Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
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A walk around Swargashram, Ram Jhoola and Laxman Jhoola has many interesting things to offer. The most prominent are the Babas(mendicants) who are seen everywhere. You notice them sitting quietly in a corner doing nothing, reading a book or watching the people walking past, or silently meditating. A few may ask you for a small donation or a cuppa chai. And some of them would be selling odd things that might interest the strolling tourist. Come evening and you are likely to see them studying some scriptures or sitting on the bank of Ganges chatting. I kept seeing them everyday and they looked the same and seemed to do the same thing everyday. Sometimes it is difficult to say if a person is indeed a Baba or not, but they all look the same and they are almost always called as Baba, so it would not really matter.
And some of them seemed to be special. You could feel an aura of peace around them. This Baba would sit here everyday, a little ahead of Ramjhoola, selling a few odd things and with a weighing machine, for using which he would charge a rupee. In my few days of stay Rishikesh, I might have passed him a hundred times, but I never saw him lift his head out of the book and look around to see what is going on in the world. And even when I took his photograph, I am fairly sure he never noticed. I decided to get myself weighed, and when I gave him a Rs.10 bill, he spoke to me softly and slowly asking for a smaller denomination. As soon as our transaction was over, he was back to being buried in his book.
He had a greater variety of gear to sell. Plastic toys, flutes, a few interesting stones in his box, and more.
A few of them seem to be more active. I see them making a conversation with a fruit vendor or the chai shop guy, or sometime smoking away to glory, cigarette after cigarette and breaking occasionally only for a conversation or to sip his chai.
Afternoons are for a siesta!
Some of the Babas turn up at the Ganga aarti and watch silently, standing from behind. It is interesting to catch them in the warm light of the Aarti after sunset.
This is an image that has stayed in my memory. As the baba looks, the sign with the arrow mark above him reads ‘dharma marga’ or ‘divine path'(roughly translated, for th e lack of better words). As I was taking this image, it reminded me the oft-repeated words of Krishna in the Gita – To walk in dharma marga!
More on Rishikesh at paintedstork.com
* Rishikesh photo gallery
* Arriving at Rishikesh.
* Walking around Laxman Jhula
* Ganga Aarthi at Rishikesh
* Photo Essay: Babas of Rishikesh
* Rishikesh to Kaudiyala
* About Rishikesh
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
+Previous: Rishikesh and Laxman Jhula
+Next: Babas of Rishikesh
+Go to beginning of the series
Evening in Rishikesh are for sitting by the Ganges and while away your time. I had a good coffee at Madras Cafe and walked along the quite ghats to spend the time till sunset. Later in the evening, I headed towards Parmarth Niketan Ashram to witness the daily evening ritual of Ganga Aarti.
The place where the aarti is held
The aarti is a pleasant ritual of worshipping the Ganga. Around 50-100 people visit the aarti on any day. I have witnessed Ganga Aarati in other places like Haridwar and Varanasi too, but they are a crowded noisy ritual with loud screaming speakers, people troubling you to make donations or hawkers trying to sell something highly overpriced. The Aarathi at Rishikesh is a contrast to it, held in a small place with a few people and is a relatively quite affair. You can sit quietly in a corner and witness the ritual or join the crowds singing Bhajans with them.
Also see:
* Ganga Aarti in Haridwar
* Ganga Aarti in Varanasi
People assembled for the Aarati
The aarati happens at a very picturesque place on the banks of Ganga, in front of a Shiva statue built on the river. You see some activity beginning at the riverbank around 5pm. People start cleaning up the area, lay carpets in preparation for the aarati. A few people are seen selling deep or diya – a flower bowl with a wick lamp to be floated down the river during the Aarti after prayers. It starts at 5.30pm, with children studying Veda, the Bhajan singers and the performers walking into the ghat in front of Parmarth Niketan. It begins with Bhajans and prayers for ‘Gangaji’ and Shiva.
Diya being sold for the aarti
It is interesting to watch the children as the ritual progresses. They look bright and alive in their saffron robes. Some of them appear oblivious of the whole thing and drift into their own world. A few start a conversation within themselves. Some continue singing the Bhajans with an uninterested face and a few are motionless, just sitting there or staring blankly. There are some who are completely immersed in the Bhajans and join everyone with full enthusiasm, singing and clapping loudly with the rhythm.
Children Praying at the Aarti
As the sun sets and it gets slightly darker, the Shiva statue is lighted up and it looks beautiful. The aarti continues with lamps in various shapes and sizes lighted up, and passed on from people to people.
Shiva statue lit after sunset
Performing the Aarti
The whole place lights up to a spirited mood with lamps swinging in the hands of people. It lasts for an hour and winds up around 6.30 in the evening with the notes of “jai jai radharamana hari bol…”
More on Rishikesh at paintedstork.com
* Rishikesh photo gallery
* Arriving at Rishikesh.
* Walking around Laxman Jhula
* Ganga Aarthi at Rishikesh
* Photo Essay: Babas of Rishikesh
* Rishikesh to Kaudiyala
* About Rishikesh
A trip report of a journey to lakes of and rivers of North Sikkim, made in October 2003. Some images here are taken from a previous trip to Sikkim
Also see: Trek report to Gochela, Sikkim
We arrived in Gangtok after a long and tiring journey of six hours in a dilapidated and crowded jeep. Gangtok is accessible only by road and the steep slopes and curves on the road make your journey much harder. But when we reached the town, we knew we were going to have a good time in the next few days.
A TOWN WITH A DIFFERENCE
It’s hard to find a place flat and big enough to play soccer in Gangtok. The town is built on a series of hills in the Eastern Himalayan state of Sikkim. When you are walking from place to place, you are always climbing up or down which tires you very quickly. We spent the first day in exploring the town and making preparation for further journey. The first thing that we could see when we woke up next morning was a magnificent view of Kanchenjunga, the highest peak in India. It was visible from any point in town as if to prove its might
Kanchenjunga seen from Gangtok
We strolled around leisurely all the day. The hills just above the town have many beautiful waterfalls. Ganesh Tok, the highest point in the town offers good view of the valley below and a range of distant snow clad mountains if you reach there early in the day.
Orchids
We also saw a few orchid gardens that showcase the flowers that grow in the region. Near Ganesh Tok is a Buddhist monastery but it was closed for visitors when we went there. But we found a restaurant nearby which was selling a local delicacy called momo – steamed flour stuffed with vegetables or chicken. A good serving of momos and hot tea made us forget about the closed monastery.
A Waterfall near Gangtok
HEADNING NORTHWARDS
Next day we headed north of Gangtok to explore the alpine lakes and rivers of Sikkim. Our jeep driver was a friendly man and warmed up to us quickly after the initial hesitation. Both the driver and our guide proved to be a funny people who kept us laughing and chatting all through the journey.
The road keeps ascending higher and higher and was getting narrower and steep as we continued through the journey. Condition of roads remained bad due to continuous landslides that prevented any road work. There was no tarmac in parts of the road and sometimes the jeep had to wade through streams that ran right through the road. As we moved further, the hills seemed to get taller and the valleys deeper.
A Stream on the way
We stopped at a few waterfalls and walked around the streams, but all the time our driver kept asking us to hurry since we had to reach before nightfall. Driving in the night would have been unsafe on these roads and he wanted to reach our destination before sunset. Sometime late in the afternoon we spotted the snow capped Himalayan mountains at a distance. We were headed towards them and were going to be in the middle of them by tomorrow. We reached Thangu village around 8pm where people at a guesthouse were expecting us. At the end of a long day’s journey we had climbed 9000 feet – from 5000 feet at Gangtok to 14000 feet at Thangu.
A Stream at Thangu village
A FUN FILLED EVENING
It was cold at Thangu and we could see snow on the top of a few nearby mountains. But the fireplace at the guesthouse kept us warm. We spent the whole evening with the family who run the guesthouse.
They were really nice people and offered us some local millet wine called Chhang. The evening was spent chatting with them, with some friendly conversation and getting to know their way of life in the mountains. Despite all the hardships of the weather, their smiles and enthusiasm never seems to fade. The evening gathered more color when we all sat together at the fire place and started singing, taking turns. A couple of other guests joined in and we had a great time together. We retired for the day after guzzling plenty of Chhang and food for our hungry stomachs.
THE GURUDONGMAR LAKE
Next morning we headed towards the Gurudongmar Lake – one of the highest alpine lakes in the world located at a height more than 17000 feet. The initial part of the journey took us through narrow road with no tarmac and a stream flowing just besides us. We hit a plateau after driving for sometime where the road disappeared altogether and we were driving as we pleased on the plane land. The jeep was a tough vehicle and took us through it with little difficulty. We reached the lake at around 11am.
Rhododendrons
It’s a vast lake bound by snowy mountains on one side and a few hillocks on the other. The water is crystal clear and absolutely still making a great sight with the reflection of the mountains behind it. The lake is created by Tista glacier running down from on of the mountains ahead. A small stream emerges from the overflowing lake that eventually joins Tista River downstream. Prayer flags tied by the Buddhist visitors surround the lake, and there is small temple by the shore.
The quick ascent to the high altitude had left us in discomfort very soon. We retreated from the lake in an hour’s time and headed back to the village and further down. After driving the entire afternoon, we reached the town of Lachung where we checked in for the night.
YUMTHANG VALLEY
Our next destination was Yumthang Valley where river Yumthang flows down in the middle of flowering rhododendrons and alpine trees. The road to Yumthang is full of Rhododendron trees and they fill the whole area with colors when in bloom. Yumthang valley offers a wide vista where the valley floor is littered with purple flowers in season, with the river flowing in the middle of them. We spent a few hours in the valley and headed up further where we saw a local tribal with a herd of Yaks. Milk and butter from the yaks are a primary source of income in these parts.
A Yak grazing
As we descended, we headed for a hot spring just below the Yumthang valley. We dipped into the hot water and stayed there for nearly an hour. A heated pool in that cold climate is the ultimate luxury that you can ask for. We headed back to Lachung after feeling refreshed in the pool followed by a short walk by the river.
RETURN TO GANGTOK
We returned to Gangtok the very next day. We stopped on the way back by the tall Lachung waterfall which falls from a good height just besides the road. We spent another day back in Gangtok to visit a Zoological Garden with wide variety of animals including the rare and endemic Red Pandas and the Himalayan Sloth Bears. After some shopping for souvenirs as a reminder of the memorable visit, we descended back to the plains and back home, contented about having made a good trip.
Leopard at Gangtok Zoo
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Nearest airport o Gangotok is Bagdogra, which is 6 hours away. Bagdogra is a small airport connected from Delhi and Kolkata. Mos
t people fly to Kolkata which is well connected by rest of the country and then take a bus or train from Kolkata to Siliguri(600kms). Gangtok is 6 hours from Siliguri town.
Gangtok offers plenty of places to stay in all budget ranges but people usually use this town as a stop over for heading further as we did. We stayed at a small unnamed hotel which offered us clean rooms and hot water at Rs.500 a day. Check MG Road in the heart of the town for some good accommodation.
You need to hire guides and a jeep at Gangtok to travel further to Gurudongmar and Yumthang valley. Keep in mind that access to parts of North Sikkim requires permits and this can be arranged only through an authorized travel agent. A travel agent may charge upto Rs. 2500 a day for a jeep and guide. Most of the travel agents are at MG Road and whom you hire may not make much difference.
Best time to visit: May and June