A journey to remember...day 6

Oct 5, 2006

I dared to take a cold water bath on a misty and chilly Kumaon morning, again, an act of courage never attempted back home even in the much warmer Bangalore climate. We headed back on the same road towards Rishikesh from where our itinerary would take us to Dehradun and Mussorie.

Dehradun is the capital of Uttarakhand and famous for its Military and Civil Services training academies. This is where the 'men of steel' with their strong resolve to serve their motherland get trained to lead the country on the frontiers of war and peace, of welfare and administration. There are not many historic landmarks in Dehradun. It is a busy little city resembling any other state capital with its share of government buildings and educational institutes, modern office spaces and colorful markets, plush villas and crammed residential complexes. Then there is the other part of the city which is a military cantonment and as such has aesthetically built individual houses with well kept gardens, connected by neatly paved roads and cobblestone walkways. A sight hard to miss is the smartly uniformed Sepoy, whose precise hand and leg movements upon the arrival of a higher ranked officer is inimitable. A place worth visiting if you are in Dehradun is the Sahasradhara or the thousand springs. It is an amazing nature retreat where the water literally springs from beneath the rocks from a thousand or more crevices. The water is said to be rich in sulfur content which gives it a bit of a pungent smell as it oxidizes, exposed to sunlight and air. Many people come here to take a dip in the mineral rich water which is supposed to cure skin ailments. We relaxed by the side of the flowing stream of water enjoying watching a group of young people splashing and dashing. Amazing what water could do to people! My parents were engaged in shopping which I was averse to especially during what were meant to be spiritual journeys. From there, we went to a cave temple dedicated to Lord Shiva called the Tapkeshwar mandir. It gets its name from tapak meaning trickle (also the sound of water when it falls on a hard surface like a rock) and Eashwar (Shiva). The Shivling (the main idol worshipped) was formed by the tapak-ing (forgive me for my 'Hinglish') of water on a solid piece of rock which gradually smoothed its top surface and gave it the form of the Lingam - the symbolic form of the eternal Lord Shiva. The narrow winding cave has several small cavernous spots where stone idols of various Hindu deities are kept and worshipped. A small stream runs beside the temple where men and beast alike, rest to drink the sweet tasting water meanwhile absorbing the mystic atmosphere. I met an ascetic just outside the temple who had hazel blue eyes and a snow white beard almost reaching his solar plexus. As soon as I saw him, something from within told me that this man here has seen the truth and his level of existence is on a different plane. He called us inside a small house which was more a temple in itself with the picture of Mother Kali and Vishwanath (Shiva) adorning the hall. I instinctively prostrated at his feet which was duly followed by my parents. He blessed us and enquired about my whereabouts and my work. The saintly looking man told my parents that I would be going abroad after a couple of years. He asked us to visit Ujjain, one of the holy Kumbh kshetras and gave us some sugar candy as prasad. I couldn't get his divine and God-longing face out of my mind and even today I get goose bumps by the mere thought that such cleansed and pure souls still wander on this holy land which has taught so much spirituality to the world.