A day trip

Where art thou going me friend? Just a little ride Sir. Come come oh traveler, jump and hop in with me and I’ll take you places.

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On that comfortable morning, I jumped out of bed thinking about what I’m going to do for the day. It’s a pity that after being here for so many years, I haven’t visited this place 30 kms to the south of my house. So off I set forth to the south after having a hearty breakfast. 

After a short ride on the road, I reached this boat jetty.

From here I need to take a boat to reach, what they call, ‘Poovar Island’.

In fact the only way to reach the island is via a boat.

I hopped into the tiny boat

and sailed through the backwaters

that flows between the verdant green of the aslant coconut trees.

After about 20 minutes of ride I reached this dock.

Stepping onto the dock, I looked straight and saw a beach across the backwaters. And along the beach, one can see an estuary that connects the lake with the sea.

It’s said that the name ‘Poovar’ was given by Marthanda Varma Maharaja, the king of erstwhile state of Travancore, who during his shelter at this place saw a stream of red flowers floating on the lake from the trees along the banks, that seemed like a red carpet on water. The stream was named Poovar by the king (Poo – aar, meaning stream of flowers).

Poovar was a trading center of timber, sandlewood, ivory and spices. It is believed that the trading ships of King Solomon landed in a port called 'Ophir', which is figured out as Poovar.

After having lunch and spending some time in the resort in the island, I set straight for the beach.

Poovar is basically a fishing village, and beach activities are not that developed here.

One peculiarity of this place is that two starkly different landscapes are juxtaposed against each other – on one side there is this greenish waters of the lake

and on the other is the sparkling blue of the sea.

The beach is pretty isolated except for a couple of tourists and some local boys swimming in the backwater side of the beach.

After walking along the beach for quite some time, I returned back to the island. Had some tea and meanwhile it dawned on me that time is almost up to leave this place.

Jumped back in to the boat and sailed through the backwaters again.

As Oscar Wilde says, from the above pic it seems “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life”.

Fare thee well o island and seas, t’was one of those days

which couldn’t get any better.  

Back to home sweet home. I should be popping up at the dining table just in time for supper.

The Uttarakhand Trip

En route to Mussoorie Situated about 30 kms from Dehradun and at about 7000 ft altitude, it’s quite a trip to reach Mussoorie.

Green hills, hairpin curves and breathtaking views I told ya it’s quite a trip.

Mussoorie – distant view Situated in the foothills of Himalaya ranges, this small city is also called ‘Queen of hill stations’ in India.

Mall Road, Mussoorie You can walk and walk along this promenade and you never get tired. Oh, and I didn’t see any mall by the way, but lots of restaurants, antique shops and an aquarium.

Somewhere along the Mall Road You see some cables in the pic? Yeah?, we have to take a cable car to reach, what they call, the ‘Gun hill’.

View from the cable car You get a bird’s eye view of the city, quite literally.

View from the Gun Hill Situated 400 ft above the Mall Road, this hill provides excellent views of nearby mountains and valleys. They say a canon was used to sound out midday for many years from this hill, and hence the name ‘Gun Hill’. Cold breeze buffet you all the time atop this hill. 

Some coffee shop atop Gun Hill This shop sells something by the label of 'fruit beer'; one sip and I realized it's just apple soda *sigh*

Sunset at Mussoorie Though this pic gives me a warm feeling now, on retrospect, it was almost 5 degree C when I took this. And coming from a place where the only temperatures are hot, hotter and hottest, it quite made my teeth rattle.

En route to Kempty falls which is situated about 15 kms from Mussoorie. You can see something like rice terraces to the mid-left in the pic.

Kempty Falls It’s said that the British used to organize ‘camp-tea’ parties here, and hence the name ‘Kempty’. Down the hill, the waters of Kempty meet Yamuna.

Robber’s cave, Dehradun Known as Guchhupani among the locals, this is a natural river cave formation situated about 10 kms from Dehradun city. You can walk through this cave for almost a kilometer in that icy cold spring and you reach a fort wall structure. It’s said that the erstwhile robbers used to hide here from the British, but now I could see a college couple hiding in there.

En route to Rishikesh Nothing much to see along the way except for some thick forests and lots of monkeys, and I mean a ‘lot’. 

Lakshman Jhula Bridge, Rishikesh This is a suspension bridge built in 1939 and the main landmark of Rishikesh. It’s said that Lakshman crossed Ganga here using jute ropes across the river.

View from the bridge Also known as the ‘Gateway to the Himalayas’, this holy city has several ancient temples along the banks of the Ganges.

The Ganges in its pristine form It’s here that the river leaves the Shivalik mountains in the Himalayas and flows out into the plains of northern India. As you can see, the color of the river here is Turquoise, which I reckon, is due to high concentrations of dissolved lime picked up as it runs through sedimentary rocks.

Some ashram on the banks of the Ganges Rishikesh is often called the world capital of Yoga; no wonder I saw more foreigners here than Indians. Also, here you can get authentic Rudraksh beads, picked up from the foothills of Himalayas. According to one shopkeeper, to distinguish between authentic and counterfeit, one of the methods is to put the bead in water – the authentic one will sink, while the counterfeit floats. Smaller the size of the bead, higher is the price. And no, I didn’t buy any, leaving the shopkeeper disgruntled.

Haridwar Located about 25 kms from Rishikesh, this is one of the seven holiest places to Hindus. 

Kumbh Mela, Haridwar This is a mass Hindu pilgrimage that takes place every 12 years. What a coincidence for me to be there! It’s believed that this is the spot where ‘Amrit’ fell when it was carried away by ‘Garuda’ and so taking a holy dip here will wash away one’s sins to attain ‘Moksha’.

The sparkling Ganges Every good thing comes to an end, and so did this trip. 

An Evening @ Veli

And one hot noon

And Shameen looked at me and barked “Nee Malayaliyo atho tholayaliyo?” You can’t blame Shameen though; I should’ve asked for more specific directions from that Malayali uncle I met. Oh, didn’t I tell you we’ve been trying to reach Mysore Palace for a long while? And didn’t I tell you we are stingy misers that it’s blasphemy for us to hire a rickshaw? Earlier another man explained some routes to reach the palace, but after 30 minutes of walking, we reached the KSRTC bus stand.

On seeing the long line of buses,

Shameen: Dubaiyil evideyada Bhagyarajum Radheem??
Me: aa kallan Gafoorka nammale pattichu!!

Well, now we have almost circumnavigated the palace and found 3 of the 4 gates, none of which were the entrance. So the remaining one should be the spot and boy! we could barely descry it. Jumped and hopped in, took out my old camera and voila!!, here we go:

Photography was not allowed inside the palace. Hence had to restrict the photos to its appurtenances and patios.

And one fine evening.............