Winter Break, Part- 2: Shimla-Kufri Yatra; Friends, Snowfall and a wish-fulfilling trip.

Winter Break, Part- 2: Shimla-Kufri Yatra; Friends, Snowfall and a wish-fulfilling trip.

(5^th Feb. to 7^th Feb. 14)

The second part of my winter break was equally awesome. I spent 3-4 days in Chandigarh, meeting my friends and cousins; Eating, outing and mutual sharing of our love, care & every other stuff.   Then on 4^th evening I along with my friend, Monty, who was travelling from Delhi to see her mother in Shimla, travelled to Shimla together. There were still more friends to see in Chandigarh, as it’s this city where I had spent more than half part of my life’s journey, and made maximum number of friends. I thought of meeting them once I get back from Shimla. During one of the dinner night out with my friend Anju and cousin, Rohit, I had a large bowl of ice-cream in that chilly winter, which caught up my throat, which resulted into aches and coughs. But without caring for that and without taking any medicines (I avoid them like anything), I went to Shimla.

And in shimla, after spending some times with Monty and visiting her mother at IGMC, I left to visit my friend, Annie at Summerhill. And on the way, I paid a visit to my previous Office, where everybody welcomed me warmly and told me how much they missed me.  It’s kind of good feeling when someone values your importance for all good. Isn’t it? J

I reached summerhill at around 4:30 pm in the evening, as by that time Annie also got free from her Lab. We had chai & Samosa at our favourite roadside dhaba, and as it was too early to go to room, we went walking and later ended up trespassing the backside entrance of the Advance Study. That’s the nearest and deaest outing gateaway for all the students of HP University. And it’s peaceful environment, blended with cool, chiily breezes is soul deep touching. Whenever I visit Annie, we try our best to pay our visit there together, and re-live our old memories, at the same time creating new ones. Annie said,” There is a jail over here, where Gandhi ji was imprisoned once. I  went there as a child, but I don’t remember now where exactly it is. I really want to show it to you.” But as we kept walking deep into the interior parts of advance study, which was nothing but all jungle, with no traces of any human at that point of time, we didn’t find the jail. So, after reaching the end point of our walk, we gave up the thought of the jail, and instead started relishing the peace and serenity of the beautiful surrounding. Soon our eyes fell on the other side of the barrier, where from amongst the many trees, we saw the flower, named ‘Rhododendron’ on one of the trees. Annie exclaimed suddendly,” Nawi, you are so lucky to see this flower in this season. Wish for something and it will come true!”

I said,”My wish this time is to witnes snow yaar!  Its been ages since I last saw snow, and this time I really wish to see snow fall.” Hmm

When we turned our back, readying for the return, my eyes fell on down on little old steps, which led to a small iron gate. Annie said,” this is it, the same jail where Gandhi ji and some of his followers were imprisoned for some times.” We went down to check, and good God! it was more like a cave, which would have been dug out of the mountain, and with nothing except two small iron gates on either end and few small opening at the top for passing the air. We opened the door, but it was all dark, with nothing visible. I walked 4 steps, and a warm air, sounding a ‘whoof’ passed my left ear. I walked out of it soon, and Annie who was with the mobile camer, said,”Its scary, let’s get out of here.” So keeping our normal pace, we took a shortcut for the exit out of that area, for which we had to crawl beneath the iron wires. Lol it was funny , but we loved it. Hmm.

The next day, i.e.  6^th of Feb. the weather seemed cloudy, but there was no trace of snow. So, Annie called up Deepesh, her cousin cum my friend to drive us to Kufri. He agreed quickly, saying he will get along his grandpa too. What could be better than this? An elder person with us means more blessings and love. We left at around 11:30 am. While driving through the beautiful curvy roads, leading to more heights, we could see little snowflakes’ falling. I felt my wish was really going to come true. Annie and Deepesh said the same.

We didn’t take the car much higher, because if it snowed real heavy; it would have made the drive quite tough. So parking the car below, we started walking towards Himalayan Nature Park, which was around one kms walk from there. And hats off to ‘Tete’ i.e. grandpa; he is around 90 yrs of age, but he denied any support which we all offered turn by turn, and instead he chose to walk behind us as our guard. He was such an inspiration to us.

A lovely walk through snow covered and lovely roads, the sound of crispy snow under the feet with the lovely people! What could I ask for more, as every wish of mine seemed getting fulfilled in front of my own eyes? I was speechless, as throughout the walk, throughout the smiles, throughout the poses for pictures, my lips were whispering a ‘Thank you God’ for everything, coming deep from my heart’s core.

And He was gracious enough to make it snow soon. And there I was, witnessing the magic happen in front of my eyes; witnessing snowfall after complete 15 yrs as last time I saw snowfall, was in the winter of 1999 when I was in my village. Hmm, so you can guess how happy and joyful would have been! J

And to add more to the joy, in the Himalayan Nature Park, though most of the animals were hidden in their shelters due to cold, we were lucky to have glimpses of 3 Leopards, Tibetan wolf, Goral and 2 black beers. Tete, a Wildlife lover rejoiced at the sight of each animal, especially the Leopards. J

We walked a good length and relished every single flake of snow, falling on our hair, on our faces and jackets, and when the snowfall became quite heavy, we thought it quite sensible to return, as more snowfall in Himalayan roads meant more damage to the roads, and also we couldn’t afford to be stranded there, due to our own respective obligations.

We drove back and descended downhill to Shimla, where it was drizzling by then. At around 4:15, we went to Diamonds and did some justice to our hungry bellies. And wonder what, by 5:30 pm when we were on our way back to summer hill, it turned all sunny! The beautiful sun at its horizon, at its setting point, scattering beautiful rays of orange, yellow and crimson red, penetrating deep down to our soul, filled our hearts with joy and blessings. Deepesh said,” its Magical today! It seems as if we have a remote control in our hand, and the weather is changing every now and then, as if we are pressing its button with our thumb as per our wish.” Annie and I agreed and echoed our ‘Wow’, while Tete was enjoying himself silently in the peace of his spirit.

So, fully satisfied and with a joyous spirit, here I say,”

 “The trip was a real wish-fulfilling and magically A-Awesome; full of blessings and good wishes. All smilesss J,” Nawi

My Winter Break Part-1: Doon Yatra; Familial bonding and spiritually satisfying.

My Winter Break Part-1: Doon Yatra; Familial bonding and spiritually satisfying.

 (26^th JAN. to 31^st Jan. 14)

I landed at Chandigarh on 25^th Jan. 2014. Chandigarh is like my second home, where I have spent the maximum amount of my life’s time, till now. And ever since I shifted to Mumbai in Jul. 2012, it has become my base or a base camp would be a more appropriate word, for every time I go on a holiday, first I land at Chandigarh, drop my bags and other stuffs there, and from there I travel ‘to and fro’, ‘here and there’, at last getting back there only, to pack my bags again for the return journey.  Lol

So, after staying at Chandigarh on 25^th with my niece and nephew, I along with my dad, brother and niece left for Doon on 26^th Jan.

My first holiday of the year always starts with family bonding and spiritual cleansing.  Last year my Mother called me to Rewalsar, which I already had updated on my blog, and this year she called me to Dehradun, where she along with my sister, brother, sister-in-law and Lil niece had already reached, for spending this winter. Doon is the place where I did my diploma course in Tourism Management in 2007-08. So, a special bond is already there with the place. And once I just jokingly said to my dad to purchase a home in Doon. He made a denial face at that time, but when a golden chance came his way, he bought a home in 2010, which is located in the vicinity of Clement town, where the famous and most visited ‘Buddha Temple’ is located. What would be a better location than this, for someone seeking peace and spiritual cleansing?

Everybody was so happy to see me after such a long time. The spatial distance which I had created between Chandigarh and Mumbai, had made the emotional bond with my parents and siblings stronger.

So, there I was, with my family; getting back to my comfort zone, my relaxing zone, my waking up at 9:00 am zone, no tension zone, my lazing around zone, and the one week I stayed there, I cherished each & every moment and also re-lived my childhood.

On 27^th Jan, two of my Childhood friends, who had become nun, came to visit us from their nunnery, which is located at Sahastradhara. After few hours chit-chat and after having lunch, I offered them a walk in the nearby jungle, where two years earlier I explored, along with one of my big cousin bro, amidst monkey fight. My mother and niece, Rinzin also agreed to join, but when we reached the jungle periphery, it was all changed; there was no way to enter it, as it had been dug with huge gaps in between, too big to even jump. Later I came to know that it had been done to prevent some wild animals to come out of it and cause problems to the people out there, which had happened few times back. We walked quite a long distance finding for an entrance, but then failing we turned back, walking towards home. Then suddenly at the end point we saw some local people entering jungle, and we rushed towards that point. What we saw then was the dumping ground of wastes, with monkeys full on with their tactics’ jumping from one tree to another. I looked back and gestured my gang to enter from there, but my mother denied. So, I told her to walk back home if she didn’t feel like, and assured her that we will walk up to a few distance and get back. She agreed and told us to be careful, which we obeyed by walking close enough to the nearby monastery’s wall, and not going into the deep most parts of jungle, which though looked seductive and where I’ve walked two years back. Lol

But it was a fun walk, though was short one as we entered through backside entrance of the monastery in just an hour.

28^th Jan.

“None in my family has got an itchy foot, then where the heck did I inherit it from?” I just questioned myself, when I asked my Dad to take us to ‘Rajaji National Park, and I bet I had given every possible temptation to them, excitedly telling everyone,” you know, it’s a huge jungle, where unlike small zoos, you will see wild animals like tiger, lion, leopard, deer, elephants etc. etc. freely walking everywhere.” After loads of pleading Dad said ‘yes’, and there we were;  Dad, Mother, Sisters, sister in law, brother in law, eldest sister’s mother in law, three nieces and two neighbors’, in total 13 of us, ready for the ride, in two cars. It took us 1:30 hrs to reach the park. We booked tickets for 2:00 pm’s ride and two open gypsies, in order to have a more open and exciting view of the animals, otherwise we could have taken our own car. And during the drive, amidst the familial bonding, I realized I wasn’t the only one in the family with an itchy foot; my little niece, Tsewang, who is just 1.5 years old, was a replica of me. She was enjoying the most; singing, dancing, and shouting at her highest pitch. She enjoyed with a ticklish gesture, when the wind splashed on her cheeks, closing her eyes and her excitement showed on her face, when the gypsy wobbled and jumped on the bumpy jungle roads. I’ve been observing her, and found that she is not the kind to stay home in the confines of her comfort zone, for whenever somebody goes out of the gate, she would smile at that person with the hope that he would take her out too, no matter who that person is.  And oh! Coming back to the jungle; the ride was quite fun; tearing the wild plants, and chilly winds blowing at full speed and playing with us. We saw lots of deer, cheetals and peacocks on the way. The ride was of almost two hours duration, taking a full round of it with the hope of seeing some exciting jungle friends, but to our utter disappointment we saw none of the animals, which I mentioned earlier, and later my Dad kept teasing me with, saying,” Zoo (my childhood nickname) ke zoo me humein kuchh nhi dikha.” Lol. But it’s ok…overall it was full of fun and my Lil niece enjoyed to the core.

We were out of the Jungle by 4:30 pm, and as we had time at our disposal, we decided in unison, to go ahead to Haridwar, which was just 7 kms away from the park. I love Haridwar for Ganga Mata and the purifying power of its holy water, but the misuse of religious practice, which is quite rampant there, turned me down. The different kinds of begging tactics’ most of the people around there used was quite disturbing and embarrassing too. Hmm. (Pray)

"Ganga Mata ki jai"

On 29^th I stayed at home the whole day, and in the evening went out for the Movie ‘Jai ho’ at the newest multiplex which had been recently opened in Doon.

30^th Jan.:

The 30^th Jan. 14 was the most spiritually satisfying day for me. The 30^th day of the month as per Tibetan Calendar, is considered an auspicious day. Every month I hardly remember this, as I would have been lost in the madness of the mad race, but being with my family and also being in a peace-filled holy place like Doon, I decided to do something this 30^th. So, I tried to resist from any bad thing or feeling or thought, and instead to devote the whole day to Prayers and chanting. So, after having my morning tea, at 9:00 am, I left alone for taking the Circumambulation, i.e. the parikarma of the monastery, which is a part of practice of Buddhism. 

"The Prayer wheels"

"seeking His Blessings"

 I started my parikarma first with the tall staute of Budha, which even from a faraway distance seems like, showering us with His blessings and assuring us that we are never alone, for He is standing and guarding every aspect of us and leading each step of ours. There is 108 Prayer wheels, around the statue, and we are supposed to take that parikarma. I took 3 rounds of the Parikarma, rotating the 108 prayer wheels three times, at the same time chanting ‘Om Mane Padme Hung’ continuously with the accompaniment of Rosary in my hands. I tried my best to keep out all the negative thoughts at a bay and from my heart’s core I just went on thanking to Buddha, for everything he has blessed me with and all the opportunities He had been and He still is bestowing upon me in order to make me learn and grow, apologizing at the same time for all the wrongs I did  intentionally and unintentionally, not only in this life but in previous many lives, for I am a firm believer of Past lives and the ‘Karmic cycles’.

"Om Mane Padme Hung"

After the three rounds, I took off my shoes, and climbed the stairs, up to His main statue, paid my obeisance and sat there for 10-15 minutes, meditating and conversing with Him, and to do the magic, the peaceful surrounding just intensified my feelings for Him and the conversation felt two-sided, though technically speaking, I was the only one to speak. But I felt blessed to the core and that mattered the most. And I realized the importance of peace, the search for which in olden days led our mystics and sages to escape from the worldly commotion.

Add caption

Then I walked down and entered the Nyngma periphery, where the tallest Stupa of Buddha’s’ return from Develoka is located and which attracts the visitors round the year. You must be wondering now what is Nyngma, aren’t you? I’ll come to it later, because at that point I didn’t know it myself until Mother told me about it later in the day at my second round with her and Rinzin. The statue is 185 ft tall and 100 sq ft wide, and on either side of this big stupa, there are 4 small stupas each, which commemorate Buddha’s life story. And all these as well as some new additions and Big Prayer wheels on either side are in the vicinity of beautiful and peaceful gardens spread over two acres of land. And here you can walk around, can sit, can meditate, can contemplate and can have soul touching moments of your life. I took three circumambulation of it too, and then walked back home at 10:15 am.

"Prayers for all"

I had my breakfast, then had some sun bath and chit chat with my family, and then got fresh and was ready again by 11:30 am for another round of Parikarma with Mother and Rinzin; the sole objective being ‘to light the lamps in the Gompa’ on such an auspicious day.

Now I go by the sect, which I earlier left. As per Mother’s account, there are three Monastic institutions of four different sects, namely Gyeluk sect, Drukpa sect, Kagyu sect and Nyingma sect, in the vicinity of clement town. They all follow Buddha, but with some minor differences in their Practice and Ideology.

So we took Parikarma of all the Monasteries of different sects mentioned above.

We stopped at the feet of Buddha’s Statue and lighted 108 lamps. Thus the day was really a spiritually cleansing and satisfying one.

"Mother; My spiritual teacher"

On 31^{st Jan}, following my routine, I left home at 9:00 am and repeated previous days routine with more peace & devotion.

And on 1^st Feb. Dad was leaving for Chandigarh for some work, so Rinzin and I also decided to accompany him, as I already had finished one week of my holiday and another week,  I wanted to visit friends, relatives and if time permits to go to Shimla with a wish to see snowfall. But before leaving, I went one last time for the Parikarma and this time I took my Lil niece, Tsewang also, who did not agree to walk and I had to carry her in my arms, throughout the long walk, taking rest in between. But as I hardly get to cuddle her, so I rejoiced in that too, for she is a lovely child. J

So, here I end my note on “A-AWESOME DOON YATRA”, with the following realization:

“With Friends I fly, with Family I land, and in between I feel so blessed and well balanced. So, keep smiling.”  Nawi