Being Alone: This was a major decision of sorts. Last year for the first time in this life I had trekked with a group of doctor friends in the Garhwal valley but this time around I could not reconcile myself to go along with them. Trekking alone could be risky but I felt that life should protect and take care of me. I didn’t tell anyone till the last moment. Was a bit apprehensive but slowly as I started feeling the love and care that the mountains bestowed on me I started enjoying being alone.
Walking in the forest which is on the slope of a tall rocky mountain is stimulating and perilous at the same time. The air is fresh, the leaves are green, the trunk is tall and big, the undergrowth is thick, the birds call their companions to roost, the sun and the clouds play “hide-the-opponent” with each other and so sometimes it rains and sometimes the sun sneaks through. Look at every direction and there is beauty; soft like silk, silent like a painting, gorgeous like a movie star, profound like the universe, diverse like a shoal of fish, yet complete like a blossom. However the moment you take your eyes off the path below, you knock your toes on boulders, slip on them, lose your balance on apparently stable rocks, twist your ankle or at worst fall into the valley. Nature’s coffers have so much to offer. The irony is that we can enjoy everything when we consider ourselves as a part of it, but can feel deprived and miss something when we consider ourselves as distinct, different.
The mountains and forests were too kind to me till the end. It always rained heavily minutes after I had reached the destination. The improvised make-shift bridge fell due to land slide after I crossed over. Even during the last year when sheep’s dislodged stones and they came rolling down at me; on way to Darba Top, I ducked in the nick of time and a stone struck my shoulder bag. Through-out my trek I felt so privileged so thankful to the spirits of the mountains and forests. I could stay away from harm and discomfort for no talent of mine. There was nothing I did to avoid problems. It was like I belonged to the forest and the mountains and I am meant to return some day.
Jatoli: Perched on the slope of a mountain at a height of above 3200 mtrs is Jatoli. It is the frontier village on the Sunderdoong valley. With the Sunderdoong River curving far below, Jatoli is a relatively flat piece of land which is both the top a mountain and the base of the next mountain. It has a picturesque setting with a tall mountain behind it, a deep valley in front and surrounded by mountains and forests on all sides. There are about 25 – 30 households in Jatoli. Electricity has not reached this village. The villagers cultivate the small piece of flat surface when the weather permits and grow wheat, potato, phawar and jao. The area is covered in snow during the months of winter. There is a single road winding through Jatoli and the PDW has stone-laded it from 2 kms before and 2 kms after the village. The other profession of its inhabitants is catering to tourists. There are guides, porters, hoteliers and mule owners in this village. Jatoli has been a prominent stop for trekkers, mountaineers and adventure expeditioners. There are no villages beyond Jatoli and the path to Sunderdoong glaciers is not fit for mules. So tourists organize, prepare or wind up themselves at this point. There are three hotels at Jatoli today owned by Sobhan Singh, Roop Singh and Johar Singh respectively. Johar Singh who is 67 years of age at present has very interesting stories to tell about his period of youth when he was an expedition guide and used to climb on snow and ice and people came in huge groups from far and wide to explore the region. These hoteliers have been providing the adventurers with food provision, men and equipment as required. Johar Singh also runs a grocery and daily needs store in his hotel and provides for the needs of all the households in Jatoli. The hotel of Johar Singh which remains open through-out the day serves as a resting point for other travelers like the shepherds with their animals and the herb collectors. Hot tea and food is served by his sons while he remains busy in the store. The scene is generally noisy, full of chatter, stories, laughter and camaraderie.
Dao: Dao is situated a km away from Khati but is a better location for a stay. View of the snow capped mountains from Khati is blocked by a huge mountain that separates the Pindari from the Sunderdoong valley. From Dao the Maiktoli and the Pindari range is clearly seen. During the day as well when during the night when it is clear the mountains are a stunning sight. Especially during the night the snow cover strikes out in the dark background. Dao has a couple of hotels which are also very basic and I stayed at the hotel of Laxman Singh. Staying at a local hotel is very interesting for two reasons; one is you get to eat the local dish which they very happily cook if requested and second is you get to know a lot about the local people their lifestyle, problems and happiness. These Pahari people know how to laugh aloud inspite of their difficult land.
After the rains in the afternoon, the evenings have generally been clear. The sun comes out and sunlight sneaks in. The green cover over the mountains starts to glister since the leaves are still wet. Suddenly a thin layer of cloud floats in between creating a shadow over the tree tops. A variety of green colours can be seen. Towards the north the snow capped mountains become distinct and towards the south the clear blue sky. Slowly a white mist starts forming from the bottom of the valley at a number of places. They come together and rise in the air producing a haze over the village. The cattle start returning home making a din with their bell dangling on their neck. The ladies of the house and kids come out for a stroll in bright colour clothing. Some people are busy cleaning utensils and getting ready to prepare dinner. Dinner is served early as Dao has no electricity supply. Some houses have solar panels and fewer have television with DTH disks. But most people have mobile handsets.
Magical moment: The magical moment of the trek for me was the climb from Dao to the mountain top called Bazzerling Dwar. A large number of tall Pine like trees weathered by rain and snow, many with huge trunks wet and covered with moss, shaded green carpet to walk on with no dense undergrowth, early morning cold moist air and sunlight peeping in through the thick cover to brighten the scene. The forest was noble and pristine, dignified and unspoiled. It evoked feelings of love and respect in me. The trees withstood the harshness of nature and provided shelter to innumerable insects, reptiles and birds, seeking nothing for itself. Even when they die and fall the forest department sell them to contractors. This section of the forest was magnificent. It was different from all other forests that I have seen so far and I have seen many. This forest had character which I have never seen anywhere. It was as if God resided in its midst. I was awed and mesmerized at its grandeur, its beauty.
Life in the mountains: It is a paradox that life in the mountains romanticised as so beautiful by the outsider is so difficult for those who inhabit there. The beauty of nature which is so overwhelming to the outsider is taken so indifferently by the local inhabitants. Life in the mountains is very tough. Water and air is fresh and in abundant supply but water has to carried on the back from streams upto the houses. Houses are small and their doors are smaller in size to keep the inside warm during winters. Rain and snow make the mountains very difficult to traverse. The agriculture season is small and wheat, potato, and leafy vegetables are the main produce. The mountains have to be cut and shaped into the form of steps to facilitate agriculture. Very small tracks of land is therefore available where the produce is consumed locally mostly by the farmers family. Charas is grown on the mountains and people do make some money on the sly. Kitchen runs on firewood. Throughout the day people are busy at work and they generally wear dirty clothes since all work has to be done by manual labour. Farming, attending to animals, taking care of kids and household chores are all done by hand. The colourful dresses are generally reserved for occasions like marriage, festivals and fairs. Roads are small and rocky on which people walk to every destination. Vehicle and fuel do not reach such villages. Motor cars which are taken for granted as stuff without which modern life cannot exist does not fit into this land. However within a distance of 50 kms from the high mountains cars have already made their appearance and slowly it is spreading. The PWD reconstructs stone roads frequently but rain and landslides constantly works against them. These villagers walk at a good speed covering three to four km per hours on the uphill. Villages like Khati, Dao and Jatoli exist without much of modernity but they are not untouched by it. While the youngsters wear jeans and fashionable jackets their seniors wear the simple shirt pant and the elders wear more traditional form of Pahari dress. Television and mobile phones have invaded the Pahari life and changed it like never before. Today they are aware of many events and lifestyles of the outside world which makes them inquisitive and restless to explore. Hygienic sanitation and medical hospitals are also difficult to access and people normally come down to major towns like Bageshwar and Haldwani for treatment.
Young India of Uttarakhand villages: Throughout the trek beyond Bageshwar I have seen many youngsters busy at work attending to business and profession. Population growth is evidently visible. The ratio of young population to middle aged and older population is skewed in favour of the youngsters and I wonder where the adult population goes. I have seen many school in the mountains but the students were mainly kids and classes were upto 8th or 10th standard. Modern education of the 10+2 variety does not serve them in any way in these mountains as agriculture, animal rearing, attending to tourist, herb gathering, taxi plying and trading store are the main activities. Most students who pass out of schools do not attend collage but enter directly into commercial work because to attend collage they have to go to bigger places like Bageshwar and stay in hostels which cost money. Winter and rainy seasons are lean in terms of commercial benefits and so people are without work for nearly six months in a year. Some of the local people have started to migrate to cities in the plains like Dehradun, Delhi etc to look for work as hotel bearers, taxi drivers and security guards. Life in the mountains does not offer them any prospects in terms of better life style. One son of Johar Singh works as a taxi driver in Delhi but returns to the mountains in the summer because the heat at Delhi becomes unbearable. The boys that I have encountered are very knowledgeable, worldly wise and willing to work hard. They are no better or no worse than the rest of India. The elders that I spoke to tell me that alcohol and gambling have invaded the life of youngsters which was never heard earlier. Today they have money to spend which their seniors never had but they squander it away. Uttarakhand needs more roads, more tourists, better connectivity to the outside world and purposeful vocation based education otherwise a whole new generation would washed-out without any benefits to their families.
Keera Ghas or Yarsha Gambu: A very prominent group of people can be seen during this season on the upper slopes of the mountains, the Keera Ghas wale. While a number of herbs and commercially valuable plant produce are collected from the mountains including ‘Laiken’, the Keera Ghas or Yarsha Gambu takes the cake. A number of people can be seen moving up and down the mountains who have registered themselves with the Forest Department for collecting this forest produce.
Yarsha Gambu is a fungus which has high medicinal value and is used in traditional remedies for various physiological disorders. Being a hormone stimulator it is an important anti-aging medicine. Frequent use of this fungus may prevent senile disorder. It is found beneficial in the case of climatic age illness, impotence, emission, neurasthenia, rheumatoid, arthritis, cirrhosis, flabby waist and knee. It has been in traditional use for the treatment of various diseases like chronic bronchitis, insomnia, hypertension, pneumonia, tuberculosis, pulmonary emphysema, anemia, night sweat and cough. Of late it has become famous as herbal Viagra coveted by many for its sexual prowess. This highly valued medicinal fungus is found growing on the insect caterpillar in the higher hills of the Himalayas, occurring in the far reaches of the high, cold and arid hills at an altitude between 12,000 and 16,000 ft in Khumaon and Gharwal hills of Uttarakhand. The current market price of this is 10 gms @ Rs. 500, and the most buyers come from Tibet in China. A single piece could weigh anything in between 5 to 10 gms. For the local collectors this is as good as gold. They spend a lot of energy on this endeavor because the occurrence of this forest produce is rare and it takes days to come across a few grams.
Gujjars and their livestock: The Gujjars are the sheppard’s who bring their goat and sheep to the mountains in May – June and stay on until Oct – Nov to feed them. As the summer progresses their animals climb upto 5000 mtrs because when the ice melts the plants grow on these slopes. In the mountains these Gujjars stay in groups of 4 to 5 men, they live in caves and carry their supplies like food and blankets with them, tending to upto 500 goats and sheep. They come with their sheppard dogs, big furry animals, and they share a unique working relationship with them. While the men tend to the livestock during the day, the dogs protect the livestock during the night. During the day the livestock move far and wide but are herded together as evening comes up. During the nights they are stay close to each other with the dogs prowling all around to keep away wild animals. Injured and old livestocks are killed and the meat is shared by the sheppard’s and their dogs. During my climb from Jatoli, I was walking with a group of sheppards and about 300 animals. One goat had injured its feet, it was sold to the villagers for Rs. 600/- because its ability to climb the mountains was doubtful. The animal was purchased by 10 men who shared the meat. These animals when they descend in Oct – Nov well fed on free mountain grass are then sold off in the plains for meat at prices ranging from Rs. 4000 to Rs. 8000 an animal.
The baby goats and sheep are a most funny and pretty sight. They are playful and keep jumping about. They also make some very cute expressions for the camera. The elder male goat and sheep has a bell around its neck to announce to all about its presence. The elder female/mother which has big horns, does not hesitate to use it to attack unknown people who it visualises as a threat to its kids.
Dharam Singh; best guide in Khumaon: Dharam Singh Takuli was my guide provided by KMVN. 49 years of age, short and bow legged, lean as a Pahari, honest and straight forward, knows the Khumaon region like the back of his hand. He speaks when spoken to and was always very helpful always trying to ease my burden and tiredness. He is a resident of Zhuni village and owns some agricultural land there, 10 cows and a house. His father is 85 years of age and still very active and straight. He lives with his wife, son Udham Singh 13 years old and daughter Kunti 8 years old. When agriculture activity is slack, he works as a tourist guide taking trekkers and mountaineers to every nook and corner of Khumaon. His is an extended family of aunts and sisters who work together in the land and tending to the cows. He and his wife were gracious hosts to me; she is a sweet woman who reminded me of my grandmother. They served me chapatti and khicdi with ghee, ghee being the highest offering that they make to a guest. I wanted to procure a few kgs of Pahari Rajma from him but he gave me all the stock that they had. His brother-in-law (wife’s brother) is the village Pradhan and I slept at his place for the night. I promised him that I would be back the next year for Pindari and Kafni.
Back to Bageshwar! Oh no! Bageshwar was once upon a time a religious village at the confluence of Saryu and Gomti Rivers. A mega fair is held every winter during January on the banks of the river near the temple. Today it has become a big town, with road and vehicular traffic connectivity to all major cities of lower Uttarakhand. In the process it has become congested, dirty and polluted. Many new buildings, metal roads, buses and trucks, cars and taxis, shops and hotels, schools collages and hospitals, have added to the modern image. I was disappointed at the whole concept of modern life as I came back to Bageshwar after being with Mother Nature for more than a week. What have we made of our lives?
