| Submitted by: Sukhendu Roy Chowdhury, India |
| Submission Date: 09 October 2008 |
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The nature around us was silently vibrant with life, the tall trees, the creepers, the sky, the clouds and the chirruping birds all in harmony presented the cosmic beauty of God.
The trekking was stiff and ascending was becoming increasingly difficult. What could come on the way to stop our progress when we were determined to reach the top. To add to our discomfiture, a ferocious looking dog started following us on the way. We were scared but we were told that the dog was a very nice one. It was going with us with a hope just to get something to eat. After quite a stiff trekking we finally reached the Temple. We had darshan and puja of the Shyahi Devi and the volunteers sang a few Bhajans and danced. I remembered to have read in the life of Swami Vivekananda by Eastern and Western Disciples that he visited this Shyahi Devi temple on Wenesday, May 25,1898 and he stayed there for three days incognito as he wanted to be in the silence of the forest. Imagine this place before 106 years what could have been the thickness of vegitation and silence prevailing at that time. We felt honoured to have come to this place which was once trodden by the Great Swami Vivekananda. I was going round the temple and looking at the surrounding hills. There were so many bells hanging from the temple pillars perhaps to fulfil the desires of the devotees. Does it really happen? I do not know.
Temple visit being over, we all assembled to have a hot cup of tea with biscuit which Krishnaji distributed. The most spectacular thing came from the unexpected quarter. The dog which followed us now started requesting for biscuits by pulling the cloth of the distributor. It was a wonderful sight to see how even an animal develops certain habit seeing human actions. After Tea, we all started descending fast. It was getting dark. We were told that some times leopards are seen in this jungle. So we all started trekking down in two groups. The moon was out in the sky like a sickle spreading softly its light. By the time we came down to Sitlakhet it was 8 in the evening. The volunteers asked us to visit their training centre which we promised to do next day in the morning. We were thinking how good it would be to introduce this Scouts and Guides programme in every school in India the warmth of which we just now experienced. This will definitely develop into creating social harmony and friendship among the youth of our country irrespective of language one speaks.
Next day morning (May 23, 2004) we had our tea and went out for a walk. Of course our aim was to visit the Training Centre of Scouts and Guides and meet the volunteers personally. As soon as we entered their Centre they all welcomed us with open heart. We went round the Centre and found it was quite big but the infrastructure was very poor. We met personally everyone and asked about their daily schedule. The schedule is quite a busy one. We invited them to pay a visit to our home in Delhi and share their experience as a volunteer. It was their breakfast time and naturally we were offered simple breakfast and tea. This again made us very sad seeing the quality of breakfast. It was not enough, nor nutritious for youngsters. We felt people should voluntarily donate for such good cause and help raise the quality of training. With a heavy heart we had to take leave of them as we were to go back to the guest house and get ready for the next destination ?Binsar? and they too had their scheduled programme to follow.
With the help of the Guest house care taker we found a Maruti car with a driver to drive us upto Binsar KMVN Guest house. We had once more breakfast at the Guest House as we had already ordered for it before going to the Scouts and Guides Centre. I did some editing work on ?Wise being of the East & West? which I brought with myself for doing whenever I would get time. We planned an early lunch and move out of Sitlakhet around 1 p.m. Accordingly , we got ready by 12 noon and had our lunch. My mind became heavy with the thought of leaving this place, an isolated spot of serenity which we all enjoyed for two days. After clearing our dues with the Guest House we started for Binsar. Binsar is situated at a height of 2412 meter. We had go via Almora once again and the drive through the reserve forest of Binsar presented a rich variety in bio-diversity with thick forest cover. We reached there around 3.30 p.m. and went to the reception. We were allotted a super deluxe room. Once having settled, we went to the refreshment room to have a cup of tea and sandwich. But we found the services provided by the staff were very slow. However in the meantime, a number of family came there to have snacks and tea/coffee. There was a family from kolkata Mr. Samanta, his wife a son and two daughters. We became very friendly over a cup of tea. Our daughter Shivani found two good friends, my wife became a friend of Mr. Samanta?s wife and myself enjoyed the company of Mr. Samanta and his son who just appeared for the 10th examination conducted by West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. For a while we went out to have a look at the forest around. Here again our daughter found another healthy doggie to play with, wherever she would go the doggie would follow. She enjoyed the company of the dog immensely. After a little while we came back and found Mr. Samanta and his family was going to the Sun set point and we also joined the group. Let me tell you here Mr. Samanta and his son, Partha, both are good amateur photographer and it was also delighting to see how intensely these two photographers were observing their objects of photography. After about half an hour walk uphill we reached the Sun set point. There we found a PWD Guest house and as far as sight could go there were thick forests and a few isolated houses here and there. A number of photographs were taken at this place and I am displaying here two of them.
As soon as the sun set, the darkness started enveloping the whole area. We had a torch and moreover the crescent moon was out in the sky. When we came back to the guest house it was getting cold outside. We had to put on sweater or had to carry warm wrapper. In the moonlit night we walked about half a kilometer down the road. It was dead silence all around, only the rustling of the leaves, and howling of foxes could be heard. The cool breeze became colder. We were told by the guest house people that Leopard could be seen in the night. So we walked back to the guest house.
At the dinner time, the dining hall was almost full. It was warm inside. We finished our dinner early and we went to the roof top of the Deluxe rooms from where a vast stretch of area could be seen. In the night the starts were looking so big and so near. Generally in Delhi we see only a few dull starts due to pollution in the city. But at Binsar inside the sanctuary there was no electricity, enhancing the beauty of nature manifold. It was so cold that we could stay outside for long. Promising to meet next day early morning, we took leave of Mr. Samanta and his family. The room was so warm and inviting that very soon we were asleep. At 4.45 a.m. in the morning we were up and there comes a knock on the door. Mr. Samanta is ready with his camera. Our daughter continued to sleep but I went out with Mr. Samanta. The whole of Himalayan range could be seen not very clearly but gradually it became clear. The sun rose, all the picks were visible only for few minutes. From nowhere the clouds came rushing bringing down the visibility to zero.
After breakfast we trekked through the forest reaching the base of the famous tower with a guide. The guide told us that the tower was not very strong and we were advised not to climb the top most floor keeping in view the safety factor. I was the first person in the group to take the risk followed by Krishna and another elderly couple.
The view from the top was breathtaking. The green stretch extended as long as I could see. Of course at the end the 300 km. stretch of the Himalayan view unfortunately hidden by the clouds and mist. On the way back I took a number of short cuts through the untrodden path and it was quite a thrilling adventure. Our daughter kept on telling me to avoid such ventures. Around 9 a.m. we were back to the Guest House and had a sumptuous break fast. Then it was time to wind up our stay at this beautiful jungle retreat and head for Kausani via Almora. Mr. Samanta offered us to take upto Almora as he had already hired a jeep. We gladly accepted his offer. So the journey back to Almora started around 10.15 a.m. My mind became heavy while leaving the place and my daughter felt sorry of her wonderful companion, ?Sheru? Again Almora city. We looked for the bus stand and were told there was a bus started around 12 noon for Kausani. We had some time in hand and we bought some sweets for the journey. When the bus came we could barely manage our seats amidst a number of passengers. The river Koshi ran along the route and the changing landscape kept our mind refreshed.. Around 3 O?clock we alighted from the bus at Kausani at a height of 2000 meters and at distance of 53 km. from Almora. On enquiry about the KMVN Guest house, we were told that it was up the hill about 2 km away from the bus stop and we needed to hire an auto or taxi to commute this distance. The charge was Rs. 50. We thought of trekking the distance. However, a taxi was found at Rs. 30/- after we covered a little distance. We gave in to the demand of my wife and daughter. The sun was bright then but gradually clouds started gathering by the time we got our cottage and settled. After washing we took lunch cum tiffin as it was late in the afternoon and retired to bed for rest.
I took up my papers for editing work as I could not get sleep immediately. After a while it started raining. The weather changed dramatically. I did not know when my eyes got closed and soon fell into a snoose. Suddenly I woke up and saw in front the clear range of the Himalayas all its grandeurs. It was a wonderful sight so clear so near as if I could catch it with my own hands. I called Krishna and Shivani to participate in this visual treat so wonderful and so elevating. We kept on gazing at the icy picks of the Himalayas while the cold wind kept on beating chilling even the bones inside. Once again we ordered for a cup of tea and with the warm touch tried to keep the body steady. We went out for a walk. The uncared for flowers blooming everywhere looked so refreshing that gave a real worth of our coming to the hills. Soon the darkness fell and the mountain range slowly disappeared from view. But the mind refused to come back from the distant horizon flying in the breeze absorbing every bit of natures bounty. I had to rein in my mind and had to look for physical needs for the night. After a light dinner we withdrew into our cottage under blankets.
Next morning, after breakfast we trekked to Anasakti Ashram also known as Gandhi Ashram where Gandhiji in 1929 stayed for 14 days completing his ?Anasakti Yoga?. The panoramic view of snow covered peaks of Nilkanth, Trisul, Panchaculi, Nanda Devi, Chaukhambha, Nandagunti from this vantage point was really a rare gift of nature which we had the opportunity to view and enjoy. On the way back we discovered a restaurant serving Bengali dishes. Naturally we decided to have our lunch there before leaving for Ranikhet. The return trek was as beautiful as the morning one except that we felt little warm as the sun was very bright and we had to take off our sweaters.
After a bath and packing our luggage and clearing our dues with the Guest house, we were again ready for the road. We got a ride to the restaurant we decided to have our food at. We enjoyed the dishes but the cleanliness was lacking thus I could not really relish the food. After waiting for a while at the bus stop, a crowded bus appeared and we had to squeeze in as there was no other bus following for the rest of the day, we were told.
The mind became heavy as we were leaving Kausani but we had to think of the next destination Ranikhet. Ranikhet situated at a height of 1829 meter above sea level and at a distance of 49 km from Almora. |
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