A Tryst With Nature

After a long time, we planned to go on a proper vacation. In the last few years tours and travels have been on halt for us. May be something to do with subconscious hesitation after covid19. This break was much needed after almost 3 years.

Day 1 - Our first halt was Nainital. It's called the City of lakes. But we had our stay planned on a hilltop away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

We decided to take rest for the rest of the day after a close to 8 hours drive. The area had a poor network giving some rest to our smartphones too. My 10-year-old son was feeling a little disappointed- no friends here. But soon came a cute stray pup for his rescue. My son is generally quite timid when it comes to animals, but there was something sweet in this stray dog. We didn't hear it bark during our stay. It was a cool, calm and composed puppy - Shera. Look at the way they are having some silent conversations.

Sipping the tea blended with the aroma of mountain air, we spent the evening savouring each moment; the subconscious worries in the mind felt like melting away. Looking at the stray puppy, the German Shepherd that came along with another family, the birds, I wondered how all the species are calm and composed replicating the nature of the majestic mountains.

Day 2 began with a visit to Kainchi Dham Temple. Crowdy temples are usually a big NO for me because I feel that the purpose of visiting a temple is defeated when it is crowdy. But here, the crowd was very well managed. People maintained the queue peacefully, some singing hymns of the Lord in low sound. There was a pile of books neatly placed in a basket. Interested visitors were reading them in silence sitting within the premises. After reading, they were placing the books back in that basket.

We then visited Bhimtal Lake followed by Naukuchiya Tal. A boat ride in the soothing green lakes surrounded by lush green mountains dotted with houses at frequent intervals was a surreal experience.

There are some mythological stories attached to all these lakes. With the help of google guru, I got to know about these stories which I told to my son who listened to them with absolute amazement.

Day 3 - It was time for fun and adventure. We went to Eco Cave Garden. It's a garden park with shade trees and multiple caves. We came in the scorching heat to this park which felt like a natural AC; exploring caves was something we had to put some effort into. Super easy tasks for my boy were equally difficult tasks for us.

My son also showed his bravery by sky cycling.

We came back after roaming the mall road for some time. While returning to the hotel, our driver told us that there is a temple on the hill top right next to our hotel and that we can explore it if we want. That was a good idea. My son was already thrilled. He wanted to go right away to the hilltop.

It was shivering cold mid-way with a cool breeze hitting our bodies. We ran towards the hotel to get some woollen clothes before proceeding.

It started raining the moment we were on the top. We waited in the temple for over 10-15 minutes before returning.

It was our last day at Nainital. The majestic mountains.. the green water lakes. The coexistence of the human species with other species. All problems and worries felt small. There are so many creatures in the universe facing much bigger problems with grit. We just need to recognize the plethora of blessings that have been offered to us.

Day 4 started with a visit to the zoo. Walking up the slopes is exhausting. For the sake of my son, we walked, walked and walked. Most animals were hidden in their caves except for deer and Beer. Look at the beer trying to roll the drum above it to get some peanuts to eat out of it. In the process, it was one of the few creatures entertaining us.

Humans are cruel beings. For the sake of our pleasure, we do harm nature at various levels.

We reached our hotel at the next stop, Jim Corbett, sometime in the noon and enjoyed the premises of the hotel for the rest of the day.

Day 5 We were excited about this day from Day 1 for Jungle Safari. We were almost sure that we will not get to see the Royal Bengal Tiger. But the thrill of seeing uncaged wildlife is different.

We started at 5:30 am. The Jeep arrived a little late. And then he had to refill the fuel. I was annoyed. He could have filled it out earlier. As we started the safari no animal could be seen from afar. Just got a glimpse of a few spotted deer. I cursed the driver for delaying.

But then, some divine forces of nature conspired to make us meet not one, two or three but 4 tigers. A tigress with three of its cubs.

We also saw a dancing peacock. Can you spot it in the picture below?

The jungle safari was a super success. We couldn't have asked for more. We returned with a sense of achievement.

After lunch, we went to a nearby art gallery to see some pictures taken by renowned wildlife photographer Deepak Rajwar. We feasted our eyes with some stunning pictures of wildlife. Each picture depicts a story.

And then there was a river nearby our hotel. Walked to it to find that three-quarters of the river is dry. "Global warming is so real", I said to my son.

The rest of the day was spent in some more adventure activities which my brave boy did with a lot of fascination.

Returning back to the daily humdrum of city life, I wondered how each bit of nature inspires us to live our lives and felt that this trip had breathed a new spirit into us before we go for the next tryst with Nature.