NAINITAL

I visited Nainital for a very different reason. I had wanted to be with my children and their families for a long while. Somehow, it was just not happening that all of us could spare time in one slot. It happened on 9.11.07. Self and my daughter, her husband and their daughter and self in a red Swift and my son, daughter in law and their son in an Esteem, we set course for Nainital on the morning of Diwali from our residence in Noida. Our first halt was Garh Mukteshwar to offset ill effects of not being at home on such an auspicious day and not offering our prayers to the Gods – as we had done for ages. We enjoyed a holy dip in the river and frolicked for a while in the cool waters of the river. All this kicked a fire in the tummies and we had khasta kachories, Aaloo ki sabzi and the inevitable Kaddu. We ate lovingly and the children did not complain of chillies at all. With a healthy Brunch under the belt we set course through such heavy traffic snarls that at one time we almost dropped the idea. What should have been a 7-8 hour drive became 11 hour grind. We enjoyed the drive beyond Muradabad when traffic had eased up. The drive is in plains for most of the way. Only the last 30-35 Kms are through forest and the climb is perhaps in the last 20 kms. It had already become dark and we were still winding our way. My son was at the wheel of the Esteem while my son in law drove the Swift and both found the drive on steep climbs, steeper turns and unknown lie of land as a short coming in the cars powers in hilly areas. We appreciated this better on the return when we saw the steep slopes. A new should be cautioned. We landed up at the Kumaon Mandal rest room at 7 P M and were much tried. Though we expected it, the sheer drop in temperature took us by complete surprise; we shivered in our summer clothes. Due to Diwali the Rest House had all staff on vacation and we were obliged to lug our baggage and children in arms all the way up. At my age, I could do the journey to the room only once - in 3 halts. But one look at the town, our regrets melted. Beauty of the well lit houses on the slopes was breath taking. All the rockets, anaars and illumination were just too good. We enjoyed the sight for hours from the warmth of the rooms. There was no dinner that night with all cooks and waiters on their Diwali binge. I trundled to the Mall and collected stuff for all. Naturally, all this called for a big Party, back at the room. Next day I was up and about at day break. The darkness turns to day light quicker in the mountains. The view was just fab and I stared into the light mist. I could see ripples in the lake, which I learned later were due to aeration of the lake to keep it alive for its underwater life. A boat began its lazy journey, picking up fish caught in the net it trailed. The best way to enjoy and imbibe the beauty of a place is to let it touch your insides. What better way can there be but to just sit for hours and just feel it with your eyes, ears, nose, touch and the experience. I trek along hills and lakes can be good, but it can not beat the cool breeze gently liking at your soul and mentally lilting you in its own way. I sat outside in the varanda and stared for hours at the beauty that nature had unfolded on all sides. Of course there was a lot of walking to do later. Finally, we were all in gear by 12 noon and we did our round of the mall on foot. This is the crux of a hill station as it gives you the walk of its meatiest part, the walk tires you, and tiredness works itself into a big meal. I dropped reference to the drinks deliberately, but you can imagine this for effect. We were lucky as there were few people around, partly due to off-season and partly as they were tired from last night’s engagement with Diwali. Late in the afternoon we did the cable ride and landed up atop on a very picturesque peak. There was a binocular, but due to clouding we could not see much. Then we took pot shots with the air rifle and generally tried to catch some sun. While the rest rode the cable car back, my son in law and self decided to walk it back. We enjoyed this. Once down on mall road the stomachs were so hungry that we sat and had a cross between Lunch and Tea at 6 P M. It was already dark and we walked home on tired and painful feet. The children were on our backs and arms, turn by turn. Back home we ate, drank and were merry. Surprisingly we were ready for bed by 9 PM. Next day we pulled out one car. Except me and my son in law they all drove to the Zoo, the two of us walked. From lake level, the Zoo was located 600 meters up and it took me the effort of a life time to make it happen. Never again, I promised myself. The Zoo itself was well maintained and we saw the Snow leopard, the Ghural, the tiger which was born in captivity of a cannibal mother. It was reared on the milk of a common street dog. There were other animals and birds too. We were back by late evening and we used the time to buy caps, walking stick, honey and jams. The walk back for me was once again a grind. I was happy to be back in the room. The third day. We decide to do the Governors house. I was happy that we went there and saw the grandeur of olden times. Here I noticed some people call Utteranchal as utterakhand. The mystery still remains with me. Perhaps, the people of this area prefer the later nomenclature. Anyway, this time we had both cars and I drove the Swift. We went to almost all sight seeing spots and reveled in the beauty of the dense forest on high rise mountains. I came back with one mystery. At all the places where they had air gun shooting, they had strung empty plastic bottles at the very tip of tall trees. Climbing the tree was out of question, I thought approaching the tree itself was out of question. Then how did they do it? May be some day I will return to do a research on the subject. On the last day we were tired and feasted on the beauty that was Nainital. But it was time to get back to what ever we ordinarily do. I was at the wheel of the swift this time, all was well. We still relish the beauty of the Hills and feel the freshness of the air. I visited Nainital for a very different reason. I had wanted to be with my children and their families for a long while. Somehow, it was just not happening that all of us could spare time in one slot. It happened on 9.11.07. Self and my daughter, her husband and their daughter and self in a red Swift and my son, daughter in law and their son in an Esteem, we set course for Nainital on the morning of Diwali from our residence in Noida. Our first halt was Garh Mukteshwar to offset ill effects of not being at home on such an auspicious day and not offering our prayers to the Gods – as we had done for ages. We enjoyed a holy dip in the river and frolicked for a while in the cool waters of the river. All this kicked a fire in the tummies and we had khasta kachories, Aaloo ki sabzi and the inevitable Kaddu. We ate lovingly and the children did not complain of chillies at all. With a healthy Brunch under the belt we set course through such heavy traffic snarls that at one time we almost dropped the idea. What should have been a 7-8 hour drive became 11 hour grind. We enjoyed the drive beyond Muradabad when traffic had eased up. The drive is in plains for most of the way. Only the last 30-35 Kms are through forest and the climb is perhaps in the last 20 kms. It had already become dark and we were still winding our way. My son was at the wheel of the Esteem while my son in law drove the Swift and both found the drive on steep climbs, steeper turns and unknown lie of land as a short coming in the cars powers in hilly areas. We appreciated this better on the return when we saw the steep slopes. A new should be cautioned. We landed up at the Kumaon Mandal rest room at 7 P M and were much tried. Though we expected it, the sheer drop in temperature took us by complete surprise; we shivered in our summer clothes. Due to Diwali the Rest House had all staff on vacation and we were obliged to lug our baggage and children in arms all the way up. At my age, I could do the journey to the room only once - in 3 halts. But one look at the town, our regrets melted. Beauty of the well lit houses on the slopes was breath taking. All the rockets, anaars and illumination were just too good. We enjoyed the sight for hours from the warmth of the rooms. There was no dinner that night with all cooks and waiters on their Diwali binge. I trundled to the Mall and collected stuff for all. Naturally, all this called for a big Party, back at the room. Next day I was up and about at day break. The darkness turns to day light quicker in the mountains. The view was just fab and I stared into the light mist. I could see ripples in the lake, which I learned later were due to aeration of the lake to keep it alive for its underwater life. A boat began its lazy journey, picking up fish caught in the net it trailed. The best way to enjoy and imbibe the beauty of a place is to let it touch your insides. What better way can there be but to just sit for hours and just feel it with your eyes, ears, nose, touch and the experience. I trek along hills and lakes can be good, but it can not beat the cool breeze gently liking at your soul and mentally lilting you in its own way. I sat outside in the varanda and stared for hours at the beauty that nature had unfolded on all sides. Of course there was a lot of walking to do later. Finally, we were all in gear by 12 noon and we did our round of the mall on foot. This is the crux of a hill station as it gives you the walk of its meatiest part, the walk tires you, and tiredness works itself into a big meal. I dropped reference to the drinks deliberately, but you can imagine this for effect. We were lucky as there were few people around, partly due to off-season and partly as they were tired from last night’s engagement with Diwali. Late in the afternoon we did the cable ride and landed up atop on a very picturesque peak. There was a binocular, but due to clouding we could not see much. Then we took pot shots with the air rifle and generally tried to catch some sun. While the rest rode the cable car back, my son in law and self decided to walk it back. We enjoyed this. Once down on mall road the stomachs were so hungry that we sat and had a cross between Lunch and Tea at 6 P M. It was already dark and we walked home on tired and painful feet. The children were on our backs and arms, turn by turn. Back home we ate, drank and were merry. Surprisingly we were ready for bed by 9 PM. Next day we pulled out one car. Except me and my son in law they all drove to the Zoo, the two of us walked. From lake level, the Zoo was located 600 meters up and it took me the effort of a life time to make it happen. Never again, I promised myself. The Zoo itself was well maintained and we saw the Snow leopard, the Ghural, the tiger which was born in captivity of a cannibal mother. It was reared on the milk of a common street dog. There were other animals and birds too. We were back by late evening and we used the time to buy caps, walking stick, honey and jams. The walk back for me was once again a grind. I was happy to be back in the room. The third day. We decide to do the Governors house. I was happy that we went there and saw the grandeur of olden times. Here I noticed some people call Utteranchal as utterakhand. The mystery still remains with me. Perhaps, the people of this area prefer the later nomenclature. Anyway, this time we had both cars and I drove the Swift. We went to almost all sight seeing spots and reveled in the beauty of the dense forest on high rise mountains. I came back with one mystery. At all the places where they had air gun shooting, they had strung empty plastic bottles at the very tip of tall trees. Climbing the tree was out of question, I thought approaching the tree itself was out of question. Then how did they do it? May be some day I will return to do a research on the subject. On the last day we were tired and feasted on the beauty that was Nainital. But it was time to get back to what ever we ordinarily do. I was at the wheel of the swift this time, all was well. We still relish the beauty of the Hills and feel the freshness of the air. I visited Nainital for a very different reason. I had wanted to be with my children and their families for a long while. Somehow, it was just not happening that all of us could spare time in one slot. It happened on 9.11.07. Self and my daughter, her husband and their daughter and self in a red Swift and my son, daughter in law and their son in an Esteem, we set course for Nainital on the morning of Diwali from our residence in Noida. Our first halt was Garh Mukteshwar to offset ill effects of not being at home on such an auspicious day and not offering our prayers to the Gods – as we had done for ages. We enjoyed a holy dip in the river and frolicked for a while in the cool waters of the river. All this kicked a fire in the tummies and we had khasta kachories, Aaloo ki sabzi and the inevitable Kaddu. We ate lovingly and the children did not complain of chillies at all. With a healthy Brunch under the belt we set course through such heavy traffic snarls that at one time we almost dropped the idea. What should have been a 7-8 hour drive became 11 hour grind. We enjoyed the drive beyond Muradabad when traffic had eased up. The drive is in plains for most of the way. Only the last 30-35 Kms are through forest and the climb is perhaps in the last 20 kms. It had already become dark and we were still winding our way. My son was at the wheel of the Esteem while my son in law drove the Swift and both found the drive on steep climbs, steeper turns and unknown lie of land as a short coming in the cars powers in hilly areas. We appreciated this better on the return when we saw the steep slopes. A new should be cautioned. We landed up at the Kumaon Mandal rest room at 7 P M and were much tried. Though we expected it, the sheer drop in temperature took us by complete surprise; we shivered in our summer clothes. Due to Diwali the Rest House had all staff on vacation and we were obliged to lug our baggage and children in arms all the way up. At my age, I could do the journey to the room only once - in 3 halts. But one look at the town, our regrets melted. Beauty of the well lit houses on the slopes was breath taking. All the rockets, anaars and illumination were just too good. We enjoyed the sight for hours from the warmth of the rooms. There was no dinner that night with all cooks and waiters on their Diwali binge. I trundled to the Mall and collected stuff for all. Naturally, all this called for a big Party, back at the room. Next day I was up and about at day break. The darkness turns to day light quicker in the mountains. The view was just fab and I stared into the light mist. I could see ripples in the lake, which I learned later were due to aeration of the lake to keep it alive for its underwater life. A boat began its lazy journey, picking up fish caught in the net it trailed. The best way to enjoy and imbibe the beauty of a place is to let it touch your insides. What better way can there be but to just sit for hours and just feel it with your eyes, ears, nose, touch and the experience. I trek along hills and lakes can be good, but it can not beat the cool breeze gently liking at your soul and mentally lilting you in its own way. I sat outside in the varanda and stared for hours at the beauty that nature had unfolded on all sides. Of course there was a lot of walking to do later. Finally, we were all in gear by 12 noon and we did our round of the mall on foot. This is the crux of a hill station as it gives you the walk of its meatiest part, the walk tires you, and tiredness works itself into a big meal. I dropped reference to the drinks deliberately, but you can imagine this for effect. We were lucky as there were few people around, partly due to off-season and partly as they were tired from last night’s engagement with Diwali. Late in the afternoon we did the cable ride and landed up atop on a very picturesque peak. There was a binocular, but due to clouding we could not see much. Then we took pot shots with the air rifle and generally tried to catch some sun. While the rest rode the cable car back, my son in law and self decided to walk it back. We enjoyed this. Once down on mall road the stomachs were so hungry that we sat and had a cross between Lunch and Tea at 6 P M. It was already dark and we walked home on tired and painful feet. The children were on our backs and arms, turn by turn. Back home we ate, drank and were merry. Surprisingly we were ready for bed by 9 PM. Next day we pulled out one car. Except me and my son in law they all drove to the Zoo, the two of us walked. From lake level, the Zoo was located 600 meters up and it took me the effort of a life time to make it happen. Never again, I promised myself. The Zoo itself was well maintained and we saw the Snow leopard, the Ghural, the tiger which was born in captivity of a cannibal mother. It was reared on the milk of a common street dog. There were other animals and birds too. We were back by late evening and we used the time to buy caps, walking stick, honey and jams. The walk back for me was once again a grind. I was happy to be back in the room. The third day. We decide to do the Governors house. I was happy that we went there and saw the grandeur of olden times. Here I noticed some people call Utteranchal as utterakhand. The mystery still remains with me. Perhaps, the people of this area prefer the later nomenclature. Anyway, this time we had both cars and I drove the Swift. We went to almost all sight seeing spots and reveled in the beauty of the dense forest on high rise mountains. I came back with one mystery. At all the places where they had air gun shooting, they had strung empty plastic bottles at the very tip of tall trees. Climbing the tree was out of question, I thought approaching the tree itself was out of question. Then how did they do it? May be some day I will return to do a research on the subject. On the last day we were tired and feasted on the beauty that was Nainital. But it was time to get back to what ever we ordinarily do. I was at the wheel of the swift this time, all was well. We still relish the beauty of the Hills and feel the freshness of the air. I visited Nainital for a very different reason. I had wanted to be with my children and their families for a long while. Somehow, it was just not happening that all of us could spare time in one slot. It happened on 9.11.07. Self and my daughter, her husband and their daughter and self in a red Swift and my son, daughter in law and their son in an Esteem, we set course for Nainital on the morning of Diwali from our residence in Noida. Our first halt was Garh Mukteshwar to offset ill effects of not being at home on such an auspicious day and not offering our prayers to the Gods – as we had done for ages. We enjoyed a holy dip in the river and frolicked for a while in the cool waters of the river. All this kicked a fire in the tummies and we had khasta kachories, Aaloo ki sabzi and the inevitable Kaddu. We ate lovingly and the children did not complain of chillies at all. With a healthy Brunch under the belt we set course through such heavy traffic snarls that at one time we almost dropped the idea. What should have been a 7-8 hour drive became 11 hour grind. We enjoyed the drive beyond Muradabad when traffic had eased up. The drive is in plains for most of the way. Only the last 30-35 Kms are through forest and the climb is perhaps in the last 20 kms. It had already become dark and we were still winding our way. My son was at the wheel of the Esteem while my son in law drove the Swift and both found the drive on steep climbs, steeper turns and unknown lie of land as a short coming in the cars powers in hilly areas. We appreciated this better on the return when we saw the steep slopes. A new should be cautioned. We landed up at the Kumaon Mandal rest room at 7 P M and were much tried. Though we expected it, the sheer drop in temperature took us by complete surprise; we shivered in our summer clothes. Due to Diwali the Rest House had all staff on vacation and we were obliged to lug our baggage and children in arms all the way up. At my age, I could do the journey to the room only once - in 3 halts. But one look at the town, our regrets melted. Beauty of the well lit houses on the slopes was breath taking. All the rockets, anaars and illumination were just too good. We enjoyed the sight for hours from the warmth of the rooms. There was no dinner that night with all cooks and waiters on their Diwali binge. I trundled to the Mall and collected stuff for all. Naturally, all this called for a big Party, back at the room. Next day I was up and about at day break. The darkness turns to day light quicker in the mountains. The view was just fab and I stared into the light mist. I could see ripples in the lake, which I learned later were due to aeration of the lake to keep it alive for its underwater life. A boat began its lazy journey, picking up fish caught in the net it trailed. The best way to enjoy and imbibe the beauty of a place is to let it touch your insides. What better way can there be but to just sit for hours and just feel it with your eyes, ears, nose, touch and the experience. I trek along hills and lakes can be good, but it can not beat the cool breeze gently liking at your soul and mentally lilting you in its own way. I sat outside in the varanda and stared for hours at the beauty that nature had unfolded on all sides. Of course there was a lot of walking to do later. Finally, we were all in gear by 12 noon and we did our round of the mall on foot. This is the crux of a hill station as it gives you the walk of its meatiest part, the walk tires you, and tiredness works itself into a big meal. I dropped reference to the drinks deliberately, but you can imagine this for effect. We were lucky as there were few people around, partly due to off-season and partly as they were tired from last night’s engagement with Diwali. Late in the afternoon we did the cable ride and landed up atop on a very picturesque peak. There was a binocular, but due to clouding we could not see much. Then we took pot shots with the air rifle and generally tried to catch some sun. While the rest rode the cable car back, my son in law and self decided to walk it back. We enjoyed this. Once down on mall road the stomachs were so hungry that we sat and had a cross between Lunch and Tea at 6 P M. It was already dark and we walked home on tired and painful feet. The children were on our backs and arms, turn by turn. Back home we ate, drank and were merry. Surprisingly we were ready for bed by 9 PM. Next day we pulled out one car. Except me and my son in law they all drove to the Zoo, the two of us walked. From lake level, the Zoo was located 600 meters up and it took me the effort of a life time to make it happen. Never again, I promised myself. The Zoo itself was well maintained and we saw the Snow leopard, the Ghural, the tiger which was born in captivity of a cannibal mother. It was reared on the milk of a common street dog. There were other animals and birds too. We were back by late evening and we used the time to buy caps, walking stick, honey and jams. The walk back for me was once again a grind. I was happy to be back in the room. The third day. We decide to do the Governors house. I was happy that we went there and saw the grandeur of olden times. Here I noticed some people call Utteranchal as utterakhand. The mystery still remains with me. Perhaps, the people of this area prefer the later nomenclature. Anyway, this time we had both cars and I drove the Swift. We went to almost all sight seeing spots and reveled in the beauty of the dense forest on high rise mountains. I came back with one mystery. At all the places where they had air gun shooting, they had strung empty plastic bottles at the very tip of tall trees. Climbing the tree was out of question, I thought approaching the tree itself was out of question. Then how did they do it? May be some day I will return to do a research on the subject. On the last day we were tired and feasted on the beauty that was Nainital. But it was time to get back to what ever we ordinarily do. I was at the wheel of the swift this time, all was well. We still relish the beauty of the Hills and feel the freshness of the air.