Indian Samurai

We left Kumaon from Kathgodam and embarked on a night train journey to Derhadun.

 

(On a side note: the 4th passenger of our cabin came in at around 20:30 when we had already switched off the lights. He settled down, had his food and then lied down. Half an hour later, he received a phone call and talked for like 20 minutes, totally undisturbed (but damm disturbing), comfortable on its berth. My mother finally asked him “hey, you could be polite??” Obviously the type did not give a shit and went on talking loudly for the next 10 minutes. And I think he did not even understand the remark of my mother!! Where in the Western world, “our freedom stopped where that of the other starts”, in India, our freedom does not stop…)

 

And here we are, catapulted on the heights of Rishikesh, in a “trendy” hotel-spa, Ananda in the Himalayas. With a program: spa treatments, yoga, meditation, pramayana, ayurvedic consultation, healthy food and green areas as far as the eye can see. The children below 14 are not allowed: calm guaranteed!!

It is a little odd to see all the guests walking around in white salwar-kameez provided by the hotel to ensure a maximum of comfort. It certainly is comfortable but you feel like you are in a psychiatric hospital!!

 

My pictures are below:  

 

Garwahl hills, Uttarakhand - Août 2011

 

Thank you Ananda!!

www.anandaspa.com

As soon as we left Kathgodam station – my parents slowly recovering of their first night train journey in India –  and began our ascent (in the car) towards Ramgarh, I felt transported to the universe of Tarun Tejpal (see in my list of books The Alchemy of Desire). And I was not mistaken! When I checked this morning, I found out that Ramgarh is just about fifty kilometers of Jeokilote…

I wish I could quote the book here, but I read it in French…

 

The head in the clouds…

With 1.700 meters of altitude, our bungalow, perched on a hill, offered a view from above on the valley. With white clouds as cottin balls coming up and invading us every here and then we really felt “cut from the world.”

 

Rest of the soul…

Nothing else to do but eat, play, read, practice yoga (I am quite focused when I start something), trek – with the risk of getting caught by a torrential downpour. What more serene and beautiful than rains in the mountains??

 

Incredible gardens and orchards (peaches, apples, apricots, strawberries, plums, pomegranates and many more fruits), an exceptional flora, superb odors after the rain… “We were smelling, we were looking around, we were listening, we were existing.”

 

My pictures are below:

 

Kumaon Hills, Uttarakhand - Aout 2011

 

And since Tarun Tejpal recommends to go up there listening to Mohammad Rafi, here is one of his songs: Aa Zara Mere Hamnasheen : 

 

 

Thank you Neemrana !!

http://neemranahotels.com/ramgarh-bungalows

 

If you are looking for me, I am there... 

 Ramgarh, near Nainital, Uttarakhand

And more precisely here:

 

 

Ramgarh Bungalows, Neemrana

http://the-ramgarh-bungalows.neemranahotels.com/

Back in Mumbai on the 8th!