Travelogues  
On my way to Haridwar
Uttaranchal Diary by Ragini Puri

Tread softly for this is holy ground;
It maybe, could we look with seeing eyes,
This land we stand upon is paradise.

Famously said the British poet Christina Rossetti, and no words can better describe the mystical charm of Uttaranchal. This holy abode of Gods is surrounded with such an abundance of natural beauty, that one sure is left mesmerized by its enchanting endowments. And enchantment was what I was looking for, as I planned my much needed, but delayed vacation.

My first stop in this divine land was going to be Haridwar. One of my distant relatives lives in Haridwar, so much of the planning part had already been taken care of. I was to camp in at their place, and they had assured me of their guidance in time-managing my trip. So, on the D-day, with almost everything taken care of, I was excited enough to hop onto the Haridwar bound bus, right after my night shift. I had a rough idea that from Delhi, it would take me about six and half hours to reach Haridwar. But the over enthusiastic bus conductor (seeing my over apparent excitement and energetic demeanor), assured me that in about five hours, I would be in Haridwar, (guess my colorful backpack, floppy hat and bright sunglasses also did the trick). Anyways, my excitement knew no bounds…so finally I was on my way to the mystical land of Gods…or rather I would say, I was on my way to a land beyond adjectives.

On the way, at some point of time, the night shift had begun to take its toll on me. Weariness was setting in and I was taking fitful naps in between gazing out of the bus window. There was nothing extraordinary outside to cheer my tired spirits…just the bland monotonous landscape…But hey…lo and behold! There was a mountain range right outside my window. Wow…mountains! And in a matter of minutes, there was greenery all around. It was as if, the head gardener, taking pity on my drooping spirits, had immediately spread out a beautiful green carpet all around…yes, it was green all around, every shade of green. My excitement knew no bounds. I stood up from my seat, murmuring to myself in excitement, aware of the amused stares of other travelers. Wow! I was finally in Uttaranchal. The bus was just crossing Roorkee, and Haridwar was still a good one-hour away. As I finally got down from the bus at Haridwar, late in the afternoon, the first thing that caught my attention was a huge river, flowing down majestically, right across the road.

Was it the holy Ganga? I was not sure….        

– Continued

July 2, 2006

 
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