Following Yamuna to its Source – A Road Trip….Part 3

02 July 2011

After giving a lot of thought and upon discussion with the shopkeeper we decided to hire horses and move all the way to Yamunotri that evening itself. The next task was to find someone who’s willing to take us there. The shopkeeper extended his help in this as well and arranged for the same. After all the drama and the negotiations, we agreed on paying him Rs. 900/- for taking both of us to Yamunotri. The distance was approximately 7 km from that point (please don’t go by the sign boards which indicates it to be 5 km) and as told the path was steep as we were going to climb from 8451 feet to 10,809 feet. We bought the ponchos as rain was a certain possibility along the way and at around 4.30 pm we began the final part of our  journey to the source of Yamuna – Yamunotri….

Yamunotri

The camera was in the bag, the mobile was wrapped in a plastic sheet tucked inside the pocket to protect it from the rain, so no pic for the journey from Janaki Chatti to Yamunotri.

The path was well laid and cemented and as we were moving up the cloud cover was increasing. Along the way i saw a number of devotees, all on there way down to Janaki Chatti and most of them looking at us with a question which i suppose must be running in there mind ” Pagal ho gaye ho kya, iss time pe upar kyun jaa rahe ho? ( Are you both mad? Why are you going up at this hour? )” Not me even Adhiraaj noticed the same thing and rightly so because we were the only one’s going up at that time while everyone else were returning back. Not that i care off but i had certain doubt’s in my mind of what would be in store for us up there. Well, Let’s see…

Our place of stay...Yamunotri...

The path was steep and because of the rain and the horse feces, it was slippery. The views all along must have been spectacular, i guess as i don’t have any idea because of the low visibility due to the cloud cover. Soon, we were admist the clouds, slowly making our way up on an empty path. It was around 7 pm and we were still 1.5 km away and the intensity of the rain was increasing. Soon after, the person carrying the horses told us to get down citing that we were in the proximity of the temple and he can’t go further as the horses were not allowed from that point on. Fine, We paid him the money and he hurried of back to Janaki Chatti. As for us, we moved forward only to find that he tricked us as i could see the horses feces further up the way. We walked around for 400-500 mtrs admist the clouds, in the rain, feeling the nip, the freshness in the air and finally made our way to Yamunotri.

Early in the morning - Yamunotri

Because of the clouds and the rain, the temple was not visible. Our first mission was to find a place to stay and as we moved on the right, we saw a person coming out of the tent below and asking us “Room?” As simple it sound’s, the room he showed us was good enough and the price was Rs. 150/- only. There was no need to search further and we settled there only. As we made our way in we told him to bring us Tea and Maggi. With the passing time the rain was getting heavier and the temperature was decreasing. Maggi and the tea is the best that you can have in the hills, that too when the temperature is down and it’s raining heavily and i kind of was missing this for a long time. In no time we finished the maggi and told the caretaker to bring us the dinner by the 9 pm (9 pm is the last by when they will cook you food) from the limited menu that he offered i.e ‘Aloo prantha and Aloo Mutter’ with no garlic and onion as the use of both is not allowed in Yamunotri.

Bandar Poonch Parvat

Tired of the day’s event we were soon asleep wrapped under the heavy blankets. Well, i have no memory of falling asleep but i do remember waking up an hour later i.e around 9pm to the noise of someone knocking the door. It was annoying, at first i thought of it as a dream that was going on showing me the exact same room and a person knocking on the door and i am trying to get him off from there, trying to tell him to stop but then the noise was getting louder and i was forced to open my eyes only to realize that my dream was the reality. Unwillingly i stepped out in the cold and opened the door to receive the dinner and the tea as we ordered. I was in no mood to eat but then in order to take the medicine it was necessary too. I woke up Adhiraaj from his virtual world and handed his plate to him. I was sleepy and i ate what i could, took the medicine and closed my eyes…..

The way to the Yamunotri Temple

A peek from the market on the way...

03 July 2011

To say i am not a morning person, i know how difficult it is for me to get up every morning and get ready to go to office. The sound of alarm trying after every 15 mins and me turning it off and going back to sleep is a daily routine. But not in the hills, somehow i love being up early and that too without the help of the alarm. Here too, even before the alarm was supposed to go off, i was up and it was around 6 a.m. I could feel the pain in my body but as i ventured out of the room all my pain was vanished and now i could feel the springs attached to my feet. I had a clear view of the surroundings, though it was cloudy but not at the ground level. I quickly went inside, woke up sleepy Adhiraaj – ” Yes, The same culprit again doing the same thing ” and got ready. And soon after i was out with my camera to capture the essence of that beautiful morning….

Kalind Mountain - You can also see the Champasar Glacier. The actual source of river Yamuna...

Can't get pure than this...Making its way down...

Flowing by the boundry of the temple...

Making its way down to become an integral part of the billion lives...

The concern....

The temple was just few meters away and i told Adhiraaj to find me there once he’s up and ready. I passed along the narrow path going towards the temple lined up with shops on both sides with shopkeepers busy setting up and preparing sweets to began the day’s work. I crossed the bridge along leading me to the temple premises. To say, there was no rush, not a single person apart from the sadhu’s and the shopkeepers residing there in the summer months. I happily clicked all my way to the entrance of the temple.

on my way to the temple...

on the way to the temple...

Guari Kund - Hot water spring, Yamunotri

Surya Kund, Divya Shila - Yamunotri...

A peek behind...

Closing in...

I couldn’t imagine what it would be like in the peak months of May and June or latter in the afternoon but for now i was the only one inside the temple. To say ‘history was repeating itself’ as the same thing happened to me in Badrinath last year when i was standing alone in the temple and had a great darshan.

As i was inside the shrine in the presence of the deity, the time was magical. I offered my prayers and then had a small chat with the priest sitting inside, who also gave me the prasad from the morning aarti and soon after Adhiraaj also followed in….

Yamunotri Temple

Contd…..