Gwaldam, a silent village at the foothills of the valorous Trishul and Nandaghunti peaks, in the district of Chamoli, Garhwal region of Uttarakhand state. That was our destination on the day of Durgasaptami. When we landed at the place, Trishul was just immersing itself in the crimson sky from the sunset. A couple of us got busy in clicking the moment even before we could move to the comfort of our rooms. There were the three pinnacles of the armament of Hara-Parvati clearly visible against the dull blue evening sky. Just after finishing the evening tea, we set out to find a location to witness the peak at sunrise. While taking our walk through the greens of Gwaldam, we met a localite who led us to his orchard. It was pitch dark, all we could see under the starry sky was a view of the houses lit in the distant towns of Almora and Nainital. But it did not take us much time to find our directions with the bright Cassiopeia and the Pole star above us. We came back to the GMVN guest house appreciating the quiet walk and the chilling air. The evening was over in light gossip.
The day next started early before the first rays of the sun could touch the earth. We set on foot towards the orchard. Beauty of the land stopped us in every step but the viewpoint was calling us. We hurried to reach there. It was a mesmerizing vista. There was the Trishul with its back towards us being lighted in a leisurely mood by the Sun. One summit at a time the range got lit and as we were getting camera-ready the colors spread to Nandaghunti after illuminating the peaks in between. The panorama almost made us breathless and we could only drown ourselves amidst the artistry of nature. The light golden color changed shades to a combination of red and pink.Then as the moment advanced the veil of color faded in the whites of the snow, the painter diluted the canvass to nothingness. But by then we have had our share of paradise. We started to walk back enjoying the parade by the Sena Suraksha Bal and assortment of vegetation all around us with Narayan da enlightening us about them.
Back at the guest house there was an exciting day waiting us with the chef nowhere available. But our comrades were all enthusiastic and we took charge of the kitchen merrily. Least we expected of the Kolkata great war waiting for us there, yes the ghoti-bangal war which pretty often cooks down to the kitchen. The episode was hilarious. Durgashtami could not have been any better.
In the afternoon we started for Baijnath temple. The riverside temple with its centuries'-old architecture was a visitors' delight. We walked across the river to rejoice in the temple shadows on the water. The photographs may have captured the view but its doubtful whether the moment can actually be captured anywhere except the mind. While coming back to Gwaldam we could see the sun setting, the Trishul could not dazzle being shrouded with clouds.
The day was almost over but not the food mania. We were just about to enter the guest house when one of us observed a shop selling momos. We decided to have it the next day on the occasion of Navaratri. As we were getting ready for our next destination, we hurried to the shop for breakfast. But to our dismay there was no momo available not just in that shop but in entire Gwaldam. The stubborn us decided not to have anything till we find our dish. With that we started for Ranikhet bidding adieu to our rendezvous with the snow white.
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