Vintage Varanasi

A crowd like I have never seen before had grappled the city of Varanasi when I landed there just before the New Year’s Eve. It was a terrible timing if you were looking for peace, quiet or even salvation! Thousands of pilgrims and devotees had flocked to the city, seeking blessings as the year ended. I do not know how the Gods managed to offer timely and efficient salvation to such a maddening swarm of people!

One of the many ghats in Varanasi

Anyhow, narrow alley crammed up with people is one thing. But when you add a horde of honking scooters and bikes and cars and rickshaws, you have the just perfect recipe of chaos. Everyone seemed to be driving in their own whimsical directions. The traffic police and volunteers looked utterly lost. Then, just in the middle of this huge touristy rush, some groups decided to march on several rallies! I was going crazy. I guess, everyone was. At one point, when I took shelter in one of the refuge medians at the centre of a crossing, a traffic cop shouted at me for standing there! Apparently, I was causing a traffic jam! Imagine my power!

At the Railway Station, before diving in the ocean of people

The constant spitting of gutkha and other bodily fluids along with the heap of general waste products adorning the streets provided additional challenges in trying to squeeze through the mayhem. It was hard work deciding where to put your foot next!

I was so confused the entire time that I even forgot to click a picture of this mad spectacle!

Most of the people seemed outright deranged too! I can’t blame them. Sanity seemed like a bizarre concept there! The receptionist couldn’t care less when we checked in late at night and needed food. The food delivery guy sent the wrong parcel over and didn't look apologetic at all. Every other person we met on the road seemed to be hatching some kind of money-fleecing plot. The priests, the hawkers, the vendors, the drivers – every single one of them had a strange intention of claiming exuberantly high prices and misleading us with half baked information; one of the auto drivers even dropped us 2kms off the actual dropping point! Maybe it was just the rush of the tourists doing their heads in, who knows!

Inside the campus of Shri Kashi Viswanath Temple

Amidst all this, we finally reached the temple which seemed to be in a way better shape than the rest of the city. The campus was nice, orderly and even clean! The temple shined through its golden top. And the monkeys walked around like the masters of the place. Once out of the temple, the same chaotic streets awaited us. Battling through the menace, we somehow got to the ghats. The most famous ghats – Dashashwamedh and Manikarnika were jam packed with people. But what was intolerably annoying was the constant heckling by the vendors coercing us to go for a boat ride or have some food.

Ratneswar Mahadev Temple near Manikarnika Ghat

Seeking salvation, we swiftly made an escape and walked along the river towards the lesser known ghats. Finally, a smart move! We found some peace and quiet and a few clean patches too!

Such beautiful feat of architecture! Yet, no maintenance!

In the evening, we went to the Dashashwamedh ghat to witness the famous Ganga Aarti. This was worth it. Especially, the Shiva stuti always brings out an electrifying energy in the audience! (Though my personal favourite still remains to be the Aarti by the Pokhara Lake. Way smaller in scale than this but feels cosier.)

The famous Ganga Aarti

The next day, we went to Sarnath. And what a contrast! It’s a short drive, about 30-40 minutes, from the centre of the city. Whilst the centre and the riverside are outright chaotic, Sarnath is an epitome of peace, true to its Buddhist nature.

Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath

This is where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon. Now it is an archaeological site where the colossal ruin of the stupa lies along with an impressive line of smaller stupas, temples, inscriptions etc. that have been excavated. Had I known better, I would have spent a lot more time here.

A glimpse of the ruins excavated at Sarnath

Varanasi is a city of marvellous architecture. Its sweeping stretches of lovely ghats and palaces and forts of bold aesthetics along the Ganges are one of its kind. I doubt if there is anything like the Varanasi ghats anywhere else in the world! Besides the splendid architecture, this place has attained a cultural feat in terms of its music, composition, and literature. Not to forget, it’s a centre of spiritualism that’s unique and intriguing.

Another riverside Ghat 

Yet, this city makes me sad.

Varanasi, also called Kashi, the name derived from the Sanskrit words, meaning – ‘to shine’, appears doleful. The charm of the past is evident in the expansion of its ghats and in its every narrow alley but can only be glimpsed through the cracks of one’s looking glass. The buildings are in a dire state of maintenance, the riverside and the city streets are screaming for cleanliness. It’s a city of grandeur that’s ruined by us humans. The lack of common sense, ethics and basic hygiene amongst us is simply shocking.

An ancient root tearing through the walls. Is that symbolic?

It makes me sad that apart from making sure that I do not litter the streets, there was no other contribution I could make. So, with a glimpse of the grand past through today's cracked looking glass, I bid goodbye to Varanasi. I hope, one day, the city takes a turn and makes justice to its rich heritage.

P.S - Loved the Benarasi Kachori-s and guavas. No complaints there!

Mardi Himal 7 : Low Camp to Sidhing – Trek Day 5

Low Camp to Sidhing : ~12 KM; ~ 3 Hours

I am extremely grumpy this morning. I did not get any sleep last night. The cold dinner, the stinking duvet and the echoing snores coming from other sides of the teahouse kept me up all night long. It was also a very long day yesterday – that with no sleep added to a lot of exhaustion. My stomach doesn’t like it either. The morning business decides to take a break. Plus, it's cloudy this morning. So, no sunrise! Everything seems to add to my grumpiness. I put on a puffy face with lips pulling out and walk around the foggy grey campsite with a proper sulk.

Icicles...

My friend is being cautious and shows me a bunch of roots covered in solid ice. It’s like icicles around the roots and grass. This makes me a little happy. The view of Machhapuchhre is completely cut off today by the fog. Maniram points it out to me. ‘A broken Machhapuchhre’, I say. This seems to set him off and he keeps laughing about it the whole day.

Fishtail has disappeared in the grey cloud !

We start our hike. It’s all the way down today. We walk through forests and fog. En route, we get to a teahouse which does a lot of farming. There are raya saag, radish, tree tomatoes and cauliflower  exactly the vegetables we have been having every night so far.

Near Shiding...

A much shorter day today as we climb down. Downward trail is always a relief to the lungs, but the brain works harder to focus. To me, it often feels like a form of meditation. Within a few hours, we reach a place called Shiding. And this marks the end of the trek.

We wait here for a while and then get a shared taxi from here, all the way down to Pokhara. 

End of The Mardi Himal Trek (1700m)

Mardi Himal Trek will always have a special place in my heart. In the daily mist of chaos and uncertainty with the heart-wrenching longing for the touch of the mountains, this trek happened. Annapurna is such a blessing, and I am just ever so grateful for the same. Every time the mountains touch, I feel like a better person. You can’t beat that…

And I say bye for now...

Mardi Himal 6 : Upper Viewpoint – Trek Day 4

High Camp to Upper Viewpoint, back to High Camp & then down to Low Camp – Trek Day 4 : ~13 KM; ~ 7 Hours

To the 'rush of the rarest red'; To the tsunami in the breathwork; To the restless thrill in every conscious cell of the body; And yet, to the calm in the nerves...To the roar of my lion dreams and the quivering of my chicken heart, I count my blessings.

Ah! To Life!

Robert Frost says, ‘You can’t get too much winter in the winter’. This line has always given me a fuzzy feeling of warm boots and mugs full of hot chocolate. But at 4 o'clock in the morning in the High Camp, when I put on my freaking cold t-shirt and it sends a chilling shock to my skin, I feel this is a tad too much winter for me!

I have no words !

I got about seven layers of clothes on me, two pairs of trousers, two pairs of hats. My toes feel bitterly stiff as I start the trek on the cold winter night.

And we climb up...

Mardi Viewpoint (4200m)

The trail starts off with a gradual ascent, winding its way around two mountains and then it climbs up through a series of stony steps. There are no tall trees here, just valley grass and short stubs going down the slopes. The exposure to the elements is real. The current lack of wind as we walk along is a blessing.

Leaving behind the teahouses at High Camp...

As we get halfway through the climb, the darkness seems to fade off. As the dawn peels through dim lights, the mountain folds get more prominent. Suddenly, a sharp orange light tears through the dark horizon and sets the sky on fire!

Gosh ! How do I put this feeling in words !

I take a turn from behind the mountain wall, a big boulder possibly; my head down, focussed on the troubled footsteps. I breathe hard. I look up to gauge the gradient of the slope ahead. And like a flick of a magic, a golden dome shines brightly at me! The massive white majestic peak of the Annapurna South appears out of the cold darkness. An orangish golden radiance of the rising Sun floods the valley. The peak shines like the queen it is! My heart skips a beat; a foolish smile rests on my lips as I climb up the steps to bask in the mountain glow.

Mama Nature does her Magic and I am all smiles !

You know the feeling when the heart bursts into a thousand pieces because it fails to contain the myriads of emotions! Well…my lion dreams roar and my chicken heart quivers. I am in love with Annapurna…all of them!

Such amazing contrasts !

I continue the climb through the rough steps and its many deceiving turns. As it gets nearer to the top, the climb gets harder. And the harder it gets, the more alluring it becomes. It softly announces the proximity of the summit and the possibility of something magical. Maniram suddenly looks excited as he spots a Himalayan Monal on the climb. It’s a very shy bird and rarely spotted. and my first time ever seeing this bird outside of television! Its gorgeous! Its feathers are a celebration of colours.

Himalayan Monal ^.^

We trudge along. Every steep climb seems to be the last climb before the viewpoint, only to find further steps in front. My legs and glutes ache, my breathing gets harder. But I do not feel tired. There is a magical energy around. Slowly and steadily, we get to the top in due time.

At the Viewpoint !

Words fail me now!

All the majestic peaks that have been our companions all along for the last three days, suddenly launch themselves into a surreal scale of grandeur! They appear so much bigger, so much bolder, so much more beautiful and so very close! Hiunchuli, which appeared to be smaller than Annapurna South all this way, is suddenly so huge! You can see the glaciers in their folds too.

Hiunchuli looks so much bigger now !

Machhapuchhre has never seemed more taller and prouder. And in between Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhare, from behind a set of brown hilly wrinkles, shines the pristine Annapurna massif. The wide-spread milky snowy top of Annapurna I brings a wave of nostalgia from my days of ABC trek.

Annapurna I !

A series of other peaks like Gangapurna, Annapurna III, Gandharba Chull and of course, Mardi Himal have also unfolded themselves, making the picture complete.

We started late so we experienced the sunrise halfway up. I can only imagine what it must have been like to experience the same up top! Nonetheless, it's mind blowing.

Machhapuchhre or Fishtail !

The lovely blue sky, the white snowclad queens, the earthy mountain creases, the plunging yellow-mossy valleys and I stand amidst them, completely soaked in the over-pouring beauty of the Annapurna range. You know that physical touch of emotions? an overwhelming gush of gratitude and love? Somehow, it's all there. Unexplainable. And I know I repeat myself when I say, its Magic. It is Magic.

With The Queens...

We fuel ourselves with a handful of dry fruits, apples, protein bars, chocolates and a very costly mug of black tea. We spend a good amount of time there taking pictures, marveling at the splendor and just sitting in silence. After an hour or so, we slowly start the descent. We come back to the High Camp just before midday and help ourselves with another little meal of omelette and fries.

An Apple On the D-Day!

We rest for a bit and then start to climb down to Low Camp – our destination for the day. We expected Low Camp to feel warmer after the freezing cold conditions in the High Camp, but the Sun decides otherwise. It gets a lot cloudy on the way down. And it feels equally cold, if not more at Low Camp today.

Back at the High Camp in the afternoon.

Low Camp (3050m)

We are at a different teahouse at Low Camp this time. The owner is very old and seems to be fumbling. He offers us Wi-Fi at a cost. When we say, we are okay without Wi-Fi, he offers it to us for free! He says he is too old to ask for money anyway. A sweet generosity coming from this lonely man at the top of the mountain.

On the way to Low Camp; Leaving the peaks behind...

We do our usual routine of changing to warmer clothes, pottering around the campsite, drinking some hot ginger lemon tea and finally settling in front of the burning stove. We get served a cold dinner today, courtesy of the struggling old host. You can’t really blame him though. He is just old. Whilst having dinner, we meet another couple from Bangladesh today. They will be on their way up to the High Camp the next day. We chat for a bit, then I wish them luck and call it a night.

That first glimpse of the golden Annapurna lingers as I shut my eyes...

Mardi Himal 5 : Low Camp to High Camp – Trek Day 3

Low Camp to High Camp : ~6 KM; ~ 5 Hours

It's 6:45 am. Did we miss the sunrise? As we go up the altitude and more into the winter, the Sun gets lazy too. So, at 6:45 in the morning, the Sun has only just started to wake up. We hurry out of the rooms and go up a few steps in the campsite to get a better view.

Sunrise at Low Camp

A bit later, a sumptuous breakfast of the usual Nepali bread and potato and egg set us off for the day. 

The Usual Breakie
Gurung (Tibetan) bread with potatoes and egg

After an hour and a half of climbing through the forest trail, we get to an opening with a tea shop perched on the slope. And suddenly, a cinematic view opens in front of us!

The joy when this wide view suddenly unfolds after a thick forest trail !

Nange Danda

Starting from the left, Annapurna South followed by Hiunchuli, Annapurna and then the towering Machhapuchhre to the right, a marvellous panorama of royal peaks emerges against the bright blue sky! This is the first viewpoint in the trek where we see all the peaks in one frame. The area is called Nange Danda. (Danda meaning Hill)

Can't get enough of this!

A woman in her mid-40s crosses us in steady steps, carrying a basket full of chickens. It weighs about 30 kilos – she says with a blessed smile. She rests with us for a bit in that tea shop. Our guide offers her a handful of mumfali-s (peanuts).

Big Fat Chicken makes me chuckle :D

From Nange Danda, we can see our next few stops or viewpoints and the tiny houses where we would spend the night at the far end of a mountain top. It’s all pretty much uphill from here.

Our next stop - those blue cluster of houses in the distance at Badal Danda

Badal Danda (3300m)

We, then, cross a few other scattered teahouses of Nange Danda, a volleyball court and march on to the next climb. We follow the path with a series of steps going up.

Approaching Badal Danda
Machhapuchhre makes my heart swell !

A few mules bray and a few chickens cluck as we get to the next viewpoint i.e. Bandal Danda.

So Pretty & Proud ! :D

It’s midday now and the fog has started climbing up the valleys. It's almost a race against the cloud to get to the top of this mountain i.e. Badal Danda to experience the view before it gets all fogged up.

Racing the Cloud !

Well, you can’t really win against Nature. We are just able to catch a little glimpse of the queenly peaks before the soft clouds start brushing against them. Bandal Danda, literally translating to Cloud Hill, holds true to its name!

Cloud Creeping up at Badal Danda

The rest of the afternoon trail is a game of hide-and-seek with the wandering clouds, the enigmatic mountains and the playful valleys.

Just a happy me !

High Camp (3500m)

We reach High Camp in the afternoon. It’s extremely cold here! We are out of network, so can’t really check the temperature. It’s expected to be -17 degrees Celsius at night, but my body is already shaking. The teahouse owner here has a big brown chicken which seems to be shaking as well. Every chance it gets, the chicken gets into a comfortably warm corner inside the toilet! I prefer the dining area though.

On the way to High Camp, near Badal Danda...

We quickly change, do a little walk around the campsite and then glue ourselves to the seats closest to the burning stove inside the dining room. It’s still not enough! My right side of the body is closer to the burner and my left side of the body complains about it!

Cairns on the way...

Its amazing how the hosts always manage to serve steaming hot food in this bitter cold weather. A hot plate of dal-bhat appears at about 7PM in the evening and I hoover it up like a greedy buffoon. Like the Nepali saying goes - Dal bhat power – 24 hour!

At High Camp - cold Me, thick Cloud & lofty Machhapuchhre..!

Our guide, Maniram advises to sip water through the night to reduce the chances of AMS. It obviously has the downside of the evident toilet trips at night. But I do follow the advice.

As The Sun kisses goodnight to The Queen...

And when in the middle of my sleep, I get out of the warm duvet and go out into the chilling cold night, a huge white mass of Annapurna South and Hiunchuli and the sky-scraping Machhapuchhre tower over me against the black night sky. It is serene. It is seductive. It is dangerously beautiful.

Mardi Himal 4 : Gauda to Low Camp – Trek Day 2

Gauda to Low Camp : ~11 KM; ~7 Hours

The beauty of Sunrise and Sunsets is known to us all. Yet, it fascinates me every single time I witness the same. The Sun spotlights the two peaks (Annapurna South and Hiunchuli) as it rises and then gradually spreads its golden warmth across the mountain ranges. And, thus it announces the arrival of yet another sunny day. Lucky!

Sun rises on Annapurna South

Forest Camp (2900m)

Today's path is a forest trail. The beauty of this is, just when you start getting used to the dark green cosiness around you, a sudden wide view opens up and makes you gasp at the wonder! That's exactly what happens when we get to a random teahouse out of nowhere. This pretty cottage seems to have been built here to soak in the Sun and the mountain view alike.

Picture doesn't do any justice to those towering peaks at the back!

We continue our climb through the forest trails full of mossy trees, tall rhododendron trees with red skins, bamboo shrubs and so on. In due time, we reach a spot called Forest Camp.

Forest Trail leading to Forest Camp

A sleepy dog with thick furry black coat comes to sniff my shoes. I like her right away. A table tennis board lies in front of the teahouse here, along with a ping pong ball and two battered bats. You can't not make justice to such a sporty arrangement in this beautiful setting. So we indulge for a while.

Forest full of tall Rhododendrons

This teahouse face an opening in the valley through which our constant snowy-companions peek through. We sit in the sun, facing the valley and slurp from our hot bowl of thukpa.

A pony on the way!

We then leave the campsite by climbing up a few steep stairs on which sits another furry friend with his golden yellow coat on. She sits right in the middle of the steps, as if guarding the way. I pat her and I think she likes me as she shakes her fur off and starts following.

Maniram blessing the dog...

Rest Camp

As we get deeper into the trail and the day rolls into the afternoon, the Sun seems to play tricks. Thick foggy clouds start floating up from the valley, engulfing the mountains and the peaks.

The majestic Machhapuchhre before the puffy clouds cover it all

By the time we get to the next site – Rest Camp, we see nothing but grey clouds around us. The whole scenery seems to be wiped off. Our guide had told us, the Rest Camp offers a gorgeous view otherwise. Hence, the fog here makes me a bit upset. Making the most of what we got, we then push off to the next campsite.

Rest Camp - Scene shut; Courtesy : Cloud.

Low Camp (3050m)

We walk through dense rhododendron forest and get to the Low Camp after a couple of hours. The tall trees start getting shorter as we go higher up the altitude. It’s still foggy and feels colder without the Sun. Once we reach the teahouses in the Low Camp, we quickly change into dry clothes and get to the dining area to get ourselves warmed up against the burning stove. I find a dhol (a double-sided barrel drum) here. Expert or not, I start playing. Time flies by with incompetent dhol beats, out of tune songs and rolls of laughter.

At the Low Camp

At Sunset, the cloud starts fading off again. The towering Machhapuchhre (or the Fishtail peak) appears big in the sky. Feels like, it is standing right behind the Low Camp, supervising us, the puny humans.

The little green lights inside the teahouses and their blue rooftops, with the golden Machhapuchhre at the backdrop against a pinkish sky create an enchanting few moments of colours! Then, it all falls into a quiet darkness and a million sparkling stars take over. Can it get any richer than this!

To The Queen...Goodnight!