Road trip to Dehradun, Mussoorie- Mom, Dad, James and I...
It was a lot of fun… we drove all night on Friday and reached there Saturday at 8:00AM. Took a room, freshened up and had a drive-in parantha and achar breakfast at a roadside dhaba on the way to mussoorie…!! On the way stopped at a tourist information centre for tea and pakodas. Its strange how you can go on eating on such a trip but still have space to spare in your tummy... the weather was awesome as it rained and it was beautifully misty and foggy… the drive was just soo beautiful… kept wondering how God's handiwork can easily defeat any man made architecture hands down..!!
Reached mussoorie at around 10:30 or so… had another round of paranthas, pakoras and tea… went around mussoorie on foot and then had lunch at a thai/Chinese restaurant… by the time we were done with the lunch, the weather cleared up and the fog subsided; we could see dehradun from up there… an awesome view from above the clouds… spectacular, but we couldn’t click a snap- just that we didnt get a spot to set up the timer on the digi and have all of us in the frame. Set out from there by 3:30… on the way back, stopped at Bhatta waterfalls… James and I took a plunge while dad and mom sat by the stream with their feet soaking in the chilled water…
Reached our room by around 6:00PM had an early supper and then set back to our respective rooms to prepare for the meeting next day and to sleep early to cover up for the lost sleep the previous night.
Arrived at the Kingdom hall for the meeting at 9:00AM for the meeting that starts at 10:00. Then went and had a paranthas- tea usual breakfast at a junction nearby. Reached the Kingdom hall at 9:45 and were pleasantly surprised to see the radiant, smiling- some of them familiar- faces. The congregation seems abuzz with a certain cheer… all of them seemed so happy and content (maybe due to the whopping 22 regular pioneers!!). The quality of the meeting, the comments was very good… but what I would never forget about this congregation, is the way they sing the songs… so spirited… all of them in harmony… really shouting out but still not too loud… I felt I was in Jerusalem at the time of Solomon’s temple dedication… so spirited!!
There were 2 brothers from Kerala who had come down for the K.hall construction… and they were so enthusiastic about the project. After the meeting there was a 15 minute mini meeting to decide who would volunteer to assist the construction team on each of the days in the coming week… and who would arrange for food for the volunteers… We then moved to the k.hall construction site with a brother who stays near the construction site.. Karan Singh… he is a famililar face… you have also surely seen him before… someone I have met but never remembered the name of… but would now never forget the name of after that day..!
We spent some time at the new kingdom hall being constructed… it is being made in the regular society K.hall layout. Simple but beautiful.
Karan Singh. This brother lives in a small hutment along with his 7 month ago wedded wife… he earns a living by ironing clothes. Used to live quite far from this place, but moved here so that he could support the volunteers and could easily attend the meetings once they start being held at the new premises. His wife, sister Sanju is originally from Assam, but was raised from the age of 13 in Kerala… A sister who was settled in Assam had adopted her and when she moved back to Kerala, she brought her with her to Kerala.. so here we had an Assamese, speaking to us in impeccable Malayalam and when she would speak in Hindi, she had a typical Malayalee accent to it…('simbly' and stuff... you got the picture)!!! !! But the couple seemed so in sync with each other… similar ways of looking at things… similar goals… similar love for Jehovah!!
After a snap session with the couple, we set out… at 2:40 PM and it was I driving back.. had a lot of hurdles and detours… but were sure that we were on the way back home… heading in the right direction.. so kept going.. reached Didis place in Vaishali at 11:00PM, had kanji and veggies… headed back home and were in bed by 2:30 AM… good morning..!!
The trip would be memorable, for the places we saw, but far more for the people we met… Wonderful places, wonderful people… All praise to the Wondrous Creator!!
