It all started with the circulation of a message on WhatsApp, where our planner, Karun, came up with the idea of finalising the destination of Aali and Bedni Bugyal for our next trek. The unheard terrain suddenly created a buzz among all, and eventually, we had another group created to get introduced to the people travelling along. It surely was exciting, and we were looking forward to it.
Day 1: 11th September 2014
The night was sleepless. As always, I was excited to hop on the bus and reach my destination. I knew I wouldn’t get any sleep tonight, so I hopped into my friend’s place to spend the remaining hours over some drinks and gossip. We were scheduled to get picked up at 4:00 a.m. from our designated destination. Just like we mocked IST (Indian Standard Time), people were late, and finally, we started our journey at 5:00 a.m. It was a traveller with a capacity of 13 + 1 passengers, but with our addition, now we were 7 + 1. It was a pleasant shock, as there would be no one else joining us on the tour, which meant we had ample space to sleep. The smile reflected a fraction as we almost twisted our backs due to the lack of space on our last trip. Our driver, Thomas (a baptised Sikh), was one of the best drivers I had come across to date and turned out to be a great help all the way.
It’s an offence to drink and drive, but it’s a bigger offence to finish all drinks mid-way and get sloshed. Introducing the first member of the group: Mr. Pradipto Mitra (Pintu). The baby boy, who’s always on a sugar rush, and the youngest of the batch. He built a high right at the very beginning of the trip, and the energy flowed all through. Their innocent actions made us forgive him too. Our boy was already passed out on my only bottle of alcohol, which was supposed to cover our whole trip, even halfway to Haridwar. We took our first halt at Namaste Midway to grab some quick bites for breakfast from McDonald’s.
Resuming our journey, we crossed Haridwar, followed by Rishikesh. The weather was unlike other days; it was raining, and the air was cold and breezy. I often sneaked my head out the window like a dog and enjoyed the weather. We took our next halt at Marine Drive (Rishikesh) just to get clicked on the local bridge in the village. The Ganga flowing beneath the swinging bridge, the drizzle of rain, and the breeze just froze our feet. It was indeed a pleasant break in the momentum, and we were loving it.
We continued our journey on the endless road, and it didn’t seem to end. The hunger put us to our next halt, where we had one of the best vegetarian Thalis (meal plates) consisting of a Sabzi (vegetable gravy), Curry (curd and gram flour gravy), in which the Pakoras (gram flour balls) were hard to find, Roti (Indian bread), Garam bhaat (steaming rice), Dahi (curd), Achaar (pickle), and Pyaaz (onion). Pintu suddenly demanded Sirke wala pyaaz (vinegar-soaked onion) out of nowhere, which was surely alien to the terrain. And the striking call “Aexcuse me, bhaiya” followed us for the rest of the trip. The terrain was new to all, and we moved on with enthusiasm. By now, we had been on the road for more than 14 hours and still had a long way to go to reach our destination. The person guiding us on the route, over the phone, was giving out information in bits and pieces.
It was already 11:30 at night and we had just reached Dewal, a district in Uttarakhand. From there, we called up our guide again for the hotel directions, and what we heard was certainly a bit irritating at that hour: we were still 3 hours away from the destination. The driver was also exhausted after driving endlessly without a break, and it would have been inhumane on our part to make him drive more. So, we decided to stay at the GMVN (Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam) there. The exhaustion was less realised due to hunger, which was affecting us more. We were starving and just wanted to get something to eat. Even the expectation of food at this hour in the hills is like a dream.
Today, the saying that even I believe in came true again: “Whatever happens, happens for good.” We got a dormitory that was a steal. The room was neat, with clean sheets and quilts, and most importantly, clean washrooms. The washroom was as huge as a living room. And yes, the electronic charging points. We, the modern slaves guided by our mobile phones and social network addiction, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. The multiple charging points added to it. We made calls back home, informing them about our safety and current location, and bid goodnight. We didn’t manage to get any dinner, but Mr. Bhajan Singh (the caretaker) was kind enough to make us some tea and provide us with a packet of biscuits. Even those biscuits tasted like bliss at that hour, something we might not even taste on regular days.
By now, our sleeping beauty was already asleep. Meet the second member, Ms Sweta Sinha. She slept at all possible places and times she could, during the journey. Seemed like, she was on the verge to compete for a world record. But the best part of her is her mischievous eyes, which always sparkle and smile. After finishing the tea, all I could do is to crash on my bed. I most probably slept at 1:00 a.m.; however, I woke up at 2:00 a.m. followed by a sleepless night. I do fear ghosts; the darkness and silence of the enclosing added to it. All I could hear, are the snores of different variations, rhyme and decibels. So, I picked up a book (I always carry a book in my bag, even though I’m not a frequent reader) and started reading it with the help of the mobile phone torch, so that no one gets disturbed. Surprisingly, no one even marked my awakening. I read it till 4:00 and finally got some sleep.
Day 2 – 12 Sept, 2014
I woke up to find myself in Pintu’s arms, handing in the air. Nothing to get excited about, but someone told Pintu “Ankur ko utha“, all he/she meant is to wake me up, but I guess Pintu took it too literally. In Hindi, ‘Uthana’ also means ‘to pick up’; so that is what he did. Everyone was almost up and awake, however, a couple of us refused to leave our beds because of the morning cold. We eventually recollected ourselves, wrapped the morning business, and got ready for the journey ahead. Uncle (the caretaker) decided to make us some amazing Poori (unleavened deep-fried Indian bread) and Aalo Sabzi (Potato curry), which is one of the typical morning snacks in India. Here, Aneek forwarded a helping hand to the uncle. Meet the third member, Mr. Aneek Biswas, who is also my best friend; my soul brother. He was the other reason I came for this trip. Wouldn’t say much about him as he hates being in limelight, but he is also my life. Uncle was flattening the dough and Aneek was frying them. We surely had a tummy and heart-full breakfast and left for our destination – Wan Village.
Wan Village (2,590 meters) was the pit stop from where we started our trek. We reached there around 10:00 a.m. The view was so breathtaking, that cameras came out before a blink. The amateur photographers were at work, and so were the cell phones for Selfies. Quickly grabbed some bite of what we get best on hills, Maggi; however, the cook messed it up royally by adding a bag of salt in it. We couldn’t have more than a spoon and had to leave it unattended. We recollected ourselves, geared up and started our trek. It was already 11:00 a.m. by now and we targeted to finish it before dusk. It was raining for a couple of nights and the path was muddy and uneven. We surely started with a bang and tried to keep the momentum. The most enthusiastic in the team was our fourth member, Mr Ankit Srivastava. In most of the incidents, I could see my yesterday reflecting on him. The jolly and chirpy guy, came really close to my heart by the end of the trip. Probably, the guy I talked to the most on this trip after Aneek. The teak was elevated and the breath was getting heavy. We had to cross the current hill and climb the next to reach our destination. We were already heavy breathing but had to keep walking. Between the greens, a lady caught my eye. She was rambling opposite our direction. Her expression was surreal, eyes were reddish, calm and cold as if she was on some drugs or had been hypnotised to cover the remaining trek. The path was taking us down-slopes; where we meet this group coming back from Roopkund. One of them declared that this was just the beginning, and the remaining 80% of the trek is all elevated. Taking a deep breath, we continued. On the way, we crossed a stream, locally known as “Neel Ganga“, where we decided the take a halt on our way back. As we continued, we realised what the guy meant. The path ahead was elevated, but was again narrow and puddled, on which almost everyone slipped once. It started raining after a while. We were not well equipped, so a couple of us got drenched; but had to keep moving. Ankit finally had to take the back of Ranjeet (our porter) and continue. The vision was hilarious when he hold the umbrella hanging at the back of Ranjeet’s bag. The eroding was making the elevation more difficult. We were hungry and feeling weak now. The last hour was very difficult for us. Pintu had almost given up. He couldn’t move further, but our lady did support her this long. Ms. Chandni Jain, the lady with a beautiful smile, who herself is unaware of it; without whose support Pintu wouldn’t have completed this trek. She was the fifth member of our group. Even the sight of her leaves you back with a smile. Well, that’s her charm. Finally, with an aching body, sore feet, and drenched clothes and shoes, we reached Bedini around 5:00 p.m.
Bedni Bugyal is a Himalayan Alpine meadow, situated at an elevation of 3,354 metres (12,000 ft) in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, state of India. Bedni Bugyal falls on the way to Roopkund. Only the site of the lush green meadow took half the exertion. Trisul and Nanda Ghunti peaks are said to be clearly visible from here, however, the fog covered it all. We wanted to camp, but due to unfavourable weather conditions, we had to take a bunker for the night. Our bags were wet & cold and so was the change we carried for the night. We took refuge in the wooden over in the kitchen, where we manage to dry ourselves. The temperature was dipping with the passing hours and all I could think is of the bottle of Rum lying in my bag. We sipped in some hot tea with biscuits, which made our condition a bit better.
Mr. Karun Pandey, the organiser, a dear friend, the sixth and the most important member of our group, by now got his migraine attack and wanted some sleep. A local shepherd, Bisht ji (Mr. Bisht) who was done with his day’s work and by now was high on alcohol, was resting next to Karun. Karun was already irritated and restless due to pain and Bisht ji added to it. We made him pop in some medicine and let him sleep. Parallel dinner was being prepared. All we craved is some meat now, but it’s taboo in this terrain, as the locals call it a Dev Bhoomi (The land of God) and is considered inauspicious. Here, Aneek and Chandni were drying their shoes too close to the oven and somehow both managed to burn them. Dinner was served with Dal (local pulses), Aalo ki sabzi (potato curry), Roti (Indian bread), Bhaat (rice) and Achaar (pickle). After that amazing dinner, we hit back to our bunker to catch up on some sleep. The bunker was cold and the ambience was peacefully silent. With the amazing Shiva song being played in the background by Chandni, which we have been listening to since last night and all got addicted to, we quickly had some rounds of alcohol shots to keep ourselves warm and called the night off.
Day 3 – 13th Sept’ 14
We all probably had woken up before time, but none dared to go out and look at the weather outside. The sleeping bag’s warmth was more than comfortable to get us back to another round of quick naps. Our eyes opened with the screeching sound of the tight steel door, being made when in contact with the cemented floor, as Chandni was the first one to step out. It was around 6:30 in the morning, and what we saw outside lying there compelled us to jump out. The panoramic view of the lush green range, a small flowing stream beside and the wavy clouds give suggestions of white silk curtains that are flowing with the wind, sometimes, covering the range from the invaders’ eyes. We spent more than an hour absorbing and admiring the beauty of mother nature. This is something I/we have been looking forward to. Once we thought of skipping our further trek to Aali and spending some more time here, but after reaching this point we couldn’t miss that.
Our next big task was to find a place to finish our morning business. Well, being boys somethings it’s quite easier for us to get a quick solution, but for girls, it’s a bit of an issue. We somehow managed to manage it well and was not the first time for me, so I was cool about it. Quickly cleansing the teeth and face, we reached for breakfast. What we heard got a big smile on our faces, there was an egg. We had an omelette, bun and tea. I craved one more, so I asked him to make me a sunny-side-up this time. It was new for the cook, but I taught him well. Chandni was a pure vegetarian, so she had to satisfy herself with Roti and Sabzi. After that satisfying breakfast, all the happy faces geared up for Aali.
Aali Bugyal is at an elevation of 3,300 meters. As we started from Bedni, we saw a small lake named Vaitarani (also known as Bedni Kund), situated amidst the meadow. The trek is not difficult, except for the first 15 minutes of elevation. We surely would have missed out on some amazing views, had we decided to skip it. We took a long stroll in the valley. This was indeed a photographer’s delight, but today all I wanted to do is to just observe. Lay down facing the sky, breathe free and abandon my mind. We walked back for back lunch after spending almost a good hour. On the way back, we clicked some more pictures, capturing our presence amidst the beauty.
We were cold and shivering. While all enjoyed the hot cup of tea, I and Sweta took 2 shots of Rum, respective. The local old shepherd sitting there surely had a culture shock watching one girl on booze and the other puffing in Beedi (Indian cigarette filled with tobacco flake and wrapped in a tendu or possibly even Diospyros melanoxylon leaf tied with a string at one end). The Khichdi (Indian preparation made from rice and lentils) with Achaar for lunch was something to die for. It was wholesome food after two days, and we literally hogged this time.
We were excited and happy, resulting a madness out there and the fellow trekkers surely had a good laugh watching us. But like always, we didn’t care much and enjoyed being us. After the amazing lunch, it was time to wrap up and hit the road back home. We had a long way to cover. All we prayed was that it doesn’t rain, as getting down would get very difficult. With a promise to come back again, we started walking down towards Wan village. The slope got worsen than yesterday, as the remaining road was also eroded. Slipping down, holding the boulders and branches, we managed to come down to Neel Ganga.
Karun is quite swift with hills, so he and the rest of the gang reached much before us. I, Chandni and Pintu took our own beautiful time and reached almost after half-an-hour. I forgot the count for the number of times both Chandni and Pintu slipped down. After an amazing fall, Chandni took this click as a remembrance. Thanks to Kali (porter), who was there like a shadow and helping hand to both, managed to get them downhill safe and sound. Dipping the feet in icy-cold Neel Ganga surely was a relief after that long walk. We rested for a while and finally reached Wan before dusk.
We planned to rest at Wan for the night and leave early morning for Delhi. However, the room there was worn out and non of us were comfortable spending the night there. So, we decided to head back to GMVN, Dewal. Without wasting a minute we called to inquire about the availability of the room. Lucky we, the room was available and so we asked uncle to make us some dinner.
It took us almost 2 hours to reach there, however, it was worth the wait. We got hot water to bathe, and steaming food. I guess we couldn’t ask for more. We tried but there was no sleep. The whole body was aching, so I asked for a back massage from Ankit, and the train followed. As put by Chandni “this picture reminds, us how the most beautiful moments in life are simple and free“. We never realised that it’s just been two nights we were together, but it seemed that we knew each other for years. That night, I just picked up my phone for once, to call my parents and inform them about my safety; and did not even feel like looking back at it the second time. Losing our hearts and soul somewhere in this rat race, we surely have forgotten the value of the human touch. We decided not to sleep that night and leave with the dawn. We had picked 2 packs of cards from Wan and played bluff all night long. Today, our room was a mess as we took out all of our bags and spread them in the room to dry off.
Day 4 – 14th Sept’ 14
At 4:00 a.m. we started packing our bags, had tea, settled the bill and left for Delhi at 5:00. The road was peaceful and we all tried to catch up on some sleep. Around 7:30 a.m. the bus stopped as there was a car parked right in the middle of the highway. I saw that with drowsy eyes when the driver got down. I thought he would settle things, but he came back to declare “aage rasta nahi hai” (there is no road ahead). That puzzled us and we got down to discover a washed-out highway due to a landslide. This was the first time in my life. The locals around said that the highway will be up in a couple of hours, but we had our doubts. The driver suggested going to the nearest village and waiting till it was up. So, we did that. We hit the nearest village for some good breakfast. Whatever may be the situation, what kept us going was the smiling faces around us. Had anyone from the group broken down, things surely wouldn’t have been the same. Every individual kept the energy flowing and we were up to take any challenge.
After waiting for a couple of hours, we hit back to the highway. Midway, we got to know that the work is still in progress. So, we took a halt next to a small village. Had some fruits, and veggies; and yes, took out our bags to let them dry in the sun. The scorching heat was making us restless, and we were losing a lot of time waiting like this. We moved a bit further towards the highway and took refuge under the tree. To pass the time, we had some sessions of the game of bluff again; which was indeed a peacemaker. After a lot of patience and wait, we decided to take a detour via Almora and reach home. The route was long and the decision added some extra burden on our wallet, but we had to decide on something or we might have got stuck here for days.
Finally, we touch down in Delhi at 5:00 a.m. We breathe a sigh of relief on the known territory and departed to our respective homes for another challenging day ahead. All I could say after this trip is, “We always cover a journey, try to live it sometime“. It’s the companion who always makes it or breaks it; and this time I have surely earned some good friends, for maybe a lifetime.
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ANKUR MONDAL 