Trek to Devi Pindi - A Photoblog

[Text and photos by D.B.]

As the name suggests, Panwadi Tales for the first time, introduces a Photoblog or a ‘phlog’, as is termed in blogging language. This blog post is all about a trek recently conducted – A trek to a ‘holy’, rather a ‘heavenly’ place Devi Pindian, a temple near the well-known Vaishno Devi shrine, in the laps of The Himalayas. “Sometimes the path traveled is better than the destination”, describes this trek the best.

It started off on a cloudy Saturday morning, when four purposeless guys decided to ‘explore’ the places around their college campus. The earlier reviews of the place were like, “heaven”, “amazing”, “a must-visit”, etc. One could start the 5 km trek after reaching Panthal, an important bus junction of the district. The starting point is well denoted by a foundation stone, confirming the validity of the path, which could not be seen anywhere around. Although, it seems that the government is trying to construct a way for the shrine. With few kutcha- dwellings built of mud, stone, thatch, basically vernacular in nature and very few shops the path lead us to the ‘real’ start-point of the journey.

One of the 'many' temples on the way

We started walking by the side of a drain which was flowing with full thrust. That is the only way to access the holy shrine. One has to walk or rather ‘balance’ on one of the drain sidewall, on one side of which is the ‘deep’ valley and on the other side, a mountain-wall.

The whole path is full of ‘elements of surprise’. On each and every turn you may find things which you have never seen. Amazing variety of flora and fauna is another thing that surprises you as you ascend.

 

The place is full of ‘natural enclosures’, a term which we used to study in Landscape Design, but could never experience. Huge peaks and hillocks overpower your existence as you progress in the journey.

There are ‘n’ numbers of sites where you get the perfect panoramas – delight for a photographer.

We were shocked to see people residing in such remote places. We saw the ‘local-residents’, few school kids, some women, travelling all the way down to the point where we started, for their daily activities.

Soon we were welcomed by the stream, the source point of the drain we had been following.

The temple was half-way in its construction. We came to know that the construction started few months back when someone donated a good amount to the shrine. We could see only one pandit ji who was managing the things over there.

All in all, the shrine could be termed as a ‘clone’ to the original Vaishno devi shrine. Here also, three pindian or three naturally existing bulges in the mountain, represents the goddess. We were told that it is believed that the goddess resides in main shrine for three months and for rest of the year, in this place. “Maa toh har jagah rehti hai”, he compensated.

The place is not bounded by the restrictions of photography unlike other ‘famous’ places but we were told to ask for the permission from Guruji - a middle-aged man, full beard and long hair, wearing a dhoti and kurta, in short a perfect portrayal of a ‘guru’, as mentioned by the priest. He was ‘in silence’ since nine years and been living like that since last seventeen years. Although he had a Samsung smart phone but looked like as if he has left the world for peace. After meeting him, we forgot about clicking picks of the place. Maybe it was the thought to maintain and preserve the secrecy of the place that bounded us to do that.

We decided to leave soon keeping in mind, the weather and the location. Many times we even started recalling the techniques by Bear Grylls, when we thought we lost our tread. But finally we reached the stream and decided to jump in.

The returning journey was monotonous but we all had a smile on face. The captivating site left us spell bounded. We all had the feeling of not doing anything for the rest of the day. It could be termed as a ‘limit’. We touched a limit, we saw heaven on Earth.

The journey, indeed, was mesmerizing and I could capture only this much through my cam.

Special thanks to my friends Himanshu, Sahil & Abhishek (the guide) for providing me with moments and a ‘once in a life – time chance’ to see and ‘enjoy’. I experienced how it feels to be 'contented'...

Destination :    Devi Pindian, Katra, Jammu & Kashmir

How to reach : A mini bus ride to Panthal  from Katra and rest of the journey, by foot, on a NOT defined path. Search on Google Maps with the name Devi Pindi Mata Mandir.

Trekking Tips : Keep yourself full with food items. Chose monsoon time and feel free to explore. For maximum enjoyment. NOT for families, as there is no road. The most important tip – MIND YOUR STEP. Keep the environment clean, as it is, and do not miss the colors of nature – the flora and fauna of the place.

Request :      Respect nature and try to preserve it. Share your experience on panwadi.tales@gmail.com , if you visit the place.  

Eat Pray Love- III

[Text and Photos by D.B.]

LOVE !?!

Phew… within a short span, just three weeks, I was done with two totally different cities, with totally different mantras, Eat and Pray (see my previous posts. part I and II). The one left was something which I have always been afraid of and knew by my heart that it’s not gonna happen. But what occurred was somehow very close to it. Now, come on, don’t make a presumption that I fell in love or something! A mere class trip back to Delhi was organized in no time for study of Urban places and the activities going on at Urban level.

From being in solitude, unexpectedly, I was told to pack my bags and move back to the city life! Within just twenty days, I was back in town, to study of course. For the first time I was afraid to roam around in my own city. Afraid of getting ‘caught’ by someone, or to keep it simple, afraid of getting caught by those from whom I had been running. Delhi is a strange place. Here, no matter how many people are residing in the city, you tend to bump into people you know, while moving in Metro, in a mall, in shopping places, etc. And the probability of the same increases especially on weekends, that’s when we reached Delhi.

The person who was keeping himself away from crowd, people, camaraderie, fellows, colleagues, was told to study different ‘public’ spaces of Delhi, that too, on a weekend! According to the movie plot, or rather, the plot of the novel, the protagonist returns to Bali and finds her “love affair”. Here, my tale couldn’t match the original plot. Maybe that’s why they say that life is not a movie. Though I lacked the ‘love affair’, I had memories. Memories of the time spent, memories of the places I have visited before, memories of  the ‘feel’ of my own city – Dilli, memories which are as dear to me as my ‘love’ would be. In short, my memories became my “love affair” on this trip.

The Center

We started the study with C.P. and our assembly point was, by default, chosen as C.C.D. at Rajiv Chowk, always. Waiting there you’ll never feel bored. Every moment the person standing next to you would be replaced by another one as they all are ‘waiting’. A guy leaned on the tilted wall calls someone and a moment later the ‘someone’ comes, they greet each other & leave, another guy or girl takes over his place. This activity or cycle moves on and on. Well, you must be wondering what I was doing there. I have spent hours waiting there for friends. Memory of those waiting hours is my ‘love affair’. In architectural terms, I studied the importance and need of a Landmark.

Standing Tall

Qutub Minar, one of the three World Heritage Sites of the city. Memory of my last visit to the monument was so empowering that I couldn’t feel any charm of going there again. But to ‘study its role at urban level’ was the task given to us. The weekend rush, scorching heat, and limited time, all these factors made it a dull study. The only thing I could relate to my ‘love affair’ was the ‘ruined’ part of the complex.

“It’s like a precious wound… like a heartbreak you won’t let go of because it hurts too good…”

“We settle for living in misery because we’re afraid of change, of things crumbling to ruins.”

“Ruin is a ‘gift’. Ruin is the road to transformation. It shows that we must always be prepared of endless waves of transformation…”

In architectural language, I studied how a monument lives so long and becomes the Icon for the city.

The Heritage Street

Next, the busy long road, people rushing either towards or opposite to you, small pavements, hundreds of shops, preoccupied crowd moving like zombies, and you moving just with the ‘flow’, that’s when you know you are in Chandni Chowk. No matter from where you are or which place you belong to, this heritage street shows you that you are ‘nothing’. The moment you step into the crowd of Chandni Chowk, you are either lost or carried away by the ‘flow’ of it. Here, no one stops for no one. The flow is nonstop, pedestrians, vehicles, autos, rickshaws, even bullock-carts, all looking for their space and you find yourself fighting to get yours. My ‘love affair’ with the place is longstanding just as the place is. When I feel low I prefer to visit this street. It reminds me of the value of time and thus to ‘move on’. In technical terms, I studied the characteristics of an Urban Street.

Visit to District Center, Janakpuri was again a revival of my ‘love affair’ with the place. Shattered, the place is still managing to survive and serve its people. Sometimes I relate buildings with people and emotions. I found it looking for answers for its dusk. Why its value has gone down, just because other better options are available? Or it has some faults within? Academically, I studied the ‘decline’ of an Urban District.

Likewise, the three days trip covered other spots like Kashmiri Gate Station, Malviya Nagar, Janpath, etc. The first is an Urban Node i.e. an important junction, in bookish language and as far as my ‘love affair’ is concerned, it’s my place to ‘meet up’. I know Janpath as the place to buy that Rs. 150 tee, whereas they call it just an Urban Street. Malviya Nagar, a perfect example of an Urban transformation also happens to be ‘my’ place to define ‘change’.

By the end of the trip, I was totally empty. It’s like I buried every single ‘love affair’ of mine at the place where it belonged to. Every place that gave birth to the ‘love affair’ is its tomb now! Time changes everything and within these thirty days, I went through loads of changes. When in Mumbai, I ‘lived’ with my appetite and just after that I bowed down to the mighty nature, in Campus, that showed me the way to ‘emptiness’ and still does. The last stop, Dilli, displayed the value of ‘love affairs’ or memories and their effects if they remain.

I could have describe this ‘journey’ of mine in any way, but Eat Pray Love provided me with a way to express all in a simpler way as, miraculously, it matched with the ‘real’ life plot. And so does the result or “the physics of the quest”, and thus I would quote down a phrase which will define and conclude this romance.

“The rule of the Quest physics is as follows:

If you’re brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting… and set out on a truth – seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you’re truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue… and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher… and if you are prepared, most of all… to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you!

I can’t help but believe it, given my experience!”

     

Eat Pray Love - II

[Text and Photos by D.B.]

Contd. from Eat Pray Love! (http://panwaditales.blogspot.in/2012/09/eat-pray-love.html)

PRAY

Well, my date with the tasteful delights got over with Mumbai trip. By the end of August, I was back in Delhi preparing to leave for college. It’s been long five years and hundreds of trips from home to college and back to home. But it’s tough to ‘leave’ something, someone behind every time. Just before boarding, I made a ‘decision’ that made it tougher! Decision to leave things which were part of my life… Were my life!

“The only thing more impossible than staying… Was leaving! I didn’t want to hurt anybody. I wanted to slip quietly out the back door and not stop running until I reached Greenland. Instead I made a decision.

To pray.”

Way to 'heaven'

The feel of getting ‘in - solitude’ groped me in, again. It was nurtured by the thoughts of reaching a place which in itself is a ‘kingdom of solitude’, my college campus. Moreover, as I stepped in to the Fifth year of studies (the senior most batch of the university), the absence of the beloved seniors put me into a fix. During whole my journey, I was consumed by the thoughts and memories of times spent. It all sounds weird but the degree of longing was very strong, this time. The only support that I could think of was the ‘nature’ or to match with the movie plot, the ‘God’. One can witness the best monsoon in my college campus, I have done it before and I was banking on it as my last resort. And I was NOT turned down. Welcomed by heavy rain, city roads draining out continuous streams of water, flooded tributaries that come in way from Jammu to Katra, and thunders, I knew I had it!

Clouds in Campus

“Every city has a word for it” and the word for my campus is ‘Nature’! No one needs to be a religious person or a saint to praise the wonders nature creates. Likewise, I stepped in and was calmed by the overwhelming feel of the place. It was as if I turned down the world and ‘left’ everything back in that chaotic city culture, just to find peace, to find God, to Pray! Mentioning ‘to pray’ continually doesn’t actually mean ‘to pray’, it doesn’t mean that I’ve became a saint or sadhu sitting in Himalayas, disconnected with the world, looking for eternal peace. Well, I am in Himalayas, disconnected with the world, but not a sadhu yet!

Pearls

I pray, whenever I sense a drop of rain on hands while moving towards college. Those ten minutes of walk turns out as ‘moments’ of life, acknowledging nature’s geniuses at every step. I pray, when I am greeted by the bird with bright, blue feathers every day. I pray, when I see the rain drops struggling to hold themselves on the leaves. I pray, when I am distracted on my way by restless butterflies. I pray, when the lightning strikes hard. I pray, when the cloud’s thunder is heard non-stop for hours. I pray, when I could ‘see’ rain reaching me. I pray, when I ‘walk’ with the clouds. I pray, when I see a rainbow so fine that you could count all seven colors. The rain, here, is powering unlike Mumbai’s. I call the Mumbai rain ‘the silent one’ whereas what we have here in college is the ‘storm’, always. It reminds me of the Bajaj Avenger advertisement where the guy riding the bike says, “Why listen to the music of humans, when you can listen to the music of heavens! Feel like God!” The rain here gets on to your nerves. It falls endlessly, with the same flow, along with the thunders and lightning. In short, it is a photographer’s paradise and leaves a smile on face. You feel contented.

Sounds of Nature

Sitting on river side is another privilege we have here. A tributary, actually, that flows like a river in monsoon. The thrust can be felt by just listening to the sound of it. With each passing turn and level, the sound changes and thus it starts a conversation of its own kind. Sitting on the rocks, during sunset and being a ’part’ of it, is incomparable to the materialistic pleasures.

“It’s like telling yourself, you deserve a break today! In Italian they call it ‘Dolce far niente’ – the sweetness of doing nothing!”

Flowing with 'it'

Yes. All this might sound like a fairy tale but it still happens, here. In the movie, the protagonist tries to find peace with the help of meditation. Here, living every moment seems to be a meditation in itself. Moreover, being ‘unsocial’ adds to the credits. It has been hard, sometimes, to come out of things that matters a lot, to forget and to move on in life. But, here I am! Not many are happy with the way am dealing with my life at the moment, but then, I am not living it for them. I needed to get over with things and this place provided me with the right push, as it always does. A juvenile decision of having lesser communication with people ended up, me, having conversations with the ‘nature’. I call it Pray!

View from My room

                                                                                                                          to be contd...

While writing this part, 2nd of the 3 parts, I tried my best to bring out visions of the natural marvels that I witness daily. Though supported by continuous downpour, I still had a feeling that I missed something while putting all this in words, thus am sharing the ‘captures’ which defines the mighty nature! The quotes written above are from the movie, not mine. 

Eat Pray Love!

[Text and Photos by D.B.]

I might sound repetitive when I say that whatever happened in the last month brought me back to writing or that I am once again swayed by the plot of the movie Eat Pray Love! (See, my earlier post Single in The City) But that is what exactly happened. Eat Pray Love - Is what that kept me busy. The only difference is the time lapse. This time, it took a whole month to go through the cycle.

Eat

'The Financial Capital'

Almost all of us are aware of the saying, “Naani ke ghar jaayenge, Motey ho kar aayengey!” Every visit to the city of Mumbai proves the validity of this statement, for me. Being my second home, place of my Grandparents, Mumbai has always been a city as the ‘home away from home’. Thus it was the only place of which I could think of to spend my ‘last’ academic summer vacations. The 10-day trip started off in the last week of July- the best time to visit the city, at least for me. That’s the time when you get to see the Mumbai Monsoon! Monsoon played a game with the Delhi-ites this year, which eventually made the Mumbai trip much more effective. I was welcomed by rain. My residence is in Thane, which being part of suburbs, receives plenty of rainfall during this time. The urbanization of the city has not affected this place yet. Now, as Indians, our love for the Chai and pakoda with Baarish is very well known. Similarly, when in Mumbai during monsoon I try not to miss the Wada-Paav, the Paav-Bhaji and Bhel-puri. The Mumbai Special Paani-puri is not mentioned as anyone who’s been fond of the version sold in Delhi (the Gol-Gappa) would never have the Mumbai one (smaller in size and far less teekha). Belonging to a family where the ladies are the Goddess of food, I confess, that I run for street food just to have the ‘feel’ of the city. If I miss the street food, it’s like my trip is incomplete.

The Staple Food

The garma-garam paav half-cut from middle, stuffed with wada coated with the special onion-garlic-red-chilly powder, served in an old newspaper with green chillies (optional) is the staple food and delicacy of that place. You might not find an auto (just kidding, it is next-to-impossible) but you will find someone selling wada-paav and bhajiya-paav in every nook and corner of the city. The best part, the delicacy is available for Rs. Seven Only. Those who have modernized with time can go for the Rs. 10 and Rs. 25, also termed as Jumbo-paav. The thrills of having one with the green chilly (my choice) could be cooled down only by having a plate of bhel-puri or sev-puri. Sold in other cities with tag of Bombay Bhel, written in red-paint bordered yellow, this is the second best thing one can have anytime in Mumbai. The mixture of bhel with papdi, dahi, aloo and mithi-chatni is as mouth-watering as it sounds and strikes the taste-buds as it gets in.

Paav-Bhaji Stalls

Next comes the paav-bhaji, everyone remembers Sanjay Dutt selling paav-bhaji in the movie Vaastav, right? Bring that image to mind and think of a stall with big tawa with red-colored bhaji boiling on the surface surrounded by many paav aligned with the circumference of the tawa and for audio effects, think of the cook hitting the karchhi repeatedly and the “chhisss..” sound whenever the oil is poured. Done, now think of the order served hell hot with layer of melted butter on the bhajii and paav, and thanks to monsoon, add minor drizzling to freeze the frame. Heaven! Back in time, it used to be Juhu beach, where I cherished the flavor. Now, I prefer stay away from the crowded ‘tourist’ spot and enjoy my cuisine standing amidst a crowded market place. Time has changed but the taste remains the same. I can very well recall the day when I refused to accept the meal served by a restaurant in Katra just because he was selling kulcha in the name of paav. My peer group was surprised of my rude attitude but how could one eat kulcha-bhaji? For god sake, kulcha is kulcha and paav is paav!!!

Leopold Cafe

During the trip I happened to visit places which were famous for other things also apart from just serving good food. First, the Leopold Café, established in 1871, the café has a character of its own. Old, cozy, classic paintings, elite, and a place to be, defines it all. The café doesn’t have much space for all the customers but it feels as if it was meant to be like that only. Just had a cold coffee there but was contented by the ‘feel’ it served. In short, if we had to rate it like Rocky & Mayur of Highway on my Plate, I would give, “Ambience: 10/10”. Although, it was very unfortunate to see the bullet-marks in the walls, a leftover of the terror attack on Taj. The place has seen much.

The next was Olympia. My grandpa told me about this. Back in 1985, he used to go there with his friends after office, but only had an image of it. He wasn’t sure of its existing till date and even forgot its name and was searching for Columbia. Though, he could recall it when we reached there. Run by the Iranian community, at that time, the café spoke about its age itself. Nanu said, “The furniture is same”, and I could sense the nostalgia. We had daal - roti and a cup of coffee. It could be compared to home-cooked food, it was that tasty. I was interested in the activities going around, office-people; especially those keeping roza were there as it was dinner time. The service was polite and humble; it was in-budget for anyone, not a well-maintained structure as compared to Leopold, but still being a rival to it standing facing it from the other side of road.

My taste-buds worked full on till the end of the trip. A visit to Marine Drive on a High-Tide day filled up the voids left. Looking at the skyline of the city, gazing at the sea, feeling the breeze, dark sky waiting to burst out, constant sound of the waves hitting the tetra-pods placed on the coast line, and suddenly, a high-tide comes and floods you in and leaves a smile on the face. That moment, gone in a second, you feel you had a conversation with the heavens. This ambience and a guy came up to me selling chai. How could I refuse it? That mere single cup of chai made it theee perfect moment! Nothing could be better than that.

Talking to the Sea

The trip was meant to be a vacation and it actually turned out to be one. A Vacation from things that keep you disturbed, a Vacation from worries, and a Vacation from things of lesser value. As I always say, each city has its own ‘feel’. Mumbai’s local cuisine and the places where all this is available turned out to be the ‘feel’ of Mumbai for me, this vacation.

The city that never sleeps

The tale continues, as I didn't want to kill the ‘feel’ to save the text space. And, because of my absence from the “social-network”, some of my readers have started thinking that I do not exist anymore! (lols..) For them, I am always available on panwadi.tales@gmail.com. I’ll be glad to hear from you.