The Himalayan Diaries - Day 6 – Shivpuri to Dehradun, March 7, 2012

From visions of the mass murderer massacring all the snorers, I woke up to the sounds of water flowing by close to the tent. It was 6 in the morning perhaps. The sight of the Ganga flowing by serenely, the mellow sun, the mountains, the fresh air was just too much to resist and I got out of the tent quickly. Tea was arranged by our hosts and all other guests, the raucous youngsters who got drunk the previous night, were fast asleep. We had the whole beach to ourselves. On the opposite side of the river there was a camp which was full of foreign students doing yoga and stuff.

Morning...

Binoculars being put to use

Volleyball

Another angle

Kiri in silhoutte

Koni, Ranjan, Vasu and Kiri played volleyball while I took some pics and explored the neighbourhood. After breakfast, toast, eggs, paranthas, puri bhaji, the organisers ferried us across the river and took us upstream for river rafting. It is 11 kms upstream. I decided to get off at the camp after the 11 kms and join the gang at Rishikesh - another 16 kms downstream. The jeep that took us there had the raft fitted on top of it and Aditya sat on top of the raft. In the half hour drive Koni fell asleep in the back. 

Aditya watching the game in progress

Breakfast

Tea again

The heat picks up

At the take off spot we were quickly fitted with life jackets, helmets, paddles and told the rules of the game. Paddle forward, backward, left and right, what to do if we capsize and so on and so forth. For the first time in my life I wore life jackets that gave me the confidence that I'd float! The helmets were strapped on, lightweight paddles given and we took our positions in the raft. The moment we entered the river our instructor asked us to jump into the icy waters. I declined but the rest jumped in. We rafted down the Ganga, for 11 kms, in rapids that were less than 2 (in terms of their level of danger). But even that was interesting as you see how powerful the current can get, how overpowering nature can get and how small you can be before it. The raft gets tossed and tumbled over but you paddle, keep your balance, your calm and go through it. Vasu, Aditya, Kiri had long swims in the water, floating behind the raft, while Koni, Mohan and Vicky jumped in.

Some last minute arrangements before rafting

I got out at the camp and so did Kiri. There was a small break there and two other rafters joined the gang - an elderly couple from Pune. The two rapids we crossed were enough to give an idea of what could happen in a big rapid. The next 11 kms had a rapid that was measured at 4.5! Kiri and I went across the river with Vicky and Mohan and the luggage to our cars and down to Rishikesh where we stopped at the Laxman Jhula. The chants, the people, the energy was very soothing and we spent a good hour eating bhel, masala dosa, drinking lime soda and picking up some ganga jal for Kiri. I could spend days on end at this place. And I even got myself a lovely masala dosa as well!

After an hour or so we got a call from the others that they were on the way to Dehradun and we followed them to KFC, Rajpur Road where the ravenous rafters were full of tales over soft and juicy chicken. We retired to the guest house, played some cricket and ended the day once again with songs, booze and some more madness. Vasu and I visited a relative of his in faraway Nanda ki chowki, a lovely nook away from the town.

The Himalayan Diaries - Day 5 – Birahi to Shivpuri, March, 5, 2012

The guest house at Birahi, a town that has about 20-30 dwellings I should think, was a nice cozy place and I decided to sleep late and woke up last. Nothing like feeling the luxury of a deep, satisfying sleep, and waking up to the comfort of nature - trees, breeze, the fragrance, bird calls and the silence of the mountains. It was one of those days when everyone was up and ready to go including Aditya who normally likes an extra hour to snooze - unlike the older men like us who find it difficult to sleep. 

View from the guest house

After a sumptuous breakfast of toast, eggs, paranthas and so on we headed out. We backtracked a bit to see some project sites on a road less travelled. Story is that due to an earthquake that happened many years ago a lake was formed, Dharmatal (I think?) and the British used the lake as a vacation spot. Roads were laid, bridges made and the Britishers came by to hunt and fish and so on. Makes you wonder at all the things the British did in an alien land to entertain themselves, to make life fun and adventurous. Most of our current hill stations and vacation spots seem to be the findings of the British. For their sense of adventure, one must admire the foreign brigade. Mohan, the teller of these stories, lives up on a hill here and he showed us the steps that lead up to his house - a vertical climb. The lake broke bank and caused some havoc many years ago. Forgot if the lake was still there.

What is it about nature that makes everyone stare at it?

The guest house

Fine rain, cloudy skies, chilly weather – it was heavenly once again. Vasu showed us a contraption that uses hydro power to grind wheat - a chakki. Water is used as it flows downstream in exactly the same way as a hydro power project does and villages use it to grind wheat. It had gates, pipelines, a power/processing house. Very quaint.

The hydro powered chakki (the house like structure)

Children going to school

Holi revellers collecting donations

Koni and Kiri decided to take a walk down the road and I half went with them - the weather being so good. Ranjan warned them of having seen a panther on these roads - it stared at him and walked away - and I decided not to engage with panthers. Mohan says that they normally do not attack, but bears do and they can get pretty nasty.

The mountains

After a while we headed out. Next destination – Kaudiyala which is 35 kms short of Rishikesh – where the GMVN has some fine resorts and rafting arrangements. This was a drive of some 120 kms or so and we headed out in some really fine weather stopping for the odd chai, a lunch of Maggi and toast and breezed down the mountains. Vasu, Koni and I were in one vehicle and it was fun to listen to Vasu's considerable, almost encyclopediac knowledge of things - history, science, religion, politics etc. 

Vasu and I engaged in some discussion while Aditya heads down to the river

Vasu is a most fascinating guy with his penchant for adventure, for collecting knowledge, his eye for detail, his Dhoni like calm under all circumstances, his capacity to retain his sense of humour in all conditions, to do the most unexpected of things, his clarity on issues and his amazing powers of articulation. 

Vasu

High up on the perfection scale, uncompromising when it comes to himself but he has the compassion and maturity to cut lesser mortals some slack, punctual, respectful of individual need for expression and stuff like that. But if I were to pick one quality of Vasu it would be his equanimity in all conditions that would define him.

Laughter that is only possible with old friends - Koni, Kiri and Ranjan

While on this let me also pick what defines my other friends on this trip to me. Aditya the youngest, for his clarity of expression mostly in all that he does.

Aditya overlooking Dev Prayag

 And, for holding his own and for his sense of adventure, humour - he will do exactly what he wants and do well in that in a few years from now. Star sportsman of his school, rock star, intelligent and adventurous - he did the longest time in the icy waters of the Ganga, floating by behind the raft.
Kiran would be defined by his unwavering sense of balance and a strong will (now a marathon runner and superbly fit) which is one of his main strong points to me - his strong sense of responsibility, he is immensely affectionate (you have to listen to him talk to his children), has a hidden side that craves for adventure that, like Vasu's, is not easily seen. And for all this, he has a deep love to know new things, is well informed on all the latest, the gadgets, the vehicles, the books, the works, loves his music, his drink, his books, his movies - all that he is passionate about. Again one of the most well informed, very passionate about what he believes in.
Ranjan to me is defined by his sense of humour that comes through at the first instance, a schoolboy spirit in its pure form, that he is happiest with. I think that it is this quality that pops us easily, with his one liners, the tag lines on the greeting cards and so on. Another thing that pops up is his fiercely competitive side in games and sports, and his hidden side I suspect is that of a romantic in a most sentimental manner about people, things, relationships and life. Again one of the most hardworking of the lot when it comes to work Ranjan also has the Libran quality of stepping inside and being at peace with his quiet - I do suspect that he is in some way becoming a lot more spiritual these days. 
Koni is defined by one word - enterprise. Always game to try new things, to go where no one has gone before, to make that extra effort to get what he wants. But hidden under the rough and rugged, coarse and crude demeanour that he has adopted, he is also the guy who has far more compassion to people and nature, his own understanding of society and its laws, an original interpretation of life itself. He can easily go stand in the line for you for hours to keep your illusion of his strength going - and he can easily cry when caught by the tax authorities. A paradox.

We reached Kaudiyala at 7 in the evening after a long winding climb down the mountains. We stopped for a few minutes at Dev Prayag on the way though. 

Dev Prayag

The GMVN resort had no accommodation. Fortunately we found a resort a few kms down the slope which offered us tents on the riverbed of Ganga, on the other side of the river, so we had to take a raft to cross, and the promise of rafting the rapids the next day. We headed to that camp and once again it was magical. The moon was almost full, we were right on the river bed with the Ganga flowing past, a bonfire, tents, mountains both sides, forest behind – ah, heaven. Bottles were opened again, songs sung, played, crazy laughter, nice food and by the time we retired it was well past midnight once again. The other youngsters in the camp stayed on much longer, drunk out of their wits.

In the tent Koni told me a story in three parts of a murderer who was the watchman at the camp. The murderer does not like snorers and axes them in their sleep. I drifted off to sleep dreaming of the mass murderer.

The Himalayan Diaries - Day 4 – Auli to Birahi, March 4, 2012

Late night again and on top of it one of the coldest and dreariest outside. Thanks to the marvels of the heating system, it was not too bad in the room at all. I had no hope of seeing a sunrise at all (which would have been magnificent on those snow peaked mountains) seeing the copious rain of the last night. But I woke up at 6 and saw the rain and cold outside. No sign of the Sun, so I snuggled back hoping Vasu would do the same. But Vasu being Vasu, was true to his word, (how perfect is this guy?) arrived on the scene at 6ish and I got out of bed. Ranjan was up as well and we surveyed the gloomy scene outside - the rain, the clouds and to make matters more interesting some hail. 

Hail

No hope for sunrises etc. I naively followed Ranjan outside the corridor where he wanted to smoke without my my shoes or socks, hoping to get back into the comfort of the room when Vasu suggested a climb to the temple. 'It's just here.'

Gloomy view of the morning

The icy winds soon took away all sensation from my feet, my nose and my hands. The one good thing was that I carried my camera. The temple was open though, minus priests as I believe is the fashion normally in the mountains, well kept, smelling of camphor and agarbatti, a Bajrang Bali temple, the second I have been to in the past two months. 

View from the temple

Another view from the temple

Vasu returning after the temple expedition

The slight rain and the winds, added to the drama. We paid our obeisance to the monkey god, read the first few lines of the Hanuman Chalisa written over there, took some pics. No sign of the Sun. Up in the mountains it appeared that it was snowing. The clouds were floating around below us ponderously, pregnant with rain. Skiing was under threat. Unfortunately we had got all the gear this time. When I returned I was funnily immune to the cold. What is it with the weather here?

Temple in brighter light

Post breakfast, again a decent effort by the GMVN chappies, toast, omelettes, paranthas and so on, we headed back to the rooms. We met a group from Bombay, a fifty year old bunch of guy friends, a Chartered Accountant, a Bharat Gas Agency owner and a Studio owner. The CA had something in common with Vasu as he had been in Canada for a while too, but it was Koni who subjected him to his views of the ills of taxation in India. Post breakfast Ranjan and I got into some table tennis activity, Kiri and Koni got into some card games, and Vasu and Aditya started preparing for skiing. 

View of the ski slope from the top

Koni ditched them at the last moment and preferred to stay back with cards and Kiri. Ranjan and I volunteered our camera and videography services and went up the big slopes - we had plans of walking up to the trees that bordered the ski slopes. With the ski lift on today, the slopes were much more fun for Aditya and Vasu. It had snowed last night and we could see the trees covered in white.There was a slight snowfall as we walked - and on top of that, owing to snowfall at night, we had to walk through one foot deep snow. Ranjan, Vicky, Mohan and another chap I cannot remember, followed the skiers and took some snaps. 

Ranjan - happy in the snow

After taking some fine pictures and videos (which added to much laughter in the camp later due to the rather amateur nature of the video quality), Ranjan and I struggled up the slopes to a spot near the trees where we would get a breathtaking view of the slopes and the mountains. It took a while and we got there - almost. 

Our trekking target

This is where we stopped

View from the top

Cottages

View from the top 2

The view was worth all the trouble though. Grand. Majestic. We sat for a while and then slipped and slid back to the slopes where Vasu and Aditya had just completed their quota of skiing. Vasu and Aditya seemed to have had enough of skiing and we decided to head out of Auli now. We'd head towards Rishikesh for the river rafting. Ranjan booked us into a forest guest house near Birahi and we packed up, ate lunch and headed back down the hills.

Children going to school

Cricket in the mountains - common sight

The father, the son and the holy...(can't cope with any expression of love?)

It was a lovely drive down the mountains and we stopped many times to click pictures. The drive was only three hours so we could take our time. By the time we reached Birahi and the guest house, it was twilight. A bonfire was set up near the gazebo, chilly winds and total darkness owing to a power cut. Add to it a fine rain and once again it was pure magic up in the mountains. 

Rare moment

Back in action

Another poignant moment (shortage of rum?)

Content

Old friends, old wine, old books...

Songs were played, songs were sung. Aditya, apart from being a sportsman, and the sports captain of his school, also sings and plays for a rock band. He was the DJ for the evening and we all had a great time out by the fire until the rain picked up. Dinner and then we retired to bed. Once again Koni kept his end going till late in the night, well past midnight. Tired, I dropped off into sleep under the heavy quilts.

The Himalayan Diaries - Day 3 – Birahi To Auli, March 4, 2012

We got an early start from Birahi after what was an eventful night. The mellow morning sunlight bathed the entire mountainside and the valley where we were, the balmy air was highly refreshing and we were all set to head further up into the mountains - to Auli where the skiing resort was.

The Ganga flows by behind  - Kiri, Vasu and Ranjan

We checked out of the GMVN resort and headed out in the two cars on roads that were considerably narrower and worse for wear of landslides and such. 

Happiness - Ranjan, me and Koni

I saw many families drive by in cars, mini buses hurrying by and jeeps ferrying people. In the mountains one can see small settlements of houses, once in a while a lone dwelling. 

The Riverside Resort from the road

The people here climb up and down rapidly, sure footed and carry heavy loads easily. I saw many women bent almost double, carrying loads back home. The men? Children walked the roads to school, some as small as three or four it seemed, skirting the steep falls of the mountains.

A winding road. Ranjan took over the wheel of the Innova and we all hopped in with him.

Another view

The resort deep in the background, Vasu in the forefront

 For breakfast we stopped at their site just outside Joshimath where a fine South Indian breakfast of vada and dosa alongwith a North Indian spread of hot paranthas were on offer.

Stop for breakfast

Looking down from breakfast point to the cars

We came up this way

Cricket in the hills - I played a while

Kiri caught Koni and engaged me in some pointless discussion as usual

 In the nice chilly environs the food was welcome and we gulped down some coffee before we headed out. A few kms and it was Joshimath - we took the bypass and then upwards to Auli, the skiing resort. We hit Auli at 1230 or so. 

The Himalayas

It was sunny but the slopes were full of hardened snow that clung on like lumps in a most ungainly manner. 
The mountains all round were of sizes that I could not imagine, majestic and magnificent in their bearing, as the winds howled around them. We soon arrived at the GMVN resort at Auli, checked into very comfortable rooms and after a short while headed up to the ski slopes. 

The lift that takes us up to the ski slopes - 200 bucks round trip

The walk up to the lift was demanding enough and we wondered how we'd manage the rest. To rub salt into our wounds were youngsters racing up and down the slopes. 

On the lift freezing

We took the lift up to the slopes, sliding along the cable wires high up. We plodded through the snow, and stopped for chai (the few joints there serve Maggi noodles which seems to be the staple food up there). The skiing for the day seemed to have been suspended - all activity closes a 4 p.m. and it must have been 2 p.m. There was also some championship happening there with kids, some as young as six or seven, skiing like professionals and whizzing past us. We were introduced to a skiing instructor, pretty looking lady, and visions of Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara arose among the ranks. The skiers - Vasu, Aditya and Koni - soon found out that there would be no skiing for that day from the official sources.

Auli apparently means the 'meadow' - Maggi noodles and chai

After wandering about for a while, we walked down to another hut at the bottom of the slope where chai and Maggi was had. It was nothing but a hut - a swing of the flap and out came a smow mobile kind of a machine - spanking new. The mountains are fgull of surprises. An adventurous young man offered his services to help ski and Vasu, Aditya and Koni hired him instantly. Skis were hired, slopes identified. The only sad part was that there were no lifts on their ascent. This tired out everyone – even me who was watching. Some slipping and sliding and falling and soon everyone had a good time and we were headed back to the rooms. At 4 even the lift that takes us down to the hotel would stop. In fact at 4 I think everything out there stops because of the cold and the winds.

Koni did better skiing than that

Walking back up with the skis

Vasu and Aditya going down

And up

Change in weather

From the Auli slopes they say one can see the peaks of Nanda Devi, Nanga Parbat and others. Someone pointed vaguely into the clouds and said that Nanda Devi was behind that. Anyway with toes and fingers freezing, the nose almost non existent, we made it back to the comfort of the room. We enjoyed the sports facilities of the GMVN, table tennis, caroms, pool and then retired for tea and some snacks. The table tennis was tiring as well speaking volumes of our fitness. This GMVN stuff is good I must say though. The weather outside changed drastically from the nice sunny weather early afternoon to dark and cloudy. There was rain as well giving the whole sight a rather sombre look. At 5, Vasu, Aditya and Koni went to pick up their skis for the next morning. Koni looked direly in need of some instructions.

Back in the rooms - happiness uncorked

By 7 p.m. the bottles were out and everyone was cackling and laughing away as only boy gangs can do - in a rather mindless manner. We ate Karachi biscuits of all things. GMVN’s heaters were extremely effective and the party continued once again well into the night, with one small break for dinner where the non-drinkers, Vasu, Aditya and I, headed down for some small meal, joined by Ranjan. Back in the room Koni was relentlessly reeling off his theories, stories, ideas and opinions and we listened, amused to death, our strength dwindling as sleep overcame us.

A classic picture - Kiri looking in and looking out, man's eternal dilemma

 It had started raining and one wondered if there would be snowfall, if there would be skiing at all. But up in the mountains apparently the weather is far more capricious. Before going to sleep Vasu and I planned to get up at 6 (another ambitious plan for me especially since Koni would keep me up till 230 with his stories). Alarms were set.