Hilly Adventures

 

As a part of our IVth Semester of Masters program, we were to visit Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Tata Institute of fundamental Sciences, ACTREC and NCCS in Bombay and Pune. We were all pretty excited, partly because we were going to visit centres of such intellectual excellence and partly because the trip included one day excursion at the exotic Elephanta Island!. However, a night before we were to leave, we heard about the mayhem caused by some deviated souls in Bombay and in awake of this mad show of violence, the academic trip to Bombay was postponed. Sadness gripped us and our hearts went out to those who lost their near and dear ones.

 

Upset though we were, eight of us decided to go for a small trip in hills nearby as our IIIrd semester exams had just finished and for a week or so we were not supposed to visit department. Within 10 minutes, a detailed travel chart was prepared and within 3 hours, we were off to the hills of Manali & Rohtang Pass! 

 

        

                         Rohtang Pass, Himachal Pradesh, India

 

27-28 Nov: We (Five dudes and 3 lazy girls!) started off from University at 9:30 pm to sector 43 bus terminal where we had snacks and boarded bus to Nerchowk, Mandi. One of my hostel- cum class-mates, Honit, had already arranged for a Sumo taxi from Nerchowk to Manali and further.  After reaching Nerchowk at 4:30 in the morning, we called for our taxi for a bumpy hill ride further. We had our breakfast at a roadside eating joint while Manish, another careless dude, went for a hot steamy bath in Natural, Sulphur rich, hot water spring! Rest of us went for a riverside modeling session:

 

     

                                        Two sides of a coin!

      

 

We reached Manali at ~11:00 pm where we went to a guest house in an area called - Vashisht, owned by a friend of my classmate’s brother who gave us nice rooms, with a very nice view, at almost free of cost! Nearby, we saw another Sulphur-hot water swimming pool set in a natural setting as a community bath, much like Roman Baths! It is believed that Rishi (saint) Vashisht was Lakshman’s Guru in Hindu epic Ramayana and he used to live around this area! It is said that Rishi Vasishta was one of the Spathrishis, the seven celestial teachers or Sages, who were sent to this planet by Lord Brahma the creator to guide human beings for thousands of years. Vasishta was supposed to be the most brilliant and wisest of all. He served as royal priest and advisor to many Kings for thousands of years. In sanskrist Vasishta means Great.  

 

Vaishisht Village, also boasts a pair of old stone temples, opposite each other above the main square. Dedicated to the local patron saint Vashista, the smaller of the two opens on to a partially covered courtyard, and is adorned with elaborate woodcarvings those lining the interior of the shrine, blackened by years of oil-lamp and incense smoke, are particularly fine. In this ornate quadrangle is the resting place of the local and transient sadhus, drinking chai, and smoking chillums with whoever will join them in reverence to The Lord Shiva and Guru Vashshista.   

    

     

                     One of the twoVashisht Temples at Vashist Village

Although the hot steamy sulphur baths in Vashisht were inviting, we didn’t dare to roam around in our underpants in that chilly winter wind! I went to a Tibetean Shop from where I purchased some antiques and a Kashmiri Silk Carpet:

     

        Tibetean Incense Stick Cover placed on Red Kashmiri Silk Carpet

      

                                         An Antique Lock

At around mid-noon, we left for Solang Valley popularly known as Snow Point or Solang Nullah which is ~13 km northwest of Manali and famous for its 300-meter ski lift. Midway, we ran out of diesel and remain stranded for around an hour during which Honit got a lift from a biker and brought some fuel from market. Needless to say, we ‘utilized’ this time for another modeling session!  

 

     

                                       Waiting for fuel!

Solang Valley is a picturesque spot and offers splendid views of glaciers and the snow-capped mountains. The sports most commonly offered are parachuting, paragliding, skating and zorbing. We enjoyed Ginger tea (made of goat milk.. YukkK!) and maggie and rented Horses for a ride to Shivling Valley  where an ice Shivling is formed during winters. The ride was simply amazing, followed by some trekking and then bare feet rock-stairs climbing that too at ~Zero degrees celcius! The amazing thing was, we could see water drops showering down and turning into ice right in front of us!

 

        

                                     Horses carrying Donkeys!

      

                                 Amazing view from Solang Valley

      

      

                   On our way to Anjani Mahadev Shivling Valley Temple

 

      

            Trekking track to Anjani Mahadev Shivling Valley Temple

       

                            Anjani Mahadev Shivling Valley Temple

This manifestation of Shiva (in the form of lingam) is attributed to the penance of Anjani, Mother of Hanuman (the monkey god of Hindu mythology) who was conceived here. Today a beautiful temple adorns the site and is inhabited by holy hermits (sadhus) that welcome any visitor and are happy to serve refreshments and exchange ideas. We were served very tasty hot milk mixed with almonds and cashew nuts as prasadam by the temple priests!  

 

After that, we drove out to Hidimba Temple and Club house in Manali. The Dhungri or Hidimba Temple is dedicated to the local deity Hadimba, wife of the Pandava prince, Bhim. A major festival is held here in the month of May. The temple is noted for its four-storeyed pagoda and exquisite wooden carvings. The sanctuary is built over a huge rock jutting out of the ground, which was worshiped as an image of the deity. The structure was built in the year 1553. According to the epic Mahabharata, Pāndavas stayed in Himachal during their exile. In Manali, a powerful demon, Hidimb, attacked them, and in the ensuing fight, Bheem, the strongest Pandav, killed him. Bheem and Hidimb’s sister, Hidimba, then got married. They and had a son, Ghatotkacha, (who later proved to be a great warrior in the war against Kauravas). When Bheem and his brothers returned from exile, Hidimba did not accompany him, but stayed back and did tapasyā (a combination of meditation, prayer, and penance) so as to eventually attain the status of a goddess.

 

      

                                 Hidimba Temple in Manali

Then we went to listen to what Ritu called – ‘River Music’ at the club house. We got late and found out that the ‘River Music’ thing is not played after 5 pm. Then Ambica, an extremely jolly person with a big smile, bothered to challenge me for a table tennis match only to lose 0-3! Then I had my date with video games after a long long time

 

     

                This used to be one of my favorite pastimes!

Then we came back to our rooms, went out for dinner and just slept like mads!

 

29th Nov: Girlish Laziness got us late for our date with the – Rohtang Pass which is ~51 KM from Manali. It is a high mountain pass that connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahul and Spiti valleys. The pass provides a natural cultural divide between middle Himalayas and its primarily Hindu culture, with the dry desert uplands north of the Pir Panjal (first range of the greater Himalayas; and its mainly Buddhist and Tibetan-influenced culture. On the southern face of this pass there is a spot called Bias Kund which is the origin of river Beas. The pass is open from May to November and has a nasty reputation for being very dangerous because of unpredictable snowstorms and high winds. Wiki tells me that some linguists have suggested that the name rohtang is a Persian word meaning pile of dead bodies. This pass was an ancient trade route. However, enroute we were caught in a jam due to some bridge work in a place called – ‘Madi’ and how could we miss this golden oppurtunity to get some clicks!

 

     

                        Heightwise: Me , Anuj and Prashant!

     

                                   Getting little Heat-Shock treatment!

     

                                               Rock Climbing at Madi

At Rohtang, we enjoyed sledging and skiing in Rohtang Pass and threw ice balls at each other.  

      

                                              Soft Ice, Hard Ice balls!

 

     

                                       Manish in Rohtang                     

    

                                   I fell in love with skiing!

     

                               But that didn’t save me from falling down!

       

 

         Pupils getting enlightened from the skills of the Great Skiing Master – Me!

            

                                         Anuj in Rohtang!

After lot of  falling down and slipping, we decided to give it a rest and trek the heights of icy mountains and when we got tired, we gulped down a lot of hot coffee and some spicy chana and returned to Manali town and enjoyed some real delicious food. I tried this thing called ‘I-have-just-forgotten-its-name’ which looked something like this:

 

         

                                A dish with the name forgotten!

     

 After that, we returned to our guest house in Vashist Village where a dog fell in love with me!

       

                                                       My friend!

 

30Th Nov: We checked out of our guest house to visit Manikaran Sahib. While going to Manikaran, we purchased Kullu-Shawls at Bhunter. Manikaran Sahib is one of the most amazing places I have ever been to. There were many things that delighted me genuinely:

 

First, It is the place where religions merge. In this era of religious intolerance, Manikaran is the place where in a Sikh Gurudwara, photographs and engravings of Hindu Gods are so respectfully placed right around Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Even, a photograph of an Islamic Mosque shared the space. It is a place where you can find a Hindu temple and a bold sculpture of Lord Shiva sharing same premises with Sikh Gurus, where you can find both hindus and sikhs taking dips together in holy water, It is a place which reminds us of the great friendship ‘Bhai Mardana’ – a muslim and ‘Baba Nanak’ had. I wonder if any of those frantic intolerant religious polititions have ever been to such a place for if they ever had, they wouldn’t try to play such dirty games of dividing society on the lines of religions!

 

    

                          Entrance of Shri Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara

      

          Sculpture of Lord Shiva in Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara Premises

The second thing that amazed me was two streams of water gushing through side by side. What’s interesting is that while one stream is icy cold, the other one is so hot that we can boil rice in it in just 5 minutes! This region is full of Natural hot water springs. This hot water is considered holy and people from all walks of life come to take a dip in this holy water (mixed with cold water to a comfortable temperature range)

 

    

                         Hot water Steam in Manikaran Sahib

This Himachal Tourism Site  aptly describes the legend of Manikaran and the Hindu and Sikh angle associated with it.

Then we had Langar at Gurudwara and decided to spend night at Manish’s Home. However, we were on a jet dark narrow hilly road when we found that we have ran out of fuel again! We remained stranded there for around an hour when a guy on a tractor helped us out. Then we rushed to Manish’s home and his family turned out to be very friendly and warm and welcoming. On a very short notice, his mom prepared delicious food for the 8 of us and served us with motherly affection. We chatted for some time and slept to return to chandigarh in the morning.

 

1st Dec: Auntiji and Ritu woke us up with a morking tea call. I never usually take morning tea but then, I have never been woken up with a morning tea call since I have joined the University! I got to know that there has been little re-scheduling of things and that we’ll be going to Rivalsar and Naina Devi and a Buddhist Monastry today.

 

      

                                             At Rivalsar Lake

      

            Vandana (partly hidden), Me and Ritu feeding fishes at Rivalsar

       

                                      Nyingmapa Monastry in Rivalsar

         

                                Another view of Nyingmapa Monastry

         

                            Amazing view from the Top of the mountain!

        

                        At Kareeb Movie Stone near Rinponche Project

        

                                            Picnic on Mountain Top

         

                               Guru Rinponche Project near Naina Devi

         

         

                                                Nothing Lasts forever!

        

With this, our trip ended. In hurry, I forgot Kullu-Shawls at Manish’s home. We boarded State bus at 5 in the morning and reached University at ~1:00 pm. Again, it’s like – Back from Heaven!