Garhwal: Rishikesh, the Yoga Capital of the World

Diagram borrowed and made over

After a captivating Morning Stroll in Haridwar of 3-4 kms, I was hungry but I wished to get away from the crowd to breakfast in quieter surroundings. So I hopped on a tuk-tuk (a jitney like contraption) to reach Rishikesh. The distance from Haridwar to Rishikesh is about 25 kms. As the sun began its ascent, it began to get warmer. As I jaunted in the tuk-tuk, the breeze blowing around was a welcome relief.

Outside Chotiwala

Once I reached Rishikesh, I was so fascinated with the place that I forgot about my hunger. It was only after another lovely stroll lasting for more than an hour that I finally settled down at Chotiwala, a popular restaurant for breakfast.

View through the famed suspension bridge of Rishikesh

The scenic beauty of the place, the freshness of the cool air, the sporadic chiming of the temple bells, the spectacle of the river Ganga flowing through the Himalayan foothills with temples dotting its banks created unforgettable memories. It is no wonder then that so many pilgrims, yoga students and tourists are drawn to Rishikesh and its ashrams from all over the world. I stopped over briefly at the Triveni Ghats, where devotees take holy dips and offer prayers. It was then that I made up my mind to spend more leisure time on my return journey.

Rishikesh, widely acclaimed as the Yoga capital of the world, reminded me of the Maharishi who was closely associated with the Beatles and was reported to have died in yoga posture earlier this year.

Lakshman Jhula

I passed through certain learning center for science, arts and culture and came across many so called holistic yoga retreats. Supposedly a scientific technique that is 5,000 years old, it is meant for spiritual and overall personality development, and I can vouch my experience with Yoga has had a vibrant and rejuvenating effect on me.

The Ganges, Rishikesh

Rishikesh is pretty popular for adventure sports and that includes river rafting, trekking, kayaking, rock climbing, rappelling etc. I was particularly interested in trekking to a place with a hidden waterfall that I had read about but my destination for the day was to head north to reach Rudraprayag before it got dark. In any case, Garhwal is a region I’d like to go time and again on endless treks I've dreamed about and hence, with Rishikesh being the gateway to the upper Himalayan regions, I’m confident of reaching the hidden waterfall during one such trip.

I enjoyed the misty morning in charming Rishikesh though I could not capture very good pictures. I decided to stop over for a longer time while coming back and spend an evening there.

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As my rendezvous with Rishikesh was on my return journey, including the Aarti at the Ganges, I intend to write about that part of my emotional experience in a separate post.

On my return journey during the Ganga Aarti

How to reach Rishikesh:

The nearest airport to Rishikesh is Jolly Grant situated at a distance of 25 kms from main Rishikesh town. One can travel by train till Haridwar and then take a road journey to Rishikesh. A road journey from Delhi, 250 kms away, takes about 6-7 hours.

Related posts:

• Garhwal: Haridwar
• A Journey called Life
• A Journey to Garhwal
• A tryst with the Himalayas

A Morning Stroll in Haridwar and Religious Zeal

I boarded the Mussorie Express from Delhi a little before 9 pm. In the air-conditioned compartment of the train, I chatted with my fellow travellers and co-passengers until around midnight and then caught up on a few hours of sleep on the berth in the solace of pillows and blankets provided by the railways. Before long, I was in Haridwar, the place believed by every pious Hindu as the ‘Doorway to the House of the Lord.’

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I am in enchanting Haridwar. The scenes I come across captivate me. I am aware that Haridwar is a place of congregation of pilgrims, yet I did not expect as large a gathering. My fellow travellers who have passed through Haridwar on previous trips explain that such a large crowd is because of the Kanwarias season.

I have to be patient and need some skill to make way through the crowded and dismal streets lined with shops on both sides. I walk along with locals and pilgrims - both young and old - and in that pandemonium, I find a cow being given solemn attention.

On another road near the bridge, I come across people being transported on all types of vehicles, many in packed buses, more in tuk-tuks, a few on scooters, and some more on moving trucks filled with cargo, and through it all, I espy police mounted on horses. Many more cover the distance by foot, and I find some eating and relaxing at road side eateries.

When compared to pilgrims, the tourists are far and few and I can recognize them easily. My slightly jutting-out elbows and backpack help me a wee bit to get a little extra breathing space as I walk through the streets with the huge mass of moving bodies. It gets more crowded as I approach Hari-ki-Pauri.

Upon reaching the ghats, I am taken aback at what I see. The ghats are bursting with bare feet pilgrims. At the Hari-ki-Pauri, I am now a witness to the ghats being witness to the most number of dips in the Holy River. I get the feeling it is not the old temples but these people who contribute to the spiritual essence of the town. In the dream-like enchanting scene unfolding before me, I do not feel am a mere bystander, instead I become a part of it.

Some recently painted while other ancient towers line the banks. Through these, I view stupefied at the sheer mass of so many human bodies conglomerated together in one place early morning.

To witness the fervor of the pilgrims is amazing. To learn about Kanwarias and their aspirations itself is a surprise to me and then to think that some of them undertake the long arduous return journey home bare feet, sometimes travelling hundreds of miles, is another thing.

I watch in astonishment as a few pilgrims go through a continuous motion of prostrating on the ground, stretching their arms as much as they can, while their partners walk alongside assisting them by marking the point where their stretched fingers reach with a wooden stick. The pilgrim then starts from the marked point onwards for the next round in the same way. All this through the thronging crowded streets. What a painfully difficult and slow journey it is!

I am more surprised to learn that this slow motion journey repeats for days, sometimes weeks, until they cover several miles traversing this way right up to their homes. Because of the drizzle, I find the ground is mucky, yet they journey home horizontally, with exceptional perseverance and steadfastness. Their voluntary doggedness is unbelievable. Their actions speak volumes of their religious zeal and devotion.

I find pilgrims in every nook and corner moving from one holy site to another. It is drizzling now but I do not bother to take cover, nor do any of the pilgrims collected there. After all, they have travelled all the way for a dip in the Holy Ganges to seek absolution.

I notice the strong flowing current of diverted section of the holy river, Ganga. As they wade into the waters, most bathers hold on to sturdy chains bolted to the concrete walls. There are a few brave souls who dare to swim! Many undergo the rituals in reverence: praying, prostrating in obeisance, dipping themselves and drinking from the holy river.

A few people are there, who have come to perform last rites of their dearly departed. Then there are some, with saffron robes and long beards living there, having broken free from the bondage of a worldly life.

I can see many elderly pilgrims. In spite of their frail health, they have undertaken a journey to their holiest place – a place they consider as the most auspicious of all lands. After all, it is the place for them where they believe Vishnu first manifested in this world. For many pilgrims in Haridwar, just being present there is a fulfillment of one of their most cherished desires. They are there to carry out their last wish to visit this holy site. Some of them are not even sure if they are capable of a return journey home. At times, death at the ghats is taken in the right stride, as if dying at the banks of the holy river is as good as dying at the doorway of Hari, as the name implicates.

The vigor and enthusiasm that I discover in the pilgrims astounds me. I watch religious fervor infusing new energy into their fragile bodies and filling them up with a certain vitality. The spirit of devotion is so visible in most pilgrims and in some, it is in abundance!

Haridwar is enigmatic!

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Haridwar is accessible through air, rail and road. The nearest airport is the Jolly Grant in Dehradun, 35 kms away. It is well connected by trains to almost all major cities in India. The Mussorie Express and Jan Shatabdi train services run regularly from Delhi to Haridwar. National Highway 45 passes through Haridwar which is about 215 kms from Delhi.


Some recent related posts:

• Journey to Garhwal
• A Tryst with the Himalayas
• Garhwali Bears with Tiny Bells

Sky Watch Friday

The Sky Watch Blog can be found here.

A pilgrim after a dip in the Holy Ganga

Haridwar is a place located in the Himalayan range through which The Ganges (River Ganga) flows. To pious Hindus, it is an auspicious place where penitent pilgrims bathe in the holy river and in doing so, believe in absolution of their sins.

Journey to Garhwal

Highlights of the Journey

July - August, 2008

• While on the way from the airport to the residential parts of Delhi early morning, an interesting sight of the water-carrying, orange-clad kanwarias carrying decorated paraphernalia on their shoulders.
  

Kanwarias of Haridwar

• Alighting from the Mussorie Express early morning, a walk on the streets of Haridwar towards the banks of the river Ganga amongst more Kanwarias, and many pilgrims, young and old, and when compared to those, a few tourists. Surprise at the sight of the huge number of pilgrims at the Hari-Ki-Pauri, most of whom seeking absolution early morning with a dip in the sacred river, The Ganges.

Pilgrims at Hari-Ki-Pauri at 7:20 am

• After a walk up to the great Shiva statue, onwards to Rishikesh, the Yoga capital of the world, for a leisure walk to Ram Jhula, the ghats and beyond to discover the charm of the place to end up with a hearty breakfast at Chotiwal.

Ram Jhula, the bridge over River Ganges

• A journey through the foothills of the Himalayas passing through scenic Devprayag, where lies one of the five sacred confluences when the Bhagirathi River joins the Alaknanda River to form The Ganges.

On the way to Devprayag shot from a moving bus

• The journey for the day to continue right up to Rudraprayag, another confluence where the Mandakini River originating from Kedarnath joins the Alaknanda that originates from Badrinath.

The confluence as seen from the balcony of the GMVN

• The mostly uphill journey to Karnaprayag, the place of confluence of the Alaknanda and Pindar Rivers, another important pilgrimage spot for many.

From moving cab, on the way to Karnaprayag

• Roadblock lasting hours due to landslide between Nandaprayag and Chamoli and an unexpected mini-trek with the backpack to the base of valley, and then to cross a mountain stream - with gushing waters with fairly strong currents - with the help of locals and other travellers who ventured to undertake the difficult route through the wilderness. This was followed by a steep climb in the noon sun to emerge panting at the other end of the road for onward journey to Chamoli and was undertaken to avoid a long wait for hours for the roadblock to be cleared.
  

Unusual traffic on the road to Chamoli

• Journey through beautiful scenery, where quite often the mountain road showed signs of recent landslides and cleared paths right up to Joshimath.

View of a road in Joshimath from cable car

• A cable car ride to enjoy majestic and serene Auli and the joy of watching the change in hue of the mountain peaks at dawn for hours together till it was time to move on after an open air breakfast at sunrise.

A peek at Nanda Devi peak from Auli at dawn

• The ropeway ride again to enjoy the morning vista up to Joshimath for onward journey to pass through more awesome mountain scenery till Govindghat.

A pause before the long trek from Govindghat

• The thrill of setting out on the first planned long trek from Govindghat, passing through Bhyundhar village to end up hours later at the small mountain village of Ghangaria (also referred as Govind Dham).

Ghangaria

• Rested and reinvigorated next morning, setting out on the much anticipated trek to the Valley of Flowers.

A small section of the almost 90 sq km of Valley of Flowers

• Setting out on another trek - unplanned but certainly worth it - to Hemkund, a holy place for Sikhs, the valley having the most exotic mountain flora including the Brahm Kamal and the Blue Himalayan Poppy.
  
  

A glacier on a misty day on the way to Hemkund

• Yet another trek returning from Ghangharia to Govindghat and then the beautiful scenery of the Himalayan landscape during the journey from Govindghat to Badrinath via Pandukeshwar and Hanuman Chatti.

Badrinath Temple

• A final trek begun at dawn from Badrinath to the beautiful village of Mana at the borders with Tibet, and return to Badrinath.

On the way to Mana village

Return journey over the next few days from Badrinath to Govindghat – Joshimath – Chamoli – Rudraprayag – Rishikesh – Haridwar – Delhi – Mumbai and to my final destination.

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