Selfless Service @ Laxmi Ashram

Hi,

The day we reached Kausani we went for a short trek to a place called Laxmi Ashram...it's a trek of about 2 Km's from the pint sized market at Kausani. It is not a place that is popular with the tourists visiting Kausani, unfortunately so.

Laxmi Ashram is the place where Sarla Ben,a desciple of Mahatma Gandhi lived and did her bit for the betterment of the society and the enviorment.

Sarla Ben met Gandhi Ji when he visited Kausani during 1929...for just two days but was so enamoroed by the enviorns of Kausani that she decided to stay back.....all her life!! Sarla Ben (ben means sister in Gujarati).

Sarla ben worked for not just women empowerment but was also an ardent supporter of enviornment protection....she has authored several books on these topics....Sarla Ben died on the 8th of July 1982. But her legacu continues....there are more than 75 girls still call the ashram home sweet home.

The ashram provides them with food shelter and an excellent study enviornment.....infact the girls have the option of compeleting the masters degree.....and I must add that I personally found it very comendable....

The girls at he ashram are also given vocational training...and we also met the vocational training incharge...a pleasent lady by the name of Kalawati.

Ms.Kalawati who studied at the ashram herself and has been working here since 1984. Kalawati showed us the joss sticks, aweaters, caps etc...that the girls made. I ended up buying certain herbs and a packet of joss sticks from the ashram....while going back we also met another worker called Basanti.

(Kalawati and Me )

Ms. Basanti was involved with several projects meant for improving the ecological balance at places like Kausani, Bageshwar, Pinath etc....

Ms. Basanti was so happy to see us at the ashram that she gave us several basil (tulsi) saplings to plant....unfotunately by the time I reached Delhi...alll of them died.

(Ms. Basanti tending her garden)

Something which was quite evident when I visited Laxmi Ashram was that this place is definately not on Kausani tourist radar....it's both sad and dissapointing as it is places like these that need a lot of support both moral, emotional and economical from people like you and me....I have noticed this in India a lot we Indians don't mind travelling 30 K.m.'s to go to a bar...but to travel 3 k.m. to go to such a place does not cross our minds.....

Anyways as far as I am concerned I was deeply influenced by Sarla Ben's Work...a legacy that is now being propelled by the likes of Kalawati and Basanti...

As a bonus we were treated to an excellent panoramic view from Laxmi Ashram...it would be an underststement if I said that I was smitten by the natural bueaty that shines in all it's glory at Laxmi Ashram....

If you happen to visit Kausani ever please do visit the Ashram....i'm sure you would love it.

TC always,

Siddharth Tewari

Travel Tales....The German Yogi

Hi,

During our way to Kausani....we had to share our taxi with a German lady named Tareenee Prem....surprised don't be...because Tareenee was a disciple of Swami Rajneesh, popularly known as Osho.

Well Tareenee and we were on the same train from Delhi...but we didn't interact much till Almora....but after that all of us in the car had a freewheeling chat about India, Life and of course meditation....I was surprised enough to note that Fraulein Prem had relinquished her job as a sales manager to take up meditation as a full time career...it is something that we don't hear much about.

Well it is not just the sales job that she had relinquished....she was also at different points in time...at least a teacher & an administrator. Well Tareenee probably now has found what she wants to be and do....and that's run a meditation centre in Cologne....I understood one thing very clearly while talking to Tareenee...that no matter where you are and what you are doing we should not be satisfied till we achieve what we want to be or do with our life....

I wish all the best for the future to Tareenee and may her meditation centre be a roaring success.

Till the next time
take care,
Siddharth Tewari

Travel Tales 3: The legend of neem karauli baba....

Hi,

Time for some travel tales.....while going to Almora, we crossed a place called Kainchi Dham...(Kainchi as in a scissors)....now this kainchi dham (KD) was a very big complex...our driver then told us a story.....

Long ago there was an ascetic who made KD his home......no one knew his name but he was popularly called as neem karouli (NK) baba....on a particular day each year there is a big feast organized at KD.....it so happened that one year large number of pilgrims turned up for the feast..the KD administration was unprepared to meet such a rush....hence the ghee (clarified butter) finished. The junior ascetics started fretting about how the feast could go on....they checked every place but there was no ghee..... they ultimately went to NK baba to ask him for a possible explanation that they could furnish before the pilgrims...

Instead, NK baba smiled and asked them to check the containers once again....they did....only to find the containers overflowing with ghee....

It is because of this incident that NK baba/ KD is a popular figure/name in the Kumaon hills.....
Till the next post
TC
Siddharth Tewari

Travel Tales 2....the doc

Hi,


Let's continue with the travel tales folks.....


Just before we left for our trip my younger brother Ishan fell ill....he was running high fever and felt nauseated all the time....when we took him to our family physician Dr. Khanna, our worst fears came true...Ishan was diagnosed with Jaundice!!


This sad piece of information threw our plans to visit Kausani in a jeopardy....we were seriously contemplating cancelling the trip.......


It was Dr. Khanna who proved to be our saviour....or at least for the trip. Doctor uncle said that Sanju (as we fondly call Ishan) could travel but he had to be given loads of Glucon C, Fruits, Boiled Vegetables, radish etc......basically all the stuff any normal human being would like to avoid.....Sanju was very sad, but what to do after all tabiyat ka sawal tha na...


you think that was it...post's over ....no, not yet.....kyunki picture abhi baaki hai dost....and so is the twist.


At the platform while waiting for the Ranikhet Exp...we met an elderly gentleman...with whom I and Sanju got talking...initially about general stuff like damning the unprofessional attitude of the people in the railways, weather in Delhi, Places to see in Kausani etc... Later we got to know that he was retired doctor who used to practice in England. I explained Sanju's problem to him...and Voila!...the doctor saab said that he could eat anything that he wants to...in fact he should eat everything...because it Sanju had crossed the initial stage when Jaundice can be dangerous. Secondly the wide variety of nutrients would help Sanju recover faster.


As expected the happiest person on the train was Sanju.....I forgot to ask the Doctor his name...otherwise would have mentioned it....all that I remember was that he was visiting his nephew in Almora....I remember him telling me that his nephew had a shop in Lala Bazar....well Doctor saab if you happen to read this post and remember the incident...I & Sanju would like to thank you .

Take care till the next post
Siddharth Tewari

Travel Tales - the begining.....

Hi,

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~St. Augustine



It had been some time since I last travelled so recently I along with my family travelled to Kausani (कौसानी), please note that it is pronounced as kaU-sani and not ksauni (कसौनी). I say this because most of the people including me tend to use the two terms interchangeably. Kausani is a quiet little hill station in the kumaun hills in the state of Uttrakhand, formerly known as Uttranchal. Situated at an altitude of 1890 mts or 6075 feet ...the pleasant environs at Kausani offer a welcome break from the usual hustle bustle of Delhi coupled with pristine views of the Himalaya's.



Well my week long sojourn started on the 13th of July 2008 on a disastrous note...we had booked our tickets on the Ranikhat Express...a daily train that connects Delhi to Kathgodam (काठगोदाम). The train leaves Old Delhi Station at 22.30 hrs....I thought, though incorrectly, that if we leave for the station at say somewhere around 21.30 hrs...the Delhi metro should take us to the Delhi station comfortably within time...what I did not imagine was the technical problems at the station ...the token kiosk had conked off...leading to major snarls at the Chandini Chowk station ( you are supposed to get down here for the old Delhi station)....the long corridor that connects the metro station to the railway station is pretty long.......end result...we ended up at the station at 22.30 hrs!!....the stares from my parents and brother were taking a rather ominous look....fortunately enough for me...the train was late....by a hour or so....and thus we embarked on the journey to Kausani.... The journey nevertheless was quite comfortable...infact out of the two trains that run between Delhi and Kathgodam (KGM)...Ranikhet Exp..is the best option available. The train leaves Delhi at night and reaches KGM at 6.00 in the morning. Kausani is about 140 Km's from KGM. In fact KGM is where the landscape starts changing- the dusty North Indian plains give way to hillocks.

KGM is the last rail head on this route...and a major stop for tourists visiting Nainital, Almora, Ranikhet, Jageswar and Kausani.
Once you reach KGM/ Haldwani the touts for taxis start appearing from everywhere.....they can be qiute nagging and are more than happy to fleece unsuspecting tourists....the best policy is to befriend some local's..and let them do the bargaining.

The onward journey to Kausani has to be done in two trips , both tiring physically but a pure treat for the eyes in the form of lush green forests, bubbling mountain streams and deep gorges.

Will share more in later posts,

till then,
Cheers

Siddharth Tewari

The Magnificent Mughals....

Hi all...
India was till recently considered to be a land of princes....in fact when we gained independence nearly six decades ago...there were more than 540 princely states that had to be amalgamated in the union....however no other imperial house ever reached the ascedency or wielded power over India as did the house of taimur (तैमुर) or the mughals...but it is not just the power and imperial splendor that invokes awe for the mughals...I can't pin down a specific reason for it but mughals have acquired a special place in the hearts of the Indians...it is a name that invokes nostalgic romanticism still..The house of taimur was founded in 1526 by Babur after the second war of panipat (पानीपत) .....the mughal kings held sway over large swathes of India...in fact they were nothing less than supreme masters of India...atleast till the later half of the 17th century when the maratha power under the dynamic Shivaji (शिवाजी) asserted itself in the deccan....the rise of the maratha power aggravated the downfall of the mughal empire....matters were further worsened after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. The later mughals neither had the expertise nor the resources to hold together the collosal empire which began crumbling soon after...the mughal princes managed to to be in power....though only as titular heads...and as mere pawns first in the hands of unscruplous nobels and then the british...the last mughal emperor Bhadur Shah Zafar II (please refer to the post titled...Zafar's Last Poem) was exiled from India in 1858 to Rangoon where he died in 1862.... However the history of mughals is so expansive and vast that it can't be covered in a single post...will talk about it in future posts...but as of now I will just list down the names of the mughal emperors.....

1. Zahiruddin Mohammed Babur (ज़हिरुद्दीन मोहम्मद बाबर) (1526-1530)
2. Nasiruddin Mohammed Humayun (नसीरुद्दीन मोहम्मद हुमायूँ) (Ist reign 1530-1540, IInd reign 1555-1556 ): also refer to the post King for a day.
3. Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar (जलालुद्दीन मोहम्मद अकबर) ( 1556-1605)
4. Nuruddin Mohammed Jahangir (नुरुद्दीन मोहम्मद जहाँगीर) ( 1605-1627)
5. Shahabuddin Mohammed Shah Jahan (शहाबुद्दीन मोहम्मद शाहजहाँ) (1627-1658)
6. Moinuddin Mohammed Aurangazeb Alamgir (मोईनुद्दीन मोहम्मद औरंगजेब अलामगीर) ( 1658-1707)
7. Bahadur Shah I ( बहादुर शाह प्रथम) (1707-1712)
8. Jahandar Shah (जहानदार शाह) (1712-1713)
9. Farukkhsiyar (फर्रुखसियार) (1713-1719)
10. Rafi-Ud-Darjat (रफी-उड़-दर्जत) (1719)
11. Rafi-Ud-Daulat (रफी-उड़-दौलत) (1719)
12. Nikusiyar (निकुसयार) (1719)
13. Mohammed Ibrahim (मोहम्मद इब्राहीम) (1720)
14. Mohammed Shah (मोहम्मद शाह) (1720-1748)
15. Ahmad Shah Bhadur (अहमद शाह बहादुर) ( 1748-1754)
16. Alamgir II (आलमगीर द्वितीय) (1754-1759)
17. Shah Jahan III (शाह जहाँ III) (1759)
18. Shah Alam II (शाह आलम II) (1759-1806)
19. Akbar Shah II ( अकबर शाह II) (1806-1837)
20.Bahadur Shah II (बहादुर शाह II) (1837-1857)

So these 20 names constituted the entire mughal empire....and covered 331 years.

Hope you liked the trivia...till the next post....
take care
Siddharth-The King of Me!!!

I am in love...

hi all....

It has been some time since I last blogged....but I must let you know that someone very special kept me occupied.....In fact I have decided to proclaim my latest crush in front of all of you...but before I tell you who is the lucky one....ummm...infact I am the lucky one to have her company... :-] ......I know... for people who know me...this might come as a shock...but some things are tied to the inescapable call of destiny and this is one of them...I am sure you would want to know how did we meet ...the very first time...

It was a sunday evening and I was at the pacific mall......it was then when we both saw each other for the very first time....I would be lying if I say that I wasn't attracted towards her..I was!!......she had a bright colourful face....a sparkle in the eye....slim body...and curves to die for....I was simply mesmerized by her very presence....did not know what to say or do....but I was sure about one thing...I wanted her in my life....and I wanted her desperately....I am thankful to god that she is with me now...and I dont let her away from me for an instant....

Let me share her picture with all of you...



Suprised....are you...but why???....I was talking about my latest love....my nokia 2630 handset....check her out ...you will fall in love as well!!!
Take care....
Lovestruck Siddharth...