It was the month of June and I had bid goobye to my company after spending 3 eventful years there. I also had some good offers in hand but I had requested them to let me join after a month.I want to spend this month doing nothing and just want to relax.
Also, my grand mother’s barsi was also coming up and all the relatives had gone to the village(more about that later).My dear friend Satish was also desperate to hit the hills so we decided to attend the barsi in village and also satify our travelling buds.So this is not a typical hill station story.This blog is about my nani’s village (Rankandiyal to be specific)and it is about 100 kms from Rishikesh(my home town) on Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway.We decided to start early next morning in my santro.
So I started at 4 Am from gurgaon.I picked up Satish from his home around 4:30 Am and there we were on our way to NH-58.There was not much traffic so we decided to take the highway all the way to Rishikesh.Also since it was a weekday ,traffic was considerably less than it is on weekends.This particular stretch is infamous for its traffic jams.Thankfully now the toll road is fully operational till muzaffarnagar and the road widening work is going on till hardiwar so hopefully in 2-3 years down the line we will able to enjoy jam free ride to our beloved hometowns.
In no time,we reached Hardiwar.Now there were 2 options – either to take the highway or go through the Rajaji National Park from other side of the highway.We both were unanimous in our choice and took the jungle route though I was a bit sceptical about taking it since seasonal streams can sometimes be dangerous to cross.The drive was divine with no one but us traversing through the vast jungle on both sides.Its amazing no matter how many times I take this route I always something different.Sometimes,the water color in the canal is different,sometimes the vast open areas onto our right and sometimes just the feeling in this part of the country.I love nature.
My parents had already left a key with the neighbours lest we come and found the doors locked.We decided to first have some paranthas and then took a 2 hour nap.The time was 9 AM and we realised we had ample time left for further travel.Not wasting anytime, we descended on to the hill part of our journey.Though the distance was only 100 kms,we anticipated around 3-4 hours since estimating time in hills is never easy.Our horrors came true when we encountered first landslide near Byasi(around 35 kms from Rishikesh).Fortunately,the queue of vehicles lining up was not that long and soon we were on our way.Border roads people were really fast in their operation.We decided to have some rajma chawal at the dhaba ahead.It was an awesome feeling gulping the food sitting near the river and feeling the bright sun above us.
Also it was time to do some photography so we spent some half an hour there.The road was newly laid and we can hear the churning of coaltar under the tyres and the smell of burning tar in the air.Soon we reached Devprayag but without getting distracted by the astounding beauty of the ghat we kept on driving.
This was the first time I was driving in the hills and so had to be a bit cautious on turns.However ,as a whole the journey was good.Soon we passed the vast terraces of Maletha(a village just before Srinagar).The village was painted yellow and small kids were waving their hands to us.On reaching Kirtinagar,there is small road on left which goes straight to nani’s village(my ancestral village is actually Khark – further 8 kms from there and road has finally reached the village-more on my village later in a different blog).
The drive to Rankandiyal from Kirtinagar is around 8 kms along a small hill stream.In the month of June,the water was very clear and one could even drink it.I can vouch for its purity.The whole feeling was nostalgic since it was after 6-7 years that I was visiting the place.The sun was following with us and in no time,we reached the village.We went straight to the nani’s ancestral house where there was a big pandal and music was full on.The whole atmosphere was very divine and we were feeling very light after a long day of travel.We both were given a room in my uncle’s house.The room was small but quite cosy and we had to take blankets in the night.Soon we both were dead.
The other morning was bright and chilly.It had rained last night and first we were taken aback with this sudden change of weather but then when we saw the rainbow acroos the valley,we were delighted and excited to explore the village.Since it was a barsi,it was important to spend some time in the Puja to which we readily obliged. After customary rituals,we soon disappeared from there and quitely sneaked into the mountains above.
The whole day we explored in and around the village.
The village has defintely changed a lot with dish antennas coming up everywhere.Since the hills are nothing new to us,this experience was totally different.
The next 2 days were spent in attending to the family functions and performing various rituals.All the more ,it was time well spent and we were part of this important event amid serene nature.I wish I do visit it often in coming days.
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thank you sandeep jee for your appreciation :)
Rawat ji tks for sharing first 3 photos are excellent
thanks …next time I will try to put more good photos :)
all fotos are good… but the first 3 are excellent… i didnt mean others are not good.
:)
Nice log Gaurav.
When you say alternate route, do you mean taking the right turn from the GolChakkar and then taking a left after Chilla cut ? The one which passes through the jungle and a wide river bed ?
Good photos. Were you able to travel anyplace else during your one month sabbatical ?
yes nandan its the same route….seems you had travelled a lot on this ……well in this one month i visited 2-3 more places but they were just short excursions…one of them was a small trek ….would write about them in future….mostly i just went to my hometown Rishikesh and laze around :)
Hi Gaurav,
You are really lucky to have a place that you can call home in the hills. I envy you. :) And of course, it is quite clear from the post and the story that you make the most of any travel opportunity. One thing I sorely missed though is a picture of that rainbow across the valley. Were you able to click a picture of that? If you were, kindly add it to the travelogue.
Thanks for sharing this memory with us. Well look forward to more.
Thanks Vibha for encouraging the travelling bug inside me.Well I am not sure how to put that picture now since the blog is published.Can I just go in the edit section and put the picture there.Will try to do that.
Really,a good post! All pics are damn good! Lucky you! :) The first pic is mindblowing!