A trip to Hrishikesh and Mussoorie

Pre-trip mood
We all were supposed to start from our place at around Friday,2200 hrs. My health was not good and was still in a dilemma to join the trip or not as I hardly knew anyone ( other than Ankita and Nidhi). Both of them convinced me for the trip and asked me to be in the office by evening 1900 hrs. I wasn't aware of the plan or schedule or anything regarding the trip, So was not in a mood to join the trip

Situation and scenario
I reached Ankita's office at around 1845 hrs, and was told that I can't enter the office after 1800 hrs as I was non-tcser, I convinced the guard and could manage sitting in reception where I have wait for another 3 hours. The reception was good except the hostility provided, that made me pissed off as there was no cafeteria access(No food), no wash room for a non-tcser, there was no higher authority to talk and get permission for atleast having food in the cafeteria( and I was refused to go to cafeteria). I called Ankita to get some food so that I shouldn't die with the hunger.

The cold war
Soon Nidhi and Ankita accompanied by Rahul( our mutual friend) joined me and we started gossiping and pulling each others' leg. Nidhi joined with Rahul and started pulling Ankita's leg. Ankita didn't like that and left angrily and situation was hot. This made Nidhi also upset as she was just kidding and the topic was taken seriously by Ankita. I tried making the situation normal and calm but it is difficult to solve a problem that is not actually a problem. It was 2220 hrs when everyone assembled and we were ready to leave( The Cold war still on)

The introduction part
As I was a new face in the group, we started with an introduction to get familiar with each other. The group looked jolly and active youngsters with Balaji,Murugdas, Nambi from Chennai made me excited looking at people from my land. I met pulkit (famous among Friends,especially girls, as pullu) who was the organizer of the trip, Ritesh a small kid jumping high to be matured. Nandita(Nandu) having a horse like laugh, a punjabi girl "Nidhi Arora" and Vipul. I met Bhai "Ritu" and got confused of bhaigiri ;), she was/is bhai of OPs(the team). Not to mention Deepika( deeps) she looked marvadi, doesn't want to spend her words and found short hand names for everyone. I could smell the fragrance of love among Deepika <-> Nandini <-> Nidhi Arora <-> Bhai ( Lots of kisses lol)

And we started...
It was a mini bus, with a capacity for 14 including the driver, enough for us to sit and enjoy. The seats were comfortable and spacious. We settled and took our seats and started chatting... Nidhi and Ankita were still not talking, Ankita was upset and went to sleep. The driver was new and we have to direct him to reach the Highway, Pulkit and Ritesh were guiding him and we reached the outskirts of Delhi, We had ice-cream there (had it after a long time). With no mood of sleeping we started antakshari that doesn't last long in front of leg pulling and cute fight between Pulkit and Nidhi Arora. We were fond of the laughing of Nandu and Pulkit knew how to bring it onnn, with that dhin-chic-dhin-chic dance.... This trip was good, except that boring and non-adventurous driver( on High-way he was happy to drive at 45 kmph).

The most awaiting one hour
No, you are wrong it was not the hour we waited to reach hrishikesh... It was when I waited to find a dhaba to find a wash room and ease my self. I asked Pulkit to stop at any dhaba for some time, but because of some reason he asked me to wait for a while and that while turned out to be an hour or so, It is said that god has created heaven and hell in this world... I have seen both ;)

We are about to reach...
We entered the Haridwar and it started feeling good ( except that the water was leaking out of the AC and was disturbing my sleep) . The morning weather was too soothing and the greenary was too good, It is really good to see the country-yard side of our country as they hold the beauty . Enjoying that beauty and the little murmur in the group We entered Hrishikesh. I could see the valley and the mountains, the farms next to the road gave me a good feeling... The feeling of being half-a-sleep and could see this beauty was making me smile continuously. By morning 700 hrs we reached Hrishikesh and headed towards Shivpuri where we have our camps setup.

Shivpuri is 16 km from Hrishikesh, It is a one point for short term fun. It is famous for White water river rafting and other water sports. The river here has many rapids that stretches over 36 km.

At Camps
The camps we were to stay has eye catching beauty, the river facing tents and the surrounding mountains were mesmerizing. The sound of the flowing water was having a aggression to meet the main ganga current. We refreshed ourselves and took snaps to capture as much beauty as we can( Nidhi and Ankita were again together after all its photo-session time). After we had our breakfast, It was difficult for us to stop ourselves from going into the water. We played a lot in the water, relaxed our body in the chilling water. I should say I have seen this is photos but was enjoying that beauty.... AWESOME

Rappelling time
It was around 1030 hrs when we came out of the water and dried ourselves, and it was hot. We went rappelling, I have never tried it in my life so was nervous as how will it be, what if i fall, what if the rope breaks ... but after the guide explained what has to be done and assured about these stupid,important questions. I waited for girls to finish first and mean while I was taking pics of the places there. Nidhi tried doing it, but was scared and came back... that made me nervous again. Now it was my turn, after dressing up as a mountain climbing person i started first few steps were difficult but when i came in the air everything was fine and under my control. It was too good and too short at the same time, everything done in 3-4 minutes. Pulkit was afraid of doing that but tried and found it good and did it twice. This took us one-and-half an hour to finish, by 1200 hrs we were back to our tents.

The hot three hours
When we came back to our tents, it was too hot and the air was not helping in any case. We were supposed to go for River Rafting after lunch at around 1330 hrs. These few hours were really difficult to pass as everyone, except few of us, started sleeping and we were just waiting for the time to go for river rafting. The lunch was delayed and we finished having it at around 1345hrs. We wanted to rest before we could go for the adventure but the weather didn't allow us for the same. We sat near the river in the shade for around an hour and were literally sweating. We got the slot of 1445 hrs for river rafting and we started changing for it.

River Rafting Started
At around 1500 hrs we started for the place where we have to start our rafting from. We got a life saving suit, It was really good wearing and holding the paddles. We were13 and were asked to go in two different rafters. I was accompanied by Nidhi, Ankita, Balaji, Nambi,Murugdas and Ritesh. I chose to sit in the front, I know it is amazing and adventurous to sit in the front. The guide gave us the instruction about how to hold the Paddle and follow the instructions given at the time of rafting "all-forward, all-backward, right-back-left-forward, right-forward-left-backward" were few of them. We were made to sign the trip form declaring ownership of any miss happening to ourselves.
We were to paddle for 15 kms. Nidhi was asked to sit in the front and not to paddle. When it started we could see the non-synchronization in the group, we were learning how to paddle while paddling and it was really difficult ( with my back pain still there) , now and then the guide was telling us how should we do this and we learned and started doing it in proper way. After some time guide told us about the rapid in the way and we were even more excited listening to that. The first rapid was thrilling, our raster was jumping on the water and the water falling on our face. The water was chilling and made us shiver. Our guide asked us paddle hard in the rapids. After the rapid, when the water was calm, he asked us to jump into the water and with no second thought I was in the water. I got a paralysis for a second because of the Icing water, it was so chilling but the enjoyment and happiness of being in the middle of Ganga was what everything is worth for. I was there inside for 10-15 minutes, everyone got down into the water, except Nidhi who again got scared and asked guide to pull her up. In these 15 minutes lied down on the water and relaxed in it.

In the water during the Rapid
This particular time was unforgettable, each and every second is embossed in the memory. After previous jump in the water, the excitement could be seen on our faces and the guide looking that excitement asked if anyone wants to get down in the rapid..... and it was YES YES YES .... The rapid name was T-joint rapid ( as far as I remember) , I was first one to be in the water, few including bala, nambi, murugadas were not interested in getting down... ( bala being the only son of the family). There was not a single sign of fear in heart, I was enjoying the thing I dreamed of "Enjoying the lap of mother gangous ".

After we passed the rapid, the guide gave me the rope and asked me to hold it and feel free in the water . The rope was around 10-12 ft. and I was swimming in the water on my own. That was amazing feeling and needs proper and suitable words to be explained( those words, I don't have) . After being in the water for around half an hour, I decided half-heartily to get to the raster. I was shivering to the core... It took us 15 minutes more to reach a place for cliff jumping

Cliff Jumping
When we reach cliff jumping, I could see people jumping from the cliff on the water. People screaming and shouting, gave goose bums and I wanted to reach there as soon as possible. When we got down the raster everyone rushed towards the cliff, I have to wait for Nidhi and Ankita who were busy taking snaps. We took many pics there and after that I ran towards the cliff as the time was short. I could the fear in other peoples' face as they were reaching the point to jump from. When I reached there I too was fearful and my face was blank as to what to do. The person there asked me to jump. When I jumped my breathe was held for few second as I could see me in no ones' land ;) :P . Those few seconds were really scaring and I desperately wanted reach the water. When came down in the water, water went into my nose and I tried hard to come up. Cliff jumping was adventurous that made me scared for a second.

A spiritual end of the day
After finishing the rafting and cliff jumping we were tired but we decided to go to famous place "Ram Jhula", a bridge attached with many mythologies and surrounded by many ashrams. It is famous amongst the people coming for religious purposes. It swings with the flow of wind and looks like a "JHULA".
We went to the famous restaurant "Chotiwala" Its a 50 year old restaurant famous for the person sitting in the front of the reception dressed up like a funny mythological character "Naarad muni". We had a little snacks there and then started for the temple.
Near that bridge was a Rama temple. we went there and meditated there for a while. It was near the river gangous and gave a calmness to mind listening to the current of the river. I stood near the railing ( that was not allowed though) and looked at the River current that mesmerized me. All the tiredness went and I was feeling good again.

We did some some shopping there, Balaji bought a Shawl for her mother. It was a maroon shawl was looking really nice. Deepika got saree for her mom, It was very economical and beautiful print. Geetapress is known for its printing and economical factors. After that we started back for our camps.

The peaceful night
At our camps it was dark and there were no lights, only some lantern were glowing reminding me of my home town where we used to burn the lantern. The sky was clean and one could see the blanket of Stars above you. Its been a long time I sat in the open sky and looked at it with no worries or work. I relaxed outside in the chair for a while and then Ritesh pulled me for the dinner as we were already late for that. I had a heavy food( except the fruit custard) . It was very drowsy after that and I hardly remember anything. Ankita made my bed and I slept of peacefully without worrying for the situations of drunkard people roaming around and the safety of the girls and all. Nothing can be as peaceful as good sleep.

The rushing morning
Morning I got up at around 0600 hrs and saw everyone near me still sleeping. The weather was so cozy that I was feeling that the bed had an extra force other than the gravitational force. I some how managed to get up by 0630 hrs. Found a wash room free and finished up my morning routines. By that time tea was prepared and I decided to have tea sitting on the rocks in the river. It was too good to sit there and have tea, It energized me and woke me up. I sat there for another 15 minutes and people started joining me there. Again a long photo session.
We started for mussoorie at around 0730 hrs and FYI it was one hour late than the schedule.

The way to mussoorie
Mussoorie is 50 km from Hrishikesh and takes around 2 hours to reach there. Its a hill station and a tourist place. It has many places to see, Kwenty falls is one them. The way was not that entertaining, we were singing songs through the whole way. We danced, I danced on ringa - From Slum dog millionaire. In between Balaji, Ritesh and I were having discussions about the place about different topics. We were around 7500 ft from sea level and feels like in heaven... You can see the shadow of the clouds on the mountain and was telling that god is a for sure an artist. The way the clouds were layout, the beauty could hardly be ignored. That one hour I was lost in the scenery the god has created.
Kempty falls was just 15 km from there and we thought we will reach there in hour an hour or at most hour but traffic was really bad and we were made to cancel the that plan because of the time constraint. We planned for going to mussoorie and visit some other places there. We stopped in between for having some snacks, Deepika was upset because of canceling of the plan, so refused to come out of the bus. Pulkit lifted her and brought her out ... an applause for Pulkit.

Mussoorie
After spending some time there we headed towards Mussoorie. We reached mussoorie at around 1430 hrs. We were hungry and the first priority for us was food, some of us were having other priorities also ( changing, refreshing etc). It took us time to find a restaurant and mean while it started raining and that was nothing less anyone will want in Mussoorie. A cozy rainy weather. After getting drenched for a while we got inside a restaurant and ordered "Aaloo Pyaz Parantha". Having hot stuffed parantha in rain has its own pleasure. I was sitting near the window and could feel the chilling breeze. The Nature was looking astonishing showing us all the shades. And sooner it started sleeting and the sound of the ice falling on the ground and striking on the window was clearly visible making the environment scary. With in no time the roads were overlaid by a blanket of ice, and the rain stopped. We came out of the restaurant to play on the ice. We drank hot milk and enjoyed the chilling weather, We didn't bring anything for the cold so were shivering a lot. I got a shawl from Ankita that gave me some heat.
We all walked towards a trolley to go the cliff. This walk took us around an hour because we all were busy taking snaps and having some food items. I had ice-cream in a way that it looked like I was smoking. The weather was too good and when we pass some tree the rain drops were falling on us and make us shiver again. We reached the place to take trolley, were to wait for another half an hour for our turn. In that we started shopping, Nidhi bought some show piece for her house. And now it was our turn to go into the trolley. We all thirteen got into the trolley and Ankita was made to stand. We all were so busy taking snaps that we didn't bother to see the beauty. we were hanging in the middle of the air and could see the whole earth... It was really a touching scene. It took us 5 mins to reach the cliff, the top of the mountain.

The Himalayas view
The view when we reached there was awesome. It was at the peak of the mountain and everything could be seen below. It was surrounded by mountains and everywhere was greenery. The Sun could be seen clearly and because of the rain the mountains were sparkling. I went to the edge of the cliff and stood there for a while looking at the beauty, I have never seen beauty like this. The air was so pure and cool that I feel like flying in the air.
The Himalayan ranges could been from there and one could see the white shining body of Badrinath. I took a Binoculars and looked the ranges and could feel i'm there. It was really a great feeling of calmness, Happiness that I was seeing Himalayas for the first time in my life . We lots of snaps there and sat near the edge. It was awesome to be there. We came down in the trolley.
It was almost 1800 hrs when we got down and were short of time as we have to start for Delhi. We asked the cab driver to come to a point to pick us up and it was 1 - 2 kms.

Tattooing time
While walking towards the pick up point, Pulkit found out a Tattooing guy, and got interested in getting himself tattooed. It took him half an hour and everyone left him alone in the pain ( except me, Nidhi and Ankita). After tattooing the main worry was being tattooed by a road side guy. It was funny though but the environment wasn't funny. He got headache thinking of the tattoo and the pain was a secondary concerns now. We took the cab and reached Dehradoon in another hour or so.

Dinner Time
At Dehradoon we had our lunch, it was quite heavy. We had fun pulling Deepika's leg and enjoyed the dinner and started again at aroun 2130 hrs. After that a non stop travel to Delhi took us 7 hours to reach ( because of the non-adventurous Driver)

A Rushed Ending
I reached my place at around 0730hrs in the morning and had to catch the cab for office. I refreshed in 15 minutes and at around 0800 hrs I was in office.

It was my induction day in office and I could hardly bring me out of the sweet dream. every now and then during the session I took a nap and remembered all the great memory that I had collected in these two days....


It was a unforgettable trip.... The best of my life


-Signing off ~~ Kuldeep