HEAVEN ON EARTH : BADRINATH

                           
HEAVEN ON EARTH :  BADRINATH




Badrinath is one of the pilgrimage center of the Hindus in India. I call it heaven on earth because no other word can specify the beauty and peace of the place. Though Iam not a  religious person as I believe that god resides in the soul of the living so my visit to this wonderful land on earth was actually just accompanying my husband to his official tour. In fact I had never  even seen the picture of the place or the temple. So when I discussed my plan to go with my husband the feedback I got was actually quite frightening. “The journey is very dangerous because there is no proper road and lots of accidents happen.” “It’s not worth a visit unless you are that religious.”

Who would attempt for a journey after that. While packing our bags I kept looking at my husband for assurance. All he assured me is do not fool yourself with other’s views. And I thank him for that because after that the thoughts did not bother me anymore only the risk that I was taking was making me excited.

We reached Haridwar  which just 4 to 5 hours drive from Delhi around      km distance. Early morning the next day we started for Badrinath .Starting as early as 5.00am we reached Joshimath around 6.00pm. The State Transport bus route ends here. From Joshimath  Badrinath is just 44 kms and local transport ply mostly for public transport. After checking into the hotel I drifted my thoughts as I sat relaxing beside the window overlooking the dark shadowed mountains. Yes the journey was actually very exciting. We took the Raja National Park which was more isolated and a short cut to Rishikesh. One side was the hills covered with dense forest and the other was the river which seemed like a canal that calmly followed us everywhere in the forest. After reaching  Rishikesh the river widened into mighty Ganga. The water crystal clear shining like diamonds  in the sunlight. This river was a sport for the adventurous and worshipped by the pilgrims. Ganga got her name from Dev Prayag where the mighty Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda meet. The sight is spectacular as the wild Alaknanda with her muddy water meets the clear green and calm Bhagirathi and transform into Ganga, calm and clear green. That’s what virtue of Ganga is. Its makes the soul pure and calm of anyone touching her.

We followed Alaknanda from Devprayag to Badrinath. Wild, forceful and muddy. It seemed like a strong, arrogant man set out to conquer everything on its way. And the sound of the river seemed like the war cry. That is Alaknanda for me. The vegetation dramatically changed too. The hills became huge steep and rugged mountains mostly conical in shape. And the road too had changed. Due to heavy landslides in the area the pitched roads had turned into rocky terrain mostly one way. Every time there was a crossing one vehicle would stop for the other to pass and sitting by the window I could see the Alaknanda roaring below the steep cliff. I had butterflies in my stomach at the sight. We crossed VishnuPrayag : confluence of Alaknanda and Dhauli Ganga Rivers . NandaPrayag: confluence of Alaknanda and Mandakini rivers KarnaPrayag: Alaknanda and Pindari rivers and RudraPragay: the confluence of Alaknanda and Mandakini rivers.

Joshimath located at the height of 6000 ft above sea level was one of the four  great maths of Sanathan Dharm established by Adi guru Shankaracharya in the 8th century AD. This was the first math and still continues to have the cultural activity of those days. The journey from Rishikesh to Badrinath is not taken by bus or private cars alone. There were those saffron clad sadhus who would  take the journey on foot and reached the destination in days. There were those adventurous young sikh pilgrims who would take the journey on their bikes. Their destination was Hemkund Saheb, the pilgrimage center of the Sikhs.

Joshimath was the ultimate halt for all going towards Badrinath and Hemkund. So the main livelihood in the area was through tourist . A very small town stretched on few kilometers over the hill top was the home of the temple priests of the sacred shrine of the Badrinath and their decendents who have taken other means of earning which was mostly through tourist. One would find saffron clad people chanting the Vedas and the other lot with the most westernized clothing escorting the adventure lover tourist for their Himalayan mountain trekking and camping. Amazingly Badrinath though barely 44 km from Joshimath doesnot allow any traffic after evening. The so called gates open at 6.00a.m and close at 5.00p.m.The reason one way road and the accident prone area. Interestingly every passing vehicle follows the rule. All vehicles from both sides met at Govindghat and from there one give the pass to the other at specified interval and the convoy moves on. The climate in and around the year is mostly cold. Though the days were much warmer than nights.

I opened my eyes to the spectacular beauty outside my bed window the next morning. Conical green mountains a sharp contrast to the clear blue sky. Puff of clouds sailed across the chest of those heights. Further beyond those mountains lay the stretch of white Himalayas covered in snow that turned gold as the rays of rising sun touched . It seemed like the mountain of gold .I went to the rooftop and sucked in the purity in the air with my arms stretched. The sound of morning bells and the chanting of Shlokas from the distant math filled my soul with the peace that I had never experienced before. Welcome to the abode of God. When at last I opened my eyes I was in the clouds. The puff of cloud sailing across the mountains now engulfed me and all I saw was faint white which slowly cleared away into the mesmerizing beauty the nature can play.

As my husband had his official work I went down alone to survey the town. Someone told me about Auli. I took the ropeway to reach there. The cabin flight was of 45 min. And I was again shocked to see the colors of nature. It was a stretch of green field like a golf course on the slopes and the dense pine forest surrounding it. This was the place for skiing in the winter. And the pine forest was the camping and trekking place of the adventure group. Interestingly  there was no hotel available here. Just a government rest house that provided with only canteen facility but no lodging. Anybody who comes here would want to spend a night. And that can only be done in tents in the camping site. Auli was at a much higher altitude than Joshimath. Here the Himalayan peaks were more prominently seen and the vegetation was completely different from what I had seen so far. As of now there was a project ongoing for a three star resort and an ice hockey stadium which would the highest stadium in the world. Auli also was the home of many Ayurvedic medicine whose plants were cultivated here.

Climbing down the ropeway I went to the Math , the first Sanatan Dharm math established in the 8th century by Adi guru Shankaracharya. I first visited the place where he had meditated and acquired knowledge and wisdom. The place was a small Shiv temple under a large tree. It was so large that its branches were bending low and the density was so huge that it completely shaded not just the temple but also the surrounding area. It was kalptaru, the evergreen tree which made everyone’s wish come true . I sat down on the cemented ground outside the temple. The breeze blowing from Kalptaru brought in peace in my mind . The excitement I had in Auli had subsided once I entered the premises of the temple. All I could gather now was just peace. The view from the temple was that of the mountains that keep changing their colour. The hustle and bustle of the town was also not heard from here. All you get here is peace and a word with your soul. The huts surrounding the temple area were of the priests and I befriended the children playing. Interestingly the children wore dhoti instead of trousers and studied in math and gurukul rather than school. They all had bodi (small stretch of hair longer at the back of the head. ) and tilak. I learnt that while studying most of them remained away from their family in the hostels in the math and Gurukul and were brought up in a way to serve the Badrinath in the near future. The knowledge of Vedas and shlokas were rooted in them from the early age.

They showed me in and around the temple. Just below the temple premises was a cave which had been turned into a temple now was the resting place of Adi guru Shankaracharya where he retired after his meditation. From there we went to The Math where the sadhus and their disciple stayed. The math premise was very big. It had temples and upvan (Garden) in it. One had to cross the upvan to go into the Math. Upvan was maintained by the sadhus themselves and had all sorts of fruit trees and flowers. Math was a double story wooden building. On the first floor was the prayer hall and the corridor was all decorated with flags of different colours. Sitting arrangement was on the carpet in the corridor. I got a chance to speak with one sadhu sitting there. He told me about the history of the Math. As I walked out of the Math I saw few sadhus walk-in. They looked tired and dirty. I was told that Math provides lodging for the sadhus set out to visit Badrinath. They travel on foot. There was another Math that was open up for public pilgrimages also. But it was situated more towards the town.

We started off for Badrinath the early morning next day. Luckily we met one of the children I had befriended yesterday who was the son of the head priest of Badrinath and accompanying his aunt for a worship there. We joined them. We reached Govindghat where the route to Hemkund  which was at an altitude of 4329 mts separated and saw the pilgrims trekking their way on top of the mountain to 13 km  Ghangharia  . And from Ghangharia to hemkund was a 5km trek which they mostly undertook the next morning. This was also the route to “The valley of flowers ” which is best described as the paradise on earth. The route of the Valley of Flowers separates from that at 3 km from Ghanghria. going to Hernkund Sahib.

From Govindghat Badrinath was at a distance of 25 kms. The route to Badrinath from here was dangerous with steep slopes and curves and a landslide prone area. The Alkananda sometimes almost flowed across the road. The mountains here were mostly rocky and steep with huge heights. And the sound of Alkananda flowing echoed more as if there was a war ongoing between them. Alkanada was at the wildest here than ever . We were covering an altitude of 3,133 mts. And stretch of  snow on the top of the mountains were visible. And we reached Badrinath after a short while. What lay in front of me was unbelievable. Badrinath spread on a stretch of 3 kms was a valley between two mountain ranges Nar and Narayan. Here the mountains were quite huge but not rugged or steep. They were green like the meadows and dropped gently into the valley. It seemed like they were cradling Badrinath like a child in their arms. The colour of the mountains a deep contrast to the clear blue sky. And the snow clad mountain ranges added to the colour on the canvas. Alaknanda flowed through the valley here but was wild no more though the colour remained muddy. This was the sacred place of the Hindus who believed that Badrinath was the abode of Lord Vishnu. The Badrinath temple was along the right bank of river Alaknanda , with the splendid Neelkanth mountains as the backdrop.  Interestingly here every stone had a story to tell. This was the place of the legend.

We first visited the Sheshnetra Ashram 1.5 km away. It was a boulder having an impression of the legendary serpent, better known as the Sheshnag's eye. Also for the first time we saw a Spatic Shiv Ling which was of frozen ice that converted into stone over the years. The mighty Neelkhant a Pyramid cal-shaped snowy peak towering above Badrinath, popularly known as the ‘Garhwal Queen’ gave a spectacular view. We moved on to offer our prayers to Badrinath . The sacred temple was on the other bank of Alaknanda. The temple gate “Singh Dwar” curved with bright colours was a sharp contrast to the green mountain and the blue sky at the back drop. The 15m high cone shaped  temple was dedicated to Lord Vishnu was established by Adi guru Shankaracharya.  Especially attractive is the one metre high image of Badrinath, finely sculpted in black stone. It represents Lord Vishnu seated in a meditative pose. Before offering prayer in the temple  we took  a holy dip in the natural thermal springs on the banks of the river Alaknanda, the Tapt Kund.  The water of the kund is believed to have medicinal properties. With the child’s help we made our offerings to the Lord in no time. And the mere glimpse of the Lord was breathtaking. We spent some time in the temple.

From Badrinath we moved on to Mana village situated 4km from Badrinath towards the indo Tibetan Border. Inhabitated by Indo-Mangolian tribe, it is considered to be the last Indian village before Tibet on this route. This was the attraction of most campers. We took a ride there. The huts were of stones and the traditional dress of the locals was more like the Tibetans. These people reside here for just 6 months and cultivate their lands . Then they move onto to the warmer  plain areas in the winter. Heavy snowfall cuts off this place from the entire world. Even Badrinath temple is closed for six months and the Lord is taken to Joshimath to worship. We saw Vayas Gufa, the rock cave of Maharishi Vayas the writer of epic Mahabharat. The Bhim  Pul - a natural bridge over the Saraswati river. The origin of Saraswati river.  and Vasundhara Falls - a 122 mts. high waterfall - all forming an important part of the pilgrimage to Badrinath. Every where the view was breathtaking. This was indeed HEAVEN ON EARTH. This was a place not just for the religious but also of the nature lovers. And I thank my husband for this wonderful trip. 

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