The young Ganges and distant Gangotri glacier
We all need to return to the source sometimes. It’s where you can reconnect with those deeper aspects of yourself that life and navigating it can disconnect you from. What better way of doing this than a real source of transcendent significance, in this case of the sacred Ganges itself?
This was to be the the third visit I made to this beautiful location, high in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand. I was surprised that it was planned we go at all, given it was mid March and the region still likely to be under snow. But apparently this year, global warming had seen the snows retreat more rapidly, so the roads were mainly clear and it was unusually warm during the day, although with nightfall, still bitterly cold.
The first time I came here was back in October 2020, when the region had just begun to open up after the pandemic shut down, and I have sublime memories of it. There were relatively few other travellers then and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The following occasion (last year) could not have been more different, with thousands of visitors descending on the region (1). Now, given the time of year, it was once again nearly deserted, with very few guest houses open and basic infrastructure still needing repair after the winter snows. The long narrow street leading to the main temple was effectively abandoned, the many guest houses and eateries shuttered and closed; frozen snow still blocking the way in places.
The few people there seemed to be off duty army personnel from the several army bases in the region, given its proximity to the border with China. Otherwise there was just the occasional visitor, like ourselves. Young diehards braved the icy waters to bathe in the river, newly emerged from the glacier a few kilometres further north.
Although officially closed, the resident priest kindly opened the temple so we were able to pay our respects to it. Then the drive back along the high, winding mountain roads, through the spruce forests opening up to occasional stunning views of the snowy mountains beyond.
The journey took us once again to the Maha Ganga, Mukhba Temple, on the opposite bank of the river, where the statue of the deity spends winter, and indeed it was still resident there. No cuckoos this time, it was too early, although there were wild cherry and thorn bushes in blossom, heralding early spring.
Later that afternoon as the fleeting warmth of the day passed and the chill of the evening and the season descended, we returned to Dharali where we were, as usual, staying and location of the ancient Kalp Kedar temple. There, desiring a change, I managed to persuade the cook at a small street side eaterie to make British style egg and chips, washed down with several small cups of hot sweet chai to keep the cold at bay. A few village people hung around in the little square, some ambulant cattle and several Himalayan mountain dogs. And so followed another freezing night huddled under heavy blankets trying to keep warm, before an early start the following morning to make the long return journey back to Rishikesh.
(1) https://elizabethcurrie.info/2022/05/19/chota-char-dham-pilgrimage-in-the-days-of-mass-tourism/