Exploring Rishikesh & Self

by Jash Sangani (India)

I didn't expect to find India

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When life gives you lemon, make lemonade. Life of a consultant working with a Big 4 consulting firm in the world may require you to travel from one place to another for months depending upon your assignment. So this time when I was tasked with one such assignment, I made sure to make the most of weekend and travelled to Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, also known as the World Yoga Capital. I started my journey from Haridwar, an adjacent town known for its spirituality and holiness and took the state road transport bus as the connectivity is quite good, frequent and cheap. I had made the most of internet and had made an itenary for self as it's quite an adventurous town with lots to offer. Right from extreme adventure activities like Bungee Jumping, River Rafting, Cliff Jumping to soulful experiences at number of Temples, Ashrams spread across the city. Cherry on cake being - you will come across The Mighty Ganges every now and then. Excited ? I am not even started yet. On getting down at Rishikesh Bus Stand, I took a sharing auto to Town as I had to reach Jumpin Heights Marketing office as I had booked one of their extreme adventure sport - Bungee Jumping. They offer to help you commute from their marketing office to Bungee bridge in Mohan Chatti. Ride takes about an hour and half as you witness spectacular scenes throughout the journey. Being personally afraid of heights with no boundaries, I knew it would be a task for me to take the leap. But I was determined and in my second attempt I am glad I Bungeeedd ! I kept screaming "Krishna" the hindu mythology god. For a person who is afraid of heights to acheive the feat of bungeeing from India's highest bungee spot was something. But I didn't have enough time as I had just ticked one of the list of my itenary. I trekked my way back through the mountains to the Bungee spot, collected my Certificate and Video and off to next place of my list. On reaching back down in the town I had already made a friend, a female travelling from Australia and asked if she could join me in my Voyage. She looked at my list and she joined me for the next place - Lakshman Jhula. We sat across the Lakshman Jhula with the magnificent Triambakeshwar Temple on the other side of the Jhula. We spoke for a while but I had other places to visit and she was suppose to return to her Ashram where she had enrolled for Yoga. We bid adieu and I left for Ram Jhula. The street that leads to Ram Jhula from Lakshman Jhula is narrow and hardly any car could pass through it. Throughout my way I saw lots of shops offering local handloom products. Quite a street for those interested in shopping. After nearly an hours walk I had the first glimpse of Ram Jhula and it was escatic. I didn't know there was a white sand beach in Rishikesh and it was just beneath the Ram Jhula. Perfect place for kids and oldies alike. Took couple of photos of kids making sand castles with Ram Jhula and Ganga in the background. My heart was full. I thought of resting but I couldn't afford to miss "Ganga Aarti" at Parmarth Niketan Ashram which takes place at 18.00 every evening and Bhajans sung by kids at Ashram starting an hour prior to the aarti. It's hardly fifteen minutes walk from Ram Jhula and I continued my journey and reached Parmarth Niketan Ashram by 17.10 and found myself a place right at the banks of Ganges where the aarti takes place. Witnessed the holiness yet thundering Ganga and saw the monks perform the aarti. That is the closest I got to feel adventure along with spirituality in a day. Let that sync in. So much that I forgot to eat and finally had dinner at the Ashram itself and took a cab to return to my hotel. I not only leaped into unknown, made a foreign local connection but more than anything I didn't expect to find myself.