12 replies to this topic

[Hippie at Heart]

It’s been a while that I have not taken out any time out for myself and Sprinty. With an impeding decision about Sprinty’s retirement plan I decided that we should end this beautiful trip lasting 20 years before someone else step in my shoes and care for her, by doing something that both of us loved doing together over all these years. Much can be said in praise for the gleaming beauty once Sprinty was but least I can say she hasn’t lost any of her appetite for wandering, may god she fire her twin cylinders to eternity. For now we are off to Valley of flowers!

That said, we are going to valley of flowers I cannot say it enough times that esp in Himalayas any journey is many times better then the destination itself. We set off to reach a point and whatever comes in between is a trip that can only be seen in perspective.

IF IT IS TO HAPPEN, IT WILL!! In last week of July starting from Delhi, little did I imagined that Sprinty and I will have yet one more adventure together and in end I will be thanking her silently. Trying to avoid day traffic and on account of my own liking to drive at night I left Delhi around 10 PM and in good time I hit police check point at Meerut city by-pass. Policemen were busy counting the traffic and queuing up vehicles for a batch flag off, since next 20 Km of so it was a lawless country flat driving through young sugarcane and dense fodder fields. Wishing not to waste next 30 min waiting we had a small detour and hit the state highway again. Barely 10 min of riding we came across a hurriedly constructed road black with no passage on sides, I could do nothing but to stop and sent a silent prayer to god. Four men came out from shadows and proceeded straight to business. One man whipped out a knife and demanded all cash, jewelry, watch and what have you. I realized I had only one time window to tell them whatever came to my mind and surprisingly they paused to listen. I started off and finished in one single breath. Look I am already robbed off 2 thousand rupees by your fellow cronies about 25 Km down Delhi road and they told me to say the safe passage password which will work till Rourkee. So here I am saying ‘Judge Battery’ and here is a remaining 600 Rupees that I manage to save, hidden in my socks, here is the empty wallet having only travelers cheques. Proceeded with a body search and confused by the password they confer among themselves what next to do with such a piddle for loot. Finally one thug crooned he is right about password but this is not our password since such lame passwords can only be used by excise control department to allow passing the overloaded trucks! Then they settled, ok let’s loot his bike. Once again I had to bring the bluffer. Listen fellas did you hear me a mile away before you saw me, right. They nodded in agreement. Well, it was because her pipe mufflers have fallen off and no replacement is available because she is 25 year old and that due to her age she is falling bits and pieces away. I could see how crestfallen they felt but not wishing to be bluffed aside so easily one of them started his bike and turned on the beam, inspecting Sprinty, indeed she is something very old and nothing fashionable about her he conceded. As a last shot one of them asked what’s the fuel consumption, I told him about 5-6 KM per liter of petrol, they lost whatever remaining interest in Sprinty and wondered what else they can get from me. So I presented them a situation that whatever cash I had on me, I have given you, there is no watch, no jewelry, no bike worth selling in market, so what else possibly can you get from me? Do you reckon adding one more murder case for mare 600 rupess in which not one but 4 of you will be named sooner or later is worth killing me and named you shall be because I may be poor I am not homeless that my absence will go unnoticed!! For my part I will keep my mouth shut, let bygone be bygone!!! 600 rupess for a laugh and it made sense to them, turned the table, we promptly shook hands and I made an honorable exit from what was almost a certain death in these parts of Uttar Pradesh with a genuine password that will work till Muzaffarnagar. So if waylaid again till next 60 Km or so I simply had to chime, ‘Jai Baba Kal Bhairav’ and all is hunky dory again!

Sprinty took to her wheels and I did not look back till I reached Haridwar in wee hours, riding non stop. Not feeling in the best of our spirits I decided to rest for couple of hours instead of pressing for rishikesh. Tomorrow is another day another beginning.
Cont…..

Edited by Hippie at Heart, 17 January 2010 - 10:55 PM.

[jyotirmoy]

Oh my God, what a narrow escape you had. And I must apreciate your courage and wits, feel proud to have known you bro. My best wishes for the rest of the journey.

[priya]

The gods were surely smiling down on you and Sprinty. Safe® travelling, H@H

[Hippie at Heart]

Jyoti Da, it was not courage but providence entirely, a fact which I very gratefully acknowledge since foolishness is all mine to take short-cuts and go against the traffic! This was in 2008 and I thought of writing this rather long spiel after the original bridged version was rejected on account of being too long by a flight magazine publisher. And i had not contributed to the forum for long time now. So I am living alright

After few hours of rest and putting the past behind I started off early morning and decided to have breakfast at Kaudiyala some 55 Km from Haridwar. Kaudiyala is famous for river rafting where novice rafters can sample the thrills at moderate rapid and swirls. A simple breakfast by riverside tea house was all that I needed and wonders it did. In distance I could hear the early morning temple bells calling the faithful, a family of Langoors came by to start off the day business of foraging and eating. With Ganga flowing in full monsoon fury on my right side I started off for Devprayag, a small town situated at the confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi. A magnificent sight and force of nature unfolded before me at devprayag, from the right side came Bhagirathi in emerald green, flowing in very poised and stately manner, gently merging with muddy brown waters of Alaknanda, that flow like a child in hurry, tumbling and rushing over boulders. Above confluence the local temple is dedicated to the Devi, that has biggest brass bell in Uttrakhand, attended by Telugu priests who settled here centuries ago. Interestingly it is this point onward that river Ganga is officially called Ganga.

Some 32 Km on the road is town of Srinagar, till which, driving on the road is rather precarious and steep. But nevertheless it is a 2 lane state highway and nothing can make us imagine the hazards and hardships the pilgrims had to take when it was just a mountain trail, barely large enough for two people to walk by side. Srinagar town is believed to have been established by Shankaracharya and otherwise known as a place where Lord Ram performed prayers for those killed in the battle. Srinagar onward the road tapers off to flatland, a brief interlude in terms of Himalayan folds and past the town of Rudraprayag brings us to Karnprayag. On the way if you pause to look at Birahi Ganga, a tributary to Alaknanda, on your left side at Birahi village, at this time of year, you will get some idea of deforestation and human greed is causing to these sylvan valleys. Absolutely muddy brown water of Birahi Ganga carried boulder hidden under water, as big as two story building, crashing against each other produce muffed noise and small quakes that you can feel standing some 100 meters above the water. The river is named after the flowing characteristic peculiar to her, wailing in sorrow and separation from her elder sister Alaknanda she is tumbling down in hurry and destroying everything that comes in way, and became known as Birahi.

Karnprayag is very peaceful in comparison after great hustle and bustle of cities on the road so far. Some 160 KM from Haridwar, its time to halt for the night and stretch aching limbs. Here the Alaknanda and Pindari river merge at a confluence in tumultuous rush and roar. The hillside around Karnprayag is still covered with thick jungle of pine and evening is full of wonderful orchestra. Some mountain birds that I cannot see sing its little song with plaintive and sweet but very sad sounding notes. Not a nightingale of throaty rendition or exuberant performance of thrush but a very unhurried song. A set of two tweets and sudden shrill then a slow low key note. It was almost as if he was performing the evening hymn. Or maybe there was a divine message to the weary wanderer along the road. Maybe the unknown songbird still sings here because this is where Kalidas’s real Shakuntala met Dushyant centuries before fictional Romeo & Juliet was born.

In morning I started off for Nandprayag, where Alaknanda and Mandakini river meet. From Nandprayag there is an old track that leads to Tapovan over Kuari Pass, along mandaniki river, this track passes through some of the most beautiful and enchanting landscape in entire Garhwal Himalayas. At a leisure pace of about 5-6 hour from Karnprayag we reach joshimath for a night halt if you please or you can stock your provisions at this spring broad town and take a leap of faith and go trekking in either direction. As for me, I am going to take one step at a time and enjoy the town life for a day or two…..
Contd…

Edited by Hippie at Heart, 19 January 2010 - 01:26 AM.

[dzibead]

What a saga!

[AlanD]

We used to have this kind of thing in Britain and they were called highwaymen - remember Dick Turpin and all! In fact being blatently robbed or overcharged is still often described as "highway robbery".

I know that some parts of Bihar are a bit iffy and lawless after dark but never thought that places in UP close to Delhi carried such risks and I've been along that particular road a few times but only by night bus, which I would guess would be a more tricky target for robbers.

Your account reads like a piece from a novel and I like the way you kept your cool and came out of it intact.

[Hippie at Heart]

Priya, sure lets see what’s next around the corner!
Dzi, all in a days travel, right?
Alan I know some parts of Bihar esp north is prone to such things but things in UP are more complicated lot then simple highway robbery. These parts are where Januma and Ganga basin brings the richest alluvial soil, it is sugar bowl of India, produce more crops/income in comparison to many neighboring states, pretty near to Delhi the seat of power and not more then 50 mile away as crow fly from the highest echelon of the law of the land. But it was same very town where some 15 year ago they shove 7 excise officials in a giant boiler because they had impudence to raid some unscrupulous business. It is the state where even a female court commissioner while acting on designated duty and powers of no less then a High Court judge can be molested. The only deterrent of proximity to Delhi has been that there are no organized and blatant syndicates as we know of Bombay, yet 6 out of 10 dreaded and history sheeted criminal in Delhi are from this area. Of all the NSA cases pending in Delhi courts nearly 25% of them are slapped on the criminals from this area. And I might add here that National Security Act is brought out against those who have no less then 20 non-bailable criminal cases pending against them. It doesn’t surprise me that here you can actually have a safe passage password and spared or deprived of your life at a whim. I was able to keep my cool not because I was very suave or brave but I guess one gets immune to oft repeated situations and react instinctively and if it’s UP then such situations have already taught you a thing or two long before you slung your leg over as a lone traveler in these parts.
Feeling little lazy tonight to type much, I guess I’ll rake the old notepad tomorrow. Attaching a pic of Sprinty for someone who pmed me about her. It was her plain Jane looks that saved me that day but if given half a second and open clearing she would have outrun the quarter mile against any bike currently in production in India. I have a large pic here, if some Mod can help and reduce it to manageable bit

[Hyderabadi]

Hippie at Heart, on Jan 19 2010, 05:50 PM, said:

I have a large pic here, if some Mod can help and reduce it to manageable bit

Ah! We discussed Ms. Sprinty in another thread!

PS: H@H, I've resized & uploaded the picture to the gallery and linked it here.

[sbkane]

I think the history of highway robbery in many parts of India goes back a couple of centuries back. These highway robbers were known as “Thugs’ (meaning “Conmen”), a word now a part of English lexicon. During the British rule, the incidence of “thuggery” apparently became so acute that anti-thuggery law was enacted by the British rulers to control this menace. Thugs operated as small group of professional robbers who waylaid travelers, in particular pilgrims, by mixing and travelling with them as fellow pilgrims, winning their confidence and then at opportune time and place looting and even murdering the victims. The thugs were professionals, passing down their “skills” to the next generation. Some tribes were labeled as “criminal tribes”, although it was oversimplification. There were and are many nomadic tribes in India and some members took to crime as a way of getting easy wealth. This was particularly rife in North India for many reasons. One possible factor was historical. Northern part of India had been subjected to several waves of invasions that gave rise to multitude of feudal lords and war lords, controlling small fiefdoms with mercenary armies constantly fighting with each other leading to an atmosphere of general lawlessness. The British rule could not change the situation radically, their primary aim being collection of revenues through landlords. The legacy of general lawlessness continues today in some pockets with moneyed politicians using gangs of mercenaries and criminals.

Hippie at Heart, on Jan 20 2010, 04:20 AM, said:

Priya, sure lets see what’s next around the corner!
Dzi, all in a days travel, right?
Alan I know some parts of Bihar esp north is prone to such things but things in UP are more complicated lot then simple highway robbery. These parts are where Januma and Ganga basin brings the richest alluvial soil, it is sugar bowl of India, produce more crops/income in comparison to many neighboring states, pretty near to Delhi the seat of power and not more then 50 mile away as crow fly from the highest echelon of the law of the land. But it was same very town where some 15 year ago they shove 7 excise officials in a giant boiler because they had impudence to raid some unscrupulous business. It is the state where even a female court commissioner while acting on designated duty and powers of no less then a High Court judge can be molested. The only deterrent of proximity to Delhi has been that there are no organized and blatant syndicates as we know of Bombay, yet 6 out of 10 dreaded and history sheeted criminal in Delhi are from this area. Of all the NSA cases pending in Delhi courts nearly 25% of them are slapped on the criminals from this area. And I might add here that National Security Act is brought out against those who have no less then 20 non-bailable criminal cases pending against them. It doesn’t surprise me that here you can actually have a safe passage password and spared or deprived of your life at a whim. I was able to keep my cool not because I was very suave or brave but I guess one gets immune to oft repeated situations and react instinctively and if it’s UP then such situations have already taught you a thing or two long before you slung your leg over as a lone traveler in these parts.
Feeling little lazy tonight to type much, I guess I’ll rake the old notepad tomorrow. Attaching a pic of Sprinty for someone who pmed me about her. It was her plain Jane looks that saved me that day but if given half a second and open clearing she would have outrun the quarter mile against any bike currently in production in India. I have a large pic here, if some Mod can help and reduce it to manageable bit

[cyberhippie]

What a wonderful tale of the many faceted India, Loved the passion and calm apparent in your post Hippieatheart, A narrow, life threatening escape into the embrace of the Himlaya, so seamlessly told and no doubt so seamless in real life.

I remember the 'Age Of Kali' by Dalrymple touched on organised crime in U.P. if I remember rightly it was a passage about the offspring of these goondahs at private schools in Lucknow.

Can I confess, I was reading your passage on when you were accosted by these dacoits, and whilst on the edge of my seat (I would have been terrified) I couldn't help but laugh at some of your outragious, manipulations with these guys, I know a little about your life and I guess that is what made me laugh, brilliant.

[Hippie at Heart]

Cyber am little embarrassed that this thread is turning into my highway antics and survival then about visit to valley of flowers but I have to admit that although am not overly religious or spiritual I have come to respect the idea of resignation and whatever happens of Hindu ideology. It is very practical and saves you from high BP as well. Imagine being ticked off like a house fly for Rs 600 and a bike? If my bluff wouldn’t have worked I was prepared right from word go to leave everything as it is and walk away on foot and still thanking providence for saving my life. Although I would have been poorer by few thousand rupees stashed away in Sptinry’s air filter but would have really missed Sprinty. She was not falling to bits and pieces. But being from the genre of two stroke engine, I had removed those mufflers to get a better leverage of tuned length of exhaust pipes for more speed at top-end, when I needed a narrower torque band in lower gears and slow speeds. I fixed them back at Kudiyala where real mountain ride starts, or else I would have brought down the whole of Himalayas with that bloody roar. But for now all is well and we must get on to check the tea house in joshimath!

As with any major town shooting roads in almost very direction, joshimath is all hustle and bustle. There are many expedition trails getting off from town to Zanskar and Great Himalayan ranges. Cashing on both the pilgrims to badrinath road and trekkers there are ample choice of lodging right down to the lowly tea-houses. The state run GMVN hotel is best value for money but I am not staying there and there is enough time left for evening and bazaar is happening place. I head to the nearest tea house from where I can possibly get the latest update on roads ahead. As with any tea house in bazaar of a town on major trail joshimath is no exception and very international. So there is this board announcing ‘german bakeri’ where you can sit and savor your honey lemon tea and imitation of what could have been an applestreusel pie. Sharing table with me was a rather very radical Rastafarian who was pretty angry that ‘german bakeri’ have no mutton chops on menu. I wondered if I explain to him that there is no meat available at least publicly after Haridwar in these parts of India but decided against stoning myself in turn and spoil the only fun of two german blokes, visiting the town from the Auli ski lifts. Meanwhile bazaar kept on with usual business of various enterprises, some of which are not very honorable as I will find out soon.

A young man in his 20s approaches me and started off in hush hush manner, but before I could formulate a reasonable buzz off to him he reached in his vest and produced a small knob covered in brownish grey-white pelt. I was intrigued and little startled, this is not hashish so what else this curious looking rotund thing can be and why is he offering to me. Sir, this is for you, only 500 rupees. But what is this, I asked. Sir this is musk pod which I got from a dear that I killed in forest, removed it from his stomach sir. After I recovered from the shock value of news I almost died laughing at the scam. So told him, you are miles away from any musk dear and real musk is so strong that I would have been nauseated out of my senses by now. His face fell, so I invited him for a chai and breakfast. As it came out in bits that our friend is poaching the Pika ( a mouse hare commonly found in hillsides) and stuffing colored earth in pods made from pika felts, generously sprinkling the stuffing inside with chemical musk perfume procured from Delhi. So I asked him why not work at farm instead of this trickery. I was not surprised at the usual story slowly unfolding in these parts. Introduction of urban commodities in simple hill living has added a lot of strain on the people here. In past they did well for themselves when money order finance was enough to run the entire hillside economy. All this was financed by Johnnies in armed forces sending pay orders to home. Over the period of time recruitment for armed forces pattered of to bare minimum and little farms came under pressure. Old agriculture techniques simply did not produce enough to keep the commodity juggernaut rolling and deforestation took its toll on the fragile eco system, making agriculture even less attractive. To complicate matters more, almost all the population from Kumaon and Garhwal combined is either rajput or high caste Brahmins. In the rigidly caste controlled circumstances they will not work on menial jobs while most coveted government jobs are hard to come by even to the educated youth. Left with little choice our friend took to this trick business to support home and marry off an inordinate number of sisters. I knew there is not much I can preach to him except that he should devote energies to learn modern small farming and get technical help from state run workshops.

He was from the village Bhayunder on route to valley of flowers and I had no hesitation in accepting his genuine offer to visit his home on way. But before that I needed to catch up with an old friend at Auli, commanding the local Indo Tibet Border Police establishment. From Joshimath to Auli the distance is only 16 Kms but road is in bad state and steep for most parts. I managed to slip and kiss the mud couple of times but that was not enough. As I stood up from last fall, a pygmy hill caw saw me and cantered toward me, I tried to cut her off by going further on right towards the hill side but she got nearly at the exit of angle and pinned me to mountainside. She moooed and charged straight at the headlight, another one took the cue and came up from valley side, moooed and charged at petrol tank. Bang Bang and I was fairly knocked out of the seat, yelling, legs flailing and generally disposed out of my senses until help arrived from village kids. I have been chased and bitten by street dogs a few times but being pinned to wall and banged up by two cows really took the cake for its novelty. My pride suitably humbled, Sprinty with broken glass and dented petrol tank, we took off suitably miffed. Only some hard spirits were to recover me later in evening.

[sbkane]

It seems there is no dearth of adventure on the way to the valley of flowers. This wonderful post reminded me of our visit (with Jyotirmoy and another friend) to the valley of flowers and Hemkund way back in 1978 sometime during late July- August- a time when the monsoon is sporadically active and there are numerous landslides all along the road.. We were told at Rishikesh that bus service has been suspended due to landslides. We decided to take our chances, stayed the night in the town and again went to the bus stop next morning which was teeming with pilgrims, patiently awaiting opening of the road. After a while we were about to turn back and return when there was a sudden wave of excitement and a buzz went round that the authorities are allowing buses to ply. We managed to find seats in a packed bus full of pilgrims ( and clouds of smoke) and a caravan of buses set off with chants of “Jai Bhole Shankar” renting the air. After negotiating several minor landslides, the pilgrims’ progress came to a halt near a place short of Pipalkoti, where a scary sight of Nature’s fury was on display in the form of a massive landslide. A huge mass of sludge was sliding down the mountain slope, swallowing up the patch of road and sliding further down a deep gorge on the other side. It was like watching a movie of waterfall in slow motion, only this was all real - a grey ominous looking mass of moving slush. A valiant small team of Border Road Organization (BRO) with earth-moving vehicle was busy clearing the mud off the patch of road and allowing a batch of few vehicles to cross over even as the sludge was slithering down and swelling up on the road. The BRO team would then halt the traffic and clear off the sludge, allowing another group of buses to cross from other direction. As the buses crossed over, swaying and dangling, pilgrims with hearts in their mouths prayed in silence and murmurs as their buses went through this ordeal and as each bus crossed over, there was joyous and triumphant loud chants of “ Jai Bhole Baba”, giving hope and courage to the passengers in other buses awaiting their turn. One truck, the last in a batch to cross, got trapped in the middle before it could reach to safety on the other side and as the gathering sludge swelled around, it began to slip perilously towards the gorge. A tense crowd watched the scared driver clutching at the steering wheel with the vehicle tilted at an angle. It was fortunately unloaded and mercifully got stuck, not sliding any further. But it was a matter of few more minutes before gathering mass would push the truck down the valley. The BRO chaps got in action and with a long steel rope hauled it away from the edge. There was a thunderous applause for BRO chaps and also for the truck driver and then another roar of “Jai Baba Bholenath”. The Pilgrims’ progress resumed. We could not reach Joshimath, our destination for the day and had to spend the night at Pipalkoti in tents

[jyotirmoy]

Not to forget that my shoes got burnt while trying to dry them near the log fire at night & next day I had to walk back to Govindghat from Ghangaria bare footed.
Those were the days dear Kane.