13th June, 2009 – Rishikesh bus stand
8:00 AM

Finally after a night full of not so welcome adventure we reached Rishikesh bus stand. Stepping out of the bus fresh air of the hills filled our lungs and in an instant the weariness was gone. Re-energized, we loaded our bags back on our shoulders and left for the intrastate bus stand of risihkesh from where we would get out next bus to Gangotri. We asked the bus conductor about the distance of the intra state bus stand form where we were at that moment, he said “ jawaan launde ho aap log, paidal hi nikal jao, ye pada bas adda nazdeek hi, boodhe karte hai rickshaw aur auto toh” . Now it had become a matter of pride after listening that “ boodhe karte hai auto toh” sentence. So we left on foot and it wasn’t late when we finally realized that “DON’T EVER TAKE SUCH THINGS ON YOUR EGO”, the bus stand was nowhere nazdeek and it took us good 30 minutes to reach there.

Rahul and Anshul went to enquire about the buses that left for Gangotri while the three of us i.e. Me, Daksh and Jatin somehow found our way to the bus stand. As soon as we reached there Anshul welcomed us with a bad news that only one bus left for Gangotri and that left at 5 in the morning.

It was like a blessing in disguise for me as I was in no mood for another bus ride of 10 hours after the one that we had previous night. It was then decided that we stay in Rishikesh for a day and leave for Gangotri the next morning.

Then began the hunt for hotel. It was an unsaid rule that whenever only boys go on a trip we take the cheapest room that is in a good condition, reason being most of the time we are wandering outside and the hotel serves only one main purpose of safeguarding our luggage.

We found a lodge-cum-hotel within the premises of the intrastate bus stand. Checking into it the first thing that each one of us did was to take bath after that suffocating bus journey. All fresh, we charged our cell phone’s and digicam’s batteries. The weather was amazing (at least for us), standing in the balcony of our hotel we could feel the cool wind against our cheeks and it blended perfectly with the mild sunshine amidst lush green hills spreading unto the horizon, it was undoubtedly a welcome change from weather in Delhi- the region of extremes.

We were planning about what we would do in Rishikesh when a voice came from behind “ yar jo bhi karna hai karo lekin pehle khana khayenge, mujhe bahut tez bhook lagi hai” , it had to be Jatin. 30 seconds later another sentence distracted us “ yar yahan kahin aalu ke paranthe makkhan maar kmil jayenge??” e , no prizes for guessing, it had to be Daksh. So we quickly decided that first we shall have breakfast and then we shall go for rafting and some sight seeing.

But wait!! This can’t be us. How can we decide upon one thing so easily?? So it was, Mr. Anshul Jain’s mind works in a direction totally different from everyone else. We were just planning to move out of hotel when he said “yar Gangotri toh kabhi bhi ja sakte hai family ke sath , Pindari chalet hai.”, and I like the dumbest soul on the earth was ready in a moment. Every one stared at each other and then Daksh made the second mistake of showing interest in his plan. Jatin was the 4th one to say yes but it took a bit of our convincing powers to convince Rahul.

Finally we stepped out of the hotel with little modifications in our day’s plan. We were to have breakfast first then our wiz-kid would search of a cybercafé and check about how can we reach Pindari and then we shall go rafting.

This time we decided to take an auto to the main market of Rishikesh. Reaching there, it reminded me of sadar market of old Gurgaon where you have a 15 foot wide road which has been reduced to 10 feet by encroachments by the shop keepers and what ever space is left, on that, the HOLY COWS of India love to meditate in the middle of the afternoon. There we decided to look out for a good shop or restaurant to eat. We nearly found one when Daksh called us out of the place and said “ yar maine mame se poocha ki yahan ki sabse famous khane ki dukan kaunsi hai ?? usne kaha ki rajasthani ke naam se hai peeche, wahan chalte hai”. Jatin – “tune tere mama se poocha??” Daksh – “abe nahi roadie sale, chandigarh mien traffic police ko mama kehte hai”

30 minutes later each one of us was cursing mama for guiding us to that place. I bet that was the worst rajasthani food I’ve ever eaten in my life. Gulping down whatever we could we left the place with out taste buds going numb. Then began the search for a cybercafé. In Rishikesh you will find a temple every 500 meters but a cybercafé was a novelty. After half an hour of Rishikesh market tour we found a sify iway at a place so deep inside, that its location even Marco Polo could not have found. There we checked out the traveling details and showed Daksh some pictures which made him fall in love with that place.

Preparing the itinerary quickly, we divided the jobs. I and Anshul were to go to bus stand to enquire about the bus to Kathgodam and Haridwar while the other three left for the railway station to book tickets for journey from Haridwar to Kathgodam. We had left our cell phones in the hotel as we had to go for rafting directly from there; we decided to meet at railway station in 30 minutes.

But the best thing amidst all this was that wherever in Rishikesh we went, people looked at us at least once. Reason: - Daksh and Jatin were roaming in the middle of the main market of one of the most sacred cities in India in their BOXERS. Rather Daksh in his boxers and Jatin in his MICRO MINI “69” boxers. I had also bought a short from a shop near our hotel as rafting in jeans was not something I wanted to do and my shorts were though not as short as their boxers but were not very comfortable as heat and humidity in the market made me sweat like hell and the shorts stuck to my legs and it was actually looking very cheesy.

Moving on, I and Anshul arrived at the station as per decided, Rahul booked tickets for Haridwar to Kathgodam train and our bad luck continued as we did not get confirmed ticket but boys will be boys, we reached a conclusion that “ yar ho jayegi confirm aaram se nahi toh tc ko paise khila kar le lenge seat”, and then we left for rafting.

We took an auto from railway station to the place where most of rafting agencies are that was somewhere near raam jhula. Reaching there we realized that we were left with only 1750 rupees and unlucky as we are it was Saturday and weekend prices of rafting are more than those on weekdays. we decided not to pay more than 250 Rs per person for rafting. We checked out many rafting agencies but none of them would offer any thing below 450-500 Rs per person for a 16 km rafting route. Finally we reached one Gadhwal Adventure agency, the guy agreed for 350 rs per person and that totaled to the exact amount we had, we tried to negotiate by sayin that – “bhaiya students hai , students discount toh de do.. yar waapis hotel tak jaane ke paise bhinahi bach rahe , waapis kaise jayenge??” , but no avail, he neutralized the effect by saying that “ are yar kya bat karte ho, chalo auto ke paise mein de dunga auto wale ko, bas ab toh problem solve ho gayi..” , then we had nothing but to give in and wait for the car that would take us and our raft to the point of start.

While we were waiting there the rafting guy told us that we will be accompanied by a couple. He had just finished his sentence when Daksh who was still fighting his fears of drowning into water while rafting, popped up from his seat like a bread slice from a toaster. Suddenly his demons of drowning vanished and he was far more interested in knowing that where the couple is. After 30 minutes of wait the suv which was supposed to take us to the starting point arrived and we got into it, 2 minutes passed and then we finally saw the couple that was going with us. No prizes for guessing what happened next, boys will be boys, we concluded that the girl is quite outgoing and her guy was some one totally dumbass, she did not deserve an idiot like him.

The couple sat on the first seat besides the driver, followed by me, Anshul and Rahul in middle and Daksh and Jatin at the back. Everytime the girl put her hand around her guy’s shoulder or vice-a-versa 3 out of 5 of us ( this does not include me and rahul )were so deeply dejected as if she was their ex-girlfriend and she was romancing with her new guy in front of them to make them feel jealous. We covered a little distance in that car and then we were shifted to another one midway. After an hour of bumpy ride and daksh trying his level best to over come his drowning demons we reached the starting point of out rafting expedition.

Reaching there we posed for some pics while our rafting guide pumped in air into the rafts. All set we herd the instructions and jumped into the raft, it was then that we came to know that the couple who was rafting with us their names were : Neha and Chandan. I and jatin headed the raft followed by daksh and rahul in middle and anshul and chandan at the back, Neha was asked to sit in front. Our 16 km rafting included 8 major rapids. Starting was the cold water of ganges refreshed us all and everyone was pumped up and was rowing with full energy.

3 kilometers down the stream our guide told us that the water was calm and we can have a dip if we want. Moment later I, anshul, rahul and neha were washing away our sins in ganges. Jatin and chandan too joined in. and then finally daksh plunged in curbing his hydrophobicity. The life jackets kept us afloat and it was a life time experience swimming in depths of the most holy river in India. But alas how can I not lose anything in a trip, it wasn’t late when by spectacles glided smoothly off my nose and offered themselves to the holy ganges. Chalo, intentionally or unintentionally “ maine kuch toh daan kar hi diya gangaji ko” .

Enjoying the rapids and the thrill we reached the cliff jumping site, it’s a 30 feet high rock from where you have to take a plunge into the river. My excitement knew no bounds and as soon as we reached ashore I was the first one to jump out and run to the top. It was quite crowded but after a short wait my chance came. I looked down and it was a bit too high than I had expected but life is fun , I closed my eyes and 3 seconds later, SPLASH !! I loved it to the core.i wanted to do it again but I scratched my knee and torso while swimming back to the shore with a rock neatly hidden in water, so I had to drop the idea. Jatin was the second one amongst us to jump off. Then Mr. Anshul Jain gathered all his courage and went up to the top with Neha. We cheered them and filmed them. After 20 mins of filming and cheers neither of the two jumped. They would go to the edge and step back and allow other person to jump. Even the person incharge of the cliff jumping was irritated, finally after looting much footage in the film anshul was seen climbing down the rock waving his hand to acknowledge the crowd below as if he had won an award for being a “fattu”. Neha some how jumped.

One thing that was good was that we were bankrupt at that time and I and daksh were very very thirsty. We cheered neha and in return gulped down 2 pepsi pet bottles that her guy had got. We resumed out rafting and after that point of time everyone was tired so we rafted slowly n playfully. Chatting along I learnt that neha and chandan were not married or anything but were final year students of some medical college in meerut. Everyone became so relaxed that our raft guide had to scream at us to keep the raft going but eventually he too gave up and the raft was left at the will of the river to guide it to the end point.

Once we reached the endpoint all were relieved. Too tired to go back to the rafting agency and ask the owner to fulfill his promise of funding our return to hotel we hired an auto back to the hotel and took 50 rs from the hotel manager to pay him. We realized that we were getting late and we had to reach haridwar by 11 pm and it was already 7 pm. We quickly packed our bags and checked out. On the way to the bus stand we bought raincoats costing Rs 10 each so I need not mention how they would have been. We reached the bus stand in 20 minutes and each one of us had tea and parle g. moments later we were trying to squeeze ourselves into a jam packed bus and luckily rahul managed to grab 5 seats at the back. We were on our way to haridwar.


We reached haridwar in an hour and fifteen minutes or so and got down at har-ki-paudi. Hungry as each one of us was, we decided to have dinner and rahul and daksh suggested that you cannot find better aalu- poori anywhere than choti-wala of haridwar. We walked to the main place only to find that there was a choti-wala in every nook and corner of har-ki-paudi. We walked and walked till we reached the original one ( as per rahul and daksh he was the original and rest all were fake, but now I know that the original one is in rishikesh !!). The original choti-wala was so crowded that it was even difficult to see even the people inside the shop and more over it had no place to sit and eat so we decided against it and had dinner in a small restaurant. After dinner we were getting late for our train so we left for station. Rahul, anshul and jatin left while I and daksh stayed back for couple of minutes of take some Prasad, and then started for the railway staion.

We got the sad news that there was no change in our ticket status. Train arrived; we boarded, settled our luggage near the door and then began the hunt for the TTE. Daksh and jatin pleaded him but no avail. Finally the train started and we settled in daksh and rahul at one door of the compartment and the other 3 of us at the other door. I do not wish to go into the depths of our pitiful condition the photos speak for them selves.


P.S : the blog shall continue after 1st dec now.. :) after my cat exam !! :)

13th june

13th June, 2009
00:05 Am

Finally the engine of the bus roared back to life sending a sigh of relief across all the passengers. Amidst such flurry of incidents we had totally forgotten that it was India vs. West Indies T20 that night. Quickly most of the passengers plugged their ears with ear phones of their radio enabled mobile phones. Like all matches this one too went down the wire and eventually India lost.Not a second had passed when ravi shastri said that "west indies win" when a got a sms from richa that cursed the WestIndian players so much that had they read that stuff they would have preferred losing. While we were grieving and pondering that who should be blamed for the loss there was a small thud and 15 minutes later everyone in the bus was perspiring heavily. Time for more bad news, the engine had developed a snag and the AC wouldn’t work. The driver tried to fix it but no avail.

Some how we managed to reach Meerut. Driver suggested that we should take another bus from Meerut to Rishikesh and that he would refund us the rest of the amount.we had a tea and matthi at the meerut bus station while the driver tried to arrange another conveyance for us. But its not easy to find a public road transport at 3 in the morning. We had no option but to continue with the same bus. After a night full of adventure, a lot of co operation and even more advices (you get them free of cost here in India, they (advices) are like asses, everyone has one) about how to manage the public transport we finally reached Rishikesh at 8 in the morning.

Now, back to 12th June 09

As I told you that we were supposed to meet at 7 pm sharp at badhkal chauk, but with Mr. Anshul Jain how can any one be on time. Finally we reached badhkal chauk at 7:20, Rahul and Daksh were waiting for us there and Jatin was supposed to meet us at ISBT Kashmiri gate. Reaching there Anshul saw some one (I won’t take the name) and believe me his eyes were lit up like a 100 watt bulb with his teeth popping out of his mouth. He was so overjoyed as if he had won a chit fund lottery of Rs 10 crore.

We waited at the supposed to be bus stop and eventually after 30 minutes we realized that this is India where stopping at the bus stop is against the pride of the bus drivers. So we moved on to the red light hoping to catch a bus that stops there and finally after 10 minutes we succeeded.

Inside the bus it seemed that this is the only bus that was plying on that route because it barely had space to squeeze ourselves in and along with us we had our ruck sacks weighing not les than 10 kg each, but some how we managed to grab 3 seats. We had just crossed the Faridabad- Delhi border when Daksh got a call and then he was in a dilemma, whether to stay with us or go with his other friends to Shimla. Finally, he made the worst decision of his life of choosing our trip over Shimla (ask him, he’d agree to me).

We reached ISBT at around 9:20 and then the first good thing of the day happened to us, we got an AC bus to Rishikesh. All pumped up we entered the bus and grabbed the seats that were left. Then suddenly a thought struck “Where is Jatin?? Shit, he was to met us at Mc Donald’s” suddenly there was a flurry of phone calls and Jatin was directed to the bus. Finally all set for the trip we bought some mineral water for the rest of the bus journey and expecting an easy and relaxing journey we made our selves comfortable in our push back seats.

All were sitting on their seats when Anshul got a phone call and guess what his denture was again advertising for happydent white brand. Reason: some one whom he had met on badhkal chauk had missed his bus and was coming in our bus. (Sorry no more details)

But as they say happiness is short lived, so was ours. Our bus had not even made an exit from ISBT when it was stopped by police, we came to know that bus driver had a fight with one of the passenger and he waved that passenger off the bus, the passenger in response lodged a complaint against him for physical assault. The bus that was supposed to leave at 10 pm finally left at 12 am.

Those two hours at ISBT were also memorable. We had chhola-kulcha and the yummy aalu ki subzi and roti that Rahul had got. But the best part of the evening was Daksh’s encounter with the traffic policeman. Mr. Daksh Sharma went up to a traffic policeman standing near our stalled bus and with all the politeness in the world asked him – “ uncle ji namaste, uncle ji ye bus kab chalegi ?” he actually had a theory that if you talk politely to the policemen they would be more than happy to help you, but alas our Einstein's theory was proved wrong when the policeman replied bluntly – “ mein ke tanne roadways karamchari laagu su ?” (Do I look like a roadway’s personnel to you?) After that none of us approached any policeman.

Then happened what should have happened long back, Mr.Anshul Jain took out his camera and after a series of photographs a sudden rush of passengers distracted us. The news came that the driver and the passenger had reached a compromise and the bus will leave in a few minutes. Everyone settled back into their seats, the conductor and the driver arrived totally rattled after the incident. As the conductor boarded the bus everyone started asking him about the situation, he tried to calm them down. But as that wasn’t enough, our Mr. Rahul Jain who was handling our finance (we all dutched in advance) stood up and asked what the conductor least expected that that moment – “ bhaiya aapne abhi tak hamari ek ticket nahi di hai , wo kab doge?” , conductor’s cold look made him realize that this was not perhaps the right time so settled right back in his seat.

Pindari - Trip of Lifetime !!

Okay so...Here we begin. First of all this is the first blog of my life so pardon me for any mistakes esp. spellos. Secondly, all the things mentioned in this blog are true to my knowledge and otherwise also are absolutely correct. Third, I mean no offense to anyone so guys please don’t take things to heart.

N last but not the least n the most important one : this blog is gonna go really really slow as I hate to type n being a resident of Gurgaon, the DHVBN ( electricity deptt) does not allow me to access my pc for more than 2 hrs on the trot and adding to it “ I ve got other things to do as well !!”

So, here we go….

This blog is about our trip to Pindari glacier, though we have gone on many trips before this one but yes this would be the most memorable for all of us for all different reasons.

Let me first introduce my self, I am Sudeep Yadav and as you read along you shall know me better (if there is anything that’s worth knowing about me).

12^th June, 2009

14:00 hrs

After many cold wars and tantrums finally the day arrived, the day that we had to leave. I arrived at Anshul’s place in morning as we had to go to college to attend a not so important Infosys meeting that was conducted by our “ever so efficient” Career Planning Deptt of the college and was supposed to be for our benefit but alas it turned otherwise. We left college as fast as we could, cursing ourselves all the way back for coming to college and wasting our time.

Now, let me tell you that initially till this time we had planned to go to Rishikesh and Gangotri and there were only 3 of us: Me, Anshul and Rahul.

After leaving college we directly went to NIT -1 market of Faridabad to buy rug sacks for each one of us. After some shopping we parted and decided to meet at badhkal chawk sharp at 7 pm.

I and Anshul left for Anshul’s place while Rahul went back to his. Suddenly at 17:00 hrs I got a call from Mr. Daksh Sharma and a moment later we were 5 people going on a trip.

Let me introduce you to all of us, THE FIVE GUNNERS

Sudeep Yadav : That’s me. Die hard obstinate. Tones of attitude when it literally comes down to my ego.

Anshul Jain: Also called ******* (don’t ask me to decode it). A wiz kid but uses all his brains in things that are absolutely not required by a normal human being. His inquisitiveness about the most unimportant things in the world can drive any one crazy. A freak, a prankster and above all hardly gets mad at anyone. And yes the most important thing, all must have herd of the adage “LOOKS CAN BE DECEPTIVE” , well you know this guy and you see the statement personified. His dimples can make any girl go fida over him but mind my statement above. If this was not enough, he possesses a 6 foot tall lean frame which can make Kareena Kapoor jealous and which sways in either direction with a gust of wind.

Rahul Jain: Another faridabadi, not as idle as Anshul but yes, no less too. A bit on the serious guys type. He should be in the planning commission of Indian govt., throughout the trip he was planning for the next day or what is to be done next. Takes too much to tension about things but must say a total jugaadu banda and very helpful

.

Jatin Wadhwa: Well he is the ROADIE of our gang. He got the name owing to his craze to participate in the show. Stud boy, can be a little touchy at times but then it’s acceptable. And in Daksh’s words “horny sheikh”

Daksh Sharma: Well well well, what to say about him. Before the trip I hardly knew him and now I am a fan of his. The most chilled out guy I’ve come across till date, joyful, full of energy, garrulous, total prankster, caring and what not. In all a helluva guy and a perfect one for such rough trips.