No Monkey Business - Tales from Bandarpoonch

 It's the kind of headache that you dread not for the pain but persistence. And also, for what it can finally turn into.

Yesterday i saw a Koklass pheasant (maiden sighting), and a Cheer pheasant (after so long). Today i met a Monal and photo-oped about half a dozen Himalayan peaks. The current leg of the trek I am on, the climb down the mountain, is assisted by gravity. The birds are singing praise for the bright red rhododendrons. Life doesn't really get better than this. I thought my head had no space for anything except landscapes and yet the ache keeps finding the room to root in.

Trekking in middle and upper Himalaya, your fortune depends on weather. And so, it changes nearly as fast as well. We trekked uphill yesterday, far removed from the nonchalance with which the rain & sleet pelted down on us. The drizzle eased out gradually and it was only the clouds that accompanied us as we reached the meadows of Dayara in the afternoon. The chulha fire from the shepherd-hut, our stay of the day, lit the gloom levels to acceptable. By late evening, the fire had shifted base to the open courtyard slowly warming up the antakshri songs, the magnificent full-moon & the uplifting whiff of dal-chawal completing the symphony. Kismet continued to improve through the night, and I slept just as well as the mix-breed Gaddi dogs of the shepherd sleep in the day.

The first look of the day outside the encampment is a pivotal moment during Himalayan treks. The slow & curiosity-laden unzip of a tent flap is not needed here as I can sight distant snow from the slit of the door left ajar for ousting the smoke. It's a perfect day to be at 3500m.

Panorama of Gangotri range Himalayas from Dayara (Click on the picture for better view)

A chai in hand, and the door gives way to a panorama of Himalayan peaks over & above the valley across Bhagirathi. The peaks are all family & belong to the Gangotri range of Garhwal Himalayas. I can see the handsome Mt. Srikantha (6133m) sitting like a pear diamond on the left. It's surreal to watch a six-thousander tilted like the tower of Piza. In much contrast, the three peaks of Gangotri (I, II & III) seem upright like a fortress. On further right stands a humble Mt. Jaonli (6632m). Almost as high as the highest of Gangotri peaks (Gangotri I- 6672m), the introverted Jaonli seems comfortable staying away from the limelight. The sheer height of these peaks renders others like Draupadi ka Danda (DKD) & Bhetiara ka Danda (BKD), both touching 6000 m, as accompaniments.

The grand peaks of the panorama from Dayara (click on the picture for better view)

Our hutment is at the base of Dayara Bugyal (Garhwali word for a high-altitude meadow). Whereas the view in front is a reward by itself, the real prize Dayara offers is a one-on-one conversation with Mt. Bandarpoonch (6316m). From the courtyard, the tip of the mountain can be seen by the side of the hut, over the trail that goes up to the bugyal. What perfect marketing by the massif. Not that it needs any.

Bandarpoonch rising besides the hutment (click on the picture for better view)

We climb up the trail & soon strike the second pivotal moment. Trekking in Garhwal Himalayas has a few set pieces. A road-end village, a trek up the meadow above the village, a small lake out & about and a grand view from the summit. On this adventure trail often lies a bend that pivots the trek experience thus far (a long vehicular journey, followed by an uphill trek by a quarter-fit city dweller). It is from this pivotal window that the splendour of the high Himalayan peaks is unravelled, not only sublimating the exhaustion of the climb but also lending the tiring hiker, stuff of dreams & stories for years to come.

Dayara Bugyal- Objects are farther than they appear (click on the picture for better view)

The trail takes a little left and lo & behold, the huge mountain gets traced on the canvas of our pupils. A moment of utter thoughtlesness always succeeds the moment of utter beauty. There's a stumble before a reflex 'Oh' steadies us. A smile fills the rest of the void. 

Bandarpoonch on full disclosure from Dayara (Click on the picture for bettee view)

We have an hour before the group starts to descend. We traverse the so-near-yet-so-far Dayara, trying to get as close to the massif as possible. Sensing the reverence, the mountain draws itself out on a partly frozen puddle. My heart trembles from what I can see from the viewfinder.

A flurry of clicks. A gasp. A bow.

When the mountain reaches out for you: Bandarpoonch on a partly frozen pond at Dayara top (click on the picture for better view)

I am reminded of my days as a Probationer of the Indian Forest Service about a decade back. We had a peek at the peak from the canopy of a Sal tree in a place called Timli in lower Shivaliks. It was infact the first big mountain whose outlines started to register in my mind. And the same may be true for so many. With the exception of Nanda Devi (7816m; the highest peak located entirely in the country), Bandarpoonch may just be one of the most watched peaks in Western Himalaya. The peak is the standard display from the ridge in & around Mussoorie. Interestingly, about four years back, the COVID induced clarity of air made the peak visible from as far as Saharanpur & Muzzafarnagar.

I wonder how the weather was when Bandarpoonch had the fortune of inking its name in the folklore. The story goes that the mountain is the place where Lord Hanuman settled Bheema's pride when he could not lift the tail of a 'mere monkey'. The lord then imparted forgiveness to a repentant Bheema & promised to adorn the chariot of Pandavas in Kurukshetra. Other version has it that the mountain is the place where Lord Hanuman came to exhaust the fire that his tail caught while in Lanka. The local guide also tries to convince you that the shape of the mountain is like a monkey's tail. I am happy to align with any version but still ponder over a better name for the good-looking massif. In a world of Chaukhambas, Trishuls & Swargarohinis (Bandarpoonch's nearest neighbour up north), wouldn't a 'Dwijagneya' or a 'Yugm Parvat' be more vindicating!

The silly transgressions by a nobody are surely not welcomed by the massif. Fortune may be tagged to the weather, but the spirits are governed by the tall men with silver on their head. The headache stays as long as I can watch Bandarpoonch on the trail and subsides only when we get down to the quaint village of Natin in upper Uttarkashi.

Once you have indulged in monkey business with the big guys, there's no easy getting it off your back...