Monday, June 18, 2007

Uttarkashi..



I like small towns. Touristy ones. Quaint ones. Rameshwaram, Hampi, Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry, Gokarna, Yaelagiri, Manali... They're filled with people from far and wide. People of different kinds. Some, energitically running around to squeeze in all the places they had read about, in a 2 day span. Some, sitting back sipping tea and drinking words out of a book. The hippie kind. Without a fixed agenda. Sitting in exotically named eateries that prefer white-skinned customers to brown-skinned ones. You could walk around. Taking in all this. Putting stories to faces. Wondering if India is the only place where the natives are racist against the natives. Wondering a lot of other things. But the air is very holidayee and it is generally nice. The obvious reason is probably that you would be there on a break, and you are predisposed to feel holidayee...but still..

Happened to spend some time in Uttarkashi recently. While at NIM hostel, we were allowed two 3 hour slots in Uttarkashi town for 'shopping'. The objective was to buy essentials before going to the higher altitudes. I was not inclined to shop. So generally walked around town. Ate veg momos in multiple shops. Drank multiple teas. Took random pictures. Sat by the Bhagirathi. Gaped at beautifully arranged coconut slices, arranged against a bright red plastic sheet. Did not take a picture cos i thought i might offend the shop-keeper (i dint want him to go, 'here comes another fkin tourist taking pictures of ppl trying to make a living!'). Bought a slice of coconut and ate though. Then there was this long suspension bridge across Bhagirathi. And the omnipresent Sadhus. Quite a few of them smoking what i beleive is ganja, on a terrace by the river. Pseudo-nirvana. Temporary suspension of reality. Not that it is bad. Quantum smokes of heaven? Tried it once in a far away land. Gives a weird kindof high. Then there was this small temple by the river. Sat there watching faces. Faces earnest in prayer. It is nice to watch people pray no. Whatever they're they'll probably be more inclined to be vice-less at that point in time. Not sure though. At length, my 3 hours got over and i reluctantly walked back to our bus, to resume the brief regimental life. Not before Uttarkashi firmly added itself to the list of small towns i would gladly go back to.

On the way back from Uttarkashi to Chennai, managed to spend a day in Haridwar..will keep that for some other time...




12 comments:

Parth said...

Did you try ganja with the sadhus though? They could have taken you to heaven and back :-)

frissko said...

nope..lived a life of abstinence for 3 months (to stay fit for the course:)..but yea, maybe next time...

the sadhus were very territorial though...after some 10 minutes on that terrace, they started giving me the looks...

Prerona said...

unfortunately, it was way more than 10 or even 14 years that i was 17 ;)

i was referring to not having dropping bio for comp sci in class 9

Prerona said...

my child, i replied here bcz i didnt want that bit on info on MY blog! lol

i dont know if thats all i would change - but thats what i would change for now

no i am not. i'm a software engg. the reaons why i said what i said are complicated and personal. nevermind

"10 yrs back i wud've liked to be a more responsible kid (was an escapist evading tough times at home ... am eternally guilty for that) ... "

i can understand that. but surely you can be excused and it's never too late to wake up

"i wish i was less naive" ... even 4 secs ago. lol. sometimes in hind sight every day i feel like i am so much older and wiser than y'day. That would have to be a good thing!

frissko said...

"i wish i was less naive"...even 4 secs ago
:)..

everyday i sure feel older than yesterday...wiser, i am not so sure:)...

and this commenting pattern is weird..

sou said...

hmm.. to many people pointing me towards Uttarkashi.

Rishikesh is def one place i have to visit again and soak in.

will you please pray that i get to travel? the last place i went was hampi :(

Persona non gratis said...

small towns, I like that. Travelling through them, watching people, sitting by some place.

frissko said...

sou - hmm Hampi was a while ago rt?...but sadly i can only watch ppl pray...cant get myself to do it:)..anyways good luck..

shreemoyee - yeah..theres a nice lazy hazy feeing to the whole exercise:)...

RTD2 said...

Your life is so very different from my cushioned-in-suburban-comfort one. I think it all sounds lovely and romantic and adventurous and then I wonder if I'm too chicken to do it myself...For now I'll do it vicariously :) I hereby commision you to smoke that ganja and drink some bhang next time you're in that neighborhood!

frissko said...

rtd2 - be my guest:)...and the next time i am around ganja i'll probably inhale it's fumes pretending to follow orders...

Ajay Rawat said...

Hey I am from the same town of uttarkashi.
And I too have done mountaineering course at NIM.
I am posted in gurgaon and the whenever I have to go to my hometown
its a challenging task. The journey through hills can be tiresome.

frissko said...

ajay - cool..it wud've been nice to grow up in Uttarkashi!...so did you do the Advance as well or stopped with Basic?...