Travel has many dimensions. Some go for pilgrimage, some accompany pilgrims to visit. I was a last class passenger. Pilgrimage is also done according to time and situation. My first experience of pilgrimage was from Biratnagar to Barahkshetra, during Maghe Sankranti in the year 2006.

At that time, it took more than three hours to travel from Biratnagar to Dharan and it was dusty in winter and muddy in rainy season. The vehicle was also an old GimC truck after World War II. At that time, there were many Nepalese people carrying dhakar who walked from the mountains to India in search of work. They used to go to Assam, India to find work and return home before the rains.

Today we call such movements seasonal migration. Due to the hardships of the mountains and the lack of food, they headed towards India. I have seen the wave of people carrying such blankets in the laundry in Jhapa in my childhood. The sight of them cramming in Indian trains is still fresh today. 

Last year, we remembered the year 2006 when we reached the Barah area on the way to Dhankuta, Bhojpur, Sankhuwasabha, Terhthum in the east. When I stayed there for two days, most of the time I went to Saptakoshi to see the water and waves. Dharan market used to be deserted but it was easy to walk in the market as it was paved with stones. Biratnagar was full of mud and dust. 

My second pilgrimage experience was going to Kamaksha in Assam with my father, mother and other relatives. Parashuram Bhandari (later spelled Sharma) was a close classmate. His grandmother and great-grandmother, who put him together as an adopted child. He was also going to Kamaksha. And I also insisted on going to my parents so I got to go.

We stumbled into the night train from Siliguri to Amingaon the other day. At that time, there was no practice of making reservations. Kulli was thrown from the window and in some cases had to stand there all night. Chiura, Kurauni, ghee, pickles were eaten in batter. At that time there was no bridge on the Brahmaputra and we boarded the steamer (small ship) on our way and on the way back we boarded the train from Now to Amingaon. 

My first experience of train travel was in 2006 when I was going to study with my cousins ​​in Biratnagar. Seeing Brahmaputra for the first time was surprising. Walking with pilgrims was a different kind of fun. When I was studying in Delhi, I used to go to Dwarika (Gujarat) with my mother and other relatives. From Delhi to Dwarika in Dilaune Kota and on the way back to Agra, Mathura and Vrindavan, the long train journey was easy.

A coach (dibba) going to Dwarika used to be connected to Ahmedabad train from Delhi Junction and after reaching Mehsana Junction, that coach would join another coach to reach the specified destination. Surprisingly, Pandas from Dwarika used to travel for three to four hours in the morning train and arrive at Jamnagar in the passenger compartment looking for customers.

And, thinking that they are definitely from Nepal, the old rulers of Nepal introduced themselves and forced us to stay in their Dharamshala. Arranged all the dishes and sleeping arrangements. This is their livelihood business. 

Panda did too much in Mathura. Those who had lived in another panda's house were lured away in many ways, tricked and taken to us. Many such incidents had to be experienced later. I have had the opportunity to visit all the pilgrimage sites in India. Only Kedarnath and Amarnath remain. However, I do not believe that such a pilgrimage will yield results, nor am I a believer in fanatical rituals. I consider myself an agnostic. Among friends I find myself a lone Jupiter. However, I have no say in their beliefs. 

This trip to India was amazing. If I have friends who support me, my opinion is different. Vinay Kusiat believed in ritualistic religion, while the second Vijayaraj Pant was 'religious' in the proper, conventional language. We went to Dehradun via Haridwar, Rishikesh to Mussoorie and back to Balabhadra's memorial at Nalapani. Balabhadra fought his last battle with the British at this place in 1814/15. After the war, Nepal accepted the defeat and signed the Sugauli Treaty and lost all the territories belonging to the present-day Uttarakhand of India and the Mahakali river in the west and the Mechi river in the east. This border has continued until now and is roughly a stable border. 

Our trip was very organized. We flew from Dehradun to Ahmedabad in Gujarat to see Mahatma Gandhi's Savarmati Ashram. Savarmati river looked clean and green. Recently, Atal Bridge was built, but not to be crossed, but as a walking park. We reached Rajkot by car in the evening and next day we left for Dwarika. As there was time, we went to Dwarika first.

I visited this place in 1972 with Baamas but it is hard to recognize today. As the beautiful bridge is built over the breakwater, the activity has increased more than before. First we went to Nau. All the roads in India are made of four lanes because of the fast pace of infrastructure development. However, it will take many more years to become a clean India. Cities often looked chaotic.

While going to Somnath Temple from Dwarika, we went to Porbandar where Gandhi was born. After seeing the house where he was born, we headed towards our destination and reached Somnath within a few hours. I came to know about the historical importance of this temple while studying history in school. Mohammad Ghazni looted the gold of this temple and started the Muslim invasion of India. Later Muslims ruled India for a thousand years. The old temple is small and the newly built temple is bigger and better. 

It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few years ago and a long statue of Sardar Ballabhai Patel is placed outside. The names of Patel, Bajpayee and other leaders have been mentioned in many places during the 10-year tenure of the Bharatiya Janata Dal. I also went with my friends to see the new and old temples of Somnath. From Somnath we again headed to Rajkot as our flight ticket was to reach Indore in Madhya Pradesh via Mumbai.

All the schedules went well and we reached our destination on time. Going to Indore is my old trick. I have been to many places in India, but I was excited to go because Indore remained and Ujjain was also nearby. As Vinay wanted to visit Mahankaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain and Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga on the banks of Narmada river, we went to both places. I had some knowledge about the Narmada River because there was a movement to create dams (high dams) that would cause inundation and displacement problems and environmental degradation. Similarly, movement Tehri  There was also information that the

took place in Garhwal. I reached the same dam and took pictures and waited for my friends who had gone to the temple. The Narmada River flows from east to west and merges into the Arabian Sea. Indore is a nice city, but its cleanliness is not as advertised. Patel in Gujarat, Chhatrapati Shivaji in Maharashtra, Rani Ahilyabai in Indore are regarded as icons. The name of Indore University and the airport are named after him. 

The fact that India has taken leaps in infrastructure development is true. All the roads are four lanes and some are still wide. All airports are very modern. Since all the transactions are done in digital system, it is difficult for us to work. As Nepalis cannot use QR code and the use of the card fails at some point, the government on both sides should be aware of these issues. Food and lifestyle are traditional.

With a few exceptions, the city-market does not look so clean. Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has not been successful. As Gujarat is mostly vegetarian, most of the hotel restaurants are vegetarian. I had to go to a Muslim-run restaurant in Indore to eat non-vegetarian food. From Indore we reached Dehradun via Delhi and in the evening we stayed at Khatima along the border. Since the road is very good, I did not feel tired after driving for six hours.  The next part of my

journey is Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, Assam is similar to the rest of India in terms of infrastructure. Arunachal Pradesh is considered to be strategically important and it is also now inhabited by Egyptians. As Indians from other parts of India migrate to Northeast India to do business, migration to the province is intense. Social and economic differences have increased ethnic conflicts.

The Nagas have been fighting for many years now and now tensions are rising between the Kuki and Meitei of Manipur. The Meitei make up 53 percent, the Kuki-Zo 16 percent and the Nagas about 20 percent, who live in the hilly areas. There are some Nepalis, who are in a state of panic. Last year I, Krishna Khanal, Krishna Hachethu and Vinay Kusiat visited Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur. Before arriving, it seemed that the place was different from other parts of India, but after reaching there, on the surface, it seemed like the rest of India. However, there are also fears that local residents will be displaced as the population density of outsiders increases. There are no explosions. 

The Nepal-India relationship is indeed peculiar. Nepalis have not reached any place in India. During this visit to Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Indore, eight-ten Nepali workers were not found in every restaurant. Young men from Far West are found in all hotels and restaurants in Gujarat. There is a Nepalese settlement in Indore, but they are Indian Nepalis. I don't think that Nepal can manage that young man anymore. Our style of development, working and thinking is still not clear. Lack of prioritization and weak leadership show no signs of stopping the outbound activity.