Road to Leh(3) - Let Not The Road End Here

 Read Also: Road to Leh (1) and Road to Leh (2)

I was coming back from Keylong and it had rained last night. The rain, beautiful Udaipur and mystical Trilokinath Temple had made my day, despite the poor conditions of road. I was cribbing about retard state-of-mind of our government who could not develop proper roads, irrespective of the fact that every year thousands or hundred thousands of tourists come into the valley and help the villagers lift their status of living. The beautiful valley and backdrop of majestic Himalayas made me forget all these issues and I decided to stop at a dhaba in Keylong. I asked for traditional ‘bike trip’breakfast', aaloo parantha [आलू परांठा] and tea with extra sugar. There I spotted an old man who was looking or rather staring at me.

He looked at me and asked, “Where from have you come?" His tone was harsh and bitter
I responded,” Sir, I belong to Himachal, Sundernagar , Mandi.” And I expected some softness in his voice in the next sentence.
“I am not interested in your correspondence address son, where are you coming from right now?, said he and I continued to have strange sensations in my stomach.
“My bad sir, I am coming from Udaipur, Trilokinath temple. Now I am getting into the Spiti Valley from here.” was my reply which didn’t have any magical effect on him.
He did not speak anything for the next few minutes as he got busy on his phone and I kept thinking about him.

Usually I ‘switch places’ and try to look at a situation from other person’s perspective too but this time I could not understand what was wrong with me. May be my beard, I thought and shrugged.

He can tell me stories, let us give it one more chance and sat next to him, the curious kid inside said to me.

TG: Sir, where do you live and how do you manage when the valley is closed down during winters?
Uncle: How do we manage? We live at your mercy son. You think it’s easy to manage, managing is very difficult here and we often die while managing to live.
TG: Sorry sir, I am unable to understand. If you do not want to talk about it, I am sorry. I got up and asked for one more cup of tea, it was definitely getting bone-chilling inside there.
Uncle: Son, you want to listen. Come here, I will tell you something you won’t forget, ever.
And then he told me something, which I had never thought of, that line of thinking was completely new for me.
“Opening of valley means a lot to us, all of us who look nice and happy people to you, to all the tourists who love clicking photographs with us so that they can show it to their friends. To you, it means getting close to the nature, exploring the unexplored and adventure. To us, it means getting back to somewhat normal living conditions. Sun you see, is important for all of us and we are no exception. You do not have to buy groceries for six months in advance, we have to. But that is not your fault, that is just the randomness of this life and I don’t have any problems with that.”

I was trying to absorb the heat generated by his anger and I asked for my third cup of tea.

Uncle continued, “I lost my grandson last year because of this tourist-season. We were going to Manali hospital as soon as Rohtang opened because that is what we can do when there are no helicopters. The state government cannot afford regular helicopter rides, when it comes to the common public. My grandson held on, he managed to survive when the roads were closed; he managed to hold on when there were no helicopter rides for him. We were hopeful that Dev Rohtang will help us because Gods never fail us. But people like you, the tourists who want to enjoy and have fun made it impossible for our son to live anymore.”

I was still not getting his point and now the dhaba owner decided not to make any tea, as he shared his sentiment and was sitting close to me on the floor. A random thought crossed my mind, what if they attack me and hold me accountable for their son’s death. I tried to focus and not to hallucinate, day dreams they say often become true.

“You come with your big cars, big families and then drive it as if you own the road. Look at Rohtang, what have you done to it? You drive like crazy, you fight to overtake, and you are in a hurry always. You park like crazy, disturb the traffic and how does it affect you? It never affects you, it affects us, and we lose our dear ones. We can’t wait in the traffic admiring the natural beauty with patients for hours. We have to see our dear ones die in front of us. Why? Did you ever think of that? Because your fun becomes our punishment. That little kid died and he could have been saved. We waited for three hours in the traffic and when the traffic opened, there was no life left in him. I hear tourists had blocked the road because they were fighting over a broken indicator or head light, and they were waiting for the insurance guys so that they could get their compensation. I wonder how mother of my son will be compensated.”

And then it became a sad story towards its end, it started to make all the sense. I myself have seen people lining up randomly on their way towards Rohtang. They park vehicles on the middle of the road, without thinking anything. Well, it affects life because Rohtang is just not a tourist point; it serves as a lifeline for the people in valley.

Uncle continued,” You come here every year. Bring plastics, bring beer cans, and bring hygienic packed food, cold drinks and what not. You eat them and don’t even care to put them in the waste basket. Yes, we don’t have enough waste baskets here but can’t you just leave the place as it was given to you? Clean and normal, so that we don’t have to pay for your faults. Every year you Leh bikers wait eagerly for opening of Rohtang. Do you even know what it takes to clear the road? Let me tell you, it becomes hard to tell between skin and leather, that’s how sun burns us when we try to clean the road for you. Have you ever met a BRO soldier who has lost his hands trying to clean the road for you? Have you ever met a soldier who can’t afford to pay for his skin treatment that has become animal like while cleaning the road for you? Well it’s not easy son, it’s not that easy.  You can’t drink water from natural sources and then you buy your water bottles, you need beer cans too because you want to stay warm and have full enjoyment. Have you ever seen the pile of plastic bottles and cans that you leave behind when the summer season closes and we try to get back to our normal lives? We never find the place as good as it was in the previous year. And this has been happening since ages. Every year we clean up the road, clean up your trash and then next year you come again. Why is Rohtang sinking, do you have any clue? It is sinking because you care about your well-being. You need clean water to drink, clean food to eat and above that you need polyethene bags to cover your shoes and socks which might get ‘wet’ while you move towards Leh on your bikes. Do you even care to put that plastic back in your bag so that the mountains remain clean?”

I was shell shocked when he showed me photographs of truckloads of plastics dumped at the Rohtang top. I could not even look at the face and hands of soldiers who were busy cleaning the road for me and several others like me. I could not imagine their pain and agony.
Uncle said, “Gods have never failed us son. It is our fellow brothers who have failed us, always.”
And I was standing there dumbstruck and speechless. I promised him that I will not leave this place worse than I found it; I will try to leave it better than I got it or at least help it remain what it was.

And while moving towards the Spiti Valley, an old story came back to me.

“People buy new car and they get emotionally attached to it. They won’t take their car out on the tough roads, will wash it every other day. Would not allow people to step in with bad shoes and make everything possible to keep it new but the car will grow old one day for sure. When it comes to nature, people don’t do the same; they forget that nature too needs care and affection. Yes, you don’t own it but what is the need of owning it. Nature belongs to those who embrace it with open arms. So, next time you go to Spiti Valley or Leh Laddakh Trip, make sure you bring back what is not required there. Because if today you do not care, there would be nothing left for the coming generations to see. Explore with love, do not explore and exploit, nobody wants to be exploited and when nature backfires, nothing remains beautiful. Feel that it belongs to you and what you save today is what you pass on to your kids.”

Enroute Rohtang Pass – Narrow Roads | Drive Nice

 Spirit – Nawang Sir Cleaning Up Near Rohtang

 Mountain Cleaners (Non Profit Group) Cleaning Task

 Five minutes to cook maggie | Two hundred years to recover from damage inflicted by its plastic

 Bring These Back | Himalayas Don’t Need This

Things not to do:

        1.Drive sensibly, do not try to adventurous in the snow, your adventure might kill you and disturb the traffic for sure. Drive slow, life is slow in the Himalayas and believe me your 'fast life style' won't do any help to the nature or to yourself.

        2. Drink beer, carry plastic bags but do not forget to bring them back. You leave them there and you contribute in receding movement of glaciers. Glaciers have already receded enough; nature doesn’t need any more participating members.

       3.Say thanks to the BRO soldiers because without them you would have never seen the amazingly beautiful Spiti and Laddakh. He will feel nice and happy.

       4.There is no need to carry mineral bottles, carry the one you bought in Manali and you can refill it on your way. Your mineral bottle is useless in the valley because water is already mineral rich there.

     5.If you are too fond of Punjabi songs and cannot help dancing in the snow, be smart enough not to park your vehicle in the middle of road. Dancing on Punjabi music doesn’t need any special platform; let roads serve the purpose for what they have been built while you flaunt your dancing skills on the roadside with speakers of your car thumping at full volume.

    Spare a thought! 

    Respect the Himalayas | Respect Yourself

    Photo Courtesy: Nawang Sir and Mountain Cleaners

    Good Work~Nice People | MountainCleaners.Org

    Read More: Road to Leh (1) and Road to Leh (2)
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आशापुरी की गर्भ-गुफा और रहस्यमयी नगरियाँ - (डाडासीबा,चढ़ियार, और हारसिपत्तन) - Ashapuri Temple and Mysterious Dadasiba

बचपन में ध्रुव, डोगा, और नागराज की कॉमिक्स पढ़ा करता था [आज भी पढता हूँ], और मेरी हरकतें भी उनकी तरह ही हो जाया करतीं थीं [आज भी हैं] , गाड़ियों के नंबर, माईल-स्टोंस, बसों के रूट सब एकदम से याद हो जाया करते थे| बस ऐसे ही तीन रूट मेरे दिलो दिमाग पे छाए रहे, एक था डाडासीबा से शिमला, और दूसरा हारसिपत्तन से दिल्ली | मैं सोचता रहता था की क्या गज़ब नाम है, जगह भी जबरदस्त होगी, बड़ा मन हुआ करता था जाने का क्यूंकि नाम ही ऐसा गजब है, डाडासीबा, ऐसा लगता है जैसे बोम्ब बनाने की फैक्ट्री  हो उधर कोई, पर बचपन में बाउजी के पास स्कूटर हुआ करता था तो स्कूटर पे डाडासीबा तो जाया नहीं गया | अभी हाल ही में मेरा एक दोस्त होके आया डाडासीबा और उसने जिस तरीके से एक्सप्लेन किया, रहा नहीं गया और पहुँच गए डाडासीबा |

डाडासीबा एक छोटा सा गाँव है काँगड़ा डिस्ट्रिक्ट  में, और वहां के बाशिंदे कहते हैं कि पूरी दुनिया डेवेलप  हो जाएगी, पर डाडासीबा का कुछ नहीं हो सकता, देख के तो यही लगा कि सच ही कहते हैं | डाडासीबा पहुंचना हो तो जवालाजी से निकल जाओ देहरा कि तरफ और वहां से तलवाड़ा रोड पे निकल लो, किसी भी माईल स्टोन पे डाडासीबा नहीं लिखा होगा, पर घबराने कि जरुरत नहीं है सीधी सड़क है, चलते जाओ, डाडासीबा जब आएगा तो पता चल जाएगा | जब ये बता पाना मुश्किल हो जाए कि  सड़क में खड्ड आ गयी   या खड्ड में सड़क बना दी गयी है , तो समझ लो कि डाडासीबा आ गया | पर कुछ अच्छा पाना हो तो कष्ट भोगने ही पड़ते हैं, तो जैसे ही डाडासीबा पहुँचो आपको दिखता है महाराजा रणजीत सागर डैम, जिसके ऊपर पौंग डैम बना हुआ है | जिन लोगों ने मुंबई देखा हुआ है उनको लगता है कि मुंबई का बीच आ गया और जिन्होंने नहीं देखा हो, उनको लगता है कि मुंबई ऐसा ही होगा|

मल्लाह, किश्ती, और डाडासीबा की एक शाम 

डाडासीबा @ इट्स बेस्ट 

लोनली प्लानेट 

दूर दूर तक देख लो, पानी ही दिखेगा, जमीन नहीं दिखती, आसमान और जमीन में फरक नहीं दिखता| हम जब पहुंचे तो सूरज ढल चुका था, पानी सुनहरे रंग का हो चुका था और दूर पानी में मछली पकड़ने वाला जाल फेंक और खींच रहा था | मेरे ज़हन में सिर्फ एक आवाज़ गूँज रही थी " डा डा सिबा " | जगह का नाम और आँखों के सामने का नजारा बिलकुल राज कॉमिक्स कि कहानियों का कोई गाँव लग रहा था | वहां कैम्पिंग और बोन-फायर करने का बड़ा आनंद आएगा , मछली पकड़ने की कला आती हो तो वहीँ पकड़ो, भूनो और ओल्ड मोंक के साथ खा जाओ|

डाडासीबा से निकले हम एक और बचपन कि याद को ताज़ा करने, आशापुरी मंदिर, वहां से कहते हैं किस्मत वाले दिन सारा  हमीरपुर, बिलासपुर, और रंजित सागर दिखता है, पर अपनी किस्मत हमेशा अगले कल ही आती है सो वैसा ही उस दिन हुआ | दिन दोपहर में पहुँच गए आशापुरी लेकिन आसमान में बादल थे तो कुछ नहीं दिखाई दिया, बस ब्यास नदी दिख रही थी पहाड़ियों को काटती हुई | आशापुरी का मंदिर पहाड़ी कि चोटी पे है और ये मंदिर भारतीय पुरातत्व सर्वेक्षण विभाग कि प्रोपर्टी है | सुनिए इस मंदिर कि कुछ विशेषताएं :

कहते हैं ये मंदिर बैजनाथ के प्रसिद्द शिव मंदिर के साथ का बना हुआ है | यहाँ रहने के लिए कोई सराय/धरमशाला नहीं है लेकिन वहां लोगों कि दुकानों में रहा जा सकता है | दूर दूर से लोग आते हैं यहाँ क्यूंकि यहाँ काफी लोगों कि कुलदेवी है, शिमला, नालागढ़, बरोटीवाला, सोलन, ये कुलदेवी सेलेक्ट कैसे होती है ये नहीं पता पर पहुँच  बड़ी है इस मंदिर की|  अन्दर किसी ब्रिटिश महाराजा के दो सिक्के (coins) गड़े हुए हैं, पुजारी परिवार की मानें तो अंग्रेजों ने इस मंदिर में स्वयम्भू पिंडी को तोड़ने के लिए सिपाही भेजे, सिपाहियों ने भरपूर जोर आजमाइश की लेकिन पिंडी नहीं उखड़ी, हाँ पिंडी के नीचे से मधुमखियाँ निकली, जिन्होंने सैनिकों को मार भगाया | फिर तबसे ब्रिटिश लोग भी मंदिर की महिमा को मानने लगे, कितना सच-कितना झूठ इसपे गौर न करें तो स्टोरी काफी इंटरेस्टिंग है | समय के साथ ये मंदिर विखंडित होने लग पड़ा और रही सही कसर पुरातत्व विभाग ने पूरी कर दी, मंदिर की नक्काशी की हुई छत  पे कंक्रीट  चढ़ा दिया गया है और अब ये मंदिर पुराना कम और कम पैसे लेके घटिया ठेकेदार से बनवाया हुआ ज्यादा लगता है |

हिमाचल प्रदेश ग्रामीण क्षेत्र की सबसे बड़ी पेयजल योजना,भडारण क्षमता - १६ लाख लीटर ,जयसिंहपुर 

आशापुरी मंदिर 

नक्काशी की हुई मंदिर की दीवार 

पुरातत्व विभाग का चमत्कार, मंदिर की छत का बेडा गरक कर दिया गया है 

इससे भी जबरदस्त है वैष्णो देवी गुफा जो कि मंदिर से पांच किलोमीटर की दूरी पर है , गुफा में है एक गर्भ द्वार और यकीन मानिये वो गर्भ के द्वार जितना ही छोटा है | पुजारी बाबा उसे गर्भ जून कह रहा था और उस गुफा की ओपनिंग देख के मुझे हल्का सा डर लगा की इसमें फंस गए तो मारे जायेंगे | मुझे याद है २००२ में मेरी माँ भी घुसी  थी इस गुफा में और फंस गयी थी, पर मुझमे और मेरी माँ में  "एक बटा दो" का फरक है तो मुझे लगा की मैं नहीं फंस सकता | गुफा द्वार में घुसने से पुण्य मिलता है ऐसा बाबा का कहना था, मुझे पुण्य मिला या नहीं पर बाय गाड  मजा बड़ा आया | उसी गुफा के ऊपर है कैलाश पर्वत,एकदम नेचुरल  मेड| ऐसा लगता है कैलाश का प्रोटोटाइप रखा  हो प्लास्टर ऑफ़ पेरिस  से बनाके | वो पूरी चट्टान बड़े अजीब तरीके से टिकी हुई  है और मुझे ऐसा लगा की कभी भी गिर जाएगी पर नहीं गिरती तो नहीं गिरती | उस चट्टान के ऊपर सड़क भी बनी हुई है, सोने पे सुहागा |

कैलाश पर्वत, इसने चट्टान को जैसे अपने ऊपर संभाल लिया है 

 गर्भ द्वार के उस पार , इस छेद से उस पार जाने में हवा टाईट हो जाती है 

तबला, डमरू, चिमटा, और कैलाश पर्वत सब अवेलेबल है यहाँ  

 गुफा के अन्दर पुजारी बाबा 

पत्थर के लड्डू, ऐसे लड्डू गुफा के अन्दर टनों के हिसाब से मौजूद हैं 

 खैर वहां से निकले तो दो रास्ते हैं जाने के, एक पालमपुर होके, और एक सुजानपुर-जयसिंहपुर होके , लेकिन हमें तीसरा रास्ता दिख गया था, चढ़ियार - हारसिपत्तन  से जाने का और मजे कि बात ये कि ये वाला रास्ता स्टेट हाइवे - १७ है, जिसका मतलब सड़क पक्की होगी, एक दो गाँव में सड़क पूरी कंक्रीट कि बनी हुई थी, जो कि हिमाचल में  बहुत कम देखने को मिलता है | चढ़ियार  कब आया कब गया कुछ पता नहीं चला, यहाँ से एक बस चलती है चढ़ियार -शिमला और  मुझे लगता था कि कोई क़स्बा होगा रंग बिरंगा सा, पर चलो जाने दो | खाली सडकें , जंगल , ब्यास का बेसिन, और दूर दूर तक फैले हुए गाँव, एक जगह तो ऐसा लगता है कि जैसे स्पीती में पहुँच गए हों|  और फिर आता है  हारसिपत्तन, हारसी गाँव है और पत्तन नदी के तट को कहते हैं, यहाँ पर दो गाँवों के नाम को मिलाके एक नाम दिया गया| हारसी पत्तन में कुछ ख़ास नहीं है बस एक पुल है बहुत बड़ा, जिसके एक तरफ काँगड़ा, एक तरफ मंडी और आजू-बाजू में हमीरपुर  डिस्ट्रिक्ट पड़ता है | वो पुल बड़ा फेमस है प्रदेश में, ठीक  लम्बा चौड़ा पुल है |

वहां पहुँच के मेरे दिल को बड़ा सुकून मिला, और मेरे दोस्त के हिसाब से वहां कोई प्राचीन मंदिर जरुर होगा क्यूंकि वहां से एक बस चलती है कटड़ा (जम्मू) के लिए, कहने का मतलब ये है कि जिन छोटे छोटे गाँवों से जम्मू-कटड़ा-वैष्णो देवी के लिए बसें चलती हैं, वहां एक सौ प्रतिशत या तो कोई मंदिर होता है, ये रिलीजियस सिग्निफिकेंस होता है, खैर अँधेरा हो चुका था तो मंदिर तो हम नहीं ढूंढ पाए , और कैमरा की बेट्री भी जीरो  हो चुकी थी तो न पुल का फोटो खींच पाए और न ही जगहों का, पर यकीन मानिये जब ब्यास का बेसिन दीखता है और ढलता सूरज पूरे आसमान को सुनहरा बना देता है तो ऐसा लगता है जैसे अलिफ़ लैला की कहानियों का कोई गाँव है|

रोयल इनफिल्ड सनसेट , हारसिपत्तन

ट्रेवल  रूट:

हमीरपुर- जैसिन्ह्पुर-आशापुरी - 75  किलोमीटर, कच्ची और तंग सड़क, 26  किलोमीटर तक स्टेट हाईवे - 39|

वापसी: आशापुरी - चढ़ियार - हारसिपत्तन - संधोल -सुजानपुर-हमीरपुर , स्टेट हाईवे - 17 , अच्छा मगर तंग रोड | 

P.S: तीसरा रूट है घोडिध्वीरी-दिल्ली, जगह का नाम सुनके लगता है मुग़लों की सल्तनत का कोई गाँव हो, जगह का पता चलते ही वहां भी जाया जाएगा | 

Destination Sach Pass (साच पास ) - The Toughest

Read Prologue here

I used to think and believe that Rohtang Pass is the toughest pass to climb on a motorbike. Tourists pouring in from all parts of country, road widening going on simultaneously, and the added bonus of rains make this ride one hell of a task. Sixteen kilometers uphill from Marhi (मढ़ी) to Rohtang Top take more than 3 hours and if you are stuck in a traffic jam or a landslide, you can stay close to nature for no body knows how many days, or unless BRO saves you.

However, Chamba as they say is a beautiful place and reaching Chamba is difficult because it is just difficult. We chose the worst month of year and above that worst time of the month to go to Chamba. Rainy season is not the best season to embark on any journey in the hilly regions, especially going to the Sach Pass in rainy season is suicidal. But brave men ride high on luck and that's what keeps us going. Last year when we went to Chamba, we were naive riders, did not even have a camera and never expected the road to be so hard because we had not seen anything except the national highways. This year, we had an experience of 21,000 kilometers and that too in the toughest regions of Himachal Pradesh.

The day started with a cloudy morning and last week's experience was still afresh in our memory. We thought of dropping the idea but ultimately we decided to go because we wanted to go. As soon as we started, it started raining and by the time we reached Kangra, we were all drenched and fucked. No raincoat could have saved us because raindrops were as heavy as small stone pebbles that once a thirsty crow used to quench his thirst. The rain stopped at Kangra and we were still hopeful that we will make it to Chamba tonight itself. The initial plan was to go via Jot Pass (2800 meters) but landslides and road blocks forced us to change our plan and go via the safer and better road via Dalhousie/Khajjiar.


Soon we realized that our timing to go was not that bad. It was the Manimahesh Season and after every 20-25 kilometers, a free food stall could be seen run by the [god fearing/loving] volunteers. Free food, free medical supplies, free tea , and at some places free accommodation was available for the pilgrims. Faith and religion have not always done bad for our society, they have sometimes helped the cause as well and this was one of those times. We enjoyed free food and tea and looked forward to have fun at the next stall as well. At every stall, it was written 'भोले की फ़ौज, करेगी मौज' and we literally considered ourselves to be भोले की फ़ौज and believed that it was our birthright to have मौज at every food stall.

भोले की फ़ौज, करेगी मौज

Reaching Chamba was our primary motive on Day 1 but somehow we found ourselves running short of time and it was getting dark, so we altered our plans and decided to skip Chamba and reach Surangani, which would give us an early morning start on the following day.

Surangani is a small town established by the NHPC, the roads, the schools, the health centers exist in that town because of the NHPC projects. And if there was  no hydroelectricity in Chamba, I doubt there would have been any roads or good schools. There is a Center School (Kendriya Vidyalya) in Surangani and I felt happy about it. We were welcomed by our friends and it was a very nice meeting after all those years. The night was not spent peacefully as we had to buy petrol in black. Now if this is corruption then fuck you because I do not think anyone will come to Surangani to open a petrol pump and run it continuously on loss for one hundred years. Anyways, petrol cost was 80 rupees per liter and who paid for it is still a mystery. My friends told me that Sach Pass is very tough and very difficult on a motorbike. However, my reference point was Rohtang Pass, and I never believed that anything could be tougher than that. However, definitions change with time, experience makes men aware of certain things that he believes never exist on earth and that's what happened with me too.

Sunrise from Water, NHPC Dam.

I am privileged to have nice people around me. Stay at Surangani is by far the best travel stay of mine and it proved one thing, you do not need new places to be happy, you will always need better people to make you happy.

On Day2, the journey started at 09:30 A.M, we thought of reaching Sach Pass by 14: 00 P.M. and then we embarked on one of the toughest journeys of our lives. PWD has sacrificed hundreds of lives in constructing those roads with limited manpower and primitive machinery. Landslides and heavy rains are characteristic properties of that region and constructing a road, which is wide, safe, and free from potholes is just not possible in that region, yet the PWD has managed to do a commendable job. All the names like तिस्सा, बैरागढ़, सतरुन्दी, कालाबन, which appear in newspapers, mostly because of deadly accidents are nothing but very small villages. You do not even notice their existence and they just stay as silent as they have remained since ages. The school kids still walk 15-20 kilometers to reach their schools, some of the villages still have to see roads and buses. Almost every shop sells liquor openly because that's what keeps them busy. Mind is a dirty thing and to keep it busy, everyone drinks in those hills. 

Road starts to deteriorate after crossing Bairagadh and thankfully it did not rain otherwise journey would have become even more difficult. Sharp stones, not boulders can be seen as constituent elements of the roads and if you are not lucky enough, a tire burst is very much possible. As you approach Kalaban, the whole region becomes silent and dark. Kalaban is just what its name suggests it to be, a black thick forest. There is a police checkpost at Satrundi, this is where terrorists attacked and killed policemen few years ago. Satrundi is the entry point to the Pangi Valley and you get inner line permits here. The procedure here is slight different because they shoot a video footage because of security reasons, in case you are a terrorist then your video footage will help them to trace you. The J&K border is just within reach and J&K police has constructed bunkers to encounter any terrorist activity in the region. 

Water, snow, fog, waterfalls on the road, and milestones kept us busy. The milestones were unique and designed exclusively for the Pangi Valley. If first milestone says Sach Pass = 105 KM, then the second will say Kilad = 170 KM, third will say Kalaban = X KM and the fourth one will say something else. And eventually you will forget which place is how many kilometers away. Once the steep climb started, the bike stared gasping for breath and even I felt heaviness in my breath. At 4400 meters, surrounded by fog and snow, breathing is not the easiest tasks to do. There were few very tough spots on our way but unlike Rohtang, the region was free from tourist vehicles, so it went smooth. The hands were numb, and eyelashes were heavy because of dewdrops accumulated over them. We reached at the top and found two shepherds, a temple and a shed for resting. Zero visibility and deafening silence was what we saw on the top of Sach Pass. We reached there exactly at 1400 hours and decided not to move ahead into the Pangi Valley but go back to Chamba.

Travel Route

Day 1- Hamirpur- Nurpur-Banikhet-Surangani | 227 kilometers

Day 2 - Surangani-Tissa-Bairagarh-Satrundi-Sach Pass | 103 Kilometers.

P.S: While planning our journey, I could not find distance of Sach Pass from Chamba, so I thought of sharing this too.

Chamba - Sach Pass = 138 km | Surangani - Sach Pass = 101 km | Chamba - Surangani = 35 km | Chamba - Kilad = 208 km

Next is What? - Destination Sach Pass (साच पास ) - The Toughest - II ---| Jot Pass |

Jot Pass, Chamba @ 2800 Meters. Overlooking Chuwadi (चुवाड़ी) Village

Unlearn | Uneducate | Brainwash | Mindlessness Again

This is going to be narrative of a conversation I had with a lady at one of the awesome places of Himachal [Barot] , it might not have any 'Moral Of The Story' type ending but for me, it surely was a wonderful story to think of and to write about.

आंटी ये जगह तो एकदम मस्त है, आपकी तो किस्मत  है जो यहाँ रहते हो, साथ गए दोस्त  ने कहा |

आंटी ने हँसते हुए कहा, बच्चे तुम थक गए हो, अपना कमरा देख लो | 

मैंने न चाहते हुए भी सोच ही लिया की आंटी इतनी भी किस्मत वाली नहीं मानती अपने आप को, पर मेरा क्या था, मुझे मतलब था मछली से जो मेरे लिए अपनी जान दे चुकी थी और अब मैं उसके  लिए तड़प रहा था |  

बरोट प्रसिद्ध है अपनी ट्राउट मछलियों के लिए जो वहीँ पैदा होती हैं और आधे  से ज्यादा वहीँ अपनी जान दे देती हैं, ताकि इंसान का पेट भरा रहे, अब वो जान देती हैं या आदमी  ले लेता है ये मुझे नहीं पता | अगर 'सिर्फ भगवान् ही ' जान ले/दे सकता होता, तो आदमी ने मछली को नहीं मारा, और अगर आदमी मछली को [या किसी और जीव को] मार सकता है, तो इंसान को कोई नहीं मार सकता सिवाय भगवान् के, ऐसा सोचना  निहायत ही बेवकूफी होगी | किसी न किसी के लिए आदमी भी मछली-समान ही होगा |

अपना सामन रखने के बाद हम ४-६ लोग निकल पड़े बरोट में घूमने के लिए, वहीँ पास में एक शादी हो रही थी, औरतें और मर्द एक साथ नाच रहे थे, जैसा की हर एक शादी में होता है, पर उनके नाचने में, और जो नाच मैंने आज तक देखे हैं, उनमें थोडा फरक था, फरक क्या था ये मुझे मालूम नहीं पड़ा, पर कुछ फरक तो था उनकी ख़ुशी में | छोटी सी शादी थी, और काफी लोगों ने शराब पि रखी थी, 'औरतों ने भी और मर्दों ने भी ' | 

अपनी इंजीनियरिंग ख़त्म करने के बाद मैंने एक महीना रामपुर (जिला शिमला) के एक छोटे से गाँव में एक महीना काम किया था, किसी Hydro -प्रोजेक्ट में, पहली बार मैंने औरत और मर्द दोनों को एक साथ बैठ के शराब पीते देखा, शराब देसी थी, शायद चुल्ली की शराब थी, मुझे काफी अजीब लगा, एक तो वो खुले में बैठ कर पि रहे थे और दूसरा मैंने पहली बार औरतों को हुडदंग मचाते देखा, शराब पीने के बाद | शाम को पता चला की यहाँ सब लोग मिल के ख़ुशी मानते हैं और जब बात शराब की हो, तो पहाड़ी लोग औरत-मर्द भूलकर पीते हैं, बात अच्छी लगी, नहीं तो जिन जगहों पे मै रहा हूँ ,  वहां तो शराब पी कर 'आदमी' हर उस औरत की बुराई करता है जो अपना काम अपने तरीके से करना चाहती हो |

खैर, शादी से वापिस आ कर , मछली भोग किया गया और फिर शुरू हुई असली कहानी, आंटी की 'किस्मत वाली हंसी' अभी भी मेरे दिमाग में थी और मुझे मालूम था की इस बार की कहानी the story, आंटी के नाम होगी|

आप कब से रह रहे हो यहाँ?

1978 में मेरी शादी हुई, तब से यहीं हूँ |

आपने तो इस जगह को बदलते देखा होगा, एक एक घर बनते हुए |

हाँ बनते भी देखे और बिगड़ते भी देखे, ये जगह बिलकुल जंगल थी जब मैं यहाँ आई थी, एकदम सुनसान, ४ घर इस तरफ और ४ नदी के उस तरफ, मैं कांगड़ा से आई थी यहाँ पर और यहाँ आ कर पहले ५ साल मैं सिर्फ रोती रही की कहाँ शादी कर ली | आज जो है वो तो बस एक सपना ही है, नहीं तो हमारे लिए तो जंगल, बर्फ और जान बचाना, यही जिंदगी का सच था कई सालों तक | आज लोग आते हैं, खुश होते हैं, जैसे आप हो रहे हो, कहते हैं मैं किस्मत वाली हूँ की ऐसी जगह रहती हूँ, पर सबकी अपनी अपनी है, किस्मत भी और जिंदगी भी |

मैं सोच रहा था की आंटी सिर्फ दुकान ही नहीं चलती, दिमाग भी चलती है |

तभी सामने से दो औरतें नाचती हुई आ रही थीं, पहाड़ी औरतें सुन्दर होती हैं, औरतें तो सब ही सुन्दर होती हैं वैसे पर पहाड़ी रूप रंग कुछ ज्यादा ही चमकता है , रात के आठ बज रहे थे और वो दोनों नशे में धुत थी शायद, और खुश भी थी |
मैंने आंटी से पूछा, ये क्या हुआ है इनको?
हुआ क्या है, सारा दिन काम करने के बाद कोई भी थक जाएगा, ये भी थक गयी और दिमाग शांत करने के लिए या तो योग कर लो या शराब पी लो, इन्होने शराब उठा ली, आसान रहती है शराब, नींद भी अच्छी आती है |

आपको कैसे पता?आप भी पीती हो?
हाँ तो, कौन नहीं पीता? अब जो काम करेगा सारा दिन , थक जाएगा उसको तो शाम को कुछ न कुछ चाहिए, हम पहाड़ी लोग शराब से काम चला लेते हैं|
फिर आंटी ने सामने देखा, नदी के किनारे पर मेरे साथ ए ४ लोग दारु की बोतल खोल के मजा ले रहे थे, आंटी ने मेरी तरफ देखा, हंसी और पुछा,' तो, तुम नहीं पीते?'
मैं भी हंसा और कह दिया, " नहीं आज तक तो पी नहीं, आगे का पता नहीं"

मैं सिर्फ बीयर पीती हूँ, ठण्ड पड़ जाती है दिमाग में, मजा भी आता है | 

And her smile explained the joy of drinking beer, I have heard so many people talking about the joy of drinking beer but her expressions made it pretty clear and simple, beer is awesome was the verdict.

ये दोनों घर कैसे जाएंगी? इतनी शराब पी रखी है इन्होने, और रात भी हो गयी है, मेरे दिमाग में अभी भी औरत-मर्द और rape का कांसेप्ट चला हुआ था और सर्व ज्ञाता आंटी ने एक बार फिर मेरे मन की बात भांप ली |

यहाँ ऐसा नहीं होता, लोग अपने काम से काम रखते हैं, जैसे जैसे नीचे की हवा यहाँ आ रही है, थोडा हिसाब किताब डगमगा रहा है नहीं तो पहाड़ी औरत और पहाड़ी मर्द, सब बराबर हैं, शराब पी के भी और शराब पिए बिना भी | मैं सिर्फ दुकान ही नहीं चलती गाँव भी चलाती हूँ, यहाँ औरतें मर्दों से ज्यादा काम करती हैं, ज्यादा शराब भी पीती हैं और घर भी चलाती हैं |

मेरा दिमाग अभी भी उन महिलाओं पर टिका हुआ था की ये घर कैसे जाएगी? पर आंटी ने मुझे समझा दिया की यहाँ ये नयी चीज़ नहीं है, चीज़ नयी हो तो बवाल उठता है, यहाँ ऐसा कई कई सालों से होता आ रहा है और किसीको कोई दिक्कत नहीं होती | नीचे लोग ज्यादा पढ़ लिख गए हैं, लेकिन दिमाग उल्टा हो गया है, शराब को औरत-मर्द में divide कर दिया है , आदमी पिए तो ठीक, औरत पिए तो नीच हरकत |

आपके पति को मालूम है की आप पीती हो, और सवाल पूछने के बाद मुझे कुछ अजीब लगा |

आंटी एक बार फिर हंसी, इसमें पता होने की क्या बात है? हम दोनों साथ पीते हैं | और मेरी उनसे  शादी हुई है कोई 'वेल्डिंग' तो हुई नहीं है की मैं ख़तम हो गयी | शादी के लिए जरुरत होती है दो लोगों की, पर दुनिया ये समझ गयी की दो लोग सिर्फ 'शादी तक' ही  चाहिए, दोनों लोग 'शादी के बाद भी' रहने चाहिए, एकदम अपनी खुद की सोच वाले, तभी मजा है |

And fuck yes, marriage is not welding, individuals must remain. Individuals are required before marriage, why should they die post marriage. Individuals must remain, always. आंटी was turning out to be a 'ज्ञान का भंडार' |

अब एक लड़का था, जब तक यहाँ पढता था तब तक काम करता था, सबसे बात करता था, बाहर से पढ़ के आया कहीं से, उसने घर का काम करना बंद कर दिया | रसोईघर में घुसना बंद कर दिया, कहता रसोई का काम तो सिर्फ औरतों के लिए है | अरे कौन सा ऐसा स्कूल है जहाँ ऐसा सिखा देते हैं, खाना सब खाएं, काम करे औरत? खाना अगर खाना है तो बनाना भी पड़ेगा , ये तो common sense है, इसमें लड़का लड़की का क्या है? अगर ऐसा सिखा रहे हैं बड़े बड़े स्कूल में, तो मैं कहती हूँ हमें पढने की जरुरत नहीं है, भूल जाओ सब कुछ जो जो पढ़ा है, ऐसी पढाई educate नहीं कर रही है, uneducation की जरुरत है फिर तो | 

And this is what I was reading before coming to Barot, "Unlearning is the beginning of wisdom. All your priests and popes go on telling you, "Learning brings wisdom." But a man like Bodhidharma or Socrates or Gautam Buddha will not agree with these people, they will agree with Kahlil Gibran: the function of the master is to help you unlearn everything so that you become again an innocent child." Osho said this, Aunty made it clear. 

मैं चलती हूँ अब, शादी में जाना है, डांस करना है और बीयर पीनी है , बीयर पीने का बड़ा मन है मेरा आज | और आंटी ने दूकान अपनी लड़की को हैण्ड-ओवर की और थोड़ी देर में गाड़ी में बैठ कर, गाड़ी 'खुद चला कर' , मुझे बाय कहती हुई चली गयी | 

Whatever she said made perfect sense to me. I am not sure about uneducation going by what we see happening in our 9% P.A Growth rate society, we can consider this option of unlearning too, probably it can help some of us. 

And this is not about alcohol only, integrate it and we will see that even today we live in a biased and weird society. Read this if you do not agree.

'A' for Barot - Welcome to Mindlessness

Awesome Barot, District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh

You feel that your mind needs rest?

Or you just want to visit a nice place, in the laps of Himalayas and close to mother/father nature?

Then, let me Welcome you to Barot.

Barot stands at a height of 2200+ meters, almost equal to altitude of Shimla but it looks more natural than Shimla. Yes, subtract the Mall Road, CCD and other city like attractions but if you want all these things, then Gudgaon/Noida is the best place, why come out of there.

Now that you have subtracted the above mentioned things, feel free to add a huge water reservoir, continuously running water, navigating through control gates, canals and diversion tunnels and did I mention the trout fish [and its taste?]

Barot happens to be the last village [panchayat/ग्राम पंचायत ] of district Mandi touching the Kangda District. Geographically, Barot is a very interesting place. River Uhl, originating in the Bada Bhangal region of Dhauladhar Ranges forms a very complex mathematical equation for Barot. Prior to the formation of Himachal Pradesh as a complete state, this region belonged to Punjab State. Now, as the land belonged to them, obviously they had the first right over the water of this region too. So, interestingly, river Uhl in Barot belongs to the Punjab State, even the water reservoir and its maintenance is duty of Punjab State Power Corporation and not to mention, the power generated in Barot also belongs to Punjab. The reservoir in Barot is sent to two power plants, one in JoginderNagar and the other one is Bassi.

So, you can rent a room in Negi Guest House, located in District Mandi, buy a bottle of whiskey/rum/vodka from the 'theka' located on the other side of river, in district Kangda. And if you want to go fishing, the fish will belong to Punjab and as a matter of fact, fish here has a strong built [sizewise], which happens to be a characteristic property of Punjabis.

So, if you drink too much and create trouble in the Punjab State Land/Water, you will be prosecuted under/by the Punjab Police Laws [Punjab Police have their own laws and they never hesitate to implement those laws]

However, all this was just general knowledge, major attraction of Barot remains water. One of my friends, who has visited Barot many times and soon he will be given permanent citizenship of Barot, told me that he has never seen so much water in the Uhl River. Probably this year God had some leak problem and that has flooded the rivers across the country.

Honorary Citizen of Barot, Mr. Sunny[Right]

Flowing water creates psychedelic magic and if you keep looking at it, I am 100% sure that you will feel dizzy and feel yourself moving along with the water which might prompt you to jump into the running water. However, the flow of water is so fast that you will not come alive out of it for sure. According to the guard of the reservoir, one can do almost anything inside the campus but not click the photographs. He further explained that you can enjoy liquor, fight, shout, dance but photography is strictly prohibited there, some crazy rule made by some crazy engineer which all the crazy people are following till date. So, effectively you can go in, watch the lonely boat dancing to the tunes of rapid currents of water, watch the water making noise and moving effortlessly, but you cannot click the images. Yes, you can disobey the rules when no one is watching but at a place like Barot, one must stay honest [to him/herself], because Barot is what it is because of honesty, honesty of people and honesty of nature.

Lets Roll!

Another interesting fact about this village is the the British constructed a railway track here back in pre-independence days, if chasing away the Britishers [only] meant gaining independence. The railway track is just outside the premises of the reservoir area and from there you can click photographs. Outside, you can sit on the railway track and keep looking at the water, for not more than 5 minutes continuously, or even less because effortless flow of water is something out of this world and aliens have always scared humans.

The Railway Track

Reaching Barot
There are numerous ways to reach Barot, however NH-20 remains the lifeline to reach Barot. Those who know/want to trek can come through The Bhang Trek, or name-it-anything-trek, in case if you are lost, just keep moving downhill, you will definitely reach a village, ask for the name of village and name it the X Village trek.
The trek is not very difficult and you can reach Kullu Valley but as I do not much about it, I would rather not speak about it.

Tashi Jong Monastery (near Paprola)

So, if you are a motorcycle enthusiast, which you ought to be, there is nothing soothing than road to Barot. The road is too good, first few kilometers are uphill climb and the last few kilometers are steep downhill track.

If you are coming from Mandi -Manali, leave the NH-21 and join the NH-20, move 48 kilometers towards Palampur and there you reach at Ghatasni (घटासनी) , take a right from there and there you embark on a journey that takes you through the waterfalls, watermills, watery roads, and by the time you reach at Barot, your mind will be all watered.

Not a single drop comes back to the same point again, and when it does, the whole story of existence is changed by then

On your way to Barot, you will see little kids selling wild, local vegetables, usually they work in post-school sessions, hence the work-while-you-study is not an American Concept, it is a desi invention, just the way we invented almost everything from bulb to gravity. [Who is Newton?]

Yay! we again proved that we are the oldest and originals and Americans suck :P

Other way(s) to reach Barot :

From Shimla: NH-88, Shimla-Hamirpur-(State Highway 39) - Sujanpur-Palampur-Baijnath (NH-20)-joginderNagar-Ghatasni-[Take Left] - Barot

From Dharamshala: NH-20, Dharamshala-Palampur-JoginderNagar-Ghatasni-Barot.

Barot is 25km from Ghatasni and it takes[usually] one hour to reach Barot from there.

When you reach Barot, you are welcomed by a sleepy town, surrounded by water and disturbed by a noisy river. However, the noise caused by the river has become an integral part of the town and without the river it is hard to imagine existence of the town. During the night, you ought to sit and relax by the banks of the river. The mind goes blank, I tried very very hard to think of something but could not think of anything, such is the beauty of Barot. Mindlessness, that is what you experience at Barot. There is a dhaba in Barot [in the Mandi District Side, Shiva Dhaba I guess] and that guy makes awefuckingsome Black Tea. Even the food was too good and even the pricing was very unlike tourist spot pricing.

6 kilometers into the wild towards the Bada Bhangal, you reach a village called Lohardi [लुहाराड़ी]. That is the first place I have seen in Himachal where road actually ends, dead-end you see, well Chandrataal was the first place. 46 kilometers into the further wild and you reach the paragliding havens of Himachal Pradesh, The Bir-Billing. It was a nice site to see a Health Center, BSNL Phone-booths and higher secondary school in that village. Even the newly launched 108 ambulance was available there.

The Last Resort-Luhardi

The trip culminated but to experience the mindlessness , I have to go back.
The receding waters are crazy, always.

Jump in the air

P.S: A for 'Amazingly Beautiful' Barot

Photo Courtesy: Jaipal Mandyal

There is no top | There is no race

They just moved ahead of us, can’t you fucking speed up? , said the elder brother

The younger brother responded, his face all red and body sweating on a cloudy winter day in Dharamshala, “Come on bro, it is so tiring. And what is the point of going there, it is too far, we don’t even have jackets and we are wearing bathroom chappals. I am damn sure that we will go back all drenched to home and mom will beat the shit out of us.”

Why don’t you grow up? Look at them, they are just like us but look they are going to the next level and we are just sitting here, said big brother.

The younger brother abused himself and reluctantly started moving towards the next destination and said to himself, “Why we have to beat them? Can’t we be just what we are?”

They both had decided to roam in the hilly area, which happened to be just below the mighty Dhauladhar Ranges, that’s where they had lived in their colony. They would go and visit the lower ranges of the great Dhauladhar, almost every other day.

However, today they have met few foreigners who have come to the majestic lands of Himachal to see, feel and be blessed by the nature. The elder brother was overwhelmed and he wanted to stay ahead of those foreigners. If they would climb one mountain, he decided to climb three.

They both sprinted and reached at the top of another mountain. However, those foreigners have decided to call it day. They had fixed their tents and were just relaxing down the hill. The two brothers could see them relaxing; the elder brother had this sense of joy in his eyes. The younger brother also had a sense of pride in his eyes but it was absolute. He was feeling good about being there, where he was, not about beating someone in the race, in a race that never started.

Let us go, that one is the last, said the elder brother pointing towards the next visible hill.

Are you crazy? How do you know that is the last one? That is what you said when we were down there, and now we have climbed two more hills and no one seems to be the last one, said the younger one, perspiring, his face almost swollen because of high altitude and wind pressure.

BB - Come on now, listen to me. I know this is going to be the last one; we will be on the top then. These foreigners will be able to see us clearly from there.

YB - Why do you want to be seen by them? Didn’t they look at us and smiled when we were just starting? How will they get to know if it is we or some wild animals standing at the top?

BB - They will know, when you are at the top, everybody knows you.

YB - Do you want to know them?

BB - No, I do not.

YB - Then what makes you sure that they want to know about you? If you are at the top or at the bottom, why would anyone care?

The elder brother had moved on and the younger brother could not do anything but move behind his brother because he was feeling scared by now, as it was getting dark.

They both started climbing the next visible hill and after thirty minutes of struggle, they reached on the top. And when they reached there, younger brother was overjoyed at the sight, but the elder brother could not hide his disappointment.

YB - See bhai, look at the mighty Dhauladhaar, it is just endless, there are so so many tops, that’s why they call it Dhauladhar Range, I guess.

There is no top, said the elder brother to himself, I thought it was the last place to be reached. He could not admire beauty of the place, the open sky and endless mountains; he just could not notice them. He was blinded by the fact that there was no top.The day has ended but I could not reach at the top.

However, the younger brother was over joyous at the sight, now he did not want to leave that place. However, both of them had to leave because they had to go back to home. They slowly descended and moved past the sleeping foreigners. The younger brother was turning back and looking at the place from where they have just came back.

The elder brother was still thinking about the fact that there was no top at all.

The elder brother was too young to think beyond his mind, he could not accept the fact there was something beyond his vision too. But he was just 13 years old and at 13 you are allowed to make mistakes because they enable you to learn.

Several Years Later

The younger brother has studied and earned more than enough and now he had gone into depression because he could not handle the pressure of life, if life has ever exerted pressure on anyone. The reason could not be figured out; however it was assumed that he wanted to have more money, bigger cars because he wanted to outsmart his friend and his friends and his friend’s friends.

The elder brother was telling him a story, so that he can pull his brother out of depression. The doctors had failed and they had declared his scope beyond any scope.

The elder brother said, “You remember our old days? The small town days, when we were kids, we used to climb the hills. Every time we would climb a hill, we would see another hill, taller and farther. And if my memory serves me right, once we even went on to climb the taller hill, which we thought was the biggest mountain of the region. And when we reached there, what did we see?

A series of taller and farther hills, spread all around. We were so confused and we decided to come back.

That is life.

No one reaches at the top. There is no top at all. You have to draw a line, not for this society, not for people around you but for yourself because in this blind pursuit, in the blind race of winning the race, you forget to look around, to stop and breathe and to see the colors that actually make up life. You keep running and when you realize , OK, I am tired now, so this must be my top, and then you realize you just don’t recognize the colors, because your eyes have forgotten to recognize them.”

The younger brother blinked and a silent tear rolled down his eyes.

The elder brother just kept looking into his eyes, trying to see the joy, which he himself could not enjoy at the top of ‘that mountain’.