A Road Trip to This WorkFromHome Destination in Pauri was Exactly What we Needed to Brighten up 2020

‘Sawari Apne Samaan ki Khud Zimmedar hai’

(Translation: Passenger is responsible for their own luggage)

This is a tagline one may have seen in the Roadways buses. Precisely in the same spirit, the world is inching towards the Unlockdown and a grudging acceptance of Covid-19. And it has become all the more important for each one of us to be self-dependent and not to rely on others for our well-being.

There is still a big question everyone (especially travel lovers) is contemplating: Whether or not to move out of the safe confines of home?

These were the doubts that plagued me as well. Still, when a work commitment compelled us to travel to Uttarakhand from Pune, we decided to view it as a silver lining and changed this into work cum leisure.

Everything was falling into perfect symmetry, my daughter’s online classes, my work from home educator role.

Our preparations to be #travelsafe and #self-reliant

Whether or not to travel in the current situation is a question open to moral debate. My take is, be it pandemic or not, one should be a responsible traveller. Even when the States have lifted the travel restrictions, we decided to get a Health certificate and quarantined ourselves in Gurgaon, in our family home.

We followed three golden rules: Carry your bedding, your tiffin, and Masks.

Through out the road trip in our car, we were conscious not to move in the crowd and kept sanitizer handy at petrol stations and tolls.

Though the craving for Maggie points and kadak ginger tea at Dhabas kept alluring us, but we preferred to eat only packed food and consumed coffee/tea made from the readymade sachets. Out of all the brands we tried, Girnar turned out to be the best.

The itinerary of our road trip: Pune (start point) – Kota – Gurgaon -Dehradun -Pauri- return

Time: August 2020

Mode: Car

Keeping in mind the quarantine period, we kept a generous duration of 40 days for the trip.

Our Perfect Social Distancing Destination:

Now the idea of retreat at any popular tourist destinations was out of the question, so we searched for a place which could be our second home, and most importantly also provide excellent internet connectivity for the online slaves 😉

That’s how we reached this homestay in Rawat village in Pauri-Garhwal, when our hosts offered us a peek into their simple yet subtle life and offered their home as our second home....

Our Second Home

A seven hours drive from Dehradun on the single and landslides prone road took us to our destination. About half a kilometre from the main road, a kutcha trail takes you to this small but scenic village in Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Wish we had packed more wisely. Very important tip for the wardrobe carriers like me: Forget your heels. Sport shoes and floaters work best for the mountains.

An outcrop of wild calendula and gerbera gave us the first peek of our homestay. Everything about this place had earthly charm and reminded me of the stories of my mother when the households used to be self-sustained. There was a kitchen garden on the downslopes. In the Aangan, courtyard, fresh chillies, mustard seeds, and mangoes were spread on the sheets for drying.

Our hosts welcomed us with the much needed ginger tea and Parle G biscuits. After months of apprehensions and solitude, the cheerful welcome of our hosts was a balm to our souls.

The Bonhomie that rekindled our Hearts

The cheerfulness of not only our hosts but other villagers was quite infectious. You feel belonged. People smiled and nodded even if they didn’t know you. In evening, as we sat for our tea and biscuits in the Aangan, some or the other person from the village will join us and candidly share their stories. It took us some time to shake off our city ways and awkward etiquettes, but by the end of our four days trip, we all, whether men or women, adults or child, felt belonged and exhibited no shame in contributing as a family member. Our daughter was happy to broom the rooms or to help around in the kitchen.

Best time was the mealtime. In the spacious kitchen, everyone would sit down on the floor cross-legged and eat food on banana leaves. Even a simple rice and lentil tasted delicious.

The Charm of Traditional Homes

For a lover of traditional architecture, this place was a whole package. Our rooms resonated with the antiquity and vanishing art of the village. Instead of modern-day bricks and cement, the rooms were constructed using Pathaal, stone slabs. Mud and cow dung were used for lipaai, coating. Honestly, we actually slept better in that calm and earthly ambiance.

But, we saw many houses now lying in ruins...Are these locals arts and techniques now going to vanish like many other beautiful things? Maybe the solution lies in this:-

Reverse Migration: Is this a solution to vanishing villages?

During our morning walks, we saw the other side of the story. In the search for better opportunity and connectivity, most of the villagers have migrated, leaving behind ruins of their traditional homes. Our host, Major Gorki Chandola, was an exception. He has left the thriving city life and promising Army career and reverse migrated to his ancestral village. Now, he is restoring the traditional architecture and reviving village tourism.

I hope his efforts will help the untapped talent of our local artists who have god gifted talent like any trending instagrammer but slim opportunity to connect with market. The freehand sketches of the three local girls really surprised me.

Practical learning for our Kids

Our days began with exploring jungle trails and then pluck vegetables from the garden for morning meals. After that kids will line up on the cots in the Veranda for the online classes.

But the actual learning took place not through the simulated medium but in the farmland when for the first time our daughter experienced the joy of growing her own food, painting the walls, drinking water straight from the spring and the fun rides on waterfall slides. Most importantly she learned the joy of sharing and appreciating a minimalist life that was not dependent on fancy gadgets.

Our Biggest Takeaway: GRATITUDE

Traveling makes one humble and respectful for other cultures. In many ways, this trip turned out to be one of our best so far. We have many takeaways. Most importantly, it washed away the gloom set by the Pandemic that had slowly hijacked all our human virtues of sharing, caring and gratitude.

HOW TO REACH

By Air/road/rail to Dehradun and then by road to Pauri, and finally a small on foot trail of about 750m.

OTHER PLACES TO STAY

The Forest Rest House at Khirsu is another good option one can explore. Though it is currently closed for uncertain duration.

Some videos from the trip:

To relive my #workfrommountain corner:

Surplus bounties of nature and its non-customized slides:

#PandemicTravel