It had been a while
since I had been to the Himalayas & if you have been there even once, you
can vouch for their siren call. 10 long years had passed since my Basic
mountaineering course from Manali ,daily routine & devising means to pay
the rent, had taken up much of the time .To cut a long story short , when my
trekking companions suggested an outing to the Gangotri glacier , I grabbed it
with both hands .
We reached
Uttarkashi & marvelled at how the small town had changed . Bhandari hotel
which had seen many an expedition pass through its doors had sadly passed it's
prime , but we took comfort in it's warm and familiar embrace, not minding the
lack of a 'designed' interior or the latest in HD LED technology. We finalised
our plan for the trip which included few days at Gangotri and then an excursion
to Dayaara bugyaal .We were a group of seven which included a few senior
citizens.They would stay back at Gangotri while we merrily trekked about.
As a portent of
future events our departure from Uttarkashi was delayed due to landslides on
the Uttarkashi Gangotri road .We persevered, persisted and finally persuaded a
driver to take us to Gangotri , landslide notwithstanding .This journey was a
bit on the risky side as we were negotiating the slipping sliding earth with
the fast flowing river on the side .Thanks to our adroit driver we made it to
Gangotri with life and limb intact. Our last outing to Gangotri was to climb
Mount Rudugaira and the rushing torrent , the small shops( though much
increased in number now) and the distinct bridge across the Bhagirathi seemed to welcome us back .We
planned to lodge in the Krishna Ashram on the opposite bank.
Again old acquaintances were renewed and we felt a distinct sense of home
coming .We had 3 days in Gangotri &
then we would proceed to Dayaara , a very laidback vacation compared to the
hustle - bustle of an expedition.
Days 1 and 2 passed
uneventfully with the temple being visited , the path to Gomukh explored and a
short trip to the Pandav gufa along with Suryakund .It was Day 3 and we were
excited to set off on our trek tomorrow. By evening we had packed our rucksacks
& had given enough instructions to those who were staying back, that they
wished we had started off today itself ! As we tucked ourselves into the warm
blankets , a light rain started, and we were content to hear it pitter patter
on the tin roof and drift off to sleep .Our plans were rudely interrupted by
the sudden incessant pounding of the rain on the roof , it was as if we were
experiencing the torrential monsoon of Mumbai in Gangotri , a statistical
improbability , but who would explain that to the rain Gods ? The roar of the
rain was suddenly pierced by the shrill whistles of humans & there was an
urgent, almost desperate, character to them. Leaving all pretense of sleep, we
got up & went to investigate the sudden disturbance.
There were waves of
people frantically scrambling across the bridge & via any other place
possible to reach our side of the river .But what were they so afraid of ? The
answer came in the form of a low rumble initially, building up to a giant roar
of a flowing mountain , scattering trees , boulders & concrete structures
like hay in the wind .The normally swift
waters of the Bhagirathi had adopted an even more manic speed & it's level
was rising exponentially .We reflexively turned around to see whether our side
of the mountain too had designs of moving , thankfully it was solid rock and we
were safe for the moment. After things had settled down a bit , we went inside
again and fell into a disturbed sleep , the night was punctuated with rumbles
and blasts, both near and far. Truth be told, we were scared .
The 4th day morning
dawned & then the true nature of the night's events hit us , the mountain
side had been scarred a dirty brown , huge pines were carelessly strewn about ,
rocks of all shapes and sizes occupied any flat ground that had stopped their
flow , entire concrete structures, which till a day ago had served as hotels
& shops, were lying at crazy angles
at the bottom of the valley .
Our side of the
river had been providentially spared .
As we let the full purport of the happenings sink in, we also realised that we
were looking at ,quite oddly, a water
crisis - water water everywhere but not a drop to drink ! The pipeline upstream
had been ripped apart but thankfully the heavens were still pouring & we
placed buckets & drums at all
possible collection spots .Since the ashram had food stocks which would last a
couple of days we were not worried on that front .Day 4 thus went huddling in
the verandahs looking for some sign of the rain to abate .By evening the rain
had petered down to a drizzle & we were still hoping to continue our trek
tomorrow .
The next day, news
started trickling in that there had been unprecedented rainfall in and around
Gangotri , precipitation at Kedarnath being so severe, that several lives were
lost .The approach road to Gangotri had been severed at many points by rockfall
and at others by simply being swept
away. There were rumours that the army would be attempting a heli rescue from
Gangotri ,these were bolstered by a few IAF choppers flying over & even
attempts at making a helipad at an area clear of debris ( admittedly hard to
find ).Since there was nothing that we could do, save wait , we spent the day
roaming about town and were exposed to even more destruction and devastation
.The entry to Gangotri itself was walled by a huge mountain of rock & soil
, ironically, a board of the Border Roads Organisation, welcomed you to
Gangotri. We climbed over this latest hillock & continued a little further
to see the condition of the road , very simply put- there was no road .A few
drivers and locals were trying to move the smaller boulders so that a path
could be carved for a jeep to move through .Having nothing better to do we
decided to lend a hand and used all the destroyed pipes as effective levers
.The sheer weight of the rocks was a revelation , even though we were fully
expecting it .It took groups of 5- 10 men to move the smaller rocks , the
larger ones were judiciously left for the JCBs.These were the same rocks which,
yesterday, were flowing like water over the mountain and today to move them
even an inch, was - like moving a
mountain !
After sufficient
exertion we headed back to our rooms & were pleasantly surprised to see a
small, hole in the wall, café ( actually ! )
up and running . Our host had 2 types of biscuits ,instant noodles &
even soup , what more could you ask for ! In fact he had more , he had a small
library of books donated by earlier patrons , the variety of languages
reflecting the eclectic mix of his clientele. There were even a few books on mountaineering & I was one
contented soul , sipping on soup , book in hand & a clear view of Mount
Sudarshan in front , almost felt like heaven !
The incoming news
snapped me out of the reverie , the scale of destruction at Kedarnath was
massive , the chances of a heli rescue from Gangotri seemed dim, there was no
electricity , water depended on rain harvesting and food was slowly running out
and lastly the 2 cell phone towers had stopped functioning as there was no
diesel to run them .
It was Ganga
Dasshera & the devout had lit up the banks of the river with hundreds of
lamps , a feeble attempt at placating the furious Gods, or if you liked, a
fervent appeal to an Almighty to help them tide over this Himalayan tragedy.
But it was a disaster waiting to happen , with human greed & relentless
,merciless exploitation of Nature the overarching villain in this drama.
The rain had stopped
, a new day had begun .Having nothing better to do and still awaiting news , we
decided to walk in the direction of Gomukh .As we made our way onwards , we saw
a low flying IAF chopper & waved to it .We were surprised to see it dropping
some packages , some fell on the path , others in the valley & still others
got stuck in the tall trees .We investigated the ones on the path and were
pleasantly surprised to find a box of poori bhaji , the impact had made the
contents spill , but I guess if one was hungry enough , it would have been
eaten. Further on the trail , we saw some local children merrily collecting
these treasures which had literally dropped from the skies .Their expanding
list included such gems as butter cookies , sev , poori bhaji & light
weight blankets even !They had their sights fixed on a newer treasure now , but
alas it was fifty feet above the ground nestled on a pine and in spite of their
heartwarming confidence in us, we were unable to get it down for them. Not ones
to mope about , they immediately went about their next task , that of offering
us a sampling of their treasures .These children were clearly from poor
households ,their clothing and footwear or the lack of it indicating the same
.They would be having food scarcity even in normal times ,these were especially
difficult times , and here they were magnanimously opening up their stock to us
- 'poor' indeed ! And as I was writing this , a message popped up on my phone ,
one of many forwards , but seemed apt and the timing nothing short of perfect -'What is richness ? It is not earning more , spending
more and saving more , richness is when you need no more' .
Leaving our new
friends to their devices , we continued ahead on the trail, the surroundings
were straight out of a postcard- tall snow clad mountains , verdant slopes,
blue skies ,and a winding, rushing river, deep below . After ten minutes or so
we were face to face with another aspect
of reality - there was no road to Gomukh , it had simply been swept away and in
it's place was a deep chasm .There were
also twisted ,broken pieces of pipe and we now knew why we weren't getting any
water in the taps .The sight of the metal made us recall a few donkeys, laden
with precious new pipes trudging the same trail some time earlier , then we had
viewed them as a nuisance blocking the route , now they were nothing short of
Divine !
We couldn't help but
wonder about the family who had stayed next to us at the ashram , they had gone
to Tapovan en route to Gomukh, the morning the rain had started, by this same
route. As of now we had heard nothing of them.
With an uneventful
trek back to the ashram we were confronted by uncertainty and indecision - what
should we do ?! Krishna ashram was kind enough to accommodate us till food ran
out , which could be in just a couple of days .Our present situation at Gangotri
was safe and even bordering on comfortable. The road beyond Gangotri was
definitely destroyed , there was to be no heli rescue from there , that had
been confirmed. The army had set up an air evacuation camp at Harsil , around
25 kms away , the problem was reaching there , as at least half of the distance
was through mountainous terrain. Should we wait till the earth movers , swiftly
pressed into action by the army, cleared the road from Gangotri itself or
should we walk till Harsil ? For some of us it would have been a natural
extension of our trek , but some of us were above seventy .Reports were
trickling in, that the camp at Harsil was being flooded, by people not water ,
but that meant that those who were late in reaching would more or less have to
fend for themselves as there was limited space there. In the meantime the cell
towers were being run for half an hour a day and well-meaning relatives were
adding to the confusion by calling up and suggesting all sorts of remedies,
ignorant of ground realities. Tempers were getting frayed and leadership
decisions being challenged .To maintain a semblance of discipline , a one point
contact in Pune was established who would relay any news whatsoever to all
concerned , this would also save our precious cell batteries ! I had thankfully
taken a solar charger along & that afforded me the luxury of music too !
Another day passed ,
the café was visited , only Parle G was available, and was duly consumed .
Tempers were getting more volatile and the mountains were serene , still , as
if nothing had happened ! By evening we came to the decision that hardship,
whatever it entailed , was preferable to comfortable inaction. We would trek on
to Harsil , let the seniors stay at the army camp & wait for the air
evacuation and those of us fit enough would trek all the way to Uttarkashi or
the nearest road head still functioning .This meant that we had to ruthlessly
jettison most of our luggage as only that much as what one could carry would be taken , seniors
not exempted .That was some lesson in non-attachment !Our decision was conveyed
to Pune with the caveat that we were taking the leap into the unknown , not
sure of the implications.
The next day dawned
and one of us went to the main entrance of Gangotri to gather more news about
the way ahead .Till then we had another of our Parle Gs , the stock augmented
by benevolent IAF choppers .They say that action has a peculiar potency to it ,
you take one step forward and soon other
things rearrange to support and further that particular act .Imagine our
delight when our fellow came back with news that jeeps were available for
particular sections of the blocked road ! That meant seniors could go that much
further , that meant that we might even get some space at Harsil ! We bade a
bitter sweet farewell to Gangotri and climbed into the jeep , a special mention
has to be made of the Mahindra Max , it handled anything & everything
thrown at it , loose rubble , slush , stones , rocks , water , you name it , it
drove over it and that too without breaking any sweat .The jeep managed to get
us to the foot of the mountain , the road would be visible once we navigated a
portion of the landslide , a section of around 15 minutes .The road was
expected to be plain without the rocks & debris of its mountain counterpart
.
The stipulated 15
minutes was up and to our great surprise & relief there was an ITBP ( Indo
Tibetan Border Police) truck waiting to pick up those stranded and to ferry
them to Harsil , talk about small miracles ! We set off in the truck
negotiating small areas of rockfall nonchalantly , speculating about Harsil and
the helicopter waiting there to whisk us off to safety .The army & air
force had deployed not just a single but many choppers and relief work was on
at full swing , that surely brought a smile to our faces .A short chopper ride
and we would be back at Bhandari hotel , savouring a hot bath . By now we
should have known that man proposes and God disposes .
Our slowly but
surely moving truck had come to a sudden halt & there was a loud
complaining whine from the engine, the wheels were spinning wildly , but we
were stationary. On peering out from the tarp , we saw that the truck was
hopelessly mired in a sort of quicksand from the landslide , but this was
different from the routine debris which we had encoutered so frequently. There
was a lot of silt and with numerous streams adding to the mix , the result was
a deep , unstable mass reaching to more than half the truck's wheel in height
.And it had this particular truck in a vice .No amount of reversing or
forwarding had any effect, other than sinking the truck deeper into the mud .We
jumped out of the truck , there was no question of pushing it out, as firstly
we ourselves were getting sucked into the muck, and secondly there was just no
purchase point for any movement whatsoever , it was uniform ,deep slush for at
least 50 metres either side .While helping one of our seniors out of the muck I
didn't realise when I myself was more than ankle deep in it , after much
manouvering managed to free myself and was pleasantly surprised to see that my
Forclaz 500 shoes had kept my feet absolutely dry ( getting in a word for the
sponsors here ) , though the rest of me was different shades of brown !
As we stood
contemplating this latest twist in the story , our resourceful truck driver
used a radio to ask the army for a backup . Two things needed to be done ,
first arrange another truck to convey the passengers , second get a crane to
remove the stuck truck out .Within half an hour both were achieved , an army 4
wheel drive truck came to pick us up and another, with a winch and hook
attached, successfully freed the ITBP
truck. With the 4 wheel drive truck we were confident of navigating almost 99%
of landslides ,until we encountered the
remaining 1% .
Similar to the
earlier muck , this was a little bit drier but piled so high that entire houses
were buried under it & unfortunately even the 4 wheel drive could not negotiate it .The
ever resourceful and supremely efficient army had already deployed an excavator
which was skillfully carving a way out of the debris .Particular parts of this
village had been levelled to the ground by the rock and mud juggernaut , cars
had been smashed , houses flattened , some even uprooted and carried to the
water's edge .Sitting quaint and supremely unaffected were a few traditional
dwellings, perhaps exhibiting a deeper understanding of the ecology.
Within the span
of a small tea break( we actually got
tea) ,the excavator had done its job and we proceeded on our way , thankfully
,with no more surprises, all the way to Harsil .Harsil has been described as
the Switzerland of India by some ( yes , I know that Kashmir & Himachal too
have their own competing Switzerlands , but Harsil is a worthy contender)
.Surrounded by tall mountains, the confluence of the Bhagirathi and the Jalandhari , green meadows and apple
orchards make it an idyllic tourist spot. Tourism was the last thing on our
mind though , we wanted to catch the chopper as fast as possible ! Our original
plan of trekking all the way to Uttarkashi had been dropped as the army
officers had advised against it.
As we entered Harsil
town , we were greeted by a sea of humanity , of all shapes , sizes and ages
.The army camp which usually housed 300-400 soldiers was run over with at least
2000 people .When we reached the camp , one of the jawans patiently explained
that since it was late in the evening there would be no more chopper flights
today , we were welcome to stay in the camp and check for the next flight
schedule. The barracks were full , the offices were full , the grounds were
full and even the by lanes were full. It would have been pitiful , had we
ourselves not been the subject of pity .By a stroke of providence, all seven of
us managed to find space to sleep and keep our meagre luggage and the icing to
it, was that all of us were in the same room .It was space alright , but
chaotic would just about start to describe it .There were so many people
crammed into that small room , the sounds , the shrieks , the light , the
discussions , the fear , all took on a surreal feeling after some time .
After some time , a
few officers came in & tried to impose some order to the endless confusion.
They segregated people requiring immediate attention and evacuation , after
that the elderly and the sick and then the rest .The choppers called 'Heli' in
local parlance could take off only if the weather was conducive , there were
continuous flights with 5 to 20 people in each ,depending on the type of the
chopper. The flights would start around day break and continue till sundown or
the weather deteriorated whichever was later .As soon as word got around that
the choppers were flying, the entire lot used to go to the helipad and transfer
the chaos from the camp to the flying area, this used to typically start from 4
am .To prevent this , the army issued tokens depending on when you had entered
the camp or if you were critical and each night the jawans would call only the
relevant tokens to the airfield the next day.
The choppers coming
back would be laden with food ,which the army diligently served as many as
possible. They had even made provisions for breakfast , tea and toast. The
locals had pitched in with community lunches & dinners in one of the many
scenic meadows .In fact so strong was this community spirit that the local
hotels refused to serve any food in exchange for money , rather they directed
everyone to the community events .The management was exemplary with all
villagers taking turns to cook , serve , provide plates and all with a smile !
Keep in mind that they were as much affected by the events as the outsiders ,
some times more so. And all this while the Army also kept at it, providing
shelter , treating the ill , evacuating hundreds a day , tirelessly ,
efficiently and round the clock.
In spite of this
there were a few rotten apples , who managed to pick up a fight with the army
jawans and officers and tried bulldozing their way by getting ministers and
their ilk to bully them into preferential treatment, but to the credit of the
army , they didn't tolerate any of this nonsense and went about their way
methodically.Col.Pradeep Singh , who was managing operations , had only this to
say - When my jawans , some of whom have lost dear ones and homes due to the
floods , can work so hard just so that you can go home , can't you tolerate a
delay of 1 or 2 days ? Case closed.
Our token was for 2
days later , so we had to make ourselves at home in the camp for 2 more days at
least .Rather than stay in camp , we decided to enjoy the most of our forced
vacation at this tourist spot , Harsil was indeed idyllic with the apple orchards
, the old houses with slate roofs and the swiftly flowing streams .The crisp
mountain air was also invigorating. We returned to camp in the evening and met
a few trekkers who had gone to Kalindi khal ( beyond Gangotri , via the way to
Gomukh) when the deluge struck, they were clearly in pain and shock . That they
had managed to reach Harsil without a casualty was creditable and lucky. We had
had it easy !
The next day we
decided to explore the mountain behind the camp , the route led to an army
settlement at a higher ground and beyond, to the top of the mountain. We must
have spent at least 3 hours on top admiring the tall peaks , the deodar forests
, the jumping ,rushing waters & the constant drone of choppers ,either taking off or landing .When
life gives you lemons, make lemonade - not quite lemons , but lots and lots of
wild strawberries were growing wild on the mountain slope and actually having
nothing better to do , we must have gorged ourselves on those delicious berries
for at least two hours .Back in camp we noticed the army obstacle course used
for training and had a great time trying various stunts. It had been a good day
and we were now were just one night away from the blessed chopper ride.
We set our alarms to
4 am ( not necessary actually ,given the commotion at that time) gathered our
stuff and started the trek to the airfield .It was around 1-2 kms away and we
trudged onwards with our unwieldy luggage. We reached there and awaited day break
.The sunrise wasn't visible , in it's place were huge clouds rising from the
valley beyond towards the airfield.It was truly a stunning sight ! Though the
clouds made for a spectacular view, they prevented the all-important Heli from
flying , the officers told us to wait and watch and promised that even if a
small weather window was available the heli would be airborne again. Such
things happen & we had developed a stoicism which would have made Seneca
proud .We had been awake since 4 am without any food or water , the jawans
started distributing the ubiquitous Parle G and it was quite shameful to watch
people taking packets , hiding them & then queuing up again to get more,
primal survival instinct perhaps , who were we to judge. The Parle Gs were made
more enjoyable by the steaming hot tea served by the Harsil ladies to anyone
and everyone who they saw & yes, they even gave second and third helpings .
The clouds had given
way to frank rain and there was no way that a heli could take off , forget
navigating through it , the writing on the wall was clear - head back to camp
.We reached camp to see it bursting at the seams , a new lot of pilgrims had
arrived & it was naïve of us to expect to
get back our sleeping spot , but we still tried and we failed .We did
manage to find isolated spots that too on the ground and were just getting
ready to stake our claim , when one of us who had stopped in the market to buy
some essentials came running with a broad smile plastered on his face .There
was a vacancy in the hotel nearby ! The pleasure of a hot bath and onion
pakodas, after the past few days, was nothing short of heavenly .
The next day we
again trekked to the airfield and this time we even got into the much sought
after heli .Our heli was the Mi17 , used to ferry troops and equipment , after
a short flight we landed at Chinyalisaur , a small town on the banks of the
Bhagirathi .Here again we were privileged to accept the hospitality of the
locals who had kept a kitchen running throughout to cater to all those brought
in from the flood hit zones .There were special buses deputed to transport all
those coming in, to all the major towns nearby .In all these days , we realised
that we had spent very little money and had survived on the hospitality of
complete strangers and the dedication and commitment of the armed forces.
By this time our
hopes were up , we had a fighting chance to catch our original train from
Delhi, which was the next day . We hired a jeep to take us to Hrishikesh ,
which we reached around 5 am .As the road from the mountains entered the town ,
our jeep was stopped . What we experienced next was at once heart wrenching and
sobering .Our jeep had been stopped by numerous people holding up photos of
loved ones who had gone to Kedarnath and Badrinath that fateful day. Had we
seen them , they asked .With no courage to meet their eyes we quickly replied
in the negative and drove off .Some distance beyond was a police check post
which took down our details to prepare a list of all those who were safe or
otherwise. At Hrishikesh bus stand , again there were special buses and again
there were stalls offering food and tea .
As we entered Mumbai
a bus passed by, with Bhagirathi Transcorp written on the side. Truly the
Bhagirathi had transformed many a life in that short period and brought to the
fore the entire range of human emotions from deep tragedy to quiet elation.
Gratitude, though, was a constant companion for us.
