A Little Pilgrim’s Progress: Travelogue of a 7 Year Old

Travelogue by a Std III student

Vivekananda Ashram at Shyamlatal is a beautiful abode of peace and tranquility

Hydringia flowers are found commonly in the Himalayan hills

Yesterday (May 18, 2013), we reached Shyamlatal by a car. We crossed the Gwala Nadi (a dried up river).  It was a very hot day. Shyamlatal is a very beautiful place. It has the Vivekanand Ashram.

We stayed in the Ashram. There is a Library under the big Prayer Hall. It is very peaceful here. I can hear the birds chirping. There are pink flowers and large, blue and purple flowers called Hydringia.

The Ashram doctor checked me because I had fever. He was wearing saffron clothes because he was a Sadhu (monk). My mother told me he had studied a lot to be a children’s doctor and he was an MD.

Shyamlatal is a small, desolate lake which gives the area its name

Some Sadhus were Bengali. One tall, fair Sadhu told me I have to do all my work on my own.

There was a big pond near the Ashram where two buffaloes were bathing. There was no one around. I also found tiny red fruits called Kaafal. Big white flowers called Magnolia looked beautiful too.

May 19, 2013: We reached Mayavati, which is 6,400 ft. above sea level.

The Advaita Ashram in Mayavati is more than 100 years old. It has a big garden and green hills and valleys all around. There are many large, yellow, pink, white and red roses and orchids in the Ashram’s garden.

Advaita Ashram in Mayavati was inaugurated in March 1899

The guest house is pink in colour, my favourite colour. The rooms are very big with big windows.

There was a nice table lamp in every room. I wrote my diary sitting on this white table. After writing, I kept my pencil and diary in the drawer.

There are tall, pine trees all around.

A wide variety of flowers, each very large in size, make the Shyamlatal and Mayavati Ashrams’ gardens glow

May 20, 2013: Early morning we went by car from the guest house to the Ashram to eat breakfast. After breakfast, we went trekking up a narrow and steep hill path (it is called pagdandi).

We trekked 550 feet higher up. We were walking on a narrow path. On one side were high hills and the other side were deep valleys. The path was covered with dry leaves and sometimes we slipped. We had thin sticks in our hands to help us climb.

Trekking 550 further up to Dharmagadh

We reached Dharmagadh where Swami Vivekananda had meditated more than 100 years ago. At Dharmagadh, there was a room locked with a chain. Our guide opened the room for us. We prayed inside the room.

After prayers, we tried to see the Himalaya peaks but we could not see because of the mist. We trekked back. It was very slippery. We trekked more than 6 kilomteres.

In the Advaita Ashram and its charitable hospital nearby, there were many beautiful and large flowers. I have never seen such big rose flowers ever. In the evening, we again went trekking up to Swarupananda Point. On the way we saw a lake.

May 21, 2003: Today, we went on a long walk through a tree covered hill road. We saw many wild flowers and butterflies. We ate a delicious lunch in the Ashram. I loved the thin potato fries.

May 22, 2013: We started early morning from Mayavati for Almora. We visited the Jageshwar Temple near Almora. There were 125 temples in the compound.

Jageshwar Temple (Almora)…comprises a cluster of 125 large and small stone temples, dating 9th to 13th century AD

We dropped grandma (Thamma) and grandaunt (Chhoto Thamma) at Ramakrishna Kutir, Almora and we went to Misty Mountains Resort. We drove in the car for 4 hours. The road to Misty Mountains was very narrow and our car bumped up and down.

It was fun climbing up the rocks

The Misty Mountains Resort is located in the middle of forests. There are trees and trees all around. Only a narrow path led to the resort. Only one car can go up or come down the path at a time. Sometimes we felt our car will fall down the slope. But the driver was very good.

We stayed for two days in Misty Mountains Resort. The hotel had lots of cottages. Our cottage was the biggest one. There were two easy chairs. I slept in the attic. I saw the biggest spider in the room.

We saw two cats. One cat named “Aye Aye” came twice to our room and hid in the attic. One cat came to the dining hall.

May 23, 2013: We went for a trek through the thick forest. There were huge rocks in one place. We sat on the rocks and laughed and laughed.

The hotel manager said there were wild animals in the forest. But we could not see any animals. There were trees everywhere. We could not see the snowy covered peaks. The sky was covered with mist. But we saw the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises.

The sky kept changing colours and the sun kept playing with the clouds

May 24, 2013: We drove for 4 hours again and reached Almora. We saw the place where Swami Vivekananda had fallen unconscious and a Muslim Maulvi had saved his life by feeding him cucumber.

Kasar Devi Temple In Almora: Swami Vivekananda meditated here in the late 19th century

We also visited the Sarada Math and the Kasar Devi Temple. The temple was ancient. It was carved out of a rock cave.

May 25, 2013: Our last stop was Nainital. We did boating in the huge lake. My father thought the water was dirty.  But the water of the lake was green in color because of the reflection of the trees in the waters. But it was not dirty. It was very clean and dark green.

We got on the Shatabdi Train and came back to Delhi. It was my most memorable trip.

About the Author

Anshula Mondal ( 11 Posts)

Anshula loves to draw and color, listen to soft music, watch good movies, read mythology and explore new places during her vacations. She is in her first year of college, pursuing a 3-year course in cinema. Anshula shares her artwork and stories on her blog on LnC and writes on movies for Silhouette Magazine.
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