Flipping back the Pages

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Nice corporate job, a great family, some very endearing friends- life’s good, huh? But then it was still kind of wanting- a deeper need to re-discover what I had distanced myself over a period of time. Time to peel away the layers of ‘un-realism’, experience life -people, nature, living just the way it ought to be ..where the money you made, the car you drove, the “who” you are kind of faded into the background and you stood out vs people, nature and elements that challenged you to be just the way you were in your natural honest way. That’s exactly what excited Rakesh, a colleague & friend at work and me to explore a relatively unexplored journey and experience - a journey to 4200 mts - a journey that would possibly alter some of our basics.

Our plan - sweat the journey to a grade V trek in the northern reaches of the Uttaranchal Himalayas- a recent but an old Garhwal state that sports an undeniable pride in its mountains that have challenged human limits over centuries.

So come Saturday, October 2nd, we were on a train to the last bastion of an “On the Plains’ city - Haridwar. The Shatabdi, is a good mode of travel over a short hop. Comfortable with James Herriot ( the author) and Dido ( the awesome singer) for company, the 6:30 to 10:30 am journey whizzed past and except for the presence of a rather obnoxious telecom salesman and a cute girl trying to read 4 newspapers simultaneously, no memories exist of the trip to Haridwar.

Haridwar is a Hindu pilgrimage site with a decent smattering of “phoren” visitors, so irrespective of color, a rucksack on the back tends to mis-understood as the person being of “phoren’ origin. So that aside, negotiating our way out of the railway station to a Garwhal Mandal Operators Union ( some kind of a brotherhood of commercial vehicle owners that holds sway over the transport system in Uttaranchal) stand was relatively uneventful. 15 minutes later found Rakesh & me in a “Deluxe 2X2 push back seat” bus- OK, for the un-initiated, this translates into a bus that has two columns of seats with rows of 2 seats each that can recline at the push of a button - and that believe me, is an USP and commands a premium. There’s always a jostle between bus conductors to get in passengers; so usually the first rucksack got loaded into the belly of the bus by the conductor and as soon as that was done, loading the second rucksack was something that rakesh & I had to do - well that’s customer service and yes, reality - well, what the heck. At the next blink of the eye, we were rolling through the “Chilla” sanctuary into Rishikesh. Amidst drunken Nepali laborers and Bihari migrant labor we wound up our way through Srinagar, Rudraprayag and by 7 pm we were at Karn Prayag - a small pilgrimage town at the confluence of the Pinder and Alaknanda River. A couple of enquiries and a 500 meter uphill trek later we got rooms for an overnight stay at the ‘Garwhal Mandal Vikas Nigam” Tourist rest house. This accommodation is a good value for money option for those of you who can do with the basics - For 400 Indian rupees or about 8 US$ a night, we got a clean room with running hot an cold water- voila! For meals we had the option at the GMVN or a cute clean restaurant outside the rest house aptly called the “OM Restaurant’- friendly manager cum waiter cum cashier plus wholesome, clean, vegeteranean food at a throwaway price was a welcome change that evening after a 13 hour journey.

Day Two, October 3, 2004.

7 am - Rakesh and I are up bright and early, strapped into our recently acquired trekking boots and head for a good Indian breakfast at the auspicious OM restaurant and we have company. Seven Americans accompanied by an American and an Indian Sadhu who they reveredly called ‘Swamiji”. For the less religiously initiated and possibly inclined like me, the conversation was rather amusing, the American sadhu kept discussing Indian food and referring to his Indian counterpart who looked relatively bored and preferred sipping his cuppa rather loudly. Curiosity got us to connect with Swamiji who told us they were on their way to Badrinath ( Hindu Pilgrimage site) and that out of this group “Do darke bhaag gaye”(Two of the American pilgrims chickened out and had left—chuckle!!!)..entertainment over, we hopped into a bus for Joshimath- a hub town that re-routes tourists to badrinath, Hemkunth Sahib ( A Sikh pilgrimage site) , Auli ( an all religion tourist - winter sport site) and for the more adventurous - a ride up north from where an arduous trek into Nandadevi ( India’s second highest Himalayan peak ) could begin.

A good 4 hours later we are at Joshimath - it’s a rather balmy day - steady drizzly rain, slushy streets welcome us to Joshimath. Our Target - Madan Singh Rana - Owner of Garwhal Adventure and a guide. Two enquiries and ten minutes later, we are at a rather decrepit restaurant sipping sweet milky tea face to face with the man himself. Tea and pleasantries over with and a ‘climb” up a rather narrow and steep staircase later we are in his office. Post Madan’s visual approval of our ability to tackle the trek we go through the list, the route, the equipment and at 2 in the afternoon, we are off in a jeep headed 3- km north to a village called “Lata” - our Ist night out stripped of any luxury.

After a two hour bumpy drive through some amazingly pristine and non-existent roads we hit the roadside stop to Lata. This is where we meet ‘Raghuvir Singh Rana” - porter, cook, story teller, a bundle of unbridled energy and more importantly, our provider of shelter for the night. It took us a quick 30 seconds to throw down the luggage and as most city hicks would do, we let loose our enthusiasm to begin the trek to the village up two kilometers from the stop. Months of active gymming began to tell the fitness tale and we trundled into the village 45 minutes later ( Not too bad, not excellent either). Raghuvir lives in a modest two storey semi-antiquated structure built of wood and mud. We have no electricity, no running hot water, no western toilets but plenty of attention, smiles, stories and some local hooch they call simply ‘Daru”. So an hour and couple of glasses of daru later, we hit the sack. A good night’s sleep? Nah!!! a slightly ‘daru happy” Madan crashes into the cot next to mine and boy oh boy, the orchestra is let loose from deep within his nasal cavities...its a rather strange experience when you have to stay up in a strange place after a lovely local evening and then this rather unsolicited cacophony of nasal/vocal invasion. So the best I could do was to tune my mental rhythm to the crests and troughs of the vocal barrage - a new skill that should be effective hereon. Read on for the mastery to unfold.

Day Three - October 4, 2004

8:30 AM - Two hours since I ‘officially’ woke up. Since then, explained how I slept like a log( I lie pretty well), morning chores done, gulped a rather large breakfast of local bread, egg and some greens - standard dessert/salad/appetizer are slices of local apple. Madan decides to trot down to the stop for supplies with Raghuvir ( why didn’t he decide yesterday??) and Raju ( Raghuvir’s son) takes over the mantle of guide for the trek for the day - 8 kilometers uphill, 30-40 degree inclines, to ascend 1800 meters / 5000+ feet. Our target time-5 hours. Our advantages - enthusiasm and sheer ignorance, our weakness- our blind faith in a cherubic, fresh faced 18 year old boy believing that he is god’s answer to simplicity. So with a quick prayer at the local temple, some clanging of bells and one-fourth of a banana from the temple god’s offering (all under Raju’s instruction) we set off along a rather cow dung laden village path, marveling at how our trekking boots squelch through the slush. The first 30 minutes done, we were busy figuring out who had a longer tongue (that was lolling shamelessly) between rakesh and I.

The Himalayan forest here is a curious mix of head high bushes, coniferous trees and some “oakish” trees. The path is about 3 feet wide and rather steep. The rain continues to drip and sometimes drives a little shiver up the spine. That aside, managed to see the ‘Monal” -a highly revered & protected pheasant in Garwhal. If you a keen bird lover, the forest holds many surprises and it is best that you maintain as much vocal silence as you can between curses of frustration when your lungs and muscle covertly partner to convert you into a sudden recalcitrant ass. At 11 AM, we hit Belta, a little waterhole and for many, the Ist campsite enroute to the top. But for us, that was an insult (foolish bravado)- we had to continue upwards and so we did.

The gradient after this stop decides to play very hard ball. The 3 ft path shrinks to a one foot wide rock laden test of acrobatic balance, the skies decide to unleash a deep bellow of thunder as if to challenge our intrusion into this leg of the climb. So picture us city hicks-we uncork our heavily fortified, mineralized water bottles - take several hard swigs hoping down below that it was a brave enough gesture of defiance at the threatening elements and then we pray and hope that our legs follow our will & the non-existent path.

I live my life four times over in the next four hours - the gradient and the path geometrically progresses into a path to lunacy- patches of slithery rocks, loose gravel or simply an unending view of the steep path ahead contribute to a constant questioning of my intent to be on this journey; flashes of kids, wife, dog , friends, childhood - all cross as I tackle yet another 10 meter narrow stretch. Meanwhile, Raju keeps promising us that even “Plain” stretch is just a corner away- he is a rather sweet kid - so whilst we knew he is kidding us and so does he, we let him lead. At 3 we finally stumble onto “Lata Kharak” - a smallish plateau with an almost knee high dry grass cover, a green three roomed Forest Department shack & two rather “Thompson Twins” like forest officials. My lungs are bursting and the legs are non-existent. I crash on a mat on the grass and lie supine for a good 30 minutes. Later the more comical and senior Forest department official tells us that our timing was a sort of a record for “rookies” - well thank you but no thank you. I couldn’t have wanted a warm bed more then.

Dinner is a simple affair; Local bread, lentils and cabbage. We are joined by Sombhit Gupta, entrepreneur from Delhi and an avid photographer who turns out to a rather nice guy with a great sense of photography ( All photographs here are his). That night is another night to remember- Rakesh takes off where Madan stopped off the night before. Rakesh is a gifted individual - Through the night I marvel at this ability to change tone, tune, frequency and let out rather alarming noises ranging from a steaming engine to a steady chuga-chuga-chug of a tractor. Driven by this & more I decide to step out a little and marvel at the sight outside- I am blessed. It’s a half moon night, the sky is the clearest I have seen in a lifetime, the stars glittery and close enough for me to innocently try and reach out, the mountain flanks catch the moonlight and in a rather subtle way, bounce it off the specks of snow - it’s a fairy tale like sight. So amidst the less sonorous environment, I soak in the picture pixel by pixel into the deep recesses of my memory.

Day 4- October 5, 2004

7 AM - Milky watery yet a very hot mug of tea enthuses the body into packing the rucksacks & rolling a rather obstinate sleeping bag into its cover. We are off now and per Madan’s promise, trudge up a ridge ( Saini Kharak) for about a kilometer and a half to a rock outcrop. The sun is shining, the air is crisp and a few mountain birds keep us company. We are shown evidences of the musk deer ( Droppings of course) and the “Bagh” ( Leopard) having been around -what a comfort, we are not the only living things around. Sobhit and rakesh are relatively more adventurous. So I catch the snooze of my life ( to recover from the disasters of the last two nights) on an outcrop of a rock at 13000 feet and the guys carry on to click some more memories. At 8:30, I am jostled to my senses and we trudge up the mountainside along another route to our next camping site - Jhandi dhar ( Gate of Flags). Jhandi Dhar is the official entry into the Nanda Devi biosphere. It s a one square kilometer sloping piece of land at 4000 meters, devoid of any tree and to me, resembled the lunar surface pretty well.

So when we hit the place at 2 in the afternoon, I wasn’t too surprised that I was a bit woozy, felt a bit light and that my panting after every 10 steps vaguely resembled those of Huckle, my three month old Labrador pup on a rather sunny day. The sun departed and the clouds took over, snatching away the sight of the magnificent Dhunagiri peak (7000 meters/23000 feet) which seemed hitherto an arm’s length away. It was then that I realized that I was beginning to feel sick, so off I went to snooze a little on the nearest rucksack. Thirty minutes later found me staring at a hot cup of coffee and some chocolate bars. As I munched, the dread of the night that ominously looked very cold and the fact that I had a faulty sleeping bag left me momentarily in a rather foulish mood. Mind you, the mountains can really swing your moods at these heights and it is important to realize that you are not alone but a member of a larger team, so I keep muttering beneath my breath yet let out some cheesy smiles. As I said, Rakesh is a brave soul and that height he went for a good dose of Irish coffee ( My reco, I didn’t taste it though). A quick dinner later ( oh yea, you guessed it right - Local bread, lentils and cabbage!!), I was in my blue tent at 7 in the evening; four layers of clothing, gloves, a woolen scarf, a rather stony and wobbly floor and a faulty sleeping bag saw me awake till 9. This night was no different - two mountain mice (they resemble rabbits) decided to mate right outside my tent, so between passionate squeals and scurries they landed jumping on the side of the tent only to evince a string of expletives or some doggy barks/growls/ screeches from me. I guess it looks rather comical now but then, it was WAR!!

Day 5 - October 6, 2004
6 AM - I trip my foot over the bottom of the tent and go racing out from the tent in my socks with flailing arms trying to balance an overdressed clumsy body. Luckily, stooping low, my center of gravity hauls me up just in time before the next slope propels me downwards. Bleary eyed and with a heaving chest, I look around to make sure my rather comical exit lies unnoticed and hey, my wish is granted. Sobhit is up and is busy clicking something with his back to me, I hear muted growls from Rakesh’s tent and that tells me he is recovering from the Irish Coffee slumber. In a minute, he crawls out.

Sunrise is a treat on a fine morning like this. The sky is as clear as clear is meant to be, the ranges surrounding us magically transform themselves from dark shadows to orange chocolaty surfaces and finally into golden flanks of rock bouncing the sun light off them The mighty Dhunagiri ( It demands that adjective) resists the sunlight for a good 30 minutes and slowly unravels its magnificence with the trajectory of the sun. 9 AM - Raghuvir churns out some local bread, boiled eggs ( I down one as it comes off the stove), hot cuppas of tea & some biscuits( Celebration - he missed the lentils and the cabbage !!). Some more clicks later, We agree to set down the mountainside. Target - 8 kms down -a 2km treacherous path of loose rocks and 6 kms through a forest to Tolma, a village. 10 minutes of rest and another three kilometers to the nearest road head.

The climb down is costly. My thighs, shin, calves, my toes and little fingers on the feet keep protesting the punish as we leap from rock to rock and thereafter, race down hilly paths down to Tolma. Beginning at 10 with a small stop at a waterhole, I hit the village at 2 PM. By then, I know I have blisters, the knees are wobbly and somehow I have a rather comical walk where my legs seem to have developed a mind of their own. I hit the village alone and ask for directions. Just as I intend to begin my cursing, good old smiling Raghuvir pops out from behind a wall and walks me up to a house. I walk up and find myself in the company of two young Canadian ladies who are on a research trip. Well, I try and get macho and holler a big Hi. What emerges from within the depth of my vocal chords is a very tired squeak - disastrous start to display my male proweress. So I just let it be- between gasping for breath, biting into local apples and making sure I re-discover my chords, I tell a rather amused audience of who I am and what I was doing conquering 4000 plus meters of mountain until the younger of the two said that they had trekked upto 5000 meters the week before last. YIKES!! So macho me pretended that was cool and focused on my apple more vigorously. From then on the conversation was rather straight and nice- the girls probably felt very amused that a boring corporate guy could attempt to do this and I told them they were lucky that some foundation had this great idea of sponsoring to live a life like this for three months - how lucky could they get.

After a quick change of footwear from boots to comfortable rubber-soled sandals, trudged down to the road head by 4 PM. Beginning with a rather sentimental round of appreciation with the porters and despite a road block owing to repairs further down, we managed to haul ourselves onto a jeep and were back in Joshimath by 6. Another night at a GMVN rest house - for Rs. 500 or about 10US$, you get a large wooden floored room, a 21 inch color TV with a 50 channel facility, running hot and cold water, clean sheets and mounds of fresh warm quilt. The City Hick in me did a little whoopee and I plunged into a hot shower (what unimaginable luxury!). For dinner we tried the Shri Ram Hotel. The guy who takes the order is rather cheerful and clean, so we guessed the food would reciprocate that. We were not disappointed.

Day 6, October 7, 2004

9 AM - Breakfast at Shri Ram- sinfully buttery toast and eggs. A quick meeting with Madan at his cousin’s travel agency -“Shiva Agency” and we are on our way to the cable car station. The Cable Car facility is India’s longest. It connects Joshimath to Auli ( One of better known winter sport resorts in India) over a 4 plus kilometer haul. The ticket cost us Rs. 200 or about 4 US$ for a round trip. I was impressed with the details of the ride depicted on the walls of the cable car station- distances between towers, rules regulations, dos’ and don’ts, safety precautions etc. The ride to Auli was on time and perfect except in the last instant a rather large group of uncles, nieces and aunts stepped into the car and kind of converted it to their living room. So amidst loud “Ahs, look heres’, did you know series’ questions” ..we had a safe trip to the top. Our destination - a four kilometer trek to Gosner Top. Height 3600 meters, path - easy, limitations - stiff thighs and calves, taped up blisters, pluses - enthusiasm despite pinching boots.

The climb here after what we had endured earlier was a walk in the park on a sunny winter afternoon. Despite our aches, we walked through a lovely forest onto rolling meadows at the top. For miles, you can see sheep, horses, mountain goats and cattle grazing. Every now and then, a bell from the neck of an animal rings out amidst tens of bleats, moos and neighs. It’s a beautiful world - for me it was like Julie Andrews singing in the opening scene of “sound of music” - this could just be where they shot the scene. So between visuals of sprightly Julie Andews and the lilting sound of bells, I had to keep pace with Madan’s flurry of entrepreneurial ideas - from running an ngo, to growing herbs, to building huts from local environmentally friendly material to local politics- Madan keeps you engaged and distances and arduous climbs disappear into a feeling of effortless grace as you conquer yet another slope.

We shinnied down by 4 and took a relatively uneventful cable car ride to Joshimath. The next morning we took a 4:30 AM bus in the company of the “Puke and Piddle” family - A cute family of three - mom, dad and kiddo who took alternate turns to attract the driver’s attention to engage in intermittent acts of P and P whilst gulping water and spicy potato wafers during breaks - very nice. We hit Haridwar at 2, got ourselves train tickets for an evening train that eventually transformed into a late night train owing to a lazy departure.

Day 7, 1:30 AM - I hit home, a bleary eyed woman( who i recognized as my wife)with hair standing on their ends flings herself at me and tells me I kind of stink but she is glad that I am home. My three year old son has been actively predicting that I was eaten by Himalayan Bears three days back.

Day 7, 1:40 AM - I am on the floor and being licked mercilessly by a Labrador dog, which was a nice cuddly puppy when I left home a week back.

If you want to take a short cut to a little enlightenment, take the trip. These 7 days have been my shortest route to realization of stark beauty, realization of how powerful elements can be, how utter strangers can become good friends ( thanks Madan, Shobhit and Raghuvir) and how you are much stronger than you thought you are and very importantly, how great it is to have a family and that there a lot of reasons to count your blessings everyday.

So buy that rucksack and those boots, it’s a great way to go out for a pilgrimage without visiting a single holy site. Turning back the pages of time can sometimes propel you far ahead into the future, much more than you think it can.

Write in if you are interested, Madan needs interested tourists. Remember, he has lot of sound eco-friendly entrepreneurial ideas to nurture. He needs your company and more importantly, your money as seed capital !!

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Photos

LATA -courtsey Shobhit
We stayed the Ist night down in that village.

Sunset at Latakharak
IInd stop on the trek. Awesome peaks- awesome sights

Ghori Peak
Amazing peak from Lata Kharak - our pitstop on the IInd night.

Nandadevi
The one peak mountain - Grand, overwhelming from Saini Kharak.

Nandadevi
In all her glory!!

What a snooze
AT 13000 ft on Day three of trek. Thanks Shobhit!!

Jhendidhar
Entrance to the inner sanctuary - what a relief !!-4000+ meters

Dhunagiri behind Rakesh
My fav peak - good enough to fall in love with

Simply Dhunagiri
Could look at this for hours -

Camp BRRRRRR at 4000plus meters
Mine was the blue one. I slept nest to a favorite mating ground of Himalayan mice!!!

Staring at Tibet
Me looking at the Tibet mountainscape wondering when and how to get there.

Sunset over the Dhauliganga River
Amazing stuff from Shobhit's magical creative eye!!

Soaking in the Sun
Rakesh drying off the effects of his Irish Coffee at Jhendidhar

Comments

[anonymous]

Amazing
The pictures are awesome...I had heard but never imagined how beautiful the place would be. I love the picture of you on the cliff. My mind's whirring and my travel bug's bugging me... have to go soon and see the magic for myself. sj

[anonymous]

wow
I can't believe the range of colour and texture of your journey - simply amazing and inspiring. You ought to give up the corporate job, mate, and write some travel guides (smile.) Thanks for these beautiful photos, I can only hope I will get to see this part of India someday.

[anonymous]

stunning
I must agree with the other comments. You have some astounding photos! - j.

[Sumeet]

Just Incredible!
The pictures are incredibly beautiful. I belong to Garhwal and I've done a fair amount of trekking. Next time you get an opportunity, please visit Seheshtra Tal (A Thousand Lakes) located in Tehri Garhwal district of Garhwal. Also see Panwali Kantha, Khatling glacier. Contact Mr. Chattar Singh of Gangi village for guides and porters. This place is the most beautiful of all and the best thing is it's also very economical. Visit during August-September. The itinerery: Delhi Haridwar Rishikesh Ghansali (via Chamba) Ghuttu Reeh Village (meet Mr. Chattar Singh, tourist house keeper) Gangi Village Tali Top Panwali Kantha Meadow Matya Bugyal Gangi Village Kharsoli Khatling Glacier Chowki Mussoorie Tal Tadi Udhar Seheshtre Tal Wish you all the best, enjoy yourself.

[Venks]

Hey .. Am doing some research of local drinks (read hooch ) .. saw that u tried the 'daru' .. could u tell me they make it out of what there ... will help .. adn Cheers .. at [e-mail]

[rakesh]

I just added one more thing to the to-do list of my life. Trek to Nandadevi.

[eims]

Sunset at Latakharak - wow!
What a fabulous photo - you have put some dreams in my day today :)

[Kahini Mutsuddi]

BABA!!!
This is an amazing photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take some pictures of Japan for this blog!!