A drop of heavenly nectar and the footprint of Vishnu

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I’ve been planning to take a weekend out of Delhi for ages and this weekend it finally happened. As always seems to be the way here my plans changed dozens of times in the week leading up to it and I went from going to Varanasi with two friends, to going on a spontaneous field trip with work, to eventually going to visit a place called Haridwar (holy city related to the title) and the nearby National Park of Rajaji.

Haridwar was suggested to me by Melissa the volunteer who I live with as she went there when she was last in India and said that it was really nice. I like travelling via recommendations as guide books will always try to make a place sound good and it’s hard to tell if you would enjoy visiting somewhere from words on a page. Also India is soooo huge that I don’t have time to read the guide book and find all the good bits as the list is quite endless! I was originally planning on travelling by train as it is quicker and probably much more comfortable, but it turned out they were all booked up and there was a ‘waiting list’ so I got the details for bus transport instead. Apparently there was no bus timetable as they just leave every half hour so I could just turn up and find the right bus. I knew it would be a long journey and I wanted to arrive in time to enjoy the day so I woke up early and left my flat in South Delhi when it was still dark outside. The streets were very quiet but luckily I managed to find and auto quite quickly and started my journey. The bus station was in Old Delhi which is quite far north then where I live so we drove for almost 30 minutes and it was really lovely as it gradually got lighter and I got to watch the city come to life as I travelled.

When I arrived at the station it was bustling with people and there were buses everywhere. Apparently there was a particular stand for buses to Haridwar but I had no idea where that was so I just asked around and gradually made it in the right direction and found myself sitting on a bus. I had been told that there were different grades of bus from ‘general’, to super deluxe, to Volvo......but I didn’t see any off the ‘good’ buses and so got on the only thing available which was definitely a ‘locals’ bus. It was rather old and rusted with slide across windows and no other non Indians, but I was comfortable enough and settled down for my long journey. I managed to get a window seat and I spent the whole journey watching the world go by (and napping) and seeing the different landscapes of India which was so good after being in Delhi for so long. I saw towns and villages and forest and agriculture, and even a big buffalo market. It was a very long journey and we stopped for a 30 minute toilet and stretch break but my bum was tired by the end of it after all of the rough roads. Guess how much this 6 hour bus journey cost me?......you’ll never believe it.....Rs 125!!! Which is equivalent to £1.65!! how crazy is that - the best thing about general buses! What also amazes me is that on a map of India I only moved a tiny distance, this country is sooo HUGE!!

Eventually we arrived at the bus stand in Haridwar and as I knew my hotel was nearby and had put the map of how to get there in my head I set off on foot. Straight away there was a completely different feel from Delhi, almost no cars, very few autos, but loads of cycle rickshaws, horses and cows. All the streets were lined with shops and market stalls and were bustling with people. The hotel I had picked to stay at was called Kailash Hotel (as I live in Greater Kailash in Delhi). I had phoned during the week and had apparently booked a room by giving them my name but it didn’t go quite to plan as they had no booking and apparently no free rooms. Eventually, after complaining, they managed to sort something out for me at a connected building called Hotel Kailash Deluxe (which definitely wasn’t deluxe).

I then made a phone call to a contact that I had to make arrangements for my visit to Rajaji National Park the next morning. After deciding on coming on this trip I found out at work that my supervisor used to be the Director of Rajaji and so I mentioned I was going and he got on the phone and gave me all the contacts I needed for an organised tour - amazing! I told my contact where I was staying and my room number and he said that he would arrange for someone to pick me up at 6am the next morning. It all sounded rather vague but that just seems to be the way of things out here so I just hoped it would be fine and got on with my day. While I was getting ready there had been a little shower of rain but now the sun was coming out and everything looked fresh and bright again. I decided that this town was small enough to walk around so I started out on foot and found it was really interesting to walk the streets and take in all of the sights and sounds. Delhi is so big that every area is really different, but here I felt that I could really soak up the atmosphere of the town from just walking down the street. Some way along the road there was a side street, which led up to the base of a hill. At the top of this hill is a hindu temple called Mansa Devi and running up to it is a cable car. I decided to take this trip and bought my temple offering and my cablecar ticket and set off. It was so much fun, it felt like I was in the queue for a ride as I was waiting, and although the journey was short the view at the top was really good. Unfortunately as I arrived at the top it stated to rain lightly again so the view wasn’t very clear but it felt really nice to be out in nature again and surrounded by hills and trees and no roads!

After taking in the view I left my shoes with an attendant and headed for the temple. Everyone moved through the temple in a procession line going through various stages of ritual that I didn’t really understand. I had my head marked with one thing, then another, prayers said, my forehead pressed, and ash thrown around me. We then moved forward to give the offering which consisted of a coconut, some incense, and a few other random things which I had no idea how they would use. At the last section I gave a donation and then got a piece of coloured string that had been blessed with my name and I tied it around the branch of a tree that stuck up in the temple (anyone know why?). Once I had found my shoes again I began to wander around the shops that are clustered around the hill top and found that it was still raining. I then noticed that the cable car wasn’t running which I presumed to be because of the rain and I decided to walk down as the path seemed good and others were going the same way. Less than 5 minutes into my stroll and the slight rain became a torrential downpour, amazingly I came across a little shelter hut and jumped underneath. Others were already there taking shelter and they seemed interested when I joined them, particularly one lady who came and sat next to me and tried her best to talk to me even though she knew no English. I took out my English-Hindi phrase book and we pointed out some words to each other and had a bit of a laugh until the rain passed. As I was on my way down the sun gradually came back out and it was lovely to take in the views and see all the monkeys that live in the area and try to steal offerings to eat the coconuts!

Once back in the town I made my way to Hari-Ki-Pari a famous temple on the Ganges. When I eventually emerged down at the river side I saw where the central life of the town was. Throngs of people were walking around, bathing in the water or sitting in small groups and there were brightly coloured saris everywhere. As soon as I tried to cross one of the bridges to the main area I was stopped by a man in uniform telling me that I must donate - that doesn’t sound much like a donation to me! I told them I wanted to see the place first and found that as I walked around I kept being asked and had various different people coming up to me ‘asking’ for money. I spent my time taking pictures and trying to capture the moment with everyone enjoying themselves and taking in the ambience. The bridge had lead me over to a small strip of land opposite the temple upon which there was a tall clock tower and you can look out over the town and the hills behind it. There were people selling trinkets and puja offerings (leaf filled with flowers and wick to be lit and sent down the Ganges), there was also a lady with a big basket of bananas but she seems to be giving more away to the monkeys which were running around than she was selling.

From where I was I could also see a massive statue of Shiva stood some distance away and so I set off to walk around. The statue stands on it’s own on the edge of the river making it look very dramatic and powerful. It was now early evening and so as I made my way back to the temple area lots of people were arriving for an evening ritual which takes place on the river called an Aarti. Hundred of people lined the water side and a loud speaker from the temple called out various prayers. Lots of people were lighting the puja offerings and sending them down the river and all of the colours and lights and people were amazing to see. I decided to buy my own puja offering to contribute to the ceremony and some guy came and told the words that I should recite so my petals and prayers are now floating down the Ganges.

The next morning I was up before it was light again to get ready for my drive to Rajaji National Park. At 6am I had a knock on the door and the porter led my downstairs so meet my driver, Mr Sorez. As we drove through the streets of Haridwar there were already lots of people in the streets giving me the impression that it’s a place that is always busy. The sun gradually came up as we drove towards the park and I’ve decided that I love driving at dawn and seeing everything wake up and come to life. It was the first day of opening the park for the new season after the rains so there were lots of officials and journalists around. As soon as we had entered the park I straight away saw some spotted deer which were lovely - just like Bambi. The early light was beautiful and the landscape was stunning. We drove for almost three hours and the park seemed to stretch on forever. It was unlike any wildlife drive that I’ve been on before as although there were some open areas, a lot of the driving was through thick forest which was very dramatic - but also very hard to spot wildlife. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see any elephants but I did see a tiger pug mark, more spotted dear, Sombar deer (the biggest in India), wild pigs, peacocks, eagles, hornbills, and lots of other birds. At one point we saw what we thought was a jackal but it turned out to be just a dog, it walked past the jeep as we were near the wild pigs and the wild pigs chased it away!

I got dropped back at the hotel with hours to kill before my bus so decided to explore Haridwar a bit more. I walked down some back streets and found myself on a different bridge crossing the Ganges. On the other side was a long promenade lined with steps down to the water so I decided to walk along here as it wasn’t too crowded. Every now and then I stopped and sat on the steps and take everything in and watch the hawks dipping and diving in the water. I then made my way back to Hari-Ki-Pari and visited the temple side of the river. As a holy site I had to take off my shoes and leave them behind, but then was able to mingle with all of the worshipers. I went to one of the little shrines and had my head dabbed with more things and repeated what they told me to - although I didn’t really know what I was saying. It was nice but I was again expected to donate afterwards which seems to be a trend at all temples.

I then decided to wander back along the backstreets and found myself sucked into a bazaar and searching for trinkets. After a late lunch I went to the bus stand and found one that was heading to Delhi and settled down for another long ride. After a couple of hours it became dark and so there was very little to see out of the window so time went very slowly but I eventually made it back and was very grateful to reach my own bed again.

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Photos

View from Mansa Devi
Looking down on Haridwar from the top of my cablecar trip

Trinkets in the Bazaar
Lots of shinny goodies to attract buyers

Hari-Ki-Puri Temple
Arriving down at the Ganges with the sun coming out after the rain

Looking out over the Ganges
Groups of people down at the river with the statue of Shiva in the background

Bathing in the Ganges
Masses of people cleansing their sins in the holy water

Holy Cow
Cows join worshipers down at the water and always take right of way

Monkey-ing around
Monkeys making the most of free bananas and pestering the people visitng the temple

Shiva statue
Standing with his back to Haridwar Shiva seems to be protecting the holy city from invasion

As the sun goes down
Looking back at Haridwas as the sun sets behind the hills

Aarti ritual
Hundreds of worshipers down at the temple to celebrate and send their offerings to the Ganges

Puja Lights
Lights blurring as the Puja offerings are swept away by the fast flowing waters

My Puja
My petals and prayers which blessed my family are now floating down the Ganges

Reflections
The dark waters catch the lights of the bustling city

Animal Adventure Time
On the way into Rajaji National Park

Sunrise over the river bed
As we drove the landscape gradually came to life

Tiger pug marks!!
Although we didn't actually see the tigers it gave hope that they were surviving

'He called me MR PIG!!'
Very funny moment when the wild pigs chased away a dog to protect their family

Sinking into the water
Temples lining the riverside with Mansa Devi on the hil above