Bikini & Boots

White water rafing and yoga/meditation – seems like an unusual combination – but thats what you get if you visit Rishikesh.

We again drove over the weekend from home in Roorkee for a 3 plus hour ride to Rishikesh and then to Shivpuri (half an hour past Rishikesh). Rishikesh is actually in the foothills. Whereas Shivpuri is a steady climb into the lower Himalayas, at 7,000 ft plus, along Ganga. But this is not the wide, deep and (deceptively) serene ganga of Rishikesh or Hardwar. No, this Ganga has rapids. It dances between the hills, frothy and maybe dangerous.

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Since I visited India during the monsoons, I got to Shivpuri a week after rafting was closed for the season (closes in July). The monsoons had made the river full , not navigable and dangerous. However, I did catch purely by chance, these violators on a dangerous trip. Since I had to come back to a new job within two days of flying back, I was not about to risk my neck with either an accident or the Law.

So, I went about to check out the outfits that had the rafts. There are basically two deals you can get (but ofcourse !): either you go for a day rafting or you join a hiking/rafting camp, who will take you for a 2-3 days adventure. All at reasonable prices. Ofcourse, if you have a good enough group, you could get your trip customized/longer. Hiking in the lower Himalayas is an exciting adventure. A lot of these trips are organized by ex-army officers and/or members of the Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association. My father is a member, is in the Army, is commanding officer of Boys Sports Battalion and yes, is setting up additional kayaking sites on the Ganges 🙂 So, its interesting that we caught these people on the river illegally. And quite a determined group of defecters by the looks of it – I counted a total of 18.

We planned to spend the weekend at “Glass House by the Ganges” a moderately priced place for the kind of beauty and serenity it offered. It is a “Nimrana Group” boutique hotel, unlike Kasmanda, which is a hertiage group botique hotel. Our room was in the middle of the hills, right on the Ganges. My mother was so pleased that she got up early the next morning especially to sit outside and do Yoga, just like the ancient Rishi Munis (holy men). I went out with my Dad’s binoculors to zoom into the smal 5-6 dwelling villages that spotted the nearby and far off hills. My mom was a little self concious at first with her yoga and wouldn’t let me take a pic but I think she got going after my dad and myself left to explore the nearby area. ganga outside our rooms. Click here for all Shivpuri & Glass house on the Ganges Photos:

Dad and I ofcourse first of all ran into the violaters that I mentioned earlier. We went about and got some food from the local market. The roads this side are quite narrow and its exciting to be driving on them. There are two bridges and both single lane. Somehow, they add to the reclusive nature of the area. Not to say that there are no people around. But given the number of people in one of the most populated country in the world, Shivpuri seems remote. If you continue to drive along the Shivpuri road, in 8 more hours, you will reach Gangotri, where Ganga originates from. You will also cross Badrinath and Kedarnath. (A long rigorous hike from Gangotri, and some spectacular sights, you will reach Gomukh, the actual origin of the ganges.) However, I didn’t have that much time, so we stayed put at Shivpuri.

Glass House on the Ganges is a definite recommendation, it was away from the crazy hustle bustel. It was beautiful. It fitted in with my romanticized idea of living by the Ganges, in the Himalayas. Breathing in “pure” air, being one with the elements. The water in the shower too is from the river, put through the treatement plant they have and pumped up. the river outside was roaring as it flowed past our rooms down the hills. If you visit in the non-monsoon season, you will have the priveledge of rafting, even if the roar outside your window is muted. We did splash around in the water quite a bit.

Also, I should mention here that although Rishikesh is a religious town, even if very touristy, Shivpuri for me was any day preferable for the kind of “breather” and adventure I was looking for. But we did stop in Rishikesh on our way to Shivpuri. My father’s Art of Living Teacher lives in Rishikesh (he is in Roorkee often to take classes, sometimes stays with us and is actually the head of the Uttranchal State) . He took us to a nice restaurant – Madras cafe – for a Himalayan pulao and I have to tell you this, it is a great (non-spicy, spicy versions available) meal. It was a heathy but tasty meal – an anomoly 🙂 Also, I may not need to mention this, but rigth outside the cafe is a haven for shoppers, rishikesh clothes, sufficiently spiritual looking to entice the visitors into buying them :), prayer beads, spiritual and meditation books, aromatic stuff, everything.

After lunch, as we drove around, I also took some pictures of these facades that kind of assaulted my senses but did intrigue me enough to see what it was about. To view more images, click on the picture. Rishikesk was full of such places. Bharat Mata Mandir is supposedly the largest temple as it has an elevator but the long line was enough to turn me away. Same reason why I haven’t been to the top of Empire State Building or Sears Tower. I didn’t take any pictures of Laxman Jhula (bridge) but I am very fond of the bridge, as I saw a baby monkey upclose there as a teenager, even if its mother bit me in a rage.

Then we also visited some ashrams. To be clear, there are several different kind of ashrams: some have meditation classes only, some have yoga classes, some have short courses on health, meditative revivals etc. Some also do research. Here are the ones that we visited in Rishikesh:
1. Shivananda Ashram- it is known for research, meditation as well as yoga courses. Click on photo for more on the different ashrams we visited.
2. Shanti Kunj – Known mostly for research and meditation.
3. Some more smaller ashrams.
4. We also visited the Sanskrit Vishwavidyala, where courses in Sanskrit are offered – i.e, you can study science and literature and the medium of instruction is Sanskrit.

On our way back, about 30 minutes from home, we stopped at the following:
1. Swami Ramdev’s Divya Yog Mandir – a raging favorite with the Indians. His brand of Yoga – called Pranayam is right now the national fever. I have tried three of his techniques and actually like doing them – it refreshes me in the morning. Divya Yog mandir also run a “public” hospital and treates thousands of patients everyday with alternative and “cheap” medicine. I was a little awed to be visiting. Click on image for Yog Mandir complex (including healthy menu) and Sanskrit Academy photos.
2. Sanskrit Academy, which is affiliated with the Gurukul Kangri University. You can take short courses or a whole semester here . Or enroll for the Bachelor’s or Master’s program.

After all these visits, we headed home i.e. Roorkee. This trip marked the end of my 2nd week (of the 3 week trip) and in a few days, I was to head back to New Delhi for my flight back to Minneapolis.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 14th, 2006 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Asia, India, Mountain Water, North India, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.