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Pilgrimage to paradise on earth
Golden herons swimming in the Mansarovar lake.
Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva, and `Mansarovar', situated in the mighty Himalayan range are considered the `heaven on earth'. Doing the `Parikrama' (circumambulation) of the mount and having a dip in the holy lake are the cherished dreams of devout Hindus.
But only one in a million gets the opportunity to do the parikrama. One such chosen person to do that is S. Srinivas Bharadwaj, a chartered accountant of the city. It is the fulfillment of the dream he has been nourishing for the last 25 years.
It is no surprise that there are a couple of casualties in almost every group that returns either from the base camp, Darchen or from Mansarovar, leave alone the few that dare to do the `parikrama'.
Srinivas was adventurous right from his childhood. He joined the Scout movement while in school and continues in it as a Scout master even now. He was an NCC cadet at college. He completed courses in mountaineering and para jumping. While on a scouting expedition in Nagpur, he was enamoured of the scenic beauty of the place. The Scout Master, C.L. Narayana, told Srinivas about the beauty of the divine lake and ignited his passion to visit Mansarovar ever since.
After tasting success as a chartered accountant as a partner of Rao and Kumar, Srinivas had the money to realise his childhood dream of visiting Mansarovar. However, he could not think of taking a break for 18 days from work.
During the last eight years, he became deeply religious. He started collecting books on Mansarovar and Kailash and acquainted himself with the routes and places of importance to visit during the holy pilgrimage. This year while on a trip to Mumbai on official work, his principal partner, K. Parvathi Kumar, suggested that he (Srinivas) should visit Mansarovar.
Thereupon, he left for Delhi on May 31. From there he reached Kathmandu on June 3. He engaged the services of a private tour operator who included him in a group of 16 pilgrims, coming from different parts of India and the world. The 17-member group, which had set out on the pilgrimage to Kailash included four women, of whom two were from Hyderabad, and a few NRIs.
The group was taken to Kodari on the Nepal - China border by bus.
Both the Nepal and China borders are in a gorge in the Zhang Mu mountain range with the Koshi river separating them. A `Friendship Bridge' connects either side of the border. After entering into the Chinese side, the group members had to undergo embarkation and customs formalities and the tour operator accommodated them in five Toyota vans. Zhang Mu, Nyalam and Lhasa towns are in Tibet. The Chinese had invaded Tibet after 1959 and the region had come to be known as Chinese occupied Tibet.
China had restricted the movement of tourists in the region between 1959 and 1986. Mansarovar was also closed to tourist traffic during that period. The Chinese Government adopted a liberalised policy in 1986 and started allowing tourist groups to perform the holy `parikrama'.
"The members experienced sandstorms, gales and chilly winds during their 993 km journey through the mountainous terrain and marshy lands to Mansarovar. Only experienced drivers can steer clear off the inhospitable terrain. In the meantime, three of the group members fell sick unable to stand the chilly weather conditions," Srinivas recalls "on reaching and and seeing the divine lake on June 10, tears of joy welled in the eyes of all the group members. They had made it, withstanding the adverse weather conditions."
The members had a darshan of the peak of Kailash, 50 km away and prostrated on the ground and paid salutations to the Sacred Mount and the Divine Lake.
The flat ledge of rock above Darpoche, where Gautam Buddha is believed to have visited along with 500 of his disciples.
After a dip in the lake, six of the group members decided to return to Kathmandu as they felt that they could not undertake the strenuous task of performing the parikrama.
The remaining members proceeded to Darchen, the base camp, which is 4,575 metres above sea level and about 36 km away from Mansarovar. Here, two members dropped the idea of doing the `parikrama' leaving only nine members.
"Going round the sacred mountain requires special permission of the Chinese Government. None is allowed to go near it. During the entire parikrama, which covers a distance of 52 km, the closest one could get to the holy mountain is about 2 kms. There is no record of anyone having climbed the holy peak.
The members successfully completed the `parikrama' in three days after camping at Drirapuk and Dzutrulpuk on the first and second day respectively. The only unfortunate incident for the team was the death of one of the six members, who had decided to return from Mansarovar."
Srinivas has jotted down notes during the tour. He has written a detailed account of his experiences. "Health, wealth and time are the three important things required for undertaking the most arduous pilgrimage," he says.
The north face of Mt.Kailash (background) as seen through Bodhisatva Vajrapani and Avaloiteshvara mounts.
"I used to walk about 15 km everyday for the six months before I undertook the pilgrimage. I did exercises with a breathing machine to overcome the problems generally faced in breathing at high altitudes."
His ambition is to visit all the important pilgrim centres in India. "I have already visited the Dwadasa Jyothirlingas located in different parts of the country. I could not visit Kedarnath last time due to a landslide there. This apart, I am planning to visit the holy Amarnath peak.
Given his determination, there is no doubt that Srinivas will accomplish his goal.
MADHU GOPAL B.
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