Kheerganga - A True Story 

Someone had told us (I don't know who was that person, but thank you buddy) not to go to Kasol, as it is too mainstream. Instead go for Chalal or Rasol, which is another 30-40 minutes from here on a trail. Alright, done. We parked the car somewhere (on the road itself, another Mistake) and now we wanted to go to Chalal because (#wanderlust). We didn't know the way, there were no lights, no guide, no signboards but no, adamant. Somehow, after battling with lots of bushes, dogs (???) and wrong-turns, we managed to reach Chalal, somehow, starving. Thanks to contact of an acquaintance, we had a room for us at somebody's home (Homestay is the best thing you will ever experience in your life). But I personally do not prefer prior bookings, I don't know why I believe that we will always get a place to stay no matter what time of the day/night is it. It is my personal belief (or I should say superstition) that has, till date never betrayed me. There is always a story waiting for us to live, everywhere we go.

We had not planned any further. I don't know why. It was one of the best day of our lives. We just wanted to go on road trip, what we will we do after reaching our destination, that we had not decided. So, lets make it memorable. Now we had to do something to make it memorable, so lets light a FIRE. Wow, amazing plan. It was about 2130 hrs, freezing cold, mist in the air and nil visibility. But no, instead of siting cozily in the quilts and enjoying, we wanted to light the fire. Luckily, the house owner gave us a log of wood (paid) and after using our Man Vs Wild skills (thank you Bear), we lighted a bonfire. It was a moment of achievement, you have to give it to us. While we were sitting around the fire and laughing on the same jokes we had been laughing upon throughout the day, the third character of the story entered the stage. Let's call her IG.

IG was a solo traveller. It was the first time in my life I was meeting a solo traveller. I had only seen solo travellers on Instagram, watched their videos and read their stories. But this was the first time I was meeting one in person. I just wanted to observe how does a solo traveller look like. She came and asked can I join you guys (why will we have a problem). For one, I did not know how to talk to girls. It was a new thing for me. So I tried not to appear as creepy and remained cool. I do not remember what we spoke about that night. Soon, the fire was extinguished and we rushed to our rooms before we start freezing.

At around 1900, it was pitch dark and cold wind was howling through trees, we were almost halfway up. There was a small shop, in a small hut. That guy was kind enough to make maggi for us and frightening us even more- he told there are wild waterfalls on the way which have caused landslides at many places. Exactly, thank you friend, that were the words we needed the most that time (sarcasm). If that guy wouldn't have told us, heartbeat would have been under control. Now we had two choices - climb down and surely reach safe place, or continue moving up to an indefinite distance in the jungle and maybe you will reach (safely) before every soul has slept there. And guess what we did.

That was one of the most daring decisions we took then. Going back wasn't an option at all. If the difficulty level isn't 5, there isn't any fun in the game. (Don't take any notes please). Immediately we held an ops meeting and came into column formation. I was in the lead, DK was guarding from the rear end (incase of any attack, he'll take care). IG was walking in the middle. We all were in possession of a small stick each, just in case. Orders were clear - retaliate immediately when attacked. Gather some courage and hit it in the nose. (It could be anything). Everything was under control and we were slowly walking towards our ultimate aim. So far so good.

But not for long. Suddenly, reality hit us. Our phone batteries were running out and we had absolutely no idea how much more we had to climb. Anticipating total power failure in the near future, I switched off my phone's flashlight and made room for the natural source of light - moonlight. I am comfortable with it and even more than I am in torchlight (all those who think otherwise please try this out - walk into a jungle and switch off torch light. You will see the jungle better and with better vision. Plus you will enhance your night vision.). But it costed us. Both DK and me slipped at a landslide and DK broke his phone screen on a rock. It was shattered. See, anticipation. But now that we were committed to a track, there was no going back. We will make that climb tonight, come what may. I think that night was written down before only. So many things do not happen just like that.

I must admit, as we were walking that narrow trail, all of my sense organs were on top of their alertness level, I was trying to remain calm. I didn't want the other two to get scared because of me. We were in the actual jungle, away from our comfort zone. We did not belong there and were trespassers . As a precautionary measure, all of us were carrying a wooden stick to be used both as a weapon and climbing assistant. Everything would have been OK had those dogs not started barking. I did not dare to look behind and count how many dogs were there (they were easily more than 5, going by the amount of barking). These dogs have been tailing us since long and hadn't caused any trouble till now (mountain dogs are very friendly). I am very confident while handling dogs never had I handled such big dogs. They had thick fur. And they were growling on us. Our weapons were armed and manning was in the highest state of readiness. Action stations (General Quarters) were closed up. Intent was clear - hit hard (because we had only one shot), then keep on hitting. We did not stop and kept moving straight - slowly. And they kept following us, barking increasing as they were closing on us.

As if that much barking wasn't enough for us to shit bricks, another dog-gang arrived at the spot. These 5 dogs were even bulkier than the previous 5, almost like wolves. Oh God why did we climb up today?? Why didn't we listen to the advice of that noble Godly man and stayed there for the night? Now suffer. Now become #wanderlust. Please start praying to all your Gods now. Hope anyone of them is awake and listens to you. Moments like these makes you realise the value of generating luck. Please God, save us today, won't repeat the same mistake again.

I think our Gods listened to our prayers. As it turned out, those dogs who were tailing us weren't barking on us, they were barking on the newer Gang because apparently (it is 100% true) we were crossing the DIBL (Dog International Border Line) and entering the territory of a different group. Dogs do follow their Border system very religiously. When the gang-war was on, we three were just hoping that they do not involve us into the conflict. We had no match for their weapons (paws and teeth). There are a few moments in life when we suddenly turn towards God for help because we know, no-one else will . This was one such moment.

I do not remember for how long we were there. Time had suddenly became very slow, each passing minute appeared as if an hour had passed. We were absolutely frightened to the core, but had the matters worsen that day, we would have learnt a new survival skill (Thank your Bear). There were some heated arguments and exchange of curses in doggo-language, followed by fierce prowess display. Thereafter, I think they came to some conclusion and ceasefire was ordered. They left the battlefield after like 15 minutes (~15 hours for us) and then we rose, firmly adjusted out weapons and continued towards the destination. We had just witnessed an actual dog-fight, in which we could have been sandwiched. The dogs had just vanished, their growling slowly fading away leaving behind dead silence of the forest which was intermittently disturbed by the sound of winds hustling.

We managed to reach the top at around 2200 hrs. As per my superstition, we had not booked any tent, because we knew we'll get it. And we got it. A small group of 4 was sitting there, across a bonfire. We joined them. The first thing they said was 'your'e lucky you did not encounter bears'. Come on buddy, we had just managed to skirt through a wild dogfight, do not frighten us more. We had some meaningless conversation, ate some food and went off to sleep. What if I tell you - DK and me slept on a single mattress with 5 quilts joined together. The tent was kept warm with the help of Bukhari which had created clouds of CO smoke inside the tent. It was a total recipe of suffocation, but luckily nothing happened to us. I wonder localites' lungs are used to all the carbon monoxide. IG took her single tent and slept off.

We woke up at around 0900 and then slept some more. Some leg muscles needed stretching after last night #khatron_ke_khiladi live episode (or maybe it was frozen at night due to extreme cold). I saw the tent owner heating a water pipe using fire. When asked, he replied that water has frozen into these pipes and will require heating to make that water usable. But we were looking for something else. Where is that White water which is so famous? Where is that Shiv Mandir about which everyone talks about? That guy showed us a way, told us to continue walking. It wasn't very far.

Kheerganga is the place where God Meditates. This was constructed by Lord Shiva for Mata Parvati to take bath in hot water in this bone chilling weather. This place had a small cave on a hill top which is said to be abode of Lord Kartikeya (Son of Lord Shiva) to scout the surrounding so that nobody enters the area while Mata Parvati was taking bath. In the ancient times, there used to be flow of Kheer from this kund, hence the name Kheerganga. Later, to prevent the conflict between men for the sweet kheer, Lord Parshuram converted the kheer into water, but the name stayed. It is said that the water has excellent healing capabilities and can cure all illness (also all your sins). We stayed in the water for good 30 minutes (I am all sin-free now). There is a separate space for ladies, so no worries.

It was the last day of our trip and we had to reach home tonight. Afterall, all good things have to come to an end. We descended slowly and reached the base- from where it all started. We had developed so great bonding with IG that it did not even appear that we only met yesterday. But everyone has to go right? After a funny adventurous final episode where I (accidentally) locked the car with keys inside, we took a final photograph, after which I knew we will never meet again.

We reached home at 0300 hrs. Renewed, refreshed, better than we left. It took 2 more days to catch up on sleep and body pain. Today, even after more than 4 years, that night can still run a chill down our spines. DK bro, you did a fantastic job that night. IG, we have to give that to you, for your bravery. You taught me lot of good things. Overall, a life changing experience. Lessons learnt. I now know there is a wild world parallel to us about which we had no idea, where human being is not the king, where neither money nor fame can help you. You have to believe and act upon your instincts. If you couldn't take quick decisions, you will not be able to survive.

Until next time. Awaiting next adventure.

Please do mention in the comment section if at all you did not understand any part of the story.

Take Care.

Happy travelling.

Thanks for investing your time.

PS. I do have a YouTube channel where I and my friend PS do post some of our travel videos at times. Do check out, you might find something of PEACE there. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiiQodZTAKR-7D4bP5POhnA