My First Badari Yaatra - Epilogue.

Day 11 Activities & Epilogue:

This morning; Dwarkanath, Sumithra and Suma Aunty left to have a dip in the river Ganga as it was an auspicious day in the Hindu calendar – Kartika Hunnime (Fullmoon). We (Anil, Radha and I) woke up a bit leisurely and got ready to leave once the trio arrived from their dip. 

Upon their arrival, we loaded our stuff onto the vehicle for the final lap of our trip, to the Airport in New Delhi but not before, as a parting shot, we (except Suma Aunty) had a filling breakfast of kulcha-chole at a roadside eatery.

       

En route, we had tea and Paneer Pakodas at Meerut, which was quite filling. Thereafter, it was ‘Ab Dilli Door Nahin’. We met up with Arun Joshi near the Akshardham underpass. He was instrumental in arranging for transportation and accommodation at most places. Pleasant guy and quite helpful. He and Anil chatted on the arrangements for Anil’s ensuing trip. 

From there, we went to have a quick bite as it was almost 16h30 and we had to reach the airport on time too, for our return flight. We thanked the driver Sanjay and Arun Joshi for their roles in our quest to see various places in Dev Bhoomi (Uttarakhand).

Reaching the airport well ahead of time, we checked in our bags, completed the security formalities and started the long wait for our flight to be announced. My stomach was full and I didn’t need anything to eat. The terminal on the ground level from where we were to get on to our flight, was nothing short of a crowded bus terminus. We waited for quite a while before our flight was open for boarding. 

Taking the weight off my legs, once I boarded the flight, I slept all the way through, only to wake up just in time to see the flight landing at Bengaluru.

As we strolled out of the airport, Dwarkanath and Sumithra were received by their son, daughter-in-law and grandson (whom I met for the first time). Sweet couple and a cute kid! Radha took the public transport while we waited for our pick-up arranged by Anil. Suma Aunty got dropped first and Anil was scouting to eat something as he was famished going by his body language. We found a mobile eatery open, close to our places and had Dosa before dropping Anil. Yours truly, getting dropped the last. The time was 01h40 on the 16th of November when I reached home.

Though completely worn out physically and mentally, I got up at my usual time the next day and quickly started unpacking stuff and emptied the luggage. Clothes were segregated and washing was the only thing to be done. That day onwards, I got so busy with the preparations for my niece's marriage, scheduled for the 19th and 20th of November, that deferred writing this travelogue and publishing it on my blog, till the ceremonies were over. 

Epilogue:

This was my first trip to Uttarakhand and what a trip this has been! Though we missed out on a few temples from our itinerary, we could see a lot of temples (that most of the tour operators miss out on, due to lack of knowledge, time, or inclination) and more importantly four of the five Prayags (Vishnu Prayag, Karna Prayag, Rudra Prayag and Dev Prayag) missing out on Nanda Prayag - the confluence of Rivers Alakananda and Nandakini, six of the seven Badaris (Badari Vishal, Yogadhyana Badari, Dhyana Badari, Aadi Badari, Vridha Badari and Bhavishya Badari) missing out on Ardha Badari. 

Well, there is always a next time.

Looking back on the trip as a whole, it was a pleasant trip right from the word GO, with a very cohesive group of people and I am sure others in the group will agree with my opinion. 

Looking forward to my next trip with this group!

For those interested, please contact me should you need assistance in visiting any or all the places that have been mentioned in the last 9 parts of my travelogue. Mr Arun Joshi, in New Delhi, is one of the most experienced persons who can plan your itinerary and arrange for accommodation at various places of your interest, including transportation from either New Delhi, Dehradun or should you prefer, from Haridwar too. I will share his contact coordinates by a direct message, for those interested.

As for the cost per person, few of the members felt that we saved at least a third of what we would have otherwise paid to tour organisers. I am sure this was possible only due to Suma Aunty's long-term relations with Arun and various others at places that we visited. Her links with the priests at many of the temples proved to be a great advantage too. Additionally, below are a few more advantages of traveling in a small group.

• Flexibility in planning the itinerary and adapting to changes on the fly.
• With an experienced (well-traveled) and connected coordinator, you can expect to visit various off-beat and rare places of interest.
• Flexibility in unscheduled halts - for food, scenic views, taking pictures, pit-stops, etc.  

Acknowledgements:

1. To all the participants in this travel group - Suma Aunty, Dwarkanath, Sumithra, Radha and Anil, I thank each one of you for your excellent company at all times! 
2. Thanks a lot; Suma Aunty, Sumithra and Radha for arranging assorted titbits (both homemade and outsourced) that kept our hands and mouths exercising, throughout our journey!😋
3. Thanks a lot, Suma Aunty for the freshly brewed coffee first thing every morning and the sumptuous breakfast to kickstart the day. Much appreciated! 
4. My roommate Anil - thanks for bearing with my sound sleep - pun intended!😉
5. Suma Aunty - Thanks for superb planning and coordination in conducting the tour, where we could see rare and off-beat places of interest! I will direct the requests from a lot of readers and friends who have heard of your experience and wish to seek your advice for their travel plans.
6. Sanjay Pathania - our Saarathi, who despite being pressurised, drove the vehicle with utmost dedication while keeping in mind, the safety and security of the passengers at all times - Great job and thank you very much!
7. Arun Joshi, the unseen hero in making things happen, particularly the arrangements for Hotel Accommodation that used to always be on the fly - Thanks a lot! I am sure I will get requests from a lot of readers who intend to travel to these places and I will trouble you by directing their requests to you.
8. Credits are given as footnotes, wherever due and in specific days' parts of the travelogue. Without these references, the travelogue would have been incomplete and I am grateful to them.
9. Lastly, to all the readers of my travelogue; a huge thanks for your support and encouragement. Your views, reviews and comments mean a lot to me and encourage me to share the experiences of this holy travel through my writing. 

I am privileged to get the below picture of Lord Badarinath, from one of the Pundits who helped us perform the rites for our ancestors at Badarinath, which I am sharing with the readers.

Signing off on behalf of the group, with humble gratitude to Him for a blessed successful completion of our tour of His temples and prayers from all of us for Universal Peace and the betterment of all living beings in the World! 

Shanti Mantra:

Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah                   ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः
Sarve Santu Niraamayaah |                               सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
Sarve Bhadraani Pashyantu                              सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु
Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet |             मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||                    ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Jai Badri Vishaal!!