The Gangotri Pandaji !

Coming all the way from Gangotri, where the mighty River Ganga originates, is our Gangotri Pandaji. We first met him almost thirty years ago in the early nineties when I must be still in college. My sister and myself had accompanied our parents on this perilious journey in the Himalayas on the char dham yatra. Yamnotri is the origin of the Yamuna. Gangotri for Ganga,then Kedarnath and then Badrinath Then there were no helicopter services. Like all pilgrims we travelled in an ordinary bus, snaking up the mighty Himalayas, the only thing louder than the bus engine was the roar of the river. And the roar is so loud that you realise your own insignificance in the scheme of things. This morning when the Pandaji offered us some Gangajal brought all the way from Gaumukh it brought back all the memories. How on our return from kedarnath my father had eaten a full breakfast while we skipped the meal, but later we found all shops shut on way. We slowly learnt Rajiv Gandhi had been assassinated. So for thirty years every year various Pandajis come home during winters when the temples are covered in snow and shut for pilgrims. The last time he was here was three years ago before COVID and lockdown I remember he supported Modi. But this time we spoke of Covid how so many died, so many doctors died. He said he would pray so Covid does not come again. He also asked me about the war in Ukraine, about the bravery of the people in Ukraine in the face of an ugly invasion. We also spoke about Gaumukh, the glacier and how fast it's melting. It's a 20 kms trek from the temple and he said you cannot stop for even 5 minutes at the spot because of falling ice boulders. And it's all voluntary. There is no government there. You just get a token from the forest department, in case you don't return due to an avalanche. We spoke of Protima Bedi who had died in a landslide on the Kailash Mansarovar Yates. The Modi government is widening the roads that is destroying the ecology forever. In the Supreme Court the government told the court they were building roads for defence, and so the court shut the case. Defence is a brahmastra for governments. Even thirty years ago I felt sad looking at the Tehri landscape. Now it must surely be worse. Then we spoke of General Bipin Rawat who died in a helicopter crash. He was from Uttarakhand. The Pandaji informed even India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is from a village in Uttarakhand. I asked him if Dovals village is safe. He smiled and replied, Very safe, nobody lives there.