Rishikesh, Haridwar and elephants

Sitanshu proposed me to go with him to Haridwar to meet up with our friend Daniel who felt really lonely. We said YESYES, and so... 

Haridwar is in 50 km from where I am now, so we took Sitanshu's superscooter, he found me a biiig and warm jacket and voila, brrrrum through the jungle, here we are in a crazy city, one of the places of pilgrimage of Hindus, where they wash away their sins in the waters of Ganga, the sacred river. 

Every evening there's a ceremony of yatra, when just after the sunset the bells start to ring simultaneously and hundreds of baskets with flowers and candles are put into the water. Thousands of people come here with their families and stay for one night just for the ritual and jumping into the Ganga and then leave. A very special scene, must admit! And the city itself has a very strong dark energy, here people come to die (as well as to Varanasi), come to find their roots (at so called pandas - some kind of ancient statistics bureaucrat - someone who has the name of your family in the registers and would right down the number of born, passed away, of marriages etc since your clan had been here last time). Impressive! Oh, and beggars, dealers, handicapped, poor and opportunists find their place here very easily. Once in 12 years Haridwar welcomes the Kumbh Mela with around 1 million visitors, mamma mia!

We didn't stay so long (I felt I didn't belong there) just ate some samosas (my first here, yamyam, and 10 roupies only!)

Here's the stand with spices for sacrifices to Ganga

Then we left for the house of Sitanshu's cousin, who has just got a baby. Voila, I'm entering the real Indian culture. They showed their wedding album, let hold the baby (who has no name as according to the Indian tradition they give the name on the 21st day, and until then the mother and the child are kept in the bedroom provided everything they'd need and the woman is not supposed to enter the kitchen, wow!). Sitanshu's cousin would cook for us (yammi paneer with tomatoes) and we'd speak until late. Sure the men got drunk - they haven't seen each other for one year and it's like in Russia, you have to drink for the meeting! In fact drinking and eating meat are prohibited in Haridwar, so I've no idea where Sitanshu got his whisky from!

The next day after the breakfast with chapaties and some pickles (French people would say "berk" now:) we left for Rishikesh, THE city of yoga and ashrams - very touristic and very well adapted for foreigners. I loooved the surroundings, it's just between hills on the Ganga, and it's much more India than "nomansland" of McLeod Ganj. Beatles stayed here in late 60s (that's where they wrote the biggest part of the White album) and since then the city is invaded by hippes and NewAgers. I'll go back there in some weeks and see. I liked the atmosphere - much lighter than Haridwar, and nature is all around. 

On the way back (no photos though) I saw two wild elephants in the jungle - my first elephants in wild nature!!!! Impressive and scaring, they are so big and strong that Sitanshu got this fobia of elephants on the road :)

Voila great day :)

BE HAPPY!!!