ZEN at Tirthan
Slumber, slumber. Oh! my weary heart slumber.
Scorching, scorching 47 degrees of May of Delhi 2016 just made me miserable beyond words. Mountains were calling and how! Struggling, slogging and simply sozzled I too adopted the same route, albeit for a day and a half. So, you would say "was it worth it"? Oh yes! Absolutely and more! The soul was soothed and repaired in the pine laden air and cool waters of Tirthan. It's one heady concoction.
The only regret - oh why didn't I carry my DSLR when there was a Flower Moon of May welcoming us into the valley? Hmmm...bad call, grin grin! Never again! But I have seen it and that's wonderful. Last was the Hunters' Moon many many Moons ago at Dharamshala.
So the pictures don't even do half justice to the beauty of this place. Please do bear with me. Tirthan Valley is 500 Kms from Delhi.
I however, mistakenly and in a lousy mood traveled by road and train. Yet another bad call. Well, what can I say. I learn from my mistakes and sometimes I even don't. I am that way only!
Where to stay? Well, there is a commercial establishment by the river side in Gushaini and seemed like a fun place if you are in a boisterous mood. But I wanted it bit differently and prefer staying at Home-stays over regular places if I can manage. So, while searching I found a small home-stay with 5 rooms beyond all commercial signs of life. My soul needed the remoteness where no phone network reached. Nor was there any sound other than my breathing and the gushing of the Tirthan river below. Idyllic for healing and writing. Purrrfect!
 |
| Ya Kitty, Kitty |
Village Rupajani, PO Gushaini,
Tehsil Banjar, Distt. Kullu
Himachal Pradesh, India.
PIN-175123
Visit http://www.tirthview.com/
The pretty property is on the mountain facing the river and has five well appointed rooms. Each room has a sit-out with views of the river and the mountains so not to despair. They are lovely cottages with wooden flooring and ceilings. The owner Mr. Sukhram Bharti informs me soon the landscaping will also be completed. Well, for me either way it is fine but you might prefer otherwise so good news!
The majestic view from the main porch of the house can be cozy and warm in the evenings, like the night we arrived. It was so both pleasurable and comforting to have dinner under the nook with open skies. We half forgot the long, long uphill journey. The morning opened up the beautiful Tirthan snow view for us from our balcony.
We had a sumptuous breakfast of gobi parathas, chai, coffee, and happily ambled about the place and even slumbered for a bit in various corners of the property.
The lady of the house Mrs. Bharti is ever smiling and welcoming. She tells many stories. Although I speak no Himachali and she no English we had perfect conversations going for the duration of the stay. She even complimented me on the last morning for my pretty attire. She told us how they started out with the main house and then embarked upon building the cottages so that each guest could have their privacy. She also shared how the old house was built 16 years ago and now being done up as a home away from home for tired souls such as us.
The home stay encourages you to stroll about at your leisure no matter how lazy you feel.
This is a lovely shingled double cottage at the bottom of the path and overlooks the river valley and also has a quaint little built-in fire place for bonfire on the sit out. After slumbering here for a bit we finally headed towards the river. This village gets covered in snow in the winter months. I wondered how will it be in late November to sit here and sip wine with a bonfire. I definitely liked the idea better than Delhi bar - be - que parties on terraces in December and January. Although I am guilty of many. What can a poor woman do when she can't get open skies, but of course drown her sorrows in alcohol at bar-be-cues. Sob! Sob!
So we ambled to the river 1.5 kms down from the homestay, making many memories on every bend. Unlike the angling fans of Tirthan, we were happy and content in our own company and vegetarian food so no problem. The only problem was lack of alcohol of any kind and we were too lazy to go to the nearby village to find some. So, we imagined next time we will make amends. In the meanwhile we were drunk and happy on the pine scented air and glacial water.
The gushing river was so inviting that even someone like me who is mortally scared of water was forced to step in and have some fun. Suddenly I though of the many many opportunities that I have missed in Ladakh, Kinnaur, Jispa and Manali and elsewhere to do this.
Our one day of fun ended all too quickly I am afraid. But we will get back definitely for a longer stay.
As we said our good byes to TirthanView we knew there was something special about this simple place and we were enamored forever with it's unassuming charm. The calm and peace of a day had restored us completely and we were battle ready for the urban jungle once again.
Tips:
- If you are on a weekend trip take the daily Air India flight to Kullu from Delhi (there is only one so book ahead) and then reach your destination as quickly as possible via taxi. The roads simply slows you down and not much to see till you reach Mandi anyway.
- In case you want to spend a Zen weekend at TirthanView carry an Airtel SIM as no other mobile network is functional beyond Gushaini. Or leave it behind as you choose.
- Carry your brand of poison as there are no shops around the homestay to support the whims.
- Definitely carry your DSLR no matter how brief is the trip
Comments