ALAKNANDA AT VISHNUPRAYAG

About ten kilometers ahead of Joshimath on the road to Badrinath...this is the highest location from where I have seen the Alaknanda.... Still, young and stream like, Alaknanda has left Mana and Badrinath behind. Mostly, she is on her own, except accommodating river Saraswati at Mana. Locals call this stretch of Alaknanda as Vishnuganga. Possibly because the beauty of this river and the musical flow of the water is soaked with an eternal touch.

And I stood there and tried to absorb the landscape around. Again, short of words to describe...a panorama that can only be experienced. Tall, conical peaks and within them...two young rivers fresh from their glacial origins, ready for the confluence... an enigmatic temple at the location of the confluence...and the refreshing breath of the mountain air....I sometimes wonder how magical the manifestations of nature are. Ahead, there was a signboard towards the Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve and the Valley of Flowers.

A beautiful Alaknanda with her delicate, crystal clear flow ready to meet the fast flowing Dhauliganga in the backdrop of the peaks offers one of the most delightful views of Uttarakhand. The first of the five mystical confluences of the Alaknanda, Vishnuprayag brings the two rivers together and from here Alaknanda picks volumes and rushes ahead on her mission to shape the mighty Ganga.

A part of me wanted to absorb the essence of this place and move few kilometers ahead to Badrinath...but it was not in the original plan and I didn't want to mix up....And I continued to sit at the freshly renovated cement base which so craftily brought the two rivers together. From there, it was possible to feel the icy cold flow of both the rivers...together...just at the point where they met.

A feel of the place -

Comments

ANTWERP CENTRAL STATION

As deep as I can peep into my past, I always sense very fond and nostalgic memories of railway stations. So many moments of childhood began and ended in railway stations. My love for railway stations continues and whenever I get a chance I don't miss a visit into a station to experience the magical energy of the mixed sound of thousands of fast moving footsteps and eager voices. European settings provide infinite moments to any traveler. Antwerp is no exception too. Like any other European city with a strong medieval connect, Antwerp owns its history and legends. While it may take pages to write about Antwerp, let me restrict this post to the first landmark of Antwerp, its getaway - its very own train station, the Antwerp Central, located in Koningin Astreidplein, in the heart of the city. The brainchild of King Leopold II and designed by Louis Delacenserie, Antwerp Central, with its stone clad structure and huge dome, has seen its days of glory and destructi

DREAMS OF A SIMPLE AFRICAN MAN

(From my diary of 2009) Riding bumpily on the muddy stretch of land which they call roads, we were busy confirming appointments with representatives of various oil companies who have a strong presence in this part of the world (Port Gentil in Gabon). I was accompanied by a Gabonese guy who was entrusted with the joint responsibility of driving me to the respective offices and be the French-English translator wherever required. The meetings went well…enlightening to be precise. It’s a great experience to understand how culturally diverse people can be. But I don’t intend to go in-depth into how people work here. I will rather like to look back into the dreams of a simple African…or shall I say the dreams of a simple man!!! This guy should be in his late thirties…its difficult to estimate the ages of people. A native of Togo, he had moved into Gabon in the pursuit of a better life. These days, he has been granted Gabonese citizenship and has well adopted to the nuances of t

THE VOICE OF LAKE BLED

Nature communicates...through different channels, shapes and forms. Sometimes, in the form of the gentle ripples of water...and sometimes through the rustling of the leaves of the trees. The sound of the wind brushing with everyone around can just not be missed. The image of the beautiful birds swimming and looking at you and coming close, as if they know you since ages, is a beautiful experience. For the full duration, I was there, this is exactly how I had felt. Some sort of communication...with everything around. A beautiful lake, an island inside the lake with a story and church on it, snow capped peaks around this lake, reflections of a fairy tale castle, swans wishing by as they swim and beautiful boats ferrying the lake without disturbing the swans... About half an hour's road drive from Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia, wrapped all around by the Julian Alps sits a beautiful lake, by the name Lake Bled (Blejsko jezero in Slovene)....in the tow

Miles and Experiences

Search This Blog