“I will never forget the ten minutes which I spent sitting on the one foot ledge in relative solitude gazing at the snow-capped mountains just 200 meters away. I told everyone, “I saw God there.” It was my recent trekking expedition–my third one–in the Himalayas, to a place called Hari Ki Dhun”.
And this statement made by one of the trekkers was not wrong, as you will shortly see.
The place was suggested to me by MalavikaMehra who had designed my first book “In Search of Tranquility.” Her brother Arjan was organizing this Trek and the moment she mentioned it to me, I readily gave my name along with Praveen, my friend and a first-time trekker, who had faith in me taking the right decision for him. There were many new items on the to-do list given by Arjan, and we readied them.
On D-day, we flew to Dehradun and headed straight to nearby Rishikesh for a day’s stay there to have a dip in the Ganges and rest for the night. The next day, we returned to Dehradun airport to join 15 other members of the trekking group.
We drove to a small village called Sankri, near Yamunotri, 10 hrs away, on the winding mountainous road and stayed in a small hotel. Alongside, we befriended each other in the group. There were some elderly people, three teenagers and a few of my age.
Day 1:
After breakfast the next morning, we drove to the starting point of our 12-km long trek, a village called Taluk. Chanting OM three times, we held our walking sticks. I took a Porter for myself. It took me some time to realize that I was in the lap of the mighty Himalayas, my most favourite destination.
The day’s trekking was to be over by 4 in the evening. The day was bright. Unlike my last trek at Gaumukh, I knew in advance that there would be no mobile network now. In a way, it is a blessing to all of us as we would be within ourselves, cut off from the outside world.
We started with gusto. As I started the climb on the rocky terrain, I felt it would take some time to get acclimatized to the high altitude. Each one in the group, some with their Porter, set upon the climb at their own style and speed.
I became familiar with Rajesh, my 20-yr old small-built and skinny Porter who hailed from Uttarkashi. He takes up the porter job during his college holidays. Strangely enough, a mountain dog also accompanied me and the Porter the whole day, though initially, I thought he would go off his way soon. Often, he would walk ahead of us as if to show us the way. I fed him some eggs which I bought from one of the many tuck shops midway, while we had our packed lunch.
It was our first day of trekking and all of us were in full spirit, this being one of the most cherished moments in our lives to enjoy the solitude in the Himalayas. Amid the scenic landscape, we walked past many streams formed from the melting snow, which later merged into the river Yamuna. I munched on a protein bar which I had kept to provide me with much-needed energy.
Back at our camp, we had some hot beverages. We felt nice that the weather caused no issues. It was getting cold now and we put on another layer of clothing. We mingled with others in the group as there was no mobile phone to get engrossed with.
Not used to the tent life, I felt restless for the night and got up very early in the morning.
Day 2:
After breakfast and with the chanting of Om thrice, we set foot for the second-day Trek, which was going to be very difficult as we had to reach an altitude of nearly 3500 meters.
It was a narrow and rocky path, needing caution. By 4 p.m. we reached our camp.
The weather today was not good and we experienced hailstorms and rain on our way, forcing us to put on gloves.
It was very cold, hence we took our dinner fast and retired into our sleeping bags.
Day 3:
The next morning, we found snow all around our tents. The third-day trekking was easy, as we were told, but for me, it was quite tough. The distance to our target point, Har-ki-Dhun, was around 10 km. The place was in a valley and our camp was on the downward slope, towards the Jaundhier glaciers.
By now, we became quite familiar with others in the group and played some games and sang old Hindi film songs. It surprised me that a few non-Hindi people in the group also sang the old melodies quite well.
After having some light snacks and tea, we were invited to go towards the glacier. Three of us accepted the call and began the adventurous climb with our guide Madan. It was a steep and scary climb on a narrow path, enough to hold our feet.
Nervous, I held Madan’s hand very tightly while chanting Om NamahShivay to get the inner strength to negotiate the gradient. We were at 4000 meters altitude and looking down from that point was very scary.
After some time, we came to a huge rock which overlooked the mountains. We had a distant view of the glaciers and the Swargaashram Mountains. The weather not looking very promising, we opted out of the next 3 km stretch of the trek and retreated, thanking Madan with a warm hug for helping me in such a dire situation.
The place is named Hari Ki Dhun as the legend is that one can hear the sound of Damaru, the hand-held instrument of Lord Shiva, here, if you believe in Him. But, I felt as if the Lord had come in the form of Madan to hold my hand in those scary moments.
Back to our tent, we received a warm welcome from others in the group who didn’t join in the adventure. I was thrilled to share my experience. We had dinner and retired to rest in our tent, to which I was now becoming accustomed.
Day 4:
Even continuing to remain cut off from our world, we get a boost from the mountains by forgetting about our family and business. I am left in awe of Mother Nature and its creation all around us. The dog, which we named Timmy, was still with me, sleeping outside the tent. I could sense there was some unspoken and indescribable relationship between both of us.
We had a marathon walk of around 16 km before returning to the camp. A spot on the way had loose soil and was very slippery.
Day 5:
The sun rose around 4:45 a.m. We had a hot breakfast and picked up our packed lunch. With the chant of Om, we left for our final destination. As we descended on the slope, our breathing improved and the very thought of returning to our normal life increased our speed. I stopped frequently to bid goodbye to the mighty Himalayas even as I was gaining confidence in climbing a mountain. On the way, we met a group from Pune, whose leader was an 85-yr old who has been bringing people for the trek for the last 40 years. I find the man the healthiest person. What a level was his grit and determination at this advanced age. The very thought of this man motivates me. We returned to our camp late in the afternoon.
Day 6:
We started early and reached Taluka, just 3 km away, within an hour. From there, we took a cab to reach Dehradun via Sankri. It was the end of the trek. Again, I stayed at Rishikesh for a night and had a few dips in the Ganges. There were umpteen messages and missed calls on my phone. I felt as if those six days were a very long period.
Thanksgiving:
We in the group of 15 chilled quite a lot. Heena gave us some tips on Yoga and Pranayams. Kailash, our team leader, and Hari were always full of enthusiasm and solved all our problems. Hari even helped me slide into the sleeping bag as I was too tall to do it myself. Two teenagers, who participated in all our activities, were missing their digital life. Shanti and Rajshri became very friendly with me as we were the first to finish our trek. Radha and Sofia were always cheerful and fun-loving; Sofia knew my extended family.
Rajashri taught me how to be slow and steady in my trek and not to search around for my teammates. Also, she does not believe in taking photos or videos. When I asked why, she said that others interested in enjoying the mountains and trekking must come and experience it themselves. How true is that! Once you get the taste, you won’t like to miss it.
Shahjahan was a happy-go-lucky man, leaving us in splits very often. Only Heena, his yoga teacher, could tackle him. Shubhash, a senior scientist at ICMR, was very steady in his speed. I miss LathaBhagini, the most courteous and ever-smiling? She was having a time getting her shades back from Praveen. As the Managing trustee of TANKER FOUNDATION, I appreciate her stamina and cheerfulness. Nice to meet you, Bhagini! Dr.Vasumathy and their family were most active at dinner time. Doc, I never knew you had a good collection of old Hindi songs and will not forget your song from the movie GUIDE. Shishir, you were an excellent first-time trekker and I think we would never forget our exploration of the Juandhar Glaciers together. You will agree with me when Rajshri, you, and I with the guide Madan had one of the most thrilling experiences of our lives. Last, I must say my tent partner Praveen although being a first-time trekker fared excellently well and on the last day when he wanted to get connected with the world he was the fastest and the fittest too! I cannot forget the services rendered by my Man Friday Rajesh. I would not have fared well all six days without his support. God Bless him. May his tribe increase!
I must also thank Arjan for organising such a memorable trek. The name of his company–Get Up and Go–is quite apt. I look forward to seeing you again, Arjan. I thank Malavika for introducing me to him.
So, I’m bidding you all goodbye. Stay linked to one another to get inspired. May God bless us.
As the title of my book “In Search of Tranquility” suggests, my search for tranquillity continues with such unforgettable experiences.
