Dharchula and beyond!
We left Almora in two mini-buses - singing Bhajans and patriotic songs - Ashish and Piyush being the "song-leaders"... Piyush distributed Shiva Manas Pooja Stotra of Shri AdiShankara Bhagavadpada to everyone - he also recited it and made us repeat after him. That was a beautiful experience - all of us repeating Shiva Manasa Pooja in chorus.
We reached this Ghanta Mandir - Temple of Bells - Kumaonis have this tradition of hanging a bronze bell in this temple once their wish is fulfilled. One can see lakhs of bells in all sizes and shapes hung everywhere. Temple is maintained very beautifully and it was very clean. We went around ringing the big and small bells like small children - this again was a new beautiful experience.
Our spirits were high - morale absolutely high - and the mountain roads looked inviting. Little after Almora suddenly tall mountains and deep Kali river are seen on both sides - this was one moment where I had tears in eyes and felt very lucky, blessed, chosen to be there that day that time. Words fail me; feeling was unexplainable - in fact, this road was like the road to Badrinath - with tall mountains on one side and deep river on the other side.....
Lunch was served in a KMVNL guest house and we proceeded further. We reached Merthi where ITBP gave us a grand reception - welcoming us with traditional dance, group photo with the chief guest who is (ex)King and Prince of Ascot. This was followed by tea and snacks and then the briefing from ITBP on dos and donts by way of Power Point Presentation.
We got to see the mini-museum where the letters written about the Yatra by some celebrities, Kings, and religious leaders; articles used for Yatra those days were also kept in exhibition.
Leaving Merthi, we proceeded to Dharchula, enjoying the mountains, rivers, flowers and butterflies on our way. Reached Dharchula finally little after 7 pm. School children of Dharchula were waiting there all decked up to sing some Bhajans for us. We listened to their songs, enjoyed a good dinner, discussed about Pony, Porter facility. Finally whoever wanted Pony and Porter or Pony alone or Porter alone facility registered ourselves with their association so that they can keep enough porters and ponies at Narayan Ashram ready by next day.
Guest rooms at Dharchula is very beautiful with Kali Nadhi just flowing under our feet - one can sleep to the sound of roaring river instead of the usual blaring car horns and motorbike sounds that we hear in our places. Just outside the window, Kali Nadhi was flowing majestically and the sight of it was enough to soothe our nerves and make us feel welcome and comfortable.
We woke up fresh and energetic for the trekking part which starts today (14th June '13). After a good breakfast, I crossed the bridge that connects India side Dharchula to Nepal side Dharchula and walked in the streets of Nepal! Woollen gloves, socks, scarves are very cheap on Nepal side. Sticks needed for trekking is also available in plenty here and at very cheap rates. Till we reached Dharchula, we did not require any woollen garment on us - I was in cotton salwar kameez with simple open shoes - only while travelling on the mountain road, I covered my head with cotton dupatta just to be safe. It is a good idea to buy woollen ready-to-use garments at Nepal Dharchula.
One more reception was organised by KMVN at Dharchula where some VIPs addressed us and we were garlanded! By now it was getting late and the school children who had come decked up to do some dance and song for us were told that there was no time for entertainment. I saw the disappointment on their faces and asked them to do the dance for me when we were all eating - they happily obliged and everyone came there to see their dance.
Lovely children! So much enthusiasm and energy to show their artistic talents. They chose songs in Kumaoni language and danced with lamps.
We could leave the unwanted luggage at Dharchula guest house. Separate lining up of luggage to leave at Dharchula and luggage to take further on Yatra was completed. From this place, our common luggage would come on ponies organised by KMVN, and our personal luggage should be carried either by us or by our porters.
We left in 7 jeeps - the first jeep had a flag - we were accompanied by ITBP doctor, KMVNL guides - other than these people, we had one Yatri who had 2 ITBP jawans accompanying her specially.
We crossed through the power house (by the time we returned, we were told that this power house was covered with mud, slush and water of the flooding Kali Nadhi and would take another 3 months to start functioning again) and reached Narayan Ashram. See their website for more details on this beautiful Ashram started by a contemporary of Chinmayanandaji to serve the poor villagers of that region http://www.visionhimalay.com/narayan-ashram.html
Porters and Ponywallahs wait here for the Yatris. I understood that some yatris had given their preference for a particular porter well in advance and were straight away getting the preferred porter. As usual, I waited for all the hurrying and jostling to settle down to get my turn for allotment of porter and pony. I was allotted Himanshu and Bhim Singh. Himanshu came and lifted my back-pack and immediately cried with joy saying, "madam, this is my first time as porter for Kailash Yatris... and I was worried how heavy the bag might turn out to be - you have brought something that I can carry very easily... thank you Madam"... I was happy to see this young lad and was relieved to see his nice manners and clean well-groomed looks.
Before I proceed further, some more information on this topic. Actually I was confused about use of porters and ponywallahs. As opinion was divided as to their usefulness, I sent sms to my friend Meera on her opinion. She sent an emphatic reply that I should avail this facility and not to worry about money. In her words these people are the Shivaganas who would help us reach Shiva's abode and hence, even if I think that I am physically fit to walk and carry my small back-pack, I should engage them as a sort of charitable act. These people depend on Yatris for their livelihood and we should be generous in engaging them. I had to listen to this experienced Yatri and hence took a porter and pony. My personal experience is that, it is not that we do charity to them - it is they who are charitable towards us, risking their lives and taking us on our Yatra. Porter walks with our luggage when we are on pony and reaches along with us. Pony fellow walks with the pony and takes us safely. Many places are so slippery, narrow and dangerous, where without the help of these people, it is not easy to proceed further. Hence, my sincere suggestion for those who read this blog and want to use it for their Yatra is to avail the service of Pony and Porter - whatever be your age - whatever be your gender - whatever be your physical fitness level. In fact, I wish that MEA makes it mandatory for all yatris!
One more thought that I must write is about the weight that the porter and pony are made to carry. Though there is a specified weight, there is no check on this. I saw many Yatris who made their porters carry huge luggage which might easily weigh 12 to 15 kgs on their backs. Similarly, the bag that yatris carry while riding on pony also should have weight-restriction. I found many yatris having a huge bag on their backs while riding the pony, thus making the pony carry more weight.
I should point out that in China side, the ponywallah takes the hand-baggage and checks the weight. Any bag which is abve, say 3 or 4 kgs is straight away refused! Hence, all Yatris carefully organised their hand-baggages for ride on pony at China side. I was only wishing that this same rules and restrictions should have been strictly followed for India side porters and ponies also. Seen in the following photo are Himanshu my (Sup)Porter with me and his mother whom we saw on our way to Shirkha.. that house behind is his aunt's house and he also showed me his grandmother who was standing in front of his house!
Seen in the above photograph is Bhim Singh and his pony (I used to call him Kalyan). Himanshu and Bhim Singh are very gentle persons with no extra demand and no greed. On my way from Nabidhang to Lipulekh Pass, my bag which had nearly 1 lac rupees of all Yatris and my personal money in Indian and US currency was left with him. They both are absolutely honest and hardworking cheerful people. God bless them and their families!
From Narayan Swami Ashram we started our 6 kms trek to Shirkha camp. This was the first "trekking" / "walking" in the Yatra. We walked through forest, Himanshu holding my hand wherever necessary. I did not have a stick then. He told me that he will bring a nice one the next day from his village, which he did. It was a nice long thick stick, slightly taller than me, which was very useful while descending steep steps and also climbing up.
We reached Shirkha well in time and were very excited about the route ahead and the "trekking" that we had done! We had dinner, sang Bhajans and went to sleep. No one was in mood to sleep as all of us started chatting happily about various things that we experienced that day, including the behaviour of some Yatris ( to be honest we gossipped about a particular Yatri whose behaviour was really different - later on I felt ashamed and slowly made her stop nonsensical talks). 
Let me pause here at Shirkha before we proceed to Gala tomorrow! Om NamaShivayah!
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