OM NAMAH SHIVAY

I am writing this ONLY BECAUSE it might reinforce the faith in my fellow devotees.

One cannot visit GOD unless and until HE wishes. And I believe in this theory very strongly.

Mount Kailash is one of the most revered mountains on this planet owing to the fact that Lord Shiva has chosen this mountain for His residence. Lord Shiva is known as the master of the material world. Parvati Devi is the consort of Lord Shiva

Mount Kailash is located in the north – eastern direction i.e. direction of Kubera, the treasurer of the devatas. Geographically, the Kailash Parvat lies in the Tibet region of China at an altitude of 21,778 feet above the sea level. It is also the source of Asia’s four important rivers i.e. Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra and Karnali (known is Ganga in India). Over a thousand devotees make a pilgrimage to this sacred mountain in their Kailash Manasarovar Yatra to receive the blessings of Lord Shiva.

It was March of 2017 when I got an urge to visit and pay homage to the All Mighty, Omni present Lord Shiva. I was waitlisted for 17th batch which was due to leave on 15th August 2017.

We went through the medical at DHLI then at ITBP and through the briefing in MEA. I find it important to mention here that my wife was dead against my going on the yatra. She said she has a premonition that something will go wrong and that I should not undertake this yatra.

As usual, I did not listen to her and went through the whole process. My friend invited us for a dinner to his house on 14th night. I had just finished my dinner when I fainted and fell from the dinning chair. My wife and my friend rushed to pick me up. They made me sit on the floor and I again fainted. This happened thrice. My blood pressure showed 70/50. I was rushed to the nearest hospital. I was admitted in Emergency at 11 pm and was to stay in the hospital for next four days. Meanwhile 18th batch, which was last to go in 2017 also left. Doctors found nothing wrong with my system and after four days and a hefty bill I was discharged. BABA BHOLE NATH did not want me to visit Him in 2017.

Come March 2018. I again applied for the yatra. This year my wife was happy and helped me with my preparations. I was selected in the 4th batch from Lipulekh. With faith in my heart, I passed all my medical examinations and on 20th June 2018 I left Gujarati Samaj for Almora. Our batch consisted of 54 yatris and 2 Liaison Officers. Total 56, proudly known as “Hum Chappan”. 

 

Day 1 – 24th June 2018 – Delhi to Almora via Kathgodam ----

We were told that the bus will leave at 6 am. I had left my luggage the previous evening at Gujarati Samaj. Bus moved at 6.10 am. On the way we stopped at Hotel West View in Ghaziabad where a felicitation was done by Akhil Bhartiya Kailash Manasarovar Samiti and delicious breakfast was served.

 Each yatri was given a tee shirt and a Milton thermos by the seva committee. These two items proved very useful till the last.

Buses reached Kathgodam at 4 pm where felicitation was done by KMVN employees and a cap was given to each yatri. This became our dress code for the entire yatra. Lunch was served, and we moved onto Almora after changing the buses.

Our buses reached Almora KMVN at 8.35 pm. Rooms were allotted, 3 yatris per room. Dinner was served, and it was lights out.

Day 2—25th June 2018 ---- Almora to Pithoragarh---

Buses moved for Pithoragarh at 6.15 am.

We stopped at Chitai Golu Devta temple. It is a local deity temple some 6 kms from Almora. We sought blessings of Golu Devta, left a prayer for our safe yatra. Breakfast was served at KMVN Danya.

Our group continued further reaching Pithoragarh at 1.45 pm. We were allotted rooms, again three yatris per room, I shared rooms in Almora and Pithoragarh with D.P. Singh, he was undertaking his second yatra and with K.K. Pandey who was from Haldwani.

Our LOs’ had started a practice of a roll call, which proved very useful throughout the yatra. Whistle was blown, all yatris gathered in the dining hall. In a briefing we were informed that all yatris will be airlifted by Indian Air Force to Gunji as the walking path has been washed away and there is continuous land slide happening. There was a risk of landslides at this time of the year, especially along a 670-meter sensitive stretch between Lakhanpur and Nazang, 
 

 MEA had taken this decision after the first batch complained and requested IAF to fly the yatris. With this the weight restrictions came into place. We were now allowed to carry only 15 kgs of total luggage and 200 kgs of common luggage. This meant rearranging the bags. The whole afternoon went in packing and repacking the bags, bringing them down for weighing and again rearranging.  The luggage committee did not allow anyone to carry even 500 grams excess baggage. Excess luggage was left in Pithoragarh.

Our food committee also did an excellent job by rearranging and repacking the food. The positive which came out of this exercise was getting a Kheer as a sweet dish at dinner time.

In the evening a plantation drive was undertaken near the temple.

Our LO’s were very clear that the buses will leave for Pithoragarh sharp at 4 am. The program as decided between our Liaison Officers (LO) and  Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) and the Airforce.

Day 3---26th June 2018---Pithoragarh to Gunji---

Bed tea was served at 3 am. Departure from KMVN at 4 am for the airport.

The Heli was to make 4 sorties at 6 am, 6.15 am, 8 am and 8.15 am.

At the airport we made a human chain to move the luggage for screening. All yatris were divided in four batches.

At 4.30 am it started to rain. This dampened the spirits thinking choppers will not be able to fly. Meanwhile Indian Airforce was constantly in touch with Gunji and monitoring the weather situation. Eventually at 6.45 am first batch was asked to board the chopper while others moved for security check.

At 7 am the first batch was again de-planed due to bad weather between Pithoragarh and Gunji. By now all four batches were waiting. Here I must compliment KMVN people. They moved fast and organized very delicious breakfast of Aloo sabji, Paratha and Dalia which was to become our staple diet throughout the yatra. The breakfast was limited and not everyone could get to eat. Our LO sir very subtly made a comment and yatris understood. All yatris made it a point to share the limited resources. I dug out my packet of dry fruits and gave it to yatris who did not get anything to eat.

 

Finally, a green signal was given by the Airforce. Batch one and three moved quickly towards the choppers and were in the air at 8.30 am. It was a 35-minute flight. The scenery was very beautiful with a lot of waterfalls. We also saw Annapurna peak laden with snow standing very majestically. The two batches reached Gunji camp at 9.30 am. Six yatris were put per igloo. Now we were at a height of 10500 feet approx. above sea level. Second and forth batch reached Gunji camp at 12 noon. Finally all “chappan” were in Gunji.

Gunji is a small village is near the borders of Tibet and Nepal at the confluence of the Kutti River and Kali River, at the east end of the Kutti Valley. It overlooks Mount Annapurna in Nepal.

After the roll call lunch was served.

We were out of mobile communication once we reached Gunji. The contact with the outside world was through two PCO booths, one at KMVN camp and other at the ITBP camp. The maximum temperature at Gunji remains at 19 degree C and falls up to -17degrees C in winter.

Gunji is a common point for Adi Kailash and Kailash Manasarovar yatra. Thereafter Kailash Manasarovar yatra proceeds towards Kalapani and Adi Kailash yatris go to Nabi and beyond

Day 4—27th June 2018 – At Gunji ---

It was decided by the ITBPF doctors to send the batch on a short trek of 10 kms to acclimatize and get used to walking in the higher terrain. We were all happy to go for a trek.

Day 5 --- 28th June 2018 ---Gunji to Nabi---

We were told to leave our igloos, pack our bags and leave them in the  common room. The igloos had to be vacated as batch 1 was returning after finishing their yatra. We were supposed to move to Nabi village, which is now running a home stay. Nabi is a short trek of 3 kms from Gunji. Everyone was up at 5.30 am. Bed tea was served at 6 am and breakfast at 7.30 am. Our in-house medical camp started at 9 am. We were lucky to have three doctors in our batch at yatris. They ran a medical camp every morning checking blood pressure and oxygen levels. They maintained a register with daily recordings which proved very useful at the time of the medical conducted by ITBP doctors. At 10.30 am we left Gunji for Nabi village.

At Nabi, the villagers welcomed us with traditional tikka, band and litchi juice. We were allocated rooms. Each room housed 6 to 15 yatris. Lunch consisting of traditional local dishes was served. Thereafter few yatris bought herbs, “bhoj patra” from the villagers. In the evening a cultural program was organized by the villagers. Our yatris also took part and entertained the villagers. Meanwhile our LO’s left for Gunji to discuss and get the first-hand information about procedures in China from the LO’s of 1st batch. These tips came very handy later at the time of customs.

 

A sum of Rs 5600/- was donated to the Pradhan of Nabi village as a donation. Each yatri contributed Rs 100/-. This money, according to the Pradhan, will go into a central pool to improve the facilities at Nabi home stay. Nabi and six other villages collectively form the Vyas Valley.

To Be Continued

RELATED TOPICS:#travel

With over 30 years of experience, Sanjay is a veteran in the sourcing field. He started his buying house in 1989, exporting fabrics to Bangladesh. He then diversified into exports of yarn, commodities like rice, fresh fruits & vegetables. He also started contract farming of raw cotton in Africa.

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