A Retreat at Sitlakhet

I was part of a group of teachers from the S.P. Group that visited Sitlakhet for a four-day retreat before the commencement of classes after the summer break. We gathered at the New Delhi Railway station for the onward journey on the 25th prior to boarding the Shatabdi express which then departed for Kathgodam at 6:00 a.m. A few stoppages en route meant we reached Kathgodam after 12:00 p.m. After arriving at Kathgodam, we boarded Innovas for the rest of the journey to Sitlakhet (We stopped for lunch at the Royal Wind restaurant a couple of kilometres from the Railway Station). Since we were already running late, we reached our destination, The Pinewood Cliff Camp well after 5:00 p.m. After the tent allotments, there was a briefing about the adventure activities for the rest of the days by Mohd. Zahid, also known as Vicky also part of Team Adventure and a briefing by Vikramjeet Sinha our well known Art Therapist. The brief stretch was then followed by an evening session by Vikramjeet Sinha on nurturing and bringing out the child within ourselves.

On the 26th of June, we had a lot to do! There was a Zen Walk followed by a Zen Painting session conducted by Vikramjeet before breakfast. After Breakfast, there was a warm-up session by Vicky from Team Adventure followed by a briefing about the day's adventure activity which was a trek to the Sihai Devi Temple. We were given maps and compasses and told to find the way. It was a fun activity especially with so many of us suggesting different routes. We finally did reach the temple well in time as we decided to take the oft-trodden path. After we returned we had lunch and thereafter a training session with Vikramjeet Sinha post lunch and dinner. The rest of the time was spent exploring the campsite. We were surprised to know that the camp had quite an interesting history. It had once been a tea-plantation. The main building seemed to be a flashback into the history of the Victorian era buildings.

The 27th of June was yet another busy day for all of us. After breakfast and a Zen Painting session With Vikramjeet, there was a briefing by Vicky of Team Adventure and then we proceeded to the site for the Zipline adventure activity which included learning how to tie different knots so that we could tie ropes to two trees. This activity was completed well in time and we reached the camp on time. We had two workshops with Vikram post lunch and dinner on connecting with the inner child. There was a lot to do after we returned to the camp such as identifying archetypes in us and creating and sharing stories.

We were scheduled to return to Gurgaon on the 28th so many of us woke up early for the return trip. after breakfast, we had a brief warm-up session with Vicky and his team. After closure, we boarded our Innovas for the trip to Kathgodam. We left the Camp at 8:45 a.m., reached the Royal Wind Restaurant at 1:00 p.m. and boarded the train at the Kathgodam railway which departed at 3:30 p.m. We reached the New Delhi Railway station at 9:42 p.m.

It had indeed been a hectic but most rewarding trip especially as it provided us with many anecdotes about life both abstruse as well as mundane and funny. Taking photographs of each other, selfies with mobile cameras, taking photographs of the stars (in which one seemed to capture a UFO in flight), the night trip to the ruin a little way beyond, the campfire and the dance, all of them seemed to be an appropriate way to mix fun with the serious.

Photographing the Milky Way at Shitlakhet, Uttarakhand

On a trip to Sitlakhet, I took a few snaps of the sky using a long exposure (the bulb setting) a tripod and a remote release for the shutter. In most of the cases, I used a 15 to 25-second exposure.

The best results came with a shorter exposure as it was possible to capture pin-point snaps of the stars. With longer exposure came the danger of capturing the movement of the stars.

Could this be a UFO?

While on a senior programme retreat to Sitlakhet, I came across a strange object in one of the photographs that I took of the sky on the 27th of  June. I at first thought it was a meteor, but then realised that the object should have had a longer trail. A few people thought it was a satellite while others thought it was the International Space Station. I was however not convinced and believed the object might have been a UFO. I have pasted the snap below and would like the reader to make his or her own conclusion. The photo is unedited and as is.

I am sure that the object in the snap was definitely not an aeroplane nor was it a weather balloon.  

A Short trip to Dhanaulti, Massoorie and Rishikesh in a Suzuki Ciaz and a Suzuki Baleno

Day 0 Gurgaon to Ghaziabad 72 Kilometres driving time 1.5 hours using expressways including the elevated Express Ways including the Raj Nagar Extension Elevated Express Way.

We decided to take a two days break at my Brother in Law's place for a couple of days before we left early in the morning for Dhanaulti in the morning of the first of June. Got the tank filled in the Ciaz which has a 43 litres tank and got the tires checked. I was surprised to know that all four tires had 40 psi of pressure!

Day 1- Ghaziabad to Burans Khanda driving time 6.5 hours (0.5-hour stoppage at a Dhaba) route used- the Ganga Canal Road 

This year my brother in law Naveen and I  decided to make a trip to Dhanaulti, Massorie and Rishikesh. I drove to Ghaziabad where my brother in law resides on the thirtieth of May His family included his elder son and his wife. My family included four members, my wife and two daughters. We left for Dhanaulti from Ghaziabad on the first of June at 4:30 a.m. We reached the Burans Residency at 11:00 a.m after driving 200 kilometres. My brother in law was driving A Suzuki Baleno and I was driving a Suzuki Ciaz. The route was pretty good and we drove at a comfortable speed.

The road that turns away from Mussoorie to Dhanaulti passing by the vicinities of Wynberg Allen and Woodstock school is very narrow and I felt it even more because of the breadth of the Ciaz. For the Baleno, it was smooth sailing! Though there were four of us in the Ciaz, its boot was generously loaded. The Ciaz felt a mite underpowered on the climbs and I had to use the second and third gears most of the time. Yes, I used the aircon on automatic climate control most of the time. My brother in law had switched off the aircon and had slid down the windows.

There is a reason why I have put the photograph above of a Swift that got trapped inside the Hotel lobby. It couldn't fly out because of the Plate Glass. It kept flying into the glass only to bang its beak into the unyielding glass. It had become exhausted and unless something was done it would collapse! Seeing how desperate the situation was, I somehow grabbed hold of the bird and then took it outside and let it go. Up it went soaring into the sky as if nothing had happened!

What marks Dhanaulti apart from other hill stations like Mussoorie its scenic beauty of rolling mountains and a refreshing cool breeze (The temperature at Dhaulti was 16-degree centigrade but then as time passed the chill factor shot up.) and by evening you will probably have to wear a jacket. We stayed at the Burans Residency Hotel at a place called Burans Khanda and decided not to go anywhere far off as once we had parked our cars we did not feel like driving out. Moreover, a walk down the road is highly recommended for its scenic beauty. Added to the option of looking at the distant mountains you could always revel in the beauty of the wildflowers and the potato farms. They say that the potatoes are ready when the plants start to flower.

Day 2 Burans Khanda to Mussoorie Mall Road 27.5 Kilometres, driving time 1.5 hours (rush on three kilometres stretch before Massoorie.

We left Dhanaulti at 11:30 a.m. and reached Massoorie at 1:00 p.m. Strangely enough, there wasn't the kind of rush on the road to Mussoorie except for the two or three kilometres stretch before Massoorie. There were also not many people on the Mall Road at one in the afternoon.

For our stay at Mussoorie, we had booked rooms at the Howard Residency on Mall Road. Since this was our umpteenth visit to Mussoorie we planned to spend time only on the Mall Road and not visit the Jawahar Aquarium, the Zoo, or even Gun Hill. It being the second of June, people had probably not yet started their vacations.

Home to India's most loved Novelist, Ruskin Bond, Mussoorie also reminds of times past with its mixture of British style buildings and strange-sounding names of places. Besides some of the most well-known landmarks are the Gurudwara and the Temple that can be seen while entering Mussoorie from the library side.

Day 3 Mussoorie Mall Road to Rishikesh via Barlowgunj, Dehradoon, Jolly Grant Airport-81 kilometres, driving time 2.5 hours, traffic jams, narrow streets, false turns.

Now, this was the most tiring and yet most interesting trip. We booked rooms at the Indian Culture Hostel about 400 metres away from Laxman Jhula (Laxman's Suspension Bridge) and the nearby Ghat by the Holi Ganga River. Being exhausted by the trip we. Had lunch followed by a siesta in the air-conditioned rooms. It was at about 6:00 p.m. that we decided to visit the Laxman Jhula, Nidhi and me. We made it to the bridge and in spite of the rush! The experience was somehow amazing. The fear of being on a bridge that swayed so much, the mass of humanity surging forward, the tangible current of spirituality linked with thousands of years of history, mythology, faith and a powerful belief overtook us and so we reached the other end of the bridge only to turn back, fait accomplis  a journey symbolic of a desire to explore the Unknown. When we returned to the starting point, we were greeted by the rest of the group. After having a refreshing drink of Lime and Soda, we climbed up o the terrace on top of the massive anchoring cables of the suspension bridge and soaked in the sight of the Mass of people wending their way to the temples and ghats beyond.

It was on the second day that four of us, Nidhi, my Brother in law, Sister in law and I decided to make another trip across the Laxman Jhula on to the ghats beyond. We made our way out of the Hostel at 7:30 a.m. and this time were able to enjoy walking on the bridge because there were few people on the bridge. We even visited the ghat below the bridge and were simply at home talking to others. Looking at the bridge from below instilled a feeling of awe and amazement. You could see the bridge stretching into the distance, an apt symbol of a gateway into eternity, a vehicle of transport a portal into the next world! It was simply amazing to look at the smiling faces of the people, pilgrims from far off corners of the country, a pleasing smile and a sense of acceptance of all those present, one large mass of humanity. Surprisingly I did not come across even one angry face or even heard even one voice raised in anger.

Day 4 Rishikesh to Ghaziabad via Haridwar and the Ganga Canal Road 226.5 Kilometres numerous reruns on the Chandi Ashram loop because lack of signage, a massive traffic jam, 15 minutes to fill the tank with 14 litres of petrol worth 1000 rupees and a half an hour halt at KFC next to the Crystal World water park. The total time it took us Ghaziabad was 6.5 hours. Though we had started at 10:30 a.m. we couldn't really manage to reach Ghaziabad in less time. The net take-home advice is that while travelling to the hill stations from the Delhi NCR you should start early.

Day Five Ghaziabad to Gurgaon: Total kilometres-72, Total kilometres for the roundabout trip from Gurgaon to Dhanaulti, Mussoorie, Rishikesh and then back to Gurgaon 776 kilometres. Total petrol consumed by the Ciaz = 50 litres. The average consumption of a one-year-old Ciaz petrol was 15.5 kilometres to a litre of petrol. All in all, the ride in the Ciaz was very comfortable. The air-conditioner worked perfectly. The ample leg room in the rear and the front, the soft suspension that soaked the bumps ensured that it was a comfortable ride. On the downside was the breadth of the vehicle which meant that you had to be extra careful on the narrow roads especially when driving into oncoming traffic. Another downside was the power-delivery. While the engine seemed to be pretty gutsy on the planes, on the climbs it seemed to be a bit short-breathed and so you had to downshift. However, the Ciaz took all of the steepest climbs without any problem in the first and the second gear.
The Ciaz is a very comfortable vehicle to drive and has a lot to offer on freeways and expressways. I
decided to push it to its limits on the expressway and managed a steady 160 Kilometres per hour. However since I was running out of free space, (the Baleno was right ahead) I had to slow down. Remember this was a fully weighed down vehicle that I was driving. Although we were four, there was a lot of luggage in the boot!