What you seek is seeking you! That could be true only if you are open to seeking and exploring in the first place. The plunge to start a new hobby of trekking imposes on me an implicit responsibility to live upto its stature. With every new adventure, I try to discover knowledge from the surroundings and capture its essence. My recent escapade was to Prasher Lake and the town of Rewalsar with a group like no other. I describe four major highlights of this trek using pages and images…
Stride and slide till the snowline
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| 'Red' carpet |
In thy nature is beauty
In thy nature is pure white earth
In thy nature are origins of my birth & worth
The drive from Mandi to Baggi was one that made us observe night turning into day before we reached the village- the starting point of our trek. We were passing trucks ornated with danglers, hanging cutouts, painted faces, jingles and catchy phrases like ‘13 मेरा, 7 रहे’! The guide, we hired, was a winsome local named Raj who was pleasantly surprised by our preparedness with respect to food, tents etc.
The track was steep, forested and rather rocky with lush red rhododendrons lining the way. Proud of his place of birth, Mr Raj was fastidious in explaining us the classification of trees and the varieties of fruits cultivated in the region. Midway, we did pause for a few snaps and words of appreciation for the serenity around. When the snowline came, we slipped, sloshed and stooped in snow, madly wanting to roll on the floor laughing.
On reaching the Prasher Lake, I dropped my bag and just stood in awe and wonder. The reaction was not one of reaching the destination, but about the pristine and sublime look of the scenery around. I was standing at a height of 9000 feet above sea level with a backdrop of the Dauladhar Ranges. I was reminded of the tales I had read regarding the oval-shaped water body. One of the legends says that after the battle of Kurukshetra, the Pandavas were returning with Lord Kamrunag.
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| Bheem rammed his elbow into the ground and made a crater |
When they reached the mountains, Kamrunag loved the tranquility of the mountains and wanted to settle down there. So Bheem (the strongest of the Pandavas) rammed his elbow on the ground and formed this crater, which later became the lake. Covering a circumference of 1.5 Km, the lake is fed by glacial and rain waters. The most fascinating part of the lake, however, is the floating island at its centre. The island is made of regular landmass and covers 29% of the area while the water content is about 71%. Coincidentally, that is exactly the proportion of land and water on the planet. Adding to this mystery, the island floats across the lake and changes its position around the year.
As the cold misty wind was blowing through my hair, I felt so blessed to have been there. Sending a thank you wish to my parents and all my wellwishers, I knew that a heavenly sight like this is fortune for a few. This makes one wonder if the creator of man and nature is really the same? If nature is so pure, how can man be so convoluted in his frame?
Just then, Blondie showed a video of us falling in the snow one by one. It made me break into hysteria so much that Sam forced me to focus on the maggi that the dhaba cook was preparing for us. I bet the rest of them were saved from public embarrassment the moment I started eating my bowl of maggi. Soon, Blondie, Sam and I went to the antiquated pagoda-structured temple. As a firm believer in spirituality rather than religiosity, I honour these places of worship not just as abode of God but also as vanguards of long drawn historical tales.
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| The temple with tales to tell.. |
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| The mystery of history locked inside |
The local priest said that the temple structure was shaped out of a single Deodar tree and the interiors boasted of intricate wood carvings of animals and serpent. We sat there for a while contemplating chances of having a permanent residence there. This time I realised that treks also help one to absorb all that we have when we are away from it. At this stage of my life, I wouldn’t want to renounce my urban lifestyle and work schedule for a 24-hour nature-abound schedule. But, I sure can’t keep myself aloof by remaining enmeshed in man-machine cornucopia.
At a distance, we saw Jack, Olive and Swee’Pea climb a hill close by to get a better view of the lake. Walking down the same snow trail, we were laughing a lot more, chatting constantly and even thinking of innovative ways to push each other down the snowy slope surface. It was on our way back I remembered that I had forgotten to make snow angels by lying down on the snow. Well, there is always a chance to come again!
Flawless & Faultless stars
In thy nature is wonder
In thy nature is stars to infinity
In thy nature is darkness and serenity
After pitching the tents and freshening up, it was around 6 pm. Here, you don’t need street lights to make the roads visible for the moonlight is sufficient. Someone rightly said, stars are the street lights of eternity. The stars are the ornaments of the sky which the latter loves to rearrange as per its mood (read cloud cover)! Stars make the darkness of the night a moment to be cherished and a scene to be embraced. It’s a blessing that I can’t be grateful enough for. If trekking has an associated adrenaline rush, star gazing has a completely contrasting impact on me. This time, I had resolved to spot atleast 5 constellations with the help of Orion’s position in the sky. Guess what? I did and I shall bring them to you here. Cassiopeia is the queen from Greek mythology who boasted of her unrivalled beauty. This is rather easy to point out because of the characteristic inverted W shape. Gemini, which is also a sunsign are placed right above the Orion. Big Dipper is a pan shaped constellation with the first star being the North Star. Scorpius is hook shaped as it spans the diabolic (in the words of Nissim Ezekiel) tail of the Scorpion. What was the most exciting was to trace the winter triangle formed by the Sirius , Procyon and Betelgeuse. Briefly, Sirius is the brightest star and can be spotted by tracing the Orion’s belt backwards. The Procyon star is one of the stars of Canis Minor(Little Dog) binary constellation and is yellowish-white in appearance. Betelguese is the most prominent star of the Orion constellation marking the arm of the warrior and has a reddish hue.
Rewalsar- a town with the divine crown!
In thy nature is peace
In thy nature are resilient spirits
In thy nature there is so much more to be seen
Rewalsar is a melting pot of cultures - it houses places of worship from three religions (Hinduism, Sikhism and all four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism). There is a parking space right outside the entry gate of Rewalsar town as if to secure it from the beasts of pollution. Entry of vehicles is on payment basis and this monetary charge is a good enough penalty to incentivise tourist and visitors to footslog around the town. On entering, we saw old men sitting and getting ready for their afternoon siesta. While someone was tending to the recently cut hay, a lady could be seen doing embroidery in broad daylight. It seemed like an alternative universe where people are not in any hurry. Who says the rate of growth is an apt indicator of growth? I as a city alien marveled at the constancy and calm in their pace of life without any pause in progress. . The rush to work faster by the hour, cash every minute and utilise every moment started to feel so hollow here. The human settlements have bloomed around the lake which is called Tso Pema (Lotus Lake). While leaning on the railing towards the lake, I felt that the shoal of sacred carp fish was staring at us as if meaning to ask for food. Sam jokingly said they may just be breathing by keeping their mouth open on the water surface. On probing further, I found out that my gut feeling was true. The carp open and close their mouths constantly as they swim and suck in tiny zooplankton and algae. Also, the mouth of the common carp is relatively large and opens in an accordion-like fashion, enabling the fish to dig in the mud of the bottom. There are two pairs of barbels, one pair on the upper lip and the other pair at the corners of the lower lip. They function as feelers to search for food and the pharyngeal teeth serve to grind the consumed food. The common carp has no stomach; therefore the ingested food arriving from the mouth passes directly into the intestine.
Coming back to the town, the magnificent statue of Guru Padma Sambhava could be seen in a cover of mist on the sides and clouds above. For all its grandeur, we were all eager to see the temple up close. Walking on the streets and escaping eye contact with locals, we were soaking in the Buddhist culture which was pervading in almost every element of this town; chiming sounds, scent, scriptures on rocks and walls all around and the maroon drape worn by people on the streets. The demography reminded me of Ladakh where also Vajrayana Buddhism is a prominent sect. On reaching the temple, I noticed that the scintillating complexity in the beauty of colourful carved features, demi-gods and designs cannot be captured on the phone camera. We spotted a monk at a distance and it seemed he was deeply involved in reading the scriptures in his hand. So, we spent some time enjoying the high-rise view of Rewalsar and tried to make a visual memory of the myriad hues and shapes around.
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| The reverberation of the chant |
Tagging along with Sam, I was lost and he seemed to be quizzed by my rare silence. Actually, I was absorbing the rawness of this settlement and feeling ashamed for being so ignorant about the vibrancy of my own culture. So, I would like to point out some unique features I noted. First is a Butter Lamp House- something that I hadn’t heard of before. I knew that ghee is used to burn the diya for a longer period of time but why dedicate a house to it?
Butter lamps, I found out, are a conspicuous feature of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries throughout the Himalayas. The lamps traditionally burn clarified yak butter and for safety, they are restricted to a separate courtyard enclosure with a stone floor. The monks in the monastery manage the actual lamps, taking extreme care to avoid starting one of the devastating fires which have damaged many monasteries over the years. These lamps help to focus the mind and aid meditation. They say, "If you wish for sublime realization, offer hundreds of lights". Second is the same inscription on rocks, bells, gates and prayer wheels seen in different colours and paints. Using the search giant’s repository of information, I found out that the Auṃ maṇi padme hūṃ is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra associated with the bodhisattva of compassion. The first word Aum/Om is a sacred syllable found in Indian religions. The word Mani means "jewel" or "bead", Padme is the "lotus flower" (the Buddhist sacred flower), and Hum represents the spirit of enlightenment.
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| Butter lamps have a house! |
After a tour of the town, Jack chose a place for us to take a quick bite. We ordered momos and thukpa- which is a dish of noodles in soup rather than soupy noodles, as many people like to believe. The Tibetan comfort food was ideal for a Sunday lunch. We didn’t imagine it to be so filling so we had to pass around the dish many times before all of us felt our stomachs about to burst. Blondie was given credit for avoiding it from going waste as our limits for eating came a little before his. Amidst this entire din, we were rather pensive for the trip was coming to a close.
New faces, new places
In thy nature is surprise
In thy nature a mystery untold
In thy nature are children with hearts of gold!
Olive, Jack, Blondie, Sam, me, Manish and Swee'Pea
This trek was particularly different because of the people in our group. Each of us were very different yet, we shared a warm camaraderie.
Sam, a guy who looks rather bold in his pictures is infact quite a sensitive young man. Our introduction was him running towards the bus and I running away from it. In such a scenario, we both were just wishing that the bus driver feels an urgent nature’s call. Since we travelled together in the bus, I can say with conviction that he loves to connect with people. Fortunately, our journey was very enjoyable as we talked and chatted about life in general and our respective Stephanian tales.
Blondie, who works as an engineer in the construction sector, is a unique combination of wit and cheekiness.A guy who doesn’t want to live in India for long, he still appreciates the variety of Indian culture. He even got me caught onto one of those and I have been waking up to that one song in the past week! His firm belief against ghost stories was slightly shaken by Jack’s convincing narrative of ‘Vatnasayam’(a privilege for some who come with the Trekkers Stoppe).
Jack, our hillybilly, is an evergreen leader and Spartan lover. Irrespective of terrain and weather, he is one person who is completely at ease in the mountains. What may seem like a trouble to others is just a challenge to him which he accepts with all humility. One of the instances I can recall is when our car was stuck in a snow-covered motorable road. When the driver tried to reverse it, the tyre was only splashing snow around but the car wasn’t moving. I was scared that the car might skid and fall off the cliff. I saw Jack completely in control and urged us to push the car. It is therefore no wonder that he gave the idea of Trekkers Stoppe a life and spirit of its own!
Olive, a lady of few spoken words yet outspoken, is fun to have around. In the night, our guard dogs were barking either because of their doggy fight or at the sight of a ferocious wild animal nearby. Olive, in her drowsy self, shouted out, “Aoon kya bahar? (Shall I come outside to tell you to shut up?)”. I lay awake trying to control my laughter at her gutsy threat!
Manish, a soldier by heart, seemed to be the quietest and calm person in our group. For the bonfire in the night, we couldn’t find dry wood close by so he went very far to find it. So, it is only because of Manish’s proactiveness that we had a bonfire session in the night. None of us missed his team spirit as he was lending a hand to the person lagging behind and walking at his/her pace.
Swee’Pea, a childhood friend of Olive, was a new addition this time. Despite having a limited conversation, I figured that she is a fun-loving girl who liked to sing along with the slow romantic songs. It felt that she would do great on a karaoke night for she already knew most lyrics by heart. She is also a maggi making expert and knows exactly how much water is needed and when to take it off the stove.
In just these 48 hours, I had collected memories out of minutes and made friends out of strangers. For all those moments I have etched in my mind, I have come to the conclusion that one receives far more than one seeks in every walk with nature. With the image of the sunlight forming the halo effect, I await my next call from the mountains!
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