UTTARAKHAND - A (C)HILLY PARADISE - PART II - NAUKUCHIATAL

HALCYON NAUKUCHIATAL

A night ride by car might not be the wisest thing to do, in the mountainous terrains of Uttaranchal, but we didn't have much choice. We had to reach Naukuchiatal the same night and to keep us going was our cabbie - with 14 years experience behind him - and his tales of nights and leopards, trees and snowfalls. During this one hour journey from Kathgodam, we passed through the HMT Factory, caught a fleeting glimpse of Bhimtal, Sattal and Nainital by night, before zig-zagging our way to the top.



At half past midnight we were at Naukuchiatal. The temperature was well below 10 degrees Celsius when we reached The Lake Resort. Our camera addiction refused to fade away and we snapped a few more of our shelter for the next two nights.





With darkness holding Naukuchiatal (Nau-k(u)-chiya-taal) captive, we retired to our rooms, hoping morning would unfold to us, weary travelers, the magnificent nine-cornered lake.

It is believed that whoever sees all the nine corners at a single glance would attain Nirvana. But I'll tell you what, just a glance of the lake guarantees Nirvana.







The placid waters of the lake are enticing. The stillness grows through the day, creating a serene gargantuan mirror.



According to our cabbie, the lake's periphery runs for about four kilometres and makes for a great early morning walk. We went half-way and discovered several amazing faces of the lake.







October and March are the peak seasons and see a lot of tourists flocking to this paradise. What greeted us in December were these empty boats and a few, very few, birds!







Naukuchiatal also has its own paragliding base at Pandegaon for adventure sports enthusiasts. "But do so at your own risk madam." One statement from the cabbie and we decided to give it a skip! (Shame on us :D)

Next on our list was an NGO - Action for Environment and Preservation of Art & Nature (AEPAN) - that sells beautiful Kumaoni paintings. Unfamiliar with Kumaoni art, we didn't know what to expect when we went in. All we needed to do was to set our eyes on the lines set in red and blue cloths and follow the pattern. Mesmerising. We immersed ourselves in uniquely framed paintings of Gods and Goddesses, diyas, postcards, dolls, mufflers, shawls and lots more. These souvenirs are light to carry and lighter on your wallet.







We stopped briefly at the Hanuman and Vaishno Devi Temples, built beside each other. At about 50 feet, the Hanuman idol is indeed intimidating.



Tulsi Das' Hanuman Chaleesa wafted through the twilight air, rendered beautifully by the temple poojari and a couple of kids.



The entrance to the Vaishno Devi temple is through a gufa or cave (artificial one though). The cave was extremely dark with zero visibility. The temple also houses a Ram mandir and Radha-Krishna mandir.





The lake beckoned us again in the evening. But the cold made us retreat indoors.



We had covered lots more that day of the Lake District. We had been to the pristine Sattal and the mighty Bhimtal. All this with a massive neck pain!

By morning it was time to say goodbye to the nine-cornered lake and the beautiful Lake Resort. Hotel rating and other personal experiences in the next post. (That would be a short one, I promise!)

UTTARAKHAND - A (C)HILLY PARADISE - PART I - DELHI TO KATHGODAM

DANCE OF THE STARS

Everything was in place. Tickets - booked. Food and lodging - checked. Thermals - packed. Accessories - stuffed. Three cameras - loaded. Spirits - charged. After all, it is not everyday that you'd plan a trip to Uttaranchal from a city down South!

Our first halt was Delhi. First week of December and chilly winds had not taken over India's capital city yet. Wide roads and countless flyovers greeted us. So did Delhi's chaotic traffic. Our train the next day was to Kathgodam (Kaat-go-daam), a town in the Nainital District of Uttarakhand. Trains do not ply beyond this point and one needs to travel by road to popular tourist destinations like Nainital, Bhimtal, Almora, among others.

The train chugged along and we had seven hours to spend.



As the journey progressed, the air grew nippy and windows were shuttered. Monkey-caps, shawls, jerkins and gloves found their rightful place. Despite our clumsy attire, we managed to have some fun with the cam. Here are a couple of photos, mostly night shots, of stars, planets and town lights, all this while the train was in motion! The dance of the stars - captured!





Interestingly, a couple of them assumed the shape of numbers!





Our train, Uttarkranthi Sampark Express, was running late by an hour. By the time it reached Kathgodam at 23:30 hours, besides us, there were not more than five people in the compartment. Creepy! Later on, our cabbie would tell us that not many people prefer this train. The sleeper, Ranikhet Express, brought in more tourists to Uttaranchal from Delhi.

With the cold numbing our bodies, we alighted from the train. The station was dark and we followed the rest of the herd to the exit where taxi-wallahs were waiting for prospective clients. It took our cab's hot-air blower to flush out the numbness off our bodies and to bring us back to our senses. After months of planning, finally, we were in Uttaranchal to catch a glimpse of the mighty Himalayas!

And we were not yet done for the day. A whole hour lay between us and Naukuchiatal...

IN MY HEAD

I am tired.
My eyes - droopy.
Like my limp mind.
I scribble a story.
In my head.
Sentences contrived.
Meanings lost.
Words - Cacophony - Dissonance.
All mere synonyms.
My feelings - yellow.
Jaundiced, I lisp.
Befuddled with phlegm.
Crippled to reason.
Battling shadows within.
A pleasure so vacuous.
A flight so faithless.
Subsist - I don't.
For numeral, I am not.
No word or story.
Just weary.
Very weary.
In my head.

P.S. -- As usual, just an outburst. Written for not even me to comprehend. Prospective employer (wherever you are), please ignore this post :) Thank you.

WEAVING AN EXTRAORDINARY TALE

DISCLAIMER: The author of this article is not an Arachnologist, or for that matter has no idea what spiders are (except that they are eight-legged creatures), what they are made of, where they all come from, etc. The author hates them, but loves capturing them on cam. She has not, in the process, hurt them, killed them or eaten them.



The Dryad silently embraces them into her bosom. She listens to their extraordinary tale, spun in delight. She pleads for more and watches them grow. Life moves on but their legacy retains its flavour in the coffee estate, where the following photographs were taken in a bid to capture the saga woven by the spiders.

It had rained heavily the previous night. Spider webs, I thought, could never have withstood the downpour. A trek down the coffee plantation (in Karnataka), taught me a beautiful lesson - Life can always have a fresh new beginning.



Millions of these creatures had begun their journey all over again. A few even went one step further!





And you cannot miss this huge species, so regal in its black and gold outfit. It would be a while before you continue the trek.



The plantation is full of this species. And most certainly it is not dangerous for the workers show no fear as they wade through its webs everyday.



The other fascinating species can be found on trees or dangling in the air. In fact, it requires a pair of sharp eyes to spot this one, beautifully blended with the bark of a tree. While it would take me some time to get this species identified, here are a few pictures taken right outside the estate's drying ground.





For about two years in Chennai, spiders and I lived under the same roof and shared the same bed. A few, though, felt my expensive Reebok shoe a more cozy option to spend their days.

My warden was quite anxious to get rid of the domestic spiders and she did triumph. My roommate and I, however, decided to give this Mrs.Wiry a chance to lay eggs.



I left my hostel soon after and I do not know what became of them. And if you are asking me, if I've ever been bitten by one, the answer is yes! A 1.5 cm long spider pricked my shoulder to declare its presence on my body. And no, I did not transform into a spider-woman with green eyes the next day!

"ORANGE MOON? DON'T KID!"

A couple of days back, I watched a programme on Animal Planet called MOONPOWER, on creatures using our natural satellite as a beacon to hunt, mate and migrate. Fantastic show, after which my stream of consciousness led me to dwell a bit on moon exploration by humans, rites and rituals as per our scriptures, poetry and more, until a fact hit me hard - it has been a while, a long while, since I saw the orange blob!

When I was four years old, for the first time, I saw a bright orange hue in the sky, and mistook the moon for the setting sun! Ever since I've been fascinated.

Over the last two years, on every visit to Bangalore, I'd observe an apparent elevation in the "horizon" caused by high-rise buildings. This is in fact a rather mild way of putting across the point that even a minute speck of the actual horizon is no longer visible and in the process, the orange blob has disappeared too, behind those skyscrappers. And for children, supper would have to wait an extra few minutes, before they crane their necks heavenwards to say "MOOOOON!" Sadly, my own house has contributed to this phenomenon.

I'm not going overboard here, but my kids might just ridicule my "imagination" if I ever told them of the red-orange moon.

There are of course two ways to prove its existence. One, chalk out a controlled city/town expansion and development programme. And as for the second, continue polluting the atmosphere at just this current rate, only thing - our children may not be alive to see the orange moon.

Couple of blogger awards have come my way! :) Presented to me by my cousin Aaarti! Thankies, gurl!! How about a moonlight dinner sometime? :)



Remember this pic? We shot the moon precariously through a four square centimetre grid! :D

"A" FOR "APPLE"

Subs has tagged me again!

RULES -

The Tag name is A for Apple

Give preference for regular sites
Ignore your own blogs, sites.
Tag 3 People.


ALL SET!

A
http://www.adamdiaries.blogspot.com/ - Jag's (a.k.a Thathankamon) Tale of Three Cities.
http://ask.com/ - Ask, and it shall be given you.
http://www.abc.net/ - Links to good-to-great articles.
http://www.asklaila.com/ - India's local information service.
http://ashwinspeaks.blogspot.com/ - Busy Ashwin hasn't updated his blog in a long while.

B
http://www.backpakker.blogspot.com/ - My cousin Lakshmi's travelblog. Must see!
http://blogger.com/ - Thanks to which you are reading this!
http://www.bookmyshow.com/ - Book tickets online for plays, movies, concerts.
http://www.blackle.com/ - Energy-saving google!

C
http://chennaikaran.blogspot.com/ - What a prolific thinker-writer-reader! Check out his Bata Thatha stories, Dad-daugher dialogue, Short stories, loads more.
http://www.contests2win.com/ - Who doesn't wanna win goodies!

D
http://www.dictionary.com/ - Handicapped without this site!

E
Err..!!

F
http://www.freebookspot.net/ - Incredible collection of ebooks. What more, download them for free!
http://www.4indianwomen.com/ - Write and get paid.

G
http://www.google.co.in/ - including its offsprings minus Orkut.

H
http://hotmail.com/ - An account lying dormant there.

I
http://www.invariablyconstant.blogspot.com/ - Prabha's blog. Work keeping her busy!
http://intelligentwins-lifeandme.blogspot.com/ - Now reading!
http://irctc.co.in/ - No more standing in queue and waiting!

J... K... :'(

L
http://www.lyrics.com/ - Why hum the tune when you have the lyrics to sing along!

M
http://www.mumbaichaat.blogspot.com/ - Hilarious movie reviews.
http://www.msn.co.in/ - Opens automatically after logging out of Hotmail. What to do!
http://www.mugamudi.blogspot.com/ - Harish's blog - The Mask!

N
http://nivi30.wordpress.com/ - Now reading!

O
http://www.123greetings.com/ - Craze for ecards fading away.

P
http://poetryinstone.in/ - Vijay makes stone monuments speak their saga through his website.

Q
???

R
http://www.rediff.com/ - Quick news stories, Raja Sen's reviews (readers' review of the review :D) and email.
http://www.randomphilosophie.blogspot.com/ - Peru's independent (and interesting) perspectives, contests and more.
http://www.randomblissitis.blogspot.com/ - Peru again and Bliss it is! World, like you've never seen before!
http://www.rsubras.blogspot.com/ - Kalakkal Kirukkals! Chance-se illaadha thanglish stories. My favourite - Guys must be crazy!
http://www.raaga.com/ - All suttufication of songs happens from here ;)
http://www.reuters.com/ - For top world news and business news. Check out Oddly Enough and their photo gallery.
http://reeltreat.blogspot.com/ - My cousin Aaarti's book, music and movie (never heard before ones too) review blog.

S
http://www.sitemeter.com/ - Just to quench the curiosity factor
http://www.space.com/ - Universe in words, images and imagination.
http://sagittarian-ramya.blogspot.com - Romie's blog. Chiselled words, warm stories. Must read Freshly Brewed Love.

T
http://telegraphindia.com/crossword - A time-pass tickler.
http://www.taurusblogs.blogspot.com/ - Prabha's travails as an IT Professional.
http://techmanic.blogspot.com/ - From zero to geek in a day!

U... V... :((

W
http://words-flow.blogspot.com/ - Aaarti's blog on the crazy things she's upto ;) and her words, they just never dry up!
http://wordsfloweasy.blogspot.com/ - Aaarti's short stories, poetry and more.
http://www.wikipedia.com/ - Just wiki "wikipedia"!

X
http://www.xsmail.com/ - I miss this email provider! :'(

Y
http://www.yahoo.com/ - Yahoo! and its family.

Z
http://zpub.com/ - I visited this link just today! Site for unusual articles.

My addition - 'A' for 'Analysis'!
* Lack of vitamins E, J, K, Q, U, V
* No social networking sites
* No site for movie downloads
* Blogs dominate the list

'C' for 'Conclusion!
* Expand the list - visit and bookmark more sites

'T' for 'Tag'!
* Peru
* Lakshmi
* Aaarti

SOMEWHERE... OVER THE RAINBOW...

Wish I could observe every inch of the universe and feel the sights in my blood.
Listen to every sweet melody, novel note and lilting tune ever created.
Imbibe all the knowledge that there is ever to be learnt.
Live through every possible experience and experience every possible emotion.

H.m.m.. I sound like Dr Faustus, don't I? ;)

But what better day than today (my birthday!) to wake up and smell the coffee!

So, here's my "Things-to-do-before-I-die" list and some resolutions as well:

1. Make a mini telescope of my own and be an active star gazer
2. Participate in a half-marathon
3. Learn carnatic music and identify ragas
4. Learn salsa! And at least one musical instrument
5. Join yoga and meditation classes
6. Learn Telugu, Kannada and at least one foreign language - Spanish, perhaps
7. Go bungee jumping, para gliding, river rafting etc
8. But before that, learn to ride a bicycle!
9. Read Fundamentals of Physics and understand the (basic) workings of nature
10. Attend Astrobiology courses
11. Visit Ladakh and verify UFO claims
12. Read books more often and completely! Specially by Bertrand Russell, Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Arthur Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Richard Leakey
13. Identify fields, crops and flowers instantly
14. Try out at least one new recipe every week
15. Visit as many places as possible – snow-capped mountains and the aurora borealis are a must
16. Learn pencil sketching and painting
17. Watch all the James Bond flicks (I haven't seen one till date!)
18. Capture spiders on camera and identify each of them
19. Start an NGO
20. Blog more often and update this list regularly!

As I pen this post, the song echoes in my mind - 'Somewhere over the rainbow... dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.' And mine will too! :)