MY FIRST TRIP TO MUKTESHWAR

Any thing done for the first time has its importance in life, if the experience is bad then one may regret it but if it is good then it will be cherished throughout the life.

One such good experience that I had was of our college trip to Mukteshwar. Mukteshwar is a hill station and is not yet very popular obe crowded by tourists. It is situated at an altitude of 2,286 m above the sea level in the Kumaon division of Uttarakhand. It is 42 km from Haldwani, 51 km from Nainital and 395 km from Delhi. Surrounded by fruit orchards and thick coniferous forest it was developed by the Britishers as research and education institute (IVRI) in 1893. It is the celebrated scenic spot overlooking long ranges of Himalaya.

“What an awesome place it would be?” … wow! And the very fact that the trip was with our friends gave me an intense sense of joy and excitement which cant be described in words but it can only be felt. And I am sure that every one of us felt the same.

Our trip started on 25^th of October 2007 in the night and most of us,(including me) were on the bus and the rest were in Qualis. I was one among the happiest souls on earth as getting an official off from the hectic life of an MBA was always welcomed. The best thing was that the parents had nothing much to do in this, and they couldn't’t have denied to any one for the tour, because it was a part of the course curriculum. It was like a free pass and we were set free to do what ever we liked. The next 3 days were to change the lives of each one of us in some way or the other and it did . . .

Laughing and giggling , chit-chatting and singing we set off for the trip. We started “Jor se bolo, Jai Mata Di, Sare bolo Jai Mata Di, Aawaz nahi aai, Jai Mata Di” woh! what a start and this was our very own Pujju rani. She talks a lot in proportionately to her weight… he he he J. The stage was set and after picking up our trainer on the way we were soon out of Delhi.

The bus was on its way and every one was in mood, I guess a bit of romance was in the air (it is just the feel good factor :)). I had always liked to be a part of such an expedition where there is thrill of the unknown, as to what might happen the next moment, as well as the excitement of being with your buddies specially the close ones (though we all were only three months old as frends). And here I was actually being a part of it… Songs after songs we sung as loud as we could and no one could have thought of sleeping at that point of time. With a lot of mirch and masala the enjoyment kept on increasing. “Our Jaipur ka chora” Mr Bhanawat was actually macha-ing dhoom with his self maintained and well updated encyclopedia of songs and movies which one had never heard of. Another exciting entertainment was of the very popular “Chen Songs”. This is a popular category of songs unlike jazz or rock which every one knows. These songs are known by very few IMIans. As per my definition and understanding of this complex type; a chen song is one which people normally forget and/or avoid watching and listening to. The authentic copyrights of these kinds of songs are with Ms Shruti urf Ms Velli IMI. She is a bubbly girl with loads and loads of chen material like: old chen songs, chen advertisements, chen movies, chen dialogues etc etc. The chen entertainment would have continued uninterrupted but there was someone who was having a headache because of it (yes u r right it was our very own, Swati). She tried to make us quiet but we were not in a mood to actually stop the chen entertainment. And then that thing happened which should'nt have happened, we all are afraid of the transformed Swati (like Jhansi ki Rani). She shouted to th utmost pitch of her voice, and immediately there was utter silence...for minutes. Time went by....slowly and steadily.

And lo there was a long traffic jam. Our friends had already given the info about the jam through a wireless technology called mobile phone. They were actually ahead of us .coz they were in Qualis. But who cares. We enjoyed the jam also. Seems to be weired, indeed it was not. Few of us got off the bus and moved here and there in anticipation of finding the best source of potable water. And there it was...eureka! they found a hand pump. An immediate chaos filled the bus. Don't worry it was because of every one's wish to get there water bottles filled asap.

Another lot of girls (I guess it was Kari. including others. plz correct me if i m wrong, addi said Priyanka was for sure involved...) were left behind some where and we tried to contact them through the only wireless technology which every one had. Soon the bus slowed down, not because of them but because of the jam. They were now in sight and immediately boarded. I and Chaturbhuj wandered around on the road when , like a typical 'gunda' carrying a shawl around his shoulder, Mr Bhujbal ran towards the roadside sugarcane farm and pulled out some ganne. There was again a chaos as he boarded the bus with this sumptuous feast, no one could resist there urge to grab there share share. There was enough for us to feed and we had enough time for the feast. Chaturbhuj went to get a few more. By the time the jam was over we had had a great feast. These were the few things that kept the bus driver awake at least for the first few hours of the journey.

Slowly the lights were put off. But the whispering still continued in low voices, some were already asleep and cosy. Some were busy using the mobile some were talking and busy sharing there innermost secrets of life. The panoramic view of the dark grey sky and the black trees out side the bus window looked peaceful. The moon was smiling as bright and radiant as ever. The silver light of this heavenly body, pouring itself selflessly on us, was entering every now and then through the window as the bus slowly and steadily neared Mukteshwar. It was like the moon was saying “keep your eyes closed and finger on your lips, its time for you to be in you dream land”. Like a naughty child I didn’t wanted to close my eyes, I wanted to live each and every second of that beautiful moment. Dreaming with eyes wide open I didn’t realise when I went to my dreamland but when I opened my eyes I realised that we were almost in a real dreamland………

To be continued…..