RISHIKESH! A word that had no importance in my life until I visited it. Now this word itself brings NIRVANA, serenity and peace within.
Hello there, Its me Siddhesh your Pantha Parivrajaka - The Linking Traveller, brings to you my new journey to peace. Yes, this place is pure. Like I am really sorry but I have no words to express my love for this place. I can say every time I visit a new place I love it but this has embedded and touched my soul that made a tattoo on my soul. While writing this blog I can still feel the fresh air and can see the humongous river body, our own GANGA MAA, those melodious tunes during Aarti, etc. I am confused what all and what not to express, from where to start. Better we start from the beginning as I have to keep up with the momentum of my blogs or else you people will stop reading it.
So I began from Delhi. Got my tickets and landed to Dehradun. As this was my budget travel so I skipped taking my usual bike on rent. I had done some research before travelling that here you can get local govt. buses and rickshaws for travelling to your destination. So I thought why not to give a try. So after walking for around1-1.5 kms I finally came out of the airport area and was walking in the direction of Rishikesh as there were guiding boards. Took a glass of sugarcane juice to pump myself in this roaring heat and asked the boy there by what time the bus would come. He told that you better finish the juice early or might miss it as it can come anytime now. And he was damn accurate as my glass was half he finger pointed towards the bus to show that it has arrived. I hurried and by making sure that it was going to Rishikesh I boarded. It was an 18km ride from that spot and so I took a seat and was excited to see the route to my destination and it didn't disappoint me. The curvy roads and trees around it made it soothing. But I was very saddened to see the river Chandrabhaga dry as Rann of Kutch. Literally there were JCB's inside it don't know why but they were layering something in. It made me feel low that why am I even a part of this Kaliyug where we couldn't do much for our Mother Nature.
So after around half an hour I reached to Rishikesh Govt. Bus Depot. From there you have to either enjoy the spot by walking or by rickshaws. After night shift, travelling here was a real hectic thing but travelling itself brings a KICK and hence I still decided to walk and experience the local life of Rishikesh and I was shocked. Cleanliness within gullies was there utmost priority it seemed, as there was no pot holes and no garbage on the road or any such thing that would make you feel eww.
After walking for 25-30 mins and covering almost 3 kms I heard a sound of flowing water. It got me excited and I could feel that vibe of positivity. I reached my hotel, took the key, changed into something that would make a good photo near the river over my swim pants and marched towards the river. As I was nearing the river the sound was increasing and so did my heart rate. There was a good bridge made beside the river so that you could just sit there and attain internal peace. So it was at a height the reason why I had to climb before getting a glimpse, and as soon as I got one I was mesmerised. My eyes popped out on capturing the huge river all at once in my eye sight and that was not possible. It was huge, the first ever in my life. The much hyped river in any Hindu's life. They said it right, its the most humongous river you will see yet feel peaceful around it. I was hypnotised by its beautiful view. And for a perfect shot from that point I had to walk a bit to the end of the bridge and get down near the shore.
I got undressed and was stepping into it. The moment I kept my leg in I literally jumped as it was too cold and hit my spine. Such a long travel yet so cold. Its pure magical. I took the name of Almighty Shiva and started entering the river. The flow was such that it could easily take all your sin away because it can take you with it (SO NAA RAHEGA BAANS NA BAJEGI BANSURI). I held the stone for support and stood firm inside, took a holy dip and stood in sunlight to have some warmth, but the breeze added oil to the fire and I was feeling very cold but the water did its magic. I could sense how amazing I felt and hence even after drying, I just couldn't stop myself from going back again to take a dip.
Finally after three rounds of freezing dips I controlled and dried myself on the shore and sat there for a couple of minutes. That sound, that breeze touching my soul, I felt as if I was directly getting blessed. Then I went to my room, changed and went to Triveni Ghat, where there is a union of three holy rivers in Hinduism, The Saraswati the Yamuna and the Ganga, for the Ganga Aarti. It starts at 1800 hrs and goes on for around 30-45 mins. Even if you aren't spiritual, you will feel the spirituality due to the rhythmic singing of Aarti by the Pandits and Bhakts. After the Aarti I was high on spirituality that I literally had tears due happiness. People Enjoying and dancing on Mahadeo's rhythm and songs live played by the Bhakts.
Finally after visiting the spots around, it was time for lunch and after lunch my return journey started. I took a rickshaw that directly dropped me to depot. After long waiting for the bus, finally I had to hop in a Bolero that was going in airport direction as I had to rush for my flight. Good lord that he didn't charge me more and now I had to walk more 1.5kms to reach the airport but lucky me, a cab driver was going that way so he dropped me till the entrance and here my Journey of Rishikesh ended.
I felt bad that I was going back to the same MOH- MAYA WAALI ZINDAGI. So I decided that I will come again and if possible every year for this peace, but surely I will bring my parents and Grand parents to experience this lovely place. I also have planned for Haridwar lately and will soon post about it.
About the cost, I hardly spent Rs.1000-1500/- in Rishikesh for 1night/2days. Travel locally and feel the beauty is all I can say about this. See you until next time. Keep a watch on the blog channel.
CONTACT DETAILS :- THE LINKING TRAVELLER
EMAIL :- panthaparivrajaka@gmail.com
WHATSAPP :- +91-8779294700
FACEBOOK :- fb.me/thelinkingtraveller
INSTAGRAM :- https://www.instagram.com/the_linking_traveller/
YOUTUBE :- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn1Vhzme_qiTsSce4Z0m1LA?view_as=subscriber
BLOGGER :- https://thelinkingtraveller.blogspot.com
WEBSITE :- https://thelinkingtraveller.com
*NOTE - All the photos are copyright of The Linking Traveller.
All photos taken from iPhone SE.
Hello there, Its me Siddhesh your Pantha Parivrajaka - The Linking Traveller, brings to you my new journey to peace. Yes, this place is pure. Like I am really sorry but I have no words to express my love for this place. I can say every time I visit a new place I love it but this has embedded and touched my soul that made a tattoo on my soul. While writing this blog I can still feel the fresh air and can see the humongous river body, our own GANGA MAA, those melodious tunes during Aarti, etc. I am confused what all and what not to express, from where to start. Better we start from the beginning as I have to keep up with the momentum of my blogs or else you people will stop reading it.
So I began from Delhi. Got my tickets and landed to Dehradun. As this was my budget travel so I skipped taking my usual bike on rent. I had done some research before travelling that here you can get local govt. buses and rickshaws for travelling to your destination. So I thought why not to give a try. So after walking for around1-1.5 kms I finally came out of the airport area and was walking in the direction of Rishikesh as there were guiding boards. Took a glass of sugarcane juice to pump myself in this roaring heat and asked the boy there by what time the bus would come. He told that you better finish the juice early or might miss it as it can come anytime now. And he was damn accurate as my glass was half he finger pointed towards the bus to show that it has arrived. I hurried and by making sure that it was going to Rishikesh I boarded. It was an 18km ride from that spot and so I took a seat and was excited to see the route to my destination and it didn't disappoint me. The curvy roads and trees around it made it soothing. But I was very saddened to see the river Chandrabhaga dry as Rann of Kutch. Literally there were JCB's inside it don't know why but they were layering something in. It made me feel low that why am I even a part of this Kaliyug where we couldn't do much for our Mother Nature.
So after around half an hour I reached to Rishikesh Govt. Bus Depot. From there you have to either enjoy the spot by walking or by rickshaws. After night shift, travelling here was a real hectic thing but travelling itself brings a KICK and hence I still decided to walk and experience the local life of Rishikesh and I was shocked. Cleanliness within gullies was there utmost priority it seemed, as there was no pot holes and no garbage on the road or any such thing that would make you feel eww.
After walking for 25-30 mins and covering almost 3 kms I heard a sound of flowing water. It got me excited and I could feel that vibe of positivity. I reached my hotel, took the key, changed into something that would make a good photo near the river over my swim pants and marched towards the river. As I was nearing the river the sound was increasing and so did my heart rate. There was a good bridge made beside the river so that you could just sit there and attain internal peace. So it was at a height the reason why I had to climb before getting a glimpse, and as soon as I got one I was mesmerised. My eyes popped out on capturing the huge river all at once in my eye sight and that was not possible. It was huge, the first ever in my life. The much hyped river in any Hindu's life. They said it right, its the most humongous river you will see yet feel peaceful around it. I was hypnotised by its beautiful view. And for a perfect shot from that point I had to walk a bit to the end of the bridge and get down near the shore.
Finally after three rounds of freezing dips I controlled and dried myself on the shore and sat there for a couple of minutes. That sound, that breeze touching my soul, I felt as if I was directly getting blessed. Then I went to my room, changed and went to Triveni Ghat, where there is a union of three holy rivers in Hinduism, The Saraswati the Yamuna and the Ganga, for the Ganga Aarti. It starts at 1800 hrs and goes on for around 30-45 mins. Even if you aren't spiritual, you will feel the spirituality due to the rhythmic singing of Aarti by the Pandits and Bhakts. After the Aarti I was high on spirituality that I literally had tears due happiness. People Enjoying and dancing on Mahadeo's rhythm and songs live played by the Bhakts.
Later taking these moments with me, I went to my room had supper, and slept. I wanted to getup early as I wanted to go and meditate near the shore and hence next morning by around 0600 hrs I got up and went for meditation. I came back by around 0900 hrs, had my breakfast on the way back to my room, had bath and checked out of hotel for my day trip. Now here in Rishikesh there are spots like Mahadeo temple that are deep within the forest and requires a jeep or car to travel. It takes around 1-1.5 hrs to reach the spot. So I skipped it as it was not possible for me to come back within stipulated time as I had my flight back in the evening. So all I can do was to visit the Ram Jhula , the Laxman Jhula and the Triyambakeshwar Mandir. I made the most of it.
The Triyambakeshwar Mandir has all the gods related to Hinduism and is a 13 floors temple, and on the top is the Triyambak Mahadeo Mandir. It is said that this temple was built in remembrance of Lord Ram as he did his Mahadeo Pooja here near the shores of Ganga during his Vanvaas.
Finally after visiting the spots around, it was time for lunch and after lunch my return journey started. I took a rickshaw that directly dropped me to depot. After long waiting for the bus, finally I had to hop in a Bolero that was going in airport direction as I had to rush for my flight. Good lord that he didn't charge me more and now I had to walk more 1.5kms to reach the airport but lucky me, a cab driver was going that way so he dropped me till the entrance and here my Journey of Rishikesh ended.
I felt bad that I was going back to the same MOH- MAYA WAALI ZINDAGI. So I decided that I will come again and if possible every year for this peace, but surely I will bring my parents and Grand parents to experience this lovely place. I also have planned for Haridwar lately and will soon post about it.
About the cost, I hardly spent Rs.1000-1500/- in Rishikesh for 1night/2days. Travel locally and feel the beauty is all I can say about this. See you until next time. Keep a watch on the blog channel.
CONTACT DETAILS :- THE LINKING TRAVELLER
EMAIL :- panthaparivrajaka@gmail.com
WHATSAPP :- +91-8779294700
FACEBOOK :- fb.me/thelinkingtraveller
INSTAGRAM :- https://www.instagram.com/the_linking_traveller/
YOUTUBE :- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn1Vhzme_qiTsSce4Z0m1LA?view_as=subscriber
BLOGGER :- https://thelinkingtraveller.blogspot.com
WEBSITE :- https://thelinkingtraveller.com
THANK YOU
All photos taken from iPhone SE.
