The Bidigey Chandra (day 2 after full moon) travels with me as I nestle my head into the hard back of the Volvo for a 4 day tour of Manali. We have booked a package tour through Himachal Pradesh Tourism.
I am trying to find a sweet spot and fall asleep. The drive is smooth and I slip into disturbed slumber.
It is about 4 in the morning. a harsh honk jerks me awake. I lazily glance out of the window and am blown out of my senses. The silver of the bright moon makes shimmering lines across a gentle river. The view is breathtaking. This is a dream scene. Gleaming water bends and tapers into mountains. Ranges of the Himalayas fade from sight in layers. Pebbles and rocks sparkle like gems discarded in playful abandon. An ancient narrow bridge spans across the river.
Is this really true?
Am I really seeing this?
I commit the scene to memory and lock it away for need based recall. My camera is in the suitcase :(
Here is what it almost looked like! A day image modified...!!
Day 1
We travel by car around Manali. The river meanders through the city. We catch many amazing glimpses of it. Finally at 4 in the evening we climb down 50 steep steps to reach the river bed.
Day 3
We drive to Manikaran in Kullu valley to see the hot springs. On the way White water river rafting hoardings entice us. We make a halt. An awesome spot where the waters surge through boulders, tumble over rocks and glide over pebbles. We do not raft for we have no change of clothes. We enjoy the excited screams of rafters. The busy waters. The energy and the calm.
(These lines in the caption are from Alfred Tennyson's Brook)
Oooh. The water is freezing. The Beas originates from the melting snows of the Himalayas. The crystal clear water, the slippery pebbles and smooth rocks, the clear river bed and the patient mountains leave us enchanted.
I recall counting off on my unfolding fingers the names Ravi, Beas, Sutluj etc the five rivers that give Punjab its name. I was in a school in Madras (Chennai) then. And the strange names evoked a sense of wonder. I hoped then that I would one day see these rivers.
My feet play with the waters of the whispering, gurgling, tumbling, skipping Beas.
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River cities are fascinating
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I am trying to find a sweet spot and fall asleep. The drive is smooth and I slip into disturbed slumber.
It is about 4 in the morning. a harsh honk jerks me awake. I lazily glance out of the window and am blown out of my senses. The silver of the bright moon makes shimmering lines across a gentle river. The view is breathtaking. This is a dream scene. Gleaming water bends and tapers into mountains. Ranges of the Himalayas fade from sight in layers. Pebbles and rocks sparkle like gems discarded in playful abandon. An ancient narrow bridge spans across the river.
Is this really true?
Am I really seeing this?
I commit the scene to memory and lock it away for need based recall. My camera is in the suitcase :(
 |
| the river in moonlight? |
Day 1
We travel by car around Manali. The river meanders through the city. We catch many amazing glimpses of it. Finally at 4 in the evening we climb down 50 steep steps to reach the river bed.
 |
| rocky river bed of Beas |
Day 3
We drive to Manikaran in Kullu valley to see the hot springs. On the way White water river rafting hoardings entice us. We make a halt. An awesome spot where the waters surge through boulders, tumble over rocks and glide over pebbles. We do not raft for we have no change of clothes. We enjoy the excited screams of rafters. The busy waters. The energy and the calm.
 |
| white water rafting |
 |
| I chatter over stony ways, in little sharps and trebles I bubble into eddying bays, I babble on the pebbles |
(These lines in the caption are from Alfred Tennyson's Brook)
Oooh. The water is freezing. The Beas originates from the melting snows of the Himalayas. The crystal clear water, the slippery pebbles and smooth rocks, the clear river bed and the patient mountains leave us enchanted.
 |
| Beas in Himachal Pradesh |
I recall counting off on my unfolding fingers the names Ravi, Beas, Sutluj etc the five rivers that give Punjab its name. I was in a school in Madras (Chennai) then. And the strange names evoked a sense of wonder. I hoped then that I would one day see these rivers.
My feet play with the waters of the whispering, gurgling, tumbling, skipping Beas.
-------------------
River cities are fascinating
-------------------
which are the other 2 rivers? indus? and,...?
ReplyDeletejhelum, chenab, ravi, beas and sutlej are the 5 rivers. so musical na?
ReplyDelete