Yes, at times, journeys are not merely journeys. They are something much more. To begin with, a journey need not be a mere travel. It is a pilgrimage in the sense that you thus fulfill a word you gave yourself to honour your extremely sincere, genuine, super-caring father.
Papa must have gone to Gangasagar around the Ganga Sagar Mela, a mini mega Kumbh. The steamer boat had three days long queues that would flood the jetty relentlessly Those days, food stalls were not so ubiquitous either. For three days, he survived on tender coconut water. It absolutely wrung my heart when he talked of it. There n then I had decided that one day I would go to Ganga Sagar to somehow allay his unspoken sufferings.
The Ganga Parikrama gave me a chance. I met Ganga at her origin, Gangotri, bouncing over boulders with the glee of a baby full of beans. At Rishikesh, she was deep, philosophical and respectful. At Haridwar, the evening Ganga aarti was a spectacle, even though neither the banks nor the flow of the river were much to write home about. Yet I collected the holy water. Thus I got a chance to return it to Ganga Sagar.
The journey to Gangasagar was quite arduous. A typical pilgrimage indeed! The train ran late, endlessly, as if the journey would never end! Finally it did. The taxi ride took some three and half hours to reach the Ganga Sagar vehicles' stand. From there, it was a ten minutes walk to the ferry booking office.
From the jetty, the steamer took some forty five minutes to reach the Kacheburia deck. From there, a fifteen minute ride in the typical West Bengal rik to reach the electric tumtum station. The tumtum needed forty five minutes to reach the Sangam crossroad. From there, some twenty minutes walk to the Sangam.
Thereabouts, in the 24 Paragana area, near the Diamond Harbour and the Sunderbans, the sun sets at 4.30ish. The Sangam area was pitch dark hence. It being a no moon day and the low tide, it was tough differentiating the Bay of Bengal waters from the Ganges. I did, in fact, dare not enter the water. I kept all the puja material, the Gangotri and the Hrushikesh water bottles, and a small memento of Aai in front of an idol in a well-lighted temple nearby.
The return journey appeared less tough. Even the steamer seemed to need less time. Finally, reached the Howrah station to await the Duronto next morning!
Indeed arduous was the journey. Yet I felt fulfilled. Indeed, certain journeys are not mere travels.
Pratima@That entire region is a conclave of memories. Papa's Ganga Sagar journey is one. Yet another one is Raju coming to meet Aai-Papa who had gone all the way to Calcutta to meet him as his years long assignment did not allow him to come to Pune. He came to meet them at Maharashtra Mandal from the Diamond Harbour and stayed, may be, for some thirty minutes. Aai often used to talk about how for hours she could only see the road he left by!
On the steamer ferry, i, too, could see th outline of a ship sailing away. In fact, when the steamer ferry began, with all its bell, et al, rituals, and, suddenly, when the horizon and the water inter-mixed to form a grey infinity, I thought of Raju's shipping days. In the evening, on the return ferry, it being the no moon day, except for the jetty and the distant lights, it was just a huge black whole. Literally! I admit yet again that I respect Raju to no end, etched with a strange ache.
Quote of the day: "The way is not in to the sky. The way is in to the heart." The source is autonomous.
Word of the day: mission Mission refers to an important assignment given to a person or group of people, typically involving travel abroad or mission may mean a spiritual journey.
Let us learn grammar: Whenever there is a common countable singular noun, it IS necessary, nay, compulsory to use the articles, either definite or the indefinite. The indefinite articles are 'a, an'. The definite article is 'the'. Actually, 'a' and 'an' are used for common, countable, singular noun. 'An' is used for a noun that begins with a vowel sound. Please note that it is the vowel sound, not the vowel letter. More explanation with multiple examples, the next time we meet.
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