Well , You know the ingredients mentioned above when mixed in a right proportion could result in a killer dish . ( Sorry Master-chef Fans , That is all I would talk about cooking )
As you would have guessed (Most of you) , this post is about my trip to Rishiskesh and Haridwar .
The Strongest Bonds are made in Heaven .
Well , That was the very basic idea with which we planned a trip to the Heaven's replica .
The experiences and lessons we learn t were invaluable , It is not possible to describe it into words .
Yeah , but I am giving it a shot ;)
Lets look at it day by day ..
Day 0
"Bhot Ho Gaya Salo abb toh Kahin Ki Trip Bnao" , you might have heard these words often while hanging out with your friends . Well , it started off from the same point .
Out of no where , the next day I saw a list with the names and the amount due .
Being a guy who was held back from playing Cricket just because of the fear of hitting by the ball , I really didn't had much hope of my Dad's approval .
However , with the garnishing of some white lies I asked my Father about the "Educational Trip" .
I don't know if my stars were aligned perfectly or was it just the alcohol , but my Dad just gave a green signal without even a second thought .
Day 1
The little doors of the cage opened , we were all set to take our first independent step ..
We were all pumped up and excited but we forgot one thing ! ...
We were going by Indian Railways !!
The excitement drained out by each passing minute on that big Station clock .
Finally , after almost 110 Minutes of delay our train arrived .. We were charged up ..
Sleeping , Eating , Singing , Teasing , Beating we had so much to do that the six hour journey felt like seconds .
We reached the Holy (Read Dirty) Haridwar Railway Station around 11 P.M .
Did I mention we were 13 friends together ? Never mind , so out of the total only 2 % were feeling sleepy . We just threw our stuff in the Hote Room and went on to Harki Podi for taking a dip . AT MIDNIGHT ..
The freezing water however gently whispered in our ears , "You Sure ?" .
The consensual answer of the majority was a No , a big fat No .
So , After just having a cold feat . I mean literally cold feat by putting them in the river we headed back to our place . Also important to mention the Tea Break we took in between .
This all was so new to most of us that we were not believing it is actually real ! It was really difficult to sleep for the soul , but the mind was nagging the eyes for not doing so ..
I was about to surrender but then there are friends ! I would have uttered some hurtful stuff back then , but I really enjoyed the 4 am chats on the top of the roof .
The alarm of the next day was set at 6 am , we had to leave for Rishikesh for camping . I decided to capitalize on the 2 hours window , but ended up a Goat for a Prank . Its good that I don't get scared easily ;)
Day 2
After the *Full of* Sound sleep of first day , We woke up tired but the
imagination of putting up in a camp and sitting next to a bonfire worked as an
antidote .
Fighting for "Who would go next in the Washroom ?" we got ready .
Ok it may sound a bit filmy but yes we were feeling like we are in Roadies and
we have set out for our next task .
Nothing is better than an open car with stereos blaring out loud music for traveling in such places , Unfortunately
our trip was not sponsored by Karan Johar . But , a two side open auto with
"Fevicol Se" leaking out of the speakers was close enough .
Singing , Dancing , Ducking down on bumpy roads we reached Rishikesh . It was
an hour drive but the minutes passed like words in a rap song .
"Paddy Adventures" , Yes the company that arranged the rafting
and camping programmes for us *Sir , Advertising Partner , Can I ?" . I don't know whether we were VIPs or
Paddy Bhai is that generous for all but he was there to Welcome us in Rishikesh
itself .
Enough of details , next thing we did was boarded on Safaris for going to
the Camps , A tipsy turny road led us to the venue . The journey was full of
"OO BC" , "Awww" *Yes Girls* and "Wo Dekh Yaaar"
, You can imagine the landscape !
As soon as we stuffed our luggage in our respective tents , we hit the
shores . Wearing life jackets , we entered the waves also . It was just amazing
, the cold , pure water of Ganga was soothing the tired soul of ours .
After the fun and frolics of a couple of hours , we returned to our camps *
Barely 10 m from the river* . It was lunch time , Must appreciate the food
*Paddy Bhai I deserve some profit ;) * .
The afternoon saw us watching beach
volleyball and sitting on the shores and
throwing pebbles in the river .
Did i describe the view from the tent ? Just like the painting we use to
make in our Kinder-Garten times , a huge Hill behind which the sun sets a free
flowing river and some more hills in the close vicinity .
Finally came the bonfire time , with snacks and stories of ghosts nothing
could have been more comfortable than the warmth of the fire .
Well , I don't believe in Ghosts and so didn't my friends in Sleeping . To
be precise , the five of them . It was adventure time , around the storke of
midnight we decided to go for a stroll near the beach area . Went a little too
far , then I realized the light emitted from the lantern in my hand , Yeah I
had to put in efforts . I now know why wild animals killed a lot of people in
the olden times !
After a successful prank of one , the rest were scared . After abusing him
we decided to go back to the base camp *Always Wanted to Say That* . The
scenary I must say was life the sets of Twilight , The big full moon ahead and
Hills with gaint trees around .
Finally , after playing some more pranks we surrendered to sleep .
Day 3 .
Rafting Day .
The day all of us were waiting for .
After just some introductory lessons we boarded in our raft . Rafting doesn't
sound much cool , Well its full name is WHITE WATER RAFTING . Seems a big thing
now , hai na ?
There was one "Raft Guy" with us , the good thing about him was
he was always smiling *It annoyed us later , Will tell you* . The journey
started with "Twinkle Twinkle little star , Ganga Maiyya Super Star"
other such brilliant work of poetry :p
It was going all well in the plain water , but as soon as the first rapid
*Area with gigantic waves* came my shorts were wet even from the inside . The
cold water just splashed us to a corner of the raft , although the "Raft
Guy" managed to save it from flipping .
Then we crossed some more Rapids , now the fear was being transformed into
the adrenaline rush and we were enjoying . Then came plain waters , our
"Raft Guy" told us to jump out of the raft .
Yes , now we were annoyed by his smile . Terrified , holding the ropes of
the raft we asked "Bhaiyaa , Koi Dubb Jaye to Aap Bachane Jate Ho Na
?" he with a smile and a modest face replied "Nahi , bhaiyaa . Nahi
Aayenge" .
However , we gathered the courage and left the ropes . A.M.A.Z.I.N.G was
the word *Actually it was Bhencho* , it was like floating on the clouds *Life
Jackets* . Beneath us was the 80 ft. river .
After 15 minutes of "Swimming" he pulled us back on the raft . By
now , we started to love him a little
less . Fair Enough No ?
The 16 KMs felt barley 60 Meters , and next we know we were lifting our
raft out of water .
That day we stayed in Rishikesh itself , Thanks again Paddy Bhai the resort
you recommended us was awesome . I fear they would not think of us the same way
;) , Well there were few complaints about the ruckus we created on a regular
basis .
Day 4
The last day , we went back to Haridwar . The three days were for us , this
day we thought of buying Souvenirs for family and friends and Girlfriends
*Not Me* . The first thing you can take as souvenir from Haridwar is the holy
"GangaJal" *Damn You Student of the Year* , we took it and went
shopping for other handicrafts and clothes .
The next day we had our train at 5 AM .
"Koi Nahi Soyega Aaj Saala" was the motto of the night , Yes most
of them still slept .
Day 5
This time we used all of our seats , came back sleeping the whole journey .
Days of Distress
Well , Day 6 .. 7 .. 15 .. 18 . Till the very recent present we suffered
from hangover . Chill Parents , the Holiday Hangover .
Alcohol is banned in Haridwar for its the only place where you can get high
by being sane .
Conclusion
The five days taught us the lessons we would have not learn in a 5 years
span . You gotta take the wind by your own little wings if you want to rule the
sky later .
Parents and Teachers can just feed you with knowledge , only friends can
experiment it with you .
