We woke up really early thanks to patriotic songs being played loudly at the field adjacent to the hotel. Liza, used to getting up early anyway (for reasons best told by her) went out on the balcony (did I mention we had one?). Vidya and I got up a little later and we were dressed and ready to catch the bus by 7 am. We crossed the field with our entire luggage and reached the old GMVN guest house.
The day’s agenda was to visit Badrinath. We weren’t really THAT keen on going to Badrinath, but the bus wasn’t coming back to Joshimath and we decided to go wherever the bus took us, which meant the trip to Badrinath- if the debris at the landslide had cleared.
All our fellow travelers were asked to line up (we even did the attention, stand at ease thingy in hindi..read “savdhan, vishram etc) and sing the national anthem after a speech from one of the older travelers. It was a strange beginning, considering the circumstances and it amused us to no end, but we did what we were told to do, like good girls…?
We set off after the gujju gang with the panch Meena troupe and the rest piled into the bus. We passed Govindghat in about an hour and were not so happy to find that the landslide hadn’t yet been cleared. There was still danger of falling stones. Vehicles would not be allowed any further. However Rawat lied though his teeth this time and managed to get past the manned crossing gate and get right upto the landslide [going by GMVN did have some perks, not enjoyed by other private vehicles]. Slowly small groups from our bus and others got off to stretch their legs and watch the machines clear the rubble.
The road, or what was left of it, looked like a small ledge on which no cat, leave alone bus could travel. Rawat didn’t seem concerned though and continued to regale us with stories of dangerous drives and accidents he had witnessed. All this did nothing to boost our confidence about how we could get to the other side of the landslide. We could see a serpentine queue on the other side as well- loads of people waiting to get out to mainland after their pilgrimage from Badrinath. A few brave souls attempted to cross the area on foot and bike, ducking the stones and maneuvering around the boulders.
Liza and Vidya were with the others, watching the clearing at close quarters. They were commenting on how dangerous the whole area was and looked up to see a huge stone and mud come straight down towards them. After a moment of stunned silence, they leaped and ran towards the shelter of the parked buses. Just in time too- the stone landed just where they were standing a few minutes ago and if they had not looked up, they could have easily been turned into pulp.
Around 11 a.m., talk of the clearing being complete began to do the rounds and everyone sighed with relief, but it was atleast another hour before the bus actually got going. While passing the cleared road the bus swayed and regained balance over the uneven road and all of us inside held our breath at some of the more dangerous points, but we made it across at last.
After that, the road to Badrinath was more or less clear after that. After we crossed 9000 feet, the treeline disappeared and we were once again driving through the mists (and cold). We reached the temple at 1 p.m. only to find that even the temple gods took a lunch break. We could either skip the temple visit entirely or wait till 3 - the risk in the latter being that we could miss the gate back to Govindghat which closed at 4!! Since we had managed to reach Badrinath in one piece, the bus group decided to have a darshan of the deity and then leave at the earliest.
Vidya was tagging along with some old Bengali gentlemen from the bus while Liza and I dipped our feet at the sulphur hot springs and then proceeded to look for a loo and some khana. We asked the shopkeepers for a suggestion on where to eat and found Vidya and the Bengalis seated there too! The old gentlemen insisted on paying for our lunch- they said that they don’t get an opportunity to take young women out to lunch often…haha. Then they made the three of us hold hands and gave us a lecture on friendship, which was sweet but weird.
After doing some timepass buying brassware at the shops, we joined the queue that was quickly forming outside the main gate of the temple. There was a strong wind blowing and after 2 p.m., the sun disappeared. With no shoes and little protection (our sweaters, etc were in the bus), our teeth were soon chattering. We were glad when the temple doors finally opened at 3 p.m. We finished the darshan at the temple and took a quick look around the premises and almost ran back to the bus and its warm shelter.
The bus was parked at the GMVN guesthouse and we were glad to be indoors and promptly ordered for chai, which didn’t turn up for the next half hour. By this time, the rest of the group sauntered back to the bus and we too climbed into the bus.
It started raining heavily on our journey back and we weren’t sure of the road conditions and how far we would be able to travel that night. These were the times that we were glad we were travelling with the state govt. tourism with contacts in most small villages along the way. Worst case, we would atleast have a roof over our heads!
As we were approaching Joshimath, we got information that there was yet another landslide beyond Joshimath and it was decided to once again spend the night and Joshimath and wait out the rain and clearing of the landslide.
By this time, the hotel staff was used to us saying goodbye every morning and then showing up once more asking for a room in the evening. When they saw us walking up to the new GMVN guesthouse, they broke into knowing smiles and offered us a four bedroom place since the wonderful room we had spent the last night in, was already occupied.
We settled in the new room and went out to the terrace to enjoy chai, pakoras and finger chips. Vidya and Liza were only too happy to find fault with the neighbours (a bunch of boys who had occupied “our” room) who were drinking on their terrace and cooking dal, chawal and maggi. They even thought of complaining to the management of the hotel (since cooking and drinking was not allowed as per the rules pasted in every room) but found that the waiters and staff were providing them glasses and plates and therefore not objecting to the blatant breaking of rules.
The long drive and all that waiting took its toll and we called it an early night after another non exciting meal at the hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment