Prologue 

(more…)

Badrinath.  Badrinath – one more temple on the ‘to do list’. To be completed, forgotten and moved on. Was not expecting anything to happen here – to me at a Vishnu temple? – Hah, no way. And anyways what can happen now? After previous experiences on this yatra? After catharsis at Kedarnath, Kalpeshwar? Nothing! I was to learn how wrong and ignorant I was. (more…)

(more…)

(more…)

Dear Reader,

This is a write-up of our trip to the Himalayas in 2006. For practical purposes, it is being published as a blog, an upside-down blog. You have scroll down to continue, not up.

(more…)

1. Gaumukh – with Bhagirathi (with Gangaajal at Gaumukh by D)                                                        
2. Kedarnath – with Mandakini                                                     
3. Shivalaya I -  Triyuginarayan, Guptkaashi, Tungnath & Mata Anusuya’s Ashram
4. Shivalaya II   - Gopeshwar & Kalpeshwar                                 
5. Badrinath  - with Alaknanda (with Lost & found at Badrinath by D )                                                       
6. Prayaag – with Ganga                                                               
7. Appendices - Some meanings of non-English words used, Schedules, Practical tips                                                        

(more…)

The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step – the first. Where does a journey to the Himalayas start? Is it the physical step or the step taken in the mind? A journey to the Himalayas is so different from other journeys. Any other journey may or may not be a pilgrimage, but a journey to the Himalayas transforms itself into a pilgrimage, somewhere, somehow. And when that pilgrimage is at Uttaranchal, the pilgrims know exactly how privileged they are to reach there.
 

(more…)

Bhojbhasa in the morning and Gaumukh. The fresh morning and my fresher mind made it possible for me to actually see Bhojbhasa. So austere, so stark, so simple, so hard, so silent, so harsh; yet, so beautiful – almost like a Norwegian winter, in many ways. Morning routines and tea over, D was persuaded by both of us to attempt reaching Gaumukh. He was very worried about us and not willing to leave us ill and alone. K was still not speaking and I had residual symptoms, on and off. I looked around for the bright red case of my digital camera, could not find it and so had to let D go without it.

(more…)

Towards Gaurikund (11.10.06). Though we had slept around midnight, we woke up at 0400 hrs. After a quick bath, we got the luggage down to load into the car. But Idris was nowhere to be seen. One of the Shangri-La boys came back with the info that he was bathing, at 0545 hrs! We should have finished loading and been on the move 15 minutes earlier. So we waited for Idris, listening to the pre-dawn sounds of Rudraprayag. 

(more…)

Triyuginarayan. As per our schedule, we should have started out by noon, 12.10.06, for Madhyamaheshwar. Somewhere on 11.10.06, at Kedarnath, D, K and I had agreed that we could prioritise spending time at Kedarnath, not rush down and see what is possible about reaching Madhyamaheshwar – one of the two points on our schedule on which we had least info.

(more…)