Omelet as fuel for foot and occasional interactions with Badrinath pilgrims made the 11 km long lonesome pedestal hill journey (to my village Khand) possible.
Unlike just 200 metre off jeepable road now, when coming via Rishikesh one had to traverse some 11 km on foot or horse ride, if affordable and available to reach our native village Khand in Garhwal hills in Uttarakhand. The commuters preferred the earliest Devprayag-bound bus that ran some 45 km along the Ganga River, and deboarded it at Singtali with sunrise still in offing. So they could cover the long, tiring pedestrian pathway in the freshness of early hours and reach home by lunch time.
That was till 90s when motorable roads were few and far between in Garhwal. With the nearest road head averaging 10 km away from most villages, travel on foot, invariably with baggage (read ‘load’) was the norm. To me the stroll to my village was ever a pleasure; the exhilaration at the thought of reaching my ancestral home overlooking holy River Ganga afar, this time after a gap of two years, subsumed the fatigue of journey afoot.
The journey begins with some 250-metre walk steep down to reach one end of the hanging bridge below the cliff. The scene turns more picturesque towards the middle of the bridge when the turbulently flowing narrow, immaculate Ganga River below unravels legion of mysterious vibes in accompaniment to the variegated spectrum of waves changing shades, and a subdued rosy sunshine evolving from the Dhang Garh peak to the left. Besides peacock, monkey and snakes, the region is home to bear, tiger and other wild animals that cower inside jungles at dawn.
With the bridge crossed, the uphill 500-metre enervating steep climb merges atop with the broad Rishikesh-Badrinath pathway, now ramshackled though once agog with to and fro pilgrims. Amid this sylvan ambience stood an antique restaurant-cum-home of a small family from nearby Jhaid village. It was here that I had to take some solid breakfast that I direly needed.
“This 500-metre steep track exhausts you more than entire distance ahead. Now relax here a while”, said the welcoming shop keeper binding the wooden logs. I was stunned by his vivid memory when he queried how I missed visiting my village last year.
It was gratifying that the man could serve me a parantha with omelet, my favourite breakfast that could provide me enough energy for the on-foot journey ahead. While he was still beating the eggs with a wooden whisk, his agile wife had already powdered the coarse lumps of salt using the grinding stone (Silout), an activity usual with each cooking then, and was preparing parantha.
Though omelet served as solid fuel for energy, equally valuable feed for my solo journey was the series of interesting interactions with the pilgrims of varying descriptions from various parts of the country and few foreigners. Greeting any visitor from opposite side with ‘Jai Badri Vishal’, some barefoot, their normal query was the distance left to the next night halt. Alas, with motor road direct to the village now, those overwhelming remembrances appear dream-like.
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Published in Deccan Herald on 2 April 2021 (Friday) under the title, ‘Fodder for a long journey’. Link: https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/right-in-the-middle/fodder-for-a-long-journey-969190.html
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