But the order for the Hatu Road came right from the top. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, a man given to all manner of religious ceremonies and rituals doesn’t miss his annual visit to the Hatu temple. Walking up the steep mountain was out of the question for the CM who is now pushing 79 and revered as Raja by the locals. So hence the smooth, flawless Hatu road.
Hundreds of trees were put to the axe and a road carved out for this stately pilgrimage. The recent devastation at Uttrakhund has shown what such brazen deforestation and construction can do. Hatu Road is one such bad reminder
Jul 22, 2013 | Categories: Travelogues | Tags: hatoo temple, hatu mountain, hatu narkanda, hatu peak, hatu shimla, himachal pradesh photos, mountain summit, off-beat destination, picnic spots, road to hatu, trekking spots himachal, trekking to hatu | 4 Comments »
‘’I want to see the real India. Its important to see these people living at the grassroot level’’, Chetan tells me. But accustomed to dishing out homilies though his columns and tweets, Chetan is clearly out of his depth when it comes to asking questions about other people’s lives.
Chetan has come to see the ‘real’ India but he clearly cannot get enough of the India he has left behind. Between shots, in the jeep, even between conversations with the locals he twiddles briskly on his blackberry.
Jul 03, 2013 | Categories: Thoughts/ Articles | Tags: author chetan bhagat, chetan bhagat, chetan bhagat writer, film-crew india, filming gujrat, gujrat road trip, indian authors, indian bestselling writer, indian novelists, indian writer, indian writers, photos chetan bhagat, real india chetan bhagat, rural gujrat, twitter chetan bhagat | 24 Comments »