When the routine pattern of life consumes my mind, a series of ominous thoughts about the hopeless emptiness of our lives starts hovering around me like a bee who wants to devour the last bit of honey existing in the last blooming flower. I try to ponder about the solution and the only way that I can save myself is through TRAVEL.
I just presumed that the basic instinct of human mind is to explore, explore and explore. Wander the world around you, meet new people, feel new experiences and sense the exquisite variety of life.
Despite the busy schedules we managed to plan our journey and decided to have a short trip of two days through the lower Himalayas and the place we have chosen for our stay - Banethi, a small village near Nahan encompassing the vast tract of virgin forests. We booked a beautiful FRH of Banethi for our night stay.
The route of our trip was
1. Chandigarh to Naraingarh (52 Kms)
2. Naraingarh to Nahan(28 Kms)
3. Nahan to Banethi (FRH) (18 Kms)
Our journey began on the early morning and we trundled through the narrow road of NH 72 which connects Chandigarh to Dehradun. From Chandigarh to Nahan, the scenary comprises of fertile agriculture lands sown with sugarcane and wheat crops on both sides of the road. We came across some shabby towns having ceaseless traffic coming from all directions. These unplanned towns are encroached at every corner by the people and any change to revamp these towns at this stage seems impossible to occur. The chaos of traffic and the smoke emanating from the tailpipes of blaring cars forced us to rush off. We reached Nahan and ate lunch at the local dhaba. After crossing Nahan the traffic reduced to a great extent and we took a sigh of relief and enjoyed the mesmerising beauty of lower Himalayas which are full of verdant forests. Greenery Greenery all around.
We put our bags in the Banethi FRH which is elegantly and aesthically designed by the English as a dak bungalow in midst of lushy green jungles in the year 1905.
We decided to venture to RENUKA Lake which has a lot of religious significance in Hindu Religion. RENUKA is considered to be the mother of Lord Parshuram which is believed to be the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. A famous RENUKA fair has been organised every year in the Hindu month of Kartik. Thousands of pilgrims from far away places pay their obesiances there.
The RENUKA Lake is beautifully made by the nature in midst of dense and thick forests which is sorrounded by a small zoo. Tourists with families can roam around here with their kids to while away their time. With spectacular lotus bloom, the lake is a unique natural attraction for the photographer to click some nice landscape shots. There is a small place made for the pilgrims to have a holy dip in the RENUKA Lake. There is a large turtle along with so many big fishes in the lake which makes you shiver with fear as it would brush you once or twice when you put your foot in the lake for bathing. We really enjoyed our time there splashing water over each other. Each one of us tried to show his skills in the water and my friends tried to drown me as a hoax.
In early morning we strolled around the Forest Rest House and the nature offered its picturesque beauty to our eyes and we felt so energised and fresh. There are some beautiful small villages around there and we met some locals and gathered some information from them about the routes and roads.
After breakfast we went to a temple of Ravana dedicated to Lord Shiva which is widely known as Paudi Wala- Swarg ki doosri Seedi. It is situated between the Nahan and Kalaamb Road. The Ravana meditated here to please Lord Shiva. The brief story is cited in the pictures. A narrow gravelled path leads us to the temple and our vehicle trundled and rattled through the way. But we parked our vehicle after some distance as the road was completely washed out by the incessant rains and we were not ready to afford any risk. The road to the temple was so much scary due to the complete silence engrossed in the sorrounding forests. We all were sweating due to the humid climate which is the result of our descent trek in the lower Himalayas.
We paid our obesiances to the almighty Lord Shiva and started our return journey to our sweet homes. We started to plan our next trip. Such is the nature of human mind. It always crave for more and more.
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