26th October – Rishikesh to Dehradun AND 27th October – Dehradun to Mumbai

 

The experience of the next two days was notably different from the past two weeks. We embarked on the trek with a mix of anxiety and anticipation. As the trek concluded, we parted ways with feelings of joy, accomplishment, humility, relief, and calmness. Kanni Swami left for his mother's medical treatment, Uday Singh, our driver, likely took a well-deserved leave, Dada headed to Kolkata to spend time with his family, and the rest of us returned to our respective careers.

At Parmarth Niketan, we were assigned rooms 111 and 112, a twin-room configuration with a shared reception area and main door. Ramesh and Vishagan occupied one room, while Vaidy and I occupied the other.

On October 26th, we woke up at 6:30 AM, bathed in the Ganga water flowing from the taps in our rooms, and had tea and breakfast at the Prasadam restaurant. Our checkout from Parmarth Niketan was scheduled for 10 AM. Ramesh had booked a seven-seater cab to Dehradun for noon, while Vishagan had booked a cab to Haridwar for his train to Delhi and subsequent flight to Pune.

We left our luggage at the reception and went to the local market for some quick shopping. We visited Riddhi Siddhi Garments for textiles, Geeta Sweet Shop (part of the Geeta Press group) for genuine desi ghee mithai, Geeta Book Shop (part of Geeta Press, Gorakhpur) for books, and a local kiosk for fridge magnets.

 

After lunch at the Prasadam restaurant, we boarded the vehicle for Dehradun, picked up Swami, Sumathi, and Sridhar from Shiv Mahal (Tapovan), reached the Dehradun hotel, and checked into the two rooms booked by Ramesh.

After a short nap, we took a short walk to gauge the distance to the station and found it to be a pleasant 10-minute walk.

Guided by Google Maps, we reached Aaoji Khaoji, a popular eatery, for dinner. On our way back to the hotel, we spotted a sweet shop and indulged in a fitting grand finale to our trip.

Swami and Sumathi left the hotel at 10 PM for their overnight train journey to Delhi. Vishagan, Ramesh, Sridhar, and I occupied the two rooms and had a restful night's sleep.

On the morning of October 27th, Sridhar boarded the 6 AM train to Delhi. Ramesh, Vaidy, and I had a bath and reached the station for our Vande Bharat train, scheduled to depart Dehradun at 7 AM. Snacks, breakfast, and lunch were available as part of the train journey.

Those who have traveled on the Vande Bharat or read about it would be aware of its peculiarities, one of which is that once the doors close before a station departure, they do not reopen until the train reaches the next station. The stations between Dehradun and Delhi (Anand Vihar Terminus) are quite far apart.

A family with two teenage sons was unaware of this. The 13-year-old got off at Musafirpur station when the train stopped but couldn't reboard before the doors closed and the train departed. He ran alongside the train for a while before it picked up speed and left him behind. Following the advice of the traveling ticket examiner, his mother contacted the station in charge of Musafirpur station, spoke to the young boy, and arranged for a cab to pick him up and drop him off at their home near Delhi.

Reaching Anand Vihar Terminus at 11:45 AM, we took a cab to Indira Gandhi Airport, Terminal 1, from where our flight to Mumbai was scheduled to depart. The airport was practically empty. Check-in and security were a breeze. Even after having coffee and a snack, we had ample time to board. I utilized this time to recite Rudram. As luck would have it, our flight was delayed. Finally, when the boarding message flashed on the monitor, we boarded the aircraft and landed safely at Mumbai T2 terminal at 7:15 PM.

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