Mansadevi Temple, Haridwar

The Temple of Mansa Devi literally towers over the whole of Haridwar. It is located on top of a hill right next to the city of Haridwar and the river Ganga passing by. The Mansa Devi temple is connected to the city through a ropeway that helps ferry tourists up the hill much faster. The ropeway is well built and well maintained. I for one would have loved to hike up to the top, but with my parents in tow, that option was ruled out and so we went up in the Udan Khatola – Cable Car. Due to the river Ganga flowing right besides it the area around MansaDevi temple was lush green and very beautiful.

MansaDevi Temple, Haridwar

Soon we got inside the Udan Khatola – Cable car which had a capacity of 4 people and it started climbing up the hill. I started clicking for all I was worth and was able to take a lot of junk snaps and a few good ones. Here is the one from right inside the cable car.

Inside the Udan Khatola

On the way to the top, MansaDevi

The scenes from the top of the hill were even more beautiful as we were able to see the whole of the city of Haridwar spread out below us. You can also see the Shiv idol at Har ki Pauri in the center of the river Ganga in one of the snaps below.

View of Haridwar with Shiva idol at Har ki Pauri on right corner

The temple was quite congested, but the route to Darshan was short and we were able to pay obeisance to the goddess. I switched of my camera as I somehow didn’t find it appropriate to use it inside the temple.  After the darshan, we moved out of the temple complex and I went up behind the temple to take some pictures. There were a few guys from Delhi there I chatted them up. They were eager to move downhill to look at the wildlife. I was interested but contented myself with this lone shot.

Wildlife Photography

After the brief session with the monkeys, we went back to the Ropeway – Udan Khatola – Cable Car and here are some of the snaps I took on the way down.

On the way down by the Cable Car

Waving some more pilgrims a happy journey to MansaDevi.

Waving at the Travellers

And finally, we are back in the streets of Haridwar. And here is another snap of the pedal rickshaws that are used to take travelers around the city. I hate the sight of these. Its not just because they symbolize human labor and exploitation of a unhealthy, tired, usually drugged, poor human being by another healthy, fat and rich  one but also because it seems to symbolize the inertia and the lack of growth and development for that individual. Imagine living all your life pedaling people to different places.

Back in the streets of Haridwar

Cycle rickshaws speak a lot about the lack of development in a particular region too. I, having lived in Ahmedabad have never seen one for that matter. In fact, I have met and seen rickshaw drivers in Ahmedabad, who earn a really decent living – around $300 a month. But all that is another story.