It is 10pm on Christmas and I'm tucked in my warm quilt after a dinner of Maggi and sausages, tired as hell but happy. I had a lovely day today...as is fast becoming a Christmas tradition, we packed our car and drove off out of the city, this time towards Garh Mukteshwar.
Enroute, we stopped at the famous Shiva Dhaba and had lovely kulhar chai with delicious pakodas. They were even kind enough to heat the paranthas mom had carried from home. The pakoras were crisp and yummy, highly recommended. We also stopped to walk into a sugarcane field and took some gorgeous snaps of the farms.
 |
| Chatting up with a farmer and hearing stories of progressive India. He has 4 daughters, all having done their post graduation and one living in London. |
 |
| A Yash Raj set....train in the background, sarson ke khet, village boys running....ghar aaja pardesi tera des bulae re :) |
The closest that the Holy Ganges comes to Delhi, people from the city flock to Garh Mukteshwar to wash off their sins. If you remain with the obvious, you'll see a dirty ghat on the banks of a muddy river crowded with touts pestering you. But if you can see beyond that, you may see what I saw. A brave display of faith, with people of all ages taking a dip in the icy water. Or the stalls that sold the most innovative little toys for kids (yes, my Sonu went crazy)! Or as the highlight for me is in any trip- hot lipsmacking food.
 |
| The ghats |
 |
| The streets near the ghat selling interesting lil stuff |
We asked around and the locals unanimously pointed us towards Raju halwai who's famous for his khasta kachori and puri sabzi. The puris were gobbled up in no time at all, especially as they were accompabied by a tangy kaddu sabzi, aalu sabzi and methi dana chutney.
200kms driven, a day full of laughter, surrounded by family, enjoying all that my gorgeous country has to offer. A very merry christmas indeed!!
posted from Bloggeroid
No comments:
Post a Comment