It's still dark outside and
it's too cold. I got up with my heart and got ready to go to Bhawali, from
where I had to catch a taxi to Lohajung, Chamoli, which was going to reach
Bhawali from Haldwani at 7 am. If that taxi is missed, then it will be
difficult for me to reach Lohajung. Lohajung is a base camp for the Brahmatal trek.
From Lohajung, I have to trek to Brahmatal, which is a very beautiful and famous Himalayan lake situated at an altitude of 3,840 meters.
On the way to the station, there was deep silence
on the dark road, which was broken by the sounds of barking dogs and the chirping
of birds. Only a few Nepali laborers carrying milk boxes on their backs were
seen making their way to homes to distribute them. There was silence at the
station also, and no means were found for Bhawali. Some taxi drivers started
circling and were ready to go to Bhowali in an arbitrary booking, but after
standing for some time, a train going to Pithoragarh was found, which reached
Bhowali at 7 o'clock. The tyre of the taxi I was going in get punctured, so I
had to wait for some time in Bhowali, which is very boring and tough work, even
more so when the cold is at its peak. I spent half an hour in the park built in
Bhowali, till the taxi arrived and I left for Almora.
It was sad to see the Kosi
river on the way because the Kosi is dry due to the lack of good rains. After
some time, the taxi reached Someshwar via Almora. The Someshwar valley looked
as beautiful as ever, making the fields more attractive with crops.
The taxi proceeded from Someshwar via
Kausani and crossed small villages, fields, and forests to reach Gwaldam, where
it stopped for a while for lunch. The weather is still mildly cold and cloudy.
Some tourists were definitely seen taking selfies here. From here the road
ahead became more narrow and winding. There is still a long way to go, so the
driver stopped the car very simple but on the way a wedding dance and song is going
on carelessly which stopped the traffic. These village weddings are fun to
watch. On one hand, they have traditional customs and on the other hand, they do
not hesitate to enjoy the new age climate, be it dancing, singing, or modern
clothes. Everything is available here. Even smartphones with internet
connection. They are not unknown to WhatsApp and Facebook. Yes, it is a
different matter that the internet signal either does not come or the speed is
very less. Some young men and women want to update their wedding selfies on the
internet, but perhaps they are not able to update due to lack of connectivity,
whose annoyance is visible in their faces. For them it is a greater sorrow than
the happiness of marriage. As soon as the procession gave some way, the road
opened and the taxi moved forward.The road ahead is broken at many places and
people are compelled to bet their lives on these decaying roads. But the views
are very beautiful. The Pindar river flowing through the small villages looks
very nice. After passing through the narrow roads, reached Dewal in some time.
Here the driver stopped the taxi to drink tea, so I came to see the small
market of Dewal. In this small town market, all the items needed by the local
people are available. I went to a fruit shop. The shopkeeper extended the
oranges towards me and said - If you eat the oranges here once, you will always
remember them. I have no faith in his words, but due to hunger, I took oranges
and ate an orange peel. What a delicious orange indeed. I have never eaten such
a sweet, juicy, and soft orange before. Putting a piece in my mouth melts like
candy floss. It was evening now and the road ahead became even more dreadful.
Roads were seen broken in many places. The taxi reached Lohajung in about one
and a half hours and I went to my guest house in Lohajung. When I came out
after resting for some time, the peak of Nandaghunti in front was bathed in the
light of sunset which was covered by light clouds. I have come to the market.
Saw some women and men on the way dry grass and fill it in sacks. I went to
him. The three women are dressed in traditional Garhwali attire, black ghagra,
sweater, and scarf with floral designs on their heads. Their Ghagras are of
thick cloth which would have been good to protect them from the cold but the
men are in modern dress pants-shirts, sweaters, and jackets. The women were
ashamed of my departure and lowered their faces, which made their red-red faces
even redder. On asking about the grass, a man standing behind said - this
swing is grass. We have collected it from the forests to sell in the market. Many things are made from it like incense, paints, and different types of
perfumes. Throughout the conversation, the women kept working with their heads
bowed and the men kept talking to me. Although the talk happened in the Hindi
language there is a glimpse of the Garhwali language. There is also a small
temple of Baikal Nag Devta here. Inside which some stone idols are kept. Seeing
the condition of the temple, it seemed that no priest would come here. There
are fishing rods on the banks of the lake, that is, the villagers must have
kept coming here. After taking a full round of the lake, I returned by the
other way. The sun began to set and the whole valley was drenched in its
redness for a while, and then suddenly there was silence and the whole valley
went into the lap of silence.
Now it started getting very cold and the winds
also started blowing, so burnt the collected wood and drank soup while standing
near the fire. The smoke was spreading here and there due to strong winds, so
it became necessary to change the place frequently. The stars are shining in
the sky now. It is wonderful to see the starry sky in the silence of the night,
but the cold increased a lot, so after having food, she came into the tent and
handed it over to the skipping bag.In the morning the eyes opened with light but the cold still did not subside. After idling in the sleeping bag for some
time, I came out and stood near the fire. Being a valley, the sun comes here
late. Had tea and breakfast near the fire and prepared for today's trek. Today
we have to go to BrahmatalToday, the first two three hours were a difficult
climb, which took 3 hours to cross. The road is passing through dense forests,
so it has become a little cold. As soon as the climb was crossed, a huge Bugyal
(meadow) appeared in front. From here the peaks of Trishul and Nandaghunti seem
so close as to be touched by walking a little further. On one side of Bugyal
Himalaya stands its beauty and on the other side, small villages are seen.
Light clouds in the blue sky are adding to this beauty. This is a very
beautiful sight. I sat on this ground for some time and tried to live these
moments as much as possible and then started walking. Now the path of Bugyal has
started.
Due to the winters, the Bugyals are dry, but whether the Bugyals are
dry or green, they always look good. Now it's fun to walk. In between, the
mules are carrying their mules, whose bells ringing around their necks would
make the whole bugle rattle for a while and then silence. The forest is now
left down. Here, far and wide, the bugs have spread. The Himalayas continued
with their grandeur for a long time. In Bugyal, it continued to move in a
straight line that Mahesh gave the signal to descend and as soon as he started
descending, the trek became difficult because the road ahead is rocky and the
descent has to be done on this rocky path. Walking on this rocky road after
walking in the tumbling soft ground of Bugyal was like coming straight from the
glazed road of the highway to the potholed road. This rocky road has given me a lot
of exercise, but the fun of trekking is also when something new keeps happening
every moment. After crossing this rocky path, reached down and then started
walking on the square ground. In this way, the temple of Mother Nanda was
seen, who is the Kuldevi here. So far both the view and the weather are very
good, but soon the sky started getting cloudy.
When I wanted to know about the
weather again uncle, he laughed and said - the fashion of Nainital and the
weather of the Himalayas change anytime. As soon as we reached the campsite, it
started getting very cold and within a short time, even light snowflakes started
falling. For the first time, I saw snowflakes falling in the shape of a star.
This size of snowflakes is no less than a wonder for me. I thought the snow
would fall for a while and then the weather would get brighter as it usually
happens in these places and my guess turned out to be correct. After a while, the snow stopped falling and light sunlight started appearing. After lunch, I
took a walk towards Brahmatal which is at some distance from my tent. According
to local belief, when sage Ved Vyas was composing the Vedas, at that time he
needed water to turn the pages and he prayed to Lord Brahma. Brahma created
this lake at the request of Ved Vyas and it was named Brahmatal. The water of
Brahmatal is completely transparent but its color looks dark black. The deep
black lake is a bit dry nowadays, so probably a lot of mud was seen on the
banks. The lake is looking good in light sunlight. After a short walk by the
lake, I returned to the tent to take the camera, when the weather suddenly
turned bad and the snow started falling faster than before.
I like snowfall so
I started enjoying it. The speed of snow continued to increase and at the same
time, it was cold. I am still sure that in some time the snow will stop falling
and the weather will be clear at night. But the snow kept getting faster. Mahesh
made hot momos. In this season, the fun of momos and hot coffee was only more.
The snow was still falling, which is now becoming a cause of trouble because if
the snow keeps falling like this then it will be difficult to return. It was
getting dark now and it got cold. The tent was also getting pressed a bit by
the weight of the snow, so it became necessary to sweep the snow that fell on
it. After some time the snow stopped falling again and the moon started to
appear from the middle of the clouds, so there was hope that now the sky will
become clear.Chacha Ji lit the fire which brought some relief but the smog
swirling with the wind became a serious problem. Due to the snowfall, uncle's
face brightened up, and said - We like snow only. If there is no snow, then
there is sorrow. In such weather, we get double strength. When asked about him,
he told that in my family there is my wife, two boys, and one girl.
Moving his
hand in his white hair, he took a long puff of beedi and said - Children are
educated and written. Both the boys work and I will get the girl married soon.
Looking up at the sky, he made some forecast of the weather and then mumbled -
A boy of mine works in a hotel in Mumbai and earns well. He occasionally sends
tourists here from Mumbai, with who I make treks here. This gives good income. When
I asked whether leopard and musk deer are also seen here? He laughed and said -
Looks like a lot. How many times have I seen a leopard myself? Then laughing
and laughing narrated a 22-year-old anecdote - Once I found musk deer musk with
someone, which I bought from him for 15 thousand rupees and sold it to a party
in Delhi for 25 thousand rupees. I got a profit of 10 thousand rupees. 22 years
ago today, 10 thousand rupees was worth a lot. Then you would still be doing
all these things, when I asked this, his answer was - no now it does not do
this just once, for which my family members and people of caste and community
told a lot then never did it after that. After narrating the anecdote,
laughter spread on his wrinkled face and his eyes almost disappeared. From his
own experience, he said - Snow will fall even at night because the weather is
not yet open properly. But for now, the snow has stopped so I hope the weather
will be fine in the morning. With this confidence, standing near the fire and
on top of the snow, ate food and then came to the tent. Today it is very cold
and the silence is also felt. I could not sleep but it was not even midnight
when the snow started falling.
The snow began to press the tent inward again
and again, which had to be cleared. Time was spent like this for a long time
and then I do not know when the eye got caught suddenly from outside the eyes
opened to the shouts of Mahesh and Chachaji. Mahesh is sweeping the snow on my
tent from outside. When I came out of the tent, I saw that a very thick layer
of snow has frozen on the ground and it is still snowing heavily. My tent also
started getting buried by a thick layer of snow. Mahesh and his uncle asked me to
keep shoveling snow again and again so that the tent would not get buried.
There are still two hours left in the morning. These two hours of mine were
spent sitting in the tent and sweeping the snow. Seeing the morning light came
to life and I came out. So far, the snow has accumulated immensely and the snow
is falling equally fast.
Earlier my intention was to go to the front peak, but
now there is snow everywhere. The remaining wood of the night was burnt by an uncle, standing near whom he had tea and breakfast. Although tonight also I
have to stay in the tent but uncle said that now it is difficult for the snow
to stop. In such a situation, getting stuck here will not be less than a
problem. That's why it was decided that after doing the entire trek up to
Lohajung in a single day, they would reach Lohajung today. When he started
walking, the icy winds started slapping him in the face. When walking in the
freshly fallen snow, the feet are getting pushed inside.
After walking for a
while, Brahmatal arrived. It is a different feeling to see the lake at this
time because there is only snow around the lake and snow is falling from above
as well. Yesterday only for a while the lake was seen in another form but today
everything has changed. After standing near the lake for some time, he started
walking again. Now the rocky climb has begun. Again and again, while
reconnaissance the stones buried under the snow, one has to move slowly, the
strong winds are making it more difficult to walk on it. The sight was colorful
as we arrived yesterday and everything changed in just a few hours. Today there
is only white in the name of the color. Chachaji was right that the season of the Himalayas changes anytime, although nothing can be said about the fashion of
Nainital. As soon as he crossed the rocky climb and came to Bugyal. The Bugyal
which was covered with yellow dry grass yesterday is covered with snow today.
Once upon reaching here, it seemed that the snow may have reduced, but it
turned out to be an illusion because in a short time the snow started falling
twice as fast. Now it is confirmed that to stay here is to get into trouble, so
one has to go to Lohjung which is still far away.
After staying in Bugyal for
some time, he started walking forward. There is nothing to see here and there
today. There is no idea of where the Himalayas are because everything is
covered with snowy haze. In Bugyal, the winds intensified even more, which
added to the trouble. He crossed the Bugyal with his head bowed and came to the
forest area. The trees are also covered with snow. There is no color other than
white. Here the road becomes a little narrow in which to slip means to fall
into a deep George traveled a long way like this. There came a place in the
middle where the snow started falling very fast. Here again, the feet started
getting deep into the snow. Even inside the shoes, the feet started getting
numb from the cold, and inside the gloves, there is no feeling in the hands. With
difficulty but also crossed this part. Now the snow has stopped falling but it
started raining. Iron rust was visible but there is still a lot to go on.
Now
the weather started showing different colors. Sometimes rain, sometimes snow,
sometimes mist, and sometimes absolutely clear. The weather showed a new look at
every step. It would have been nice if a small house could be seen amidst the
mist. Even the eyes which have become white in color for a long time, it is
comforting to see any other color. There is no snow on the way now. It seems as
if snow has fallen only at a high altitude. Anyway, seeing every color of the
weather, Lohajung had finally arrived by the end of the evening. I am feeling
tired and cold, so ate food early and rested.It is raining and fog in the morning
too. When the weather opened during the day, I went to Ajna Top nearby. On the
way, a school of small children was seen on the way. Perhaps due to the cold,
the children are sitting on the terrace instead of sitting inside.
On seeing
the camera in my hand, all the children gathered in front of me and started
posing for the photo. Seeing the style of the children, it seemed that they are
used to tourists and cameras. Some houses and fields were also seen on the way.
In a field, a farmer is plowing with oxen with great diligence. This is really hard work. I kept watching him plowing for some time, then went ahead and
reached the dense forest. Once I felt as if I had lost my way, but Ajna came to
the top while moving forward. I lay in the grass and looked at the sky for a
while... Now the weather started deteriorating again and the hail started falling.
While returning, the entire road was cut between hail. Suddenly a woman of
25-26 years appeared in the midst of the falling hail. That woman with a fair
complexion and typical mountain chin is also wearing the same traditional
dress. He stopped me and said - Ajna is coming from the top? You got wet. Come
to my house, I will light a fire and give you tea. My rest house was just a
short distance from here but I went with him to his house. We went up a
little over the road and passed through the fields and reached his house. The house
is covered with mud from the inside but cement is applied from the outside which has
been painted with pink paint. The roof is of traditional stone slates, which
are slanted. The animal room is separate. After making me sit in one room, she
went to another room. This room consists of a sofa, two chairs, and a table in
the middle that is covered with a handmade tablecloth. The wall has calendars
of deities along with some decoration items. Television has also made its
place in one corner of the house.
After being alone in that room for some time,
I went to the room where the woman had gone. She is lighting a fire on the
kitchen stove there. As soon as I came, she said a little shyly - you sit
outside. There is no chair here and there is also wood smoke. I will bring a
fire there for you. But I sat in the kitchen itself. On asking her name, she
said while lighting the fire - Champa. Seeing Champa, I felt that his age is
not much, so I asked his age. Keeping the pot of tea in the fire said - 27
years. Then said - I have been married for 7 years. My maternal home is in
Tehri. Then with some thought, he said - Now he has come to New Tehri. The old
house and land got submerged in the construction of the Tehri dam. Said sadly - I
am not even used to the new house, so I do not feel like going to my maternal
home. I stay here even in winter. There was no one at home at that time. Some
people went to work on the farm and some went to the market. Taking off the pot
of tea from the stove, Champa said - Agriculture does not survive through
floods, but the weather has no faith in it. Sometimes how and sometimes how It
happened in your mind. The government also doesn't pay any attention. Had to do
everything myself. Sitting near the fire started feeling hot. When I asked him
about LPG, he said - In winter, they cook food in wood. Food is also cooked
and heat remains. Gas has become very expensive so it has to be saved. Champa
made tea in a steel glass and gave it to me and then started looking for
something here and there. On asking, she said - I am seeing that if I could
find any biscuits kept somewhere, I would have given it to you. You must be
feeling hungry too. Only the people living in such a place can do so much
belongingness and concern, otherwise, people in cities do not have their own
senses. Time passed quickly while listening to him with sips of tea and the
hail stopped falling. Taking her permission, I went back. Champa came to drop
me till the road and said - come to meet me sometime. Had a nice last day with
Champa.
