Tuesday, September 11, 2007

To Chandigarh, Shimla and Beyond....



Life as is its wont..takes amazing twists and turns...So as it happened it was time for me to move from Delhi to Bangalore.....A new beginning excited me...leavin the comfort of my friends and fun i got used to in Delhi was haunting me....In between all this there was time for one more trip... We firmly decided that this time it would be a small entourage and trip would primary to chillout and have a road trip rather than a sojourn to anyplace in particular.

So we set out on an early morning onto the road leading to Shimla. It was just three of us, me Vicky and Kb. Qamby was supposed to land up but could not do so due to his "client commitments"...So it was we three at the end.

After we crossed Delhi and were out on the hinterland , the road strecthed out in its exquisite glory. This was one of the least hyped roads. By the time we reached ambala it had started to rain heavily. But as we zoomed ahead in rains in decreasing visibilty and increasing windspeeds, it was an experience to savour, a sight which cannot be captured in any camera or reel.

After the passing of the storm we went through the fields of punjab haryana and crossed Chandigarh and were soon on the hilly road to Shimla. So by the time we reached Shimla it was again lashing out hard. Shimla with its thin roads and pouring rainfall did not help much in our struggle to find a hotel with decent accomodation and parking space. After modifying our budget by around 3 times , we found a room and were soon asleep, our plans to tour the city in the evenin forgotten in the blissful bed of sleep. The vagaries of the journey and late night plans of the yesterday combined to trick us into sleepin till it was late into night. Brushing of the loss of a day aside, we retired for the day.

The next day we were off to see a golf course and other attractions of the city. More than the destination, the route fascinated us and we ended up stopping at various places and having our photo sessions. this trip was particularly enjoyable for our photo sessions, taking our interest and talents to a different level. After going around all the day to places around shimla we returned to the main city area and went around admiring the architecture of buildings near the Mall road. there ended our sightseeing in shimla....Shimla was not such a great treat to watch especially with so much crowds, but it does have its own charm about it.

The next day we were off in the morning to Chandigarh . We went around Rock garden , but the sweltering heat took away the connoisseur in us, and we were running for cover. We landed back in Sector 17 for the much hyped about "bird watching", but it too ended in dissapointment. Perhaps the afternoon timing had something to do with it. Chandigarh would be a very nice place to live with its planned approach to the city and organized way the public places and life is carried about.

Soon we were back to Delhi by the same route , the journey which passed about peacefully. Thus ended perhaps the best trip in my life so far. It was good not because we went to some great places, but when it comes to unwinding with friends it was the best. And when it came to our photographic instincts, we had gone berserk and enjoyed ourselves. Whenever i want to think of a happy moment in life, I close my eyes and see three of us zooming on the Ambala road highway with winds blowing and greenery on both sides of the road swaying around. Its an amazing feelin which cannot be perhaps be recounted. At that moment i felt i was in peace with the world.