Only few people would have ever thought that Rishikesh, renowed for its effervescent surroundings, natural beauty and having religious significance could actually be so much enjoyable and full of fun and adventure. Earlier I was one of them, thinking that Rishikesh ought to be visited by old and aged but a week long camp organised by Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, the Youth wing of Chinmaya Mission, Noida, in the hilly terrains of Rishikesh, this summer, accompanied by my two friends from College, actually made me realise how life can change in a very short span of time and I discovered a whole new angle to my life and a side of me, that I am still exploring as a result of the journey which started from the day(actually night), I boarded the Mussorie Express to Haridwar, on 27th June to be precise, and the entire night spent among ‘strangers yet friends’, the other campers whom i met for the very first time and we interacted, played games, ate biscuits and tested ourselves by trying not to sleep, though all of us ended up doing just that. On the following morning, we de-boarded at Haridwar station and six buses took all of us, around 250 campers to Rishikesh and the scenic beauty on the way up, took my breath away. This was the first time that I ‘forgot’ to cry for going away from my parents and the least that I had expected, I ended up crying on the last day of the camp.
We were accommodated at Vanaprastha Ashram which was in one phrase, ‘out- of- the world’. Captivating beautiful scenes all around with the Ganga just flowing by, it had the serenity that we all came looking for, away from our busy lives. The Inaugural session introduced us to the theme of the camp ‘Edit Profile’. We were given time-tables and schedules to follow and at first instance, I really thought I might have committed a mistake by coming because the reason I was there, was to get away from the daily schedules. Fortunately, all my doubts were put to rest when the time flew away and the days passed full of lectures from Swamijis like Sw.Chidrupanandji, Sw.Chaitanyanandaji, Sw.Nikhilanandji and brahmacharis like Br.Nirvanji, Br.Navneetji as well as early morning sessions of Yoga by Sw.Raghavananadji on subjects ranging from the ‘soul’ to ‘profile’, the personality of a person, how to differentiate ‘I’ from s/he gender classification, with enchanting examples of Facebook, Twitter and other social sites and the goods of the modern technological world so as to make the young campers, popularly known as CHYKS, understand the significance of looking inward rather than the outer world. There were also Interactive Sessions where questions were put up in groups and debates and discussions followed them, Games, Quiz rounds and Profile activity were some of the other activities. There were eighth groups based on the names of rivers of India and I was a part of river ‘Narmada’ and was chosen the very first evening to do the Ganga aarti and I was more than happy to oblige. We went for the aarti every evening and it was so much peaceful and yet enjoyable to be near ‘Gangamata’, the captivating waves, the bhajans at full swing, the Sun-setting and lots and lots of people singing the aarti, infact the best atmosphere to invoke blessings of the Lord and at the same time experience immense fulfilment and Inner peace. The whole experience cannot be expressed in words, cannot be felt unless and until, “Been there, done that”.
Apart from religious invocation, I had fun meeting new people, making friends and sharing a whole new life outside my own periphery, my own inhibitions were thrown to the winds as I voluntarily went to the stage for demonstrations during sessions, participated in quizzes and got selected out of so many people, which was indeed satisfying. That was never me. I did not know, I had a part of myself dying to express openly and boldly, to my own surprise.
At this instance, I have to talk about my College friends who supported me all through, gave me wonderful thoughts and things to smile and blush about and the closeness we all felt by connecting not through our minds but hearts. Also the most enjoyable activity for me was the ‘Profile activity’ in which CHYKS would write on each other’s back on a sheet of paper attached to one’s back. I got so many good and encouraging comments that it was and will remain very close to my heart forever and I actually did something that time that even I did not expect, I went to the stage despite my stage fear and read those comments that were written on my sheet of paper and was eventually applauded for the same that made me feel on top of the world. Comments ranging from “D.U Topper” to “True south indian girl” and “Indian beauty” are hard to forget. These are the memories which are hard to be erased and those special people are now friends forever. Taking names cannot justify the relationship I share with each of them and that’s a fact that has given me a view of the ‘Bigger picture” of life. I learnt that sustaining friendships is more difficult than making friends.
The last day of the camp concluded with a picnic to Lakshman Jhoola, Sivananda Ashram and the visit to an Audio-visual library within the same premises, last but not the least, the Ganga aarti at HaridwarSw.Chidrupanandji pointed out the four ways to edit one’s profile:
1. Must engage mind constructively and positively.
2. Do the activity actively always.
3. Face situations with courage.
4. Taste success ultimately.
It was an enriching experience that left me wanting for more and in fact each and every one of us. I wish I could go back to the very same place with the very same people.
Indeed, CHYKS ROCK!! :)
