Voyage Vedas

Mountains are Calling - Part2 30th October 2021 - 13th November 2021 It had been more than 2 years since we had gone on a trip to the mountains. Hence we planned for this trip to the mountains. Read about how we planned for the Trip here . On 29th October 2021 we travelled from Gurgaon to Noida , so as to spend the night at Noida and start for Haldwani on 30 October 2021. The journey from Gurgaon to Noida became an ordeal in itself.  We had put in the destination on maps. Maps directed us on an alternate path, other than the usual path we used to take, as at this pint of time the alternate path was the fastest. The way was via Gwal Pahari . We were on the correct path, but due to a confusion in judging the directed path, we took a wrong turn and it somehow took us to the Agra Highway. After a long time and after paying the Highway toll, when we enquired, the guy on the toll booth told us that we were on the wrong path and now we had to exit the High Way and back track. As we exited t

  Mountains are Calling : 30th October 2021 - 13th November 2021 It had been more than 2 years since we had gone on a trip to the mountains. The last trip to the mountains was the trip to Badrinath, Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib in August 2019 (Read about the Trip here: The 1200+ Km Bike Trip , Biking the Himalayas ). By now Covid had struck. We had been smitten by Covid for a long time. We had been through a bad time which had confined us to our homes for an extended period of time. We had refrained from moving out of homes as we wanted to avoid any infection of Covid. We had been hearing news of friends and family being infected by Covid. We had also heard of distant relatives losing their lives due to Covid. The environment was gloomy. We wanted to come out of the gloominess and rejuvenate our spirits. An environment of peace and tranquility was desperately needed. An atmosphere which was free from fear, where we could find solace and indulge in a bit of soul searching. This i

  Kamakhya Devi Temple - Pithoragarh : Kamakhya Devi Temple is a Temple dedicated to Devi Kamakhya "The Goddess of Desire", who fulfills all your desires and saves you from all sorts of ailments & troubles. Situated on a hill the Temple is around 7 km from Pithoragarh. It is the only temple in Uttarakhand dedicated to Goddess Kamakhya. Locals told us that the Temple was built by Madan Sharma ji on 22nd March 1972. As the locals say: Madan Sharma, an army personnel, was posted in Assam used to visit Kamakhya Devi Temple in Guwahati for worshipping the Goddess. Later he was transferred to Pithoragarh. It is said that at this point of time the Goddess herself showed her willingness to accompany him to Pithoragarh. Obeying to the willingness of the Goddess, Madan ji established the Temple on the hill. A small Temple then has now transformed into a big Temple Complex. Apart from the central complex dedicated to Goddess Kamakhya the temple complex houses small Temples of

  Chandak - Sublime Beauty : Chandak is a hill, which is around 8kms from Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand). This place provides an exhilarating & panoramic view of the Saur/Sour Valley and the snow capped mountain ranges. The place is famous among the tourists and the locals for its sublime beauty. People come over to this place to capture the beauty of the Sour Valley and the mountain ranges in their memory and camera lenses. The place is also famous for hang gliding. Places to visit in and around Chandak include Mostamanu Temple, Chandak View Point, Meghna Restaurant/ Café on the rocks, Magnesite Factory, Vardani Mata View Point etc. Chandak witnesses snowfall between the months of December to March. Summers are comparatively pleasant. Other than the motorable road, there is also an old trekking route from Pithoragarh that people used to take to reach Chandak. On the motorable road as you start your journey from Pithoragarh, you cross the Vardani Mata View Point almost midway. As you mo

Driving in the Hills : 30th October 2021 to 10th November 2021 I just finished my journey to the hills by my car. I drove around 600 km in the hills. It was my first four-wheeler driving experience in the hills. Hence I wanted to share my experience and some tips that helped me driving in the hills. I wish to share some of my learnings as well. I hope these tips would be helpful for your visit to the hills.  Tips and tricks to drive well in the hills : Take a good sleep before you start your journey. Say for instance you have to start your journey early morning then a good sleep, the previous night is of paramount importance. You have to be very attentive while driving in the hills. A slightest of mistake can be fatal. Hence you cannot afford to fall asleep while driving. Many accidents occur due to the driver falling asleep. Try and utilize as much daylight as you can. Driving in daylight is far better than driving at night. Try and start your journey early morning so as to utilize th

  Nivasaa - A Resort in Lap of Nature :- It was end of August 2021, I was on my customary visit to Dehradun, that is when we first heard of Nivasaa . Probably the tagline for the Resort says it all  Nivasaa, The Nature's home . We heard that it is place in midst of the forest where people can go and relax. The place is not far off from Dehradun. One can come over to this place for a day or can also plan to stay in the Swiss Tents available in the complex. Anyways we were keen to explore the place.  Nivasaa - A Resort in Lap of Nature Nivasaa Location : Nivasaa is not too far from the center of Dehradun. It is ahead of Raipur on the Thano road. It is on the way towards the Airport via Thano, few kilometers ahead of the Dehradun International Stadium. It probably takes around 30 minutes to reach Nivasaa from Dehradun. The entrance to the place is off the main road. One has to do a bit of off-roading for around 600 meters to reach Nivasaa . It is a sort of a dirt track that takes

Festivities of my Childhood - Part4 : Until now I gave a description of how we used to celebrate festivals as a community affair. I shared my memories of Holi during my Childhood (Read  here ). I talked of the fun and frolic we had during Durga Puja (Navratri) and Dussehra (Read  here ). I also shared the memories of all the festivities during Diwali (Read here ). In continuation I share remembrances of few more festivals. Krishna Janmashtami : Janmashtami or Krishna Janmashtami , the birthday of Lord Krishna was celebrated with a lot of religious activities. People celebrate fasting, singing and praying together in Temples. I remember kids used to prepare " Jhankis " (Tableau) depicting various life incidences of Lord Krishna. I remember there was a Shiv Mandir near our house which used to celebrate Janmashtami with a lot of religious fanfare. The Mandir was decorated with a lot of Jhankis . At midnight Janam Utsav  (festival of birth) was celebrated. Later Durga Mandir,

Festivities of my Childhood - Part3 :- Until now I gave a description of how we used to celebrate festivals as a community affair. I shared my memories of Holi during my Childhood (Read  here ). I talked of the fun and frolic we had during Durga Puja (Navratri) and Dussehra (Read here ). In continuation I share remembrances of few more festivals. Diwali : Diwali is the festival of lights that is celebrated few days after Dussehra. Diwali is a festival extended for 4-5 days. Starting from Dhanteras the festivities go on till Bhai Dooj (Bhaiya Dooj). As kids we would light candles and earthen Diyas to illuminate our house. This was the festival we as kids celebrated for a week of fortnight. As kids we would start igniting fire crackers 7-15 days in advance. Daily we would play with various kinds of fire crackers until Diwali when we lighted and exhausted all of our fire crackers. I remember us burning fire crackers, rockets anaars , charkhi , fire rail, rolls in steel pistols etc. It

  Festivities of my Childhood - Part2 :- Until now I gave a description of how we used to celebrate festivals as a community affair. I shared my memories of Holi during my Childhood (Read here ). In continuation I share remembrances of few more festivals. Durga Puja or Navratri : We used to celebrate Navratri twice in a year. It was the Navratri after monsoon, in the months of September or October (Sharada Navratri), that used to be the observed with lot of festivities. This is the time when Devi Durga is worshipped. The Festivities continue for 9 nights (10 Days). On each day a incarnation (form) of Devi Durga is worshipped. People be on fast on all the 9 days, many people keep fast on specific days as well. On 8th day Kanjika Pujan is done. On this day small girls are invited to homes and are worshipped as a form of Devi Durga. People give them food and other items (including money) as Dakshina (gift), symbolizing a Dakshina given to the Goddess. The little girls visit few houses

  Festivities of my Childhood :- I remember during my childhood, festivals were community affairs. People used to gather together and enjoy as a community. Unlike these days, when people are just smitten to their own family members during festivals, back then the whole mohalla used to gather together and celebrate festivals. Actually my first remembrance of a festival is of Holi . At that point of time we were in Mysore (now known as Mysuru). I remember we used to visit my father's colleagues (and friends). Actually we were 3-4 North-Indian families, and everybody visited everyone's place on Holi . When we moved to Dehradun that was the time when I came to know how festivals are celebrated in a community. Holi : We had a playground in front of our house in Dehradun. This was the place where everyone used to gather and celebrate festivals. As a kid I remember we used to volunteer for collecting " Chanda " (a kind of crowd fund") from everyone in the mohalla , to