White River Rafting at Rishikesh

It garnered admiration as the place for spiritual rejuvenation but with time Rishikesh is turning out to be a must visit place for adventure buffs. White river rafting in the frigid waters of the Ganges entices tourists from around the world, braver souls, however, also aim to experience the thrill of bungee jumping as Rishikesh boasts of the highest (83m) bungee jumping facility in India with Jumpin Heights.

Rishikesh is nearly 230 km away from New Delhi and by road it would take nearly 6 hours by bus to reach there. As mentioned in the Haridwar post, my journey had begun from Kashmere Gate, Delhi after which I took a 'spiritual' halt at Haridwar and then reached Rishikesh. Even the bus stand at Rishikesh is so well located that as soon as you arrive, you are beholder to the stunning vistas of the verdant mountains surrounding it. From there you have to take an auto (which usually run on sharing basis and ask for INR 10 to drop you to the rafting agents’ site).

  

You need not worry of your safety during rafting as all service providers have similar facilities and it’s better to ask a couple of agents in the area to choose the best deal. I have now done rafting at Rishikesh twice, once for INR 300 and once for INR 500 (disadvantage of going on a crowded day) for the 18 km route. Rafting boat would need 10 people and the guide. The agent takes you to another of their offices where you can keep your baggage and change your clothes, if you need. Once the required number is achieved, everyone is stuffed in an SUV and taken to Shivpuri, the point from where the 18 km long rafting originates (you may also choose rafting options of other lengths but 18 km is sufficient in my view).

You are asked to keep your mobile, wallets, cameras and anything you don’t want to get wet while rafting in a water-proof bag that’s carried along on the boat. In no time, you will be on the boat, your heart pounding for the journey ahead. Supported with life jacket, helmet & the paddle to row the boat and emulating the typical slogans and watchwords that the guide hollers; you embark on the ride of your life.

Rowing through foaming water and gurgling rapids makes you feel animated, especially when you can’t swim (like me). The first contact with the splashing Ganges river on your face in the terrifying rapids sends adrenaline running across your body. The effect is almost intoxicating; you only want more of it. It’s even more fun when you blindly jump in the river and feel the chill of river. That’s the time when you can ask your guide or another co-passenger who’s afraid of plunging in the river to take your photos and save some memories.

The boat makes a stop on the way to a cliff jumping site wherein people can eat noodles and other stuff. If they choose not to make the pitstop the journey is almost over, with a couple more rapids to go. This 2-3 hour adventure is enough to sap all your energy. Soaked in water and feeling cold, you should dry yourselves and reach the office of the agent to take your baggage and clothes back.

Feeling famished, I looked for good meals around. Finding many options, I devoured the food; roamed around the city for some more time and took the bus to New Delhi again. While I was taking memories with me, this memory is not to be held on to; it definitely needs to be relived.

Getting Rid of Stress at Har-ki-Pauri Ghat, Haridwar

I am sure I have taken dip in much colder and lesser polluted waters (streams mush closer to the Himalayan glaciers), but I wonder what is so special about the dip in the Ganges in Haridwar. Is it the peace of mind or the belief that all your misdoings will be washed off by dunking yourselves in the gushing waters of one of the holiest rivers in India that makes it so different?

I am one of those persons who hate going to religious institutions in pursuit of god. I am also the person who, by sheer chance, gets to go to such institutions a lot. My first trip to Haridwar was never motivated to appease anyone for my misdoings, nor was I encouraged at the thought of getting up at early morning hours just to go to one of the ghats and immerse myself in the gelid waters. I merely wanted to see how many people gather to do just that.

I was more inclined to do white river rafting at Rishikesh and Haridwar was on the way. When I got to know that Ganga Aarti, performed everyday at sunrise and sunset, at the Har-ki-Pauri ghat can give me a sense of people’s faith & belief in god, I decided to make a halt at Haridwar and witness it once. Although the morning aarti mayn’t exactly replicate the impression that evening aarti creates but I had to make do with the morning one as I was reaching Haridwar at odd morning hours.

I reached Haridwar at about 3 a.m. with another friend, found a place to sleep for the next couple of hours, just to get up again to experience the chill of taking a dip in the holy Ganges. We took our clothes with us and reached the Har-ki-Pauri ghat before sunrise. While the weather was gentle in May, water in the Ganges, which originates from the Gangotri glacier, at 5: 30 a.m., was understandably extremely cold. Only courage or faith can make you plunge that time. At that moment, courage helped me make the dive and boy, wasn’t it invigorating!

It was an experience I would not ever forget all my life. Neither the extreme pace of the mighty river ready to take one along nor the low temperature making it harder to breathe would make me come out. I remained in the river holding the supporting chains as long as I could. But coming out, I was at peace with myself. I felt overwhelmed. It was surely not cold. But even after taking the dip twice now, I am still scratching my head to understand what is it that makes you so relieved and unburdened after the dip. It made me feel alive and excitedly I joined the crowd for the Ganga Aarti. I can’t really say that I started believing in god from that day but now I do enjoy coming to Haridwar just to be part of the mass that show their trust for god.

Buses to Rishikesh keep departing from Haridwar. We left at around 9 a.m and reached within an hour. Go on to read White River Rafting at Rishikesh to get a glimpse of my experience of river rafting at Rishikesh.

Weekend Escape to The Jewel of the East Coast: Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh

They say, "A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it ". Sometimes most memorable moments happen sans planning. Such was my fascinating trip to Vishakhapatnam aka Vizag, Araku Valley and Borra caves. With tatkal train tickets booked just a day before and no deliberations on how to come back; four of us set off for this wonderful weekend journey from Hyderabad to Vizag on 17th Aug, 2012.

We were greeted by a mesmerizing view of the Eastern Ghats when we landed at Vizag the next morning. Looking at those picturesque mountains, I could only imagine what our trip was going to offer. We bargained for our stay & transport and got decent deals. After having rejuvenating tea and breakfast at the hotel, we left for a day's expedition to Vizag.

It seemed as if weather had reserved its best for our arrival. Mild drizzle and gentle breeze setup a perfect weather condition for peregrination. First stopover in the itinerary was the famous Hindu temple, Simhachalam, cocooned in the verdurous Eastern Ghats which we followed up with the ruins of a Buddhist complex, Thotlakonda, perched imperturbably on a hill along the sea cost.

On our way back, we stopped over at the Ramanaidu Film Studios which had to be approached along a sinuous yet a spellbinding road giving a magnificent view of the curvilinear coastline of the Bay of Bengal. No wonder why the movie producers are making a beeline to shoot here.

We headed ahead to the renowned Kailasgiri Hills. It can be reached either through a ropeway or a walkway to see the majestic 40 feet statue of Lord Shiva and Parvathi and the adjoining pleasing garden. Because of the hordes of tourists, a barely moving queue and the strict timelines of the ad lib trip, we had to give it a miss.

We proceeded to the prominent Rushikonda beach. It was a cracking time there with my three other daredevil companions. Despite lack of swimming skills, we withstood the battering waves. Frolicsomely we played and sported there for a long time before marching further to the Mahankali temple near the other lionized beach, the R.K. Beach and its unique museum. For some people, visit to a museum is a wearisome affair but this one was a bit unconventional as the museum is a retired war submarine! INS Kurusura, living history of the 1971 Indo-Pak war, has now been converted into a tourist attraction. Going inside that submarine would only marvel you. To imagine a 75 member crew working in such a small space (91 meters) and at such low depths of the oceans gave me goose bumps. We sat at the RK beach for an hour, unfazed by the hustle and bustle of life. Soon, it was dusk, time to leave and end day one of our journey.

Next morning we had to catch the noted train from Vizag to Araku Valley and get down at the Borra Caves in between. And were not the caves a wonder! Formidable and astounding; well taken care of by the Tourism Department of AP, these caves have a lot to offer. Irregular limestone stalactites, stalagmites, a small Shiva temple inside and an opening along the top of the caves with a folklore associated to it, provides a great vista and a challenge for photographers under meager lighting conditions. A sumptuous meal at a nearby dhaba awaited us and we gluttonously devoured what was on offer.

And if the caves were not grand enough, something even better was to follow. We went along a delightful nature trail till the Katiki waterfalls originating from the Gosthani River, tumbling from a height of about 50 ft. Enroute was another attraction of the place, the bamboo chicken. The indigenous people roast chicken in bamboo obtained from nearby jungles. While every non-vegetarian was having a go at it, the monsoon weather made it inevitable for us (vegetarians) to have a bite of the masala-flavored corns applied with tangy lemon, taken along with a cup of hot tea.

After rejoicing a great deal, we came back to our hotel worn out but not without accruing more respect for nature and the gifts it has bestowed us with. If we could only be more selfless and less greedy, we will realize that neither it is too difficult to conserve our environment nor too easy too degrade it.

Closer to nature at Mt. Abu

I was supposed to be attending an interview call at Anand, Gujarat, India but I just can't ignore my wanderlust proclivity and go to a place and come back without relishing the local fervor. Fortuitously, the interview was scheduled on Tuesday which meant that I could utilize the weekend before the interview. I flew to Ahmedabad early Saturday morning and reached Gandhinagar at my uncle's place. After some chitchatting, we left the coziness of the dwelling in the afternoon to see the astounding architectural planning of the capital city of Gujarat. The town has vertical and horizontal parallel roads intersecting each other and the areas in between them houses the necessities of a city. Such a fabulous planning makes exploring the city a laymen's job.

In the evening we went to the immensely famous Akshardham temple aka the Swami Narayan Temple spread into 23 acres. The temple garnered negative publicity after an armed terrorist attack in 2002. Since then, the security has been buffed up considerably. The temple precincts preserve a museum depicting the models of the belongings of the founder of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, Lord Swaminarayan including his nails and hair pieces. The museum is small but well-kept as there is no dearth of funding in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. Having seen the temple and the museum below its base, we walked towards the Water and Laser show which was going to be a dazzling and a mind-boggling event.

We had bought the tickets earlier to avoid the last minute rush. We bought ice-creams and reached half an hour earlier for the first laser show of the night which started at 7 p.m. The show is conducted in the open-air amphitheater which amplifies the whole experience. The show illustrates that mythological instance from Katha Upanishad where Nachiketa is donated by his father, Vajashrava, to the lord of Death, Yama. This is when the 7-year old kid learnt the cardinals of life and death from Yama himself. The 45 minutes water and laser show was purely magical. Dazzling and extremely precise water, laser and fire patterns, wonderful narration, fierce sound elements and the riveting moral story, would never allow losing your attention for any transitory moment. Having had the famous vegetarian Khichdi after the show from the food court in the temple premises, we left for the day, only to go to Mt. Abu the next day.

The next morning, we were off to Mt. Abu, a popular and the only hill station in the Aravalli Ranges in Rajasthan. It took us 4 hours from Gandhinagar to reach there by car. We started off with the highest point in Rajasthan, Guru Shikhar, located at an altitude of 1722 meters. It houses the temple of God Dattatreya, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. You can witness the vastness of the Aravalli range from the summit. We had satiating lemon water made from the Meyer lemons particular to warm climates, I took some amazing pictures and after some customary shopping and snacks, we descended from the peak and left for the mesmerizing circa nine centuries old Dilwara temples.

The use of marble in the construction of the 5 temples in the Dilwara premises is quite opulent and eye-catching. There are temples of five Jain tirthankars viz. Adinath, Neminatha, Rishabhdev, Parshvanath and Mahavira. The intricate carvings and subtle architecture of the temples will leave you short of breath. These temples not only speak of the rich art of historic India but also indicate the amount of wealth the kings would have possessed that time.

The last halt in Abu was at Nakki Lake which, as raconteurs tell, was dug out of nails. A gentle breeze blowing across the lake was veritably soothing. We had a scrumptious meal at a lakeside restaurant, took some snaps for memory’s sake and left the place along the very famous Shopping Mall road. Placid green water, paddle boats sailing in the lake, hot-air balloon giving the junkies a small lift, architectural finesse of the Dilwara and the cold climate of Abu makes it one of most coveted travelling destinations in India asking people around the world to enjoy the chill in a predominantly desert area, Rajasthan. A wonderful evening in Abu came to an end as we left for our abode in Gandhinagar with impressions of Abu engraved in our hearts.

Finding yourself

Howsoever disputable Gandhiji’s ideals might be for the modern society, this adage of his holds great sense per se, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

Indeed, there is no better feeling that comes when you help someone. I felt the same quite recently when I volunteered to teach kids in a rural government school, ZPHS to be precise, during my office hours. My colleague Lalitha and I are going to take a one hour class every week on Tuesday for 6 weeks. We will teach English to ten kids of 7th standard. We have already taken one of such classes with amazing response from the students and learning a great deal ourselves.

Just so that you know the condition of the school; there is no electricity, mere 6 rooms for all higher secondary classes, abysmal teacher-to-student ratio, one unkempt toilet, an undersized playground and the biggest incentive for the kids to come to school is not education but the Mid-day Meal Scheme which provides them free food during Lunch. Sometimes, the teachers are absent and most of the times, the students themselves. With this dearth of infrastructure and meager motivation among teachers and students both, there certainly is a need for a movement in rural areas which can flex people’s attention towards education.

Nevertheless, even after so many shortcomings, the kids study with alacrity. Their spirit is commendable and enthusiasm contagious, which really helped us when we started with the teaching session. However, their foundation in English is too weak which makes it difficult for them to understand a language whose rules even the pundits are not sure about. Speaking tongue-in-cheek, English has ironically got more exceptions than rules! Another hurdle to overcome while teaching them is the language barrier. Students’ mother tongue is Telugu and north-Indians know the least of the language. To overcome this, Telugu speaking employees are paired up with non-Telugu speaking employees so that the kids can be taught with least possible glitches. Although we had some innovative plans in mind but one hour was over before we could implement them. One student did win a chocolate, but we have to encourage others too to partake proactively in the activities along with the theory sessions.

Pooja, Aruna, Mounika, Shashi, Badri, Shankar, Anjanayelu, Ramu, Uday Kumar are the kids Lalitha and I are responsible to teach. Initially we spent some time in knowing them as we felt it was necessary to engage them in the process. The kids remain interested if you make them feel that they are all being focused upon and that’s where the teacher-to-student ratio is so important. The lesser the number of students per teacher, the greater is the individual attention paid. We taught them the three articles, a, an and the, of English. After some teaching, we gave them practice exercises, helped them solve it and discussed the doubts. Since there were just 8 students for us, we could touch every kid and solve queries individually. 

Kids from urban areas learn quickly as they have better assistance and facilities. Most of them speak English as soon as they finish a year in School and sometimes even earlier as their families realize the importance of the language. Kids in rural areas are devoid of such support. Mostly, their families are not literate enough and want their children to help them in the fields or other such professions. So they have to give up school. Sometimes financial constraints prevent children to get higher education while sometimes there are family responsibilities to be borne. Reasons can be many; we have to ruminate over them and come up with strategies to mitigate those and make education rewarding.

Somehow, we have to turn the tables around. We have to make them understand the significance of education whether it be moral, spiritual, vocational or bookish. As when people are educated they possess much better skills to help themselves and the nation. They not only understand their rights and duties better but can use them when and where necessary, thus less prone to exploitation and working for the betterment of the society. Proper training and education can help increase a nation's productivity.

I write this article hoping that the educated community will understand the acute problem of illiteracy in the country and contribute for the education of the illiterate mass. This way, just from a small scale, you could not just be a helping hand in the country’s growth but can move a step ahead in ‘finding’ yourself.

Rejoicing in Triviality

Have an eye for the triviality in Life...

There are moments in our life which touch our souls in a manner no other things would do. Those moments, though may be of negligible significance to others, are of some reputation to us, because those are the ones that make us think beyond the usual, beyond… what’s visible. I came across one such moment of insight today.

Today, looking outside my kitchen window, I saw a group of old people picnicking in the garden. I could guess that they all were friends and families. I was so delighted to see that bunch of elderly people hobnobbing; I could not stop relating that socializing event with its importance in life.

Initially I wondered why I was so touched by a seemingly elementary socializing incident. In the hindsight though, I could imagine the essence of such sober yet uber effective gatherings, especially if one has grown senile. Those old people reminded me of a lesson that we all know yet forget probably because of its simplicity; “Life’s best moments come in small measures.”

Looking at them I realized how fun can be found in trinkets with people we like; I realized how a morsel can be savored not just for its taste but because of the people we consume it with; I realized how can we be stress-free when we are with friends and family; in a nutshell I realized how to live a blissful life.

Life is never the way we want it to be and it never will be. But that’s the fun of this game called life. That’s what makes living it such a wonderful journey. It’s up to us to find ways to live it to the fullest and spiritedly. Howsoever small they may be, but God gives everyone moments to cherish. So instead of fretting over the transiency of such moments, we have to make them count. What I am saying is nothing unfamiliar but it’s a matter of realizing it. And the way you realize the fact that ephemeralness of a flower is wherein its beauty lies; the same way you should start cherishing the moments which God gives you for fun.

I have never believed in being content with what I have got. I have always thought we should strive for more. But after today’s epiphany I now believe that even though we might not have all that we desire, yet we could find solace in small but gorgeous moments of life that we already possess and are going to possess. We can live to be happy, if not content. Now I am happier than many of those who have forgotten that happiness can be and should be found in trivial things.

I am glad and thank the Creator for it has given us the capability to think. I am even gladder for he gave us an eye to seek for the positive aspects of the events happening around us just to discover the inner peace and rejoice in it.