Niagarala Niagara !

I thought I have nothing much to write about Niagara. After a while I thought it would be great injustice if I don't reflect on Niagara, the most beautiful fall I have ever seen in my life. Nothing much to write shouldn't be misconstrued as there is very little about Niagara. With no city around and not many attractions on unveil, there is only one attraction that is big enough to surmount the multitudes of petty things. That is Niagara itself.

I went to the USA side of Niagara. First time I felt so bad about for not obtaining Canada Visa. It is virtually Canadian grand sight which gives a spectacular feeling about the show. The very first sight of one patch of falls could have been really big for me considering my past exposure any water falls. My much awaited journey to "Jog Falls" in India was a disaster as it is no more than a thin patch now. But there was something inside me telling that it was not exactly what I have expected from Niagara. I roamed along the side of Niagara river, which was turbulent and wide. It's path looked intriguing from whatever little information I have gathered , and even to day I am not sure where it began and where it ended. The clouds of mist was visible to a distance and location of the falls is easily identifiable. Surprisingly I have noticed many Indian tourists and came across to many Indian restaurants than any other place I have been to. Certainly it is one of the most popular destinations for Indian tourists.


My afternoon trip was cruise on Maid of the mist. I was not entirely thrilled about it, but I undertook it as mandatory one. With my plastic wrap around, with camera in one hand and camcorder on another I was ready for the tour . We started our Odyssey closer to the falls. As we were approaching falls everything started looking different. My positioning which looked quite casual before suddenly looked so important to me. I began frantically running around for a good view. All of a sudden our voices sounded too feeble. Our faces started soaking in with splashing waters. I started forgetting what I am. The waters were jumping down from the cliffs surrounded in semicircular shape. I was in the midst of great roaring waters. I was in the middle of a magnificent, spectacular sight of my life.I was mumbling , not knowing whether to watch or capture it on my lens. The camcorder got wet and dizzy. I felt that my great precious moments should not get wasted in filming it. It is the moment that got to o be experienced. I t was the moment to get unified with the great wonders of the nature. It was the moment for penance . Tears rolled down my cheeks but remained unnoticed as we were drenched in water. The great falls were telling something with it's heavy roar, with it's overpowering majesty, with it's diffused mist. Who am I? Is it necessary that I attach so much importance to my small existence in this universe? My dirty ego, my petty thinking, my selfish never ending quest for temporal acquisitions? My drenched cloths, tripping camcorder, my sticky hair, my blown off cap nothing..nothing really bothered me. It was great moment, which I cannot afford to miss it. It was a bliss which cannot be measured. It was more of ecstasy than an exhilaration. It was more of being one with it, than experiencing it from outside. It was a moment that I heard an erudite oration in the midst of over pouring sound. It was the moment of ethereal language spoken with enormous depth which may take years to decode. I thought I had a vague idea about life, the universal scheme of arrivals and exits. The truth of being one with it. The intense cosmic theology of one's own, and every one around. The profound silence of Grand Canyon and roaring Niagara both try to tell me something. I need to hear them by designing my own ear phones.

I was back to the shore. I went with empty hands. But I was back with a treasure. I went to the banks of the river and strolled watching the scenic surroundings. I went to Cave of Winds. Floated in exhilarating water splashes. But I was mounting wooden steps built by human to access nature's experiences. They looked like few things obstructing the unifying experiences. But there is no way you can reach them. You got to go through them. It was good to stand very close the jumping waters fearing being drenched, and secretly yearning for it.

The night lighting of the falls was impressive. They did not look natural but looked elegant. It is very strange that people got nothing to do except watching the falls, yet could spend number of hours before it. There is no rush. No hustle bustle. People were fewer in number. Every one had their own space to delight. That was the last I saw those enormous waters.. I bid a farewell to the gorgeous falls on earth. I want to keep the memory preciously wrapped in my heart.

I couldn't resist my desire to check if there is any other fall more beautiful than this.Planet earth helped me in identifying few more specacular ones like Angel falls with the lesser width, gigantic but less watched Victoria falls fell into the category of exotic falls on earth. There some more, very few of them as special as Niagara. Great things don't' happen in plenty. We travel,fly, row, climb,crawl, swim, to get the sight of one unique splendour. We don't get a penny for doing so. But we experience an unmatched divine joy by watching them.