‘Chaar Saali Yatra’

Shekhawat speaks of hill-top shrines

The morning we were waiting for (ref post of September 24) dawned today. Shekhawat was back from his Chaar Dhaam Yatra – Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kedarnath and Badrinath, the four holiest of the holy pilgrimage centres in India that lesser mortals can only aspire to wrap in a life time.
But oddly enough, this was no big deal for Shekhawat. What gave him a far bigger sense of achievement and pride was that he could do this six-day trip with his four real saalis – the ‘original' ones from back home in Rajasthan. Of course, they were accompanied by other relatives from his village, but in that group of 13, Shekhawat was the only male.

Shekhawat shows off photos of his four 'original' saalis

In fact, he was the one to have sponsored the trip, having paid for their travel, boarding and lodging, etc. And so excited was he about pulling off this feat that he spent the entire morning displaying cabinet-size photographs of the four saalis for all of us to see.

Peda prasad from Badrinath

He spoke about them by name, fondly describing their peculiarities and quirks and only in passing mentioning the temples visited, how the weather was “first class”, the rivers and streams they crossed and the monkeys (yes, monkeys!) they accosted during the pilgrimage.
“None of these ladies had ever ventured out of the village earlier,” Shekhawat narrated. “At the most they would have gone to their in-laws and that too stuffed in buses or in packed unreserved coaches of local trains. I made sure they travelled in comfort and stayed in good lift-wallah hotels. I deliberately booked rooms on the fourth floor so that they could have the experience of going up and down by the lift!”
He described in comic detail how panic stricken the women were when they first saw a lift in operation – actually “gobbling” people and luggage in, as is often shown in movies. “And when they got into an air-conditioned coach, they simply could not imagine that their mobile bedrooms could be so freezing cold,” he continued.
Clearly, it will take Shekhawat time to re-connect with his four fake/ make-believe saalis of the Garden. In fact, by some strange coincidence none of them were present today and Shekhawat did not even notice this until somebody reminded him of their existence. “What can I do if all of them keep their phones switched off?” he lied, eager to change the subject.