Ghushmesham Cha Shivalaye
It has been quite a long time indeed since I wrote anything on my blog. And the reason is this. I was away for 13 days, out of which I spent nine full days and nights wandering in the Himalayan mountains. All my planning stopped with New Delhi. From there on, my silent sojourn was plan-free. No schedules. No particular focus on seeing or doing something. But just taking it as it came along.
Taking things as it came by, I went alone jumping in and out of public buses, travelling on road for a whole day at a stretch, flowing from place to place and experiencing the expansive bliss of all that I saw along the way.
The spark began when my friend dangled a tour schedule book of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, Uttaranchal Tourism. I was truly inspired by the mere names of Badrinath, Kedar Nath, Adi Kailash, Manasarovar, Kailash and anything that had to do with the Himalayas. I immediately began to check out the tour possibilities and found that I could make it for the New Delhi - Badrinath - Kedarnath one. I checked out with the GMVN and was disappointed when on all the days that were possible for me, there was no quorum to conduct the tour.
I saw some light and I decided to go it alone. And right from the time I landed at the New Delhi Airport, till I returned after the nine days of Navaratri to the same place, the whole process was happening as if on some great divine master plan.
At the end of it all I discovered, it is not just during the nine days that such a plan is operative, but through all the time that has gone by, and all the time that is yet to come.
And so I am here, sharing my experiences and photos with you, through this blog.
The picture in this post is the vimana of the Jyotirlinga Temple of Kedarnath, accessible at the end of a 14 kilometre trek from Gaurikund. In the background are the mountain peaks glowing like gold in the morning sun.
