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The Glory of Kedarnath
We reached our rooms in Kedarnath at around 4 p.m and after a sumptuous and a much relished meal of aloo parathas and chole bathure we had a bath and then headed towards the temple. The Kedarnath temple lies nestled in a valley between snow clad mountains. Inside the temple complex just at the entrance, a huge Nandi made of stone sits as if guarding the Shivaling. Along with a maddening rush of pilgrims the temple also has a few resident sadhus. With wild eyes and matted hair they were covered with ashes and wore nothing but a small loincloth totally unaffected by the almost arctic cold. It was almost time for the evening Aarti when we entered the main temple. Not everyone is allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum during that time and most of us stood outside next to the statue of Nandi. Spiritually, it was a truly exhilarating experience. The air vibrated with the sounds of conches and cymbals interspersed with cries of Jai Kedar. Standing there in the temple, listening to the invocations surrounded by the pristine beauty of the Himalayas we all felt an indescribable sense of peace.
After the Aarti we decided to buy tickets for the special Pooja but were a little disappointed when we got a time slot of 1 a.m in the morning. We had hoped for a much more reasonable time of 5 am or so. We went back to our rooms and tried valiantly to stay awake till 1 a.m. The cold by then was almost unbearable and inspite of the layers upon layers of woolens that we were wearing we still shivered. At quarter to 1 we left for the temple again.
Walking to the temple in the dead of the night was a very different but a spiritually enriching experience. In the evening the town was a whirlwind of activity. The temple was crowded and the narrow lanes were swarming with pilgrims and sadhus alike. Now there was not a soul in sight and there was a pin drop silence around us. It was a full moon night and the bright moon made the snow glitter as if someone had taken sheets of pure silver and spread it on the mountains. The sky was clear and the stars shone brightly like fireflies behind a backdrop of dark velvet cloth. We walked on in the hushed and silent night, soaking in the peace and quiet. The beauty we saw that night was almost celestial. It filled us with an overwhelming sense of serenity and we felt a close affinity with god.The temple was totally deserted but the inner sanctum was open where the priests were getting ready for the Pooja. There was no one else in the temple except us and the priests. The Shivaling that we could only catch a few glimpses of during the day was decorated with flowers and Chandan. We did Pooja and had Darshan to our hearts content.
After the Pooja we trooped back to our rooms and slept for a few hours. In the morning again after a breakfast of parathas we headed back to Gaurikund, totally uplifted by our spiritual experience.

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The Road to Kedarnath
We could hear the cries of Jai Kedar from the pilgrims as we made our arduous way up to Kedarnath. To reach Kedarnath, one starts trekking from Gaurikund, a small rather dirty loooking place with restaurants and rest houses piled haphazardly on the mountains. It was chock-c-block with people, ponies, palakiwalas and what nots. But once we left behind the smell of ponies, the dust and crushing rush of Humanity, the rest of the trek was simply spectacular.
It had just finished raining and the mountains were lush green. The Mandakini meandered between the mountains as if keeping us company. The path snaked upwards through alpine forests and we passed many waterfalls. Up till Rambara, the midway point between Gaurikind and Kedarnath; the snow clad chaukhamba peaks were just faint smudges in the distance. They kept appearing and disappearing behind the mountains as if playing hide and seek with us. But after Rambara, as we took a steep turn we suddenly found ourselves face to face with them. We stood there mesmerized, aching muscles forgotten; taking in their magnificent beauty. The Mountains were covered almost totally with snow and as the sunlight reflected off them, it seemed that the peaks were on fire. As we walked on, the green foliage we saw earlier was replaced by bare jagged mountains; black where not clad in snow. The beauty here was stark and rugged rather than gentle. The altitude rises steeply after Rambara and even the fittest amongst us were left breathless, but these were minor irritants compared to the panorama enfolding around us. The last 1-2 kilometers to Kedarnath are almost a flat plateau. We could clearly see the cluster of mountains that surround the temple, they seemed so tantalizingly close. The mountain slopes were carpeted with green grass and patches of wildflowers grew here and there. The sides of the path were dotted with huge boulders and some spots had patches of snow that had not yet melted.
We crossed the iron bridge that spans the river Manadakini and at last reached the Kedarnath temple.

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Sonprayag
A day’s travel from Rishikesh brought us to Sonprayag;a quaint little hamlet at the base of kedarnath. Since almost everyone who wants to trek up to Kedarnath stays at Gaurikund and not Sonprayag, Sonprayag’s natural beauty is still untarnished to a great extent.
We stayed at a villa belonging to one of the most reputed business Houses of the country. Perched almost on top of the mountain, the villa was in the midst of a lush green forest and had a beautiful garden filled with exotic flowers. A steep climb down the slope led you to the river Mandakini; roaring and tumbling down from the locks of Lord Shiva. The water was so sparkling clean that we could clearly see the stones in the river bed.
It was a magical time for all of us. Away from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we spent all our time either taking long walks through the hushed forest or sitting at the river bank taking in the natural splendor around us. It was a god given opportunity to rewind, reconnect with ourselves and get rejuvenated in that peaceful and serene environment.
We spent a few blissful days at Sonprayag and then decided to go on to Kedarnath.

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Sunrise at Rishikesh
Next morning I was up and out at the river bank before sunup. The Ganges at that time was not turbulent or fast flowing but rather calm; flowing slowly and steadily like an old woman on a sedate afternoon drive. The reason I was standing there groggy and bleary eyed at that ungodly hour was that I wanted to capture the sunrise on my camera.
The first hint of the sunrise came when the dark blue sky slowly started turning a pale pink, the stars getting extinguished one by one as if someone was blowing out candles.
Then the sun peaked out from behind the mountains, as shiny as a newly minted coin, a hue of yellow with just a hint of red at the rim. Slowly it rose higher and higher, painting the sky first a rosy pink and then a bright orange. Rays of sunlight burst forth from behind the mountains as if someone had let go a quiver full of brilliant yellow arrows. Far away I could hear the priests blowing their conches and starting the morning Pooja in the many temples that dot Rishikesh. I sat their mesmerized;the sound of the conches as gentle and soothing as the breeze in my face,and watched the sun turn the sky and the river into a glorious molten gold.

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Rishikesh – Of Spirituality and Rain Storms!
Last month I escaped the burning blistering cauldron that is Delhi and went for a very well deserving holiday to Kedarnath and Sonprayag. So here's a glimpse into the adventure !
We started early enough from Delhi, and managed to cross the Meerut Muzzaffarnagar chaos without any major mishap and reach Rishikesh at lunchtime. The first thing we all did after dumping our luggage was make a beeline for the River bank. The place we stayed in was actually on the outskirts of Rishikesh and had its own personal ghat. Unlike the usual ghats in the city, which are frequented by all and sundry this was really clean since it’s privately owned. Across the bank was the Rajaji National Park and we could see herds of deer and a few elephants drinking water. After a dip in the refreshingly cool waters, we sat on the grass and desultorily argued about what to do in the afternoon- River Rafting or a visit to The Divine Life Society Bookshop. But a very sumptuous Rajasthani lunch left us totally sated and lulled by the afternoon heat we fell into a stupor all plans of River Rafting forgotten. In the evening we did go to the Divine Life Society to buy books. The bookshop was closed but we decided to stick around and attend their Aarti and Satsang.
The Divine Life Society was started by Swami Sivananda, a great saint and visionary. The last time I visited the ashram, I was just a child of 10.My most haunting memory of that time is the evening Satsang. The Satsang began with a particular hymn that had a very lilting tune and the person who sang it had a voice as sweet and pure as nectar. I remember sitting there fidgeting with all the restlessness of a 10 year old till he began to sing and mom told me to close my eyes and just listen. Although I couldn’t really understand all the words, something in his melodious voice slowly started to calm my soul and still my mind.Even this time the Satsang was really peaceful. Another thing I noticed was that majority of the people attending the Satsang were rather young (age group 25-45) and there were many foreigners – mainly Japanese.After the Satsang we went to visit a Swami ji living in the Divine Life society. He invited us to his rooms and the first thing I noticed was a book on his desk titled the” Beginners Guide to Japanese”. When I asked him why he was learning Japanese he said that there were many Japanese devotees visiting the Ashram but their English was not always very good and so he had decided to learn Japanese to make communication easier!
Later we decided to cross the river and go to the other side of Rishikesh. Now there are two ways to cross Gangaji at Rishikesh, you can either go by boat or use the Ram jhoola (a long suspension bridge across the river). We decided to go by boat. It was almost twilight when we started and we could see the lights from the temples twinkling in the distance and the reflection of the deeyas turning the water into gold as hundreds of devotes gathered together on the banks for the evening aarti.
We roamed around for a while; ate dinner at Chotiwala restaurant and then decided to head back using the Ram Jhoola.Now Ram Jhoola is the slightly less famous version of the very famous Lakhman Jhoola. This suspension bridge is rather narrow and sways precariously even with the slightest wind. I personally don’t think it’s safe for anything other than human traffic; but all sort of vehicles pass through it, be it scooters, bicycles, pushcarts and even cows. As a result you are left cursing and swearing as you try to maintain your balance on this swaying creaking piece of ancient architecture, while being jostled by assorted traffic from all sides.Since it was rather late by the time we got to it, the Ram Jhoola was mercifully empty with just a few people going across. It was drizzling and a bit windy when we left Chotiwala but just as we started to cross the bridge, the rain came sweeping down bringing with it almost gale force winds. The jhoola swung side to side and the River was suddenly dark and turbulent beneath us, its foamy waters crashing at the rocks. Laughing and clutching at our flying hair and clothes, with the rain stinging our faces; we ran across the bridge enjoying every minute of this adventure.