Kedarnath (Photos by Chinku)

Gowrikund is the base (this is the last point one can reach by bus or cabs) before trekking to Kedarnath. From Uttarkashi to Gourikund, it is long route through Srinagar, Rudraprayag and Gupt Kashi. It was, indeed, an adventurous trip for us, watching our mini bus negotiating the steep hilly road (in some places, not even proper roads due to landslides). We were the only tourists in the bus; others were the people who lived there; in the hills. They mostly slept or talked to each other loudly in Garhwali. Even the conductor of the bus joined them. The Chamba region is beautiful with the peepul taal (peepul lake) in the back ground. Its water appeared greenish blue from the bus. One can feel the shrinking forests on the way. May be the mammoth landslides are nature’s fitting reply to human greed.

Our 12 hours journey from Uttarkashi ended in Gowrikund in the evening. We got a clean, freshly painted room in the Behl Ashram Guest House for a reasonable amount. Season is yet to start! As the name indicates, the temple at Gowrikund is dedicated to Gowri (Parvathi), wife of Lord Shiva. The myth is that Parvati meditated here for a long period to get Shiva as her husband. Indeed, this is a nice place to meditate; having a reason or not. The green blanketed mountains, wild flowers and the misty air. The nature is in abundance here! A serene ambience! Another major attraction in Gowrikund was the gharamkhund (the hot water spring). That was a delightful discovery; in the cold weather a bath in the steaming hot spring water (which has medicinal values too). The tiredness from the long journey left us within minutes. And later on, Krishna became obsessed with the gharamkhunds.

After a good night’s sleep, we were ready for our trekking, early in the morning. We stored biscuits, dry fruits, water and few aloo paranthas packed from the nearby hotel. (We had arranged for that the previous evening itself). The people there advised us to take ponies, but we decided against that. We were prepared for the climb; at least that’s what we thought at that moment. We had trained ourself, for this, walking along the Thiruvanmiyur beach-- 7 to 8 KM-- every day for a month before we started our journey. We thought we were tough enough. The first 5 KM was fun. We were chatting and enjoying the weather as well as the glimpses of the snow capped mountains. And rested here and there!

People were setting up their shops for the season which will start shortly. There were few tea shops already open. Soon we realised that climbing up the hill is not a joke and we were not prepared. We felt the strain of the climb; our heart beat became erratic at times and we had some breathing difficulty in that altitude. We took breaks too often. Sometimes our legs refused to carry us though the mind wanted reach the destination. We asked a local as to how the climb ahead was? He said steeper. That dampened our spirits for few moments.

But then we did see people (the porters) were carrying heavy and unwieldy stuff on their head and walking ahead of us. We thought of their endurance and they inspired us to complete the task. Somehow we reached Kedarnath. And it was worth the walk.

The Temple was closed. I knew that we had missed the sight of the Jyothirling. However, I peeped through a hole on the door and tried to communicate with the God. We visited the Samadhi of Adi Shankara adjacent to the temple. After establishing the four mutts in the four corners of the country (mind, he walked to all these places in times when transport and communication facilities did not exist), he died here; not before constructing the Kedarnath temple. The temple is an architecture marvel, situated in the periphery of the snow hugged mountains.

We three sat there under a shelter to protect us from the drizzling and had the last few pieces of the Parathas. We were surrounded by mountains and eternal silence. While walking down to Gowrikund we discussed about Adi Sankara and wondered how he could have travelled through these difficult terrains in the short span of his life. Though I belong to Kerala (and so did Adi Sankara), I realised how little I knew about Sankara. I must read more about his Advaita philosophy!