Wanderings in Sirmour: A marriage we happily attended

Alpha

Going to Neverland
Year 2013 had been really blissful. Munsiyari in March, Central Himachal in July, Paangi Valley in August, Ladakh-Zanskar in September and then Garhwal in December to close what have been a travel-full year for me. Year 2014 started on equally good note. A dear friend and colleague belonging to Paonta Sahib was getting married on 26th January at Paonta Sahib. Paonta is a small little town in Sirmour District, Himachal, situated on the banks of River Yamuna. The river acts as a natural boundary between Himachal and Uttarakhand at Paonta. The town is otherwise famous for religiously important Gurudwara Paonta Sahib built in the memory of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Sikh Guru. These days Paonta is bustling with industrialization. I have another connect with this beautiful town as my Chacha has been living in Paonta since last 20 years and I had already visited Paonta few times.

I alongwith another colleague and a good friend [MENTION=23591]Aniruddha Jasu[/MENTION], a fellow BCMTian who has authored a block buster log of a week spent in Ladakh during winters http://www.bcmtouring.com/forum/travelogues-north-india-f61/winter-leh-diary-15th-22nd-january-2014-a-t56980/ decided to leave a day and half early and extend our stay in Paonta by one day so that we can explore some of the offering of Sirmour District which is otherwise not much on the tourist map despite some very good options. We started from office early in the evening and after negotiating few jams enroute reached Karnal bye-pass by 5.30 pm. Next part of the journey till Ladwa via Indri was uninspiring. At Ladwa, we started to feel hungry and decided to take a break for light refreshments. We stopped at one bakery that had exhausted all it supplies of burgers and sandwiches. He recommended Golden Deluxe Dhaba which was just half a kilometer away. We entered the dhaba with a thought of munching one roti so that we may be able to join our friend at Paonta for dinner. The owner of the vegetarian dhaba pitched in for Kaleji Paneer (no kaleji involved) and Laccha paratha. Rest is history. We had to excuse ourselves while our friend with all his cousins and other friends gorged on the dinner served. A session of dance at mid-night followed the dinner and then, fully exhausted, we took to our beds.

Distance covered: around 275 kms
Time taken: 5.30 hours
Route Chart
Delhi to Paonta Sahib.jpg
 

Alpha

Going to Neverland
Night was little cold as it had been raining in Paonta. The day break was foggy and cloudy. I checked my camera to shoot the morning views and it did not shoot. I forgot the bullets (Memory cards) at home. Went walking towards the chowk and got a 4 GB micro SD card and an adaptor from a mobile recharge shop. The day was saved.

It was breakfast time and the halwai was setting up his wares for the breakfast. We stayed close to the halwai lending our hands in any way we could for rewards which could be satisfying. The sound of breads filled with potato masala laced with besan flour sounded like a Sitar rendition of Raag Bhairavi by Pd. Ravi Shankar. The change of colour from yellow to golden was mesmerizing, just like a rising sun. With our eyes continuously fixated over the frying bread pakodas, the halwai served us boiling hot bread pakodas after separating few for offerings to the almighty.

# breakfast preps in full swing
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# to be gobbled up
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# our saviour
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Alpha

Going to Neverland
Post breakfast we shifted to PWD Guest house where arrangement for stay was made. Thereafter we left for Renuka Lake which was around 80 kms ways from Paonta via Nahan. However another route other way round going through Sataun was barely 45 kms away. We chose to go via Sataun and return via Nahan. Soon the roads turned nightmarish but there is nothing to worry when you have the luxury of a Thar. Driving alongside Giri River, we glided over the potholed and rocky roads effortlessly stopping every now and then for the beautiful views the surroundings offered. People stared at us as if we were a novelty in that place. After almost 2 hours we reached our destination for the day – Renuka ji.

#4 thickly wooded
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#5 Aniruddha
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#6 transportation infrastructure of CCI
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#7 close up of the trolley
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#8 road condition before Sataun
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#9 a beautiful stream along the road side near a small village
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#10 crystal clear water
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#11 beautiful scenery
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#12 and a beautiful sky
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#13 time for Phantom to pose
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Alpha

Going to Neverland
#14 a beautiful village alongside the Gori River
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#15 farm land on the other side of the river
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#16 beauty on both sides
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#17 road conditions were worsening
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#18 wanted to reach Chandni as soon as possible
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#19 moonland before Chandni village
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#20 seemed like mountains have coughed up lots of stones and boulders at this particular place
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#21 Phantom posing again
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Alpha

Going to Neverland
#22 Chandni Village
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#23 beautiful fields of Chandni Village
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#24 quintessential Phantom pose
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#25 another shot of the beautiful fields
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#26 a very well mannered and curious kid greeted us and offered us to come down to his village for tea. The future of this great country is in great hands, i am sure now
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#27 a beautiful waterfall alongside the road..a prospective tourist point
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#28 it fell from good height
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#29 finally Renuka Lake
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#30 nice and green
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... to be continued​
 

Ladakh_Maniac

Well-Known Member
Alok's intentions are very aggressive. I am concerned that he will complete the log before leaving office today.
Question is whether he will beat Masterji's Spiti log speed or not.
 
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