In olden times, it was a challenge to complete the four dhams of India, you had to travel on foot for miles to complete the pilgrimage. Even now a days with all the ease in travel, it still remains a challenge even for the most religious of people but it's a different kind of challenge, the challenge of taking out time from your "busy lives" and travel. For me it's all about prioritising and planning; using your leaves judiciously, spending your money wisely. I agree travel can be excruciatingly tiring at times, of all the dhams none more than the northern Dham of India - Badrinath.
To read about my journey to the four dhams of India, click here.
It's been nearly 7 and a 1/2 years since that journey. My cousin, my maternal aunt and uncle were visiting from Mumbai specially to complete the Northern Dham. Only two things were fixed before the trip, one we had to return in five days which is a challenge in itself and number two the car we were travelling in. Everything else was left to fate.
The bubble burst and we took the nearest one when angers flared. We didn't get out of our rooms that day. We spent the day recovering from the toll our bodies had undertaken and acclimatising to the weather.
A company of 7,(excluding the driver) left for one of the hardest journeys all of us folks had undertaken.
The concept of having successful long journeys is that you don't take stoppages on your way to your destination, you halt on your way back.
My mother did understand the concept but my cousin didn't.
He wanted to go for white water river rafting, it was all that we heard as we approached Rishikesh. In the end, sanity prevailed.
The first day we stopped at a place having the same name as one of the most scenic locations in India- Srinagar.
Day 2 was going to be the testing day, hailing from the southern part of India my cousin and my maternal uncle had little idea of the challenges the mountains possess - the curves that you have to encounter on the mountain roads, the cold that you have to face even in the summers, the altitude gains that you have to make. Sickness hit the two and this resulted in frustration settling in.
The majestic mountains, didn't excite the two anymore. The tipping point was when we had to take multiple sharp curves to complete a 12 km journey in 1 1/2 hours and gain high altitudes to finally reach our destination.
Excitement could not be seen in the two of them and it got transferred to us as well. We had to search for a decent hotel in the chilly weather and the crowded place meant we weren't able to find one.
There is a reason I haven't described the places yet, we didn't observe the beauty really. The next day we did and hence the description follows. The garhwal belt presents a mystery in every region, there is a subtle difference that could be seen if you are willing to observe. The morning gave us a pleasant surprise to us presented in the form of having a visual of sunlight shining on the solitaire high mountain.
Badrinath mandir has a wonderful background to go with its wondrous architecture. Thousands make a visit each year overcoming all obstacles to come to this place. The mandir itself is the smallest of the four dhams but in no way less significant.
Badrinath is close to the Chinese Border and that is where we went next.
Time was short on our hands so we made our way back in the afternoon. The night stay was at Rudraprayag, where the confluence of alaknanda and mandakini takes place.
Rafting was what we did do on the last day and my cousin did finally understand why it was important to reach what we came for first. After a series of hardships that we went through, we finally made it back.
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