Bhagsu Falls & Bhagsu Nag Temple, McLeodGanj

Shakshuka @ German Bakery

The Yummy Bhagsu Cake @ German Bakery

If you dislike crowds (well, you shouldn't be in India in the first place if that's true!), skip this place. If I had known in advance how crowded it would be, I would have done that. But I didn't know so I went.

We were hungry, positively famished, by the time we reached this place. So even before our car came to a complete standstill we jumped out. Owing to my research on the net, I was looking for the German Bakery. I had suspected that this one won't be in any way related to its namesake in Pune and so had kept my expectations pretty low. But the place looked neat and clean. Except of course the toilets. The Ladies' toilet was a study in what all needs to be done to bring to reality the PM's shiny new slogan of Swachha Bharat. I don't want to dwell on the details because that's depressing. Enough to say that I was so rattled by the whole experience that I almost missed the wash basin with its hand sanitizer. I had already spent a few minutes cleaning my hands thoroughly using tge hand sanitizer I carry in my purse when the wash basin was brought to my notice. :-(

Anyways, the menu has a lot of eclectic dishes on offer. We chose Shakshouka - a preparation of eggs, tomatoes and onions with some spices. And some kind of chicken broth dish - I have already forgotten the name of this one. I wanted to try their chilli chicken but since the chicken broth was supposed to come with pita bread, French fries and some kind of Israeli salad, I didn't order any 3rd dish. The Shakshouka was nice and so was the chicken dish. I am not sure what was special about the Israeli salad - it consisted of pieces of veggies that normally form part of any salad, but without any dressing! The French fries were crisp - and that was a huge relief!

After filling our tummy with (hopefully!) nourishing food, we decided to take a look at the desserts on offer - like a true Indian! I was delighted to see Bhagsu Cake on offer. This is considered a specialty in this area. From my research on the net, most of the cakes sold have dark chocolate at the top. Only Moonlight Cafe sells it with a white chocolate. But during our trip to Dharamkot, we had found the cafe closed so I was very keen on trying the cake here. We ordered it and loved it. We also bought some cookies that were stacked in a jar. They were tasty as well.

By now you must be wondering why I am not saying anything about the waterfall. Well, that's because I didn't enjoy it. I would have, if there was a 50% less crowd. But there was no getting away from it. We had escaped it as long as we were in German Bakery but once we stepped out of it, there it was - in the form of people spilling over in every which direction. We stood confused for a moment and then started walking in the direction people were returning from, assuming the fall and Bhagsu Nag temple would be in that direction. On our way up we asked a group of young men which direction the temple was and they confirmed that we were going in the right direction. We were - except that the temple that we landed up at contained idols of Krishna and other deities. More confused, we started back and then saw the board pointing towards the waterfall and Bhagsu Nag temple. Near the temple, we had to stomach the totally unappetizing sight of topless unfit men taking a holy dip in some lake. We soldiered on and soon the fall was in view. You see it from a distance. A few brave souls had taken a narrow path downwards and could be seen playing about in the water. I wasn't willing to take this risk so we walked on for some time but soon it became clear that we would have to walk for quite a long distance if we wanted to see more of the waterfall. I doubted if we would be able to view the source or that the waterfall would be any bigger there. In any case, we were mightily discouraged by the crowd. A full stomach was another factor in the decision to turn back from there. On our way back, we made a half-hearted journey to the Bhagsu Nag temple.

Over the years, I have lost my enthusiasm for the temples. Far from being places that can provide succor and calm in today's chaotic confused noisy world, they add to a sense of depression and dejection - what with the sellers shouting at the top of their lungs and the beggars crowding around the premises. Sometimes I wonder how people can continue to believe in God when they see such misery in the place where He is supposed to reside. Anyways, the Bhagsu Nag temple had a few shops outside but except for one boy no one was shouting to sell their stuff. To tell the truth, I made this visit so half-heartedly that I can't seem to recall any details of the temple or sanctum sanctorum. Also it seemed like it was going to rain when we had reached the temple so we were in a hurry to get out. That's no way to visit a temple, you might say. True, but then I don't look at them as holy places anymore - just structures from ancient times with interesting myths to learn about and architecture to look at.

Since I now view Hinduism as a way of life rather than as a way of worship, I have realized that I will remain and die a Hindu even if I stop believing in God - any God, not just Hinduism's many versions of Him and Her.