Kashi to Badri

Time: Sept 22nd, 2022 to Oct 10th, 2022

Company: Wife and daughter, accompanied at some places via Isha Meditators through ISW

Places: Varanasi, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Naimisharanya, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul, Govardhan, Haridwar, Uttar Kashi, Gangotri, Guptkashi, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Rishikesh 

Prologue: Isha Sacred Walks (ISW) arranges four main yatras: Kailash, Kashi, Temples in South India and Pilgrimage cities in Himalayas. The latter mainly comprised of Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath - all of which I had already visited in 2004 summer with my parents (in addition to Yamunotri). But I had this idea of going with wife and daughter as well sometime to the Himalayan pilgrim sites and had not yet decided on the year. Couple of years, wife thought about it - 2020 and 2021 but decided not to after much deliberation. When the registration opened up in 2022, she glanced through it and realized that registrants have to undergo medical tests and clearance for the sojourn unless already cleared for Kailash. Since we had already cleared the elaborate Medical tests for Kailash in March 2022, we thought 2022 is the ideal year for the Himalayan sojourn as well. Another key factor was that the dates were falling during Dasara holidays. So not many leaves to be applied for school for daughter. And so we registered.

We knew we would not have enough time between the Kailash and Himalayan trip. We'd be back from Kailash on Sept 7th late night and we'd have to report to New Delhi on Sept 30th morning. So be it. Just when we thought we had at least 22 days, ISW announce Kashi Krama sojourn with Sadhguru from Sept 22nd till 25th. Although we had already been to Kashi, wifey badly wanted to attend, since she didn't want to miss in-person invite from Sadhguru as it'd involve powerful meditative practices. So, the plan was that she'd travel to Kashi, be there for 4 days, return to BLR and then we'd again head to New Delhi on 30th early morning. This'd also mean that she'd finish all four of ISW's offerings on the same calendar year (she had already been to Southern Sojourn earlier this year in March by herself)!!

We were about to book the return flight tickets to Varanasi for wifey (her first time traveling on flight alone) when daughter's school announced that Dasara holidays will be from Sept 24th onwards. We were expecting from Oct 1st. This meant that Paavani would not have school from 24th till Oct 5th, but we'd be in BLR till Sept 30th which meant ineffective utilization of the holidays! So, all of a sudden, we changed the plan and decided to join wife to Kashi (stay in a different hotel, not part of ISW), and then re-join with her at the end of her Kashi Krama trip, and then tour places along the way from Kashi till New Delhi where we'd meet our troop for the Himalayan sojourn on 30th. Like a backpacker's hike except we'd have more luggage since the number of days we'd be out of our home was from Sept 22nd till Oct 10th - that's like 19 days, making it the longest ever staying-away-from-home adventure! It also meant that the breathing period after coming back from Kailash was now not 22 days but just 14 days! It also meant that we had to chart out the route on our own from Kashi to New Delhi within the stipulated time that we had and with available transportation options. Thus began our research for places and transportation options.

After considering (and rejecting) Nainital, Deogarh, Dehradun, Mussoorie, our chosen route was Varanasi-Prayagraj-Lucknow-Naimisharanya-Lucknow-Mathura-Haridwar (joining our group directly in Haridwar instead of New Delhi as that suited our train timings). With this in mind, we booked all train tickets. By mid-July, the train and accommodations were booked. 

And then after some more research, we came to know that there is a city called Chitrakoot which is famous and not to be missed. Since it was just 3 hrs away from Prayagraj and added to the fact that there was nothing much in the latter other than the river bath, we thought we should somehow include Chitrakoot in our route map. So instead of spending the night in Prayagraj, we changed plans to spend night at Chitrakoot. This happened just 1 week before our departure. This led to more research and final route map was Varanasi-Prayagraj-Chitrakoot-Kanpur-Naimisharanya-Kanpur-Mathura-Haridwar. We cancelled relevant train tickets, booked the remaining ones, booked hotel rooms and it was quite surprising that we were able to get train tickets even with less than 10 days for actual departure. Anyway, with itinerary now set, we packed our luggages and readied for departure. This was going to be one-long-adventure! 

Bangalore - Varanasi

Day 1 (Sept 22nd): There was a flight at 0530 hrs BLR-VNS and it was not suitable since we had to be at airport by 3 am. So opted for flight to Delhi at 11 pm on 21st and flight from there to VNS after 2 hrs layover. However, Indigo cancelled our BLR-DEL leg and put us on BLR-VNS direct leg! So, we ended up leaving home at about 11:30 pm on 21st in cab and spent the night at KIAL (BLR airport). It was very cumbersome as we could neither sleep nor be fully awake. Anyways, got on the flight and landed at Varanasi at about 8 am. I had done some research about cab from VNS airport to hotel but had not booked any. At airport, went to prepaid taxi counter and their rate was more than what I had seen on internet. Then one driver agreed on a rate, made us sit inside and then vanished as he wanted to fill more customers! Got fed up. Finally, the same driver got us another cab and after more haggling, finally made our way to the city.

Daughter & me were to stay in hotel by ourselves whereas wifey was booked in another hotel by ISW. So we first went to our hotel. It seemed to be too narrow a road for our cab to go all the way. So had to get down, unload our luggages, get into an autorickshaw and finally get to the hotel. At the hotel, there was no one at the reception. After almost 30 mins, a guy appeared. Surprisingly he had already seen us get out of the auto, and still made us wait. He seemed to be having lot of attitude. And then he started arguing that the rate in which we had booked the room was no longer available. Which doesn't make sense one bit - considering that is what 'reservation' is all about. Then he (illegally, I suppose) cancelled the reservation from his side, made us take a Non-AC room for the same rate (since we were in no position to carry our luggage in search of any other hotel) and finally we checked in at about 10 am. It was too hot and sunny in Varanasi, and it had been a long night and irritable morning already. Seemed like everyone in Varanasi was trying to con!

Had breakfast at room itself and wifey wanted to visit Sri Bindu Madhav temple initially. But after being so tired so far plus considering the humidity, we let go of the plan and departed for her hotel which was at cantonment area. Paavani and I walked around the neighbourhood to scout the area and see what was around - eateries specifically. It was not too satisfying. We seemed to be in a busy locality with no good food outlets. Roads were small and bumper to bumper all the time. So much so that we could not even cross a small road for at least 5 minutes since there was a constant flow of traffic. Needless to say, it was dirty all around. I was beginning to wonder if I had done a mistake by choosing this hotel at this locality, especially since we had to stay here for 3 nights and 3 days. The last time we were in Varanasi, I had booked Indira Guest House right beside the river and it was deep inside the gullies. Lugging the luggages in those narrow gullies was a tough task and didn't want to do that again this time with lot more luggages. Hence deliberately chose a hotel on road-side but... Anyways. Went back to the room, had lunch and took a nap. I had my laptop with me and I caught up with office work for some time.

Paavani was sniffing since the time we left BLR and after the nap, her sniffing had increased to the point of discomfort. I thought maybe a walk would ease it instead of being stuffed inside the room all day. So we went walking towards Ganges. We had to enter the narrow gullies now, and this was fun. Better than roadside traffic honking. We came to Dashashwamedh Ghat. Ganga Arati had just started but we could not view it. It seemed to be covered and only those on the river boat could see. Last time it was visible for all, and it was surprising why they were doing it covered. Those on the ghat could not see but could only hear. Later came to know that this was because the levels of the water had increased and instead of the Arati being performed on the usual dias where everybody could see, it was being conducted in a different makeshift place where visibility was restricted only to those on stationery river boats. Anyways. 

We then walked towards the temple to check if we could visit on Day One itself (learning from previous Varanasi trip). After going deep inside the gullies, we realized there was a big queue and  Paavani's energy seemed to have drained out with all the walking, the extreme humid and crowd - so she begged to head back so that she could rest. So we went back towards our hotel, had dinner at a local eatery on the way and retired for the night. Except for Paavani's occasional cough and cold troubles, it was uneventful. I had few pink crystal sugar cubes that kind of eased it up. 

Varanasi

Day 2 (Sept 23rd): We did not do anything. Woke up late. I worked for some time and attended few calls. Had breakfast at room itself. Did not venture out since it was too hot and humid outside. Also Paavani had still not recovered fully. Although we did go out for lunch outside on a different route and found a reasonably good hotel. Got back to room and at about 4 pm, there was a Satsang from Sadhguru on his enlightenment day anniversary to which wife was attending in person. So was getting all updates from her on where she visited, visiting, etc. It was a long Satsang and ended almost at 7 pm. Paavani and I had a light dinner at the same nearby eatery. On the way I again suggested to Paavani that we can visit the temple right then, since it was cool and breezy and queue would be less. But she suggested better to visit in the morning fresh rather than late night. So we headed back to room and slept off. I then heard from someone in the lobby about a special Mangla arati that is done first thing in the morning and I thought that would be a great time to visit. More so because we can skip undue queue and the humid air. But alas found out online that gets booked out months in advance! And we had booked this trip months in advance too - so we could have booked this arati! Anyways. Not to be. 

Varanasi

Day 3 (Sept 24th): Got up early about 4:30 am, had bath and headed out on VNS roads without footwear (!) towards the temple. By 5:30 am, we had joined the line and queue was not that big. Air was cool and nice, not too hot and humid. Within 30 mins we had the darshan of the famed Kashi Vishwanath, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. We then looked at the grandeur of the renovated temple with it's wide corridor towards the Ganga. We walked all the way to the bank and the Sun was just rising. The mammoth Ganga was flowing rapidly. It was voluminous, and cops had put barricades to stop pilgrims from entering the river since it seemed to be dangerous. So we sat down on the terrace and did some Isha meditation. In fact another group of ISW was right there - unfortunately it was not Gouri's batch. We even met an Isha volunteer who was also part of Kailash yatra and spoke with him for few minutes. It was a wonderful setting - the river, the rising sun, the meditation, the Arati sound, etc.

We then went to Manikarnika Ghat. We had missed to see this in our previous Kashi trip. As usual, saw some corpses being burnt. This is one of the Shakti Peetas. Then somehow went down to the river and was able to touch Ganga and did prokshan. All done, got out of temple premises and visited nearby temples - Annapurna and Vishalakshi Shakti Peeta (Sati's earrings fallen place). Again, had to venture into narrow gullies. All done, we then went back to the road and it was about 8 am now, so had Idli for breakfast. Not great, but it did the job. Then we started walking towards the Kala Bhairava temple. After few minutes of walking, realized it was too far off. So took an auto and soon we were at KB temple. Last time we were here, it was a quick 2 second darshan since it was closing time. So this time, we had ample opportunity. Satisfied, we then went to Mahamrityunjaya Mahadev temple which was just a few mins walking distance. Had good darshan here as well. Then too cycle-ride (cycle-wallah) back to where we had taken the auto. 

A cousin had told about Manikarnika Pushkarni Kund being very sacred and to have a dip in the holy water (exactly at noon if possible). However, when we went in search of it (again, gullies), a decent gentleman told upon asking that it is submerged due to excess water, so we had to turn back. By this time, we were done with all that we wanted to see. So headed back to room. Took it easy till noon, went out for lunch again to a different place. Then in the evening, headed out towards Ganga. We just wanted to spend time sitting on the banks watching the river while the sunset. But somehow, we went back towards the same place that we visited on Day 1: Dashaswamedh Ghat. And the crowd was now gathering for the arati to begin, and some boatmen were inviting pilgrims to hop on to view the arati. On an impulse (since we never intended to, as we had seen it last time), we went ahead and took a seat on the boat to view the arati. It was not as grand as before thanks to the reduced space. Very few brahmins were performing the arati whereas on the previous occasion, there were almost 4-6 of them. It took about 30-45 mins and felt good. That done, we headed back to the room and packed our stuff to check out the next morning.

Varanasi - Prayagraj - Chitrakoot

Day 4 (Sept 25th): Up early, checked out soon after fresh-up, took auto and reached station by 9 am. Had light breakfast and waited for wife. She came on time and thankfully so did our train to Prayagraj at about 10 am. One of the passengers told we could have taken bus instead of train (due to frequencey) but a reservation seemed better in these parts of the country! We reached at noon and hired one tuk-tuk to take us to Sangama. On the way, we first went to Alopi Shakti Peeta (Sati's little finger fallen place). Spent some nice time at the temple, and thankfully we were right on time. Soon after our visit, it closed. In fact, here in Prayagraj too is Bindu Madhav temple but since it'd be closed at noon time, we skipped it. We then went to Sangama place, and there was lot of walking to do.

Due to some traffic management, the tuk-tuk stopped us very far away. We walked, and then someone came to take us on a two-wheeler motorbike (imagine the three of us plus a driver on a bike!) to the place where boats were starting, and then there was much haggling about who should take us and at what price. We opted for a private boat (as we had time limitation). Then the boatman took us to a spot in the middle of the river where supposedly the rivers Ganga (from one side), Yamuna (from the other side) and Saraswati (from bottom) all converge. There a different bunch of boatmen had anchored boats with a platform between them which was covered by river. So we had to take the leap of faith and lower ourselves to the platform and stand on it. Then do little bit of pooja and take the holy bath. It was a fantastic experience. Of course, all kinds of men come and ask you to do lot of things - each of which costs money: like they mandatorily ask you to buy one coconut per person, then mandatorily ask to put Rs 100 on Ganga (which they will take), then ask fees for Platform, then for the poojari, etc. all of which are not included in the boat fees (which itself is upwards of Rs 2500). But then, for once in a lifetime, it is worth it. Anyways, we changed back to dry clothes on the boat itself and the boatman took us back to tuk-tuk, who took us to another railway station from where we were supposed to catch our next train to Chitrakoot. We were right on time. Had quick lunch near the station and boarded the train. 

Again, a short train journey (second one for the day), and about 2-3 hrs later, we were at Chitrakootdham railway station. Took one more tuk-tuk to our resting place (Adichunchanagiri Ashram). Hardly anyone seemed to be there but someone came and checked us in, gave directions for our plan tomorrow (auto driver, route & places that could be covered in one day, etc.) and we were all set for the night. Slept.

Chitrakoot - Kanpur

Day 5 (Sept 26th): It was a packed day, so we got up early at about 5 am, had bath and we were ready by 7:30 am. The auto took us first to Sphatik Shila. Spent some time hearing to the priest talk about sthala puran.  Our next stop was Sati Anusuya temple. On the way to the temple, there is a nice place to walk on the river Mandakini while it just caresses the feet and flows fast. Lot of people were taking bath. The temple itself was not very big, so we could cover it soon. That done, we continued on to Gupt Godavari cave temple. 

Now, this is the highlight of Chitrakoot. A truly fantastic place. One has to walk up many stairs on a hillock, and then enter a huge cave #1, inside of which are many deities and Pooja is performed. Since entry/exit (both same) is very narrow and steep and low (one has to stoop to not get hit on the head), traffic is regulated. So that leads to lot of stoppages and it takes a long time - both to enter and exit. Cooped up inside the cave, awaiting exit might make it very stuffy, and add to that the overcrowding essence. And then we got out and went inside cave #2. This one's amazing because it is filled with knee-deep water and cave is narrow (not huge) and one has to go in single-file. At times, the water (believed to be River Godavari) is flowing and gushing. So its like 'Cave of Adventure' and 'River of Adventure' and 'Mountain of Adventure' all packed into one! At the end of the aisle are kept few idols which are worshipped and after offering our pranams, we headed back the same route. It was truly a great experience. 

Came back to our auto and he then took us to Kamadgiri Temple. We had heard the previous night that many people do a parikrama of the Kamadgiri hillock to get their wishes fulfilled. Although we did not have any wish, we were wondering if we should do the parikrama. It was about noon now and the Sun was blazing. We initially decided against and just visited the temple and were about to go back to the auto when we changed our mind and thought we might as well do it (since Bharat Milap was en route the parikrama). So, off we went on our very first parikrama of our lives! 

It was not too difficult. Most of the pathway was covered with shade, and where it was unshaded, we ran! Without footwear on the marble slabs with blazing sun, it was indeed unbearable but such is the devotion for many that some folks were prostrating every step and doing parikrama (not just walking like us). It was about 4-5 kms and we finished it in one hour in complete silence. It was great. All along there were many places of interest but we stopped only at Bharat-Milap where apparently Bharata met Lord Rama and tried to persuade him to return back to Ayodhya.  

Our next stop was one more Shakti Peeta but I highly doubt if it was indeed the Shakti Peeta which we wanted to visit. Google Maps shows Gayathri Shakti Peeta (which the auto guy took us to) but does not show the actual location of Shivani Shakti Peeta (which is what we wanted to visit, I suppose). Anyways, after this temple, the driver then gave us two options - either Bharat Koop or {Ram Ghat & Hanuman Dhara}. We decided latter.  

We arrived at Ram Ghat by about 12:30 pm and there did not seem to be too many things to see. It was a plain ghat with river and many temples on the sides - each of which had to be climbed by many steps. We were already very tired and wondering which of the temples to be climbed! We finally chose one of the Ram temples and climbed all the way up only to find it closed. While we were coming down, the first real problem of our trip occurred:

An aggressive monkey bit Paavani on the leg for no apparent reason. It first came near me and patted my pant pockets perhaps to check if there was some food and then it eyed Paavani from far and within an instant grabbed her leg and bit. All hell broke loose and people from everywhere gathered and shooed it away and gave us advises what needed to be done. Some said just smear sacred temple sindhoor (which was done) and some said get her shots from a doc. Being alien to the place, we were bewildered and unsure what needs to be done. In fact, we figured it is ok if we wait for some time and since we were also starving (only fruits for breakfast), we thought we can have lunch first and then decide on next course of action. And then while ordering, did some research online and got alarmed that it needed immediate attention. So we asked the waiter about nearby docs and he suddenly became serious and he himself took us to a nearby doc (who was about half a km away) and got all the medicines and jabs, etc. 

The doc's clinic was very shabby and seemed almost makeshift. I asked about the shot, and he said it was Tetanus but as per internet, she was supposed to be given Rabies. Doc said its not needed and he had seen several such monkey-bite cases all resolved without issues. Once jab was given, we were glad and thanked the waiter and finished our lunch in relief. Got back to our auto and he was concerned why we were taking so much time. Told him about the incident and he was apparently an attender to doctor before taking up the auto-running business. He too felt Rabies had to be given, so he immediately suggested us to visit the doc he knew who was close by. That doc most definitely suggested Rabies and so Paavani had to take one more jab, much to her sadness. Poor thing, she had had cried enough for the day - and she had to take more jabs in defined intervals for next 4 weeks! That got us worried because we had to keep traveling, and now we had to search for docs/clinics in those remote areas as well.

Anyways, we continued on and our next and final stop was Hanuman Dhara temple. We had to forego Janaki Kund as well. But even as we reached HD base, we realized that we could not go up the mountain (ropeway) since it was quite a distance and we did not have sufficient time. Even after ropeway, there'd be queue for the temple and queue for the return ropeway as well. With that we bid adieu to Chitrakoot and headed back to Railway Station. 

Reached station about 30 minutes ahead of time, took some rest at the waiting hall and then boarded our coach. It was a pleasant train ride back the way we came to Prayagraj and then continued on to Kanpur. We reached Kanpur at 11 pm. Slept most of the distance. Took an auto to our hotel which seemed to be in a shady locality. By the time we reached, it was almost midnight. There was no one at the hotel, reception was not picking up the phone (since almost 3 hours) and gates were locked. So there we were, stuck outside with luggages at dead of night in a shady area of Kanpur on the road! Thankfully the auto driver stayed with us just in case we needed any help. 

Finally out of nowhere (and not sure how), the hotel gatekeepers came about and opened the gate, let us in, and we checked into the room. It was neat and clean. An adventurous day came to an end.

Kanpur - Naimisharanya - Kanpur

Day 6 (Sept 27th): Researched online and booked a cab to Naimisharanya for 10:30 am and at about 11 am, the driver came and picked us up from the hotel. It was a long ride to Naimisharanya, almost 4-5 hours. Not sure if it was because the driver took an elongated route. I didn't realize it initially and completely trusted him but in the end realized that he was taking longer distances, and taking time so that drop off after 10 pm charges could all be levied. It was really strange because as per Google Maps it was just 125 kms one-way but he had taken almost 160 kms. Road was not that good either. Our initial plan was making base as Lucknow (since it was closer to Naimisharanya) and we changed to Kanpur only because there was no convenient train from Chitrakoot to Lucknow. 

Anyways, reached Naimisharanya at about 3:30 pm and it was a quick dip in the holy water of Chakra Thirth. Visited nearby temples and then went for lunch nearby. Had quite a good meal at 5 pm, and we were so glad they could accommodate us so late! After that we went to Lalitha Devi Shakti Peeta (Sati's heart) and spent some time. Then got back to the cab and visited two places: Vyas Gaddi (place where Vedavyas wrote the Vedas) and Hanuman Garhi. Here Hanuman is really mighty and tall. By this time, it was already 7 pm and we asked driver to return to train station. At the station, it was a not-so-likeable conversation with the cab owner about how much we traveled vs how much was estimated, time duration, etc. since I felt I was being duped big time. We finally ended with a number which was not very satisfactory to me but I had had enough of it.

I guess we could have planned the day better. Instead of leaving at 11 am, we should ideally have departed at 9 am, and then we could have covered more places like Dashaswamedha Ghat, Godavari Ghat, Dadichi Kund, Pandav Kila, etc. But our train was late at midnight plus we were not easily getting cab drivers, so we thought we might as well return late in the night. 

Anyways reached the station and heard that train was late by almost 1 hour! It was supposed to arrive at 1 am, and now it was 2 am. So we slept on station platform itself! It was a novel experience for all three of us to be sleeping on train platform! At 2 am, we found out train was now running approx 3 hrs late! Finally by the time, we boarded, it was close to 4 am! 

Kanpur - Taj Mahal - Fatehpur Sikri - Mathura

Day 7 (Sept 28th): Our initial plan (and train seats booked) was from Lucknow to Mathura, 2340 hrs to 0645 hrs. We didn't change this, since same train was going via Kanpur. But now that train was late by 3+ hrs, we'd reach Mathura by 10 am, which meant we would lose lot of day time hours in the train. So we changed plans midway to get down at Agra itself by day break so that we could finish Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri. Somehow convinced our driver in Mathura about this change in plans and asked him to come to Agra by 8 am. Thankfully he agreed, and he was present right when we got out of the station.

Our first visit of the day was Taj Mahal. Last time I was here was in early '90s with mom and uncles. Still the same grandeur and splendor. Truly magnificent art and carvings. Hats off to those who constructed it. Took lot of pics but it was too hut and humid. We were all sweating too much, and drinking fluids although it was just about 10 am or so. Walked around the campus for about an hour and soaked in the place in its entirety. Just when we were about to exit, the Sun went behind the clouds and Taj Mahal looked very different. Finally, got back to the place where the driver had instructed us and then our next stop was Fatehpur Sikri (had lunch on the way). 

We had about 1.5-2 hrs of time to visit the fort. Started off with Jodha Bai's Palace, Panch Mahal, Birbal's palace, Buland Darwaza, etc.. My health had steadily deteriorated since the last 24 hours. From an occasional sniffing to running nose and now to temperature. My hankie had got all wet and I was frequently in need of a wash basin to blow my nose. The weather was not helping either - since it was too hot and there was a need for AC but the AC was worsening my situation. And the inadequate sleep overnight, the constant sweat due to the heat plus the fever was making me very, very tired. Just as soon as we checked in to the hotel in Mathura, I slept off (maybe 7 pm) and had a long fitful sleep.

Mathura - Vrindavan - Govardhan - Gokul - Mathura

Day 8 (Sept 29th): Up really early at 4 am. Got ready by 5 am and driver Bablu picked us up. He rushed us to the Yugal Ghat. It was already 5:30 am and Yamuna Arati was already in full swing. It was really nice. After the arathi, pooja was performed for all the nearby deities. By about 6 am, the pooja was done, and it was a refreshing start for the day. River Yamuna was itself in full swing and rapidly gushing - to the point of being dangerous. Until 6 am, we hadn't even seen it fully as it was still dark. 

Had chai as we waited for the Dwarkadish Temple to open at 6:30 am. As soon as it opened, we rushed in and a tremendous bhajan commenced. It was a stop-gap until the doors of the sanctum sanctorum opened. The bhajan was captivating. It felt very good - especially so early in the morning. Finally the doors opened and we had our first glimpse of Lord Krishna. The crowd (even though so early) was mind-boggling. We exited soon after only to see that there was already a huge traffic jam.

Our driver somehow managed to get out of the road and our next stop was Krishna Janmasthan. Bablu parked the car somewhere afar and we walked a little distance and deposited our mobile and footwear. Although my second time here, I hardly remembered my previous visit. It is all hazy. And I guess they have constructed it now well. We walked to a place where there was one more Krishna's temple and again bhajans were well underway. Then made our way to the jail-like setting where Krishna was believed to be born. Truly marveled at how this place has been plundered and renovated, plundered again and re-constructed, etc. Such classic history.

With this, we were pretty much done with Mathura. Had roadside breakfast of Kachodi and Jilebi, something we could never dream - fried junk food, sweet at 8:30 am first thing in the morning! Then Bablu took us to Vrindavan. Our first stop was Katyayini Shakti Peeth. Ringlets of Sati's hair had fallen here. Spent some time in the temple. It was very peaceful. Compared to Mathura, there were more monkeys in Vrindavan. Bablu informed me to remove specs as monkeys here tend to snatch them. So most of my time in Vrindavan was spent without my specs! Then he took us to interior Vrindavan and parked the car at one spot, thereafter it was all on foot.

Our first stop was Nidhivan, it was quite some distance away. Bablu told us about the 'sthala puran' about Nidhivan and how it is believed that Lord Krishna visits this mini-forest even now to dance with the damsels (gopikas). And one more story about Krishna and Radha being inside a room and how a disciple of a Guru questions this and enters the room only to be gifted the idol of Lord himself which came to be called Banke Bihari. So we saw all that was to be seen at Nidhivan and then headed towards Banke Bihari temple. This temple was overcrowded and Bablu said that is how it is at any time of the day. Also there was no lighting inside yet bright enough. The idol was shining dark!

We came out of narrow alleyways and our next stop was Kalia Ghat where apparently Lord Krishna tamed Kalia the snake by standing on top of him. Mythologically this was a very significant spot. And yet it was very peaceful, hardly any crowd here. Although in stories it indicates that this event happened on river, here there was no sight of water body! But Bablu mentioned that the river was up until this location when the Kalia event happened. 

After visiting this spot, we walked back to the car and Bablu took us next to Prem Mandir. Bablu told us that this place would be over crowded at night time and blazing with lights. However, since we had other plans, we could not visit at night time. Instead we visited about noon time. Not too crowded but fairly so. This is a grandiose place with lot of statues and landscaping and fountain, etc. Inside the building there was some construction going on. After taking some pics, we went to have lunch near Pagal Baba Ashram (heard his story but did not visit the ashram itself). Lunch done, we left Vrindavan to Govardhan Hill which Krishna lifted in his left little finger to protect the citizens of Vrindavan when Lord Indra inundated the city with floods. It was quite a distance and I took a nap during the drive.

By the time we reached Vrindavan, it was about 2 pm and blazing hot. We parked the car at a spot and Bablu arranged for a rickshaw driver to take us to the starting point of the Govardhana Giri Parikrama. We first went to a temple to seek blessings for a successful GG parikrama (circumambulation of the Govardhana Hill). And then we started off.

Bablu thankfully knew a route inside the holy hill premises where there was ample shade and it made the walk that much more bearable. Most of the trek was inside the mini-forest-like area but there were some parts where there was little bit of an upheaval on actual rocks but not too bad. After some time, the sand under our bare feet became softer and softer, and wifey said this sand reminded her of sand in Rajasthan. And suddenly we found a board that said 'Welcome to Rajasthan'! It was very surprising that we had crossed UP and entered Rajasthan! Then, the parikrama path crossed the turned rightwards and we entered back UP.

After few more minutes of walking, we had finished about 11 kms of walking in 2 hours, and sweating profusely. Even more interesting was that all our fingers had become swollen and we were unable to make it into a ball of fist. Bablu mentioned that this was due to intense walking under hot sun. We had had enough water and even had tender coconut and yet we were dehydrated. The Kamadgiri parikrama in Chitrakoot was shorter and easier than this one. We had never done a parikrama of any sorts before and in this trip, we finished two of them! Then Bablu called the same auto rickshaw person and asked him to pick us up from where we were, which he did. Bablu also said he generally wont do parikramas for all tourists but only for select folks, which made us honored. 

Then there were few temples which we visited en route and finally at the end of the parikrama, there was one more temple with free-flowing water pipes where people were getting refreshed - a much needed break. We then offered our obeisance to the Lords for successful completion of the parikrama. We were all taken back to see the devotion of the people who were doing the full parikrama. Some of them were genuflecting for every step of the 21 km path - which might take about 2-3 days! Wow, what devotion!

Then the rickshaw guy took us back to the parked car and it was about 4 pm. We were done with Govardhan and our last and final stop was Gokul. However, we had to give the 2nd shot of Rabies to Paavani (it was the 3rd day) so we informed Bablu and thankfully he knew a doctor in a hospital who administered the dose. For this, we had to stopover at Mathura. After this, we continued on to Gokul. The Sun was setting fast now and we crossed the mighty Yamuna. One cannot imagine how Vasudev crossed this river with Krishna on his head!

Bablu stopped at a spot and a Brahmin approached us and offered to take us to the main temple of Gokul which was Nand Bhavan where Krishna was raised in secrecy. The Brahmin told us many stories and he seemed to be very unnatural somehow. As if he was acting a part and not his natural self. Plus this was the only place where Brahmins were asking for mandatory donations. As I read somewhere, "Guides will be ready to give you a tour of Gokul village for as low as 50 Rupees but they will upsell you and use your faith to juice out 100 times of what you paid to the guide". They casted a story net of how this place is the place where fathers has to be taken care since Krishna was taken care by Nand Maharaj, and hence one has to mandatorily pay some dues. We did some donations but not to the tune of what they were asking. Somewhat miffed, the Brahmin who was accompanying us started giving shorter and shorter narrations! And then he took us back to the car. He was supposed to show us the place where Puthana tried to poison Krishna and instead she herself got poisoned but he vaguely mentioned the location in passing. Anyways, it was about 7:15 pm now and we were done with all the main spots which Bablu wanted to show us.

However, our train was at midnight, so we still had some time. So we asked him if there was anything else to see and so he took us to couple more places: Raman Reti (place where Krishna played in sand) and Brahmaand Ghat (place where Krishna was caught with sand in his mouth and Yashoda saw entire Universe in his mouth). RR was full of sand and Paavani had a great time playing with it, running on it and in general, became her 'Little Krishna' self! We wanted to visit the sanctum sanctorum but it was closed and there was vedic hymns going on by a large number of students, so we could not. By the time we reached BG, it was already very dark and we could not see much except for a small shrine. It was on the banks of Yamuna too. We realized that if we had time, there were more places we could have seen - like the place where Krishna liberated Nalakuvara and Manigriva who had been stuck in trees, and many more such mythologically important spots. 

It was about 8 pm now and we were done! We had seen so many places, done so much, starting at 4 am in the morning with no break! Bablu was awesome, as both a driver and a tour guide. So we went to dinner together and had a wholesome meal. Finally Bablu dropped us off at Mathura Railway station and we thanked him profusely for all that he has done for us. We still had about 2 hours for the train to arrive, so, just like in Kanpur, we slept on the platform floor! Now, we had become experts! Thankfully the train was on time, and we boarded our coach and retired for the night. Our own adventurous trip finally came to an end with this train and we were now about to join the ISW group.

Mathura - Haridwar

Day 9 (Sept 30th): Well, technically, it was Day 1 for the Isha Sacred Walks (ISW) - Himalayan Sojourn (HS) trip. But you can imagine, we were already 8 days old into this trip! We reached Haridwar at about 8 am. We had the whole day for us, and we were wondering how we should make best use of the day. As per ISW, we were supposed to be at New Delhi airport at 9 am or New Delhi railway station at 8 am. Since our train from Mathura passed New Delhi at 3 am which was too odd a time to get down and wait, we chose to meet rest of our group directly in Haridwar. 

We finally decided not to tire ourselves too much and instead take rest before the grind began morrow. Also Haridwar was part of ISW-HS itinerary, so maybe they might cover some parts - we were not sure. Also, we got the hotel coordinates and it seemed to be very far away, almost 15-20 kms away from station. So, it would have been very difficult to finish Har ki Podi (the main spot in Haridwar) with our luggages anyways. Hence went directly to our hotel. There seemed to be some confusion with our exact room since there were three neighbouring hotels and we were not sure which one was ours. After much deliberation, we got our room and we had meals at the room itself and took a nap.

Meanwhile rest of the group had arrived from Delhi and our first Satsang was at about 6 pm. We were told about the next few days, how to be, what to pack, what to leave behind, how to leave behind, collect the tags, be assigned to our bus number, group number & the usual grind. Now that we had been to Kailash sojourn with ISW, we knew what to expect. But, here in Haridwar, it was slightly difficult, because the Satsang was in one hotel, the dinner was in a different hotel a few minutes walk and our own hotel was on a different road. And the place where we had to keep our extra luggages was not in the same hotel as ours, so there was a lot of lugging of our luggages. Anyways, we had our dinner, did last minute packing/unpacking and retired for the night.

Haridwar - Uttarkashi

Day 10 (Oct 1st): We had Guru Pooja at about 7 am, had breakfast and loaded our luggages. Due to some reason, the buses did not depart for a long time. By the time, we started off it was almost 9 am, and the roads were clogged with traffic. We stopped at Rishikesh for fuel, and continued on. A co-passenger commented on the last straight road that we were on after which we wouldn't see such roads for next many days - she was a regular on his ISW sojourns every year, it seems! She was right, soon enough we were climbing the mighty Himalayas! 

Most of the day was spent in the travel. Unfortunately, for me, my stomach gave away, and it seemed I had contracted some kind of infection. Methinks it was from Mathura road-side breakfast. A big mistake. It was one of the toughest days for me, since I had to use the loo pretty much every time and everywhere the bus made a stop. Thankfully it did not reach to the extent of me asking the driver to forcefully make a stop - I guess thanks to Loperamide. Until noon, it was somewhat bearable but post-lunch (which I hardly ate), I had to go almost every 2 hours. And the loos were all makeshift arrangements, as one might expect - some didn't have proper doors, one had a tented-shelter with non-working zip which I had to hold in hand - boy, what an experience! It was a day when I thanked all those people who constructed these Shouchalayas! 

Around post-noon, my loosies were accompanied by sulphur burps and we had a doctor in our group who confirmed that this was Traveler's Diarrhea caused due to a Gastrointestinal infection that I had contracted in the past 10 days of outside food-eating. He immediately asked me to start with Antibiotics and a number of other tablets. By the time we reached Uttar Kashi, it was almost 7 pm and it was drizzling. Still we were right on time for Arati. That done, we headed to our hotel, had Satsang, then dinner and retired for the night. It was a night of constant bathroom-visits for me (with just 30 mins gaps), and I was wondering if I would even be in a condition to visit Gangotri the next day.

Uttarkashi - Gangotri - Uttarkashi

Day 11 (Oct 2nd): It was an early morning wake-up (about 4 am), Guru Pooja at 5 am and departure. I went one more time to the loo, and in my mind, I thought this is it, the final one. And, thank God, that's how it was! From then on, I was cured. Just like that. Thanks to the wonders of modern medicine! 

Once again, a long day of riding in the bus. We played several games. Some of them just to get all of us acquainted well enough so that we would become friends for life, thanks to Whatsapp! Few of them were very good singers, so we had nice time looking at the mountains and scenery with Shiva hymns & Shambho chants! We had one stop for breakfast beside Bhagirathi rapids, and it was very, very chill indeed. The road to Gangotri is filled with apple trees - very unique indeed, which we wouldn't see any more in this trip. 

We reached Gangotri finally by about 10 am, and we were instructed about do's and dont's. We all assembled (about 150 of us) in one place and had a guided meditation process for about 15-20 minutes. It was elevating. Thanks to the Sun, it was cold here at all. In fact, the Sun's rays was really beating down on us - and gladly so, because our next expedition was to get into the freezing Bhagirathi river for bath! We were told strictly to hold the chains, take a dip not more than 3-5 seconds and then get out quickly before hypothermia hit us! So, although we were 150 of us, the entire unit finished bath in less than 15-20 minutes. There were volunteers to guide us, hold us - and it was truly a fantastic experience. For Paavani, I had step in a second time into the freezing waters, feel my legs go numb, pour couple of jugfuls of ice water on her and then headed out quickly.

We then stood in the line for the Gangotri temple visit. It was a long queue but thankfully it got done soon enough. We went back to our bus after spending some more time on the riverbanks and taking some clicks. And finally, at about 2 pm, we departed. One of the three main places of our sojourn was officially done! In 2004, when I had visited last, I hadn't taken bath in this cold water. Instead had a hot water dip at Gangnani. But Gangotri was just the way it was. 

Went back to the same place where we had breakfast in the morning to have our lunch now. It was delicious and hot, really thankful to the many cooks who accompanied us - and the temporary arrangements that these localites have to serve the traveling pilgrims. It is all unthinkable in the usual places where we live.

Not sure if it was the food or if it was the tablets or if it was just motion sickness, I felt like puking at about 6 pm. I was sweating all over and, unlike any of the past trips where wifey and daughter usually puke, this time it was me! In fact, the entire trip both of them never got sick due to motion, maybe thanks to the regular dosage of Meclizine. 

More traffic jams - bus could not even move an inch thanks to the small roads, fading visibility, high number of vehicles, etc. - led us to a delayed arrival back to our hotel in Uttarkashi. It was just dinner and we retired to bed. 

Uttarkashi - Guptkashi

Day 12 (Oct 3rd): Another long day of journey, from Uttarkashi to Guptkashi. About 10+ hours, just like past two days. In fact, we realized, this entire Himalayan sojourn comprised of 10+ hours of road trip every day! Long, winding, zig-zag roads, like an amusement ride, except it is not amusing. We left after Guru Pooja, Satsang and breakfast. So our first stop was for lunch at about 1 pm near Tehri. It was an excellent location for lunch with amazing view of the blue water body. We continued on and on. More games, more singing, more sightseeing. The last couple of hours, we sat in the front portion of the bus with the driver and it was an great views all around. And this stretch was not winding too! But both wifey and me felt Paavani's body and it seemed like she was having a temperature although she seemed to be normal. That was alarming, and we hoped she'd be fine.

By the time we reached the hotel in Guptkashi, it was almost 9 pm and Paavani was too sleepy. Unfortunately dinner was not yet ready, so we made her eat whatever we had packed and got checked into the room. The Satsang was at 9 pm with important instructions about the next day's itinerary but by that time, she started having rigors. Frantically we called the doctor and he came to assist with his huge medical kit. He prescribed a huge list of medications. She took them and fell asleep. We packed for the morrow and day after, and slept at about midnight with a wake up alarm for 3 am, just 3 hours sleep. However, Paavani's health was what kept us worrying.

Guptkashi - Kedarnath

Day 13 (Oct 4th): Wifey and I woke up first and got ready. Then we woke up Paavani. She was all groggy and as soon as she woke up, the rigors took over her once more. Again we called the doc, and he suggested it was not a good idea to take her up the Kedarnath since there was no medical support up there, and it was even more chilly. Also, the trek up the 14 kms mountain would be too much for her. It was not a difficult decision for us, since I had already visited the shrine. So it was decided that she'd go with rest of the group and I'd stay back with Paavani. It was hard to part, but there was no other way. 

The doctor then told the station volunteer (SV) about next steps and SV quickly arranged for a cab to take us to the local hospital as Paavani needed supervision. She was now continuously puking. It was the same strain of the Gastrointestinal infection that attacked me which was now causing issues with her, but in a more severe manner. Meanwhile, Gouri left with the rest of the group to Kedarnath. SV, me and Paavani then went to the Govt hospital. It was closed since it was still 5 am but thankfully someone picked up the call and attended to her. He gave her couple of injections which would get infused directly into her blood compared to the tablets which was getting puked out. The doc at the hospital said there was no need to keep her there and she could return back to the hotel, so we got back.

The SV arranged for breakfast and lunch and slowly during the course of the day, Paavani got better and better. In fact by about noon, she seemed to be back to normal, and I was wondering if there is a way in which we could still make it to Kedar. It was hitting hard that we made it all the way till here and yet we could not go to Kedar, a feeling of melancholy & forlornness. Meanwhile, I came to know through different whatsapp groups that their climb had just started since they were stuck with traffic jams from Guptkashi to Gaurikund. So, I asked around for heli options directly to Kedar. While Paavani took rest in the room, I went around Guptkashi searching for helicopter booking. After much walking, I finally came to the official location but they told it was booked out for next 7 days! Alas! I came back to the room and realized there was nothing that could be done, but just wait here till rest of the group got back.

The view from the room was amazing anyways. So spent lot of time with daughter, reading book, telling her tales and in general chit-chat. The SV kept checking in occasionally and was very helpful. The fever returned back at 7 pm, and it was alarming. Tried to get her to have tablets but she kept puking it out. And the ill-health triggered cries of discomfort. After almost 2 hrs, she fell asleep. And I came to know from WA groups that our batch reached Kedarnath from 7 pm almost until midnight - thanks to horse breakdowns. 

It was all happening!

Kedarnath - Guptkashi

Day 14 (Oct 5th): I thought we were past the worst but I was wrong. After Paavani woke up at about 8 am, she was just as bad with nothing staying inside her stomach. Not even water. So not even tablets too. So, SV and I took her back to the Govt hospital. This time she was given injections and IV for about an hour. The duty doc said the same thing - Gastrointestinal infection due to continuous travel and outside food. He suggested to take rest before heading to Badrinath. We got back to the room and it was another full day of rest and relaxation for daughter and me. Again, the SV arranged everything for us - food and beverages and medicines. We were so thankful for him. Throughout the day, Paavani got better and better, and by evening she was back to normal. In hindsight, I was glad there was no heli available else I had to forego that as well, since she was in no position to travel these two days. All her body needed was rest after so much traveling. 

Meanwhile, Gouri and team woke up just after 3 hours of sleep, did a meditation process right beside the temple and stood in the huge queue which did not seem to be moving at all, because people were cutting line up front. After standing for more than 3 hours, it had hardly moved and she got desperate since she had to join the group to start heading downwards. But then some fellow pilgrims helped her with special darshan tickets and she was able to enter the sanctum sanctorum. She then started heading downwards with group and managed to reach foothills by 7 pm, and then on to Guptkashi by 9 pm. Finally she came back to the room and we exchanged news of all that happened in the last 2 days - since we hadn't spoken much (she doesn't carry a phone, so nor is she on Whatsapp!).

Guptkashi - Badrinath

Day 15 (Oct 6th): 7 am in the morning, we trudged along to Guptkashi temple. It was a steep climb from our hotel. At the temple, we did one guided meditation process and it was powerful. After the process, we got ourselves wet with what is believed to be the waters of Ganga and Yamuna, and had darshan of Shiva Linga. There are many mythological stories related to this place and temple, and Sadhguru also mentioned about his own travails when he was here solo. After breakfast, we left to Badrinath. It was about 9 am, and another long day of travel ahead of us - about 200 kms which would take close to 8 hours! 

However, this whole day, I remember having not slept even one bit throughout the journey. Our group leader, Swami Maduka, came in our bus and we played many innovative brain games such as 'Johnny, Johnny, Oops Johnny', 'My finger points to...', 'Black magic', 'Green Glass Door', 'Never have I ever..', 'ABCD.. (each person takes turn to mention an object starting with corresponding alphabet)', etc. which kept us all awake and joyous. These are excellent team games and wonderful to keep entire team occupied. And of course, we had more singing and dancing sessions along with Isha-Yoga-centre-themed Dumb Charades. It was amazing to see the innovative ideas that each individual comes up with, in the most toughest situations. 

Again, the scenery was fantastic. Especially Rudraprayag with Mandakini merging into Alakananda, the two colour-ed rivers (green and brown respectively). The road continued alongside Alakananda all the way to Badrinath via Pipalkoti and Joshimath. I remember back in 2004, this Joshimath was very significant because they used to close the road after 5 pm, so all vehicles were trying their best to get past before 5 pm. Our bus back then was late by 5 minutes, and the tour guide scampered real fast to make arrangements for rooms for all of us nearby. Nothing of that sort now, we went past Joshimath even though it was 6 pm. By the time we reached Badrinath, it was 8 pm and very, very cold. In fact, out of all the places, this was the coldest of the lot. Even underneath the blankets, it was kind of cold. The rooms were not that great either. Again, like Haridwar, we were scattered across three hotels, and the meal room was somewhere in the middle and in the open air. So it was not very comfortable, however they arranged for a bonfire and that kept us warm. Instructions were given us about the next day and we retired for the night.

Badrinath - Pipalkoti

Day 16 (Oct 7th): Early morning 5 am we had Guru Pooja and Satsang at a place 10 minutes walk from where we were. Once that was done, by about 6 am, we ran to room, picked up Paavani and again ran to main Badrinath temple. Hurry we had to, since we were asked to assemble back in the hotel by 9 am which seemed close to impossible. There was huge crowd taking bath in the hot water springs and we quickly finished that, taking turns. And then we headed to the temple - only to see that the queue was enormous, almost 3 kms long! People had come and stood by 3 am, and here we were trying to enter at 7 am! We were very distraught and wondering what to do while a station volunteer came and arranged for 'special paid darshan' via a back gate. That got us inside temple premises but still there was a big line that we had to enter. It was quite laborious for Paavani, since she was cold, dehydrated and too tired in general with all the happenings. Anyways, she pushed herself on, and thankfully was capable enough. The line moved and we had darshan of Lord Vishnu. We spent considerable time inside the temple premises and finally made our way back to the room. It was 9:30 am by the time we got back. Breakfast was being served and we replenished ourselves, checked out of the rooms and took the bus to Mana.

From Mana, we trekked up on the trail to visit the main points such as Vyas Gufa & Ganesha Guha. I had forgotten (from my 2004 expedition) that this climb was steep and tiring. But it was refreshing at the same time, since we were passing by locals busy knitting wool! At the top of the trail, we had tea at what is famously called 'Last India's Tea Shop'! Wifey lost her gloves at this place, while we were busy taking pics! Then we headed down towards Bheem Pul where river Saraswati was gushing through the rocks. Long way back to our bus parking and then we got back to our hotel to have lunch, and then we were done with Badrinath. So off we went towards Pipalkoti. 

Badrinath to Joshimath route is serpentine and superb with steep descent and views of Alakananda. We had missed the views on the way upwards since it was dark but now it was bright and sunny. This was a short drive, just about 4-5 hours from Badrinath to Pipalkoti. Midway through, close to Rudraprayag, we had another short break for tea. Once we reached our hotel, thankfully dinner was ready and we retired for the night soon after.

Pipalkoti - Rishikesh - Haridwar

Day 17 (Oct 8th): A relaxed wake up timing, relaxed breakfast and delayed departure - thankfully, after last several days of hurriedness! Another long day of travel. But it was the last day on Himalayan lap. The route from Pipalkoti to Rishikesh is wonderful. In fact it didn't even seem as if we were on winding road. The Border Road Organization (BRO) has made it nice and wide, and one can travel even at about 50-60 kmph except at certain places. And Alakananda is a constant companion all through. 

There was Nagaprathista at BLR Sadhguru Sannidhi on Oct 9th, and since this sojourn was almost over, about 5-6 members in the team were planning to depart to BLR on 8th evening. So there was constant planning and re-planning, booking of tickets, etc. and even we were tempted a bit but it involved a lot of hassle, not to mention hurry-burry, especially because we had our luggages back in the hotel at Haridwar. So we did not opt for it. Some of them tried but ditched the plan at the last minute. Four of them did leave us at Rishikesh when we reached at 4 pm. They took cab to Dehradun airport and then flight to BLR via Delhi. 

We continued onwards to Ganga ghat where a special Ganga Arati ceremony is conducted daily at about 6 pm. This one is better managed than the one at Haridwar which hosts about thousands of people and viewing is very difficult. But here crowd is well controlled, and the number of Brahmins conducting the arati are more, hence better view. Also once arati was done, they open up the floor for dance and everyone gets immersed into the divine harmony. Even all of us were elated now that we were back safely and it was kind of a celebration.

We got back to our Haridwar hotel rooms at about 9 pm, had dinner and slept peacefully.

Haridwar

Day 18 (Oct 9th): Closing Satsang was scheduled in the morning at about 9 am after breakfast. It was the time of saying Goodbyes, time of saying thanks to all the Gurus who made this sojourn successful. The ISW team leader gave a small speech about the yatra and thanked all of us for being cooperative. Also many pilgrims took turns to talk a few words about the last many days and thanked ISW staff and volunteers profusely for all that they did to ensure we were as much comfortable as possible. Like, in Kailash, Paavani also spoke few words and got thundering applause (being the youngest of all pilgrims in the batch!). After the speech and Guru Pooja, there was photo sessions with volunteers, and then they put some Sounds of Isha songs to which all danced. There was bonhomie all around, and then that was it. 

I was thinking they will arrange for Haridwar trip too but they left it for ourselves, so we could plan what we wanted to see and what we did not want. So we took it easy. Relaxed in the room while we planned for the day, had lunch and then we left to Haridwar via tuk-tuk. We walked to Har Ki Pauri and along the banks of Ganga. Did prokshan, and continued to visit number of temples in and around Har ki Pauri such as Goddess Ganga, miniature Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, etc.. Then walked along the shopping streets towards Govt hospital for another dose of Rabies vaccination for Paavani, however no one was around so we thought we will get it near our hotel later. 

We then headed next to Mata Mansi Devi Mandir. We were tired so we thought we could go on cable car but there was a wait time of 2 hours. So instead of waiting, we might as well climb the hillock. It took just 30-40 minutes to climb. It's more of uphill road than steps, so not too difficult or steep. Inside the temple, there was a fast-moving queue but the devotion among the devotees was electric with loud chants of 'Jai Mata Di'. The darshan was good, and we exited. It was not raining slightly and we started descending. Had tea on the way back and it was a nice view of Haridwar from up top. 

The descent was very fast, and we were back at Har Ki Pauri at about 6 pm. The Ganga Arati was just starting and we tried to get a glimpse of it, at least by looking at the big screens. We got one spot from where we tried to see and it was not too bad. At times, we had to stand on our toes! The Ganga arati at Rishikesh was definitely better, we felt, and once it was done, we continued walking towards the spot where the tuk-tuk had left us off. On the way, we were fortunate to get the arati from one of the temples, and then we also saw a Kali Mata Mandir up a small cave on the hill. Curious to see how it was, we went inside and fortunately for us, the arati was just getting started here, and it was an elaborate process which lasted almost 20-25 minutes, full with chants and drums, etc. and we were just a few people inside the cave, so the effect was tremendous. Truly taken back by the devotion of priests and fellow folks inside the cave, who I presumed were regulars here, attending & performing this ritual everyday. 

We then got a tuk-tuk back to our hotel. Tonight was a special dinner by ISW with chats and special sweets! It was again a celebratory mood all around. So, more pic time with volunteers and organizers! The doc was helpful enough to take us to a nearby pharmacist for the elusive Rabies vaccine for daughter! That done, we got back to the room and retired for the night. This was the penultimate night of our long trip, and boy, were we glad!!

Haridwar - New Delhi - Bangalore

Day 19 (Oct 10th): We checked out of our room soon after breakfast. Different buses were arranged now for transportation to New Delhi Railway Station and Airport. These had AC and were bigger than those which took us to Himalayas. The journey was smooth and comfortable. We had a stop after 2 hours for lunch at a resort. Post lunch, we continued on towards New Delhi. Soon, we reached airport. We had a long wait time since our flight was at 9:40 pm and it was still less than 4 pm. Anyways, we spent time easily enough at the airport and we finished security and went to the gate. It was the same terminal where we came back from Kailash a few weeks ago, so it seemed like a deja vu! We even had same dinner at the same restaurant! 

Air Asia Flight was on time, and we reached BLR on Oct 11th at just after midnight. The taxi got us home at about 2 am and we did our pranams for a safe and successful journey back home. Especially from Himalayas!

Epilogue: Well, a 19-day trip is more than what we bargained for. I think the last time I did this big a trip was the same 2004 Chardham (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri), mainly because we went in train from BLR to DEL and back to BLR. That in itself took up 4 days! On hindsight, maybe the original itinerary of separating Varanasi and Himalayan sojourns would have ensured a better health than what we ordained, and in turn, allowing us all three for a Kedar visit. But I guess this is how it was destined, and we have come to terms with it. There have been many folks who don't even return back home alive after a trip to the Himalayas, and we are eternally grateful for coming back safe and sound. Anyhow I have seen Kedar already and Paavani has enough time to make a visit. 

ISW arranged it all very well with the help of local volunteers and chefs. It was amazing to see them awake till midnight and again up by 3 am, taking care of so many things. Unlike any other tour operator, ISW has Satsangs almost daily and Guru Pooja, and that is the key differentiator. In those sessions, Sadhguru's rare videos are shown when he himself had given speeches at those locations where Satsang is held, so we can almost feel his presence with us - advising what to look out for, what to perceive, etc. (like watching peaks at Badrinath at 5 am being sunlit when everything else is dark). 

There were few pilgrims in this batch who had also visited Kailash sojourn like us, and common consensus amongst us was that Kailash sojourn, although higher altitude, was in fact more relaxing than this yatra. While Kailash had its own challenges (such as no bath, no human habitation, extreme cold, depleted oxygen levels, medical checks morning and nights, etc.), this Himalayan sojourn came with different demands. These last 10 days were very hectic, with average 8-10 hours of drive daily on full winding roads plus temple visits and satsangs. Each drive was on narrow roads with cliffs on one side and huge depths on the other, right down to the gorge. Thankfully we had more than 1 night rooms in UttarKashi and Guptkashi which allowed us to visit Gangotri and Kedarnath without packing/unpacking (which'd've been needed if we had to change rooms every night). All this in addition to the omnipresent risks of Himalayan active tectonic plates that can cause landslides and floods on any given day. 

Well, nothing untoward happened, and for that - Thank God! This trip involved lots and lots of planning, booking, re-booking, finalizing route, etc. because we had to time it in such a way that our trip should fall between two ISW organized trips. And the ISW organized trips needed lot of documentation, arrival details, departure details, etc., so that took up enormous amount of time and energy as well. After all these months of struggle for these pilgrimages, we were finally glad to be back home to take some much needed rest. 

However, our next pilgrimage was already booked, and we were foreseeing only two weeks' worth of rest!  😅