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Walking in Clouds
A Journey to Mount Kailash
and Lake Manasarovar
KAVITHA YAGA BUGGANA
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One begins this book, hoping and expecting beauty of Himaalayan ranges coming alive in descriptions, and is dismayed instead to find an account more personal, telling how it felt to trek through hard core region with little if any pampering.
Then, suddenly, there are photographs. One is delighted, but then, they too are more personal than bringing alive the grandeur one is thirsting for.
Until suddenly, amongst various photographs with Kailas in backdrop, one realises there is one of a lamaserie- and the latter looks tiny! Suddenly the majesty of Kailas is brought alive. Later, there are a few lovely photographs.
One wishes, dares not hope, seeing it.
Author talks about Ying, a fellow trekker, who is settled in U.S. and a citizen thereof, but born and brought up in China across border from Tibet. She acknowledges wrongs done by China in Tibet and to Tibetans, but says those wrongs were done to Chinese as well by the communist regime, and besides China had no option since West would have taken over Tibet.
It seems like an attempt by the authir to show "both dides", since she talks about Chinese aggression, I'll treatment of Tibetans, and more.
But then she has Ying talking of Chinese soldiers at border as lonely boys ftom her home who are happy to see her, bring there not their fault.
However true that is, one cannot help thinking that the Tibet cause is true, and rest is just muddling it, just as holocaust was a fact, and individual Germans claiming innocence or blaming Jews is all white noise to drown out the truth.
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Contents
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The Lake and the Mountain
Travellers, Waiting
Amid Giants
Reality Hits
Other Journeys
First Camp
One More Day
Readers Along the Karnali
As Long As It Takes
Deities
Crossing a Line
Soldiers
First Sight
Why We Worship the Gods We Worship
Dipping, Cleansing
Lights on the Lake
Chiu Gompa, the Bird Monastery
Last Town
The Mountain of the Gods
Love Stories
Pilgrims
Kailash at Night
Blue Lights
Walking in Clouds
A Stolen Day
Moon Lake
Returning
Transient and Eternal
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REVIEW
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The Lake and the Mountain
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"THERE ARE A LAKE and a mountain at the roof of the world where the air is thin and the clouds linger on cliffsides. ... "
" ... And the greatest of all adventures was a journey to that lake and the mountain that were so far away – so beautiful that they seemed to belong more to the sky than to the earth."
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February 04, 2022 - February 04, 2022.
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Travellers, Waiting
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" ... Simikot is the starting point of the trek through Humla in northwest Nepal. The Humla trek forms the first leg of our journey to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet."
"After noon, when the winds in Simikot have turned heavy, Chhiring tells us it is unsafe to fly today. We head back to the hotel where Pallu, Prarthana, and I sink into our air-conditioned rooms. ... "
"In the evening, we gather at the hotel’s restaurant. The rectangular structure with over-lit interiors is, I learn, an Indian restaurant. I don’t know why I am surprised since the Indian border is only a few minutes’ drive away, but my heart sinks. Most small Indian restaurants serve over-spiced, oil-drenched, clichéd imitations of the real thing. I say nothing, as the foreigners seem excited. I don’t tell them that there is no such thing as ‘Indian food’. There is no such thing as ‘Telugu food’, even, or ‘Tamil food’. Each district has its microcosm of culinary traditions that use local ingredients for preparations, and they depend on the seasons, temperatures, and principles of Ayurveda. Therefore, even narrow geographic areas encompass a dizzying diversity of cuisine. My mother’s village, for example, is famed for its tangy, spicy tamarind curries eaten with rice, while in my father’s village they make steaming hot balls of ragi millets. In my husband’s village, a meal without pappu (zesty vegetable dals) and soft jonna rotis is not a meal at all. And these villages are all within a few hours’ drive of each other. In this over-bright restaurant in Nepalgunj, I run a sceptical eye over the ersatz ‘Indian food’ on the menu."
"After the plates have been cleared, Sperello opens his laptop and shows us pictures of his biking trip along the Silk Route. The journey from Italy to China looks spectacular. Temple grottos nestle in Chinese mountains, and Central Asian steppes of endless beige end in lakes of endless blue. Each carefully composed shot is accompanied by a small story."
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February 04, 2022 - February 04, 2022.
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Amid Giants
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" ... While commercial airlines cruise at around 38,000 feet, we are at around 13,000 feet – the lowest altitude at which I have ever flown. As far as I can see, mountains and more mountains rise like giant frozen waves of earth. We glide over a green slope; I see small houses in clusters of twos and threes, and lonely single structures scattered here and there. The houses lie on acres of ledges cordoned into rectangular fields, and on terraced fields carved into slopes. Aside from these clusters, there is nothing – not a single house nor a single soul."
" ... Below, the mountains are spaced further apart.
"The wind is gentler. The plane curves gently around a slope. The valleys are narrow and shadowed, and rivers and streams etch their paths through the rocks. The clouds – some of them wispy tails, some, white cotton – touch the rocks and waterfalls and trees on mountain slopes. These places seem unreal, almost magical. ... "
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February 04, 2022 - February 04, 2022.
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Reality Hits
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" ... I spent hours selecting the perfect, most expensive equipment, so I would have no proble"ms in my trek. Now, it turns out the biggest problem is my body."
" ... With only the moon and the stars to light our way through the muddy path and rain, I am intensely aware of the darkness all around, the precipitous slopes, and the roar of the river raging through the mountains."
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February 04, 2022 - February 04, 2022.
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Other Journeys
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"THIS IS OUR THIRD attempt at making this journey. The first failed when everyone in our group dropped out before we even left Hyderabad. The second was aborted due to a combination of politics, history and unfortunate timing. We made it as far as Kathmandu, where our guide, a friendly, diminutive man called Sonam, introduced us to our fellow travellers: two courteous Austrian men, a pretty Swedish woman, and a serious, stocky Indian doctor from the Fiji Islands who had been planning the trip for years. One evening, over hot tea, Sonam broke the news that the Chinese authorities had cancelled all permits to Tibet.
"That year marked the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. The signing had taken place in 1951, a year after Chinese troops had invaded Tibet. For the Chinese, this was a liberation, but for the Tibetans, it was an occupation. The signatories included Tibetan delegates and the central government of the People’s Republic of China. But the Tibetans disputed the legality of the agreement, claiming it had been signed under duress by unauthorised delegates. As the agreement was an important means to justify China’s authority over Tibet, it was a highly charged issue. Political tensions were running high, and the 60th anniversary coincided with the festival of Saga Dawa.
"We were to spend Saga Dawa in Darpoche, a sacred place at the foothills of Mount Kailash. Celebrated on the full moon day of the fourth Tibetan lunar month, Saga Dawa commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha Shakyamuni, and is one of the holiest days in Tibetan Buddhism. Saga Dawa celebrations in Darpoche in Kailash are famous. There are festivities, chanting, lines of praying monks and bustling crowds from all over Tibet – crowds too large to control and monitor. In this uncertain situation, the Chinese authorities would not let in any foreign visitors. I knew there were likely scores of people like us waiting in Kathmandu.
"When we heard the news, everyone was in shock. Sonam told us we had several options: we could cancel our trip, choose a different destination in Nepal, or we could go to Kailash via another route. But going to Kailash meant the tour company would keep our passports in Kathmandu to reapply for new permits with the amended dates. There was no guarantee that these permits would be granted, and for those few weeks we would be travelling through Nepal without passports.
"We discussed other options. There was the kingdom of Mustang and the beautiful Annapurana circuit. But the doctor from the Fiji Islands finally spoke up. He had come to see the lake and the mountain and he was not ready to give up. The others felt the same way. But Pallu and I were unwilling to risk travelling without passports or permits. It was decided that the others would take their chances, and my cousin and I would head home. ... "
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February 04, 2022 - February 05, 2022.
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First Camp
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"THE DHARAPORI CAMPSITE IS nestled in a valley at the banks of the river Karnali. ... "
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February 05, 2022 - February 05, 2022.
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One More Day
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" ... Karnali is the longest river in Nepal and starts in the Lake Manasarovar area and eventually merges with the River Ganga in India. Sometimes emerald, sometimes turquoise, it sparkles like a diamond. ... "
"We cross a narrow steel bridge over the Karnali to ascend the slopes on the other side. We walk past swaths of mountainside covered with green grass and rows of pine trees. I splash my face with the chilled water from the steep waterfalls that cascade like veils.
"Our path becomes a narrow tunnel carved into the edge of a cliff, one side opening up to a dizzying drop. ... "
" ... altitude makes all the difference and that no amount of training could prepare us for that. ... "
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February 05, 2022 - February 05, 2022.
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Readers
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"THE MOUNTAINS APPEAR TO have been painted with an artist’s wild abandon. Along the slopes are terraced fields of red barley and yellow mustard, outlined with dark green hedges. The fields are like overlapping half-ringed designs on an embroidered skirt. ... "
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" ... ‘Dante Alighieri is your ancestor?’
"‘Yes.’
"‘Wow!’
"I wonder if Sperello knows that the original manuscript of the Divine Comedy is in the Asiatic Society in Mumbai. The manuscript had been gifted to the society by Mountstuart Elphinstone, the British Governor of Bombay, in the early nineteenth century. In Mumbai I often passed the Asiatic Society and thought of Dante and the old manuscript that had travelled across the world from Italy to India. I smile at Sperello. Everyone in the world is connected in unexpected ways."
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February 05, 2022 - February 05, 2022.
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Along the Karnali
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"A tribal woman, a member of our crew, pulls her horse behind her. As Pallu and I navigate the slippery path, the woman grows impatient. She says something, nods, and offers us her hands. Pallu and I each hold one of her hands. She begins to walk briskly, taking us with her, her grip reassuring and firm. Before we know it, we have descended a distance that would have surely taken us three times longer. Perhaps the key to the easy descent lay in the woman’s hands. They gave us confidence and set us free from having to wonder where to place our next steps. When we reach the banks of the river, it is still daylight."
"In the early evening sun, the water of the river is dappled with the light and shadow of leaves. ... "
"Pallu and I could have opted for an easier way. We could have been driven in Land Cruisers like many Indian pilgrims. None of the Indian travellers we know have taken the Humla route; they have all gone through Nyalam. But what is the point of being driven in boxy vehicles through busy Nyalam, with its built-up roads and small lodges, when we can walk through the pristine, breathtaking Humla with other trekkers from all over the world?"
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"In these heights, the heavens seem to have drifted down, almost touching the earth. The air is cold. The river hums, invisible over rocks. This is the most brilliant sky I have ever seen in my life. As I gaze at the heavens, I feel I am falling and flying, and I become intensely aware of these wondrous stars illuminating a great infinity."
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February 05, 2022 - February 05, 2022.
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As Long As It Takes
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"Through a line of spindly pine trees, sunlight sparkles off the waters of Karnali, which flows along the edge of the campsite. The forest is a perfect green. This green of pine forests is not the dense, flamboyant green of tropical jungles; it is softer and has space for air and patches of sky.
"Walking up, we leave the Karnali behind us. The forest gives way to subdued palettes of grey and various shades of brown. The sun is warm and the air is cool, an intoxicating combination. ... "
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February 05, 2022 - February 05, 2022.
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Deities
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"THE SLOPES HAVE GROWN steeper and the green has given way to brown dust and grey stone. In the midst of these subdued and monotone shades stands the gateway to the Yalbang monastery. The gateway’s psychedelic red, yellow, and blue paintings, and gold carvings seem to explode against the starkness of the rocky surroundings.
"The two main paths in the Buddhist world are the Theravada path and the Mahayana path. The Theravada path is practised in Sri Lanka, Burma, and other southern Asian countries. Based on the Pali canon of Buddha’s teachings, Theravada is the stricter of the two and emphasises the goal of enlightenment and liberation from samsara or the material world. The Mahayana path is practiced in China, Japan, and other northern Asian countries. Based on the Pali cannon, it also draws from other Buddhist texts which are composed mainly in Sanskrit. Mahayana emphasises the attainment of the Bodhisattva state. Bodhisattvas are highly compassionate and spiritually evolved beings who delay their own enlightenment so they can help others. The Vajrayana path, a form of Mahayana that emphasises tantric practices, is prevalent in Tibet and the Himalayan region. The Yalbang monastery belongs to the Nyingma sect, which is the oldest sect of Vajrayana Buddhism."
" ... Lama Pema Riksal is the leader and spiritual head of Chhiring’s community, a sub-sect within the Nyingma sect. The founder of the Nyingma school is Guru Rinpoche, who is also known as Padmasambhava. Padmasambhava means ‘lotus born’, as he was found as a young child floating in a lake (in what could now be modern-day Afghanistan). An 8th-century Buddhist master, he was trained in India, where his magical powers became legendary. He came to Tibet along with the first wave of Buddhist teachers, who included Santarakshita, the Abbot of the famed Nalanda University in present-day Bihar. Padmasambhava was summoned by King Trisong Duetsen to conquer the demons that were plaguing the people of Tibet. Until his death, Padmasambhava roamed the length of Tibet, teaching Buddhism."
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February 05, 2022 - February 05, 2022.
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Crossing a Line
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"‘Landslides are more common. This area, lots of mining. The soil is getting loose.’ ‘What do they mine for?’
"‘Gold,’ he says. ‘People say there is gold here, in these mountains.’
"‘Is it true?’ I ask.
"‘I don’t know. But there is too much mining. It is bad for the mountains.’"
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February 05, 2022 - February 05, 2022.
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Soldiers
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"The group assembles and poses for photos. The assistant guide, along with three crew members, is to leave us. On the other side of the border we will have other assistants. The mules will be replaced by yaks. Chhiring warns us that we must not take photographs near the outpost. We must not carry any pictures of the Dalai Lama, nor any of his writings, and we must not speak his name."
"At the outpost, young Chinese soldiers with severe haircuts and stony faces search our luggage. They open every bag, riffle through every book, open every stick of lip balm, shake out every bra and pair of underpants and sanitary product. Pallu and I exchange looks, shaking our heads. Airport security checks seem benign compared to this pointed probing that feels less like a search and more like a violation. ... "
" ... We adjust our clocks; China is two hours and fifteen minutes ahead of Nepal."
"Our hotel is yet another indistinguishable Purang cement box. The interior looks basic but clean. One wall in the lobby corridor is lined with framed pictures of Mount Kailash, taken from various angles in different seasons. It reminds me that our destination is no longer remote – Kailash is only hours away. ... "
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February 05, 2022 - February 05, 2022.
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First Sight
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"UNTIL WE REACH KAILASH we must not walk around unaccompanied within the restricted area of Tibet. We must be driven everywhere under the continuous supervision of our assigned guide, the unflappable Nyima. Any deviation from our plan must first be approved by the Chinese authorities. With these severe injunctions in mind, we set out for the day."
" ... In the distance, near the horizon, Mount Kailash stands outlined against a bright blue sky."
"The Tibetans call Kailash Gang Rinpoche (Precious Snow Mountain). Even from this distance, Kailash stands out. It is both physically removed from the other mountains and structurally unique, with its wide-based triangular shape. The colours, too, are different, as the snow shines brighter against the darkness of the stone. Formed from metamorphic rocks of the tertiary geological era, Kailash is made of stone that is darker, denser, and older than the stone of the surrounding mountains. Kailash, which existed even at the time of the Tethys Sea, is the tallest geological deposit of its kind in the world."
"At Rakshas Tal I expect to find gloom and grey waters, but I am wrong. The lake is breathtaking. Its salt water is so blue it seems almost unnatural. To our right is the south face of Mount Kailash, a dark monolith with a groove cut down the middle. The groove looks like an enormous ladder. ... "
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February 05, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Why We Worship the Gods We Worship
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This chapter is written basically for a non-Hindu, non-Indian readership, and ought to have been left out.
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Dipping, Cleansing
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"ACCORDING TO HINDU MYTHOLOGY, divine beings had once appealed to Brahma, the Lord of Creation, for a place to ritually cleanse themselves before praying to Shiva, in nearby Kailash. Brahma then used the force of his Manas (consciousness) and willed the Sarovar (lake) into reality. The lake is believed to be of such purity that anyone who takes a dip in it will wash away a lifetime of sins. Heavenly beings, it is said, have been descending into the lake at night as lights gliding down from the sky. Every year there are reported sightings of strange lights hovering over Lake Manasarovar in the hours before dawn. People believe these lights to be divine beings."
" ... The two lakes are connected by the Ganga Chu channel and the same water fills them both. When the channel is full, it means things are good for Tibet.
"‘These days, Ganga Chu not as full before,’ Chhiring says.
"The Chinese are mining the mountains in Tibet for gold, minerals, and oil, he tells us. The rivers are being dammed, and the water is being diverted to China. There are rumours that the waters of Lake Manasarovar are also being suctioned off (though I cannot see any evidence of this). There is development, but it does not reach everywhere, and the environmental damage is extensive.
"‘And the Tibetans? What do they say?’ I ask him.
"‘What can they say?’ Chhiring shakes his head. The Tibetans are voiceless."
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Lights on the Lake
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"At around three in the morning, ... "
" ... I see a light hovering on the other side. It is big and round and it vibrates.
"‘Maybe someone camping on the other shore?’ I say as the light dims and glows bright. What else could it be?
"‘But it’s not on land. Is it?’ We are both wondering the same thing. Are mythical heavenly beings descending upon the lake?"
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Chiu Gompa, the Bird Monastery
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" ... Overlooking Lake Manasarovar, sprawled on a small and rugged hillock, is the Chiu Gompa monastery complex."
"In Chiu Gompa, an old man turns the prayer wheels. The waters of Lake Manasarovar glint blue in the mid-morning sun, and the north face of Mount Kailash is resplendent in white and black. The lake and the mountain stand as they have for millennia: oblivious to the humans who struggle to place them within the boundaries of their futile ambitions."
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February 04, 2022 - February 04, 2022.
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Last Town
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" ... we get into the jeeps and set out for Darchen, the town closest to Mount Kailash.
"Once an important trading post like Purang, now Darchen is crowded with pilgrims and backpackers. People saunter down the streets, checking out toys, bangles, and mass-produced pants and jackets at rickety roadside stalls. ... "
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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The Mountain of the Gods
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"CHINESE AUTHORITIES FORBID PEOPLE from climbing Mount Kailash. This is, supposedly, out of deference to religious sentiment, as the climbing of Kailash is deeply offensive to millions of believers. Yet, it is curious and ironic that the Chinese have forbidden it. Such sensitivity seemed absent when they razed temples, slaughtered monks, and burnt down priceless manuscripts. What’s stopping them in the case of Kailash?
"Rumour has it that in 2001, the Chinese authorities granted a Spanish team permission to climb Mount Kailash. There were cries of outrage from Hindus and Buddhists and the Chinese eventually withdrew the permission. This, too, seems curious. China faces considerable international pressure because of its occupation of Tibet, human rights violations, and other issues. Regardless, they carry on.
"Whatever the real reason for the continued Chinese ban on climbing Kailash, the result is that even today, Kailash stands unsullied by human feet. Kailash must not be climbed. Travellers must walk around the mountain in an elliptical path, like planets traversing around a brilliant sun. The Buddhists call this path kora. Hindus call it pradakshina or parikrama. Both faiths believe Mount Kailash to be the centre of the physical and spiritual universe, and that going around it symbolises going around the universe.
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Love Stories
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Author tells a story, supposedly the legend of Sati, but she mixes it up considerably from beginning with that of Shiva and Parvati, and with perhaps a film version she saw early.
In original story, it's Rudra, a known and acknowledged God that Sati was married to, albeit an ascetic who shunned worldly goods and comforts; Sati threw herself into the sacred fire of Yajna being performed at her fathers, not because there were words exchanged or verbal humiliation, but because as a God amongst all others, her husband too should have been honoured with an offering, and wasn't, so she offered herself.
Further, it wasn't ghouls of army of Shiva as author recounts, but Rudra himself who, when he arrived shortly after and heard of what passed, destroyed the place in wrath - his very name signifying wrath.
Rudra is identified with the later, greater and more complete, Shiva, while Rudra is a Vedic God; just as Sati is reborn later as Uma, and called by many names including Paarvatie, is identified with many forms, Durga and Kaalie and Annapournaa and more.
Shiva is somewhere a boundary between human and Divine, whether a human who arrived at Divinity via ascetic life or the first Divine form, a God, that descended as a human form without being born as a human, but Rudra has a separate, prior entity, just as Sati does; the later Shiva and Parvati are full, greater manifestations.
It's more complex than the film story author tells. She talks about Amar Chitra Katha who brought it out as comic strip, and perhaps they mixed it or simplified it.
At any rate, she ought to have left it alone, not made the entertainment of western readership so much a priority as to make India see the author sell out.
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Pilgrims
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"To Drira Phuk, Mount Kailash, Tibet"
" ... The trek through Humla has made the parikrama around Kailash easier."
" ... In Humla, the mountains enclosed me; here, they lift me up and I feel closer to the sky than to the earth. Humla, too, was a trek through the mountains, but this is different because, believer or not, there is no mistaking that this walk around Kailash is a pilgrimage."
" ... For all of us, the mountain is always on our side, urging us on, promising that the journey’s end lies just around the corner."
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February 04, 2022 - February 04, 2022.
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Kailash at Night
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"Drira Phuk, Mount Kailash, Tibet
"Altitude ~ 5,200 metres"
"IT IS NOT YET evening when we reach the first campsite. Across the valley, half hidden behind huge rocks, is the Drira Phuk (Yak-Horn Cave) Monastery. ... "
"The symmetrical black and white monolith feels alien, yet as familiar as an old dream. Chhiring tells us this is as close as we will get to Kailash and that this view of the mountain is the most beautiful we will see."
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Blue Lights
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"Drira Phuk, Mount Kailash, Tibet
"Altitude ~ 5,200 metres"
"It takes me a second to remember that I am in the first camp at Kailash and that today is the day we are to climb the Dolma La pass. I sit up and open my eyes. In that instant, I see a shower of blue lights. They are all around me: blue flashes, moving at great speeds. Some emanate from under me, some appear in front, and after a wild dance, like zipping electrons, the blue lights converge towards me. I blink a few times to clear my vision. There it is again, a shower of blue lights. I am still in my tent – where are the lights coming from?
"The lights flash like small, silent firecrackers – sparkling, dancing, and, as they get close to me, they fade. Clear, sharp, beautiful: these words spring to mind. The lights are the colour of a sky changing from afternoon to early evening and they are bright as sapphires. Shock and disbelief give way to amazement. I ease myself into the moment. The blue lights wash over me, bathing me in their luminosity.
"Soon, the lights slow down. The blue fades, the sharpness blurs. The lights diffuse into larger white orbs, and then at last they dim too. In an instant, they are gone. I shake my head to make sure the lights are truly gone. Everything is back to normal. The whole experience has taken no more than ten seconds."
" ... Perhaps the lights were blue because Shiva is Neelakantha – the one with a blue throat. Perhaps the lights danced before me because Shiva is the lord of dance. I saw the lights at the feet of Mount Kailash, the abode of Shiva. Maybe the blue lights are a good omen, like the mala Pallu found in Lake Manasarovar, and the lights Prarthana and I saw on the lake."
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Walking in Clouds
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"I am going back down the slope. I will not be with the others. They will be going up to Dolma La pass and I will be going back down. Concentrate, focus, stay awake. I grip my horse and put my cheek on its mane. Breathe, breathe, in and out."
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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A Stolen Day
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"Lake Manasarovar, Tibet
"Altitude ~ 4,600 metres"
" ... Pallu requests Nyima to find an alternative for us.
"‘Some other place. Like Manasarovar. Why can’t we stay at Manasarovar?’ she asks."
"We watch a small duck bobbing on the gentle waves. In Hindu myths, the birds of Manasarovar are creatures of such perfect purity that they can separate milk from water. The lake is a tranquil, luminous sapphire, cradled between mountains. The colours of the sky are mirrored and animated in its rippling waters. After the ferocious beauty of the mountain, the lake is soothing. It is a stretched-out oval of endless, radiant blue. Manasarovar is known as the sun lake, but to me it feels as gentle as the moon; it is a moon lake."
"‘We are all worried here.’
"‘I’m coming home soon, Hari.’
"He tells me he had a dream the morning I fell sick at the campsite in Kailash. He had dreamed he was sitting alone on a bench when he heard footsteps. He turned around and saw me.
"‘Hey! What are you doing here?’ he’d asked me.
"I walked across the room and sat down next to him.
"‘I thought you were in Kailash,’ he said. I only smiled. I linked my arm through his and we sat there together.
"Hari had woken up feeling startled and uneasy. It was morning and I was far away, in the campsite in Kailash. Perhaps I was drinking coffee. Perhaps I was stuffing my sleeping bag in my backpack. Or maybe, I had just woken, my eyes opening wider as the blue lights danced before me.
"Later, Ashok calls. Pallu tells him we are fine, and that there is no need to worry."
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Moon Lake
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" ... Wet pebbles near the lake glow like pearls in the moonlight. ... "
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Returning
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"I do not tell Hari about the blue lights. ... "
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Transient and Eternal
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"What I remember most vividly is the stolen day with Pallu at Lake Manasarovar."
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February 06, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
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Walking in Clouds
A Journey to Mount Kailash
and Lake Manasarovar
KAVITHA YAGA BUGGANA
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February 04, 2022 - February 06, 2022.
Purchased December 31, 2021.
Kindle Edition, 168 pages
Published December 30th 2018
by HarperCollins
ASIN:- B07KLH7KYL
ISBN9353024781
(ISBN13: 9789353024789)
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4528724558
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