Voyage Vedas

  Dehra then and now : My recent visits to Dehradun have prompted me to pen down this blog. I see stark differences in Dehradun now, from the days of my childhood. Somehow I was trying to find the Dehradun of my childhood in today's Dehradun and I must say I failed miserably. It puts me into deep pain when I see that the Dehradun of my childhood is lost somewhere in rapid urbanization. I am not sure if this is true with other cities and towns as I don't have a point of reference in the past to compare them with today's situation. But for Dehradun I am sure things have changed beyond the point they could be compared with their counterparts in the past. Someone who is born in recent times cannot even imagine how pristine Dehradun was. I just want to add my perspective and view point so that anyone of generation Z reading this blog would know how Dehra was before the time they were born. Dehra has transformed into a concrete jungle. I see multistoried apartments and high rise ...

  Rains in Doon : My remembrances of the rains in Doon dates back to the year 1989 when we relocated to Dehradun from Mysore. As I remember there were local rains, the monsoons and the rains in the winter. I have heard people say that in the good old day's houses in Doon did not have hooks for fans as it never used to be so hot that one would need a fan. If at all the temperature would rise there would be locals rains that would bring the temperature down. Even in 1989 as soon as the temperature rose for few days' people would start expecting a shower and the weather at Dehradun never disappointed its residents. As kids we used to love the rains in the summers as it brought the temperature down thus making the weather pleasant and thereby facilitating long hours of play which probably might not have been possible in scorching heat. I remember until Holi (March) the weather would be bit chilly which would mellow down towards late March, followed by summers in the Months of April...

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...

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....

  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 hou...

  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 ...

  The Samosa Bet :- As I remember I was in Class VI th, we had just started moving in group of boys, play and have fun to the hilt. That was the time when kids and children were not afraid to move out of their homes (sometime to out of bound places as well). Parents were equally relaxed as crime against children was seldom heard in the mountain town of Dehradun. We lived in Indra Nagar, Dehradun at that point of time. Indra Nagar was a well planned and developing residential colony, coming up in the then outskirts of Dehradun. Population was scarce. People still feared coming to these outskirts at late evenings. Streets were deserted after dusk. Slowly people had started building individual homes. There were a few residential complexes that had been erected by various government entities. There was also a settlement of I.T.B.P (Indo-Tibetan Border Police), a para-military force. But few patches of Indra Nagar Colony were still devoid of any settlement, which included a patch which ...

  Dehra as I Knew :- It was start of summers (April-May) 1989, when we arrived at Dehradun. My father being on a transferrable Govt. job was transferred from Mysore (now known as Mysuru) to Dehradun. I was small kid then, but memoirs of Dehra have been imprinted in my subconscious and will be with me for a life time. I still remember, the day we arrived at Dehradun was a sunny day. My  Mausaji ( my mother's sister's husband )  was there at the railway station to receive us. Mausaji and his family used to live in a place called Badshahi Bagh , near Vikas Nagar , which was around 1-2 hours away from Dehradun. Mausaji was a very resourceful & helpful person and had arranged for an accommodation for us. This accommodation was a house built by Awas Vikas in Indra Nagar. Indra Nagar was a well planned residential colony. Back then Indra Nagar was considered far from the heart of the city and was still considered to be on the outskirts of Dehradun.  As the train arri...

  Love For Football :- My Childhood was spent playing and dreaming about football. The football dream started when we moved to Dehradun from Mysore (now known as Mysuru). In Dehradun, just in front of my house there was a play ground. I saw kids playing football there. That was my first sight of the game, and as the saying goes "Love at First Sight". I was just in love with the game. Sometimes the place you live changes your habits and your likings, same happened to me, moving from Mysore to Dehradun introduced me to football and gave me my first passion. Back in Mysore we played on the streets, mostly cricket. At Mysore we also played some games played by children of that era, like Pithu , Stapoo,  Bandi , hide and seek etc, but Dehradun introduced me to football. Back in that era, Dehradun was known for some great players who played for various well known clubs. People were very fond of football and the youth played football with great passion and commitment. The fad for fo...

  The Wrestling Match :- I grew up in Dehradun. My childhood days were so fun-filled. A playground just across the road to my house was a blessing. On this ground we used to play football and cricket in all the seasons, be it be the sunny and hot summers or the down pouring monsoons or the chilly winters. But one game I played for the first and last time was Wrestling. I still remember that bone crushing experience that I had during the Wrestling match. These were the days when I was in Class 4th or 5th at KV I.T.B.P (School where I did my schooling).I was a lean and lanky fellow then. We used to have a Games and P.T teacher 'Giri Sir", who was very fond of outdoor games. He encouraged students to play and participate in outdoor activities.  One Day Giri Sir wanted all the students from our Class to explore Wrestling. An earthen pit was hence dug and filled with sand. Giri Sir summoned all the boys to gather around the pit and then announced to have a Wrestling Match. He calle...

The Canal on General Mahadev Singh Road :- My remembrance of the Canal dates back to the year 1989, when we relocated to Dehradun. The Canal was the most prominent and conspicuous entity on General Mahadev Singh Road.  The small stretch that I remember started from Garghi Cantt ran through Kaulagargh Road to Ballupur Chowk then to Balliwala Chowk on to Kanwali  Road till the rice fields of Majra. A strech of atleast 10 km if not more. Like a flowery tree which blossoms in the monsoon the Canal was flooded with water in the rainy season, so much so that it reached the road level. Although it was 4-5 feet deep, the water dried up in the summers to become just a succulent stream of water. But I have never seen it completely dry even in the driest of summers. Water always gushed through its pebbly shores. I remember there was a watermill that was run by the force of the gushing waters in the Canal. People used to gather at the mill for their daily dose of gossip and to grind wh...

Memoirs of Dehra :- The word Dehradun brings back some very nostalgic memories. The thought of the place itself brings back peace and tranquility to the mind. For me, visiting Dehradun gives solace to the heart and soul. I always look forward to visit the place. Given an opportunity to visit Dehradun I seldom miss it. There are times when you have to restrict yourself of visiting the place due to various reasons, but turning down an opportunity to visit Dehra goes with a heavy heart. I grew up and did my schooling from Dehardun. Even while working in Gurgaon we used to quite often visit my parent's place at Dehradun. Most often than not we used to visit Dehradun by car. While driving from Delhi to Dehradun as soon as you cross Mohand you   kind of start getting that smell of tranquility. This is one of those feelings which are best experienced than being penned down. It feels like that the place calls you back where ever you go. I have traveled across 12 countries and have...