Come! resonate with my moments - A cup of tea with Bineshwar Sadhu.

Deep in the woods, inside a one room concrete house with tinned roof, tea is boiling in a clay  oven. It is dark and cold inside the room in the month of October. We are at an altitude of 2480 metres above sea level surrounded by rhododendrons, deodars, cedars and pines. We sit outside on the stone steps in front of the humble quarter of a Sadhu who live here all by himself . The branches of deodars above us soulfully sway welcoming us to Bineshwar Mahadev's home, the name from which "Binsar" got its name. Within minutes he brings the aluminium kettle outside and pours the steaming liquid in four cups. He insists we have glucose biscuits, a request we cannot turn down. Cheerfully he passes on the cups to each one of us. The steam gives us warmth to cold bare skin of our palms. Squatting before us holding cup in his hand he sips his tea and so do we. Birds and cicadas both seem to match striking notes in symphony. Dense forest lay beyond us. It is pleasant cold and through the needles of pines we spot both sun and cloud trying to steal the day. The man is happy to have sun rays, his source of fuel. On cloudy days the solar panels installed in the temple premise would deceive him and it is worse during rains for he struggles hard to manage fuel for cooking. The tea evokes an earthly aroma which hangs on to our senses for long. We relish both the tea and his company....and this lasts forever....the memory!

Honestly, I don't remember his name but I remember the happy and content soul distinctly. A hermit living in solitude at Bineshwar Mahadev Temple at Binsar, Pauri Garhwal Himalaya in the district of Uttarakhand. He wears a hearty smile on his wrinkled face. Bineshwar temple falls on the way to Binsar wildlife Sanctuary. A search in google about the ancient Bineshwar Mahadev Temple will tell you its historical significance. At that point of time the tangency of the ancient rock temple, the wilderness all around, the gentle stream gurgling past us and the solitary hermit seemed ethereal. Quite unaware, we spotted the temple when we were climbing downhill while returning from Binsar wildlife sanctuary. The temple is nestled in a valley surrounded by deep forests of birch and cedars. A narrow paved road we discovered led us to its premises. We were looking for a place to relax and we found it just at the right juncture. Bineshwar Mahadev as the name goes, the local deity rested in the "garbhagriha". The sadhu who served us with tea is the soul "pujari" who lived in the premise is the keeper of the place. After we offered our prayers he offered us tea. We hesitated at first not wanting to bother him but at his repeated requests we gladly agreed. He took us around and and we discovered how the overwhelming nature enveloped the place with a spiritual fervour. Where everything merged - wild fragrance exuded by the ferns, the deep green mosses on the damp stones, the narrow slender stream that cascaded down with little force from the hills  flowing next to the temple ,the smell of the tea that he served us out of sheer warmth and the far spreading branches of the gigantic trees secluding the temple where time stood still for us for few moments. Sadhu was happy to have us. He spoke to us about his harsh life at the behest of nature. A nomadic Sadhu, he travels on foot from one corner to the other and his next plans for his onward journey to Varanasi in harsh winters of December. Cheerfully he moved around with us letting my children dip their hands and feets in the stream as he told tales of saints and mystics which left us awed and amused at the same time. Swearing in the name of Mahadev, he showered blessings on us besides leaving deep within us warmth of his hospitality . He had no expectations from us and nor he requested. While he stood at the courtyard, we crossed the ankle deep stream and climbed uphill to find a lush green meadow. The children were joyous to keep rolling down the hills and play with the pebbles in the stream. The cold water not seem to deter them. By then the little ones had discovered their own paradise and had opened their wings wide not ready to return. And we sat under a deodar breathing the entirety of the place. The roof above us was bright blue. As we looked further the spiral roads down the hill took twists and turns alongside the pine groves. It was inexplicable what brought us here. Probably unknowingly we were destined to visit this ancient rock temple of 16th century A.D. built by the king of Chand dynasty. The healing aura of the place internalized in me  as I gripped a fistful of grass in the ground. I released them. My palms smelt of mountain soil. I pondered who could be happier than this solitary Sadhu living in the lap of nature who receives wayfarers with open arms, comforts them and bids them goodbye never to meet them again. With no expectations no regrets life is conditioned as it is. Soon the fast moving hands of our watch let us know the world we left behind and we are due to return.

I took time to get over the time spent. Nonetheless I moved ahead realising that nature is the greatest pilgrimage bringing us few steps closer to the God, we seek within. So, next time when you visit Binsar in Uttarakhand do not miss Bineshwar Mahadev temple on the way to Binsar wildlife sanctuary.   

P.S. I clicked him with his permission and he happily posed. 😊