Rishikesh – Rishikesh is the name
of a small city in a state called Uttarakand in India. Most people know that as
the Yoga capital of the world. It is known for its ashrams and by the famous
visitors such as Prince Charles, John Lennon and more recently, Julia Roberts.
My experience with Rishikesh, however has nothing to do with Yoga. It is different.
Dear Toastmaster, fellow
toastmasters and guests, today I am going to share some of my beautiful
memories in Rishikesh. I am going to transport you to the paradise that is
Rishikesh.
When I was in delhi, my friend
told me that Rishikesh is a great destination for river rafting. It sounded
really exciting and I quickly signed up for the trip with close friends. When I
landed in Rishikesh, I had no idea what to except. At Rishikesh, we came down
the hill close to the river where a boatman arrived. He transported us across
the river to the other side. On the other side, I was stunned to see huge tracts
of sparkling white sand. It was soft, it was beautiful and it was incredibly
scenic. The highlight of that place was that there was no mobile connectivity
and no electricity. All night long, we listened to the soothing sound of
flowing river.
In the morning, we headed for the
rafting. It was a level 4 rafting with some seriously exciting rapids. The
rapids had these rocks in different shapes and sizes jutting out. The waves
were violent and we had an amazing time controlling the boat. The beauty
however was in between the rapids. We had two large mountains on either side of
the river and a clear blue sky on top. It was almost completely silent and the
atmosphere was serene. It remains till date one of the most beautiful memories,
rafting in Rishikesh.
Apart from rafting, we decided to
walk up a trail. A trail in India is different from a trail in US. There are no
maps. There is no name. And nobody knows where the trail leads into. As we
started the trail, I remember the lush greenery. There were a variety of birds
chirping. I could even smell the fresh mud on the trail. Once we reached the
top of the trail, a spectacular sight greeted us. It was the sight of two
waterfalls, one large and the other small. One was 30 feet tall and the other
was 6 feet and both were separated by about 10 feet. We scrambled up the rocks
and managed to climb the 6 feet falls. Even as the flowing current pushed us
strongly, we resisted and absorbed the full beauty of the larger waterfall.
The other place that stands out
in my memory is a place called Devprayag. It is a confluence of 2 rives –
Alaknanda river and Bhagirathi river. Once they meet and join, they go on and
merge into Ganges. Alaknanda river was muddy and looked brownish in color.
Bhagirathi on the other hand was crystal blue similar to the pacific ocean. The
huge waves colliding into each other was a sight to behold. It is just one of
the few spectacular sights in Rishikesh.
Most people who visit Rishikesh
tend to miss out on the other aspects apart from the Yoga centers. My wish is
that each one of you who plan to visit Rishikesh take the time to explore the
other aspects of Rishikesh. The natural grandeur of river ganga and the
adjoining mountains. The scenic beauty of the waterfalls and the lush trails.
The epic meeting of the hugely dissimilar rivers. All these are a sight to behold and I hope
that you will explore Rishikesh to its fullest. Thank you!
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