Someone told me that XYZ is my only remaining link to a particular place.
I listened quietly, as one has to , when one has stayed out for long. Many opinions come, trying to pull you in their direction, push you into taking a particular stand. After all these pulls, pressures were over, I went for a walk.
And I realized more than ever..that my links with these places go beyond a few individuals.
Tea at German Bakery-Laxman Jhula Bridge
Built by UP PWD in the years 1927-29, replacing an old bridge which was washed away by floods in 1924, the present bridge opened to public on April 11,1930.
This is a view of the bridge from the German Bakery
Prayers by the Alaknanda
A cousin from my ancestral village accompanied me to say prayers . A teacher who travels around 18 kilometers each way, (including 3kms on foot) to teach, she was much more at ease than me in arranging the ritual ceremonies in the hills with the priest. He has a tremendous memory of the hills and is able to locate areas of family prayer sites with surprising accuracy despite the thick overgrowth , steep and slippery conditions.
Hills where many of my family have walked over the generations.
While returning
While returning, visited some relatives, had long talks, went for walks in the fields near Rajaji National Park. A tusker is known to be roaming around in the nights over there, creating panic and loss of life and property.
I saw this momento of 9 Deccan Horse in which my uncle once served.
His living brother and I shared some old memories, jokes, conversations. Their father, a medical doctor, came and developed this area around half-a-century ago. He was a brave soul to walk, where even today, tuskers roam around in the night!
Someone told me that XYZ is my only remaining link to a particular place.
As I walked through the hills, riverbeds, fields, found some old artifacts, retraced some old walks, recalled past conversations I wondered how much truth is there in that assertion.
And I realized more than ever..that my links with these places go beyond a few individuals. I am sure, most of us have had such long walks, alone and yet connected to many currents-present and past.
Prashant Bhatt's notes 
I wish you elaborate and write an article on walk.I am walking may be twice a day.remeber our walk in Chicago.Why dont you write on that.Morning walk is something great because it is the beginning of the day.Ronald Regan used to say threre will be always a new morning.what is the meaning of it-elaborate.Mamta Banerjee always saying Night may be very dark but there will be always light in the morning.The best one which I am keeping in my computer room is from Tagore which I am looking everyday for the last 35 yrs a cutting from Statesman calcutta with a foto of tagore.
; MY OFFERINGS ARE NOT FOR THE TEMPLE
AT THE ENDS OF THE ROAD,
BUT FOR THE WAYSIDE SHRINES
THAT SURPISE ME AT EVERY BEND.
I have committed in my memory PANTHI HOON MAI USPATHKA ANT NAHI JISKA
Can you give me do guptas address.
D.C.DE
Thanks for interesting comments.Rest details I will answer privately. A blog is not a diary, hence the brevity of the posts, the lack of detail of what was conversed when remembering 9 Deccan Horse, or the thoughts at Laxman Jhula, the issues
related to wayside shrines, to some of which my parents
contributed and how I met priests there who still remember them.
Regarding the walk by Lake Michigan, yes,that can be expanded into a blog…jointly perhaps..very soon
Nice pictures Bhatt
Thanks
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It’s good to see a collaboration of cultures, and this article proves that there’s multiculturalism in every part of the world. The photos were very nice too.
Glad you appreciated.
Multiculturalism is an interesting inquiry
Is North American culture- Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?
Can one understand any modern society without
considering immigrants?
These are some questions which we try to dissect
in our discussions.
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