Almora visit

Uttarakhand.......Nainital....Almora......all the hill stations are...wooooow.......
I have been brought up in the lap of this beautiful nature and have passed my childhood days playing in the serpentine lanes situated at the Mountains of Kumaun. Though, in my childhood days, I used to get irritated of evergreen-cool temperature of those hilly areas because of frequent diseases caused by cold, but now I realize the importance of those places. First of all, getting leisure time, second, getting company of family members and third getting again that cool-cool atmosphere, which reminds me of my childhood days.........the fresh, cool, natural air that is of course free of cost and cannot be compared with the artificial air of the air-conditioners, all these are rare moments.


I got such a good chance of visiting Almora this time. Actually, Bhaiya came to my home at Delhi before this Dusshera festival and we both planned to go Home (Haldwani) together. So, It was the morning 11:45(to get up early in the morning in Delhi for both Bhaiya and me is tough task.) of October 1st, 2010 we both  reached Aanand-vihar Bus-station for the further journey to Haldwani. As I was sitting beside Bhaiya's seat in the bus, he was showing me his music videos sung by him in his laptop during journey.....his music videos  were really awesome. Journeys with bhaiya are usually amusing and entertaining. This one was also good....(except those boring moments, when some guys sitting in the seats behind me were playing boring songs of their choice...and I was thinking....why all those people who's choices are awkward, play songs so loudly on their mobile? so as to make all people forcefully listen to their choice?? why don't they use headphones?......Any ways, we reached Haldwani at  8 pm. Next day, we all made a plan to visit Chitayi-temple, Almora. My Tayi Ji also lives at Almora so we had to stay at her home.


On 4th October we four i.e. Mummy, Papa, Bhaiya and me started for Almora at 3 pm (as Papa and Bhaiya had their own works at Haldwani in the day time). We knew that it was a 4 hour-run from Haldwani to Almora and so 3 pm in haldwani means  7 pm at Almora which is ofcourse late in a hilly area where it gets dark early. This was a private Bus and so was overloaded, still we had no other option than to go in the same bus as we were getting late. Papa, Bhaiya and me got seat in the last row in Bus. Bhaiya, as again was sitting beside me, was entertaining me by speaking some funny things. Boys have ability to discover comedy even in serious and busy situations. We had now covered 3/4th of the journey and were thinking to reach Almora by 7 am. Suddenly our Bus stopped at a place and passengers told that the road was blocked due land-slide. Bus conductor returned us our money of the rest of the journey and assured us that after walking some steps we'll get another bus whose conductor would take the same amount of money as much as he was returning. So, I got down from Bus, while Papa was taking back his money from bus-conductor. It was now getting dark. I, rushed for the next bus, to get a front seat. I got the front seats so also reserved some seat for Mummy papa and bhaiya. There,....the new bus conductor and driver announced that they will take extra money for taking us to our destination, as there was no other bus at that night hours. People said that they will not give extra and began to bargain for bus fare. Mom said to youth "Tum log Anna hazare k andolan me gaye the ki nahi? ham anyay nahi sahenge" and all the people denied to give them the extra money. But some people said that they can give. Driver and conductor got down from their seats and didn't come back. There was only one bus and so people had no other option than to go to driver, conductor and to request them to sit on their seat. Almora was at least 25 kms away from that place. So we could also not go on foot. At last after 2 hours, the bus conductor and driver came back to their seats after many requests of passengers and assuring them that all will give their desired amount. I thought that time, that corruption is not only in the politics as people consider but it is in everybody. Corruption is in the nature of a common man, who wants to take advantage of the need of the other person.


Any ways, we reached Almora at 9pm. 'Ramlilaas' and Dussehra celebration of Almora are specially very famous in whole Kumaun. On the way to Tayiji's home from Almora bus station we saw many girls going somewhere at that night hours with others wearing sparkling-shining beautiful clothes and having makeup on their faces as if going to attend any marriage party. Bhaiya looked at me having questions in his eyes..... where were these girls going? I was also thinking the same thing but had understood and confirmed with papa saying 'Papa ye ladkiyan kisi Shadi me to nahi ja rahi hongi na? aajkal shaadi ka season to nahi hai?' Papa said 'No, they are going in Ramlila'. Papa has spent his young age in Almora itself, so he knows all the customs of this place. Bhaiya naughtily said...' May be participating in Ramlila......with a role of dancers of Ravan-darbaar'. And we all laughed. In some minutes we were at tayiji's home. Taiji had already cooked the delicious food for us. It was simple still tasty. Papa told us that the vegetables grown in hilly areas are tastier than grown in plains. We all decieded to go to famous Chitayi temple on the next day, early in the morning, so went to bed at 9:30. But bhaiya said that he wanted to go to market for walking.


The next day, we got up at 5am, took bath and did our daily pooja routine and got ready to go to Chitai temple. So all five of us (Including Tayi ji) took a Taxi for Chitai temple at 9 o'clock in the morning. {I reminded of my college days... when I last time visited this Chitai temple with my cousin Asha. Weather was not much good that day and it had got late. People were advising us to not go so far at that late hours...(3 pm ) on lonely roads, being girls. Still we both had determined that we would go to that temple at any cost...young blood running in our veins..:)......we couldn't get any  bus or Jeep or any other vehicle as people had already told us that at late hours no vehicle is available from that temple. So, we happily went on foot and came back on foot too......enjoying the beautiful natural scenes on both sides of the road}..


So this time we were in Taxi and it was 'Ashtami' of navratri...we reached temple, took pooja ki thali.....and en queued  ourselves in the row of the Bhakt-gans. Some people were sitting there in a group wearing yellow clothes and Gayatri-mantra printed on their clothes. They were chanting mantras and patriotic slogans and thus making the holy atmosphere more pious. people were worshiping in different small temples situated in the Temple area. We five standing in the queue, were watching and enjoying the holy atmosphere of temple.... 


After pooja, we returned to Tayi Ji's home and Mummy and Tayi ji started cooking lunch for us. I also helped them. Having lunch, we started talking with each other. Bhaiya described about the Ramlila he had watched last night, when papa enquired about the time when he had returned last night. Mom told that he had returned at about 12 o'clock at night. Bhaiya was telling me, 'Didi, The Ramlila was really very good......nice presentation! nice dialogue delivery!! and very nice technical arrangements!!! even the differents scenes at the same time were presented with the help of different sets arranged on the same stage. At one moment 'Sugreev' was thinking something and to show his flashback, the next moment the next scene was ready of his yong age with the help of Pardaas all scene were picturised very nicely. Superb!!' tayi ji also told us that Bhaiya was right and she added that Ramlilas of Almora are really awesome. We all took rest and in the afternoon, we returned to Haldwani as it was 'Navami' of navratras next day and Mummy had to do Devi-Pooja at home and had to offer food to 'nine kanyas'. So we baught famous Bal-mithai of Almora from a shop and took bus for Haldwani at 2pm.  returning home, I was thinking about the great time I had spent in cool atmosphere of Almora, which I had got after so many busy days spent at office.