At "Maheshwari's Sukriti"

At Maheshwari's Sukriti

Relaxation and rejuvenation at Bhimtal

Developed pharyngitis and had two sleepless nights. Was in a dilemma to cancel the long awaited Bhimtal trip or to go ahead with it for the trip had been cancelled many times for varied reasons. Ultimately decided to go ahead and started packing. We were heading to "Sukriti" the Maheshwari's villa ( owned by Jai's"boss" as he called him; his senior at BHU).

We started on 13th Nov, at 8 AM from Moradabad via Rudrapur and Halwani. The way was good and was a 4 lane highway, except for a patch just before Rampur which was uneven because of recent floods. Had mega aloo ka paratha, idli sambhar and uttapam at Udupiwala at Kathgodam which is on the right side on the road to Nainital just before it bifurcates with the right turn leading one to Bhimtal.

With God's grace and courtesy Ranidom for my viral gastritis and stemetil, had an uneventful journey uphill and reached 'Sukriti' timely. 

Located at a prime location, facing the lake away from the tourist spot in Bhimtal thus avoiding the chaos there, it stood overlooking the pristine lake just across the road. A blooming raat ki raani just on the other side of the lane was spreading it's fragrance and attracting the nectar sucking birds. A sight to behold indeed.

Pandeyji, the caretaker gave us a warm welcome as he showed us around and asked us where we would like our luggage to be shifted to. 

The house was artistically decorated starting from the name plate at the entrance. A temple which lodged a brass idol of Lord Krishna was spectacular. Family photographs stood decorating the walls. Jai picked up some books to read from the shelf  of a book rack  as I went around attending to my daughter's whattsapp call and giving her a glimpse of the villa. The villa lodged well maintained 4 private suits in two separate buildings with a kitchenette attached to each suite. Walls were decorated artistically and windows of bedrooms overlooked the lake.

We decided on to the suite at ground level as it would be a tiring job for papa to climb up to the 1st floor suite though the upper suite had a better view.

Mesmerised, we stood there as our luggage was shifted to our rooms. 

We had our own beddings which I got properly set with the help of my driver and gave a list to Pandeyji for the purchases for the requirements for dinner. Driver and Pandeyji both went off and Jai, seeing my condition, offered to make kadha chai for all of us as we sat enjoying the sun and the scenery. The hot tea soothed my throat and gave me some relief. Papa retired to his room with his ipad and got busy playing bridge and I went off to take rest. Jai was off for his evening stroll as soon as Pandeyji returned. Pandeyji and driver both got busy making dinner of tamatar aloo ki sabji and baigan aloo ki sabji. Jai and papa had their dinner in dining room and I had it bedside.

At night I got up several times to drink warm water to relieve the irritable and dry throat but had a deep sleep in the in between intervals. 

In the morning woke up to the music of chirping birds as if saying "चलो फ़ोटो तो खींचो हमारी". Had bed tea and went to the terrace, the warmth of the morning sun was inviting and made the landscape picturesque. Had fluffy omelets and crispy toasts with milk for our breakfast as Pandeyji tried his best to make them all the more fluffy and our driver served everything piping hot. We had planned to leave by evening but seeing my condition we decided that the rest of one more night would be better.

Till the afternoon i.e. lunch time, clicked some beautifully coloured birds who too were enjoying their breakfast as we basked in the warmth of the sun.

Red billed blue Magpie

Red breasted Parakeet

Grey treepie

Streaked Laughing Thrush

Parakeet tree with both male and female red breasted parakeets

Himalayan Bulbul

Grey Bushchat

Grey Bushchat

Cinereus Tit

House Sparrow

Duck

Refreshed after a warm bath we proceeded for our lunch to the dining room.

Pandeyji had cooked dal fry, gobhi aloo rice and tawa roti and driver served them hot. By the time we finished our lunch the sky was overcast and it had suddenly become very cold so we went to our cosy rooms to take some rest. I slept and Jai after an hour was up and about for his evening stroll. 

By the evening my nausea was increasing so cancelled the plans to get fish cooked and Jai decided to have matar aloo and gajar matar for dinner as I tried my best to sleep in vain. The whole night I had a disturbed sleep and by the morning was having a severe headache and nausea. Had Ranidom again in the morning with calpol to control my body ache and nauseous feelings still apprehensive of how I would be able to travel. After having a toast for breakfast Jai went out to have a peep around the town, visited Hanuman Temple and enjoyed a drive to Naukuchiatal and had some interesting conversations with the local people operating the adventure sports about safety measures and what they would do in case of an emergency as he was coaxed into trying the zip-lining which he refrained from after the conversation though they tried their best to convince him that an 86 yr older  had done it in recent past.

At Hanuman Temple

After his return we had aloo ka paratha for lunch as we left for Moradabad saying goodbye to Pandeyji with Jai assuring him to try his level best to help his sons procure some form of employment with a couple of referrals.

Way down was sickening as the nauseous feeling was again there with full prominence , only to subside after half an hour of travel on planes. 

Back to the comforts of home and seeing the joyful and satisfied looks on Jai's and papa's faces will surely help me recover fast. 

Gratitude for everything cannot be expressed in words. Indeed the memory of  loving invitation, natural ambience, care and comfort provided as we enjoyed a homely atmosphere away from home while standing out for each other, will remain etched in our minds for times to come.