Nainital, Uttarakhand, India
The province of Uttarakhand in Northwest India borders Nepal on the east, Tibet on the north, Himachal Pradesh on the west and Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the south. It used to belong to Uttar Pradesh under the British, and before that for a short time most of the eastern portion, Kumaon (also spelled Kumaun) and a small portion of the west, Garhwal, were conquered by the Nepali Gurkas and the region belonged to Nepal. The province broke away from Uttar Pradesh in the 1970s with the two major sections and their distinct cultures as one unit. Traditionally, there have been multiple capitals in the region. Today, the main provincial capital is in Dehra Dun in Gahrwal, but Nainital still remains a major center as does Almora, both former capital cities of the Kumaon region. The entire province of Uttarakhand is called “Home of the Gods” and has many sacred pilgrimage sites.
Having had the pleasure of visiting many sites in Gahrwal in the past, I really wanted to take this opportunity to visit the most sacred sites in Kumaon, especially the sites of the seven rishis. These include temples in both of the former capital cities as well as Kausani and Ranikhet. This circuit, including a stop over at the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, can be completed - on a fast track - in a week. More time in each of the locations is advantageous, but this Asian Pilgrimage adventure is pretty tightly packed, so I couldn’t do more than a day or so at each of the places.
The drive from Delhi airport to Nainital was supposed to take a little more than six hours, but the roads in the hills had partially washed out in the monsoon rains, so it took us closer to 8 ½. The drive through the plains is typical of much of India, i.e. through dusty air, but when we finally got to the hills and got up a bit, the dust cleared and the mountain air was refreshing.
I arrived on the 8th day of Navratri, a festival worshipping the nine forms of Shakti/Devi – the Divine Feminine. The streets in Nainital were full of cars and people; it was mass tourism at its height – all with domestic tourists as Nainital is home to the renown Naini Devi temple. Naini Devi is associated with Nanda Devi, who takes her name from the mountain (or vice versa), and also with Durga. Nainital is also a Shaktipeeth site. According to legend, Shiva’s first wife, alternately called Umma, Sati, or Parvati, (depending on legend/purana) was the daughter of the King of the Himalayas and her father was upset that she married someone who he didn’t find suitable for his daughter. She married him anyway, but when a major festival came around and all the relatives were supposed to be present, Shiva wasn’t invited. This upset his wife so much that she threw herself in the fire. Shiva was devastated, picked up her body and danced around the world in a frenzy, no one was able to stop him in his destructive path. Vishnu, the one responsible for maintaining proper working order in the cosmos, took it upon himself to cut up the deceased’s body and spread the parts all over the Indian subcontinent, so that Shiva would be jolted out his comatose state and once again fulfill his mission of creating constant change. Her eyes landed in Nainital so a temple was built to honor the Goddess. There are differing accounts of how many Shaktipeeths there are, some say 54 others over 70 and a few say 108. Nothing in Indian legends is simple, and I’ve had to learn that my Western way of wanting a succinct logical response to questions is an exercise in futility. There are multiple truths as there are multiple gods as there are multiple ways of approaching and responding to situations. Travelling here one does need to abandon preconceived notions and simply “go with the flow”.
While the region has been inhabited for millennia, the British “discovered” the lake region in 1839. They soon made it a summer hilltop retreat and later regional capital. They established – what is said to be – the highest altitude yacht club, which is still functioning and still attracts only the upper crust of national and international clientele. The lake isn’t particularly large, it took me an hour to walk around, including dodging traffic on the mall road as there isn’t a walking path on that side of the lake, but it is one of the largest in the region.
The Naini Devi Temple lies directly on the shore of the lake, with the Goddess watching over the waters and surrounding hills. Upon entering the site there is a large orange sculpture of Hanuman, which I found particularly odd as Nanda Devi kicked him off her mountain. When I asked whether I had mistaken the figure for someone or something else, I was assured that it was in fact Hanuman and that people in the region are partial to his worship, so he has his own temple at the entrance to the site. When one goes down a few steps to the temple grounds, Hanuman is directly in front to the right, the place to put one’s shoes to the left (shoes are not to be worn in any of the temples), and the lake lined with priests offering tikas (the red and yellow paste on the third eye) and blessings in front. There is an arch with bells hanging down. One is supposed to ring the bell to alert the deity of one’s presence; a temple form of knocking. Off to the left, is the main single temple for Naini/Nanda Devi, and then at the end the major temple with five Goddesses, with Durga in the middle and Sakand, Kusahmanda, Selputri and Parvati on the either side. While I was there, the priest was performing a fire purification puja which was wonderful to watch. At the end of the hall with the five deities and up a few steps are four rooms with idols. There were three rooms that were dedicated to Krishna and Radha and one to nine deities, including Lord Golu, a local demigod. I was fortunate to be able to take pictures and videos of the puja and site, except for inside the Naini Devi Temple. She is not to be photographed.
As it was festival season, there were vendors walking around selling candy cane, plastic toys and various foods. The whole area by the lake and near the soccer/cricket field, was lined with stalls where sitting vendors tried to sell handmade scarves, mittens, shawls, blankets, wooden toys, and clothing of all sorts. One area near the front of the temple was cordoned off and was used as a community kitchen. People were standing patiently in line to be admitted to sit on the floor and receive a meal. It wasn’t that they were starving, but rather that it is auspicious to receive food from the Goddess at Navratri. There were a few women beggars who tried to sit in front of the exit, but the festival guards quickly shooed them away. (Yes, it does seem a bit odd, especially for a goddess festival, but…) Near the community kitchen an open air theater had been set up and local community and school groups presented dances based on songs they either knew or wrote themselves. The majority of the texts dealt with the gods, but at least two that I saw had to do with boys flirting with girls and trying to win their affection. There were a couple I saw that had Shiva stories, and the local kids and students were amazing. When I stopped by to watch I naturally stood in the back so as not to be in anyone’s way – I was the intruder after all - , but I soon found that I was being pulled by a young woman to sit fairly close to the front. She kicked a young boy out of a chair so that I could sit. I then had the kid sit on my lap until another seat opened up for him. This act of kindness to a stranger was repeated time and again in Nainital. I don’t speak Hindi, and people were very kind to help me understand who the various figures I couldn’t identify were and give me a bit of background on the local legends surrounding them. Sometimes, I asked a question that a person couldn’t answer, so they called someone else who did know.
I hired a car and driver for this trip as I’m not foolhardy enough to drive throughout India, (the stress would cost years of my life) but unfortunately, the driver speaks just enough English to understand “stop” and either “8:30 or 9am” as a meeting time and not much else. I do miss having a knowledgeable guide! On the other hand, on my trips I always try to bring locals to places that they have not been, and this whole trip is new for him. I hope he enjoys it.
After visiting the temple on the first day, the second was devoted to three lakes in the region: Naukuchiyatal, Bhimtal and Sattal. Each has its own character and legend. Naukuchiyatal is named for its nine corners. The shoreline here, as well as at the other lakes, has any number of boating and floating options. Kayaks, paddle boats looking like dragons or swans, or large plastic bubbles that one rotates as if one were a hamster on a hamster wheel are the main attractions. Ziplines are also common at all three lakes, although Sattal had a twist on the traditional point to point style. In Sattal one zips almost to the end, then backtracks to about the middle over the lake and the fellow holding the cord then moves it up and down so that the zipliner is basically bungee jumping into the water while on the zipline. One young boy was suitably scared, but his sister was laughing her head off having a fabulous time. Sattal is so named as it is really seven interconnected small lakes. It was also the one where I felt the best, perhaps because the families really were having a good time. The third lake, Bhimtal is the largest and has a small island in it. The lake is named after Bhim, one of the Pandava brothers in the Mahabharata, the Indian national epic. In each of the lakes, I saw at least one boat that sunk during the recent monsoons. The damage that recently happened in Pakistan didn’t happen here, but the washed out roads and sunken boats are a reminder that the region got lucky.
Before heading back into town, we stopped at the Eco-Caves, a unique kind of fun park, near the end of the Mall Road not far from the huge Government House, which was modeled after Buckingham Palace and looks completely out of place. There are five caves in the complex, each named after a different animal, i.e., Tiger, Panther, Porcupine, Flying Fox and Bat. I went through the first three on hands and knees, but as I was about to enter Flying Fox a couple came up and warned me not to go in as they couldn’t get through, though they had also gone through Porcupine. Forewarned I headed up to the summit of the site, which has a look out and a really different kind of zipline – one with a bicycle! & if that doesn’t sound exciting enough there is also a mechanical bull for bull-riding just below the zipline. The Eco-Caves are intended for family fun, and they do seem to fulfill their mission.
It was time to return to the hotel, the Naini Retreat, for high tea on the terrace overlooking the surrounding seven peaks. Nainital has lots to offer the visitor, but best was definitely the Naini Devi temple on the water and the local’s very apparent love of their traditions and their hospitality.
One note where I’m asking for help. In the photos, there is an image of four young people at the Naini Devi Temple. The picture was taken ca. 4pm on Oct. 3rd. The email address that I had for them didn’t save, and I can’t send them their photo unless I have an email. IF anyone recognizes them, please put them in contact with me. I really want to get their photos to them! Thanks!!!!
