This is very new, yesterday was Sunday (19 December 2025) and since morning there were dark clouds in the sky. Our plan was made on Saturday itself that on Sunday we four friends will go to Sahastradhara and if the sun comes out then we will swim in the river. I know that the winters of Himalayas are a bit colder but I have spent my childhood living here, so now both the heart and mind are prepared for an emergency situation when I jump into the frozen water with my body.
It is about Saturday when 
So on Saturday, I had brought swimming clothes in my bag, so as soon as I got a chance, I jumped into the river. Today it is cloudy, so the weather is very cold and on top of that the cold wind is making it more dangerous. My friend is sad because she also wanted to swim but she cannot swim because she did not bring clothes. Today I swam in a new pond whose depth is 6 feet. At some places the depth of water is more than 6 feet where I got a little nervous but by swimming in the freezing cold water, every part of the body opened up.
Now our mouths were already bloody, so after coming home I told my friends that tomorrow is Sunday and it is a holiday, so we will go to Sahastradhara and whoever feels like it can swim there. Some made faces because according to them who bathes in rivers in winters, but at the end of the discussion everyone agreed. We are 4 people on 2 scooters and at around 11 am on Sunday morning we leave for Sahastradhara which is just 11 km away from home. We reach our destination in 30 minutes crossing the hilly paths. We park the scooter and start walking towards our new favourite pond.
When all three of us feel the cold breeze, all three say in unison that it is very cold. I, who had come dressed as a man, change my clothes and just as I am about to jump into the pond, the sun comes out and feeling its warmth on my face gives a very pleasant and warm feeling. I do some laps of free style so that the body gets warm and when this happens, I do butterfly, backstroke and underwater swimming and remember my swimming pool days. Seeing me having fun and absorbing the sun, my friends say that let us also come.
After a while, two more friends jump into the water, one of whom jumps in as quickly as he comes out of the water. While cleaning himself with a towel, he says that the water is so cold that he was having trouble breathing. Of course, he is not lying because the water is really very cold. I swim a few rounds thinking that when the Naag and Aghori Sadhus can bathe in the Sangam every day in such extreme cold in the Maha Kumbh, why can't I. Our female friend is not enjoying this pond, she says that this pond is very deep, so it is difficult to swim here.
So from here we go to our regular pond where we often come and swim in the summer. Here the water level is only up to the knees and at some places up to the waist. I was wet, so I sit on the shore and bask in the sun while my female friend enjoys swimming a lot. When she comes out of the water, I go for a small round in the water, I also come out of the water after swimming for about 15 minutes. After changing, we plan to have lunch at a shop on the way where we can get biryani. When we reach 3 km away on the scooter, we come to know that biryani is not available at the restaurant.
With a sad face, we start walking towards home, where I apply the brakes after seeing hot samosas being made at a shop on the way. We buy 10 samosas and some sweets and come home. We eat samosas with tea and later sweets. After so much adventure, we enjoy today's wonderful sunset from the roof. So this was our day at Sahastradhara where we had a lot of fun. As the summers approach, the crowd will increase here, in summers we go for swimming early in the morning.
Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from Poco f1 and edited in snapseed, post thumbnail created in mobile app PicsArt.
[//]:# (!worldmappin 30.38743 lat 78.13134 long Took a refreshing dip in Sahastradhara river with friends (India) d3scr)