A visit to Mukteshwar-Jageshwar-Sitlakhet-Binsar-Kausani-Ranikhet-Nainital
(May 19th to 30th, 2004)
On 19th May, 2004 evening around 9 p.m. we left home for Delhi Railway station to board the Ranikhet Express. It was a very hot evening and moreover the Railway Station was over crowded and the consequent heat was intense. There was no relief even after settling on our respective berths. We wanted to get out of Delhi as soon as possible but as if to test our patience, the train started half an hour behind schedule time. The heat continued to haunt us till the unearthly hours. However, by the time the train reached Kathgodam it was so nice that we forgot our unpleasant experience in the train. My feeling of deep affinity with the hills finally actualised into this trip.
As we came out of the Rly. Station with our rucksack, we saw a number of taxis and jeeps lined up to woo the visitors. On enquiry we found the cost was not within our budget. So we had to look for the bus stop. We waited at the bus stop for some time and boarded a bus to Bhowali from where we were told we could get some conveyance to Mukteshwar. As the bus moved ahead, the height of the mountain kept on increasing, sometimes coming down a bit and again going up while vegetation on the hills presented new panorama to the delightment of the eyes and spirit. We enjoyed every moment of this drive. At Bhowali we found plenty of fruits being sold at a very cheap price (in comparison with Delhi of course!). We bought some Khurmani and found them to be sweet. To commute to Mukteswar we were advised to take a jeep/car as the next bus would be available only around 2.30 p.m. and it was only 9.30 a.m. So we decided to hire a jeep for Mukteswar. We had to bargain for a reasonable rate prevailing in the hills as rates with the plains differ considerably. The journey to Mukteswar was like flying through the fruit orchards and inhaling the sweetness of the fragrant flowers like birds. Every corner, every turn had something to present to us. The orchards at Ramgarh and the hills at a far off distance continued to show us the divine beauty of nature. Due to smoke and fog, the most thrilling site of the snow bound Himalayan ranges were out of our sight, this was the only sore point.
We reached our Guest House at 11.45 a.m. This guest house is run by Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) situated at a vantage point. Mukteshwar at a height of 2286 meter is one of the excellent locations of Kumaon Region that displays the Himalayan range with magnificent views. As we had our prior booking made through their office in Delhi, we were allotted a beautiful room overlooking the whole range. The cool breeze that blew there took away all our fatigue we were subject to during the train journey from Delhi. As if we were transported into a heavenly abode. With a cup of tea, we refreshed ourselves and placed order for lunch. In the meantime we went out to have a close look at the nature and the hills around. Next to our guest house was the PWD Guest House which had a well laid out garden with flowers blooming all around. The breeze was so refreshing that by passing of every moment we felt the touch of nature’s blessings in spite that we human beings are always trying deforesting to cater to our so called needs. I pondered over this ruthless cutting of trees for economic gains. A parallel could be drawn from the story of Kalidas before he became the Great Sanskrit Poet of India. One day he was sitting on a branch of a tree and cutting the same. It is the same situation with human beings now. The plants and trees are maintaining the ecological balance, a life line for all living beings and we are deliberately destroying them! However, we did not fail to enjoy watching a variety of birds flying here and there, the bright sun and it was a perfect day to enjoy.
After enjoying the sun for sometime, we came back to our guest house. We all had a quick bath and went down for lunch to the dinning hall. On completion of lunch we had an afternoon siesta and again went out for site seeing. Mukteshwar could hardly satisfy our hunger for seeing the Himalayan peaks as the visibility was very poor due to mist and smoke (we were told that the local people burn the fallen leaves for farming and that causes smoke). Mukteshwar had a unique feature overlooking deep ravine on one side and the beautiful town of Almora on the other. We also visited a desolate temple nearby and we could hear distinctly the rustlings of leaves as if the tall trees were whispering to us the secrets of nature. The night was very cool and the breeze turned stormy as the night progressed. After dinner I strolled for half an hour with a guest who came from Mumbai but I also found one poisonous scorpion trying to get into the guest house. It was just thrown out by one of the guest house staff.
Next day morning after a cup of tea and biscuits we trekked down the hill to Sitla. Sitla had abundance of fruit trees like Khurmani, Plum, Naspati etc. we also saw the famous red flower of the hill by name Rhododendron. We were told that during March-April this flower floods the hill side and it looks like the mountains are on fire. we could feel the silence of the nature which was often broken by the chirruping of the birds.
After our breakfast we had to repack our rucksack for the next journey to Jageshwar at a height of 1870 Meter. We thought of trek to Sitla bus stand to short cut our journey but it added to our woes and suffering. We three started after saying good bye to the staff of the guest house and enjoyed our trek for an hour. But as the sun slowly heated up the road going got tough. However we managed to reach the bus stand but we missed the bus by a whisker. We had to wait for a lift at least up to Almora. Finally we got a Maruti Van and the fare charged was a reasonable one and we reached Almora around 2 p.m. We thanked our good friend for dropping us at a convenient point. Our daughter was already hungry and we were told that a particular sweet shop is famous for its sweets. My wife took some time off to buy some sweets. But in the meantime a jeep bound for Panuwa Naula enroute Jageshwar left and we had to wait for the next one. The next one did come and by the time we got into this jeep the clouds started gathering in the sky unnoticed. It was about 2.30 p.m. our jeep started. It move at a very high speed but picked up people on the way. I felt the driver was driving very rashly and that too the jeep was over crowed and I advised him to drive with moderation considering the extra wait it was carrying. But the driver would not listen. However, my apprehensions came true when our jeep collided with another jeep coming down the hills. After a long debate on who was on the wrong side and who should compensate whom the urgument dragged on with generous contribution from the passengers, the jeep started again. By this time the sky was overcast with black clouds and very soon it started raining. The rain took a dangerous turn with iceballs falling with tremendous force. The thunderous sounds following the lightnings across the sky made us feel as if the earth will be deluged (the mythological concept of deluge before the new creation) and our small jeep would be teared to pieces. We were out in the open inside a small jeep for an hour! To compound our problem a tall tree fell on the road closing the it completely. It became so dark that we could not see anything. Slowly the vail of clouds moved away but rain continued with strong wind sweeping across. After an hour the rain turned into a mere drizzle and we had no other way than to vacate the jeep as the driver refused to go any further. We got down with our Rucksack and walked across the stretch to the other side where the tree fell. We requested some people who were coming from Panuwa Naula to give a lift but they would prefer to wait till the blockade is removed than help people to commute to a convenient point. We again hired a jeep and we had to bargain very hard to bring down the charge to Rs. 250/- for 6 k.m. only! We had to hire this jeep as we were very hungry and it suddenly became very cold we wanted to reach our guest house as soon as possible.
Reaching the guest house was like entering our home, as the drizzle continued and we were wet, a cup of tea with snacks was a refreshing one. My wife got busy with the wet clothes that were to be dried. There was no electricity at that time and it did not come back till the next day. We had to manage with candles as the solar lamp the guest house provided us with did not work. By 8 p.m. we had our dinner at the dinning hall. The food was good as well as the soup. It was a candle light dinner at Jageshwar. Jageshwar is at a height of 1870 meter and is famous for 12th Century A.D. 120 Temples. It is 34 km from Almora. As we were very tired we went to bed very early,
Next morning we paid a visit to the Mahakaleshwar Temple. There is a beautiful rivulet behind the temple which comes to life whenever there is rain. The vegetation was thick and green. We took few snaps of the temple and the nature around it. We also visited a museum displaying idols of 10th to 12th Century stone work. After coming back to guest house we had our breakfast and also placed order for lunch. In the meantime we repacked our luggage and I had to look for a jeep or car which would ferry us across to our next destination ‘Sitlakhet’ I found one Jeep was ready to take us to ‘Sitlakhet’ and it was agreed at Rs. 750/- so the deal was finalized. After some time the guest house boy came to our room and told me that some one was waiting at the reception to meet me. I was wondering who could that be. I hurried to the reception and found the driver who a few minutes back agreed to take us to ‘Sitlakhet’ was there. He told me that he was cancelling the deal without giving any explanation. Howsoever it may sound unpleasant for me this time, I had to swallow. We decided not to look for a car or jeep again instead we will trek some distance to catch a bus. As we were busy preparing ourselves for the next journey, our daughter slipped out of the guest house to play outside. After some time she came running, ‘Father, there is one fellow who had a car and was willing to take us to Sitlakhet”. I went out with her and spoke to the fellow who was ready to take us at a lower cost, Rs.650/-. So I told him to park his car at the guest house and the time given was 1 p.m. The weather was so nice here, cool, breezy and quiet. We were the only family occupying the guest house then. Before evening we went round the Sitlakhet and saw the Scouts and Guides Training Centre and a post & Telegraph office and a few shops and houses. It was a very quiet place which I like very much. The mountain fruit trees were everywhere with fruits hanging around. As the evening came clouds started gathering in the horizon and soon it started raining. We all enjoyed the rain more so because at that time Delhi’s temperature was hovering around 44 degree Celsius, we thought. Around 10.30 p.m. the rain stopped and we could see the lightings of the Almora City as if it has been garlanded with twinkling starts . Next morning we had a plan to go to the Shyahi Devi temple and also to pay a visit to Discovery training centre up in the hill. But early in the morning it again started raining and it stopped only around 9 a.m. So we postponed our programme to 3 p.m. That too had to be cancelled as our daughter continued to sleep and we did not want to wake her up. At 4.30 p.m. we had our tea and snacks and we went out along the jungle path. On the way we met a group of 16 volunteers of Scouts and Guides heading towards the Temple. They offered us to take along with them to the Temple if we were ready. We asked our daughter whether she could take such a long uphill walk, she readily agreed. So we stared for the Temple. The trekking was unforgettable not only it was presenting excellent views at every height, the volunteers made it so interesting that we became a part of the team. The soothing coolness of the mountain was entering into our every cell and the self was getting dissolved into the natures bounty. |
