Trek Record by Vinai

Reach Rai (or Ria) at approx. 12:00; have tea at shop located at crossroads in small clearing.

Lady there was from Chirbatiya but also had this jungle property to pasture buffalo. Her husband stayed in a nearby watermill. She looked about 40 according to Dr. Sachin (I would have guessed about 50) and had about 4 young children. She voted in Chirbatiya.

Soon after leaving Ria, met a goat herder, about 50 years old, with 25-30 goats. He came from a village near Chirbatiya, had land there, grew potatoes. He came here to graze his goats and returned home in the evenings. With him was a young boy of about 12 who was representing the interests of the other family whose goats were in the herd. The two went together. Dr. Sachin reminded me of an article of Chchinga (Jaunsari tradition in which two feuding families avoid each other, as a way of managing potential conflict[i]) about a similar situation in which the young boy from family B was killed (perhaps by members of family A) while out pasturing animals. The goats were amazingly tame. They responded to the commands of the goatherd. Also notable was the waterproof vest worn by the elder goatherd made of goat wool.

Next we passed through several bugyal (mountain meadows) in which several buffalo were grazing. One was called Pattanganiya[ii], where a mela (fair) is held once a year in which a pooja is held and several sweetshops and jewelry shops are set up.

At 3 or 4 o’clock? we arrived at our campsite in a bugyal (alpine pasture) where we met Mohammed Mussa, a Gujjar who was grazing his buffalo. He was about 50 years old with 15 buffalo and 2 cows. He would graze cattle during the day, and at night he brought the cattle to the bugyal where his son would come to guard the animals against leopards. His hut was about 15 minutes away, higher up the mountain. Some points:

Had sold a cow to someone, the cow ate some plant and now had an open wound on its side (where the “poison came out”), so the owner entrusted the cow to Mussa’s care (perhaps because of his better knowledge of animals);

Had 5 sons, all married, but some of his daughters-in-law went to a different valley this summer with their birth families;

Often, their winter (plains) huts are destroyed for firewood while they are gone, so now they auction off the wood from their huts to the Forest Department and make new huts each year.

When his son came down, we offered him some tomato soup and parantha, neither of which seemed to appeal to him much. We visited his sleeping place at night where he had a fire going and a small tarpaulin shelter. His buffalo were acting up a bit. Later that night, from our tents, we could hear him singing quite beautifully.

Day Two - June 7, 2002

Left about 8:30. At 10:30 we arrived at a Gujjar hut near top of ascent (about 9000 ft above sea level).

Hut was about 6m x 7m made of vertical logs closely placed with a few supporting horizontal sticks, covered with a tarp. Inside the walls were coated with mud which was being coated with lime that had been quarried nearby, to prevent flaking. The gables were open and the whole set-up was rather pleasant. The water supply was about 100 m away. The family had (besides buffalo) some goats and 2 horses.

The family was of about 5 people - 2 daughters (one named Misra) and 1 young son (Gulzar). The lumberdar[iv] was Thinda[v] (I’m really not sure of the spelling or pronunciation of this one), and his sister’s children lived nearby (we got water from them). He had pain in the appendix region, but appendicitis was unlikely because he had had a bowel movement. He also had a 20 day ulceration on his heel, the dressing of which Zumil changed. Misra had a soft tissue infection of her hand (the left one I think) for which we gave her a two-week supply of Cipro with rather explicit instructions.

We left around 12:30, and arrived at a small mandir (temple) surrounded by huge, brightly coloured flags around 1:30 pm. We camped in a fine bugyal sometime in the afternoon. It rained while Dr. S. looked for a Gujjar hut (he was in desperate need of milk). Ate canned beans.

Day three, June 8, 2002

Left 7:00, reached Gujjar hut which Dr. S. found last night. Hut was about 8m x 8m, separated by inner wall into a kitchen and sleeping/sitting room. Lumberdar, 3 grown sons and a nephew (and families) were living there. They came from near Rishikesh, traveling time of 2 weeks. The nephew’s father was given land by the gov’t, and the father no longer migrates but grows maize. Nephew said this new lifestyle was good because it avoids hardship of traveling (seasonal migration) and because locals are suspicious of Gujjars nowadays, break their huts for firewood, and believe the Gujjars are abusing local resources.

According to men, children are learning how to read; we were shown small holes in the wall which were made to provide light for reading, but the women in the kitchen told Simi and Pooja that the children weren’t really learning reading, writing, etc. One woman was pregnant about 7 months (according to Zumil); an elder relative who lives in Panwali (darn! Forgot to ask about her while we were there!) would be called 2 - 3 days before the expected date (as she is the only one who has some rudimentary midwifery skills in this wilderness- ed.). About 3-4% of Gujjars practice polygamy. There used to be more, but present economic hardships have reduced the number. Also, when one man has two wives, they may fight, even if they are sisters and used to get along quite well.

The Gujjars had met one “mad” woman in someone else’s hut. They also knew one Gujjar who may have been manic-depressive; he sometimes abused people for no reason, and sometimes would leave one task unfinished and would proceed to another.

The family had a tape player and many tapes (which they were drying in the sun), indicating an urban influence. They were interested in our tents. We gave them some Aleve (ibuprofen?). We drank 3 kilos of buffalo milk. One of the sons was taking the rest of the milk (maybe 20 lbs) to Mayali or Ghansali (somewhere far away) and would return in the evening.

We left the hut at 10:30. At 12:20 we arrived at a temple with flags at 9473 ft. Inside was a small Shiv linga.

Later we came to a large, hilly bugyal with some very curious horses (a few of the more daring ones investigated our luggage), some buffalo, and a mule which yelled at me, although I couldn't understand it (it was probably speaking Garhwali or Gojri). We looked for water here but couldn't find any. The Gujjar hut that Dr. S was expecting here wasn't inhabited this year.

Around 1 or 2 o'clock? we arrived at Kuini and found a Gujjar hut there (altitude 10 300 ft). The view was quite beautiful when we arrived. Ghuttu could be seen to the WSW. Later, it rained and the area became enshrouded in mist. We set up our tents nearby on an extremely windy ridge. At the Gujjar hut we got chai, Khoya (milk solids), chappatis (which Dr. S and Pooja prepared) with some extremely potent chutney, and milk (with which Dr. S made some excellent khir). This was Simi's birthday feast.

The Gujjars had been there for 20 days. The hut was approx. 7m x 7m, made of bamboo, which grew nearby, and mud. It had an internal dividing wall. This family had a compass, and were praying when we arrived. We were sitting outside having a drink of Gatorade and we were asked immediately if we were drinking sharaab (alcohol). This family were Tinda (Dr. S, help me with the spelling for this one, too). The water supply was an approx. 2 square m puddle, which was decently clear.

Gujjars are Sunni Muslim. This family prayed 5 times daily: in the morning, at 14:00, at 17:30, at 19:30, and at 21:00. If they missed a prayer, they would make it up the next day.

(resting in Matya bugyal as the mist swirled up and landscape took on a mysterious look..)

Notes from Simi: Never believe Pooja when she says she will quit - smoking or trekking.

If we are all Dr. Sachin's children (most people asked us if we were) then why are we all the same age, and why does Zumil read namaz? Answer: Dr. Sachin has four wives. (Dr. S actually told people that we were children of his friends.)

Day 4, June 9, 2002

In the morning, we ate khir and chappatis with khoya. The grandmother of the family was roasting salt to give to the buffalos. She said if the salt wasn't roasted, the buffaloes may catch cold/fall sick.

We left Kuini at 8:30, climbed for several hours in thick mist (visibility about 20m) and arrived at a huge bugyal known as Maatya in which there were hundreds of sheep and some shepherds, a small shelter, small cairns and a mandir.

At the end of the bugyal, we found two huts made of stone with shingled roofs covered with thatching. No one was there, so we climbed another 40 minutes to Panwali kata. On the ridge before Panwali were many mandirs dedicated to various holy men. At 2:30-3:00 pm it started raining. We came across hundreds of sheep and goats in front of this small settlement of a dozen or so huts. We decided, in case of nuclear attack, that Zumil would marry Pooja and I would marry Simi (with Dr. S officiating), we would set up a commune and live out the rest of our days here (with Dr. S as spiritual leader).

Panwali kata consists of 8 buildings. We stayed at a Dharmshala ( a dilapidated rest house) set up by the community to house pilgrims. The Dharmshala had a tin roof and was made of stones and mud with wooden rafters.

We met one ~55 year old man staying there on his way to Kedarnath. We also met a ~50 year old man from Rajasthan traveling with a ~25-30 year old man from Delhi (he was in the milk industry, taking some time off to serve his guru, and believed that Canada was the number one producer of milk). The Rajasthani man lived in an ashram in Jalalabad? (I'm not sure what the city was, but it kind of sounded like Jalalabad), and had taken a bus to Rishikesh. From there he walked to Ghuttu, then to here. The men were carrying only blankets and clothes. They occasionally got lost in the jungles. I was told to bathe tomorrow as the next day was an auspicious one (perhaps this was just a polite way of addressing my filthiness[vi]). For dinner we ate dahl chawal from the nearby "hotel".

June 10, 2002

We woke up at 5:30 and watched the sun rise above the mountains. Brushing my teeth has never been such an awe-inspiring experience. We left by 8:30, after a breakfast of milk and granola and tea. The hotelier was quite interested in this novel form of “dallia” (porridge) as well as in Dr. Sachin’s GPS. Dr. Sachin usually told people it was a fancy form of compass to save himself the trouble of explaining the concept of geo-stationary satellites.

For the next several hours we climbed a path following a grassy mountain ridge. After passing an enormous herd of sheep, we reached 12 000 ft. (officially a few feet short thereof) at 12:30. By 1:00 we arrived at a shepherd’s temporary dwelling – a canvas tent held down by stakes and held up by two poles with rocks around the periphery and a fireplace at the entrance. The canvas cleared the ground by 6 inches or so all around. We saw many uninhabited shelters where only the rocks remained. When a shepherd came across one of these uninhabited shelters, he could quickly assemble his tent. At this shelter we met Tikka Ram and Asa Ram.

Asa Ram, a man of about 40, was the brother-in-law (jeeja) of Tikka Ram, who was in his 30’s. Asa Ram had been shepherding for 8 to 10 years and lived in Ghuttu. Tikka Ram had been shepherding for 3 years, and used to do odd jobs on the farms near Ghuttu. He told us he wanted something more challenging and more rewarding, and so turned to shepherding. Some other members of his family were also in this line. The two men were herding about 600 to 700 goats and sheep with 3 dogs and 3 horses. The goats and sheep belonged to other families from Guttu, each family sending 20-25 goats. The sheep were used for wool and were sheared twice a year. They could also be used for meat although sheep meat was less valuable than goat meat. The men had come here from Ghuttu (about 12-15 km away as the crow flies ed) over two months (a leisurely pace, indeed), staying 2-4 days at each site. They were going to Khatling glacier by traveling directly over the ridge and back up the valley.

This route seemed to impress Dr. Sachin as being rather difficult. The horses couldn’t be taken because no path existed in that direction beyond this point. The men would return to Ghuttu after being out for a total of 6 months. For this, they would get Rs. 20 per animal. Ghuttu was rarely more than a days journey away at any time (as the route was circular) so one man could go to get supplies and food. They carried some medicines with them, but could return to Ghuttu in case of serious illness.

Asa Ram was wearing a heavy silver bracelet similar to one we had seen on a man in Tharti (near Chirbatiya) who was regularly possessed by Bhim[vii] in the Pandava dance ritual. Asa Ram said that Chetrapal devata (a local deity) came to him in a vision, saying that Asa Ram had displeased him and would have to wear the bracelet as compensation. The men had heard stories of fairies[viii] abducting shepherds, etc. but did not believe them; however, they sometimes heard drums in the night near Khatling! They explained it as the maya (magic, illusion) of God.

The men said they could probably handle several thousand animals in the mountain meadows but could not keep watch over more than a few hundred per man in the jungles of the ascent because of mountain lions. They said if a leopard kills a sheep, the owner would take the shepherd’s word for it (although Dr. S had heard of cases where the skin had to be displayed as proof that the shepherd didn’t simply kill and eat the animal himself).

We reached Magu at 2:45, after passing some patches of snow. There were three stone buildings with tin roofs, all abandoned. We took shelter from the rain in one of them, and cooked a meal of beans and soup. By 5:45, the rain had let up a little so we pitched our tents nearby. The plan to sleep in the abandoned houses was canceled due to possible scorpion and definite (right, Pooja?) mouse infestation.

June 11, 2002

We woke up at 5:30 and started walking by 6:45. The path was wooded in this area. At around 7:15, we arrived at a beautiful waterfall with a small bridge over the river. At 9:30, we arrived at a group of three small huts made of stone with tarpaulin roofs. Simi and I went inside, where we met Mohan Lal and Sharmananda. Mohan Lal was about 55 years old and was the maternal uncle (mama) of Sharmananda who may have been 40 years old. They were of the brahmin caste. After a few minutes, Dr. Sachin could not resist the temptation of hot tea and came to join us. Mohan Lal and Sharmananda came up here in this pasture, for about 2 months a year when grass was less available in their village of Triyuginarayan, which was about 3 km farther down the mountain. Food and supplies were brought from the village by family members (and, as we soon learned, by passing Gujjars). Mohan Lal has 2 cows, 1 bull, and 2 buffalo with him. One of the family’s buffalo stayed in the village. His family grows rice, wheat (mandwa), and urud dahl. This is usually enough to feed them throughout the year (compare with area near Chirbatiya where agriculture provides food for 4 or 5 months).

Mohan Lal told us that shepherds may come from any caste. They are often apprenticed to another shepherd by their families if they are not doing well in their studies or in farm work. Mohan Lal also said that he did not believe in fairies, etc.

Mohan Lal offered us subzee and roti to eat, although we didn’t take any. When pilgrims passed by, he would offer them roti. If they came in the evening, he offered them a place to sleep. When asked about Gujjars, he said that all people are the same, but sometimes Gujjars would start problems ie. they would sometimes kill villagers’ cows or make the villagers’ animals run away from grazing land. At this point, a Gujjar stopped by with vegetables from the village. He had brought milk to sell in the village and Mohan Lal’s family had given him some vegetables to take to Mohan Lal on his way back.

When we left, Mohan Lal would not accept any money for the milk and tea, even though Dr. Sachin said he was giving it to Sharmananda’s seven year old daughter who was visiting. His generosity and hospitality was quite moving.

A few minutes later, we met two Gujjars heading to Sonprayag to take a bus to Srinagar (eight hours away). There they would sell mawa (milk solids) to a sweet shop with whom they had a contract.

At around 10:45 we arrived at Triyuginarayan. We came to a very well-maintained primary school where about four young girls were cooking (perhaps they were having a picnic of sorts). As we passed through the village, every kid said “Namaste, toffee do” (give me toffee). Apparently tourists passing through, to go to the holy sites and trekkers (like us) give their candy to the kids. The town was quite well-maintained – the houses and streets were in good repair, and the girls looked very clean (although the boys still managed to be a little dirty). Dr. Sachin said that this town benefited from passing tourists, although this may also have spoiled the children.

At 11:11 (Simi told us to make a wish) we arrived at the Hotel Aniket. We ate dahl, chawal, and bhangan aloo. One pandit there was trying to get us to visit a mandir and was hitting all the kids who passed by. One boy who passed was carrying a bag and I think the pandit forced something from him. We decided he was a jerk, but there was little we could do. Dr. Sachin (after a few attempts) managed to find us a car to take us to Gaurikund.

Postscript

Trek officially ended but adventure didn’t! This rattle trap jeep brought us down into the narrow Mandakini valley in just about an hour or so. While the jeep was basically held together by will and good karma of the driver, the music system was quite fancy and blarey. To the accompaniment of vintage hindi film songs, we descended in the green humid gorge and the expansive heights of the mountains were left behind. Sonprayag, seemed mundane after Panwali kanta, so we drove another five kilometers north to Gaurikund, which is famed for its hot springs. What could be better than soaking into sauna after six days’ trek?

Gaurikund is the last road head, for Kedarnath. Hundred of buses and vehicles were clogging this small congested pilgrim town; It was so incongruous that the group wanted to turn and run back in to the forest. But civilization has its compensations as well, however paltry! For example, Dr S could phone home; Zumil could go for a fancy haircut and some nice grooming. The group checked out local eateries that evening. And ofcourse the hot springs! Alas, that wasn’t up to the mark where girls were concerned.

Next morning, we drove in a jeep to Rudraprayag – roughly midway to Dehradun. Took about 4 hours. Changed vehicle and drove on to Dehradun. Passing thru Rishikesh, Dr S sprung one of his special surprises on the group, by taking them to a 3 star hotel for supper. A vast contrast from the days of eating beans at the edge of the forest!

[i] This very good article is written by Dr P C Joshi, Anthropologist. Ed.

[ii] Pattanganiya – probably from Pat (flat) + Aangan (clear ground). This is a big clear flat patch amid woods at about 8500 feet. Ed.

[iii] Actually Gotra names. Anthropologist believe that these Gotra names among Gujjars, probably have a pre-conversion origin. These Gotras are exogamous groups. Ed.

[iv] Lumberdar is a title of honor for the head of the family among Gujjars. Literally it means- The one who has the permit or license (lumber = Number) from Forest Department, authorizing the family, to graze their cattle in the forest. Ed.

[v] Tinda – again is a Gotra. Ed.

[vi] Probably, the real reason was just that- Next day was an auspicious day and the mendicant monks in India would freely give this advice to anyone they meet. Ed.

[vii] One of the five Pandava brothers. Bhim literally means – doer of tough/ harrowing feats. Ed.

[viii] Belief in Eyerie, Anchari - wood spirits, nymphs, spirits presiding over a pasture, lake etc is quite deep rooted in the mountain communities. Ofcourse, many locals would not admit it openly to the outsiders now. Ed.