Of monuments, mountains and valleys: 25th Dec '98-3rd Jan '99

We were a group of around 20 people. It was our first ever trip to North India. We spent about a month preparing for the trip. It all started on Christmas, when we boarded the train to Agra.

 DAY-1 26^th Dec,’98:

 We were greeted at the Agra station, by thick, dense fog which persisted throughout the day and cleared only during the afternoon.Initially we thought that we reached the station at 5am,but we were shocked when we saw it was 7 am. It was very dark and the visibility was not even 10 metres for the naked eye similar,in the movies showing persons disappearing into thin air.Opening our mouths,we could see white vapours coming out. It was unusual to everybody,since it was our first experience in such conditions.

The first monument we saw was the Agra Fort. It was very solid, huge, made from red brick. We learnt that during the Mughal era,Shah Jahan,in his later years, was kept as a prisoner in the Agra Fort by his son, Aurangzeb. As per historicans, Shah Jahan requested for a room, in a tower within the fort,known as Muasamman Bur from where he could gaze endlessly at the Taj Mahal. The balcony of the Muasamman Bur was made up from marble.

More details of the fort can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agra_Fort

 The strongest memory of the Agra Fort that I recollect, is a giant monkey jumping out of nowhere on to my unsuspecting mother, who was carrying a bunch of bananas in her hand. Obviously, the monkey could not resist while its favourite fruit was in danger of disappearing.

Of course, we could not leave Agra without visiting the Taj Mahal. In an effort to protect the Taj Mahal from vehicular pollution,we were taken to the monument on carts driven by horses. With the main entrance on one end, and the flowing Yamuna River on the opposite end, the giant expanse of smooth, lustrous white marble, carved into angles and curves, was a sight to behold.

Later that night,we boarded the train to the capital of India-New Delhi. When the train came,women and children got into it from two doors. Luggage was thrown into the train from another two doors and the gents jumped into it,since the train stopped for only 2 min.

DAY-2 27^th Dec,’98:

Our day in Delhi began with a visit to the historic Qutub Minar, followed by the Lotus Temple. The evening was spent at the Karol Bagh market, teeming with its never-ending activity, buying additional winter wears for our trip to the hillstations of Shimla and Manali.

DAY-3 28^th  Dec,’98:

Off we started on a long road trip to Shimla.  En route,we had a ride in a cable car. We reached Shimla late in the night. But alas, most of the passengers were either sleeping or drowsy from taking the anti-vomit tablets and missed the entry  into the town of Shimla, its twinkling lights, narrow clean pathways, extending out their hands as if welcoming us. We were booked into a hotel,Honeymoon Inn. It was living a dream.

DAY-4 29^th Dec,’98:

Shimla is famous for its Green Valley, which, during Jan-Feb, is usually covered in snow. The Green Valley derives its name from the numerous coniferous (pine) trees spread across the valley. We also put on a few local costumes and took various snapshots.

We then proceeded to Kufri, a famous ski resort near Shimla. Usually what would have been full of snow, was now rocky brown and hilly terrain. To get to the top of the mountain, we had to ride horses. My dad and I went together,I on the horseback, while my dad walked alongside. The women stayed back at the base. At the top of the mountain, we saw Mount Kailash, abode of Lord Shiva, through a telescope. The rest of the day was spent visitng a helipad and local film shooting locations.

DAY-5 30^th Dec,’98:

Manali. Our next destination. We started from Shimla in the morning and reached Manali in the evening, via Kullu. The scenery was simply mindblowing. We had the Beas river giving us company throughout the journey. Water silently flowing amidst boulders, rocks and pebbles, sunlight playing hide and seek with the coniferous trees, curvy roads, high mountain peaks, are some of the descriptions of the wonderful bus journey.. It was sub-zero temperature in the night, and the heaters in our hotel rooms were not working properly. Till date I don’t know how we managed to survive on heat pads, rubber pouches filled with hot water and placed on the bed. We were not very bothered with it, once we saw our first glimpse of the snow-capped Himalayan peaks during dawn from the window of our room. At sunrise, we saw the snow capped peaks bathed in the Sun’s rays, glowing in gold.

We could not wait to get to the snow-clad mountains. Jeeps took us to Rohtang Pass, located even higher than Manali. The roads leading to Rohtang Pass were very steep, narrow and rocky, huge mountain boulders on one side, and the deep valley on the other side. We were 6 people squeezed into a single jeep and I remember one of my relatives fervently praying that the vehicle wouldn’t fall into the deep ravines below. Traffic was stuck for an hour because of a landslide which had occurred, blocking the road with boulders.

On the way, we stopped by to hire some more fur sweaters and leather boots to protect us from the cold harsh wind blowing over the terrain of Rohtang Pass.

At Rohtang Pass, the snow was hardened and it was very slippery. Our leather boots made it all the more difficult to walk. Cold rough winds blew over, leaving our skin devoid of moisture. That did not prevent us from walking over the slippery ice and taking snaps. However, we could not stay there for a long time and returned back, glad to be in the warmth of the hotel.

DAY-6 31^th Dec,’98:

Solang valley, Hidimba temple, Hot springs, Buddhist temple and Club House were some of the places we visited at Manali. At Solang Valley, some of us gave an attempt at parasailing. Solang valley was very beautiful,the snow clad mountains and clear blue skies surrounding the green valley.

At Manali, I had my first shot at French fries. Since then, Ive been a mad fan of French fries!

DAY-7 1^st Jan, ‘99:

We proceeded back to Delhi from Manali. It was a very long journey by bus and we were too tired when we reached Delhi at midnight. The route from Manali to Delhi was covered in thick dense fog. All aboard the bus was asleep except for my father and another relative (and the driver of course).The bus was moving in darkness,guided by the tail lamp posts of the vehicle going ahead of our bus. They were scared to death!

DAY-8 2^nd Jan,’99:

Our last day of the trip was spent visiting the Red Fort, Raj Ghat, Rashtrapati Bhavan and the India Gate, landmarks of Delhi. We bought few souvenirs as a reminder of the wonderful tour.That evening,we took the train back to Hyderabad.At the station,we were in such a hurry. We did not get proper transportation to the station. We reached in different batches.Time was running out and we did not get seats in one compartment.Cell phones were a rarity during those days,so we did not know if everyone had got into the train.And to top it all.two people paid the same porter for carrying the same luggage!