Some Cards- Some Chai- Some Gupshup!

It was one of those days- when you get up and the first thing you say is, “Lord what the fuck!”

ü  You know cause you missed the doodh-wallah for you were too lazy to get your bum out of your cosy bed and now there is no coffee for you.

ü  The kudah-wallah has taken an off for the third consecutive day and the garbage in the kitchen is overflowing.

ü  The sabzi wallah is constantly repeating the items on his menu along with their respective Max retail price right in front of your house on top of his voice.

ü  There is no balance on your phone.

ü  Yes, it is also one of those days when there is no water in the house.

ü  AND THE MOTHER OF ALL MISERIES – You have a hang over!

 So in the words of great Chandler Bing, “Could you be more screwed?”

But thankfully, against all odds, my day still picked up and here’s how?

I packed up some knick knacks – you know my travelling kit – although it’s not so much a kit as it is a camera and a deck of cards (actually two decks of cards)- and I showed up at my friend’s house. 

It took us literally ten minutes to decide where to go and there we were on our way to Nalagarh fort even before my hangover could bid me goodbye.

And unlike the RDB fort fiasco this one was a total blast.

Ø  The drive was awesome-

Ø  it wasn’t all that far away-

Ø  no eve teasing-

Ø  well kept-

Ø  beautiful-

Ø  and the food they serve there- pretty nice.

Rating:

Well my rating of the place is three and a half stars. (And all this when I was totally sober- so you be rest assured that there are no drunk exaggerated memories in my head- it’s the absolute sober truth.)

Do visit if you haven’t been already but make sure it’s a bright sunny day and also make sure that you schedule a little picnic near the SISWAN Dam. 

The Dam

The dam is on the way to Nalagrah fort only and it is very pretty. So you make a day out of it. 
And Like I said the fort is barely one-one and a half hour from Chandigarh -so you can be back on time. But if you want to stay at the fort they have that option too. 

                                                                          The Fort

And that is how I ended my day.. with a big fat smile.

Rang De Basanti Fort - eh!

(pictures at the end of the post)
8:30 am - Left from Chandigarh. (You know, In the Dharti sunheri- ambar neela- har mosam rangeela- aisa des hai mera- mode)

10:00 am - Reached the fort (5 Kms from Khanna).

10: 10 am - Had a Budweiser.

10: 30 am- Actually played Rang de Basanti music on my i-pod to get d feel. (Yes, I rate myself the highest in the order of wanna be's. I am actually surprised that I didn't end up going there in an open jeep.)

10: 45 am - Clicked some pictures.

10:50 am - Some other people (locals probably) walked in - felt good-  to see that the fort was doing so well.

10:55 am - Witnessed something close to hooliganism or what can only be called the Sleaze-fest 2012 
Official partner- Testosterone Charged losers pvt. ltd.
Media partner - Ogling eyes pvt. ltd. 
(men and their ways to attract attention-pffff).

11:00 am - Collected our stuff and Got the hell out of there.
 (In the famous - tch tch is desh ka kya hoga? - mode.)

Review: 
Nice place.
Try going with a group.
There is not much aside from the fort- so good company is a must.
Rest I understood what Aamir Khan has been saying all this while.
We Indians do really know how to make the others uncomfortable.
(Atithi -not- devo bhav)
I was appalled to see that Not just the foreigners- we don't even spare our own when it comes to showing our inhospitable road side mannerisms- like eve teasing/littering/spitting etc etc.. plus it was really dirty too (liquor bottes- wafer packs- and spit stains) . 
Place requires a little security and a lot of maintenance.  
All this was actually a spoiler and made me deduct 2 and a half stars straightaway from my rating of this place.

Rating:
** and 1/2* (In case u didn't get it- that was two and a half stars)


Here are some pics I think you may like.

    Behind me is the field where Aamir Khan and the boys took off their shirts!

Dhuddu Nacheya

Dhuddu nacheya Jatta o Khilarri: A beautiful folk song imagining Bholey Shankar in the state of total trance.
Could I ask for a better title?
This year I took two journeys into the very remote corners of Himachal Pradesh. One to Bharmour (A picturesque locale in the remore interiors of Chamba district), almost bordering Pakistan and other one was to Shrikhand Mahadev located in an even more arduous and unreachable interiors of Kullu district. Of course neither of the two journeys could have been possible without the help of my dad, who is very well versed with the treks of Himachal and also happens to be a keen trekker himself.

Anyway I am not at liberty to publish all the pictures as of now, however I did manage to steal a little glimpse exclusively for my blog..

Here’s a bunch of pictures from the Holy abode of lord Shiva.

Hope you like..

Bam Bholey Nath !

This man made the trip every bit worth it. A 70 something guy making us look like a rucksack full of potatoes when it came to hard-core trekking.

A beautiful little temple on our way!

Not just yum, these berries that grow in the wild, are believed to cure a lot of diseases.

Shumko, the lady who served us tea, oh so lovingly!

Bholey Shankar comes with a snake. He had just had a sumptuous meal by the way. That's why bulging in the middle.

The village we stayed at the night before!

My desi chums!

An Irish fellow traveler smoking pot (Confession: He didn't know that I was clicking his picture.)

Lazy Bastard!

That's right, you can fly in too!

See I wasn't kidding about the trek

Shrikhand Mahadev

Mani-Mahesh

And finally the place, where no matter who you are or what you do, you just know that it's time to bow.

The Kailash