Banaras - A city lost in its own identity

Bana aur Ras, literally translating into “Make Spirit”, Ras here is not the traditional liquid oozing out of sweet dishes, it is the Ras, the spirit which makes us what we are. 

These are not my words though, but those of the legendary Ustad Bismillah Khan sahab. 

Varanasi, another name of the city come from it lying between two tributaries of Ganges, Varuna and Aasi. Hence the land lying between them became, Varanasi, in the distorted form. And the third, Kashi, being most probably the oldest name, means the "City of light”.

Banaras, Kashi, Varanasi are not just names but the different identities this city has gained over a period of around three millennia. Yes that is how old the city is, maybe even older. Atleast when Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath, Banaras was one of the reasons. Being a rich and well populated city it made for a bigger audience than any other place. For each civilisation, for each era, there has been a Kashi, a place to gain knowledge, a place to learn about life, a place to learn about your own self. It is a city which is part myth, path reality and part so ordinarily simple that once you are there, you won’t feel intimidated. On the other hand, Kashi has had the ability to assimilate into itself, everyone, not just individuals but whole communities and then make them it’s integral part. In essence Kashi is what india for long was, a land of richness, knowledge and space.

Kashi  offers you so much space to do your own thing, that you are engulfed in it. Like a sponge in deep sea you wan’t to absorb it all. Like the water around you, the city clean and takes away from you, whatever you came here to wash your hands off. This characteristically unique miracle is famous for very river which flows through it as well. The Ganges. It is said that since time immemorial ganges has been the cleanser of sinners on this land. To take a dip in it’s waters is to be free of all what you have accumulated as your debts to this world.

Geography

Where is it located?

It is located towards east of the state capital, Lucknow, lying around 320 kms from it. It is close to the next biggest religiously important city in the country, the city of Allahabad and is around 120 kms from there.

The climate is as in most of northern india is, Dry summers, hot and humid post and pre monsoons, if they are ever on time, chilly winters, with extreme variations in day and night temperatures.

History

It is quite difficult to write about the history of a city which is living each day and making history. It’s like watching Sachin Tendulkar, ask a number of cricket crazy Indian fans, about Tendulkar not everyone would know about Kashi. The city is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the history of civilisation. The oldest relics found by the archaeological survey of india date back to 18th century BC. This city in the earliest finds mention in the AtharvaVeda, which it is also believed was part written here.

Effectively this puts it younger than Athens, one of the other greatest history centres of the world.

A lot of oldest religious text mention this city. Shiva, yes the lord Shiva himself is said to have said that “All the three worlds form one city of mine”, as mentioned in the Skanda Purana. 

Frescos depicting puranic stories and ramayana

land of the seekers

one of the oldest ghats as per the folklore

Not just the city, infact every religion known for its brith in india has propagated from here.

Buddha gave his first sermon in Sarnath. Before that the city was already an important Hindu and Jain religious centre. Even in the 8th Century AD, during the times of Adi Shankracharya, this city regained it’s Hindu culture very predominantly.

Not just movements and religions Kashi has been an important factor in the lives of so many saints like Kabir being born here as per popular records, also Guru Nanak’s travels too brought him here around first decade of 16th Century.

In the words of Mark Twain, the famous american author, who had a love hate relation with India, said, “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together”. That is the least that can be said, and is still true to this time.

The Trip

The best way explore the city, as is with any old civilisation, is up close and on foot. The second best way would be a cycle, which though not very popular as of now, is gaining traction slowly.

A walk in the bylanes brings the city alive, not its cars and roads, not the people, but observing life upclose, watching people go about their daily routine, not like a voyeur or stalker, but a decent tourist though. When you walk a city street, its pulse and yours eventually start beating in unison, your find a certain rhythm with other wise can’t be felt. This then lets you observe the city in a different light all together.

The trip began right after alighting from the flight. Looking for the baggage on the belt i had completely forgotten about the fragile tag on it. So rather than coming on the belt it was waiting with the airline staff. Once collected i stepped out to the familiar commotion of a UP airport. People all crowded around the entrance to receive their passengers. Taxi walas trying to woo you so that they can earn some fare.

A friend of mine and his brother in law came to pick me up. Getting into the car started the fun ride into the city. The airport being on the outskirts on so called highway towards Lucknow. This highway then hasn’t changed in a lot of years, it is still a single road with traffic more often than not approaching you head on, in your lane. Lane driving is till missing in these parts. A night drive around the BHU campus takes you along a world in its own. There is the relaxed hustle and bustle of student life, whereas the same students internally are going through another level of turmoil in their life. Being and engineer myself, its easy to know that there is something always going on back in the mind. The BHU campus is huge, one of the largest university campuses in India. And as is common there is one big are designated for the joint. VT. Even though the name sounds quite modern it is an acronym for one of the oldest landmarks in the city. Vishwanath Temple. Since the university students can’t head to the original one every now and then, there is a replica of sorts, although larger in dimensions from the original. The local eateries serve what they serve best usually at such places, maggi till recently and hopefully in the recent future as well, sandwiches and the awesomest cold coffees. Not to be missed if you are in the city to soak in on the local flavour, also a round of the campus is must, with all the greenery around, the whole campus seems a lot cooler than the surrounding city. Cooler literally.

From the university it was a small stop at a pan shop. Pan and banaras go hand in hand. Almost 3 in 4 people here you will see will have some sort of concoction stuffed in their mouths.

paan finds a special mention in the city

Frequent spits (Peek for the uninitiated, is a hindi term and there is a particular style to it. It’s not just plain spitting.) In the local lingo, a sweet pan is termed janani where as a plain pan, without sweets is termed mardani, which is to denote the eating preferences of women and men as a majority. Men also get sometimes what is known as zarda, a mixture of bettle nut, kattha, chuna, and tobacco.

in the golden morning light

sunrise on the river ghat

morning prayers

Add caption

time ceases to pass in this land

faith moves mountains and floats long distances

If the ghats need be visited, which they should be, the best time is early morning, so that you can catch the sun rise. The city is mostly built east west on the banks of the river, the popular ghats located on the western bank, hence you can do whatever suits you looking at the early morning sun. An hour or so of strolling and you should be ready for the morning tea at the ghats or at one of the myriads of small tea stalls that are peppered all over the place. The staple food for all in the morning is smaller fried dollops of wheat, filled with either potatoes or pulses, grounded with secret spices, which are unique in proportions hence you get different flavours with each shop. Kachoris small ones, and served with potato stew, spicy and awesome. Needless to say these small bombs are heavy, and eating a couple of these, you would feel hell sleepy afterwards. No walk no exercise will get you out of the feeling of lethargy which you get. Any trip to banaras that too in the winters is futile if your don’t taste the amrit  of all sweets. Fresh butter churned overnight and kept in the morning in open so that the morning dew drops mix in it to give it a flavour of the season. Malayo. Truly the food of heaven on earth. I was lucky to taste it the very next day, when making it was started this year.

tea is a life line of the city

seasons first

Banaras is not a town which is worth just a visit, it is a place where you have to live for some days at stretch to absorb all that it has to offer. You don’t visit such a city, for it to teach you something, for you to learn something about life from here, you have to let it take you in and live how it lives. 

No wonder people don’t just come here to live, they come here to die and get out of the whole cycle of re-birth too.

Major Attractions

Ghats

Banaras is known for it’s ghats, needles to say which is not unknown. The most famous ones are the Assi Ghat, Harishchandra ghat, Manikarnika Ghat, Dashaswamedh Ghat. Kashi is one place where even the river was divided up by kingdoms who sent their ambassadors here. So along the river ganges you see a lot of private palaces and some private ghats connected to them. Many of these have been been converted to hotels now, some right up in the luxury hotel list. The other charm around these ghats is that people who owned property here, rent their homes for longer period of stay. One room or the complete apartment. Apartment here does not mean the new kind built by realtors, but houses modified to suit accommodation for the backpackers, the seekers, the learners and of course the revellers as well. Off late the ghats have been in the news for all things other than knowledge and wisdom too, but then thats a different trip altogether. 

Temples

Banaras is a city of temples. So many so that you would spend a life counting all of them let alone talking about visiting. A rough estimate would put the number at quarter of a lakh. The most famous ones are usually the three on everybody’s list, Kashi Vishwanath, Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple, and the Durga temple.

Kashi Vishwanath temple is pretty close to the Dashaswamedh Ghat. Why the ghat is named such is a puranic tale which goes on to tell, that this is the ghat where the supreme creator in hindu religion, Brahma, sacrificed 10 horses to welcome the coming of Shiva to this place. Since then Shiva has been the lord of this city. Dashaswa - 10 horses, ashwamedh yagna is a name for the horse sacrifice ritual.

Life

Life in Banaras is simple. There is a unique mixture of so many cultures, yet the city retains what is it’s own. The language is such that it just drips of love, even the cuss words come out as music to ears, which are liberally sprinkled even in a single sentence. The age old daily routine involves at least one round of the ghats, visiting some temple or mosque at least once, praying to life and nature is so deeply involved here that is it a second to nature act now. The major industry is tourism and the declining banarsi silk handloom too.

Photos of the trip

Why I won’t buy the new iPhone 6s?

I don’t think Apple would care if one guy did not buy their iPhone. The latest most advanced iPhone yet, from the leading smartphone seller. Why just a seller? Because they stopped innovating some years ago, and that is a big statement to make, against the child of a man who in some circles is hailed as the greatest inventor of the 21st century. But then as of now, this is how matters rest, and yes i firmly believe now that Apple does not care if one person does not buy their latest offering. Their vision is no more about making simpler and exemplary products for that one customer. They are now in to the business of making what they think would work better at gaining a larger market share. Bigger phones and copied features, and that is why i won’t be buying the new iPhone.

“New”, is a relative term. By new now, Apple doesn’t mean new in the market, it just means its a first on the iPhone.

So what is new then, this time around? Lets talk one elephant in the room, at a time.

Hardware

The new A9 chip, which is again 70% more faster and power efficient than the A8 found on the iPhone 6. As far as a user is concerned, that shouldn’t hang on him, and that the iPhone seldom does, so i don’t care what numeral is that A inside the iPhone followed with. 

Unless of course i’m a technogeek or gadget showoff. Hell the only “A” followed by numbers i would be interested in is the model of my next Audi upgrade. That’s what the class of most iPhone buyers in India already is. They buy it for the status symbol, “gold ki warak wala”. And now they have one more color to show off, the Rose Gold, actually pink is not pink anymore because Apple said so. The phones of such a market went smarter than their owner, just when they could connect to the internet and search something up on google.

The next hardware change is the new iSight camera. Now with more megapixels and further improved sensor. So gone are the rumours of the three prism light reflectors, and dslr mimicking technology, all went suddenly kaput. I won’t even get the image stabilisation unless of course i go for the plus model, but why would i? I already have an iPad, why would i like to buy such a huge phone? And of course the updated selfie camera for the new generation of people buying smartphones just to capture better moments on themselves awkwardly posing with or without friends. The new 5 megapixel Facetime Camera as they call it. 5 megapixels worth of smiles.

Is this the famous Apple innovation? The Apple touch, much like midas’ was? Where is the “new”, that is the only question which “pops” into the mind.  Popping brings to conversation, the new touch technology on the new iPhone 6s. Coming to the touch therapy then. 3d Touch. A bold new interaction method. What Apple invented for the watch, has been now ported on a larger canvas, namely force touch, oh no, 3D touch. So this is a new way in which you can interact with your iPhone. Press the screen. I am sure many will agree we have already tried that every now and then, when the frigging phone betrays our well placed confidence, we do want to strangle it at times and many of us have even tried tapping harder and harder as if it would make any difference. Well being the innovators Apple are, they actually listened to your frustration. They realised they did not want to make you any less exasperated, but they could make the iPhones do something now, in this hard pressed situation. Now the new iPhone has the capability to react to such violence.

Software

iOS 9. The most advanced mobile operating system since iOS. So what’s new in this? On the face of it, Apple had to add something in lieu of the most wasteful interaction added on the phone. So how the iPhone now reacts when you use 3D touch? It opens context menus on home screen app icons. Within apps it does what could easly have been done by long taps. But then where is that Appleness in that? Let’s face it. All mobile OS were so good at touch experience because they did not have windows like features of nested menu based navigations, which are good with a pointing device but a nuisance with finger touch. Android brought them into being on it, with long presses way back, as a way to provide shortcut to frequently used actions. But iOS never had context menus. That was the simplicity, that was the novelty. Why is that being lost with each new iteration? But then they are there only to have some use for the 3D touch. That’s an excellent piece of hardware and software integration, i must say.

Live Photos - A feature, of which when i heard, i didn’t know to laugh or cry. I was eventually doing both simultaneously. i had an HTC One a couple of years back, the M7, first one of the One series. HTC back then came out with the revolutionary UltraPixel camera. That was innovation. Then they had Zoe. A photographers dream come true. What did Zoe do? It would take small 3 second videos with still shots. These videos could be then edited, much like burst shots, you could take out objects accidentally captured in the frame, merge a couple of pics to make on perfect group shot. Live photos has none of these features. And this was a good two years back. Not just this, Zoe would also create events based on time and location of captured photos, these then would be automatically compiled in a short 30 sec video with music mixed at the background. True delight to quickly review a nice episode in life. Moreover you could also edit these videos. And of course share them at will. iOS 9 has none of there features but has highlighted Live Photos, coupled with 3D touch again, if you press hard enough on the lock screen, the wallpaper would show the live photo version. That’s it. Maybe we have to wait till iOS 11 for more of the above features to be ripped off and Appled. Highly Innovative yet again.

Some of the other greater less marketed features are the Low Power Mode. Apple is losing on the user convenience side largely. While on most android phones the low power mode was present since long, it would automatically go off once the set level of charging is reached. For iOS 9, you have to specifically go into Settings -> Battery to disable it. Slight inconvenience, but not at all characteristic Apple of two years back. Speaking of battery we also have now the detailed battery usage shown, app wise, finally. Yet another never seen before on iOS kind of new feature.

Some actually good changes are like the new system font, San Francisco. It makes viewing all the more clear and spacious. Even the keyboard looks a lot more neat, all thanks to the letter now visible in small as well, rather than all caps. There is also a native new transliteration keyboard for Hindi. It is crappy at times with transliteration but is better than having to install third party solutions. There is even an updated notes app. It does have some drawing features, options to create lists easily, so that another small improvement. You can do away with the “Evernote” installation now, if you only used to note down things you were afraid you would forget if you didn’t. They could still do with some native image markup features.

The smallest yet the best addition that Apple did to iOS is the one least mentioned, and to go likely unnoticed by many. The small option to go back to the previous application from which you came in to the current one following the notification that distracted you.

So now you don’t need to double tap the home button to go into the multitasking menu to select the app you were previously in. iOS 9 takes you right back you were with one tap. That is the user experience Apple is know for. Finding beauty in the simplest of interactions. It was this thinking that they used when they started making bigger phones but thought of one handed operations as well. A gentle double tap on the home button and the whole screen comes half way down. That was the Apple i knew of. We need more of that from Apple, not some fancy new useless tech like 3D touch.

It’s was in the small things that users found delight while using Apple products.

Now my reaction with my iPhone and maybe the next one is going to be like a abusive bad girlfriend, to whom i keep returning for reasons better not mentioned on this page. There is still nothing on offer outside the Apple Universe to make me go back to android if i want to buy a new phone. Even with all the copying and crappy innovations, iPhone is still the best user experience by far. Their hardware and software integration is till by far the best in the market, but till when? It’s like any relation in life, when the pros would eventually be far less than the abuse i face.

It’s been two days since i decided i won’t buy the new iPhone 6s. And how do i feel? Tormented. It’s like a breaking up. Like telling myself i won’t be seeing her ever again, because we have had a bad fight. That’s what Apple has done to the world. It has created a relations between humans and their products like a real life relation. We may hate, we may love, we may have mixed feelings for it, but feel we shall. In a nutshell it has become like another situation in life. Apple isn’t selling a phone, it’s selling life and hope. It is selling experiences, i trade in my last one in the hope of a better experience with the new iPhone. Hope and dreams. That is some marketing machinery.

And even in between all this rant, i went ahead and booked the new iPhone 6s. Eventually i too am buying the new iPhone. The most advanced iPhone since iPhone.

A little over 36 hours to Pune

It takes a little effort to sit down and jot the fine experiences one has been through in life at some point of time. No this is not a biographical preview or any history related post, just a simple travel story, through which i had the good luck of passing.

The plan was a simple one, to travel from Mumbai to Pune over the weekend, but the idea was not to take a route travelled often. Hence a search ensued a day before departure for other roads which may too lead to rome. When time is a not a constraint, spending it becomes almost too easy. Something like money, if you have an idea where you want to spend it, spending on experiences becomes a joy. 

On the face of it, there were three places i earmarked for the coming days to visit.

• Malshej Ghat
• Shivneri Fort
• Bhimashankar

What ensued what a slightly different version. For a change i had decided to head to these places completely unprejudiced about them. I didn’t read any reviews, check places to stay, or even try and know what to expect. Sometimes the best experiences are the ones not orchestrated to perfection, but which fall into a grand puzzle all on their own, to complete an unseen picture.

And thus began this adventure.

The ideal time to leave from Mumbai, as usual early morning on any weekend or weekday, when you can observe a good cloud cover. That is the best time to travel towards the ghats. Leaving early morning also saves one from the hullabaloo of other people driving on the road. Sometimes though a lot many people decide to head even in the wee hours of the morning, thereby derailing your well laid plans at the nearest toll plaza. But I have learned to take it my stride, in the long run, time becomes inconsequential to travelling.

Leave by : 5:30 AM

Route :

Eastern expressway towards Thane

From Thane catch the NH3 towards Nashik

14 kms onwards there is a crossing, take right towards Kalyan on NH222

Continue on this road till you reach Malshej Ghat, distance of about 90 kms.

The road from Kalyan to Malshej Ghat is a mixture of experiences.

Till Murbad (around 32 kms), its mostly planes, and a lot of greenery, so much so that you may not feel you are even moving ahead or watching the same sequence again and again. Tokawade onwards starts, what is ascent on the western face of the western ghats, and here starts the breathtaking visuals, of which you can gorge on the next few days till you again exit on the next expressway.  

Kalyan - is a small industrial town, all inclusive of the Century Rayon factories for different products. The main logo of the company says its a part of BK Modi enterprises. All along the length of the town, visible factory areas, union offices, loitering people, hospitals can be seen by some or the other relation to Century Rayon.

There is a small fort as well, which I could did not stop to visit, part because of the increasing traffic on the road and part for the sake of leaving something out for the next time. This adage will feature almost with every place i visit. Maybe its simple laziness on my part and this acts as an excuse to not travel thoroughly or maybe as an excuse to come back to some place again, and yet find something new. The fort known as Durgadi Fort was constructed at the time of Rule of mughals, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb. 

The first destination or so for the day was  Malshej Ghat. It hardly took 3 hrs to reach it, even with all the stops for photography soaking in on the views infront of me. The ideal activity would be to stop at any place you feel a connection with, which if you don’t control your mind wouldn't let you move 10 kms without another stop. Such is the beauty of this region. Pristine and untouched for most part.

Once you actually reach Malshej Ghat, there in lies the surprise. Its just a large table top area, overlooking numerous regions on the Ghats. The only place to stay is the MTDC resort and its from there that the place gets its name. 

The resort is named Malshej Ghat, there is no town no place to visit. In essence you arrive no where when you actually reach your destination. Kind of like finding life itself.

I decided to drive in to the resort and was met with a person who straightaway asked me at the gate if I was going to the resort or restaurant. I said i am looking for a booking, but the expression on his face told me all i had to know. Nevertheless i ventured into the reception, and asked the attendant, if they had any rooms, he looked at me as if i had asked for a bottle of mineral water on mars.

 So that’s how it went, i returned to my parked car, now even more hopeful of a better adventure waiting for me today.

A word of caution, its good to be adventurous but then there is a time and place for everything. If you ever plan this trip with your family members make sure you have booked the resort in advance, if not you can always do the next best thing, move further ahead on the road.
Junnar is a really small town, maybe the name even means the same, in some local dialect, which of course is complete speculation on my part. Junior is town you would completely miss, if not for the formidable structure that looks over it. Has been looking over it for the past 400 years maybe. The Shivneri Fort. Better known as the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja, the place although has a history which dates back to 2000 years, as is evident by the presence of the rock cut buddhist caves around the area. It was an important guard post on the trading route which started from the port city of Kalyan, as mentioned earlier, has a fort as well, albeit a small one. The fort in itself is majestic and in the words of many a travellers from the times of different ruling  dynasties, next to unconquerable.

Moving further ahead from Malshej Ghat, i came across a lake. There i was presented with a bit of offroading opportunity which i did not let go off.

The unmetaled road led me straight to the bank of the lake. A very beautiful and tranquil place to spend a couple of hours if again you have the means to survive food pangs and a good book to read. The ideal way to spend time here would be with a couple of close friends, of one close soul mate, or your family and have a picnic of sorts on its banks. The lake is formed by a dam, PimpalGaon Joga Dam. It is one of the largest lakes in this area, as is evident from the shear size of it.

The dam itself is fairly recently constructed, and opened in 1999, as part of a project involving 5 other dams in the vicinity. Some of which i would later see on the way, others on google maps.

Looking for a decent place to stay over for the night, brought me Junnar and also a part want to see the Shivneri fort, which was what i was told was the closest attraction after Malshej ghat, by the locals i stopped to ask for directions from. Right in the heart of the town is located, Hotel Ratan Enterprise. An excellent place to stay if you want to experience world class service in the most obscure of the locations. The hotel is a new construction, but the staff is extremely well mannered and hospitable.

Appa ji, is the name by which the manager goes, and he is a gem of a person. He has worked in Delhi, Ashoka hotel for a period of three years, and then came down here for personal reasons. Even though it is the only alternative to stay in a radius of about 15 kms, still the hotel or staff does not have the false air of being the only player in the market. He also informed me about two more places to visit, both of them, temples dedicated to Lord Ganesh. Part of the important Ashthivinayak locations, two can be found within 20 kms of each other. Girijatmaj Temple at Lenyadri and Vighneshwara at Ozar. Both the places can be covered in one evening comfortably.  

A good night’s rest at the hotel, had made me fresh enough to visit the fort early morning. To soak in the view of sunrise from such a height would have been truly satisfying alas the weather wasn’t   on my side and instead of bright sunshine, i got clouds and rains. Not disheartened i traveled to the fort and went out to capture what i could of the low-lying regions from atop.

The fort isn't too visited, all i could encounter were a handful of locals going about their morning walk and exercises. The fort compound in itself if huge and required me to walk around 5000 steps to cover it completely. ( A km is about 1300 steps.)

Fully exhausted and satisfied i returned to the hotel for a hot tea and breakfast. A siesta and bath later i was ready to check out and move further into the unknown list of destinations i would be encountering on the second day.

Bhimashankar as the name may sound have everything to do with Bhima and Shankar. It is said to be a part of the 12 Jyotirlingas, the supreme partless reality, or as the legend says the twelve places where Shivji’s divine light shown on earth to end a feud between Brahma and Vishnu. It is a part of total 5 such shrines built by the Pandavas during the period of their exile. But the important story is that they were all built within the time period of one night. So the history of this place dates back to more than 4000 years give or take a millennium easily. 

For the religiously bent, in one trip of less than 24 hours, one can easily visit 3 of the 20 most important pilgrim centres in the whole of India, which itself can be termed as a remarkably spiritually satisfying journey.

 The road to Bhimashankar is a constant up and down, eventually flattening out in form of a plateau, with greenery all around 360 degrees.

On the way, you can spot a couple of dams as mentioned in the earlier part, Dimbhe Dam and Vadaj Dam, depeding upon which route you take from Junnar to Bhimashankar. For me the most scenic and drive friendly was through Ghodegaon and Mapoli.
These can be easily seen on Google maps. Mapoli is the ideal place to have a magnificent view of the Dimbhe dam too.  

The route from Bhimashankar to Pune will change from regular busy road to a more scenic and calm path, depending on the turn you chose from. Returning for about 15 kms on the same route ( its a single route, towards and return) you get a bifurcation of very small magnitude, towards the right. This is your chance to explore a little bit more of the uncharted territory. The road is full of steep declines so coming onwards from Pune through this is not advised.

It would tax your driving skills to the fullest just to cover the next 35 kms or so the the Chas Kaman Dam. Another beautifully hidden treasure, where a day can easily be spent, sipping coffee and reading a book, under the cloudy skies or just lie there listening to the sound of water and wind in your ears. This  dam is huge by comparison with all the others in the same area. And the oldest too. The magnitude of its dimensions can be made from the fact that there were waves like those at beaches on its banks, because of the wind and partly maybe because of the earth’s rotation. There are some make shift snack  shacks unlike other such man made lakes i saw on the way. One such shop served me the most mouth watering grilled corn on the cob. And he was the one who told me that this one is the oldest in this region, dating back to almost 30 years. A fact which i later checked and thanks to internet, confirmed that it is actually almost 40 years old. Started in 1977. 

It’s fun to meet some fellow travellers and the stories or other locations they endow you with, the dam is open for all to visit unlike many northern India counterparts, which are off limit to people for security reasons.

This was the last stop which was worth making and staying for some period of time on towards the route to Pune. Further to this the district road takes you to Rajgurunagar, further south east, about 18 kms away. That is the gateway to transition from oblivion to world as we know of it. There starts the Nashik-Pune expressway.

Life takes us all along different routes, different times and situations. Yet there is alot of common ground where ideas, thoughts and dreams meet. We yearn for soul gratifying experiences, which share a thread through literature, art, and travel. All this then cumulates into stories and folklore, which in turn enrich the our next experience of the same place. Eons ago this land was traversed by our forefathers, those who just had learned to create fire maybe. We may just have now their genes and DNA physically, but a want for experience is what connects us through the fabric of time. To quench a bit of this thirst, to stoke a greater fire for travel, do take this journey, within you.

Ranikhet - An excellent place for finding calm

With the way our current lifestyles are, we are always on the lookout for making that dash to a new refreshing place whenever possible. It doesn't so happen often, plans get changed, some of the people you planned going with aren't available and what not. But whenever we do get all the cards right, there is alway a bigger question and this is where to head to?
A major drawback of being the weekend revellers is, going to a place that is nearby, because you want to get back home refreshed, genuinely refreshed and not dead tired.

For people who fancy driving or even enjoying being driven, there are a lot more options that open up, that is if you can bear the highway traffic in the northern part of the country.

Ranikhet is one such location. Ideal for the purpose of weekend getaway, that too for a couple of nights. It's distance from Delhi makes it an ideal location, and till now it has not become the bustling commercial hub which every well known hill station becomes eventually.
The best part is, if you manage your timing well, you can leave for Ranikhet on a Friday evening, and yet reach there, pretty comfortably. It is easily accessible by road, and on the upper verge of lower himalayas.

Why Ranikhet?

• Because it will take you away from the maddening rat race and the noise of your work place
• Because heading here is like travelling in time
• Because it is one of the few places where the journey is going to be as relaxing as the destination

Some of the roads near Ramnagar (Jim corbett) in monsoon

View of the River

Snake Plant in Chaubatia

Chaubatia Orchards

Botanical Garden

Botanical Garden

View of upper himalayas from Ranikhet

Distant Peaks visible from everywhere 

Rani Jheel

A view of the town at night

The only negative about this place are as following,

• You may fall in love with the calmness here.
• You may not want to head back to your old life.
• You may only want to head there, on any occasion, much to pleasure of everyone accompanying you.

What's the route?

Approximate Distance : 350 kms

Approximate Time : 7 hours

When you start making plans to head to some place, it seems all roads lead to it. The route to Ranikhet is pretty simple and straight forward. Depending on the season you decide on for visiting this place, there can be couple of well travelled routes taken. Then it also depends on your quest for adventure and what you want to observe on the way.

The most common route is the one taken for its more popular cousin, Nainital. Any decent navigational device would point out the same for you, even Google Maps does a decent job of it.

Based on my experience and drives on India roads, here is the best possible option,

Delhi - Ghaziabad - Hapur - Moradabad - Rampur - Rudrapur - Haldwani - Kathgodam - Bhimtal - Bhowali - Ranikhet

Seeing so many city names on a small route can be scary, but the best part is that almost all the cities have excellent by-passes, so you avoid any city traffic you would otherwise be dreading.

From Delhi, you need to head towards east on the NH24, which otherwise is the straight road from Nizamuddin, crossing Akshardham temple towards Ghaziabad. While the condition of the road is excellent, you will definitely encounter a lot of local traffic till atleast Hapur.

Hapur and Moradabad have good four lane roads, which actually save you a lot of time and let you drive at a good speed.

Complete Route - Via Hapur-Moradabad-Rampur-Haldwani

Diversion in Rampur City - Lesser traffic

Alternate route to Haldwani

Haldwani to Ranikhet

  

Via Bhimtal - Bhowali, more scenic beauty on this road

Where to head to in Ranikhet?

Ranikhet is broadly spread over two ridges, the Ranikhet ridge and the Chaubatia ridge.

Ranikhet ridge lies on the north of the town, with the business part situated here. A small rustic Sadar Bazar acts as the main market, where you can find a store that sells your taste of poison as well (read the liquor store). This is also the location of the man made jheel near by, the Rani Jheel. Although its not maintained and closed for better part of the year, it pales in comparison to bigger more natural tals to be found in the lower reaches.

On the south side of the town, divided by the Cantonment in between, which is also the headquarter of the Kumaon Regiment, the most decorated infantry regiment of the Indian Army, lies the Chaubatia ridge. Home to a well preserved natural green canopy high up, the botanical garden and orchards maintained here are a sight to behold. A walk in this garden is especially recommended, which also includes a trek through a small forest as well. This area also has a couple of old temples. The view of the setting from these points is worth a thousand views.

When looking for options to stay, do check out colonial style bungalows, which have been converted to comfortable cottages in this side of the town. The services and staff here are par excellence, putting to test those found in most expensive of the hotels.

Although you may not be able to take back with you any of the above beauties, but their sights and the calm environment would remain with you for a long time to come.