[SS-Traveller]

Destination

Somewhere in the outskirts of Dehradun, off the Dehradun-Paonta Sahib Highway not too far from Herbertpur, and on the fringes of the Horawala forest, in a very quiet and peaceful location, is a mango orchard, a little farmhouse, and a beautiful twin temple dedicated to Durga and Shiva, which is over 20 years old.

https://youtu.be/gwjCTYwvTTA

We have seen this temple being built, and we had been visiting year after year to celebrate Durga Puja with the owners, our long-time family friends, even if it was a day trip or an overnighter. The bhog is prepared by the family members, and the puja is performed by the owner himself.

A walk in the forest is a little scary, since the area is known to have leopards, and one of the house dogs did not return
a few weeks ago, after venturing into this place

This year, with COVID-19 terrifying everyone everywhere, this was the only place we could comfortably offer our prayers to the Goddess.

[SS-Traveller]

Route

Sometimes, Google Maps is a boon. And sometimes it isn't, as we discovered once again on this trip.

Gmap took us on this route: https://goo.gl/maps/m6byusG1yg8tZC3Q7. 6 hours door-to-door. Scenic route, an excellent new expressway between Muzaffarnagar & Saharanpur (but they don't accept Fastag, so it's Rs.135 cash - Paytm accepted too). NH59 to Saharanpur, then NH307 to Dehradun.

Flat out after 7 months

On the NH59 - colourful name of this resort in multiple senses - though people from North India may have special ability to figure that out!

Gentle curves, smooth roads, 3rd gear

Monkey business

No police assistance required - just a short breather at a beautiful place

And brought us back through this route: https://goo.gl/maps/2fWncvpc4WCcEKZL9, when we were in a bit of a hurry to get back home. NH709B right into the heart of Saharanpur city with its chaotic traffic, and it took us 8 hours to cover what should have been doable in 6.

As you can see, the only picture from the trip back to Delhi is of the map showing the route!

[SS-Traveller]

The house

One of the rooms

The kitchen, where the bhog is prepared every year

Some of the fruits and vegetables

Usual evening entertainment

Usual visitor

We used to be dedicated Mahindra owners (this pic is from 2016)...

...but not any more

[SS-Traveller]

The Puja in pictures

The pictures are not in sequence

Little girls from the local villages gather for the Kumari Puja

No one to ring the bells and beat the drum? Here's the solution!

The culmination of Navami Puja with the hom

[SS-Traveller]

Another way to celebrate

Back in Delhi, my cousin had made her own arrangements to celebrate Durga Puja. Not so much the Puja, but the presence of Durga was important, especially for her ageing parents-in-law. So she commissioned an Art College student to draw a huge mural of the Goddess, and put it up on the wall of her apartment.

And that was how we celebrated Durga Puja in a year that has been remarkable for its lack of celebrations and festivals.

: : : Shubho Bijoya : : :

[Eddy]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing.

[Dry Ice]

Wonderfully written Doc! The place looks great and must be quite relaxing to spend some time away from the city, amidst nature.

If not for this pandemic, we would have probably seen another update on the NH2 thread.

Why did you ditch the Thar this time around?

[justwheels]

A well written post. Thanks for sharing. I felt so much at home while reading the post for many reasons.

One, Dehradun is my hometown so anything around that place brings back fond memories. Infact I am at Dehradun for diwali now and writing this post from the comfort of this town now turned into a busy city.

Two, I am married to a bengali, hence Durga Puja has become a big thing at home now and even I miss the grandeur of the Kolkata durga puja, this time missed even more.

Third, being a bhpian, any opportunity to travel is welcome. Great to see you could venture out post the lockdown.

The place looks quite serene and being on the outskirts, would have been devoid of any city hussles. The temple looks so wonderful and has a homely touch to it.

The mural of Durga was so beautiful. Great touch and I am sure parents would have loved the touch and a breath of fresh air in an otherwise locked down life.

Thanks for sharing.

[busydrive]

Subho Bijoya dada! Very nice pictures. It was good that you were able to take time out and be part of this as everywhere else puja was very low key affair with restricted sccess.
Always love your style of narration. Thank you for sharing this.

[kunalsingh]

Lovely write-up, SS-Traveller sir!
I have to visit Dehradun to attend my cousin's wedding in a few weeks. Kindly advise on which would be the best route to take? I'll be dr,iving my '09 City, Hondu with a full load (4 people + full boot) coupled with Honda's low ground clearance, and would like to avoid taking bad roads/no roads/ roads under construction. Don't mind taking a longer route if the road and traffic conditions are better. Thanks!

[avi_swift]

Nice travelogue of what seems to be a very calm and relaxing place... with excellent pictures as well.

I had visited Dehradun by road only once, around 2015-16. At that time, I had only 1-2 years of driving experience, so I went with a relative who was staying in Gurgaon then. I think we also took the same road as yours, except we went via Roorkee. But the road was horrible to say the least. On both ways, we were stuck for around an hour near Modinagar. The rest of the road was also mostly undivided carriageway, so consistent high speed was difficult. We took almost 9 hours to reach Mussoorie from Gurgaon and the return journey took almost 11 hours, thanks to NCR nighttime traffic. I thought the roads will be in much worse condition now due to the RRTS constructions, but from you account, I think it has vastly improved. Need to plan a drive to these parts once I return to Delhi.. Thanks for sharing this.

[nda992]

Whoa! The Pujo brings about special memories for us Bengalis and this article was a breath of fresh air otherwise made rancid by the virulent menace.

Images of the Mother brought goosebumps all over.

A word about navigation systems; I have got the opportunity to drive extensively all along the country including the borders (being from the forces) and always exercise caution when it comes to route selection.

The route selection along hinterlands and green-routes require a mix of HUMINT (human intel) along with ELINT. I've faced tricky situations and believe me, one won't know when trouble can descend in any form.

Your photos were great and I would really wish to meet your friends one day....

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Wonderfully written Doc!
...
Why did you ditch the Thar this time around?

Thank you. The Thar is not with me any more. In any case, it is a very ill-suited vehicle for a highway trip with the family, especially ladies riding in the rear seats. I'm glad to see it go.

Originally Posted by justwheels

A well written post. Thanks for sharing. I felt so much at home while reading the post for many reasons...
...
Two, I am married to a bengali, hence Durga Puja has become a big thing at home now...

Glad you liked the travelogue. And here's wishing you (and everyone else reading this) a Happy Diwali, though you would probably be celebrating Kali Puja like we do.

Originally Posted by busydrive

Subho Bijoya dada! Very nice pictures.
...
Always love your style of narration. Thank you for sharing this.

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed reading this.

Originally Posted by kunalsingh

Lovely write-up, SS-Traveller sir!
I have to visit Dehradun to attend my cousin's wedding in a few weeks. Kindly advise on which would be the best route to take?

Thank you. You can take the first route which I have given a link to, while going to Dehradun.

Originally Posted by avi_swift

Nice travelogue of what seems to be a very calm and relaxing place... with excellent pictures as well.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by avi_swift

I had visited Dehradun by road only once, around 2015-16.
...
I think we also took the same road as yours, except we went via Roorkee. But the road was horrible to say the least. On both ways, we were stuck for around an hour near Modinagar.
...
I thought the roads will be in much worse condition now due to the RRTS constructions, but from you account, I think it has vastly improved. Need to plan a drive to these parts once I return to Delhi.. Thanks for sharing this.

For one, the new highway between Muzaffanagar and Saharanpur did not exist in 2015-16. The usual route was to go to Roorkee, then Chhutmalpur, and then to D'dun on the Saharanpur-Dehradun highway, which was undivided till 2018 AFAIR.

The Modinagar - Kadrabad bottleneck still exists, and the combination of a narrow bridge, ongoing construction of a new wider bridge and the RRTS (Rail Rapid Transit System) construction barricades together make for a bad traffic jam that can extend for an hour or more each way. Quicker to take the Upper Ganga Canal Road and join the main highway at Khatauli, though I'd avoid this at night.

Originally Posted by nda992

Whoa! The Pujo brings about special memories for us Bengalis and this article was a breath of fresh air otherwise made rancid by the virulent menace.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by nda992

A word about navigation systems; I have got the opportunity to drive extensively all along the country including the borders (being from the forces) and always exercise caution when it comes to route selection.

The route selection along hinterlands and green-routes require a mix of HUMINT (human intel) along with ELINT.

Actually, the HUMINT got me into that mess. Gmaps wanted me to go via Panipat & Sonepat, but since the local drivers where we stayed mentioned that this route would work better, I took them at their word and overrode Gmap directions (It's only 6 minutes longer according to Google...). And the 6 minutes changed to 2 hours by the time got back home.

[thehillybilly]

Adding to what SS-Traveller said, for anyone who wishes to go to Dehradun from Delhi, the easier route will be the newly built Saharanpur Bypass which will cut the total time to under 4 Hours. Just put the destination as Dehradun on google maps, take the toll road and you will be there in no time.

Also, as someone who has lived in Dehradun for 28 years now, would request all to please respect the hilly roads and be patient and cautious, enjoy the view on the way. Welcome to Uttarakhand!