Namrata Wakhloo is a Kashmiri travel blogger. She writes about travelling to the mountains alone as a woman, during the COVID-19 pandemic in this piece.
They say some things happen only when “bulava aata hai”. I think my time had come too, finally, for my long-awaited trip to Kedarnath. For years together, I had been reading about people undertaking the Char Dham yatra or a trip to Kedarnath and Badrinath. I would read about how arduous the journey was or how people get stuck in bad weather or how rains cause havoc during the travel. In my head, I always planned this trip but the task seemed quite daunting.
As if by providence, just a few days before Diwali, I suddenly planned a trip to Kedarnath. I had the next few days only to get rolling as the shrine would close for winter, immediately after Diwali. Finally, my call to the abode of Shiva, had come. I was also moving houses in the coming week, so that was another challenge to deal with. I didn’t know how I would accommodate this trip, in between. But I had to.
I started from Delhi by road in the morning, in very high spirits and keeping my fingers crossed for the much-awaited darshan. I love road trips, so, even though it was a long journey, I made the most of it by stopping at dhabas to grab a snack, or to click photos of the picturesque route. The drive after Rishikesh is when the plains end and the mountains begin. The entire drive from thereon is that of sheer beauty – winding roads through the pine and deodar trees of Shivalik mountains with the emerald-green waters of Ganga flowing alongside.
After about 12 hrs on the road, I reached Guptakashi by 7 pm. I was famished and too tired to move around the town, so decided on an early dinner instead. The very cheerful guesthouse attendant served me a hot traditional Garhwali meal which my growling stomach was too happy to receive. I would like to mention here that, a few years back too, I had come to Guptakashi on work and had visited the ancient Vishwanath temple there. I had learnt that it’s always good to begin the yatra to Kedarnath after paying obeisance at this temple.
I was yet to pick up my tickets for the chopper the next day, so I was mentally prepared for the 6-hr trek as there was a fat chance that I won’t find any tickets. The reason being that almost all chopper service providers had stopped flying as the shrine was about to close that weekend. Only two services were still functional – Pawan Hans from Phata and the Himalayan Heli Services from Sersi (7km and 22 km from Guptakashi respectively).
I rose at dawn the next day as excited as a little kid looking forward to the most important leg of my journey. I love the Himalayas. Nothing makes me happier than being in the mountains. So, my joy was double-fold. The first thing after being out of bed was to step out and have a look at the sunrise in the mountains. From Guptakashi, one can see the snowcapped Chaukhamba peak straight ahead, from between thick pines and deodars. The sky was azure with a light fleece of clouds strewn here and there. It was a bright day with promises to hold.
A hearty breakfast and multiple cups of tea later, I was headed for Sersi, which took me around an hour to reach. I somehow managed a ticket for the chopper and was very eager to get on the earliest possible ride. Sersi is a quaint little hamlet in the lap of the Himalayas with just a few huts and shacks selling refreshments. Being wary of the COVID precautions, I followed them very carefully. The flight from Sersi to Kedarnath is all of 7 minutes. Five passengers (and the pilot) for each trip with a return fare of Rs 2500. Those few minutes are well spent, as you marvel at the mountain peaks and valleys over which the pilot manoeuvres the helicopter. This was my first time ever in one, so it was an experience that made every minute spent worthwhile!
The moment I got off the chopper, I found myself in a small bowl of a valley, with the Kedarnath mountain standing out right in the front. The shrine looked tiny at the bottom of it, which was a 7-8 min walk away. The temperature had suddenly dropped by several degrees and it was quite cold, though sunny. I had come prepared for a “white darshan” too as it had snowed heavily just a few days back. I could see the remnants of snow around me but there was no fresh snowfall that day or the next.
Since I had managed to get a mid-morning flight, I practically had the entire day and night to spend at Baba’s abode. I checked-into a dharamshala, where I dumped my backpack and went out for the first glimpse of Shiva – the Supreme. There are a lot of pandits who approach you for organising a puja. You can choose to have an elaborate one or simply perform a quiet darshan of the God inside the shrine.
Kedarnath means “the lord of the field” and comes from the Sanskrit words kedara (“field”) and natha (“lord”). At an altitude of 11,755 ft, this is where the river Mandakini originates from the Chorabari glacier. Mandakini flows alongside the entire trail until it merges with river Bhagirathi at Rudraprayag. It’s said that Kedarnath is the place where Lord Shiva released the holy Ganga from his matted tresses. The holy shrine of Kedarnath is an imposing stone edifice of unknown date. No accurate information is available on who built the original Kedarnath temple and when.
Standing in front of the temple, with the upright, snow-covered Kedarnath mountain standing tall right behind it, is a scene hard to forget. The overwhelming sense of a force larger-than-life is hard to explain. It can only be experienced. The aura of the place is such that you feel a divine presence very strongly. This imagery is what has stayed with me through the trip and for forever.
A huge Nandi carved out of a single rock greets you at the entrance of the shrine. At the door, on the right, stands guard, the dwarpal, Ganesha. Once inside the vestibule, you see an adorable golden Nandi in the centre. One look around the rectangular pillared chamber, and you see beautifully carved idols in black stone adorning all sides. They are the five Pandavas, Kunti, Lakshmi Narayan, Krishna and Virabhadra – one of the guards of Shiva. It’s said that the Pandava princes had visited Kedarnath for penance and to atone for their sins.
At the far end of this chamber is the sanctum sanctorum or the garbha griha, which houses the lingam of an irregular shape. Due to COVID restrictions, people were not allowed to go into the sanctum sanctorum, but could offer prayers from the outer chamber which is the prayer hall.
Adi Shankara is believed to have revived this temple and also supposed to have attained mahasamadhi at Kedaranath. Behind the temple is his samadhi.
After completing the darshan, I performed the Maha Rudra Abhishek Puja which lasted about an hour. Sitting right outside the temple, surrounded by the Himalayas with its pristine air blowing against your face, your connection with Him is undivided.
The place is barely commercialized. There are just a few small places for the pilgrims to spend a night or two, living quarters for the support personnel and a few tea and trinket shops. It should stay so. Standing there, when you look around you, you just see the towering Himalayas on all sides, Mandakini rapidly flowing down the slopes and the Bhairav Mandir perched on one of the adjacent mountains. The climb to this Mandir from the Kedarnath shrine is roughly about 20 min.
Right behind the shrine is a huge rock called Bhim Shila where people pray too. The story goes such – during the devastating floods of 2013, the waters of Mandakini came gushing down the mountain and wiped out everything that came in its way. In the ensuing landslides, a huge rock rolled down and stopped right at the back of the temple, thus protecting it from any kind of damage. It is really incredible that when all kinds of concrete buildings were decimated by the fury of nature, the shrine remained untouched.
The daily evening aarti is at 6 pm, which everyone looks forward to. So did I. Most pilgrims do a day trip, especially the ones, who commute by the chopper. Therefore, by late afternoon, the crowd had thinned out a lot. I was hungry, so went and sat at the only dhabha there, to savour some hot Maggi and chai. It was a warm place, and it was nice to spend some time with fellow travellers. People had come from the farthest corners of the country, and it was interesting to exchange experiences. I was pleasantly surprised to see young people with a strong spiritual inclination, when in the past, one would hear about people proceeding for the teerth yatra, only in their twilight years.
After 4 pm, the weather very quickly started getting chillier. The prediction was -5 degrees for that night. Luckily, it was not windy, so the layers of clothing worked quite fine. The aarti began promptly at the said time when the mountains were engulfed in divine darkness with cheerful lights twinkling from the shrine. The chanting and singing notes of the prayers reverberated in the valley. The clang of the huge bell travelled far. Such experiences are truly mesmerizing and soul-stirring, when you are high up in the lap of the Himalayas with only the sound of Ganga and the prayer notes echoing through the valley and everyone’s heart!
The dharamshala I stayed in served a satvik and fulfilling meal, which is no mean feat at that altitude. It was getting extremely cold even for someone like me, who belongs to the mountains of Kashmir. I called it an early night as I planned to have the darshan of Baba at dawn when the shrine opens at 6 am, and catch the first chopper out. The rest of the day would go into driving back to Delhi. The nights there, I must tell you, get freezing cold, so one needs to plan accordingly. Wear enough layers, woollen socks, a cap, a muffler and a bomber jacket!
I woke up to bright dawn, with the first sun rays lighting up the peaks where the snow glistened like gold. I offered my final prayers and the only thing I carried back, other than my precious memories, was a prayer-bead string blessed by Him.
I reached Delhi, just in time for Dhanteras and Diwali. It snowed heavily at Kedarnath, a day later. The closing ceremony was performed with full honours and a police band, amidst a thick white blanket of snow, the next day after Diwali. The shrine would now open only on Akshaya Tritiya in May next year.
Arranged by- Jaya Narayan
