Horemheb's Musings

First Published on 28 May, 2010

It is a cloudless night at Badrinath. The remote pilgrimage town is under the benign glow of the towering Mt. Neelakanta, shimmering in the bright moonlight. However, I am not able to see this divine sight. Nor can I hear the lolling melodies of countless temple bells tolling in the beautifully lighted temple by the river. Neither am I able to smell that beautiful fresh air which is wafting from the mountain.

The long journey from Ernakulam to Badrinath terminated in a moment of breathlessness as I gained the first sight of the beautiful valley, shepherded by the massive snow-clad peaks of the Himalayas. The spartan accommodations at the ashram where I stayed and the wheezy breathlessness of the thin mountain air did not, however, dampen my excitement at arriving at Badrinath. The weariness and cramps of the long bus ride from Haridwar were soothed to a measure by a bath in the blistering hot waters of the natural springs that abound in this region.

Piety in a hitherto unexpressed measure enveloped me in my numerous visits to the temple to pray to the Lord. The throngs of people coming to see a glimpse of the Lord did nothing to mar the serenity that seemed to engulf this confirmed introvert.

Then there was the trek to Mana village, a quaint and charming little village a few kilometers further north towards the Tibet border. Drawing from my fading memories of Vaishno Devi, I had procured a sturdy staff for the trek through the winding road between countless ashrams set in a very serene ambiance. I learned that the little village is mostly a shopping experience, so I did not linger here for long and soon crossed the river, which was now only a miniature reminder of the torrent that I passed by in the lower valleys.

This is the route for the trek towards Vasudhara Falls and the route towards Gangothri glacier and Kedarnath trek. In my so-called “peak” physical conditioning, I did not trust myself to make this trip.

So I set out for my main objective for the trip – the Satopath Glacier and Mt. Neelkanth. The snow-clad mountain had caught my fancy during the painstaking reconnaissance I conducted using Google Earth, and it has always been my dream to visit such a snow-clad mountain, to see the glaciers of the Himalayas before it is too late.

However, at this point in time, I realize I cannot, I must not write about this experience.

It has always been my experience that if I ever fantasize about something, it gets jinxed, it never happens. Since most of my fantasies are of a rather extravagant nature, this is of no problem, but here is a fantasy which I fully intend to relive. Hence I shall desist myself from fantasizing about my experiences in Mt. Neelkanth.

Bada Bing Boosh.

Yes. This entire series of narrative/travelogue is a work of fiction. A work of desperation by a wanderlusting person destined to be confined to his home for an indefinable extent of time. This is the product of hours of fantasizing over Google Earth and its vibrant imagery.

This is a blog post that has been directly caused by the remarkable experience of a particular Google Earth route tour I made, a depiction of a fantasy to drive from my home to Badrinath over a distance of 2,977 kilometers (yes, distance too has been plotted by Google Earth).

So before I am accused of being a shameless unpaid/unsolicited advertisement for Google Earth, I apologize to anyone who felt I had actually undertaken this journey. The facts mentioned in this narrative are true; the wonders of the internet give us a plethora of information to enable us to plan any trip, anywhere, to the last rupee (dollar to Non-Indians). The sad thing is that despite such facilities being available, one is constrained from traveling.

I do, however, promise this: when I actually make this journey, I shall endeavor to create an even more colorful narrative of it. I only hope that by the time I get to travel to these places, global warming would not have robbed the snowy whiteness of these mountains and glaciers.

Well, if that happens, I still have my fantasy world to sink into!