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A short trip to Haridwar and Rishikesh (October 2012)
A Trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (October 2012)
Tour of the nation's capital: Delhi (October 2012)
Trip to Vizag: where the sea meets the hills (December 2011-January 2012)
Durga Puja Parikrama (October 2011)
Trip to Darjeeling (May 2011)
Wikitravel: Haridwar
Wikitravel: Rishikesh
Current weather in Haridwar
Current weather in Rishikesh
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A short trip to Haridwar and Rishikesh

Having returned from Agra to Delhi, we had reached our last leg of our holiday trip: a visit to the spiritual destinations of Haridwar and Rishikesh. This was to be our first visit to both the places. Unfortunately, all train berths from Delhi to Haridwar were already booked and we were left with no other option but to make a bus journey again. Accordingly we booked our tickets on a Volvo bus which was to depart at night and reach Haridwar very early next morning. That would be very helpful, so we thought, as we would not have to go about looking for a hotel room at night. We were loitering around the Inter State Bus Terminus at Anand Vihar when I received a call from the bus conductor, who had my number, that the bus was to leave within ten minutes, two hours before the scheduled time. That made us rush to the bus and soon we were on our way to Haridwar. The road connecting Delhi to Haridwar was wide and smooth, totally contrary to what I had read over the internet. After a couple of hours the bus made a scheduled stop besides a swank Mcdonald's outlet, right beside the highway. The washrooms were spotlessly clean and the food was great. There was a Haldiram's eatery too, right next to the McDonald's outlet, but it had closed by then. I spent some time standing beside our bus, savouring the sight and sound of cars whizzing past on the highway. For a fleeting moment I was transported back in time recollecting a similar experience of standing beside a Greyhound bus on which I was travelling between Pittsburgh and New York and which had made a scheduled stop on the interstate freeway. I remember marvelling at the beautiful road and the gorgeous buildings all around. That had happened while I was on a conference trip to the USA. It felt good to see our country too having come a long way! I took out my camera and started taking a few shots of the surroundings when two guys approached me, presumably alarmed by my flashlight and mistaking me for a photo-journalist. We struck up a conversation and while I convinced them that I was a only a tourist from Kolkata, they told me that they were locals on one of their regular leisure drives to Rishikesh and offered me some valuable sightseeing tips before leaving.

A McDonald's outlet besides the highway on the way to Haridwar
A McDonald's outlet besides the highway on the way to Haridwar

The rest of the journey was spent trying to catch up on some sleep and soon we were told that the bus had arrived at Haridwar. The time was 2 a.m. and the weather was very chilly. How on earth were we to find a hotel at this unearthly hour, I told to myself! A lone rickshaw driver approached us and offered his help to find a good hotel but we decided that we would brave it out inside the bus-stand premises till the break of dawn. As we tried to pass the time sipping tea at the roadside tea-stall, each minute seemed an hour. The night was getting colder and we were pining for some sleep. After spending half an hour in that state, we had had enough. To our utter surprise, the rickshaw puller was still waiting for us, like a vulture waiting patiently for its meal to drop dead before moving in for the feast. For a hefty charge, he took us around in his rickety rickshaw, through the bylanes of Haridwar, from one hotel to another, till we found a decent hotel at a not too decent price. We weren't complaining though. After all 'Beggars can't be Choosers'!

Having got a few hours of precious sleep, we felt rejuvenated and next morning set about walking down the main street to Har ki Pauri, on the sacred Ganges. As it turned out, we had landed up in Haridwar at the time of a hindu religious festival of north india. As a result there were more devotees on the street than tourists. The chill in the air was however refreshing and we did not mind the long walk down the congested street to the famous bathing ghat on the Ganges named Har Ki Pauri. There were all kinds of shops lining both sides of the street selling all kinds of items like souvenirs, dresses, sweets and what not.

Congested street leading to Har Ki Pauri on the Ganges
Congested street leading to Har Ki Pauri on the Ganges

To the pious hindu, a dip in the river at the ghat is believed to wash away all his sins. There were many people, young and old, men and women, thronging the ghat and also many actually taking a dip in the cold water of the Ganges. The local administration had made arrangements for keeping the shoes and clothes of those wishing to have a dip. There were changing-rooms and bathrooms too which one could use following a dip. Loudspeakers blared announcements exhorting all to be careful of thieves and pickpockets. There were many priests performing pujas with flowers and incense sticks. The ambience was of a festival, where everybody could participate. We would have liked to take a dip in the holy water too, but left the experience to another visit. Instead we offered flowers and paid obeisance to the deities in the temples dotting the ghat. By the time we were done, we were feeling very hungry and helped ourselves to spicy dal kachori and delectable jalebis at a nearby eatery.

Har Ki Pauri: The sacred bathing ghat on the Ganges
Har Ki Pauri: The sacred bathing ghat on the Ganges

View from Har Ki Pauri
View from Har Ki Pauri

Our morning sojourn with Har Ki Pauri being over, we decided not to waste any time and visit Rishikesh straightaway. We booked an auto-rickshaw for the whole day from the nearby autostand. It was to take us to all the tourist sites in Rishikesh and en route to Rishikesh and bring us back to Haridwar late evening. Rishikesh is at an higher elevation compared to Haridwar and so the road had an upward gradient. However its condition was pretty poor with potholes present much of the way. En route we made a stopover at the Satyanarayan temple. It was so quite and peaceful inside. We would have loved to spend the entire day here but had to leave as we had plenty more to see in Rishikesh.

The Satyanarayan temple en-route to Rishikesh
The Satyanarayan temple en-route to Rishikesh

As we approached Rishikesh we found the road to be steeper, narrower but in much better condition. There were restaurants and food joints and shops selling artefacts and other memorabilia. We also came across a travel goods shop where one could rent an inflated raft for rafting down the river Ganges.

Shops in Rishikesh
Shops in Rishikesh

As we reached Rishikesh, one thing was clearly discernible. Unlike Haridwar which had more number of pilgrims flocking to Har Ki Pauri, Rishikesh had more number of tourists instead, that too many from foreign shores. As we reached Lakshman Jhoola (a bridge across the Ganges which many believe traces its origin to Lord Lakshman of the epic Ramayana fame), we were presented astonishing panoramic views of the Ganges with the Himalayan foothills in the background.

Panoramic view of the Ganges from atop the Lakshman Jhoola
Panoramic view of the Ganges from atop the Lakshman Jhoola

Another view of the Ganges at Rishikesh
Another view of the Ganges at Rishikesh

The Lakshman Jhoola was full of tourists, monkeys and also, wonder of wonders, a terrifying bull, all jostling for space . The monkeys were creating quite a nuisance and the bull was making its way deftly through the crowd with little thrusts of its formidable looking horns. It was chaotic and yet mesmerizing.

A bull crossing Lakshman Jhoola
A bull crossing Lakshman Jhoola

A magnificent and huge temple adorned the banks of the river Ganges on the other side. Locals called it 'The Tera Manzil Mandir' meaning having thirteen floors.

The Tera Manzil temple
The Tera Manzil temple

A few youngsters were rafting down the river. White water rafting is a popular adventure sport in Rishikesh. One may note that as the Ganges flows down the higher slopes of the mountains it gives rise to many rapids which are ideal for the sport. I could not resist myself from taking a snap of a raft just as it was passing underneath the bridge.

Rafting on the Ganges
Rafting on the Ganges

As we reached the other side of the bridge, we came across a few people with painted faces inside a decked up chariot. They were supposedly enacting a scene from the epic Ramayana.

Actors enacting a scene from Ramayana
Actors enacting a scene from Ramayana

Our next destination was another bridge across the Ganges called Ram Jhoola which too had some history connecting it with the epic Ramayana. The bank of the river on one side of the bridge had pristine yellow sand that made us feel as if we were standing on a sea beach like Puri. The place had few tourists and was quite clean. I spotted a bare bodied young man meditating on a rock some way into the river. My son had a good time chasing a calf which had strayed into the beach in search of leftovers.

The Ram Jhoola bridge
The Ram Jhoola bridge

Pristine yellow sand on the river bank near Ram Jhoola
Pristine yellow sand on the river bank near Ram Jhoola

We spent the remaining time in Rishikesh visiting some of the many ashrams dotting the banks of the Ganges. At one of the ashrams, we found a shop selling woollen garments and blankets of impeccable quality. We ended up buying quite a few and as the sun set in we embarked on our return trip to Haridwar. And as night set in, we went out looking for the famed 'Dada Bowdi's Hotel' which is known for its delicious vegetarian fare, to have our dinner. Haridwar, one may note is a strictly vegetarian town. No meat, fish or poultry is allowed to be sold or eaten. Incidentally, there are many hotels having names that sound similar to the above hotel and we had a trying time locating the original one which happened to be on the main road itself. The food, comprising of the finest steamed Dehradun rice, ghee, dal, subjee and curd, was indeed a revelation.

Next morning we went to see the Ma Mansa temple perched above a hillock on the outskirts of Haridwar. The climb was very steep but fortunately there was an electric ropeway to take us onto the temple in no time. The price of the tickets was on the higher side but the entire ride and darshan of the deities was organized in a very professional manner. As our cable car got drawn high up over the hill we got a bird's eye-view of Haridwar below.

Riding atop a cable car on the way to the Ma Mansa temple
Riding atop a cable car on the way to the Ma Mansa temple

Inside the temple we had to stand in a long queue before paying obeisance to the deities. Photography inside the inner temple complex was prohibited but was allowed outside. The entire complex was surrounded by an iron mesh to keep the huge number of marauding monkeys away. As the queue moved forward slowly away from the inner complex, people in the queue kept themselves busy handing over biscuits and peanuts to the monkeys through the iron mesh. I too lured a monkey with a few cookies in my hand and waited for it to strike the correct pose before taking a shot with my camera. It was only too willing to oblige.

Encounter with monkeys at Ma Mansa temple
Encounter with monkeys at Ma Mansa temple

Dusk had set in by the time we returned to Haridwar. So far we had visited most of the places we had intended to but our trip would have been incomplete without a glimpse of the 'Sandhya Aarti' which is conducted every night on the banks of the Ganges at Har Ki Pauri. Tonight was a full-moon night and also very auspicious one as Laksmi Puja is conducted with much fervour all over India on this date. As we reached Har Ki Pauri, we were astounded to find lakhs of people waiting for the Aarti to begin. Soon enough the chanting of Sanskrit hymns by the priests started, followed by the singing of devotional songs. Thousands of small earthen lamps called diyas were lit and made to float on the Ganges. It was an incredible sight to see them sparkling and flowing down the river under the full moon.

Sandhya Aarti at Har Ki Pauri
Sandhya Aarti at Har Ki Pauri

Our Haridwar trip was almost over. We spent the remaining time doing a bit of shopping. We bought a few winter dresses, a few memorabilia and not to forget, a few kilos of the most luscious apples we had tasted till date. In the evening we boarded another Volvo bus (or was it of Mercedes Benz make? People in India use the generic name 'Volvo' for all buses belonging to this category!) to reach Delhi very early next morning. We took an auto-rickshaw to the New Delhi railway station and since our train to Kolkata was to leave in the evening, we had plenty of time to kill. Accordingly we took some rest in the clean retiring room inside the station premises, had our breakfast, put our luggages in the cloak rook and set off to do some last minute marketing at Karol Bagh, a shoppers paradise some distance away. Amongst the things we bought were a few packets of north-indian sweets from a famous sweet shop, before returning to the station to enjoy a typical north-indian lunch comprising of sabji, raita and parathas. Our train, the Poorva express, left the station right on time. As it hurtled down the north indian plains towards our destination, we reminisced about the hectic but wonderful trip we had had. Without prior hotel and train reservations most of the time, we had to endure difficulties which could have been avoided with better planning. On the brighter side, the situations provided elements of adventure and thrill which perhaps helped make our experience all the more memorable. As we took a taxi from the Howrah station to our home the next morning, we were already contemplating our next trip that we could make the following year.

View from the train window on our return journey
View from the train window on our return journey

Meet you again!




Abhijit Poddar
Dept. of Electronic Sc.
Surendranath Evening College
24/2 Mahatma Gandhi Road
Kolkata 700009
email: abhipod at gmail dot com