Rishikesh

Tucked into nature and dwelling in your heart is a little place called Rishikesh. To reach there, we took a two-hour connecting flight followed by a road trip. At first, the city has small shops. But it soon turns into mountains. The twisting and turning ghats show the world from a breathtaking height while ascending, and the green mountains from below when descending. Colourful birds are like little ornaments, twittering and flying around the greenery. Exotic flowers hang like little fairy lights, but only with a sweet fragrance. The road trip first prepares and then introduces you to the beauty that lies at the foothills of Himalayas. I ended the day in my tent-styled room given by the resort, falling asleep to the sound of the Ganges right opposite my room. 

The place where we stayed (credit- Google)

The second day, ice was scuttered around. The cold weather made sure that the evidence of the hailstorm was not erased. My family and I set out for rock climbing. As we exited our resort, the playful guard dog wished us goodbye. The guide took us to a hill a few meters away. A mossy but rocky climb stood before us. First, the guide’s companion climbed the hill and threw down a sturdy rope. The guide then asked our parents to put on some protective gear and start the climb. It was an easy one, and all the four adults scaled it with ease. The tough, or rather scary part was jumping from the height. Was the rope strong enough? But they had to jump to find out. We spent the rest of the day in the greenery, playing with Sasha, the white Siberian husky. 

Now accustomed to the terrain, we were feeling brave and decided to go river rafting. Right opposite the resort flowed the river Ganga, or Ganges. 100 feet deep, the chilly and mesmerizing river invited us. We walked from the valley the resort was into the riverbank filled with white sand and beautiful metamorphic rocks. Being just 7 years old, we were not allowed. To make sure we did not feel left out we took a small boat ride. The river was a treat to one’s eye. Quite pleased with the experience, we clicked some pictures on the huge rocks and I even collected two huge rocks. Even today, whenever I dust the shelves and see the rocks on display, I recollect the trip. 

The fourth day was filled with history. Lakshman Jhula, a bridge hundreds of years old stretched over the river, connecting two mountains. Legend has it that Lakshman, Lord Ram’s brother, crossed this on jute ropes. Standing there holding my father’s finger I was pretty sure that Lakshman would have been terrified while crossing it! We were surrounded with monkeys and my dad consciously dug his phone deeper in his pocket as we saw a monkey snatch a bag pack. We witnessed the river Alaknanda, a river that concealed many feet of water below the deceiving calm water surface, and the river Bhagirathi, a furious water body meet to make Ganga. 

The Fifth day meant a lot to us. We hardly did a thing, besides playing around. Our younger sisters fought over brightly colored toys. Yaana, who was older than them but still younger than me collected charcoal from last night’s bonfire and tried finding where I hid mine. I sat snuggled in a cozy chair reading Matilda once again, Sasha sitting beside my feet. At night, we welcomed the new year 2018. Soon, my parents and I, Yaana, Vihana and their parents, and Vedica and her father went to the tents to go to bed. As a few grownups sat enjoying by the cackling fire, Sasha started barking furiously. Was there a tiger? No one found out as everyone ran indoors. Later the next day, while checking the CCTV we found that the tiger was attracted to the fire but ran away after Sasha barked. 

The voyage back home was fun, though the moment I set foot in the hot city of Mumbai I wanted to go back to the river and the bridge. I realized that paradise was on the earth itself, in the form of a mountain range.

The hotel I stayed at (credit- Google)