Breath taking Moments - Travelogue-ories...

Breath taking Moments - Travelogue-ories.

Summer of 94 - The month of June, when the Himalayan shrines of Badri and Kedar open up and the ice and snow melt down to flow, as the graceful and divine Ganges, with many a persona down its course, we were on our way to Kedarnath from Rudra Prayag. It was a stormy night and after the hectic trip to badri, 10 of us adults and children bundled up in one jeep, should we go ahead?
I said yes...like Steve Jobs,founder CEO of Apple, mentions at the 2005 Stanford commencement speech(available on You tube), "the dots will connect , but only at a later date."I knew this was it or the Universe knew and wanted me to have this one moment in life that took my breath away.
So we all went ahead - 6 adults (parents), one post teen (me), one teen, one school girl and a little kid. We drove up to the foothill of the path, leading to the holy shrine of Kedarnath, an abode of one of the 12 Jyotirlingas, personifying Lord Shiva.
Gauri kund housed a hot-spring and from there on started a 14 km trek that would take us up to our destination. There were palki bearers,who would carry people up and ponies with guides , that could also carry people up. We decided to get the moms up on ponies and the rest of us trek up.
Muddy, stony and rugged pathways, strewn with petite shops filled with eatables and other necessities, was the scene along this route. All along, on the sides were small, pink, snake-head like flowers - which my mom said that she had only seen here and giving respect to the Lord of this journey Lord Shiva - we all chanted Om Namah Shivaya - to lighten our journey and go along with the throng.

The steep slopes looked dangerous when we peeked now and then, all along our ascent. After about 4 hours, we quit the long and winding road, to follow energetic backpackers and young adults to trek across the slope of the mountain. It was tricky, but doable.

For the last stretch, I had to resort to a pony ride to accompany one of younger kids, who could not walk anymore and was scared to go alone on the pony. So that was a breather and I could see my fellow travelers and was amazed to see people of varying ages and nationalities on this route. I saw an old lady, around 70+ making her way up, with a small sack. In days past, people who were at the last leg of their lives took these trips, to submit themselves to the highest,having fulfilled all their responsiblities. It was part of the Indian, hindu way of life.

We all met at the top. The trekkers took the longest - 7 hours. No modern mode of transportation was seen. Crystal clear, fresh, crisp cool mountain air welcomed us. Unpolluted and untouched by anything unnatural or should I say man-made.

The gentle gushing of the Mandakini river, which was deep emerald green, owing to the rich vegetation of the land, feasted our eyes and sang into our ears. We rushed towards the temple as the sun retired from the sky and had darshan of the renowned Jyotirlinga that adorned Kedarnath.

On KEDARNATH - legend and history...
Kedar is another name of Lord Shiva the protector and the destroyer. Shiva, is considered the embodiment of all passions-love, hatred, fear, death and mysticism which are expressed through his various forms.
According to legend, the place came into being during the period when the five Pandavas brothers were asked to seek Shiva's blessings purging them of the sin of killing their cousins. Lord Shiva unwilling to give darshans to the Pandavas frled Kashi to live incognito in Guptkashi, where eventually he was detected by the Pandavas. While fleeing Shiva took refuge at Kedarnath in the form of a bull and started to plunge underground when he was spotted by the Pandavas. He dived into the ground, leaving behind his hump on the surface. No wonder the natural rock formation that is worshiped here resembles the hump of a bull. Thus Shiva pleased with the determination of the Pandavas, exonerated them from their sin, gave them darshan & bestowed upon them the opportunity to worship his hump.
The other four places where Shiva is worshiped take their appearance from different parts of his body -the naval at Madmaheshwar, the arms at Tungnath, the face at Rudranath, and the matted hair at Kalpeshwar. The latter four along with Kedarnath are known as the Panch Kedars.

Very unlike the south shrines the north Indian mandirs are quite informal and give more importance to bhakthi and informality in prayer. As we went in hearing the legend and had darshan of the jyotirlinga, really looking like a hump, we walked out, in awe of an inscription of AdhiShankara's visit to this shrine. This great Guru had traveled far and wide, all along the Indian subcontinent, establishing, recognizing and glorifying many a shrine.

The priest of temple, was briskly moving all along the perimeter, applying the sacred ash , vibhuti, on everyone's forehead very devoutly. So we were all taken care of by the Lord here. We rushed to find our night halt spot and found a couple of rooms in a small boarding house. We had dinner, some rotis and dhall.

As we retired,oblivious of the outside and all tired to the marrow of our bone, we were thankful to house 6/7 of us in the 12ft/10ft room. Our bodies served to warm us. I slipped into blissful sleep, amidst the snow-clad mountain peaks in the heart of the Himalayas, filled with all natural splendour, breathing in the clean, heavenly air. I was gently awakened by my fathers' soothing voice, calling on me to wake up and come outside. I reluctantly left my cozy blanket, only to be transported into the silent, yet stunning show of the heavens. My father nudged and made me look up and I saw millions and billions of glittering stars, nay priceless diamonds in the sky and the black space lost in them. That was a star studded night and along with the the snow-clad mountains surrounding us, stood as witness to the glory of the heavens above and we could feel the divine presence of the Lord Shiva and Parvathi residing amidst them. It was THE moment that took my breath away. And even today I long to have my children and husband share that experience and we will.