Kedarnath - Vasuki Taal (Sep, 2005)

Sep, 2005: A Journey in Himalayas - starting from Haridwar:

During the trip i meet this sanyashi (monk). He was on his way to Kedarnath, hoping to meet his colleague there who had preceded him a couple of days earlier. He was a simple unsophisticated person, just as you would expect someone who had left his home early in childhood to become a sanyashi. He says parental consent is essential for entry into the ashram, but he did not elaborate on it. I liked him for his innocence, his simplicity, his eagerness to talk & discuss. And when the seat the next to me became vacant on this hilly drive out of Haridwar to Gaurikund, i was happy to invite him to sit near.

On the same bus i also came across these 3 musketeers (not carrying any muskets ofcourse). They been touring this area for a month now. They were attempting a very difficult task to visiting Kedarnath and then catching their train back from Haridwar in 3 days time. Earlier during the month they had trekked to Amarnath, which is around 35Km in the ice region deep in the himalayas. And then to Vaishnav devi, which is another 11km uphill walk, and now here they were. It looked like a pretty long marathon to me.

For myself, i prefer to enjoy the scenery. So on reaching Gaurikund i had a difficult time deciding whether to stay with Sanyashi and enjoy a bath at the hot water pond and catch some sleep before attempting the 14km trek, or to just rush with these three who seem to be knowledgeable about the place and wished to cover half the distance before night fall. Left to myself, i had been warned not to venture out after 4pm, as it gets foggy all of a sudden, and a rain can mean sliding rocks. Kedar in the local tongue mean rocks. This is a place of rocks & streams. Anyway, i cast my fears aside and decided to push ahead.

Starting the trek:
And as we started, there started a drizzle, i reached for my backpack, and found that i had lost my umbrella. Now i had no energy left to go downhill 1 km at over 20 – 30 degree incline and get it from the boot of the bus and mostly it would have been futile anyway. The drizzle ebbed away as we climbed and we made good progress. We reached the mid-point in record 2.5 hrs, and by then the mist had covered the tiny settlement. NTPC has brought electricity to this region, but right now it was enveloped in darkness, they seemed to have a problem at the generating station downhill. We found a place to stay and my companions got busy in the kitchen helping the cook preparing dinner in the light of candles, and i found the luxury to change relaxedly. My sweater was soaked with sweat, dripping... I had weighed my back pack at 10 kgs. I needed to make it lighter for the rest of the route, already my shoulders were raw and my back not so happy. And the hurry in this arduous climb has taken its cost. I decided to go for a flexon (Paracetamol & ibuprofen combination or something like that i think), my joints won't move tomorrow otherwise. I wonder what it does to my liver & kidneys...

Nearby the river Mandakini flowed with fearsome furiously. Like a hundred lions roaring at a time. Part of the mist comes from the water splitting into a million droplets as the river hits the rocks & boulders on its meandering way down. Looking at it here I could not have even imagine that latter on in the trip i will walk across it, so calm and quiet it is at its origin. Looking back, i feel it like an awesome beauty and yet scary in her intensity & wildness. All through the way the scenery is breathtaking, we were surrounded by virgin mountains & lush green valleys. Mid ways it had turned cold, and i had to put on sweaters.

Next morning the trio is up early at 4am and busy preparing their breakfast. I say i am in no hurry, i will start after 9am. I am stiff and upset. After 15 minutes i decide to ask for hot water to take bath. And by the time i am ready, aaloo parathas & tea are served. We start out at 5am, and it still looks night. The 3rd person in this group is an elderly Bengali, while the other two r in their 30's. And he finally started to feel the strain. So what followed in the second section was lots of coaxing, frustration and head-shaking :) It was a test of human endurance watching him make it to the top. But certainly i would advise him to get rid of his friends, otherwise he may not be so lucky next time... :)

On the top we parted, they had to visit the temple and rush back, I wanted to unpack & freshen up. Latter on i roamed about in the small settlement and covered all in a couple of hours. On discussion at the lodge i came to find that there were two mountain lake in these regions, worth visiting. One is 3km trek, and the other is Vashuki Taal a 8km arduous trek. At the temple i meet the sanyashi again, and he was happy to have found his companion. His colleague is a bit of a contrast to him. This guy seems world-wiser and slightly smug. And he seemed upset to get this extra baggage :) He says he been to Gandhi taal and the place is beautiful. But he cautioned me against going to Vashuki taal alone. Said very risky. The cook at the lodge is a youth and he says he will be happy to be my guide. I am happy to find such generous help. I naturally assume he is saying Gandhi taal which is 3km away.

The trek to Vasuki Taal:
Next morning we start a little late at around 9am. We buy some milk sweets on the way, as we expect to back only late in the evening. I ask him where we are going and he replies nonchalantly “Vasuki taal” . I am a bit shocked, a bit scared, but happy with a wide smile on my face. This is god's country, and he leads here. I carry an extra pair of trousers as it is supposed to be colder uphills.

That trek turned out to be a dream come true kind. At places we cut across virgin mountains without a trail to be seen. And it was a true nature's garden at places. The ferns drooping under heavy mist, the sunflower covered hill side, the carpet of tiny red flowers on the grass, the majestic mountains. This is fairyland. In the distant i see a snow covered mountain with its top a human head. You can see the clear eyes, and sharp nose and mouth. Like the lord commanding over the region. That place is beyond reach, my guide tells me. It is like a magnet which pulls everything down, once a helicopter ventured in that region and was lost for ever. Beyond that lies China on the opposite side. Below, the whole region is a floating land, u walk there, u sink. Across this was the gate to heaven, it is said.

Midway i met the two sanyashis again! They had also decided to use the day to visit this holy place. The 1st one couldn't make it, and returned back after a while. He is not used to walking he says. After a little chat i carry on, leaving them at their measured pace.

We reach the mountain top, have our snacks with the clouds, and climb down the other side. Now my guide informs me that there has sightings of bear & lions in this region. Well... I am already into it... no need to panic, i tell myself. I can't fly back, i can't hide, screaming will only attract them. So we move on. There are no human being for miles in these mountains except us two and the sanyashis with their guide somewhere unseeable. The water bottle is empty and he fills it at the stream he knows it is drinkable.

I find a lonely Bramha Kamal growing in a nook ( a mountain flower considered to be very pure), and decide to pluck it on the way back. And then we are standing on the lake. This is deep, like a deep valley filled with water in fact. If u slip in, u r most likely gone. They have put markers with rocks all along the banks. We decide to circumnavigate it. I find a trickle of a stream coming out of the lake at the other end, and i am informed that this is the beginning of the furious Mandakini. I am amazed. Here it is so quiet that my camera clearly catches the trickle of water. I suppose u can hear the proverbial pin drop.

And then on the opposite end i sit to do my chanting. And i feel the fire on my face. Like the whole lake is boiling. I get a bit scared. In truth, i am still scratching the surface of meditation and devotion. I got a long way to go. I wonder if i will ever be able to come here alone and spend a few days by myself, in this bare region without a shelter, the breeze sweeping the valley clean, no humans, no food, may be no fire also. But this is what many sanyashis do, here they find a cave and take the final samadhi in the quiet, unknown to the civilization. This is The Himalayas, the sacred mountains. Here is where the Saints have come for thousands of years to seek truth & enlightenment. These mountains have witnessed them all, nourished them, and delivered them. I feel gratified that i have felt a glimpse of the majesty.

The trip back was grueling. It grew dark & foggy and we could not see the landscape to assess our position. If we are lost then it will become a question of survival. I make the mistake of joking abt it with the guide, and his face creases with worry. One must never create doubts in such circumstances, it can shake a person's confidence. Who knows he may have fear going back? I regret that remark. We were very much on track as i found spots where i had taken photo graphs all along the way. And the trail had not bifurcated any where.

But it surely was a much longer trip going down. I kept walking, putting one foot ahead of the other. We were both worn out, and any slip would be disastrous. We were in no position to reach out & regain balance. And any rain would mean we would have to hold fort for the night out in the wilderness. It was cold. My guide latter said he had not felt this tired before, and i think that must reflect on me, somewhere his spirit must have got dampened. I need to be more careful in future. I also need to give a bigger tip next time, though he said he did this for free for the lodger customers. I made up by paying the lodger more. When we reach town, the lodge manager had already spotted us coming down and started the cooking. We were getting late and they had got worried. That cold night i slept with another flexon. Liver & kidney issues notwithstanding, i need to walk down tomorrow. I am worried about the 2nd sanyashi whom i had crossed high up in the mountain & i prayed for him. If there is rain in the mountains, he will be in trouble.

On to Badrinath:
The next day i start my trek down early after tea. Midways, i have my potato stuffed parathas. They are my favourite by the way. I have survived on them for days during my China trips. And i can have Potato tikkis for breakfast, lunch & dinner. I make tikkis the size of a paratha, that way i utilize the full hot-plate, and have ample to eat :) i let it roast & shrink to half its size, turning a nice brown. Then i sprinkle ginger & green chili & white & black salts and lemon juice, yummy.... my mouth waters at the thought. Previously that would also include roasted rings of browned onions and raw chopped onions, but now I have stopped eating them. Also boiled potatoes half cut and roasted on tava. Garnished the same way. Basically anything related to potato is good...

I collect my 3 kgs of books from the lodge, these i had carried in the trip in the hope of doing some studies. I have just quit a job and i need to find a new vocation. At 36, it is a bit scary to start from scratch. I tell myself, i have done this before and i can do it again. Life is not about getting cowed down and complying. It is about striking out in a new path, perils notwithstanding. But i can feel the stress just at the thought, and this is supposed to be fun. I am trying to learn what i have enjoyed most, databases and programing.

As i put on the now heavier backpack and step on the path, there i find the two sanyashis again!! The first one is dragging his feet and second one upset and feeling burdened. We talk for a while. Soon i start feeling cramped and i need to flex. I walk faster and then break into a run, the falls of my feet resounding as i bring them down hard to gain grip running down the slope. I run the thin line between running and tripping over from the momentum. It is exhilarating, with my 10kg back-pack giving me the necessary extra traction on the ground. There, i have just eaten away a kilometer and more. i find a bench under an over hanging rock & sit waiting for my companions. People around me seem recharged, more enthusiastic, their limits suddenly extended, thresholds raised a wee bit more. My face is flushed and beaming, as i feel the blood rush into my entire body, giving me a sense of well-being. The 1st sanyashi joins me, then the second. Soon we are upfront and the 2nd sanyashi is trailing :)

Latter on we will re-meet in Badrinath, and hiking to see the Vashundhara falls, and the 2nd sanyashi will tell me that seeing me has encouraged his colleague, taken away his fear of hiking. I feel happy. I see he is wearing hiking shoes instead of the leather slippers. A sure change of attitude :)

At Vashundhara falls:
On reaching the falls, the first sanyashi one is not ready to return, he wants to prolong the pleasure of view after a 3 km hiking in the hills. Just 5 minutes of the breath taking view after two hours of labour ? He surely feels not so pleased . We walk down and he joins us slowly. It will be dusk soon and we need to move.

Saving Brahmacharya:
The 2nd sanyashi has now become more open to me. And he recounts his bus experience. He had got his seat in the bus and then a lady came & sat next to him. That got him worried, being a sanyashi & a brahmachari(one vowed to never involved with a women) he has learned to take precautions. The Hindu literature says a man near a women is like a pot of ghee (milk fat) in front of fire. So knowing human weakness, a brahmachari needs to be diligent in not encouraging that desire. He says he started chanting a mantra. That one is very sure to relieve u of any impending doom he says. And then he started to another chant and was happy when the lady found another vacant seat :)

Sexual desire is the most potent of all desires. Even Brahma has fallen, so has Shiva. Narada fell too. Vishwamitra was a smaller incident compared to these. Earlier i would think of them as weak, now i think of them as mighty worriers felled by Vishnu, the mightiest of them all, the creator, the source of all, the mother & the father, the beginning & the end. Let no one be proud of achievements & encourage ego. ego thou r banished, i shall have nothing to do with u. You took Ravana, the most learned one.