Monday, July 09, 2007

The Trip To Dhanolti


You moved ahead, I moved afar
separated by distance and time
Now as I open your new year greeting
the trip to Dhanolti lingers on my mind,

Remember the walk of the January 1st
a trek to the Sarkhunda Devi
when snow has not yet fallen down
to cover the roads of Dhanolti,

The breakfast at the shop at the base
how delicious those paranthas taste
up in the distance, stood the Nanda Devi
the goddess at her majestic best,

We climbed to the temple over the hill top
stopping to look at the mountains so green
reached there by the noon and the goddess was sleeping
in her abode among the mountains so pristine,

On the other side of the temple
the panorama unfolded a visual treat
as there lay standing far in the distance
the Gangotri glacier, Kedar and Badri and all those holy peaks,

We trekked on all fours to a nearby hill top
where lay fallen the snow of the year bygone
those rays of the sun that shone so brightly
have forgotten to lit this corner unknown,

Down we came and went to Chamba
evening sinking into the sulking town
we began our long walk back to Dhanolti
listening to the mountain sounds,

Who knows how we slept that night
who knows what dreams we dreamt
and though we were looking forward to tomorrow
we silently wished for the day to never end,

Five years is quite some time
& few things have certainly changed
yet there are memories of the trip to Dhanolti
which like our friendship has remain unchanged.

Photo Courtesy : http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India/North/Uttaranchal/DHANOLTI/photo600308.htm

5 comments:

GuNs said...

Nice poem ! Quite interesting to see how you blend prose with poetry and its also quite interesting to note that you are writing a lot more poetry after a long time.

Where exactly is Dhanolti? I faintly remember passing by this place on my trip to Dalhousie/Chamba.

-PeAcE
--WiTh
---GuNs

BLUEGUITAR said...

Thanks Guns this is about my last visit of college life with my frds, we had spent the 31st Dec 2001 together in Dhanolti.

BTW U r confusing this, this Dhanolti is near Mussoorie and the Chamba mentioned here is a small town in Gharwal and not the famous Chamba of HP :)

How r thgs at ur end.

GuNs said...

Oops, then I must have passed it on my way to Mussoorie (which was on the same as the trip to Dalhousie/Chamba).

Anyhow, been in the UK for about 8 months now. Have a feeling have turned into a lazy slob. Finding difficulties in choosing a career path ahead. Maybe you can help. Lets chat up on Yahoo sometime.

-PeAcE
--WiTh
---GuNs

BLUEGUITAR said...

yeah sure,

whts ur orkut id. Mine is simple to find Shashank Chauhan with a cincinnati in search shld be gud enough.

bluecoffeemug said...

reminds me of my latest trip to dhanolti!!! u've written very well about the beauty of the place...i have some pics of dhanolti on my blog....if u want to re-visit your memories u can check them out