Dehradun - mistakes , learning and memories

When I was in high school, I got this beautiful book by name "Interpretation of dreams " by Sigmund Freud. I don't remember anything about the book since I couldn't get the interest on the topic.  May be my dream was limited. But today whenever I want to read a book on dreams, I would remember that book. After reading some of the books of Paulo Coelho, my urge to fulfill my dreams have become more now. The dream to travel, meeting different kinds of people have always been my desire. Sometimes you get a chance but rarely you get many chances. To travel the world you should be mentally and physically strong. I had my chances where I almost thought I should not try this again. That is the part and parcel of our journey. We learn and move on.

From diving in Arabian sea as a kid without knowing swimming to losing my balance in Chadar trek while climbing a hill, I had got another chance to fulfill my dreams. There were many instances where I thought I could have done differently. One such experience was Dehradun's Robber's cave. That's the story of madness.

I always used to confuse with Darjeeling and Dehradun before going for a solo trip to Uttarakhand. Dehradun is capital of Uttarakhand. The city is not just hill station but has varieties of places to visit. In the foothills of Himalayas it has given birth to one of the best research institute in India. Out of all the beautiful place in Dehradun , this was the place of enlightenment. Forest research institute has interesting information about fossils, trees, flowers and conservation of forest. The whole day you can spend in the FRI campus. It is beautiful and is full of green everywhere. Rainy season is the best time to visit the campus.

  

Robber's cave

Surrounded by hills, this beautiful place is also called gucchu pani. You have to walk in water to reach the falls. People told water will be till knee point. But due to rain it was well above knee point.  Finally when I reached waterfall I could see the mystery of nature where it has given rise to a very small waterfall with full force. People were enjoying near the waterfall without getting near the falls. I thought of climbing the hill backside. I went behind the falls. No one was there. Nobody could listen to my cry if I fall because of the roaring waterfall. I started crossing the other side with only the finger grips. Suddenly when I bent my leg to cross the little wider gap in between the slope, my guest house key was about to fall. To catch the key suddenly I removed my hand. I was standing on my fingers. I was about to fall and thanks to the grip I had and balance I tried otherwise I would have hit the rocks and I can't even imagine what could have happened.  That was another chance given to me to fulfill my dreams and I would be grateful to the mother nature for this lesson. Never try anything which can harm your dreams.  

After coming out of cave, I was totally blank for 10 minutes. Sat for a while thinking about whether to continue or not ? Then I started thinking about the preparation I did in the morning. I woke up in the early morning. I ran for nearly 10 km. Explored the transport services. Interacted with few locals before coming to this place. I thought when you are in a journey, incidents like this can reduce your confidence. But we are born to do something greater. We have to align our dreams to do greater things but not by what society expects you to do. With that hope I continued my journey. If I look back It gives me a sense of confidence. We have to take risk in our life but not which can end our dreams.

Tapkeshwara temple 

My next visit was Tapkeshwar temple, one of the beautiful temple near the river. A cave like creation to enter the temple makes it more interesting. Since the temple has been in little remote place, it is more peaceful. One of the must visit place in Dehradun.

Lachiwala picnic spot

If you like water and wants to swim and relax, this is the place to visit in Dehradun. The river is a tributary to song river. I rate this place above all the place after Robber's cave. I was in half mind to get into water because of camera and mobile. Finally I kept it on the corridor near to river and relaxed in the river. After a tired day, full of run, jump and escape it was a relaxed feeling in the water. Weekend is not the right time to visit this place since it would be crowded. You could see lot of college students in this place than any other tourist place in Dehradun. I met two college students who wanted me to click their pics in different angle. They told me to click their photos in my camera and for that they took me for a ride inside the forest. Even after coming back to Bengaluru they were asking me to share pics. I being a lazy person to share photos, for the first time shared pics within a week. That also added spice to this trip. 

Mindrolling monastery

One of the wonderful thing to do in a solo trip is interacting with the locals. I had an interaction with this monk who has visited Mundgod in Karnataka. I asked a lot of questions about Buddhism and he answered it with lot of patience and in the end he obliged to take a picture with me. That's the beautiful memory I have with Dehradun.

Once I entered the monastery, I saw the teacher was punishing two students and rest others were chanting the shlokas. The punishment was also different. It was chanting and doing some namaskara by getting up and down. The students were really tired. I sat on the corner and started doing meditation. I also make sure that I close my eyes so that two students should not feel embarrassed.

The campus was little bigger than expected. There were many stupas. This monastery is bigger than I have seen in Dharmashala. The art inside the monastery is also awesome. The explanations about the meanings of stupas and religious ideologies were good to read. I came here by walking more than 8 km and I was not even tired because of the beautiful surrounding. That's the reason I visited this place next day also.

You can get a shared auto for 10 to 20 Rs. That's the ease of visiting any tourist place in Uttarakhand.

But Dehradun is expensive in terms of hotel, food and taxis. Since it is a major tourist destination and most of the rich family likes to visit Dehradun and Musoorie it has been little expensive. But those who wants to visit places on their own will find their own way.

Some of the things to note for a budget traveller

• You will get a room in a cheaper price in offseason. Better to book room near bus stand so that you could commute to places easily.
• Use shared auto or buses.
• Don't forget to experience the street food. I loved the chats here.
• Interact with locals more. That's the sweetest part of this journey.
• Always talk with lot of respect to people. That makes the conversation easier. 

Travel has been one of the way to bridge the gap between countries and states. Otherwise we will be litterated illiterates who will not know our geography, people, history and culture. Dehradun has taught many things like the importance of mental toughness and physical fitness. If I close my eyes the robber's cave incident doesn't come as a mistake but a learning which I have to follow in my life. The people with whom I interacted have made me to believe in humanity. The varieties of circumstances has given me an experience which has always helped me in my life. 

I would like to end this story with this beautiful lines in mindrolling monastery

We cannot be perfect but we still can try a bit. Our life is precious.

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