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Alone in a crowd - A serendipitous journey to the Himalayas
This is my third visit to a different part of the Garhwal Himalayas. The verdant mountains, waterfalls, snow-capped misty peaks and the swift river gurgling several miles below..each time the experience has been mystical and deep, just like the silence of the mountain peaks and the depths of the Ganga. A sudden thought took me to Ukhimath, a village in the Rudraprayag District of Uttarakhand, 4,600 ft above sea level. Its landmark feature is that the deities of Kedarnath and Madhyamaheshwar – two of the Panch Kedars, closed for six months in winter due to heavy snowfall – are worshipped here at the Omkareshwar Temple. Besides this feature, Ukhimath is like any other Garhwali village with its myths, legends and some history too. It was a journey shrouded in mystery and serendipity, as each day unfolded with its own charms, surprises and miraculous encounters that have left me with hundreds of friends and a lasting love for this tiny village. Gaining courage from my last experience of an unplanned journey to Badrinath and Kedarnath the previous year, I took off the same way this year by the Chennai-Dehradun Express. In two full days, I reached Haridwar in the foothills of the Shivalik range, from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan Chennai. I just made a casual call to Swami Vibhu of the Paramarth Ashram in Haridwar and since that moment, I was received like a guest. It was a whole tranquil day I spent at Haridwar, watching the sunrise on the still waters of the Ganga at the Dharma Ganga Ghat, past the cabbage and raddish fields of the Ashram. I also met with Swami Chinmayananda Saraswathi, a former Minister of State for Home in the NDA Government and the managing trustee of the Swami Sukhdevanand Charitable Trust. Sipping tea in the lawn on the bank of the Ganga, watching the sunset followed by the ritual Ganga Arati, he spoke to me about the country's need to protect the Ganges. "Sarith Samudranscha Hare Shareeram," he said, quoting in Sanskrit to say that we are living in the body of God and it is our need to not disturb nature, but use her gently. At the Bharat Mata Mandir, with a claim to fame of being the only such temple in India, I got a taste of what I have read about often – religious fundamentalism. I was wearing a kurta with 'Om' written in Devnagari script all over, assuming that it would be a proper outfit for Haridwar, revered as a Mokshapuri – a place for salvation! One visitor at the temple hauled me up for wearing Om on a dress that reached up to my knees. He said that I was disrespecting 'Om' this way and told me to go and change it immediately. I tried explaining that it was made by Khadi and I had nothing to do with it. "Do you know the value of 'Om'" he threateningly asked me many a time, walking along with me floor after floor in the temple! "Yes, I do!" I told him, extricating myself from the scene quickly. After a breakfast of toast and tea the next day, Swami Vibhu dropped me at the Haridwar Bus Adda to take the one Himgiri bus to Ukhimath. The bus weaved through scenes familiar to me by now, mountains upon mountains, villages, towns, the twirling waters below now called the Bhagirathi, the Alaknanda, the Mandakini, the Kali Ganga….many names for the one Ganga. It was 6.45 p.m. and it was dark when the bus reached Ukhimath. I knew that there is the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, Government rest house available for tourists. But when the stop came, I didn't get off as it was lonely and dark. I wondered if the bus would stop next at Ukhimath market, it was not to be. "Bharat Sewashram Sangha," the conductor announced. "Will I get a room here?" I asked him as the name appealed to me somehow. I didn't think much after that and got off. The bus left me in the darkness and continued further ahead. If at any time the Upanishadic prayer 'Twameva Mathascha Pitatwameva,' meaning the Universe is my mother, father – had any appeal, it was now! I walked cluelessly into the Yatri Nivas, lugging two shoulder bags, a backpack and a handbag. A red paint on the wall of the sixth floor just above ground level read – Office, Mandir. I walked into the Mandir where a Vishwa Shanthi Homa was in progress. Nothing could be a warmer welcome for one shivering with cold, than walk into the smoky room with a fire burning! One Partho came out and said I had to wait till the havan was over. Brahmachari Sudhir who was in charge of the Ashram there asked me for an identity card as the Ashram rules did not permit a woman staying alone without a letter of recommendation or identity proof. I gave him my visiting card instead and the deed was done. I got a room, which I knew would have a beautiful view when I woke up in the morning. "We have a school Swami Pranavananda Vidya Mandir. The students are first generation learners. You could drop in for the assembly in the morning. The children will be happy to see you," he said. Anyway, I was a traveller without an agenda. So I agreed. A good night's rest in the warmth of a room with beds, thick blankets for a weary traveller that I was, was nothing but a blessing and I cherished every moment of it. I woke up to chants of the Bhagavad Gita, played from a tape through speakers connected on each floor, around 7.30 a.m. And as I thought, it was a view that would inspire a poet to write a poem, an artiste to paint, a philosopher to contemplate – a breathtaking scene of the mountains of Ukhimath, the snow-clad Sumeru peaks of Kedarnath, the Mandakini flowing beneath a bridge some two kms down the forest below at Kund. Two weeks rolled by, talking and listening to the students, trekking, taking morning walks through the village, climbing up the Bholeshwar Temple, having tea served to me by Phalhari Babaji (his diet is just fruits and milk), walking in the snow at Dugalbhitta in a surprise excursion with the teachers of the school, journeying to Kali Math and Gupt Kashi nearby. I bought two mementos – a pen stand and a wastebasket made of ringal by villagers of Bhanj at the Dev Bhumi store. I carry with me pictures and fond memories of many a loving village heart I met there. Back home, it feels as though I spent a month visiting my native village.
For an unstructured holiday: Holidays can be unstructured too and places like Ukhimath with a sparse population and not as frequented by tourists in the off season unlike many other places in the Garhwal Himalayas, provide such scope for simply being and drinking from nature's liesure. The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam offers rest house facilities with dormitory beds ranging from Rs. 60 to cottages up to Rs. 450. The Bharat Sewashram Sangha has a unique seven storeyed building with double and dormitory rooms. There are numerous cottages, rest houses and rooms near the Omkareshwar Temple which is famous for the Ushamath – Usha Anirudh Vivah Sthal, where Anirudh the grand son of Sri Krishna married Usha the daughter of Banasur in this place. Besides the Bholeshwar Shiva Temple at Ukhimath, the other places nearby are Guptkashi, Kalimath, Kotimaheshwari and Ruch Mahadev, Deoriatal – a lake that reflects the snow-capped Choukhamba, Chopta and Dugalbhitta for a view of snow, Tungnath – the highest of the Panch Kedars and Chandrashila, Karthik Swami, Kedarnath, Madhyamaheshwar and Badrinath are accessible from Ukhimath. In summer, the snow clears up to give a colourful picture of rhododendron, pine and deodar forests. Wild animals such as leopards, bears and jackals may also be sighted at times. The weather is cool throughout the year and thermal wear, gloves, woollen cap, sweater, shawl and a torchlight are a must to carry. Accommodation may be easily available in winter which is off-season. In summer, from April to October prior intimation is required to book accommodations as the most number of tourists visit then.
Picture Caption: Trekkers on a snow trail at Dugalbhitta, near Chopta towards Tungnath.
