More to the destination….

Bhimtal became bhinntaal on the second day and by the end of the trip it was vibhinntaaals. Hubby dear spent 2 weeks seemingly trying to convince me for taking the trip to “a taal other than bloody nainital”…..finally the “we’ll celebrate your birthday in the hills” appeal (made with showcased love for me and hidden lust for travel) worked. Of all the colleagues brought to my notice, which by the way is all the people hubby dear has ever worked with, DN and his wife are most passable--more than rarely pleasant, generally good company and at times entertaining, not being charitable to them ­­they are enjoyable.

And thus started the 4 days of 2 families in 1 car working through 7 taals and hazaar khwaishein aisee ki har ek paar note nikle, jab bhi nikle saale har bar bahut nikle!

Day 1, 9 hrs 1 car 3 kids later bhimtal appeared much closer to heaven, the fog near the taal right in front of the hotel added to the belief. Lack of habitation around the taal was welcome and it appeared to be “a taal other than bloody nainital.” More.

Walk, drizzle, bread eating ducks and geese, boating, white yes white corn eating 3 kids……hubby dear not drunk…hold on then this would have been thus ducks and geese that ate bread, 3 kids that ate ‘the white yes white corn’! Completes bhimtaal. Unless one were to include the usual “getting drunk once kids sleep” routine with the highlight being the demure khiichedi…due to my demand and leading to the counterpart better half’s horror!

Day 2, 1 car, 4 boats, 3 kids, 9 taals, including 1 sukha taal which was not visited….decided by smart ones among us…if a taal is sukha it would not have water, if a taal does not have water why see it, since the taal was not seen on account of being a taal without having water, the effect is of having seen it as in any case there is no such taal….thus included in the count of 9 above. DN is an engineer who believes that 2 negatives make a positive I don’t know when he got hurt on his head before or after he became an engineer, doesn’t matter as he is an engineer, blame him for the confusion…..if you are not confused explain why you will or already did read this again! Swim in a taal beyond my dreams, hubby, friend and kids in the taal….dreadfully the first 2 also came back…., paranthas, drizzle, pony rides, achaar, squash, chutneys…reaching “bloody nainital” checkin rooms called House of Lords (Our, but of course!) and House of Commons (Guess???) facing the “bloody taal”.

Day 3, Happy Birthday-----ah shopping, food, boating, shopping, food, cable car, shopping, food, Good Night-----Happy Birthday in the hills.

And not to forget the Maggi points at all places….plain and masala (meaning tomato and onion). White corn with red and green minty and garlic chutney. Sakleys at Nainital doling out the best of bakery and stuff.

Good roads allow the taal se taal mila experience.

Amazing to have seen the naukuchiya taal with its 9 corners, legend has it that very few people have seen all the nine corners in one vision thus people search for them. Saat taal cluster of taals truly a remarkable place….though the builders have found new areas to sin….still showing how the taals would have been with just the roads to reach them and no man to actually breach them. The swimming in saat taal was done with thus thoughts….first time, who else that I know has done it, my kids are enjoying it, will we ever do it again in this taal, we will ever do it again in any taal, will this taal be swim ready next time around….thoughts….happy, melancholy and scary all together for a 2 hours experience….myriad moods packed closely, too close for comfort, too little to look forward to for a next time, maybe will not even pack the swimming suits for the next time….naah I am sure the swimming suits will be there next time, after all hubby dear is an optimist and a dreamer….which one more, still have to figure out. Oh hubby and DN went back to saat taal for a swim the next morning…they still had the swim suits and am sure will have next time too.

There is much more to Nainital than just boating, it is not just a “bloody taal”, it is the taal which has added civilization to itself, which has grown a city around it and which has made popular of the other taals, getting muddy and bloody in the process.

The journey was not better than the destination, not to just shrug the cliché.