Spiritual India – Part II Himalayan Foothills
Monday, July 24th, 2006Should I say I am back with a vengence 🙂 ‘Coz I am ! I have lots to share but will continue with where I left off first. i.e. my trip to India. So, quite as I had expected, it was hot! What I did was to push off to the Himalayas – no, not the top, but the lower hills. A 1.5 hour drive from Roorkee brings us to the foothills. We made two separate excursions. First weekend, we went to Mussorie – the queen of hillstations in India. Next weekend, we went to upper Ganges, where adventure becons.
The highpoints of the first Mussorie excursion were-
1. The beautiful beautiful drive. Even before starting with the hills, the drive was beautiful, almost canopy roads through rural areas, with some colorful vendors in every small city we passed. Once we crossed Dehradun, we started with the steeper drives. We ascended 7,000 feet in 2.5 hours. Winding rickety roads. There was a mild traffic jam in Dehradun, but we made it through Mussorie by sunset. Sunset as we arrived in Mussorie was beautiful and has been recorded for posterity in a photograph ! Click on the pic for photos from the entire trip to Mussorie from Roorkee :
2. Glitzy Indian Wedding: We had to attend a wedding – held at Jaypee Resorts – the wedding was a lavish glittering affair. All the women glittered and dazzled. The resort had a beautiful view , a nighttime glittering view of the hills surrounding the hill we were on. I have some pictures here. Taken from my cell phone camera so pictures are grainy.
3. Hotel Kasmanda Palace – this boutique hotel was once the royal summer retreat for the Kasmanda Royal Family.
Our stay there was simply memorable. I could feel the idyllic haze of childhood summers catching up with me. Our weekend was spent in crisp moutain air, redolent with reading and heart to heart talks. The summr palace has a live past. Photographs of the family adorns the walls. One in particular has the Queen grandmother sitting in a royal chair clutching on either sides of her chair, small hands of her precocious grandchildren. I couldn’t resist – I took a picture of this framed photo ! Some of the refurbished chairs that we sat on I recognized from the hundred year old photos as the original royal chairs. Being the summer palace, Kasmanda Palace has lots of stuffed heads on the wall facing the royal stairs. The view from the gardens is spectacular. Overall, the palace is on a small hill overlooking the busy Mall Road, the hub of Mussorie but isolates itself by a steep climb. The waiters, whose behaviour indicates that they may still loyal to the royal family, hover around with patience, providing with water, tea, or sumptous meals from the Chef.
The sudden mists that would cloud up the hills were a bonus I had not counted on. 
I was so moved by this trip that even my skeptical self took pictures – ofcourse aided by my enthusiastic mother !! Enjoy ! I will be back soon with my final post on this series.
———————————————————————————–
Mystic……..Adventerous !
http://www.travelwithsharmas.com/
Bed & Breakfast and custom travel packages for white water rafting, hiking, parasailing, in Shivpuri/Rishikesh/Mussorie, as well as Ashram visits and Maha Arti visits to Haridwar/Rishikesh/Mussoorie, Art of Living Classes, Yoga, Meditation Classes, Sanskrit classes.
ADVERTIZING family business !
———————————————————————————–
I have some pictures this time. Everything in India is very colorful, loud and festive – weddings, national holidays, religious holidays, vacations, birthday parties, etc. Places of spiritual importance are no exceptions. So, sacred Haridwar, since its an important religious site, will not be, quiet and solem, as most people might imagine. No, it is colorful, loud, and festive – true to the Indian spirit. While the wait for the Maha Arti is on, people are busy buying colorful toys, diyas, temple offerings, eating vendor food, talking loudly, laughing, haggling ! Not to mention the loudspeakers that keep announcing lost children, lost umbrellas, meeting points, Arti details 🙂
  b) 
c)
Rupa