college life, and yet, gave me undoubtedly the best moments of these four years of my life!
The roller-coaster began with the Rishikesh trip. For me, the trip was especially exciting. It was after more than 12 years that I was heading uphill for a vacation. Otherwise, for all these years, a holiday had always been tiringly synonymous with the sea, white sands, and dozens of overgrown-paunch-flaunting sexagenarians.

We embarked upon the journey full of gusto and enthusiasm - just a shade of what we were to experience in the three days that were to follow.
Our campsite at Shivpuri seemed like a heaven's abode - colourful camps set on a rocky terrain, flanked by a humble stream on one side, and on the other - the majestic Ganga. I could somehow identify with the cult status of the river. Just its one meander displayed such immense robustness, wisdom and grandour that it rendered me completely speechless. Already hypnotized to the core by the beauty of the valley, we were soon greeted by thundering clouds and a modest drizzle. The grey-blue hue over the mountains made my heart skip a beat. I had been longing for this view since years. And it was right there in front of me, sparkling with all its vibrance and glory.
Ahh... it was hard to capture such a heart-warming welcome on the lens, but i tried my best :




As an icing(read 'chutney') on the cake(read 'pakoras'), we were presented with loads and loads of sumptuous pakoras. I can see you drooling.. hehe!
Once some fuel got in, we got back to our usual selves - hyper-active, hyper-mad and everything hyper. We jumped straight into the chilling water of the stream. Most of us thought of it as a great opportunity to pour water over our stinking bodies which hadn't been in contact with any kind of liquid since Holi. While some others - smarter, forward-thinkers - found in it, a good excuse for not bathing the next day!

No one bathed the next day. Its quite enough that we somehow managed to pass off the piling load in our bodies to the mountains - just to help breed a well-manured land for abundant flora growth! Everyone contributed whatever they could. Success ratios varied from 40-80%. Some full-blooded individuals managed a 90. Standing Ovation.
After the early morning ordeal, we went on to trek uphill to a waterfall. Soaked in sweat but brimming with zest, we reached the so-called waterfall. We never actually expected a Niagara, but climbing 2kms for almost a fountain that emptied into a algae filled pond wasn't exactly funny.
Nevertheless, whatever be the scenario, we never cease to enjoy. So we gathered all our scattered dynamism and geared up for the one thing we all had been the most excited about - White Water River Rafting.

We could never have imagined what lied in store for us next. And it needs a full-fledged post to describe what all we went through during rafting - the thrill, the chill, the agony and the pain, the frustration, yet the expectation, and finally... the ultimate high!
For now, i'll just leave you with my most favourite photograph of the entire sojourn.


21 comments:

ArUn raFi said...

hey lemme be the first one to comment on ur travelogue as i too had done a similar travel earlier to goa and posted about it.was a treat recollecting all those moments.i can understand what it feels to see those blue mountains stand tall and make you feel small in its overpowering presence.such moments can never be bettered upon..blog your rest of the travelogue soon..last pic was a nice one too..
cheers

Karthik said...

nice pics...i liked your travelogue..do write more such travelogues..

Homer Simpson! said...

lol...its rishikesh I guess :P
Anyway nicely done and great traveling..A few of my friends are going to rishikesh for that rafting stuff and im gonna miss out on it due to my exams:((

Shaan Haider said...

Hey buddy...what a great travelogue
keep writing this type of stuffs.
And seems like u r not visiting The Muzic World these days...Lots of stuffs are waiting there for u.
Keep in touch bro.

Regards
Shaan Haider

Shaan Haider said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shaan Haider said...

Pranay bro, there is a new MP3 Search Engine .Just try it,it will be helpful for you.
Have Fun

Arun Kumar said...

awesome tour it seems...
i always thought hrishikesh was jus some pilgrim kinda place...God...it wud be a good place for camping...

cant wait to read the next part of your tour..

tejuvinay said...

awesome template dude ! :)

Pranay said...

Hey my namesake.....
Just one word...EEEWWWWWW.....
Strted with the majestic hills and valleys and Ganges and then those details??? Ok lets hope next time you are not that forthcoming with things closest to your heart...;-P.

Pranay said...

thnx all for ur comments...
@arun..
thnx brother... u r right.. it ws nature at its best!

@arun...
u'll be shocked to know that rishikesh is more an adventure spot than a pilgrimage.. it sees more adventure tourism.. and it surely rocks at it!

@uchicha..
thnx.. i especially luv when sum1 comments on my template!! hehe!

and finally.. @pranay.. heyy my namesake!!
well i was just describing all d 'fun' we had!!! hehe!

and yes.. thnx to the doubts raised by homer simpson.. guys.. plzz throw light on what u think is d correct spelling of the place : rishikesh or hrishikesh..
i saw at a few places in (h)rishikesh that it was spelt with the 'h' in d beginning.. but googling it shows no 'h' in d beginning..
so m a bit confused! help me out..

Unknown said...

Hey!!
Nice one!!
Everything explained!
Too good!!!
bookmarked your page already! And yeah, stylish huh!

Tina said...

Beauty...a very nice travelogue...
I am in a dilemma..coz i at tyms enjoy travellin and at tyms i dont..but this was fun reading and has triggered the interest for me...

Keep it up
Cheers
Tee

Anonymous said...

i too went to rishikesh some 15 days ago...but only for rafting n it was fun. especially the place frm whre u jump into d river. :)

i was planning to write something too, but thn u hav captured d essence already nd made my work easier. i'll just give link to ur post :P

jokes apart, nice post. nd added u to my recommended blog list.

cheers

http://virajgupta.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I just love the 2nd and the 3rd photo !! Absolutely adorable ! (:

Unknown said...

i've been to rhishikesh too when i was young... gr8 travelouge

Ankit Goel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ankit Goel said...

Well!! That was something i'll cherish for the rest of my life....Never had so much fun packed in only 3days..it was simply AWESOME!!

test said...

i love this description..

"I could somehow identify with the cult status of the river. Just its one meander displayed such immense robustness, wisdom and grandour that it rendered me completely speechless. Already hypnotized to the core by the beauty of the valley, we were soon greeted by thundering clouds and a modest drizzle. The grey-blue hue over the mountains made my heart skip a beat. I had been longing for this view since years. And it was right there in front of me, sparkling with all its vibrance and glory."

i was thinking of making a change in my blogpage.. and ur travelogue mad eme think a travelogue wil b good.. but i feel, it would ve been more pleasure if u had spent a little more time by making elaborating more for i usually like to read and picturise the things and not jus travel.. and the snaps were perfect..

Anonymous said...

everything is incredible. your writing made it so picturesque that i almost lived all these moments. how long did you stay there?

the campside is so beautiful, wow. i'm almost wishing if i'll enjoy that too one day. hmm.
and pakoras with chutni, heh, actually we're almost set to leave for "Samoosas" with chutni.

Sandeep Balan said...

u have stamped rishikesh as the next desti for me...u make the place alive for me here bro...n complement the text nicely with pics...good goin...

Grand Canyon Expeditions said...

Great post, very informative and interesting topic. Thanks for sharing with us.

white water rafting tips