Lost in Lakshman Jhula

German Bakery: A pretty common name for eating outlets in Rishikesh. This one had a great a view as well. The Lakshman Jhula was visible from the place where we were sitting; we meaning me and Aditya. An iron suspension bridge over River Ganges, where apparently, Lakshman had crossed using jute ropes, at the place the bridge is built. The apple pie (or whatever it was) was pretty nice, and the shopkeeper (definitely a local) had developed a weird European accent, hoping to attract the foreigners, and it seemed he was quite successful at that.


It was the fourth day of the field trip, and we had come to Rishikesh (in particular Lakshman Jhula) for the second day (we had one more day at that place later). And that was the point when you feel a bit bored of a place. We had just reached, when the professors were taking a short tea break. That is when Aditya and me decided to go to the German bakery. It was significant as he was supposedly preparing for his German intern.

After a delicious whatever-the-name-of-the-dessert, we decided it was time to go back. It was exactly at that time that we realised the rest of the group was nowhere to be seen. We (read 'Only Me', Aditya was cool) were terrified. We knew where the buses were. We had enough money for a trip back to Roorkee. Then, why terrified?

Well, firstly, we would be fined for anything out of the ordinary. One guy was fined for wearing improper shoes, another for misplacing a pen. Now, the amount is not significant, but escaping the fine would be epic. Secondly, finding the group would be a far difficult task. We had no idea of the place (expect the outcrops we had already visited) and finding them would be like finding a needle in a haystack (well, a bit easier, considering it was a large group).

Then, the obvious struck me. I called Harshul. And the description he gave of the route was pretty much what we needed then. It was relatively simple but the place certainly was quite far. As we were approaching the location, we noticed we were on a cliff and the group was below us. We had to be careful of two things: the first, of course, not to fall off in the hurry, and second, to escape the sight of three people: the two professors, and the 11 year old son of one of them. Escaping the prof's line of sight was easy, as they were concentrating on the structures below and explaining it to the others, but that little kid: toughest thing I could imagine.

We did manage to come relatively close to the group, but then, inevitably, the kid noticed us. I knew, first thing he would do is tell his dad. The only thing I could think of, talk to his dad regarding something 'technical'. I really have no idea, what made him drop the topic, but we were safe. The work we did that day was not that important, but that event did make it memorable.