Wanderlust

Long Lectures… perpetual projects and presentations… quibbling quizzes and endless exams and in between a sneak to the pristine beauty of Himalayas… truly a rewarding experience! The adventure was totally an impulse trip, where we five left the toils of MBA life for experiencing adrenaline rush in the veins and in just few hours, we were on the track for the trek in Uttaranchal with rucksack on our backs. Well, I believe, best of the experiences in the life are unplanned, when you follow your heart’s instincts rather than just pure logic.

After nearly 21 hours of road journey through serpentine trails between thread of peaks, reaching Joshimath was an enthralling experience in itself. There after, the hike to Ghangharia (this is the place, where the paths to Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Saheb are bifurcated) started and so did the exploration of alluring exquisiteness of Garhwal and many ‘less travelled’ points, where we trekked downhill and uphill through slippery rocks and thorny bushes to see unalloyed madness of waves of river Alaknanda at her adolescence. Reaching Hemkund Saheb was definitely strenuous, but nevertheless the serenity of the shrine adorned by the necklace of flurry White Mountains covered with snow and clouds was something which mesmerized us forgetting the hustles of arduous expedition. The Gurudwara and the Sarovar in front of it at nearly 4400 feet altitude was incredible objet d'art erected by the devotees.

On the way back to Ghangharia, we went to the Valley of Flowers. Despite it was autumn and not the appropriate season to visit it, its pale flora in the basin was giving a beguiling touch of tranquil melancholy. And the flowerless, yet exquisite ‘Phoolon ki Ghati’ made us in awe about its splendor in the rains.

Other destination, we visited was Badrinath, the Shrine of Lord Vishnu, which is one of the Char Dham of Hindu religion. Colorful and vibrant architecture of the temple has very much similarity with that of Buddhist Monasteries. The Neelkanth Parvat after sunrise had captivating view as even the whole valley was shrouded in darkness; the peak was the first one to be ushered by the white light of sun in early morning and was dazzling like a gemstone.

The last destination, we travelled was Mana village, which is at around 3 km distance from Badrinath and is the last village of India (or first village, depends on the side you are looking from). The scenery there reminded me of the perfect scenary; we used to sketch in our drawing classes in primary schools – the partly snow clad and partly green range of mountains gleaming in pristine glory, the river emanating from the middle… clouds ready to the cover the terrain and a small village with small huts inhabited with local people and fauna. This was one place, no matter how much I make an effort; I cannot put the words on the paper. One has to visit it to understand, what I mean. At Mana, lasted our escapades into the Garhwal.

They say that life is a journey and the places we go are various stations, where we meet so many people to carve new memories while holding old ones. And perhaps travelling is the best way, where one can learn something which cannot be imparted in any educational institute. Meeting and observing so many people, whose upbringing, culture and values are completely different from us and yet they are the part of the same Indian Diaspora was indeed one of the most enriching experiences I had. They breathe in the place so much far from what we call ‘modern civilization’, but they are so immersed in doing the ordinaries of life and yet they are more content and blissful than most of us. The melody of silence, one enjoys there gives such an ecstasy to the inner soul, which can give any music band a run for its money. However, I feel the diversity of the sublime landscapes, we visited, their smooth and steep curves and their colourful and sepia costumes were a just trailer of exotic and sumptuous aesthetics, Indians are blessed with. Incredible India indeed!