Nostalgia

Sometimes, a seemingly unfortunate occurrence may later on lead to an experience that ends on an entirely different positive note. Losing my Driving Licence, which I had kept in a [now stolen] wallet, gave me a reason compelling enough to re-visit the place where I had spent the foundational years of my life (because my licence was issued by the Regional Transport Office lying in the district under which the aforementioned place falls).

Srinagar Garhwal (henceforth referred to as Srinagar) used to be (when I was a child) a small town located in the Garhwal Commissionary of the hill state Uttarakhand (carved out of Uttar Pradesh state on 9 November 2000) in India. Historically, it used to be the Capital of the Garhwal Kingdom till 1804 AD. This was after the king Ajay Pal shifted his capital from Chamoli (the erstwhile Chandpurgarhi) to this place. At present, this place is the largest city (though its expanse is nowhere when compared to that of the cities in the plains of India) in the Garhwal hills. Srinagar is accessible from Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, by road; the distance is about 150 km. The city has a Municipality and administratively, it is a tehsil under the Pauri Garhwal district. The city is home to Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna (HNB) Garhwal University, Government Medical College (Srikot), [presently] National Institute of Technology (Sumari) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Officers' Training Academy. Situated on the left bank of the river Alaknanda (which is the largest tributary—in terms of water content—of the river Ganga), Srinagar is situated at an average elevation of 560 m above mean sea level. Contrary to the popular perception, the situation of Srinagar as a hill city doesn't reward it with an affable climate. It sees extremes of temperatures—hot summers and cold winters.

As I neared the police check-post at Srinagar Garhwal on 5 May 2015 (after a gap of almost 4 years) I realized that everything has changed in Srinagar, yet nothing has changed. The city had to bear the brunt of the 2013 Uttarakhand deluge. The river Alaknanda in all its fury submerged the buildings near the banks under enormous amount of debris. Yet today, except for some visible signs of the destruction in the areas near the banks, most of the city seems to have stood resilient in the face of adversity (even though I have been one among the 'locals' of Srinagar for a long time, this account can be considered to be of a 'local tourist' because I had stayed there for just two nights during my sojourn). However, I certify that despite having stayed there for a very brief period, I enjoyed undisturbed-untroubled sleep during the nights. Despite all the hardships that the people of the hills have to face, most of the the hill folks are innately unassuming (although, of late, materialist influences have started to make their foray in this city—all thanks to the revenue generated by the tourism industry during the 'Char Dham Yatra' and the 'Hemkund Sahib Yatra' as also the influx of the mining mafia in the hills). I felt inner solace when I met my old neighbours as well as an old classmate, almost all of who couldn't recognize me in the first instance and cited the reason that I have changed a lot during the passage of the intervening years.

I would like to take a short detour. Even as many of my fellow Indians were busy expressing solidarity with Salman Khan when he was convicted by a sessions court and awarded a 5-year rigorous imprisonment for drunk-driving and trampling pavement-dwellers, I felt much better off by switching-off the television (which I anyway seldom watch) and then enjoying the beauty of the Garhwal hills. Perhaps Mr Khan realized what it is being human [as the accusations against him go] after having hunted chinkaras and black-bucks in 1998 and trampling humans in 2002. As for Mr Abhijeet Bhattacharya, even though you have apologized in public (and it's good that you have done so), let me re-iterate that your tweets were simply unacceptable. To hell with what you did when you had no work, pavement-dwellers are not dogs; you may have intentioned to support a fellow Bollywood personality who runs an NGO by the name "Being Human" but 'being human' includes conferring a compassionate treatment even on animals (and not trampling them under the wheels of your vehicle).

I have uploaded some photographs which I had clicked during my sojourn at Srinagar Garhwal. Some people opine that a picture is worth a thousand words. I hope that the following pictures are able to present glimpses of what I would like to refer to as my 'personal paradise'. I say—"Kuchh din to guzaaro mere Srinagar Garhwal mein" (please spend some days in my Srinagar Garhwal).

'Aithana' ('ऐठाणा') village

'Aithana' ('ऐठाणा') village

'Aithana' ('ऐठाणा') village

Trek Route from 'Aithana' ('ऐठाणा') village to Ashthavakra ('अष्ठावक्र') temple; trekking along this path in the morning brought back memories of school days when I used to go for this trek alongwith some of my classmates

Pine trees or Pinus roxburghii ('चीड़'); as per one story, these were introduced to Uttarakhand hills by the British who wanted to exploit them for their commercial value; due to the high resin content in their wood, they are used as firewood and their 'needles' almost form a near-ubiquitous carpet on the hills because of which the hills become highly prone to forest fires (दावानल)

Natural Carpet formed by the 'needles' of Pine trees

Female Cone of Pine tree

Alas! Excessive human intervention is turning out to be bad for the hills. Is this what 'Being Human' is?

A part of Srinagar Garhwal (photograph captured from an elevated spot on a hill)

Blue Jacaranda or Jacaranda mimosifolia (the violet-flowered tree)