9 Impressions

17/8/2010

Leaving that quaint, little town of Uttarkashi, we took to the road once again, this time bound for Kedarnath. Although we've been travelling on and amidst mountains for nearly a week now, the sight of those majestic mountains of the Tehri- Gadhwal region never fails to thrill. Those sinister looking mountains made only slightly friendly by a clothing of the evergreen forests and terrace cultivations make me think of Heathcliff as Mr. Lockwood first found him- A brute made civil looking by a gentleman's clothes and possessions. Adding to this fierce beauty are the numerous beautiful yet powerful waterfalls and the puffs of clouds held captive by branches of trees. 

Towards afternoon, we approached the Tehri dam. Initially, we could see only the reservoir side of the dam. I confess I was rather disappointed. The dam I had heard so many stories about (the Chipko movement) as a kid was this tiny structure? But the true story was revealed only on the other side. It is a huge dam (8th highest in the world, as I found out later) with a very picturesque road running on top of it and coming down one of its faces towards the base in a zig- zag manner. It only looked tiny from the other side since there was so much water in the reservoir.

Today's journey seemed really long and tedious but finally, we reached Sitapur, where we were to halt, around eight in the night. Our driver seemed unusually glad to have gotten here and the reason was made clear when he told us that this is his hometown. I could clearly see a glimpse of the joy and excitement within his heart on his face on being able to come home. Having missed home a lot today, I could truly empathize with him and wish I could fly home too, maybe just for tonight to sleep peacefully on my very own bed..