Today's Cain Author: Dr. K.S. Kang

Today’s Cain

Author: Dr. K.S. Kang

Rameshwar felt himself to be closely associated with the biblical Character Cain. It was not that he had not achieved any thing in his life but the only regret that he had with life was that whenever he achieved anything in his life there was no near and dear one to applaud his achievement. He always found himself surrounded by strangers, without any familiar face nearby who could congratulate him on his accomplishment.

            Rameshwar considered brain as higher than other organs of human body like heart and stomach. So he considered product of brain- reason and intellect as superior to emotions- product of heart. So right from his young age Rameshwar had decided to give more stress on training and developing brain than other organs of the body. Today it was red letter day in the life of Rameshwar as he was getting the highest academic degree in his subject from the university. He had achieved this accomplishment after the ceaseless toil of nearly a decade. Today the day apponted by destiny had come when Rameshwar would receive degree from Hon’ble Governor and Chancellor of the University. Though he secretly wished that some of his relative witness this grand event of his life but he did not want to disturb the routine of his family members who were either too old to travel 200kms or they were busy in their work. His parents had retired nearly 15 years ago and he did not want to put them at discomfort by asking them to travel this much distance in their old age. His wife was a working woman who worked as a teacher in the school, so she could not get leave from her school at the peak of the season when Half Yearly Exams and Pre Board Exams were round the corner. Rameshwar also did not want his children to skip their school just to witness this event whose significance they did not comprehend fully. So Rameshwar came to this town a day earlier in order to ensure that he reached the right place at right time by evening train and took a room an Inn situated nearl the railway station through one of his local friend. After a hurried dinner he went to bed early so that he may not get late for the function next day. In the morning Rameshwar dressed in the prescribed dress code of white shirt, white pant and black leather shoes and went to the university. As he reached the university precincts he saw that rehearsal and drill of the function was already going on. Since Governor of the State was the Chief Guest of the function so University Administration had planned everything meticulously and systematically. Before entering the main tent Rameshwar filled some forms to complete the formalities to claim one side fare of travel by second class as University administration had decided to give one side fare to successful candidates the moment they had received their intimation to attend the function. When Rameshwar entered the main tent he saw that student of every faculty was given a particular place in the hall as per planned programme of the function. As the name of the faculty will be announced  they will get up and line up on the side of the stage and wait for his turn. This thing was rehearsed once before the real function began. The function started with academic procession with faculty members and others associated with University marching into the main tent in two’s and it ended with The Vice Chancellor and Hon’ble Governor entering the tent in academic gown and tent and the procession was led by uniformed marshal with a long baton in his hand. After the inaugural address by Hon’ble Vice Chancellor and Convocation address by Guest of Honor, Hn’ble Governor and The Chancellor of the university rose to give his message to the audience. After the address started a long process of bestowing degrees to the successful candidates started. First of all the name of Medical faculty was announced and a row of students rose up to go to the sidelines of the stage and as the names of students were announced they went on the stage to receive the degree from the Chief Guest and come down from the other side of the stage. Governor was giving the degrees quickly as he had to endow nearly 1000 degrees and medals that day. As Rameshwar’s faculty was announced he also rose up with other successful candidates to get his degree. Before the function began he had tied up like other candidates with a photographer to take a snap while receiving his degree. Photographer gave him a piece of red ribbon to be put on his left sleeve so that photographer cold recognize his prospective client. Meanwhile as Rameshwar’s name was announced he went to the stage to get his degree. As the Chief Guest handed him the degree he quickly checked his name on the degree to avoid any complication under the staring glare of Governor’s ADC and came down from the stage quickly without caring that photographer had taken his snap or not. After the vote of thanks by Registrar of the University people lined up to take their packed lunch packets at one corner of the tent and started congratulating each other on their life time achievement. Rameshwar while collecting his lunch packet felt alone in the crowd of strangers. He was searching for some familiar face who could congratulate him on his once in a life time success and offer a few words of praise on his accomplishment.

Alone in the Moment of Glory Author: Dr. K.S. Kang

Alone in the Moment of Glory

                                       Author: Dr. K.S. Kang             

Broadly speaking human life has been divided into physical and intellectual abilities. Both skills give immense contentment to the individual. But the level of contentment depends on the number of people, known to you, watching and appreciating your achievement. Ravi, who hailed from the rural background, was unfortunate in this aspect. His family by and large was illiterate and did not understand the significance of Games and sports in life. Ravi had to struggle a lot to get his primary education in the lone government school of his village as his family members considered modern education as waste of money, time and energy and insisted on doing something so as to contribute to the family in monetary terms. He also had to struggle to get study material and attention of his lone teacher of his school. It was not that school had only one teacher but mostly only one teacher used to be available for teaching them while the other two used to be either on leave or on some official business to the town. Even from the early days in the school Ravi had understood that government has not employed teachers for only teaching but other works as well like Census, selling stamps and envelopes, cattle census, and elections. If they got any free time from these activities they taught a few boys who cared to come to the school regularly. It was nature’s blessing on Ravi that he was active both in academics as well as in games. Due to God’s will he overcame all hurdles to complete his primary education and come to a nearby town to get his higher education. Though the building and infrastructure was better in the town yet the problems were the same- shortage of staff, equipment and more over apathy of teachers towards poor and students from rural background. Ravi’s first moment of glory in life came when he was selected in the Kabbaddi team of the school- the sport that practically required no equipment. As he was lean, thin and quite agile so he could prove to be quite an asset to the team as a raider . That was the opinion of the teacher who was in charge of Games and sports in the school. Here it is to be pointed that School even of the town had no PTI from a long time as government considered employing Librarians and PTI’s as dead investments , so the charge of Library and Games was given to some teacher as additional charge. As a result of this step PTI’s and Librarians had nearly become defunct in the government institutions. Principal and teacher in charge of games in the school decided that school’s team should participate in Kabbadi tournament at the district level. Education Department at the district level decided to hold Games for the  schools in the town where Ravi was studying in various sports like football, basketball, hockey and of course Kabadi – popular rural game in the area. From he meager budget of the school Sky blue T-shirts and white canvas shoes were issued to the boys of the Kabbadi team and they were given freedom to wear the shorts of black colour or to some shade similar to it as the team uniform. Though the players of their team came from different social backgrounds and different places but they had developed some sort of coordination between them during one week coaching that was given to them by their teacher. They came to the site of the tournament much earlier so as to ensure that their team was at right place in right time. But as usual tournament started one hour behind the schedule when the esteemed Chief Guest came and their team along with other teams with placards in their hands marched before the dais saluting the chief guest; and he in a very solemn voice declared the meet open. Their first match was with the team of that school which had come for the sake of participation only so they had put up their hurriedly by putting players of different games together. So Ravi’s team had no difficulty in overcoming this team that consisted of players but of hockey, football and God knows what other games but not of Kabbadi and secondly their team was disciplined and well organized. Ravi decided to tell about his first accomplishment to his family members in the village but the only thing that he got in return was the scolding, indifference and admonishments of his parents who considered playing as waste of time and energy. They even said “ Have we sent you to the town to get education or to do silly things like playing Kabbadi for the school.” Interestingly Ravi’s team crossed second hurdle also easily as they got walk over from the team whose coach and manager was more interested in catching the last bus to his village rather than playing the match and thus bearing the expenses of the stay of the team for the night in the town. So Ravi’s team after a bye, walkover and a victory reached in the finals of the tournament that was scheduled to be held in the afternoon next day. The other team in the final was a strong team as it was one of the most reputed private school of the town, where the children of the rich and powerful people of the town studied. So there was no dearth of equipment, coaching and of course playing kit. Their uniforms were shining brightly, their shoes were new and comfortable and they had a regular TI, Coach and manager to look after the needs of the team. Both the times were lined up much after the scheduled time for the finals when the Chief Guest came as the teams and officials were to be introduced to the esteemed Chief Guest. After the formalities the match began. Though Ravi’s team put up a good fight but their opponents proved to be too good. Even in defeat Ravi could not believe that their team was runners up of the tournament and he was a member of that team and it was no mean achievement for the school to have played finals of the tournament. Ravi after the match was staring at the neatly arranged trophies and medals at the table that were to be given to them. As Ravi’s name was announced from the dais to receive his medal he secretly wished that some of his family member, or friend or his neighbour or at least the girl Smriti for whom he had developed some fascination lately would have become a witness to his first moment of glory in life . But Ravi knew that his father was too busy in his fields, his mother too submissive to overcome the hurdles of the village to come to the town to attend this function and Smriti too much under pressure of her father to attend it. So when shining silver medal was put around Ravi’s neck he was alone in his moment of glory yet surrounded by crowd of clappers and onlookers.                              

Summer Vacation Excursion- Part V

Summer Vacation Excursion- Part V

Author : Dr. K.S.Kang

This year during summer vacations I and my wife decided to visit another part of beautiful state of Himachal Pradesh. We started our journey from Chandigarh by a hired cab courtesy due to my niece and her family who are settled at Chandigarh. Interestingly driver of our cab was a Bengali gentleman which is a rarity to be found in Chandigarh but we had no communication well as both of us knew Hindi well, though he could understand Punjabi a bit but could not speak it. From Chandigarh we started in the early morning at about 7 o’clock in the morning so that we could reach our destination by evening. We had planned to visit two places during this journey and those two places were Manikaran which was a holy place for both Hindus and Sikhs and known for its hot water springs whose element of sulphur had curative properties in skin related maladies and the beautiful hill station of not only the State of Himachal Pradesh but of entire country- Manali.

            First of all we stopped at Anandpur Sahib for half an hour that enabled us to pay our respects at the historic Gurudwara: which is one of the five Takhts of Sikh religion. Then our driver took us on the route to Naina Devi but we did not visit the temple so as to save the time and so that we can reach our destination before the darkness of the evening sets in. We passed through the towns of Bilaspur, Mandi, Sundernagar and finally Kullu before reaching the place of our destination: Manikaran which was situated in the famous Parvati valley of the state and it owes its name to Goddess Parvati whose earring was lost and swallowed by Kaaliya Nag or serpent living in the river. By the evening we reached this place and made our staying arrangements in the Gurudwara itself. Gurudwara is situated on the banks of River Beas whose waer was flowing with a great force even in the drier months of May. As told earlier this place is famous for its hot water springs whose water has curative property. Inside the Gurudwara there is a room where the rock is also hot due to the warmth of hot water springs underneath and people sit on these rocks to get relief from the pain of the joints and muscles. This Gurudwara; which is managed by the daughter and Son-in-law of the founder of this Gurudwara. No offerings are allowed in this place instead whoever visits it the free packet of Prasad consisting of Sugar granules (Mishri) is given free of cost. Nor there is any cost of staying in the rooms provided by the Gurudwara and the meals in the Langar of course are free. We visited the neighbouring Shiv-Parvati temple which had a large pond of boiling water and large earthen pots of rice and lentils were kept in that boiling pond to be cooked. The langar that was served in the Gurudwara was also cooked in these ponds of hot water springs. Outside the temple shopkeepers were selling small cotton bags with few grams of rice and devotees cooked it by immersing it in the pond of boiling for a few minutes. I and my wife also bought a bag each and put it in the pool. To our surprise and wonder rice was well cooked within five minutes. We ate it with sugar granules(mishri) that we got from the Gurudwara as Prasad. In the evening we attended Gurudwara service after taking dinner in Gurudwara Hall which continued nearly till midnight in which the Son-in-law of the founder of Gurudwara came himself and addressed the audience apprising them about the history of that great place and also teaching them the methods of meditation. This place is associated with Sikhism as its founder Guru Nanak Dev ji visited this place. His disciple Mardana felt hungry and asked Guruji how can he cook food without lighting the fire in this weird place. Guruji removed a stone and came out the steam of water boiling underneath in which Mardana cooked rice. This place is also associated with Hindu mythology as its name suggest that Goddess Parvati lost her earring in the water of the river, which was swallowed by a serpent and thus she requested Lord Shiva to get back her diamond studded ring and the snake returned a number of precious stones along with her earring. So this place has also some of the ancient temples whose intricate wooden carving and stone architecture is simply wonderful. There is also a large Chariot made of wood that has been exhibited before the famous Ram Temple in which idols of Deities are taken around the town in a procession on special days. Just a few metres above his place is a village where the engagement of Lord Shiva and Parvai was solemnized.

Naina Devi Temple, Manikaran

            Next day in the morning we started again early from Manikaran so that we can reach Manali in time though the distance was only 70 kms. We stayed for half an hour on the way at an Emporium at Kullu where we bought a few Pashmina shawls and scarves. We reached Mannali after crossing a tunnel at bout mid day and checked into the hotel room that was booked on line in advance. After resting for an hour we again set out to see Manali- whose road condition and traffic condition was simply horrible. Due to construction work of four lane road there were frequent diversions and there was a lot of dust and of course due to heat wave in the rest of the country people were heading towards the cooler Hill Stations to get some relief from the scorching heat of the plains so the narrow streets and roads were simply unable to cope up with the volume of the traffic resulting in frequent traffic jams. However first of all we went to see the temple of Hidimba who was an Asur by birth but as she had married Bhim- one of the five Pandavas and she had sacrificed her son Ghatothkach and grandson in the famous battle of Mahabharat for the noble cause of defeating Kauravas so as to secure the victory of Dharma or Righteousness so Lord Krishna himself accorded the status of a deity or Goddess to Hidimba. This temple is just a structure over a rock temple surrounded by tall trees. Just adjoining the temple is a sacred place dedicated to Hidimba’s son Ghatothkach which is simply an old tree under which the idols have been placed and people hang the horns of Yaks on its branches.

Ram Temple Vashisht ( Manali)

Gurudwara Manikaran Sahib

Author listening to a folk artist

Hot Water Springs 

 

Raghunath Temple Manikaran

Parvati Valley, Manikaran

 as offering for ensuring peace and prosperity in their life. At this place I saw Yak for the first time in my life. Just outside the Hidimba temple I met a folk artist from Jodhpur ( Rajasthan) playing a famous number of his single stringed instrument. After the temple we went to visit Vashisht Temple which is dedicated to great sage Vashishtha who was teacher of Lord Rama. This temple was still under construction with artists carving intricately on wooden and stone pillars. Just adjoining it was a Ram Temple whose architecture of wood and stone was still amazing with the deft and skillful and intricate carving on the wooden pillars of the temple. After that as the darkness of the evening descended our cab driver took us to the main marketing place of the town known as The Mall where we spent a couple of hours buying some things and roaming around having ice cream cones. After resting for the night we started back to Chandigarh next morning but before that we visited Hidimba temple once more as due to rush we could not get the full glimpse of the deity earlier. On our way back as our cab driver Mr. Tarun had promised he took us to historic Gurudwara at Mandi where we took lunch in the langar and visited its museum that had several artifacts belonging to Guru Gobind Singh ji including a long muzzle rifle with as cone of metal used to fill gunpowder into it.                  

Summer Vacation Excursions- Part IV

Summer Vacation Excursion Part IV

Author: Dr. K.S. Kang

My younger son had completed his graduation and post graduation at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research at Mohali, Chandigarh. As usual we had gone to Punjab during summer vacations. I and my wife hired a cab and came to Chandigarh to attend the convocation ceremony in which my son was to receive his degree from some eminent science administrator of the country. We attended the ceremony which was full of serenity and gaiety and we stayed for the night at the house of our relatives. In the morning we started for Himachal Pradesh. But before entering Himachal Pradesh we paid a visit to the historic Gurudwara of Anandpur Sahib and the famous sikh museum known as Virasat-e-Khalsa. We were four passengers in the taxi, I , my wife , my younger son and me. It nearly took us an hour to see this museum which has been aesthetically designed among dual water pools displaying rich cultural heritage and history of Sikhism and Punjab. We entered Himachal Pradesh through Una district after crossing Nangal. On the way I came to know that our driver was hard of hearing and he could not hear properly from his left ear. So he had to bend towards me to listen to my suggestion. The first stop in Himachal Pradesh was at Temple of Goddess Chintapurni. There was a great crowd at the temple and due to mismanagement it nearly took us three quarter of an hour to get the glimpse of the deity. After that we entered Kangra district and passed along the famous Kangra fort which was nothing but ruins. By evening we reached Palampur and as the darkness of the evening descended we reached this town which was headquarter of a unit of Gorkha Regiment, Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University and ICAR Institute of Medicinal and Herbal plants found in mountains. We stayed at the residence of father-in-law of my niece who was working as Senior Agriculture Scientist at this institute. Their accommodation was in the campus of this institute So we stayed at their residence whish was on ground floor of the residential complex. After the night stay with the family of three members- my niece’s father-in-law and mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Dr.Gahlan who was father –in-law of my niece though walked with crutches but he could drive his car perfectly. In the morning he took us to a nearby temple of Jakhmi Mata who had injured during the struggle with demons while saving her devotees. After breakfast my niece’s sister-in-law Parul was sent along with us for the sight seeing to Dharamshala and Mcleodganj. Dharamshala was administrative capital of Tibetan refugees who had migrated from Tibet after China occupied it in 1962 and spiritual leader of Tibetans Dalai Lama took shelter in India. Though we did not stay at Dharamshala but we passed before the Parliament House of Tibetian Government in Exile. The roads of Dharmashala were quite narrow and flooded with traffic so we chose not to stop her but to proceed towards Mcleodganj which was a place 23 kms away from Dharmashala. After passing Cantonment area whose gates were named after great military leaders of independent India like Field Marshal Carriappa, Field Marshal Maneckshaw, General Thimmaya and the like. Our first stop at Mcleodganj was at The Forest of the Whispering Woods which was a grave yard with tall Deodhar trees. When breeze blew through the trees its leaves made such a sound as if some giant was whispering. It included a number of graves including a large grave of one of the Viceroys of India who had passed away in India after working as Viceroy of the Carribean. Besides a large grave there was also a large metallic bell of the Church that had faced a thunderbolt. After this graveyard we went to visit Dalai Lama’s famous Buddhist temple where cookies, chocolates, cakes, candies and other biscuits were offered as tribute. After seeing the temple thoroughly that had wooden rolls which was one of the ritual of Buddhist prayer. We also saw another Buddhist temple that had intricate wooden carving and paintings. After it we went to see the temple of demon deity Bhakasur that sent me into confusion whether Himachal Pradesh was only an abode of Angels known as Devbhoomi but it had also accommodated demons like Hidimba, Bhakasur and Ravana or rather demons co-exixted peacefully with angels in this land. Outside the Bhakasur temple I saw a Rajashani men laying a folk tune on a stringed instrument. That was my another observation during my visit to Himachal Pradesh that wherever there was a worship place of demon there was a Rajsthani folk singer outside it. After seeing the Bhakasur falls where only my younger son could go we came back to Palampur as the darkness of the evening descended. Next day the family with who we were staying took us to a nearby place known as Baijnath where Ravanna along with his brothers Vibhishan and Kumbhkaran stayed and prayed to Lord Shiva to get more powers. Ravana was steadfast in his prayer so he succeeded while Vibhishan and Kumbhkaran squandered away the opportunity. It was just a coincidence that we met another relative at Baijanath, my Brother-in-Law’s elder brother who had also come to visit Himacha Pradesh and were coming from Manali and stopped at Baijnath. So we came back to Palampur along with then and while Gahlans were entertaining new guests we took leave of them and came back to Punjab.              

Summer Vacation Excursions Part III Author: Dr. K.S. Kang

                        Summer Vacation Excursion Part III

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Author: Dr. K.S. Kang

This was a special year for me as this year I was turning fifty and that too in the Summer Vacation. As usual I had gone for the vacation to Punjab and I was in the village named Sujapur to which my in-laws belonged. So I decided to have something special in this special and historic year of my life. I decided to visit the holy shrine of Hemkunt Sahib, the place where Guru Gobind Singh ji meditated in his earlier life. And we also decided to visit other historic gurudwaras at Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh and Rishikesh in Uttrakhand. So I was joined by my family members- my wife, two kids who had grown into fine young gentleman by now and other member of my in-laws family including my wife’s two sister-in-laws and her aunt and of course the driver of the taxi. We started from village Sujapur early in the morning and after crossing Ludhiana and Ambala Cantt, we entered Punjab and by early afternoon we were at Paonta Sahib a historic Gurudwara associated with the life of Guru Gobind Singh ji. As he had stated at this place for some time. After seeing the famous Gurudwara we proceeded to Rishikesh via Dehradun. As we passed through Dehradun I had the majestic glimpse of the majestic Chetwode Hall of Indian Military Academy and imposing structure of Forrest Research Institute. It not only renewed my memories of this place visited a few years before and the memories of this place associated with my parents and my elder sister as they had spent a few years here when my worked as Physics Demonstrator in Indian Military Academy from 1952 to 1962 A.D. As the Sun was moving towards western horizon we reached Rishikesh and at this place we decided to make the night stay and to proceed further towards Hemkunt Sahib in the morning. In the evening we visited the famous Rama and lkshaman Jhoolas (Bridges) built over great grand River Ganga and that joins two parts of the town. In the morning we proceeded towards Govind Ghat which was a journey of about eight hours on the serpentine roads of mountains via several places like Rudrya Prayag and Joshi Math. In the evening we reached Govind Ghat Gurudwara where road to Hemkunt Sahib ends and there is only a mountain trail that has either to be covered on ponies or on foot. We stayed for the night at Gurudwara Govind Ghat and in the morning we proceeded to another place Govind Dham which was nearly 13 kms mountain trail from Govind Ghat. Here I grossly miscalculated my stamina and energy when I decided to go on foot along with  my sons. My wife was more pragmatic and practical in this matter as she hired a pony from the very beginning. One sister-in law of my wife surrendered within a couple of kilometers from Govind Ghat and she simply gave up the idea of going to Govind Dham and Hemkunt Sahib. After staying overnight at the Gurudwara Govind Ghat we started for the next phase of journey to a place known as Jhanjharia or Govind Ghat. Pony owners were so clever that they continued to walk along with us. I was unable to understand why they were doing this but then I came to know that as the journey and steepness of the path increased as the pilgrims started growing tired the rate of pony owners went up cashing in upon the need of the pilgrim. This place Jhanjharia was about 13 kms from Govind Ghat. As we progressed on the journey even our clothing seemed burdensome and I handed over my bottle, and outer wears to my wife who was riding a pony. On the way we rested to have a refreshing cup of tea and also on the way we came across a glacier which was a novel experience for me though the glacier had turned brown due to the dirt of the pilgrims and ponies walking on it. Even those people who were on ponies had to get down and cross the glacier on foot because even the hoofs of ponies slipped on the frozen ice of the glacier. After crossing the glacier the terrain was getting steeper and steeper and the going was getting more and more difficult. But people coming from the opposite direction were always motivating and inspiring me to complete this phase this journey. It nearly took 8 hours for me to cover 13 kms of this mountain track. As the sun was going down in the western horizon I slowly walked into the airport which was the beginning of Jhanjharia and Govind Dham. I had gown so tired that it appeared as if I had no feet underneath me. My wife and sons quickly rented a room for me in a hotel and I and my two sons rested in this hostel for the night. I slept instantly and I did not know how night passed but my legs were still aching in the morning that it appeare nearly impossible for me to continue and finish the last phase of this journey but still I was contented that at least I could  come up to this place. My wife along with her relatives stayed in the local gurudwara of  Jhanjharia or Govind Dham. In the morning I expressed my incapacity to continue my journey but my wife had other ideas she talked with a coolie who would take me on his back in this phase of journey and agreed to carry me on his back right up to Govind Ghat. Some of his fellow coolies even taunted him that he wanted to become a millionaire in a fortnight. But his reply was that he appears to be fat but he is hollow so he does not have much weight. So after breakfast I started the last phase of this pilgrimage on the back of this collie. He bent forward asking me to shift my weight also forward which would be more convenient for him. Though this journey was not comfortable but there was no option or alternative. Soon all the members of our group separated from each other as my wife was riding a pony, my sons were still walking and I was riding a man. Soon the walls of snow appeared on both the sides of the path and army men were removing the snow to make path for the pilgrims. This was not end of my trouble in this journey. As my carrier was moving on a steep path a young man immaturely came running with ponies and one of the pony collided with the coolie and he fell down on one side and I on the other side so as to avoid slipping into the valley I shifted my weight on the other side as a result of which I came down crashing on the ground just besides a rock and my head banged against it. Collie was more worried about me than about himself as he feared that now I would change the coolie and refuse to pay him. As I was resting beside the rock a number of pilgrims surrounded me and some body offered me water, while some other offered me glucose, fruits, cashews, almonds and sweets that gave me instant energy. So I decided to continue my journey on the same coolie after getting well. Now I could hear the voice of divine Kirtan coming from the Gurudwara. Soon I sighted the dome of the building of the Gurudwara with saffron flag flying. As soon as coolie put me down just in front of Gurudwara I sighted my wife who due to low temperature and thin air was having a sinking feeling she was holding the hand of her sister-in –law. So I took the round of the Gurudwara which is surrounded by the chilly ice water of frozen lake around it. I came inside the Gurdwara to pay my obeisance and thanked the almighty for accomplishing this journey successfully. Some devotees were taking dip in the holy pond even seventy years old aunt of my wife also took dip in it but I could not muster up that much courage. On the way back all the members of my family again separated from each other giving this feeling that everybody has come alone in this world and he will have to depart alone from this world leaving all the worldly things behind. So on the way I talked with my coolie who had changed at Jhanjharia. I really appreciate the stamina, courage, and skill of these people who were helping the people in completing the pilgrimage. A real salute to man and almighty God who had made such a flexible human body that could be moulded to any extreme. On the way the sight that was heartening and encouraging was the sight of my two sons and my wife riding their ponies and crossing me on the way. And as they passed they cheered and encouraged me to endure a bit more as I was quite near to complete the journey. By the time it was dark of the evening and lights were coming up in the town of Govind ghat my coolie put me down safely on the ground. I knew that my body has grown stiff and my arm was aching due to fall so I visited an ayurvedic dispensary to get some ointment. What I feared proved to be reality as next morning my hand was swollen and my body was aching badly and we had to resume the journey back. But we continued our journey back as our taxi operator waived at us as soon as he sighted us and after one stop at Paonta Sahib for the night we were home safe and sound. This was the only journey of my life in which not only I had used automobiles but also my foot and back of another human being to complete my journey.                         

Summer Vacation Excursions- Part II Author : Dr. K.S. Kang

Excursions during Summer Vacations – Part –II

Author : Dr.K.S.Kang

During one summer vacation when I along with my parents, wife and kids were in Punjab my parents were too reluctant to go anywhere outside Punjab. While on the other hand my kids, my wife and me were interested in some outing during the holidays. Our tenants were also busy in their jobs and our leaves and their leaves often did not coincide. So we decided to  visit Chandigarh and Shimla using mostly public transport. So we proceeded from Moga on a State Roadways Bus to Chandigarh- the city that had a unique status of being a Union Territory, and capital of Punjab and Haryana. We reached Chandigarh by the time the darkness of evening has descended. Since my wife had stayed at Chandigarh for an year during his studies in PG. Diploma in Computer Applications from a reputed institute BCI, so she was well acquainted with the city. We took accommodation in Kisan Bhawan which was centrally situated near the Central bus stop. Though it was Summer season at the peak but our room had air cooler and adequate supply of water ensured our pleasant stay for the night. Next day I and my wife went for early morning to walk to get the first glimpse of the town that was renowned as the most planned city of the country. It was aesthetically and systematically planned by the famous French architect Le Corbusier and that’s why this town did not had Sector No. 13 as it was considered inauspicious according to the belief and faith of Le Corbusier. During the walk we also had the first glimpse of the famous Sukhna Lake that was the crown of the town. After wash and change we took  an auto and moved around the town to visit its famous tourist sites. First of all we visited Sukhna Lake and enjoyed boating in this pond along with my wife and kids in a small paddle boat that was meant to accommodate four people. After Sukhna Lake we went to see the famous Rock Garden, that had been created aesthetically from the recycled and waste material by Mr. Nek Chand, who was an engineer by profession. His name has nearly become synonymous with Rock Garden and Chandigarh. In the evening we visited Rose Garden though that was not appropriate time to visit this place as it was not prime season for Roses but Garden had a number of varieties in it. We enjoyed ice cream cones made by famous Verka Dairy of Punjab ensuing high quality of its products. Next day in the morning we boarded the bus to the famous hill station of the country Shimla. It was again the endless serpentine roads of the mountains that took us to Shimla after four hours of bus journey after passing through Kalka, Solan and other towns. Along with the road the rails of famous toy train was also running crossing the road at several places. At Shimla as soon as we got down from the bus we were surrounded by coolies who were more than ready to carry our luggage and show us the accommodation. We took accommodation in a reasonably good hotel that was quite near the famous Mall Road of the town. As the room had TV set so my kids were engrossed in seeing their popular TV Cartoon shows. I and my wife had to convince them that we have come here to see the place and they can see TV anytime. So we came to the Mall Road which was so clean and systematic that I had not see such a clean and systematic street in my whole life till then. For some time it appeared to me as if I am not in India but in some foreign country, as the level of cleanliness in some of the foreign countries is higher than in India atleast at that time. Next day we hired a taxi with the help of hotel people that took us to some of the tourist spots around the town. They had several packages but the package that we selected was Kufri, Chahil. First of all taxi driver took us to Kufri where there was a Potato Research Institute. My wife and kids took round of the farm on ponies as I  was allergic to horses so I did not go anywhere I just took a short walk surveying the nearby valleys and surroundings. After Kufri taxi took us to Chail which was the capital of Patiala state. A story goes regarding Chail that once Maharaja of Patiala Bhupinder Singh antagonized Lord Kitchner,  Viceroy of India. After that Viceroy banned the entry of Maharaja of Patiala into Shimla as a punishment. So Maharaja took his capital to the nearby town Chal and built an imposing palace at Chail as his summer capital. Later on after independence he donated the building to Chail Military School and other Government departments. Chail had the highest helipad in the entire country which was situated atop a plateau that divided Chail from Shimla. After that we took hurried lunch and got into  bus to come back to Chandigarh. On the way we got down at Pinjore to see the famous Pinjore Garden that was built by Patiala royalty. My elder son got sick due to winding roads but he got relief as soon as he got down from the bus and immersed his feet and face in the cool water of the channels of Pinjore Garden. After viewing the garden thoroughly we boarded the bus from Chandigarh back to Moga.  

          

Summer Vacations Excursions Part - I Author: Dr. K.S.Kang

Excursions During Summer Vacations

Part-I

As most of our relatives resided in Punjab so we had to visit this state once or twice an year. It was decided by our family to go on excursions during summer vacations. First of all we decided to visit the State of Uttarakhand which was earlier Uttar Pradesh. The route that was charted out was to start from my home town Moga in Punjab and then via Ambala and Yamunagat to make a night stay at Haridwara. And next day to proceed to Rishikesh and to reach Dehradun by evening and to spend the next day in seeing Dehradun and then proceed to the Mussorie, which is known as the Queen of the Hills. Our tenants who were living in our house at Moga S. Surjeet Singh, who was a Government teacher also decided to join us on this trip along with his family. In fact it was he who organized everything including vehicle to be used for the trip from Moga. As we were ten members including my parents, my wife and two kids and four members of Surjeet Singh’s family so we hired Tata Sumo Vehicle, a SUV of Tata Motors from Moga, so that we could travel comfortably and conveniently. So we started from Moga early in the morning. Here I would like to mention that our driver was a very fat person whose name was Nishu. But he proved to be quite efficient and skillful driver seeing his obesity. We reached at Haridwara in the evening after a brief stop at a road side hotel cum farm where the water was flowing from the tubewell after Ambala that is after crossing Punjab and entering Uttar Pradesh. First of all my father decided to visit his nephew who was working at BHEL in the township nearby Haridwara. So we went to his residence situated in the colony of the plant. Two people who were overjoyed to meet each other was my father’s nephew Harnam Singh and our driver Nishu as both of them were equally fat and obese. Harnam Singh after serving hot tea and snacks at his home insisted that we should stay in his house for the night but my father did not want to trouble his family so he wanted that we should stay in some inn at Hardwara and enjoy the evening view of majestic river Ganga. Ultimately Harnam Singh budged and giving respect to my father’s age he agreed to my father’s plan but he accompanied us to Hardwara though he had made complete arrangements for our stay in the colony. At Hardwara we contacted Pawan Dham, an inn whose founders belonged to Moga and we easily got accommodation. In the evening we visited Har Ki Pauri to get the majestic view of River Ganga and  alluring view of its arti from the bridge. In the morning both my parents took a holy dip in River Ganga, particularly my mother was overjoyed as one of her hand was held by her elder grandson Ishupal who was studying in Class VIII and the other hand was held by her younger grandson Shivpal who was studying in Class VI. All of us also took bath in this holy river. My wife was quite fond of moving in the water of the river. After the morning bath at River Ganga we went to see Mansa Mata whose temple was situated on mountain and the only way to reach there was on rope way trolley. It was a novel experience for my family as the only time we were in the air was on a short flight at Kota airport at Dusshera mela along with my parents and sister. My wife insisted to sit alone with me on the trolley while my father wanted to accompany her and the children. My wife succeeded in pushing me to the vacant trolley that came our way to the surprise of my parents and our tenants. The rope way journey gave breath taking view of green valley and tall mountains covering the temple. After visiting the temple we hurriedly moved to Hrishikesh and seeing the famous Lakshman Jhoola, which is a rope bridge across River Ganga we moved quickly to reach Dehradun so as to find a suitable shelter at Dehradun before getting dark. At Dehradun first of all we went to see the place Premnagar in Dehradun where my father had resided for a couple of years while working at Indian Military Academy as Physics demonstrator. Both my parents were overjoyed to see the place where many fond memories of their youth still resided. They were overjoyed to see the family still residing whom they knew. The head of the family was a gentleman nick named Gaddi as he was born in a train while his mother was travelling from Pakistan to India after the partition in 1947. This gentleman was a young boy of 14 years when my parents left Dehradun. They were pleased to see old places and old people after a gap of nearly quarter of a century. We went to a Gurudwara but we were unable to find accommodation there though that was historical Gurudwara that was founded by Guru Ram Rai, elder son of Guru Hargobind ji, but he was thrown out by his father as he compromised with the holy Guru Granth Sahib while interpreting a verse before the then Mughal Emperor. I was surprised to see the shortage of water in that town that was cradle of number of rivers and streams. However we succeeded in finding accommodation at Agarwal Dharamshala near the railway station. Before calling the day we visited Indian Military Academy- the place where my father has worked for nearly a decade. While moving through its campus my father came across two officers who had been working and staying there and who had been my father’s students at Sainik School Chittorgarh Rajasthan. One person took us to his home and served us cold drink while the other promised us to assist in seeing the military museum of Indian Military Academy. Next day at appointed time all of us reached IMA and the officer was already waiting for us in Green Gipsy. Our car followed it till it stopped near the Last step of Chetwode Hall of IMA, that converted a Cadet to officer as soon as he crossed the last step successfully on the day of Passing out parade. Officer accompanying us Lt. Col. Lakshman Singh took us to the museum that had large life size portraits of former commandants of IMA and other prominent military leaders of free India like Field Marshal Manekshaw, Lt. Gen Harbaksh Singh, Lt. Gen Gorbinder Singh and the like. This museum also housed the pistol of Pakistan army commander Lt. Gen Niazi when he surrendered before Indian commander Lt. Gen J.S. Aurora during Indo-Pak conflict of 1971 that gave birth to a new nation Bangladesh. After seeing IMA thoroughly the other destination was its neighbouring institute Forest Research Institute or FRI as it is popularly known. But that institute is too huge as it is premier institute connected to Forest Sciences and Botany. We cold just get a running view of some of its museum as we were in a hurry to reach a spot of natural beauty that was a few Kilometres outside Dehradun known as Sahastradhara which was a water fall and pool of Sulphur water which had curative properties for skin related maladies.  Here too we took a long bath and we even had snaps of bathing in this pool of water. Tired we returned to our shelter to rest for the night. In the morning we proceeded to Mussorie which was about 22 kms from Dehradun but it had a mountaineous and winding terrain. As we reached Mussorie we came to know that only local taxis were allowed to take tourists to the spots, so we felt a bit cheated and duped. It was the monopoly of local taxi operators that was robbing the tourists from getting the pleasure of seeing the pleasant places. As we moved upward the road was getting narrower and meaner and steeper. So we decided to leave our vehicle and decided to walk. Our information about Mussorie was incomplete. Whatever knowledge we had of Mussorie was provided by our parents and in their days in the sixties of twentieth century there was only one tourist spot and that was Lal Tibba ( Red Plateau). As we were walking on the mountaineous road we observed that one road mark indicated the residence of famous Indo-Anglican author Ruskin Bond’s residence. After walking for an hour we reached Lal Tibba which was a high point from where a retired army serviceman showed snow capped mountains of Himalayas and Tibet (Indo-China Boarder) through the binoculars. On our way back we visited the local gurudwara too and came to know that they had quilts also for the people who wanted to stay in the Gurudwara. When we moved downwards back towards Dehradun it was already dark and lights of Mussorie appeared like shining starts in the sky. Next day we proceeded back to our respective places. As my summer vacation was going to end so we got off from the taxi at Ambala and moved towards Delhi, while our tenants moved towards Moga, while we hired taxi to reach Delhi and from Delhi moved to Jaipur and after staying at Jaipur at my sister’s residence proceeded to our residence at Chittorgarh.