Gomukh: India

I have no idea where to begin my story of India.  My thoughts are as abstract as the course we took and the way we traveled.  Not that it was anything out of the ordinary.  If there is such thing as ordinary travels in India.  I guess you could say there was no symmetry to our travels.  It was a smattering of means and modes across the Northern chunk of India.  We hired expensive drivers and we hitched on cheap buses.  We stayed in reasonable 5 star hotels and then "splurged" for a bigger room in a $5 or 200 INR hostel.  It was a learning experience, each and every day.  We learned as much about each other as we did about this incredible ancient civilization thriving in the modern emerging world.  I hope in the end it changed us.  Not in the usual neo-new age metaphysical ashram kind of way, but for what we expect from the world.  What is out there beyond our spiritual borders. And how deep the abyss of culture really goes.

I guess every spiritual journey (and I use that term mockingly) should begin from the source.  Gomukh, or Mother Gomukh as we also heard it called, is the sources of the famous Ganges River, or River Ganga.  The Ganges is the holiest of holies for Hindu's, and the glacier from which the Ganges comes, Gangotri Glacier is equally as holy.  Called Gomukh, or mothers milk, named after a cave just below the Gangotri Glacier from which the Ganges spews.  How we got here is a whole other story I will only paraphrase in this posting.  Essentially after two warm days in Rishikesh we hopped two jeeps North, avoided and crossed several landslides, spent the night in Uttar Kashi, then hopped one more jeep arriving in the holy city of Gangotri.  This tiny seasonal village is home to Sadhus and tourists, along with all the basic amenities you need before embarking upon a holy pilgrimage.

From Gangotri pilgrims adorned in orange, mostly males, walked 18km into the Himalayas.  Stopping briefly at the small camp Bhojbasa before reaching Gomukh.  All Hindu's take a ritual bath in the icy glacier river, fill a small container with holy water, then begin a long walk home.  Yes, I said home.  From here pilgrims make two choices.  One, walk back to Rishikesh, about 400km away.  Stick around for a couple Pujas (holy religious services at rivers edge) then head home.  Or, two, walk all the way home, usually someplace in Northern India, vicinity Delhi or the state of Uttar Pradesh, usually hundreds more kilometers away.  I was astounded by the gear these pilgrims are outfitted with.  Sporting the latest Adidas fashion in orange with nothing more than flip flops on their feet.  They walk down the steep, muddy, treacherous roads of the Himalaya.  That's dedication.

After four days our time in Gangotri came to and end.  We again hop scotched back down through the Himalayas via jeep and bus, finally ending up at the gorgeous hill station of Mussoorie.  But that's another story.