A Journey to the Mystic Mountains - Part 1

The time was around winter of 2012. Our placements were just around the corner and my friend and I had planned for a trip to Chopta which houses Tunganth. Tungnath is a shrine which has the highest Shiva temple in the world. We made all plans to it and later found that the place was fully covered with snow and that it was not reachable at that period of time. So, we shifted our focus to our plan B - Rafting in the Ganges.

Now, my college was getting to a close on May 8 and I had to join office on May 15. I had so wanted to go on a trip to Uttarakhand before my work started. The college dates got postponed and made me more restless. But I was determined to go to the place where I couldn't go last time - Chopta.

I just thought I had some answers in the mystic mountains. And it was imperative for me to make the trip. And it did have.

I did a few things which I had not done before. I went both ways by flight and took my cell phone along. It might look trivial but it was a sea change for me. I prefer going by train because the effect of going to a trip sinks in. And coming back in train lets you savour the essence of the trip. I have always seen cell phones as a hindrance. Something which keeps making some noise and disturbs the beauty of the place.

So, nevertheless I started my journey by boarding Indigo. Seated beside me in the flight were a lady and her daughter. Just like any careful mother does, the daughter was in the window seat, then her mother in the middle and followed by me. I took my kindle and started reading ‘The Celestine Prophecy’. My friend had been continuously telling me to read this book. And so I did. And slept off sometime after the flight took off. Food came, I ate and I slept again. I did see a few times that the daughter was winking at me. Or definitely smiling. But I don’t know. I just didn't have interest and slept off only to wake up again in Delhi.

Delhi – The place I have been to the most in the past 2 years. I do not plan my trips. If I do plan, the only thing I do is book a to-and-fro to Delhi. Rest all I leave it to destiny.

Well you know some people say this movie doesn’t have a story, this book doesn’t have a plot. It sucks. Don’t know what they are upto. No storyline.

I beg to differ from those people. Just ask these people again ‘So does your life have a story and a plot?’ They are clueless and get edgy. What if the movie doesn’t have a story? Didn’t it appeal to you? Sometimes you have to connect the dots looking backwards. People cheer when they read it but cringe when they want to follow it.

So, no plan is the plan. This time was no different.

I took the overnight bus to Haridwar at 11.30 pm. And was woken up from my slumber at 4.30 am. I took the share auto and headed to the Ganges, the magical river. Every time I take a dip there, something happens. There is something about this river. Something beyond human comprehension. Just enjoy the experience. Do not ask questions. At times I used to think, may be that is why millions of people head to this river. For the sheer experience. People over there call this river as ‘Ma Ganga’. The mother is everything to them. Gives life, sustains life and also takes it away. Even after everything it is a site to adore.

After the bath, I was back afresh without a tinge of tiredness and had a cup of hot cinnamon tea. It was just 6 am and the sun was already shining bright.

My first destination was Deoria Tal. There is an episode in the Mahabharat, where the pandava brothers go to a lake to quench their thirst. The yaksha there says that you cannot drink this water before answering his questions. The brothers don’t take him seriously and as a result die. Atlast Yudishtra comes and answers all the questions of the yaksha and brings his brothers back to life. The lake that the brothers came to quench their thirst is Deoria Tal. Or that is what we are led to believe. It can be the truth or it can a white lie to promote tourism in this place. How does that matter? I just wanted to visit this place.

I was looking for shared taxis and after a short search found one. You will have to break your journey as finding a taxi to ‘your’ destination can be tiresome. So my 6 hr drive to Rudraprayag started at 6.30 am. All my way, the light green ganges came in different forms, shapes and textures. I saw the river as Ganges, Alaknanda, Mandakini and Bhagirathi. It was a mesmerizing site. You see water gushing down, people do rafting out there. Do camping just a few steps away from the river. Play cricket, drink, do pot and what not.

I had my lunch at Rudraprayag. And saw confluence of 2 rivers below. The water was light gray. Waited for a while and was looking to find a taxi to Ukhimath. Well you know during the winters, Badrinath and Kedarnath are not accessible. So they bring the idol to Ukhimath and then when summer sets in they get the idol back. So Ukhimath was the winter shrine of Badrinath and Kedarnath. And I was headed there. My 3 hour journey was a tumultuous one with rocky roads. And there I saw a glimpse of the snow mountains. Like a kid hiding in the corner and peeping out when a visitor comes and then runs inside. It was an enjoyable site.

Well after reaching Ukhimath, I came to realize with my broken hindi that I might have travelled beyond my destination (Deoria Tal). I had read in sites that I can get buses to Deoria Tal every 30 min from Ukhimath. Only when I came here did I realize that there were only 2 buses. One at 7 in the morning and other at 5 in the evening. Time in my watch was 4 pm. They also told that buses won’t go to Deoria but will stop at a place called Thala. You have to walk for 4 km to head to another small village called Sari and then trek for 2 kms to reach Deoria. I was gasping already.

Attached is the hand drawn map I got from a shop keeper after a lot of brain storming:

Hand drawn map!! This is how I made sense of where I was. 

I didn’t want to wait. So there was another vehicle heading to Thala. And not to Sari. I hopped on to it and headed to Thala. It was a short 20 min drive. They dropped me at a junction and said climb uphill 4 km. You get Sari. I said fine and began my ascent.

I was accompanied by the chirping of birds (no I didn’t think of eating them), purple coloured blossoms, mangrove trees, rocky roads, golden farms below and a mild cool breeze. The events of the past 2 years were playing in my mind and I wondered how things turned up. And I rewinded back a few more years and thought how much I have changed. I have changed a lot since me being a sentimental idiot taking decisions based only on emotions. And so how I view things have changed too.

I stood a while to take a few breaths. I had walked for 20 minutes thinking about myself. I turned to my left and was filled with joy. Not afar I could see the vanilla flavored-choco dipped mountains. I was suddenly reminded of ice creams. They all looked like huge scoops sitting on top of each other waiting to be eaten. With no one to disturb me, I just stood gazing at the mountains. Unadulterated pristine beauty.

You cannot stop at a place for too long and hinder your journey.. So I started walking again. I thought I had covered 2 more kms. The air was getting cooler, the fragrance of flowers was enveloping me and then I saw a small waterfall. A very small one. The elegance of the waterfall made me drink a few drops from it. I refilled my water bottle. I sat in a nearby stone and saw crystal clear water falling into the textured sand. The water got a little muddy but as it kept dripping down and as it gave time to settle, the water became clear again. I could see my face on it. I smiled.

Now there were a few cows to my company, and an old lady to help them graze. I could now see the village. May be 2 more kms. Just then I could hear a car honking at the back. The car stopped and asked me to get in. I did and in 5 minutes I reached the village.

I asked the way for Deoria Tal and asked if tents were available. They had also sent a guide along to carry the tent. I had to carry my bag and also a mat for the tent. It was a 2 hr steep climb. The baggage was getting heavier with every step. I symbolized that with carrying your debts. You reap what you sow. After a 40 min walk, we took a short break. The guide knew only hindi and I had to make sense of it. He showed me some mountain which was about to touch the sky. He said that was Chandrashila – My next destination which is 1 hr climb from Tungnath. Chandrashila means moon rock. I knew why.

We kept climbing up and up. After 2 hrs, reached Deoria Tal. After reaching the top, I could see green grasslands. And my tent will be put up there. I saw the lake. It was green. 

The entry view to Deoria Tal

What stunned me were the mountains. My tent was put right in front of the Himalayan mountains. It was like the mountains were zoomed in to make you see it better. The guide said the left is Yamunotri, this is Gangotri, that is Kedarnath and the last is Madmaheswar. I didn’t talk. I was out of words. I have not seen the mountains this close.

Those family of mountains

I saw that there was only one other group. A group of 4 maybe. I didn’t know who they were. I didn’t mind too. I was just thinking that this is the perfect spot for an artist or a director or a book writer. This is paradise.

The guide left me saying that he will come tomorrow morning and I unpacked my bag in my tiny tent. A tent all for myself. You unzip the tent and you see the vanilla flavored-choco dipped mountains shining at you.

Time was around 6.45 pm. I was all alone. The place was in absolute silence. The weather was getting cold. Still no sound. I have not experienced this much silence from nature. You can experience it if you close your room, switch off everything and sit. That kind of silence. You can hear yourself breathing. Even if a pin falls down, you can say where it fell. That kind of a silence. Such a rare kind coming from nature. I came only for this silence. Nishabd is a better word. I got what I came for.

But the least did I expect was it was making me go mad. I just couldn’t stand there. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t enjoy the mountains, the weather, the snow, the water. That is when I switched on my cell phone and called a few of my friends. Signal was poor but still I spoke for a while.

How long can I keep it going like that?? Time was 7.30 pm and it started getting dark. I had serious questions of how am I going to tackle this? Will I be able to do this? Is there a way out? Wont I like solitude here after?

Time was 8 pm and the other group who were there called me for dinner. And that is when things were about to change. 


Followed by Part 2