The land of 5 Rivers

Scraggy rocky ravines of Aravalli Hills passed by in a smoky noon haze as my rickety volvo bus raced towards Jaipur. Flashes of neon coloured veils, designer stamped camel troops and massive turbans stared at me, as dry desert dust swirled like brown clouds and settled on crumbling ancient fortresses and ruins. Jet lagged, dry eyed, sleep evaded me and my mind raced through time. Season was turning outside and early winter sun shone feebly. It was not the most pleasant time to be in North India and changing season guaranteed sunny days, chilly nights and sniffles.

But in the cozy comfort of my ride, I remembered another winter bus ride and a warm glow of happiness filled my heart. That had been a cold foggy January night when Noni and I had boarded the Indo-Canadian bus from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport for Phagwara. I had just returned from my long Indonesia voluntraveling trip and could not get enough of my little one. She had been terribly missed during those long months and it had felt great to cuddle next to her warm little person. Her excited childish voice had chattered non stop as she updated her mother on her latest pets, friends, activities and things at school. Her tiny precious life revolved around them and her nomadic mother and it had been wonderful to see her eyes light up as she boasted of her growing collection of stray kittens. I had run away from life to Indonesia and upon my return found my peace in my precious bundle of joy whom I had left behind in India.

We were on our way to the industrial town of Phagwara in Punjab for an onwards trip to the Golden Temple to seek protection and blessings. Both were much needed at that time and we had gladly accepted when a Punjabi friend of ours invited us for a brief stopover at his huge ancestral house in a tiny village in the outskirts of Phagwara. It was a typical Punjabi house which was headed by his elder sister and had 3 generations of family members living in it. Mustard fields surrounded the old house like a sea of bright yellow and sugarcane groves cast deep sweet shadows. Farm ladies in bright veils sang merrily as they laboured in the fields of gold and in the evenings thick fragrance of jasmine mingled with smoke stacks. Buffalo bells rang there at sunsets and excited children chewed on sugarcane sticks plucked straight from the fields. Laughter, milk and music flowed freely there and happiness bubbled at the slightest pretext.

Although often overlooked by the tourist circuit, the northern state of Punjab is as pretty and vibrant as it gets. Famous for the stunning Golden Temple, Punjab is fertile, flat and wealthy. Fed by 5 rivers,  it is often referred to as the wheat bowl of India and this ample bounty had lead to its long history of violent bloodbaths. The erstwhile kings of Punjab were world famous for their wealth and love for ostentatious beauty, with hefty amount of literature, music, valour, culinary skills and good looks thrown in. Charming, dandy and fanciful, they were also famous lovers and somehow were the stereotypical men from Punjab.

Love for everything larger than life is not only restricted to the royalty of Punjab and the people of the state are known for their heartiness, generous hospitality and vivacity. From mouth watering carb loaded food, exquisite splashes of colour embroidered costumes,  feet tapping bhangra music, splashy blingy weddings full of songs and dance to the famous”Patiala” (dangerously large) pegs of whiskey,  Punjabis live life to the fullest. It is thus no wonder that they are often portrayed as the quintessential Indian family by Bollywood and nearly no movie from the subcontinent can make mega bucks without showing off the big fat Indian wedding,  which is again a part and parcel of the Punjabi culture. Perhaps in a strangely perverse way, because of the gregariousness of the culture,  the state is mostly overlooked and still today Punjab remains delightfully unexplored.

All this and more awaited us as we sped through the dark foggy night towards Phagwara. North India was reeling under a cold wave and contrary to most travelers’ imagination, it gets shockingly chilly in winter in my country. Fog blanketed the highway like an unpenetrable shroud and the homeless huddled around big blazing bon fires. Acrid smell of burning plastic permeated through the air conditioned interior of the super comfy bus and only hazy taillights of the trail of vehicles were dimly visible in the dark highway outside. Jangling music of the truck radios filled the highway night and by the time Phagwara arrived the sun had nearly painted the eastern sky silver. We had gotten off into the cold, shivering morning, immediately got bear hugged by our host and within minutes reached his small nondescript village. The little hamlet slept peacefully in the wee hours of dawn and apart from the string of shiny luxury foreign jeeps and SUVs parked outside the massive rural houses, it had seemed just like another Indian village.

However just another Indian village it was definitely not and immediately the supposed wealth of an average Punjabi family had become apparent. Punjab contributes to the maximum number of Indian expats and all of them being true blue sons of soil send neat amounts of money back home every year. The friendly, often turbaned gentle giants are perhaps the most industrious, dedicated and hard working Indians in the entire country and they are known to travel far and wide in search of better opportunities. They also like to live comfortably and it is no wonder that their buses catering to the expats are luxurious,  their meals overflow with meat and wine and their wardrobe staples are big, designer brands. But they are equally generous with their kindness and thus began our 1st day in Punjab with a hearty dose of hugs, blessings and food.

Noni being a child, had got indulged silly and the taciturn but loving head of the family had welcomed me with a motherly embrace.The whole family had hummed into activity as they got busy getting our room ready, prepared a sumptuous breakfast and excitedly planned to make our stay as memorable as possible. Coocooned in the midst of the incredible deluge of love, sleep  had overcome us powerfully and we had snuggled under the thick, warm blankets happily. The Golden Temple was still yet to hhappen and Punjab had already enveloped us in its soothing embrace. With so much love,  Punjab was bound to be an unforgettable experience.

RESPONSIBLE TRAVELING-BECAUSE I CARE