Syanachatti forms an important juncture for moving ahead towards Yamunotri and most of the times people halt here and go to Yamunotri. We reached here after a day long journey and went ahead to Raja Chatti to see Narad falls and then came back to Syanachatti for a night stay. So the next day we could go for Yamunotri. We were on the first ever bloggers bus to Uttarakhand.
After a grand welcome, we checked in, settled down in our twin sharing rooms and there was a free time window which was meant for waiting for dinner. That’s the point I got out with my camera. Just as Pahalgam, somehow evenings and nights in small towns always intrigue me. They call out to explore. This is the time when I don’t prefer anyone with me and go on a solo stroll and also speak with myself a lot trying to dig out and remember my childhood evening memories.
Sayanachatti GMVN Guest House is located in a place where there are many more small rest houses and dormitories around with bus parking facilities. Pilgrims and travelers after a days long journey either en route to Yamunotri or on their way back are resting in the big open area which almost forms like a courtyard for this place. Murmurs, laughter, conversations; all keep drifting to your ears. An evening in a small town at high altitude has a characteristic silence which here was inter spaced by musical sound of Yamuna flowing around, we heard the river here but could not wake up well in advance next morning to see her. The temperature was around 10 – 12 degrees and definitely a welcome change from Delhi and then Rishikesh.
Since Syanachatti is a tourist spot, it’s no wonder the evenings will see all the food stalls/ restaurants lighting up fire and the eternal favourite Rotis being made. By this time, I had called in my fellow traveler and blogger Subhadip and we set out to explore the surroundings. A 70 year old tea stall, where the man has been serving tea for more than 40 years was still making tea for some customers at that late hour. He obliged with a smiling picture which shows the pride of a man in earning his livelihood through selling tea.
As it was dinner time, it was smell of fresh food being cooked all around and in that small periphery, there were almost 5 restaurants where the clay ovens were blazing bright with Rotis being flipped on top. I tried to guess how many rotis were being made there every evening. Just as any tourist spots or pit stop areas, there were 2 or 3 small multipurpose kirana stores selling all necessary items that one may need on an emergency basis. One single bulb lighting the place and trying to illuminate as much as possible creates more mystery than deciphering it. Yes there was a barber shop too.
Just before entering this place, there was a bridge and the road ahead looked so lonely at night. It was quite dark ahead and we didn’t take the chance of moving further but just wandered around in peace and quiet. This is the same road through Syanachatti which sees so many travelers in the morning towards yamunotri.
A place which becomes a temporary residence for many more than the permanent residents of Syanachatti, it experiences travelers with hopes, wishes and prayers day after day, night after night.
Nights can be melancholic, can be lonely, can be exciting and can be introspective today. After Pahalgam, HongKong, this was another form of an evening slowly graduating in to the night that I experienced in Syanachatti.
Which are the places you can go from Syanachatti ?
- Rajachatti for Narad Falls
- Hanuman Chatti
- Divya Shila
- Suryakund
- Kharsali
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