Kausani to Nainital

---

Left Kausani on Saturday, and over nighted in Nainital, so as to be nearer Kathgodam for the final push back down to Delhi. We weren’t long out of Kausani when we saw and heard, walking along the road some way ahead of us, a group of about 15- 20 men. As they were walking they were chanting, and when we drew nearer, I was able to see that a small group in the middle of the huddle were supporting a stretcher, covered with a brightly patterned red cloth, on their shoulders. It turned out to be a funeral procession, headed by a couple of sadhu/ holy men looking types.

It took about four hours to get to Nainital, winding through the mountain roads, with green hills and valleys rising and dropping on either side. I’m always intrigued when I see little hamlets or settlements clinging to hillsides, with no visible means of access to the roads, and wonder how they manage for supplies etc. At one point, I saw a flash of red on one of the hills as we passed- a woman in a red sari was walking across a large hill, about half way up; there didn’t seem to be a track or pathway, just this woman, walking.

The weather was fine until about twenty minutes out of Nainital, when we hit mist the consistency of yoghurt and heavy, incessant rain. It was still going when we reached the town, and I ended up checking into the hotel rather than face going out in the rain again to find something better. The rain cleared up late afternoon, and I was able to go out and wander about.

---