Sunday 23 June 2013

यह दिल्ली है मेरी जान .....सिर्फ आधे दिन के लिए हि सही !!!! Prelude and Preparation for Roopkund

 Ever since we completed Kedarkantha successfully with Indiahikes two years back, I was after Aashish to do the Himalayan trek again...I wanted to explore Great Lakes of Kashmir but some how I could not convince Aashish last year....This year I persuaded, pleaded  with him and to my luck our very own Polythene Baba प्रसन्न हो गये …. we zeroed on Roopkund trek mainly because of the noble cause taken up by Indiahikes to clean up the Mountains and trails dirtied by huge influx of trekkers due to the popularity of the place....We managed to convince two of our fellow trekkers in Sahyadris , namely Chinmay and Sanket...Two enthusiastic youngsters who would provide the energy to our group.....
Aashish took the initiative and pains to book the railway tickets for all of us after the trek was booked ... all this happened almost four months before the actual trek....Now we needed to be fit for a 7 day strenuous trek and I knew that unless I have a deadline to meet ,I won't be motivated enough....That's how our brains  are
hardwired now a days....So I started thinking about how I can fit in some regime in my supposedly over packed schedule... The first step was to download an android app which will remind me every day to work out, track my progress, show me how many calories I have burnt ( The joy of seeing the number is to be experienced....you may end up celebrating and ruining the whole regime though),how much I have walked n run etc.etc...For a lazy bum like me all these things were immensely helpful though I was not as regular as I needed to be.Honestly speaking I could not complete the schedule recommended by Indiahikes till the day of trek and this was a big thing at the back of my mind through out the trek... To add to my anxiety were the regular updates by Aashish who was almost preparing for Marathon.... Sanket and Chinmay being young n regular trekkers need not be as anxious as me and they were pretty cool and assured....
We all decided to meet once before the trek to update the progress n clear the doubts of the two first timers  and so it was at Amantran in Thane savoring the famous मामलेदाराची मिसळ that we discussed our apprehensions, doubts...decided how we can reduce the weight, how many woolens will be needed etc. etc...All of us were very enthusiastic n rearing to go

On the day of our train journey by Garib Rath to Hajarat Nizammuddin, all of us met at Bandra Terminus…There were lots of calls, messages exchanged on Whats App to communicate as to who is reaching Bandra how….Finally all came separately but reached in time for train which started on time but got delayed on Bandra itself due to chain pulling-not a good omen for a 19 hr journey, we thought.
We made ourselves comfortable and once TC had checked our tickets, got down to chit chatting… our co-passengers overheard the conversation and joined us. As it usually happens on a long train journeys like ours, In India,  people ask you questions  otherwise considered personal and conversations go much deeper than merely exchanging pleasantries… cricket n politics being the all time national favorite whipping boys so to say…Many a times if you find a co-passenger having similar interest like yours then your time flies quickly. Fortunately for us, we were already in group and anyone joining us was following our theme… We started with UNO and tried hard to get Aashish involved, who was very reluctant to join, but  ended up having joined by a young Sardar working in Pune  and going in UP. He was a typical Sardar, jovial and frank n open….There was also a person who did not have reservation and some urgency had forced him to travel without one, who befriended us in the hope that he will get a place to sleep…Anyways he was good in Gupshup so we did not mind. After the initial hiccups,our RATH was on course and  speeding its way to SURAT where we were to be joined by the last of our co-passengers in the compartment…..By the time we reached Surat we were already listening to songs  on Mobiles plus the खजाना (Khajana) of songs shared by the affable Sardar on his laptop….Our fellow passenger from Surat was a pan chewing burly man with many rings in both hands ..Sanket mis-understood him to be in inebriated condition but in reality he was a natural talent with extensive knowledge  liking and flair for old songs  और उसके बाद हमारी जो रंगारंग मेहफिल जम गई उसके क्या केहने ….पुरा का पुरा डिब्बा हमारे गाने  ( laptop or our very own besura singing except the Surat man) सून रहा था  ..( वैसे और कोई चारा भी नाही था ,लेकिन किसी ने  complaint भी नही कि ..which was proof enough that it was not too bad) The मेहफिल ended with the finale song “ मेरा कुछ सामान तुम्हारे पास पडा  है ” from इजाजत Ijaazat and when the background of the song was explained to youngsters , they were instantly in love with the song and Gulzar…..
So on this melodious note we went to bed and in due course of time reached Hajarat Nijamuddin the next day morning….

Aashish had very graciously suggested that we go to his brother’s place in Lajpat nagar so that we can keep our bags in safe place and explore Dilli as much as possible till the night train to Kathgodam. We get down at the station catch a bus which drops us close to Lajpat Nagar and within half an hour sitting comfortably at his brother’s place. Sanket, the FOODIE, wanted to taste famous Chole-Kulche  for breakfast, so alongwith tea n biscuits n Thums up we savored our spicy serving.
We were ready to move out on Mission Dilli. With the help from Aashish’s nephew n Delhi Metro App, I found out  all the famous attractions closer to Metro stations so that we move fast and cover as much as possible.
At the outset let me clarify that I’m a Mumbai Boy all the way. I love Mumbai even if she is going down the drains (literally) from bad to worse to worst very very fast in terms of amenities, public transport , population etc. etc. Still  Lately I have grown fond of Dilli mainly because of this wonder created by Mr. Sreedharan and his dedicated team of engineers ,called Delhi Metro . It has changed the way whole Delhi moves.It has changed the mindset of more than crore people about cleanliness, the way they look up to DMRC and cherish it. Simply amazing.
Anyway, as per plan we arrived at nearest Metro station and took a day pass which would allow us unlimited travel on Metro network at just Rs.100



We started out with Lotus Temple, a symbol of International Unity in faith n religion  an idea propagated by Bahai faith….inner six petals of the lotus symbolizing Six continents and outer petals depicting numerous Faiths n religion in harmony peace and togetherness….Its extremely peaceful inside in spite of  hundreds of visitors sitting together
Sanket the FOODIE was feeling thirsty on seeing the freshly cut watermelon, cucumber n papayas so we had a small break with Aashish opting for local गोटी सोडा  lemon…..







Next we got down at Central Secretariat and had a close up view of Parliament from Parliament street . Said Hi to our Honorable “ Chiiddu” in North Block,  “ Bye” to PM on Raisina Hills ,South Block ,both identical buildings flanking  Rashtrapati bhavan on Rajpath  where we  said नोमोष्कार  to Pranabda.
The imposing sights of all four iconic structures, the Majestic high flying tricolour fills you with a sense of pride no matter how much you may dislike the current set of people  governing INDIA  from these buildings. Also the sight of INDIA GATE from Rajpath is impressive to say the least.
The Sun God had favoured and spared us in the middle of summer day, so we were able to roam around rather comfortably… We had big photo session on the deserted road and buildings and then proceeded towards INDIA GATE…It is  quite a walk in afternoon blazing sun but it served as a  rehearsal for our trek…
The sight of INDIA GATE n RajPath   summons so many memories, of 15th August and 26th January, of the movie “Rang De Basanti” and song "Lose control",the sad thing is this memorial paying tribute to our Soldiers and the AMAR JAWAN JYOTI is off limits for our own people for security reasons….thats the impact these terrorists have on us as a country… Sad but true…No point blaming the Security…
It was tiring walk back to Central Secretariat  Metro from India Gate  and we were suitably exhausted. Aashish left us here to spend time with his brother and we proceeded to Chandani Chowk to explore the area , Lal Quila and Jama Masjid our final destination for the day.
We explored the narrow busy crowded by-lanes   of famous Chandani Chowk , checked the area with pincode Delhi 6, had some lovey tasty street food (tikki  n chai etc).This Dilli is totally different from the New Dilli we visited earlier.Its crowded,  dirty but bustling more like Mohammad Ali road of Mumbai….

I had visited Lal Quila before and apart from its historical importance that our Shivaji Maharaj came here to meet the Emperor Aurangzeb  and went out without saluting him in his own Darbar, I do not have much to say about it…. For a small time Warrior fighting for SWARAJYA in far away Maharashtra , it was a huge gutsy thing of not paying his respects to the Emperor of the Largest Empire ruling India at that time…



We moved on towards the largest Mosque in India-Jama Masjid- Another of the Iconic structures of Dilli.
The road leading to it went past  Meena Bazaar (made famous by the Song “Kajara Mohabbat Wala”). The path to the Mosque is extremely filthy but the Interiors of the mosque are remarkably clean. The vastness of the prayer ground where lakhs come on Fridays and on Id days is unmistakable….
It was evening Namaz time and also some unknown number was frantically trying to reach me so we came out to check. As it happened, it was highly worried Aashish wondering where the hell we were  and whether we plan to come back…. His phone was not working so he was using local number…It was almost 1930 hrs  and we were quite far from Lajpat Nagar plus he had some DIFFERENT idea about our next train … And we were quite cool , having full faith in Metro…. But hearing a panicked Aashish we hurried up and reached Lajpat Nagar by 2030 enjoying some beautiful faces in the crowded Sunday evening Market…. One look at Aashish and I knew we had goofed up majorly….
Actually the Family was waiting for us to serve Dinner thinking that our train was at 2030 Hrs from Rohilla Sarai…Anyways, we had a quick bite into the delicious Kadhi Pakode, Rice n Mattur Paneer made by Aunty ji and saying quick Thank You’s n Goodbyes left for Chandani Chowk  again to board the Ranikhet Express from Old Dilli railway station to Kathgodam.


We reached peacefully and wel in time for the train and comfortably boarded our compartment… We were dead tired and exhausted  by the afternoon sojourn with DILLI  plus our berths were a bit scattered so without wasting much time we  went to bed …The train was supposed to reach Kathgodam Early morning where the last leg of our looong journey to reach our basecamp Lohajung would begin….but that will be in next blog….
It was fascinating half day tour of Dilli made possible by Delhi Metro. In 75 bucks we were able to see so many things effortlessly….I am sure the Delhietes will have many many grieviences about the city but  my short rendezvous with this bustling city is making me root for it and say यह  दिल्ली है मेरी जान .....सिर्फ आधे दिन के लिए हि सही !!!!

Here is the link of complete album




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