Day 7: Meeting Rajneesh: A little known celebrity @ Ghangaria

This is a series of my two weeks of tryst with the Garhwal Himalayas:
Day 1&2 : Secunderabad to Delhi
Day 3: Delhi to Haridwar bus ride
Day 3: Meerut Road
Day 3: Har Ki pauri- Haridwar
Day 4: Impressions from Haridwar
Day 4: Through Rajaji national Park
Day 4: Devaprayag-Srinagar-Rudraprayag-Karnaprayag
Day 5: Pipalkoti-Joshimath-Badrinath
Day 6: Mana: The last Indian village
Day 6: Adventure in Badrinath-Govindghat Road
Day 7: The Boys from Rishikesh
Day 7: Trek to Ghangaria
Day 7: Meeting Rajneesh

As promised earlier, I bring with this post a brief profile of Rajneesh. It was his neatly decorated shop with colorful paraphernalia that caught my eyes in the first instant.

I couldnt imagine how at this crazy height of 9000 ft, someone would set up a shop taking so much pain and deliberate care. And the neatly laid glasses and mirrors. Where did somone get all that with only mules to reach this height.

(Door to Rajneesh's shop)

The shop was closed. I peered into it to see curious looking stuff inside.

The door was closed and a note hanging that read:



" I am going for trekking. I will come back in the evening. Thanks Rajneesh"

( The German couple just back from the trek)

While I was still peering inside, a sturdy young man with a big pony, sporting trek shoes, walking posts and binoculars and a rucksack opened the door.

I followed him inside to be amazed to see his own world beautifully set. Many pairs of snow shoes, all mountaineering tools, few sets of tripods, lots of photographs posters that were duly signed Rajneesh.

(Rajneesh showing his rare pics when lights went out)

Rajneesh was the shop owner. And as I found out in due course of time, being all of 24, he was the guide to Valley of Flowers and most of Garhwal, a skillful wildlife photographer, a mountaineer, a self made botanist etc etc.

I was glued to him. Though many passerby and other devotees did not realise the worth of this man, I spent the whole evening chatting with him and getting amazed at his knowledge and expertise of the Garhwal mountains.

He spoke broken English but I was amazed with the way he could connect with those foreigners. I guess their mutual love for nature was the binding force.

He guides group treks to the valley of flowers, mostly foreigners. He has made lasting friendships with wildlife and trek enthusiasts from all over the globe. They keep writing to him and send him souvenirs.

(rajneesh showing a rare rock from the mountains)

He also has featured in many National Geographic programmes. During winters, when the whole village migrates 1000 mts down, Rajneesh prefers staying alone at his house, to shoot many wild creatures and birds in the wilderness.

He serenaded us (me and other german couple) with his stories of encountering wild animals.His rare pictures taken with expensive lenses and cameras bore testimony of his expertise of the wild. Though I did not have plans to hire a guide for trekking the valley of flowers, meeting him changed my mind. I asked him to take me on a tour the next day.

( One of his pics jumping off a cliff)

Rajneesh also mentioned his love for nature surpasses everything else. He did not believe in God as such. For him God is nature. And he wants to spend his life amidst them.

Rajneesh is also in the process of writing a book along with a foreign journalist.

He made a friend from Italy who keeps coming religiously every year since last 5 years. They both trek deep into the mountains for month long.

He also narrated a story of a woman who came from East Timor who came with her two tiny kids. The three of them trekked deep into the mountains and stayed in a cave for month long. When they came back, they were all soiled and dishevelled with dirt and soot.

Such is the magic of Himalayas that draws its lovers from all over the globe.

The Great Himalayan Odyssey begins tomorrow!

Ok the D-day has finally come. I would be on my first ever solitary voyage to the mighty Himalayas from tomorrow which would last for the next 15 days. I would be away from the civilization surrendering myself completely to the laps of the great mountains. My excitement in all these days of awaiting has reached its zenith and is now mildly replaced by tentativeness. Because I havent travelled this long ever alone. But even that feeling is tantalizingly alluring. The reason I picked Himalayas was because of its enormity and magnanimity. The stillness and giantness of its presence is so self assuring that you would want to see it eye to eye and get all your questions answered from it. That’s exactly what I intend to get. To find answers to all my questions that have been plaguing me all my life. Because its the Himalayas who have seen it all for 5000 years. The bear testimony to the changes in civilizations that have come and gone. Be it the Aryans Be it the Mongols or the Indo Europeans. I want to recharge my batteries and come back afresh to lead the next course of my life. To shake myself up of all the drudgery and mediocrity and start living again in all its truest sense. A big influence for me to take this trip the book, “Autobiography of a Yogi”, which speaks about the great sages and yogis of India who walked these mighty mountains and glorified India. I hope to meet someone from their lineage and attempt to gain some sagely wisdom. But I am unsure if mortals like me can actually be blessed with such divine serendipity.

So where all I intend to go. I have no fixed agenda. There is no fun in planning when you visit such places. You should follow your instincts and surrender to the force. I would take a train till Delhi. But after that I have no prepared plans. Bus, hitchhiking, biking, walking? I have no clue.




So here is where all I plan to visit.:

From Delhi—> Haridwar—>(give a miss to Rishikesh on my way up)—>DeoPrayag—> Srinagar(nope this is not the Kahmir waala Srinagar)—>Rudraprayag—>Chamoli—> Joshimath—>Auli—>Valley of Flowers—> Badrinath—>Mana

Of the above places, Deoprayag is the place where Alakananda and Bhagirathi merge to form the Ganges on the way to Badrinath.

In Rudraprayag, Mandakini and alakananda meet.

Joshimath: The religious centre, established by Adi Shankaracharya, which he called Jyotirmath,

Auli is a skiing resort which hosts the skiing festival every year.

Mana village is the last Indian village before Tibet . Mana village has the Ganesh and Vedavyas caves, where veda Vyas penned the Mahabharata.


From Mana—> Joshimath—>Gaurikund—>kedarnath—>Uttarkashi

I will give their details when I be there. But with whatever little I researched , each of these places are special and exciting in their own ways.