A drive through the Rhododendrons - to Dhanaulti and back

The Good Friday to Easter Sunday break offered us an extended weekend getaway. Always eager to make most of such opportunities, J and I headed towards the Himalayan foothills.
Starting from Noida, early on Friday, we reached Kishanpur by afternoon. We took a hence-untraveled route towards Dehra, crossing the Bhat Kali temple and a tunnel bored through the mountains.

RKM Ashrama, Kishanpur

At Kishanpur, we stayed at the RKM Ashrama. The mighty Himalayan range guards the backdrop of the serene Ashrama. Besides the main temple, there is a library, classrooms for the underprivileged children, a hospital, guest rooms , staff quarters and a cowshed! About twenty to twenty five cows meet the milk products requirement of the Ashrama, and the rest is sold to locals.
After the evening tea, J and I stepped out for a walk. It was a laid back town, though with all modern amenities of malls, movie theatres et al. We then attended the evening Arati - just a very small group of Brahmacharis , Maharajas and a handful of devotees. Dinner was simple but tasty fare. All residents of the Ashrama from security guard to domestic helpers and guests sit together for dinner. Also each is supposed to wash their utensils after every meal.
The next day being Bengali New Year and capitalising the same- campus stay, we attended the early morning Mangal Arati at 5 a.m. Special Puja started at 8.30, when we took our leave to continue our onward journey.

J at Char Dukan, Landour

An hour's drive brought us to the hill station of Landour. Landour is most famous as the home of popular writer Ruskin Bond. The Char Dukan area is a group of four to five shops which started around 1910. We stopped for yummy chicken momos, coffee, hot chocolate. There we met a group of  very well- brought up school kids who were on their day out for excursion to Lal Tibba. We too walked down about a km to the Lal tibba which is a view-point.later, we would come to know that actor Victor Banerjee 's residence was only a few steps beyond the Lal tibba. St. John's church was
being decked up for the Easter celebrations of the morrow.
Having spent about an hour, we re- started our onward trip.
The road to Dhanaulti and also while returning was lined with lush, verdant vegetation. The coniferous trees, characteristic of the lower hills. Trees had foliage of red, yellow and mauve hue. Flowers of white and purple and pink resembling avenues of  cherry blossom out of a Mary Poppins!
Deodars , pines and rhododendrons in full bloom - it was like Nature's most decorated Invite!

Trek start point

Having reached GMVN TRH at Dhanaulti, we took an hour or so to freshen up and lunch. Then we went ahead about 5-6 km to the Surkunda Devi temple. Upon reaching there, we realised that it had a steep trek of 2 km . Undaunted we set ahead, in the name of the Holy Mother! Families of young and old were on their way down, shopkeepers mid-way egging the devotees and the occasional chant of "Jai mata Di". The path was cobbled and had railings - so enough support for a slow climber. It took about three fourths of the hour to reach the top! Once there, all exhaustion vanishes , strong cool mountain breeze relaxes the body and the soul. The main shrine had three devis- Mahakali , Maha Saraswati and Maha  Chandi. The Chandi Devi did not have a full face, she had only half her head- denoting the head or "sir" of Devi sati which had fallen at this site making it one of the Shaktipeeths.

Surkunda Devi Temple 

Photographed ourselves to our heart's content we started our climb down. Downswards trek took only about 15-20 minutes. The path is crowded with boisterous troops of monkeys - so one has to be cautious while carrying any Puja offerings.
At the TRH, a hot shower and warm cup of coffee later to our limbs were relaxed and rejuvenated.
After dinner, we marveled at the crystal clear skies which has become such a rarity in the cities we
live in.
Early next day, we went for a morning walk around the still- sleepy hamlet of Dhanaulti . We tried to capture the snow capped Himalayas visible through the forests of pine and deodar. After a heavy breakfast, we set out towards Chamba and the Tehri Dam.

Himalayan ranges enroute Chamba

Enroute, we were enchanted with the clear view of the Nanda Devi, Trishul ranges - clear blue skies and flaming red rhododendrons!
Tehri is the highest dam in India. It is now a high security area, with limited access and prohibited photography. There are water sports arranged in the reservoir - which is another tourist attraction of this place.the dam and the surrounding area is maintained by the THDC ( Tehri Hydro Development Corp ltd.)
Our short trip of the Himalayas was now coming to a close.
We returned via the Rishikesh- Haridwar route. Food at  Marvins exotica was delicious.
There was heavy traffic on the way back, marring the pleasant trip a wee bit- but that's story for another day.
We returned refreshed, rejuvenated and relaxed, as we always do from the Himalayas.

Dreams and dances in the Chandela kingdom

It had long been on one's mind to witness the "Khajuraho Dance Festival" . This year, late in Jan, browsing through the internet, one chanced upon an advert which said that the said festival was to happen this year in February last week.
The mind was abuzz.. the tickling in the feet...one resorted to the state tourism website. 
The hubby wanted to club the Panna National Reserve trip.. hence we zeroed in on Hotel Jhankar which seemed mid way the temples and the national park.
So, on Feb 24, we eagerly boarded the Sampark Kranti from Hz Nizamuddin to Khajuraho. This train has a few bogies journeying to Khajuraho and others to another destination. We were joined by SK and family.
Anticipating heavy Delhi traffic ahead of a weekend, we were well on time at the station.. journey was comfortable..had a bunch of crazy 60-something girlies for company !

Mountain like architecture

The hotel had sent pick up cab.. Khajuraho is a small town...pretty newly built railway station and airport. The road to the Hotel was lined with huge trees, road was clean..pretty impressive for a first time traveler.
Khajuraho has three major groups of temples. Most of these were built by the Chandela rulers during the 8th- 10th centuries.  The most famous being the Western group, which was only about 5 mins drive from our hotel. After freshening up, the receptionist , Ms Kirti Sen, arranged for a guide for the day (@ ₹1500) and a cab. About couple of hours at the Western group...we traveled back in time.. to the land of "khajur" or date trees and architectural awesomeness! Starting with the Lakshamana temple, one was awestruck at the Kandariya Mahadev temple. It seemed indeed like the high rising Himalayas!                                                               Such perfect example of engineering and immaculate architecture. Onward covering the Jagadambi Temple, Vishnu temple guarded by the Nandi shrine...one wowed at the cleanliness and well maintained lawns . One was most captivated by the Parvati temple, which had three minarets, each representing the Christian, Muslim and Hindu architecture...there was so much of unity even all those centuries ago!

Unity in diversity

Diamond mines in the background

Having taken a lunch break, we proceeded to the southern and eastern group of temples. 
The southern group consists of the the Chaturbhuj and the Dhuladeo temples. The Chaturbhuj temple houses a huge idol of Lord Vishnu. In the backdrop are the only active diamond mines of India. 

The Dhuladeo temple opens its sanctum only on the Mahashivratri - which was just the preceding day...we had missed only by a few hours!
Finally, we visited the Jain temples, which are unique in the way that they house two sanctum sanctorums , one facing the East and the other facing West.
Quite exhausted by our rapid fire trip , yet content to have visited all places we returned to the resort to rest for a while.

Matangeswara Temple - evening Arati

Evening arrived , with renewed vigour and keenness we once again journeyed to the Western Temple complex, where we would now witness the famed Dance festival. prior to that we attended the evening Arati at the only active temple in Khajuraho group of temples - the Matangeshwara Temple.

Kathak

Later we were awestruck by the Odissi and Kathak dance recitals. As the third dance form of Manipuri was starting , we made our way out for some trivial shopping from the adjoining fair. 
We dined at one of the nearby Raja Cafe, which seemed to be a favourite of the performers and their entourage.
Thus ended Day 1 of our Khajuraho sojourn.