Dallas to Tokyo to Delhi to Amritsar to Katra to Vaishno Devi to Udaipur to Nathdwara to Modhera to Baroda to Hyderabad to Tirupati to Tirumala to Noida to Haridwar to Tehri Garhwal to Rishikesh to Devprayag to Delhi to Pune to Baroda to Surat to Mumbai to Delhi to Tokyo to Dallas
That was exhilarating. This is our family’s itinerary as we closed out 2023 and welcomed 2024. Spiritual and Familial joyride in the country of origin; traveling and tracing the roots and visiting family, friends experiencing travel like no other in the new India. All of us born in 70’s and growing up till 90’s never thought this kind of travel was possible let alone affordable in India. The infrastructure development was for us to see and revel in, both on the ground and equally in the air. During the course of our temple run, we touched down on nine different airports and as they say, if the intent is right, the stars align for you and Gods were kind enough to bestow that on us and we barely ran into a maximum delay of fifteen to thirty minutes and again, these numbers are miniscule knowing the delays of yesteryears.
We landed in Delhi to start our Bharat yatra, a trip that was planned six plus months back (yes, I am not known for planning that early, but this is not my character sketch so leave that for another day). This original trip had more destinations and was truly a “secular” road map before my father’s fall enforced rejig to that itinerary. That fall gravitated the plans and kept us on the edge if we could even continue with the plans. Better sense prevailed and Gods up there opened their doors to us as if allowing us only for the temple run. Other things will have to wait for a different time. US-India was a travel that was the longest since I left the shores of India in terms of the sheer length of the journey. We touched down in Delhi thinking about the pollution, fog etc. wondering what lay in store ahead. Even the umpteenth variation of COVID was back and Delhi was supposedly in the pathways of that virus. Delhi was great, had planned some work meetings for a day, met with about twenty-five of team members, during this pandemic affected times and always feels good to meet actual people especially ones you work with.
Next stop, Golden Temple, one of the most serene places on the planet especially on a December morning. Grandeur of Golden Temple is a sight to behold and Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue that leads you to the temple also along the way is Jallianwala Baug where General Dyer massacred innocent men, women, and children, reminds you of the history. Golden Temple and Harmandir Sahib was something I visited for the first time and though have frequented number of Gurudwaras, this was the crown jewel. Location of the Golden Temple is such that one is in awe while trying to enter the Golden Temple. Beautiful sight, people told us night look is different but unfortunately, our schedule was way too stuffed, and flexibility was one thing we didn’t pack. Amritsar is a city for foodies and gorging was very much part of our journey.
Unfortunately, due to some jams at Wagah border, we had to forgo that and maybe I look at it as someone up there wanted us to make this a temple trip and hence sightseeing took a back seat. We drove from Amritsar to Katra and reached there around 1 am – a good 5–6-hour drive and considering how close you are driving to Pakistan; it was the boldest part of the trip. My phone even picked up a Welcome to Pakistan on the lock screen. My not so wanted checklist item of visiting Pakistan completed. But back to that drive, that was a tough drive considering we were going from Punjab to Jammu-Kashmir and that too in the dark. But as they say, going to Mata Rani’s abode, everything happens well.
We reached Katra and yes, it was cold, the only place where we really ran into cold weather. We landed on a Saturday so footfalls were double the normal. Helicopter rides that had been elusive, stayed the course and we had to go to Vaishno Devi bhavan by road, either walk, palkhi or horseback, all with their own challenges. By road, it was quite a walk for someone who had landed 48 hours earlier in India, palkhi it would have been inhuman if one of them had to lift me and I have also reserved that moment for a special day when four or more people would carry me on their shoulder and that left horse ride. We battled for some time while walking but it was cold and to get to the top in time, we had no other option. I was the last one to get onto a horse and they found me the smallest one. People walking would stop and look at this tall and big guy sitting on the little horse. We even waited at the halfway mark to see if we could get battery cars but no luck. Reached the Bhavan on horses and had great darshan of the pindis but yes, it was a bit overwhelming for kids as they were tired and had not seen so many people. Fortunately, we got battery cars while going down and the rest of the distance we walked down. Overall, fun experience but also exhilarating and somewhat excruciating and exhausting. Next day was the relaxing day and we just stayed in the room resting our calves and ankles.
From Jammu, we flew to Udaipur and with the night’s rest there, it was time to go visit Nathdwara, temple I had visited more than double digit times but was a first for my son Ayaan and second time for daughter Aashka. We went to the temple, had a nice darshan, Nathdwara is always good for food – be it Thandai, Kand, Rabdi, Chai and time to buy Mukhwas, and goodies from there which are always good. It was a day well spent and then we returned to the hotel. There was an option to go boating on the lake, but kids were not very keen and next morning, we left to go to Baroda but had a change of direction and drove to Modhera first. They have the second most prominent sun temple and also hosts the temple of our Kuldevi – Modheshwari Mata and we visited both enroute Baroda.
Next few days were no travel, home (mom) food, house ambiance, spending time with parents, uncle-aunts, cousins in Baroda and catching up on some breath. On Christmas day, we left for Tirupati again, reaching Tirupati by evening and getting VVIP darshan very next morning and completing everything to catch the flight just after lunch to Delhi. Having this backdoor helped us save some hours Was amazed by the organization in Tirupati and how well-oiled machine that has become and also a lesson for some of the other religious places that it is ok to upgrade. Tirupati to Delhi in 24 hours sounds more like a movie name but we indeed pulled that off and that too during the busy Vaikuntha Ekadashi time. Tirupati to Delhi on a four-and-a-half-hour flight which was on time, can’t beat that. Reached Delhi, had a stopover in Dilli Haat en route Noida where we were staying and next morning, ready to hit the road again.
Ganga maiya calling next. After eventful trip down to West India and South India (for a day), back to the North this time to visit and pay homage to the greatest river worshiped by Hindus. Hindu mythology and history has a long reverence for the Ganges or Holy Ganga. We took a road trip braving the Delhi fog to go to Haridwar and then Rishikesh. Haridwar which literally means dwar (door) to Hari (God) is one of the holy places and doing Ganga aarti at the ghat is an experience. Rishikesh on the other hand is in the mountains and is beautiful and considered to be the Yoga capital of the world. We spent a night at Tehri Garhwal right up in the mountains and another night at the very beautiful Neemrana Hotel, Ganges in the heart of Rishikesh. Neemrana hotel has a private beach that is on Ganga, and you walk down 150 steps from the hotel to have a private face to face with the holy river. We also visited Dev Prayag, one of the few prayags where Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers assimilate into Ganga, two beautiful different hues of water coming together and flowing as one is definitely a sight to behold. The history of Bhagirathi and the whole story of king Bhagirath who brought Ganga back to India, was relived.
We went back to Delhi, and this brought an end to our temple run. We left for Pune from there and then spent New Year’s Eve with old friends who had come over from Mumbai. We were about 9-10 families and was truly fun after a really long-time spending time with them. Spirituality made way for Spirits, and it was an awesome time to catch up on old times reminiscing folklores which never get old and crack you up, at times even make you nostalgic and make you marvel at those days. From Pune, it was back home in Baroda meeting family again, catching up on 93rd birthday of an aunt, then to Surat enroute to Mumbai. Spent the evening in Surat meeting the family and then Mumbai to meet family and friends.
Visit to Mumbai is always great as that is the place which I called home for 25 years of my life before the band shifted to the Wild Wild Texas West. Ended up visiting an exhibition/fair which had people from all corners of India displaying local masalas and farm grown food not the produce, but it was an experience as these also showcased number of women entrepreneurs from rural India, clearly the signs of growing India. Catching up with friends and family is always good; makes you yearn for more, but these memories are like a shot in the arm, which help you carry forward till next time.
Then it was back through Tokyo, last time on our way in, we had taken a bit easy as had an uphill battle ahead with India trip, but on our way back, we took time to go out and explore Tokyo. Interestingly, Japan offered a few experiences for us. My daughter Aashka went a week earlier through the same route and was a day earlier than when the 7.6 strong earthquake rocked central Japan, the day she was flying out of Haneda had two plane collision resulting in five lost lives and our blood pressure and anxiety level at an all-time high. We went a week later and though the storm had subsided, was itching to see the world’s busiest Shibuya Crossing but as fate would have it, we reached Shibuya on a public holiday so there were people but nowhere at the scale of Shibuya.
We scaled the mountains of Tehri Garhwal which faces Himalayas and also Jammu which is in the state of Jammu and Kashmir which seems reinvigorated after Article 370 to Uttar Pradesh which sported a completely different face as this was the first after the iron hand of Yogi government had taken control and wow, the place definitely has changed for the better especially the law and order situation and yes, we were less than a month early to the big spectacle that was planned in the state with arrival of Ram Lalla, to Uttarakhand which is amongst the relatively hidden secrets of Indian sojourn and then the usual attractions in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan which literally have been beaten to death and yet never fail to throw up a surprise or two. Ok, rejuvenated Varanasi ghats and Ram Lalla are already calling us back and so is Ujjain’s Mahakal corridor so another round could be in the offing.
We even paid a visit to the Maharshi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram known as the Beatles Ashram where the world’s most famous rock group The Beatles and their wives, spent about a month and even created some magical songs. George Harrison has always had an Indian heart even though he was from Birmingham but having the legendary John Lennon and based on Paul Saltzman’s book I read, John was fairly involved, it was great to know. Next generation would always sit up and notice if those fab four did it, it must be good.
We fortunately made atop a few mountains and coming from a flat land like Texas, this was another experience and so did proximity to the ocean when I have to travel four and a half hours so overall, we as a family got various landscapes to encounter and yes, we did have our own bell curve that we charted. I know I wanted to do the tiger safari but then you have to leave something for another time. Deep down, when we went to Beatles Ashram, I was hoping that we may hear about big cat spotting since that falls right in Rajaji Tiger Reserve which is in Corbett National Park, named after famous Jim Corbett, another Briton.
This documenting would not be complete without what we couldn’t do as that had some wonderful nuggets which we unfortunately missed right from Jodhpur, desert of Jaisalmer, splendor of Jaipur, palaces all three had to offer, beautiful Jain temples of Ranakpur known for their carving, only Brahma temple in Pushkar, Dargah of Khawaja Chishti in Ajmer. We also had an opportunity to visit my wife’s cousin who had taken over as a Chief Justice of Kerala for a year and that could have been an experience in itself. But then I find solace in the fact that there is always the next time for India and as the kids start getting older, this is something to look forward to.
Indian diversity was in full display, gamut of spices in cuisine with its aroma filling the air and colors throbbing the eyes, colors everywhere especially when you visit places like Punjab no wonder they have those colorful phulkari dupattas and men in equally colorful turbans and kurtas, or the religious places with well laid out yet authentic markets, overall décor had been upgraded while retaining the rustic feel and yet contemporary look, temple designs had been transformed, lingo and dialect on offer showed the spectrum India has to display, the mountains to sea shores of Mumbai to the foggy North India, cold Vaishno Devi, serenity of Golden Temple, and one thought came out of my mind that India has started to package their tourism well and Indians can thrive in these temple vacations. There is so much that India has to offer, and it is truly impressive with the country’s infrastructure growth, improved customer experience and availability of first world facilities and country can only benefit and truly even the world can. Unfortunately, some of my other temples/mosque on the journey had to be changed this time, am sure this experience allows us to go for an encore.
Foodie in me always loves an India vacation as you get all sort of food and yet, you don’t have to sacrifice animals in other words, stay vegetarian. North India and South India differ in the palette that gets offered and we get to test our stomach with amalgamation of the spices and sauces churning out delicacies which are satiating your taste buds while salivating for more such recipes. India offers you everything again for a vegetarian right from street food to the top tier hotel food meticulously prepared under the watchful eyes of Michelin Chefs. We even had a great time sipping piping hot tea in the earthen kullad which let aroma of lemon grass and mint and taste of finely shredded ginger and fortunately, gorged on various types of cuisines. Temple towns never let you down when you want to eat simple vegetarian food.
Our trip had been an ensemble of sorts and yet, it was everything what India has to offer having influences from the ancient East to the Technological West, a unique combination only India can offer. India is the only country where an Antilla can coexist next to the slums, if diversity had another name, India could definitely put its hand up and stake a claim for the synonym. We cross countried from Jammu down to Andhra/Telangana for Tirupati, back in the mid-west India – Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan to Northeast India in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, someone may even call it haywire but then agile planning had to happen to align with familial priorities. I guess indigo airline has a tagline India by IndiGo, they know we have lived through that, lot of it in their planes. If Government of India is looking for a model family for Incredible India campaign, I won’t play pricey. Saw the amazing progress Indian roads have made and the work Nitin Gadkari and his ministry has done, passed through nine different airports (some even multiple times), three different domestic airlines.
Few things I took away from this sojourn was India has plethora to offer tourists and overall better discipline and cleanliness would surely make customer experience better. India is probably the only country which has something for all connoisseurs – you can have your own specialized tour – culinary, medical tourism, heritage, princely palaces and forts, mountaineering, safari – no country can give you a face to face with lion, tigers, elephants, and countless others (Africa has everything but no tigers), Himalayas, you name it. We definitely came back with a promise to ourselves that yeh dil maange more (heart yearns for more). With the newly minted Atal bridge in Mumbai and other things to follow, can’t wait to dabble in more. If tourism is an investment, I am extremely bullish on India.
Encountering various people in India is always going to be the positive and their infectious energy at times rubs on you. Makes you understand you can be satisfied in life and yet not have loads of money. You come across so many different people, right from the hotel staff, pitthus or tourist guides, horsemen, security guards, chauffeurs, room service guys, tea vendors, guys selling stuff on the street, and this list could be endless. Doesn’t mean there are no disgruntled people, but eight out of ten exuding positive vibes and I will take that any day. From a day in Veshti in Tirupati to the Westin in mountains of Tehri Garhwal, we had some sub story lines. Experiences in life teach you a lot and one other takeaway from India is resilience. How to survive when the demand can outweigh the supply and more often than not, this scenario definitely has and how the entire ecosystem operates is something to comprehend
Lastly, thank you to my wife Sheetal and my kids for braving this adventure and doing this whirlwind yet fulfilling tour. Without their encouragement and support, no way we pull off an itinerary like that. I am penning these thoughts as a number of people have asked us how you planned such an extravagant trip and here it is. There were times when we were almost playing Where in the World is Carmen San Diego’s desi version and we were in different cities and the best detectives couldn’t have tracked us down. Overall, it was an enriching experience. Makes me stronger in my resolve to explore more.
