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A small tin box full of needles  with the picture of a dog listening to "His Master’s Voice", stacks of gramophone records made of  lac, a group of teenage boys going to meet their English Professor  in his room  full of stacks of  records, records of  Saigal, C H Atma and the like, and the professor, (the late) G Kumara Pillai, telling his students in his nasal tone how he liked the music of the bygone era—these are some of the  visions conjured up by a cursory reading of Kiran Ravindran’s  book The Playback in Malayalam Cinema.

Undoutedly the result of very hard work, the book is a veritable encyclopaedia of Malayalam film music.

Kiran Ravindran traces the origin of  Malayalam film music to the dance dramas of the early decades of the 20th century when actors had to be accomplished singers as well and the stage was the most popular form of entertainment. I have heard old people speak nostalgically about the performance of  Rajamanickam Pillai’s troupe.

While tracing the history of Malayalam film music  the author reveals  such historical insights as to how  the history of  Malayalam films would have been different had Marthanda Varma(1933), the second silent movie in Malayalam, been released.  Right from the first talkie, Balan (1938), down to the latest movie, the book is the most authentic source for movie music buffs.

There are extensive chapters on Playback, Lyricists, Music Directors and Singers and the author tops it all with a near exhaustive list of ragas used in different  film songs—a remarkable compilation. It is like rounding off a seven course dinner with the choicest cognacs. If not for anything else, one should read this book for this compilation only for  this shows the author’s grasp over the grammar of film music. Almost all the noteworthy melodies of Malayalam films have been categorized under different ragas and ragamalikas.

Going through this book, one can understand  how the legends evolved from their first film songs to the later dizzying heights. The book is full of little known anecdotes about the legendary singers and hitherto unpublished photographs of the rare camaraderie that existed  among the singers at a time when the competition could not be termed as cut throat.

There is the story of how Yesudas came to sing ‘Alliyambal Kadavil’ which was to be sung  by Udayabhanu. As Udayabhanu was indisposed  he had suggested to  the music director that Yesudas may be called in to sing the song. And it turned out to be one of the best loved songs in Malayalam cinema.

It is interesting to read the author recounting the friendship between different great musicians with an accomplished raconteur’s skill. He has been careful not to omit anyone—be it lyricist, music director or singer, ever connected with Malayalam film music.

Thus if one has to refer to R K Sekhar, A R Rehman’s father, and his contribution  one has only to go through the index. Again if you want to know the hit songs of Usha Khanna in Malayalam,you would find it in the book. Did you know that the legendary Kishore Kumar also had sung a comedy song in Malayalam—he did it in the film Ayodhya. So had Talat Mehmood, Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.  Manna Dey’s Manasa Maine is in its own right one of the greatest film songs in Malayalam.
 
The book dwells on the musical journey of the legends of Malayalam film music in detail giving insights into how they grew into myths of Malayalam  Cinema. Once you go through this  perhaps you can also say that you have known them all.

About Yesudas the author writes that the first Hindi film was Mahasagar.This is a true revelation.I have always thought that Jane Man Jane Man from Choti Si  Bath  by Salil Chaudhury was his first Hindi song—it was a duet with Asha. Like this there are many examples  where one could update one’s knowledge  not only about singers  but about music directors and lyricists as well.

And one wonders as to the travails Kiran Ravindran has undergone to collect these rare photographs. There is one showing Ramu Kariat and Salil Chaudhury watching Vayalar explaining the lyrics to Yesudas. Another one shows Manna Dey recording a song in the presence of P Leela. The book is worth a buy if only for these rare photographs.

I have a feeling that the author has a remarkable collection of  old photographs and some more little known anecdotes about the film folk but probably he has selected  best of both for this volume—some of the facts mentioned like the one about Yesudas being turned down  by the AIR authorities  during audition should  serve as eye openers for the young aspirants to the world of film music.

So is the story of how Raghavan master came to sing Kayalarikathu in Neelakkuyil because producer T K Pareekkutty did not like  the way the chosen singer, Abdul Khader from Kochi, sang it. And we know that the celebrated singer Kozhikode Abdul Khader was known as Leslie Andrews before his conversion to Islam.

If ever you have loved the melody of Malayalam film music, if ever your hearts missed a beat while listening to Manikyaveenayumayi or Nee Madhu Pakroo or Thaliritta Kinakkal Than, if ever you wondered how Salil Chaudhury could imbibe the spirit of Malayalam melody, if ever you sang along with Mehaboob’s Vandi Vandi or with Udayabhanu’s  Manassinakathoru Pennu, then this is the book for you.

This is the ultimate reference book on Malayalam film music, a book written by a young man who is a lover of music, a love offering of a movie music buff par excellence. This is a book to cherish, a reference guide which is to be kept by your bedside The more you go through it the more delectable it  becomes. A book one should not miss. But it is high time the book is translated into Malayalam also  so that it can get the wider readership it deserves.

The Playback in Malayalam Cinema
Author: Kiran Ravindran
Publisher: Folio Publishers, Thiruvananthapuram
Price: Rs 400

G Krishnan is a retired officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). He is a former Principal Adviser to the Governor of Jharkhand and former Chief Secretary to Jharkhand Government. He lives in Thiruvananthapuram.

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JAI BADRI VISHALJI KI The bright-hued entrance to the Badrinath temple

A flag fluttering atop Vyasa Guha

An elderly man, adorned in just a shawl and dhoti worn in the north Indian style, was doing the Parikrama, singing praises of the Lord in a soft voice, oblivious of the chilly winds, teeming multitudes, shouting of the modern day dwarapalakas and others at the shrine.

This was indeed Bhakti in its purest form to be found where else but at Badrinath, the abode of Vishnu, high in the Himalayas.

It was mid-September, and we were waiting in the queue to enter the shrine for the evening Sahasranama Arati swaddled with sweaters, jacket and muffler. I wondered about how the old man doing the parikrama with the bare minimum clothing was managing to stave off the cold and who he was. But then, at this Lord’s abode, all such differences about your status in life, region, caste, colour and creed dissolved and all you saw around were Bhaktas.

After some time, the massive gold-plated doors swung open and amid much shouting and confusion, we were allowed inside and directed to be seated on the floor in front of the sanctum sanctorum. One could hardly sit properly with so many people pressing from both sides. In the meantime, a south Indian lady in the front row rather belatedly found out that she was to attend another arati. But by this time, the hall was packed and there was no way for her to move out. May be this was also part of divine plan of the Lord. Anyway, she continued to sit there and participated in the proceedings.

Vyasa Guha A concrete porch has come up at the entrance of the Vyasa Guha, robbing it of much of its charm

At Badrinath, each facet of the Puja is explained in Hindi by a kindly looking elderly swami in saffron robes through the microphone. Inside the temple, one feels to be in the presence of an emperor. For one, the "Garbha Griha" (sanctum sanctorum) itself is so huge with several deities lined up along with the main one of Maha Vishnu like Kubera, Narada, Uddhava, Garuda, Nar and Narayana. The decorations in gold and precious stones lent an air of splendour and opulence.

The day began, as usual, early for us. At 6 o’clock, we had started from Pipalkoti, the night halt. Reaching Joshimath, we visited the Narasimha temple. The idol is said to have been installed by Adi Sankaracharya on the request of "Bhakta Prahlada". During the winter months, when the Badrinath shrine remains closed, the puja of Badri Vishal takes place here. In fact, one of the broken idols taken from Tapta Kunda has been installed in this shrine. All pilgrims for Badri Nath have to necessarily visit this shrine to complete the pilgrimage.

The other place of importance at Joshimath is Sankara Peetham where Thotakacharya, one of the main disciples of Adi Sankara, had set up an ashram. It is renowned as a centre for teaching of the Vedas.

The priest at Vyasa Guha

We reached Badrinath around 11.30 am. After keeping the luggage at the hotel, Acharya Sadan, we went to meet the Rawalji, who turned out to be a bearded young man but with a certain aura. He asked us softly whether we had had Darshan and directed us to do so immediately as the temple would close for ‘bhog’ in a short while. His assistant Narayanji took us to the temple through a colourful gateway that resembles a Buddhist Vihara. We were accorded the privilege of having darshan at close quarters and the attendants pointed out features of each of the deities.

The huge doors clanged shut minutes after we came out. People were already forming queues for ‘bhog’ after paying a token amount of Rs 2 for the paper plate. This is rice mixed with dry fruits and very tasty. We found many of the poor devotees having it in the forecourt of the temple. It would help them stave off hunger pangs for a while.

The Rawalji's Puja room

Once again, we were led to the presence of the Rawalji in his Puja room, who after an exchange of pleasantries, invited us for dinner. The room, with thick carpet over the wooden floor, had a small statue of Adi Sankaracharya and Lord Guruvayoorappan.

After lunch, we went to visit Mana, the last village on the Indian side of the international border with China. It was here, at Vyasa Guha that Veda Vyasa is said to have composed the Mahabharata with none other than Lord Ganesha himself as a scribe. There is a Ganesha cave temple on the hill slope (approach to Mana village entails a walk up a steep pathway of almost 750 metres, no big deal for us, veterans of Kedarnath).

According to legend, Ganesha told Vyasa that he was willing to undertake the task on one condition. The sage should recite the slokas non-stop. If there was an interruption, he would lay down the pen and not proceed any further. Vyasa agreed and the result was a somewhat ‘Duranto’ (the non-stop train service recently introduced by Ms Banerjee) compilation of the holy book. Another interesting point is that Vyasa’s cave and Ganesha temple are located several meters apart and one would need keen ears to catch what the sage was reciting. The fact that Ganesha had elephantine ears would have certainly helped, I think.

At Vyasa Guha, we found a kindly looking Panditji, who made us sit on the carpeted floor and recited to us in Sanskrit and Hindi, the significance of the spot. Then we sought permission from him for a recital of Vishnu Sahasranamam to which he readily agreed. The Panditji and some of the other visitors were moved to tears by the recital. The Panditji then said the spot used to resound to the chanting of Sahasranamam and other Stotras (hymns) for centuries, but nowadays such occasion were rare indeed !

Afterwards, we went to see the river Saraswati emerge from a cave in a roaring torrent. According to legend, the place is significant as Veda Vyasa, after compiling Mahabharata and other 16 Puranas, found that mental peace was eluding him. On the advice of Saint Narada, he mediated at this spot till Goddess Saraswati appeared and blessed him with spiritual knowledge. Thus, he acquired the power to write the "Bhagavatha Purana". This was also the spot where Brahma revealed the "Adhyatma Ramayana" to Veda Vyasa and other Rishis. While he was composing "Bhagavatham", Veda Vyasa requested Sasraswati to calm down so that he could compose in peace. Accordingly, the roar of the river quietens down at this place.

BIRTH OF A RIVER The Saraswati emerging from a dark cave before plunging down a gorge in a torrent of foam

There is a massive stone bridge called "Bhim Pul" across the river. Legend says that when Draupadi found it difficult to cross the river, the mighty Bheema lifted a huge rock and placed it across the gorge. The short cut from Vyasa Guha to this place is indeed dangerous with a U-turn as you come down a steep incline where a slight misstep could send you plunging down into the river as there are no guard railings. We managed to traverse the spot with the help of our stout "Kedarnath" sticks.

The birth of the river is a sight to behold. She foams out of a dark cave, plunges down several few feet framed by massive overhanging rocks in a cloud of spray.

Incidentally, Mana is dotted with several teashops claiming to be the last one in India. One even had multilingual sign boards, even in Malayalam. We had earlier taken a snapshot of one such shop but then decided to do the same with others too.

Then we returned to Badrinath in time for the evening darshan. As we came out of the temple, a message was received from Rawalji’s residence for dinner. It was a simple affair of Chappati and rice with Rasam, potato curry and pickles. Quite tasty after having survived almost a week on a diet of Aalu Paranthas.

Some people perched dangerously on a rock to have a closer look at the cave from where the Saraswati river emerges in a cloud of foam and spray

We had taken three tickets each costing Rs 4,500/- (for three persons) for the Maha Abhishekam that starts early in the morning around 5 o’ clock and were told to be at the temple by 4.30 am. Accordingly all of us got up around 2.30 am and were at "Tapta Kund" hot springs on the banks of the chilly Alakananda at 3.00 am. This sulphur springs gives out smoke and heat almost touching boiling point. I adopted a trick used for cold water baths in Delhi winters, applying water all over the body in small doses and then taking the plunge. Traditionally one has to take a dip in the "Tapta kund" before visiting the temple. So far we had been avoiding these hot springs for our own convenience, but here, the Lord willed otherwise.

After the bath, we climbed the steps to the temple. Whom should I find there but the very same gentleman we saw singing the previous evening. He was seated on the doorstep with another person who seemed to be his attendant.

All of us sat down in the partially covered structure around the sanctum sanctorum. I closed my eyes and started reciting ‘Om’. It helped stave off the cold a bit. No wonder, it is actually a Tapobhumi where the Lord himself sits in meditation.

Incidentally, I found that some people were wearing sandals outside the sanctum sanctorum. A saffron clad monk was wearing clogs. Sudheer explained that these were people connected with the temple.

This is the narrow pathway down which we came from Vyasa Guha to see the birth of Saraswati river near Mana village.

Around 5 o’ clock, our names were called out and we went inside and were made to sit on the floor. This time the original "Salagrama" could be seen without any adornments. It looked to be incomplete, much like what God is supposed to be "Avyaktham". The Rawalji, adorned in a black robe with a golden sash, tinged with red serving as a belt and wearing a black cap, slowly removed the sandal paste on the idol and then proceeded to wash it (Abhisheka) with copious amounts of water. This was preceded by various other abhishekas, milk, honey, rose water and the like to the accompaniment of recital of the Vedas.

Some light moments were provided by couple of Tamilians sitting by my side. An elderly man was getting quite upset about a young woman sitting in the front row blocking his view. "Why do they allow such tall people sit in front?" he was heard to say. I immediately lowered my own head. Who knows, I may be blocking somebody’s view. Meanwhile, a young man sitting in front of me was periodically nodding off and laying his head on the shoulder of a woman sitting in front of him. At one point, a gentleman from Andhra, on my left side, scratched me on the cheek while trying to get a better view. He was apologetic and I forgave him. I think he was the same balladeer. Look how our paths cross!

Every kind of smell gets accentuated in the pure mountain air. Thus, the Tulsi we were given for Archana smelt absolutely divine and so did the "Kalabham" (sandal paste) we got as part of prasadam. On the downside, whenever a vehicle passes you, you get bathed in fumes from the half-burnt fuel (due to lack of oxygen in the air).

A view of the Himalayas at Badrinath.

The Abhishekam ceremony proceeded at its serene pace. Every part of the ceremony is explained in great detail, including the history of the shrine, starting with "Alakananda Theere...." (On the banks of river Alakananda…). Then we were asked to do "Sankalpa" puja to our "Ishtadevata" (personal deity). Soon the Rawalji proceeded to carefully wipe the deity dry. Then each of the adornments, jewel encrusted crowns and faceplates, the Sudarshana Chakra, as also the diamond-encrusted Paduka presented by Lord Krishna to his ardent devotee Uddhava, were held up and the Swamiji at the microphone explained the significance of each item. After adornment of the Lord and other deities different Aratis like Sona (gold) and Chandi (silver) were held when the devotees participated in singing of "Om Jai Jagadeesha Hare". At significant points during the ceremony, the thunderous roll of Nagara drums were heard. The entire ceremony lasted one and half hours.

SARASWATI IN A HURRY The river Saraswati roaring down a gorge after emerging from a cave at Mana (photo by Krishnakumar)

Later, Rawalji, at another audience at his residence explained that the Lord is present in Badrinath during Brahma Muhurtham, for the Abhisheka. Afterwards, he proceeds to Manikarna in Varanasi for the Usha Puja (morning puja), then to Puri for the noon Puja and to Dwaraka for Shayana Arati (quite a cross country race). This underlines the importance of having Lord’s Darshan at Badrinath during Maha Abhishekam.

He also said that the ghee used in the shrine was personally made by the Queen of Tehri. The dates for opening of the temple after winter is also decided by the King.

Here, since it is a Tapobhumi for the Lord, Goddess Maha Lakshmi is considered to be hovering like a shadow over the Lord to cool his body that gets heated up due to the strict penance.

According to legend, Adi Sankara had reinstalled the idol thrown into the "Tapta Kunda" by Buddhists at one time. The Saint had defeated the Buddhists monks in a peaceful manner through "Tharka" (arguments). He then took a dip in the "Tapta Kunda" to retrieve the idol. The first time he emerged with one that had its right hand broken. He took another dip and still emerged with a similarly deformed idol. For a third time, on getting a broken idol, he felt it was the wish of the Lord and installed it at the shrine. It is believed that people having Darshan of the idol will attain "Moksha" (salvation).

Some members of the group then proceeded for "Pinda Tarpan" on the banks of the Alakananda. The general belief in North India is that after completion of Pinda Tarpan in Kashi, people come here in Badrinath to ensure that their forefathers attain "Vishnu Pada" (salvation at the feet of Lord Maha Vishnu).

Multilingual sign board proclaiming the last tea shop in India

We finally bid farewell to Sri Badri Vishalji to catch the 11 o’ clock gate. Near Joshimath, it was time for another miracle. We were made to stop on the roadside as tarring of the road was being done a little ahead on a slope. Suddenly, we heard a commotion and saw a tar-laden cart rolling towards our vehicle at a considerable speed. Fortunately, it brushed against a bus just ahead and stopped. Otherwise, it could have hit us head-on and the impact would have made the van roll over the edge of the cliff. The minimum damage would have been a busted radiator.

It was time for the journey back. During this past week, we did not have access to newspapers, television or even mobile phones. Interestingly, we found large crowds in Kedar Nath watching intently the India-Sri Lanka cricket match.

We reached Rudra Prayag late in the evening to stay there for the night. After a good night’s sleep, we started off at six in the morning. We had a brief halt in the afternoon at Haridwar for a holy dip on the occasion of Amavasya and reached Delhi at 9.00 p.m. to conclude the trip.

A view of The Badrinath Temple.

Now it is time for me to sign off with "Sri Kedarnathji ki Jai" and "Jai Badri Vishal".

Photos by Krishnakumar and Surendranath.

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Click here to read the first part of this series - Kedarnath Chronicles.

We were in a different world for seven days in mid-September, having embarked on a pilgrimage to the Himalayan mountain shrines of Sri Kedarnath and Sri Badrinath.

The trip nearly did not happen, as it was raining heavily in Delhi and all over north India almost non-stop for three days. On the eve of our departure, a friend rang up and said he had heard on radio that the "Char Dham" (Kedar-Badri-Gangotri-Yamunotri) were closed because landslides had blocked the route.

A quick Google search revealed, of course, that the news was at least a day old. To be on the safe side, enquiries were made with the tour operator, a Tamilian called Rajan (Kala Rajan Tours), who conducts regular trips to these places and travels with the larger groups in buses. He assured us that the routes were clear and as far as rain was concerned, it was part of the deal. It rains frequently, mostly in the afternoons, in the Himalayas and there are frequent landslides. Huge rocks and rubble block the roads but the Border Roads Organisation usually manages to clear it within a few hours. So we decided to stick to the programme with a prayer on our lips.

DAY ONE:

Initially, it was suggested that we, a group of ten, start off at 5 o’ clock in the morning. The target was "Vasishta Guha", 22 km from Rishikesh where we expected to arrive by lunchtime. However the group members decided to start only after participating in the "Nirmalya Darshanam" at the "Uttara Guruvayoorappan" temple in Mayur Vihar, Delhi.

Accordingly, our vehicle, a Force Traveller (we found it to be extremely comfortable) picked up all of us from our residences and we were at the temple before it opened.

To ensure an auspicious journey, coconuts were broken at Ganapathi’s nada and we also gave money for "Ganapathi Homam" for the entire 7-day duration of the trip.

Two senior citizens in our group followed us in a Toyota Terago (at first sight could be mistaken for an Innova, but drinks petrol. This led to certain interesting situations when a couple of Scorpios lined up behind her at a petrol pump at Joshimath that incidentally had only a single pump, supplying petrol) at the regulation one car length throughout the trip which they did thanks to the skill of driver Thapa.

Our driver Dharmendra had a lot of fun throughout the trip, making fun of poor Munian, who served as ADC to one of our senior members. Quite unused to mountains, this man from Erode served as a speed regulator whenever the needle went past 25 km. Finally Dharmendra told him to keep quiet (almost like Adi Shankara advocating Advaita), as such advice would put the driver in two minds and lead to a mishap.

The rain had let off a bit when we started at around 6 o’ clock. After about an hour’s running we stopped at a wayside motel for breakfast. Most of us had the first taste of what was to be our staple diet for the next six days—the Aloo Parantha served with "Dahi" (curds). Soon we were at Muzaffarnagar, when it started raining. A traffic jam in this town delayed us considerably and we managed to reach our destination for the day only by 3 o’ clock.

On the way, we experienced our first miracle and a taste of things to come. This was when turning a corner the vehicle was brought to a halt by huge rocks and rubble blocking the way. By this time, we were already on the ghat section high above the swift-flowing Ganga.

Anyway, back to the road block where, like Bhima finding an old monkey blocking his way while searching for "Kalyana Saugandhikam", we were getting a trifle impatient. Help came in the form of a bulldozer that sent the rocks plunging down in no time. We were impressed by the speed and precision with which the machine was made to twist and turn to clear the road without itself joining the plunging rocks. Sometimes, all it takes is a slight miscalculation and some soft earth for such an eventuality.

The rubble was cleared and we proceeded to "Vasishta Guha". It is a cave where the great sage Vasishta is supposed to have sat in meditation. In the late 19th century, Sri Purushothamananda Ji, disciple of Brahmanada Saraswati – direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, set up an ashram there being managed by his handpicked successor Sri Chaitanyaji now. Sri Purushothamananda ji was a contemporary of Sivananda and Tapovan ji.

Soon, we stopped on the roadside beside a gateway that proclaimed to be built during the centenary of the ashram. Vehicles cannot be taken inside as only a cemented pathway leads down to the Ashram located along the banks of the Ganga. Here we got our first lesson, that is, nothing except "dhabas" (small restaurants like the "Thattu Kada" in Kerala) are at ground level in the entire state of Uttarakhand. For every "Prayag", confluence of two rivers where you go down the steps or pathways, there are shrines on hilltops.

As we approached the ashram, a strong smell of cow dung greeted us. We passed some buildings serving as cow sheds. We were led to the room of Sri Chaitanyaji. He is a lean and bearded man and looks to be in his 50s rather than his actual age of 85. He had come to the Ashram at the age of 19 and after serving for some time, decided to become a Sanyasi. However, Sri Purushottamanandaji asked him to seek permission from his mother first before taking up the vows. The Guruji also accompanied him all the way to Kerala. The mother readily agreed but the son, fearful of creating a scene, made himself scarce at that time but was brought back.

Thus started his apprenticeship and with the passing away of the Guru in the year 1961, February 13 (Maha Shivaratri day), he became the Ashram head. The Swamiji asked whether we had lunch and then directed us to the dining hall. All of us sat on the floor and soon fresh and hot chappatis, dal, rice and curds were placed before us. The smell of food attracted a lot of stray dogs. The Himalayan dogs look fearsome with their thick coat of hair that extends all the way to their curly tails but are docile, by and large. One of them actually tried to enter but was driven away. After lunch, we were shown our rooms, located just a few yards away from the Ganga, roaring past like an express train on her way to the plains.

In the evening, we walked down to the river, picking our way carefully through huge rocks lying haphazardly on the riverbed, a testimony to the power of the river that might have brought them down when in spate. All of us washed our hands and feet in the chilly waters and watched the sun set behind the mountains and vapours rising from the river. A member of the group showed us Arundhati Guha, where the wife of Vasishta had stayed.

At dusk, we were taken to Vasishta Guha. You have to stoop at some places and suddenly it opens up into a semi circular room with a Shivalinga placed on a raised platform. Another platform to the side was where Guruji sat in meditation. No one is allowed to sit there. The cave that stretched quite a way inside the mountain was walled off at this point by Purushottamandaji. Apparently, some Rishis in the higher reaches of the Himalayas use that part of the cave for meditation in their astral bodies (the physical bodies will be in another location).

We were told that quite a lot of foreigners come for meditation and spend hours inside. On the way, we had seen quite a lot of them, staying either in the various ashrams or their modern version of resorts. We also sat there for a few minutes in the dark cave with the only available light coming from a small lamp placed in front of the deity.

Then we went outside where a Swamiji had started evening prayers reciting "Shiva Mahimna Stotra". After a while, the Head Swamiji came and went inside the Guha and performed Puja. He came out and performed Arati before a picture of his Guru placed on a raised platform.

Next, we were taken upstairs to a small shrine of Shri Purushothamananada Ji where he performed Arati. By this time, it was past 8 o’ clock and time for dinner that turned out to be simple fare of Chappati and Dal. Then it was time for an audience with the Swamiji. In his room, seated on a chair, he recounted the days he had spent in the ashram. "I have been here for the past 50 years," he said. Except for visiting shrines, he had never been to the south. In the old days, the ashram had only tents and wild animals like jackals and more dangerous ones like leopards and pythons roamed the area during the night. Several of the dogs were killed by leopards.

"Once, I was sleeping outside and felt suffocated. On opening my eyes, I found that a python had wrapped itself around my blanket. Somehow, my attendants managed to drive it away," the Swamiji said. These days, when roads are being widened by breaking the mountainside, a new danger has emerged, that of rockslides. The workers come and advise the ashram inmates to stay inside during the blasting but there is no guarantee of safety as the rocks can land anywhere.

DAY TWO

We started off at 5 0’ clock after a bath and hot tea. The ashram provided hot water for bath. As the van started moving, we also began our daily morning ritual of reciting Vishnu Sahasranamam and Lalitha Sahasranamam. The van was all this while climbing up and down various mountainsides. At sunrise, fog enveloped the road but Dharmendra pressed on. This stocky, moustachioed man proved to have steady hands to negotiate the perils of the mountain roads.

At this time we experienced a second miracle. A second rockslide had taken place at the very same place where we were held up the previous day when the bulldozer was clearing the rubble. This was of a more massive nature and no vehicle was able to pass through since morning. According to the plan drawn up by the tour operator, we were to have spent the night at Rishikesh in which case we would have been stuck there.

The next stop was at Deva Prayag where the Bhagirathi joins Alaknanda to form the Ganga. It was here that Lord Sreerama had performed "Pithrutharpana" for Dasharatha during Vanavas. Jagatguru Adi Shankara had visited this place and meditated for a few hours. As mentioned earlier, this entailed a walk down to the confluence after which we climbed several steps to visit a temple dedicated to Lord Rama.

After breakfast at a dhaba, we continued our journey to reach Gupta Kashi at lunchtime. The Pandavas had sat here on penance after the Mahabharata war praying to Lord Shiva to absolve them of all their sins. The Lord appeared in due course but finding that they had committed grave sins of killing their Guru Dronacharya, brethren Duryodhana and other Kauravas and even the Pitamaha Bhishmacharya, found the amount of sin to be too much, disappeared in the form of a bull. There is a Shiva temple on top of the hill, which we visited. Here the pujas are performed in a secret manner with the offerings put inside a shelled coconut (copra) through a hole on the top. We had lunch at a dhaba, the usual aalu parantha and curds, very tasty and filling.

By evening, we reached our night halt at Sonprayag (elev. 1829), confluence of the Soneganga and Mandakini. The hill shrine of Triyogi Narayan is about half an hour's drive away. When we reached there, it started pouring. The Panditji took us to the place where the divine marriage of Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva had taken place. Rolling thunder and lighting created an atmosphere of some divine plan unfolding as he was explaining details of the wedding. Then we were taken to the main shrine where we placed firewood on the Homa Kund where Shiva and Parvati had taken the "seven pheras". The place has the added significance of having had the presence of all the 33 crore devas for witnessing the divine marriage. It is considered auspicious for married people to have darshan there.

The driver had told us to return as fast as possible as darkness was descending and the mountain road was treacherous. So, regretfully not much time could be spent there.

DAY THREE

We were ready for the Kedarnath trek at 5 o’clock in the morning. One of the members of our group, a veteran of three trips, gave us the option of taking hot water bath in the room itself or at the hot springs at Gauri Kund (elev 1981 mt). We opted for the former to save time. As soon as the gate for Gauri Kund opened, we were on our way.

Gauri Kund is significant as this was the place where Lord Ganesha got his "elephant head". According to the story, Parvati had gone for a bath instructing Ganesha not to let anyone in. When Lord Shiva came and was barred by Ganesha, he grew angry and lopped off Ganesh’s head. Parvati, finding that her son was dead, grew sorrowful. Shiva instructed Vira Bhadra to bring the head of the first seen person on the north side. Vira Bhadra found an elephant and cut its head off and brought it. Shiva affixed it on Ganesha’s torso and thus, he became the elephant-headed God.

Here again, the road snaked through mountainsides and after about half hour journey, we were at Gauri Kund, crowded with horses (actually mules) with their handlers seeking custom. Since the seven of us had opted to trek, except the seniors, we decided to press on. It involved a climb through narrow lanes of a market during which we bought stout bamboo sticks for Rs 10 each.

The first part of the trek up to Rambhada, a distance of 7 km was thoroughly enjoyable. A black hairy dog suddenly appeared from nowhere and started following us like the dog that followed Yudhishtira right upto heaven. The sun was not yet up, the Mandakini welcomed us gurgling alongside. Then we had the divine sight of the Himalayan peaks gilded in gold by the rising sun’s rays.

All this while, helicopters carrying pilgrims were making frequent sorties between Phata and Kedarnath. The cost of a return journey is around Rs 7600. This clatter of the ‘copters was the only ‘modern’ sound that we heard as there was no signal for mobile phones, no one had radios or ipods, thank God. It was quite fascinating to hear the tinkling of the bells on the mules and their clomping. At places, one has to swing the stick to prevent them from brushing against you.

Reaching Rambhada, we rested for some time in a dhaba and had breakfast. I had an aalu parantha and tea while some others opted for Pav Bhaji. Both were served dripping with butter. Then the trekking was resumed. However, the first hundred yards on the steep incline, crowded with horses and slippery with their dung, proved that this part of the trek was altogether in a different league.

We started feeling the lack of oxygen at high altitude. I could feel my heart beat and quickening of breathing. This entailed stopping every hundred yards or so and waiting till breathing returned to normal. The path continued snaking its way upwards. All this while, the snow-clad mountains were drawing near. We crossed numerous springs, running across the path, wetting our shoes and socks. We had made it to Rambhada in reasonably good time, in about two hours but now our speed was reduced barely to a crawl. People returning from Kedar advised us to take it easy and proceed slowly.

While resting at one of the teashops (they allow people to rest there, no need to buy tea at every stop) we had a brief chat with a five-member group from Nepal. All of them were elderly but full of good spirits. They said walking was the right way to conduct a pilgrimage, howsoever arduous or slow it may be. We were much reassured by their kind words.

All this while, a saffron-coloured building was seen high up on the mountain side. I thought that from there, it would be plains. However, on reaching there, found that the road was still going up. As we went up, the trees disappeared, to be replaced by grassy meadows on the mountain slopes.

By this time, it was afternoon and time for showers. Soon the peaks were shrouded by thick rain clouds and it started raining. We had considered ourselves to be well equipped to meet this eventuality, having bought raincoats for Rs 10 each. However, chilly winds accompanying the rain, threw back the hoods time and again and made us clutch on to the suits with one hand. Hands and fingers were soon numb, feeling like being put in the freezer.

By this time, we had reached the last 1.5 km in the plains. Kedarnath town (elev. 3581 m) could be seen in the distance but the driving rain made us seek refuge in a shelter. All this time, we were worried about the three elders who had opted for doli rides as they were not to be seen. At this particular point, we re-established contact with them.

At around 4 0’ clock, we were at the bridge, the entry point to the town, set at a higher elevation. My heart sank when I saw that we had to climb yet higher. Our constant companion, the Mandakini was gushing forth past the railings on the pathway. The more energetic ones in our group had already gone ahead and booked us into the first hotel, The Maharashtra Sadan. We had a lunch of paranthas and then got under the razai (quilt) for some rest.

Then, at 6 0’ clock, we proceeded to the temple, just about five minutes walk. One good thing, I found about Kedarnath, was that it had absolutely no vehicular traffic. Ponies are also not allowed beyond the bridge. The owner of the guest house, himself a pandit, accompanied us to the temple. The streets are swept clean frequently by sweepers who, of course, demand money from pilgrims. I found it wiser to leave my soggy shoes and socks in the room and walk barefoot to the shrine.

The temple itself is a modest structure of grey stone with minimum carvings. Inside, we were told that we could have Arati Darshan. We were made to sit in front of the deity adorned in golakas of gold. A finely carved hooded serpent stood over the Jyotirlinga, covered in tiger skin. The ceremonial umbrella "Venkottakuda" was in silver. In the meanwhile, priests started chanting Shiva Mahimna stotra. This particular hymn was composed by a Gandharva Pushpadanta, who unknowingly had stepped on the Nirmalyam of Lord Shiva, to absolve himself of the sin.

Sitting there with folded hands, I felt very emotional and tears started coursing down my cheeks. Maybe it was the thought of having been privileged enough to undertake such a trip for the entire family, through punya acquired through the devotion of generations ahead of me.

Outside the temple, there were sanyasis in saffron robes and one or two decked up as Shiva himself. One of them refused point blank to let his picture be taken while another one obliged.

The next day, we had hot water bath in the hotel and were at the temple by six. This was for the abhishekam for which special tickets costing Rs. 3500 (for five persons) had to be taken. This time, the jyotirlingam, shaped roughly like the hump of a bull, was without adornments and we joined the devotees seated around it. According to legend, Bhima had found Shiva in the shape of a bull here, the same bull that had disappeared from Gupt Kashi. Bhima chased it but managed only to catch the hump before it once again disappeared. The face reappeared at Pashupati Nath in Kathmandu, Nepal while the other body parts can be seen in different shrines in the region.

The devotees were anointing the jyotirlinga with ghee (the last product of milk, symbolising prana), sindoor and water. These rites are to be performed by the husband and wife together. The puja concludes with smearing the lingam with ghee and sindoor with both hands and touching it with the forehead. This act symboIises transferring our sins to the Lord. I felt myself sliding down and with some difficulty managed to get up. Now I understand the expression of washing with tears, because these are the sort of emotions unleashed during such pujas where you can actually touch the deity. An experience that made me forget the chill in the air and disturbed sleep of the previous night and all other discomforts.

Kedar is also significant as it was here that Adi Sankara had eventually vanished from the earth. A "Dand" in marble marks this spot behind the temple.

For a brief while, we were able to talk to the hotel staff about life in Kedarnath. They were all praise for the mobile phone, introduced about five years ago. Otherwise, it involved a trek all the way from their villages near Gupt Kashi for conveying any news about their families left behind there.

Asked why no motorised transport was available, they said the pony-doli operators were resisting any such change. Also there is an imminent danger of pollution. So let the sylvan surroundings remain like that for some time more.

After an early breakfast of Uppuma for a change, we started the return trek. The initial few kilometres were quite pleasant with the sun yet to rise and the pathway clear of the horses. Soon the sun came out and one by one, we divested ourselves of the muffler and jacket. The trusty bamboo sticks proved invaluable during this part of the journey, preventing us from slipping on the inclines. This time, we stopped at Rambhada only for cool drinks and managed to reach Gauri kund by 1235 hrs. By this time, we had realised that light food is most appropriate during trekking.

Then we had a quick lunch at Sonprayag and in a deviation from the original programme of staying there for the night, decided to press on towards Badrinath. We managed to reach Pipalkoti by 8 o’ clock in the night, thanks to the superb driving skills of Dharmendra. The lodging was at Indira, attached to hotel Indralok where we had dinner and retired for the night.

Thus ended the first part of the trip.

On the expense front, we spent Rs 32,750 for the van. The hotel rent worked out to be around Rs 150-200. The main expenses were for morning abhishekam at Kedarnath of Rs 4,300 (works out to be Rs 430 when divided among ten members), again for abhishekam at Badrinath for Rs 13500 (1,350 per person).

Shivaya Namah

Photos: Surendranathan

Click here to read the second part of the series - The Ballads of Badrinath.

NNN

More than 100 people attended a touching private service this morning for Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder and heroine for Special Olympics. Shriver’s legacy with her work and support for Special Olympics touched the lives of millions.

The solemn service was held at Saint Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Hyannis, Massachusetts.

Special Olympics was born literally in Shriver’s own backyard in 1962 when a desperate mother sought her help for a summer camp for her own child with mental retardation. She took up the challenge herself and set up a summer camp free of charge at Timberlawn, the family estate in Maryland, where she even personally carried out swimming lessons.

In July 1968, she opened the first edition of Special Olympics at Soldier Field in Chicago and launched a movement that would give the intellectually disabled an athletic competition that would grow like wildfire.

Last year on the 40th anniversary of this first event, Sports Illustrated honoured her with the Sportsmen of the Year Legacy Award. The movement had exploded from a few hundred athletes then to nearly 3.1 million athletes worldwide participating in 228 programmes in 170 nations on all continents.

Shriver is also the only woman to ever have her portrait appear during her lifetime on a US coin, the commemorative 1995 Special Olympics silver dollar.

Not only did she understand with compassion the needs of the intellectually disabled, but she also found a perfect way through sport to give them a vehicle for hope and enhance their lives and this has resonated through their families, friends and fans.

Shriver leaves a flourishing legacy that will enrich the lives of many for generations to come. She is survived by Sargent Shriver Jr, who managed President Lyndon Johnson’s War On Poverty in the 1960s, her daughter Maria Shriver who is California’s first lady, and sons Robert Sargent Shriver III, Timothy Perry Shriver, Mark Kennedy Shriver, and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver. Maria’s husband and the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, himself is a strong advocate of Special Olympics.

Since her passing, according to latest information released by Special Olympics, media response has also been overwhelming:

Web:

- Over 103,500 people have visited www.eunicekennedyshriver.org and have viewed 827,000 pages. Over 2,800 people have posted personal tributes posted to the website.

Social Media:

- "RIP Eunice Kennedy was a top 5 Trending Topic on Twitter for approximately 9 hours on Tuesday.

- "RIP Eunice Kennedy was the number 2 topic, with Special Olympics as the number 3 topic for approximately 90 minutes.

- Numerous Tweets and re-Tweets of personal messages from celebrities and luminaries were received, including Lance Armstrong, Sarah Brown (wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown), Chris Cuomo, Paula Abdul, Marlee Matlin, Steve Case (Chairman and CEO, Revolution, Co-Founder, America Online, and Chairman, The Case Foundation).

- The Special Olympics Facebook page gained 1,300 fans in only one day.

Media:

- 7,132 television stories have been broadcast.

- The number of local, national and international print media and radio stories is too large too count this time.

Tributes:

Personal letters of condolences and tributes have come in from celebrities and world leaders, including statements from US President Barack Obama, former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Oprah Winfrey, and leaders from around the globe.

Sports Features Communications®

The greatest star to touch British sport with his insight, perception, understanding and human wisdom this past week was not a player or a direction or a manager or an agent. It was Desmond Tutu.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winner may have retired formally and now be the Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town but he has not retired from a role as a pastor to the worldwide community. That factor was electrifyingly obvious during the half hour he spent in conversation with Michael Parkinson at the Beyond Sport conference in London.

The constructive value of such gatherings of the "suits" of politics, sport and business may be open to question; but if those who heard Tutu took away only his inspiration then they will remain the richer for it.

Parkinson, interviewer emeritus in his own right as well as president of the UK Sports Journalists Association, had no difficulty providing prompts on issues ranging from the relationship between politics and religion, the anti-apartheid movement, the healing of damaged nations and the 2010 World Cup and its wider value.

Continental message

Tutu said: "What was significant was was not only that we won the bid but that we won the bid to become the first African country to host the World Cup.

"So, most important, we are not saying this is a South African hosting but this is for the entire continent. What that does for the morale and self-esteem of people is difficult to compute but it’s the same as when you consider Nelson Mandela and see how the world looks up to him, by proxy you grow two inches.

"Then there are the economic benefits which will accrue as a result. We saw a little of this with all the people who came to accompany the British Lions rugby team [in South Africa] last month. There must have been 50,000 who were going around with them; multiply that several times over for the people who will follow their national soccer teams next year and that will really do something.

"Also, to qualify to be hosts we had to commit ourselves to the building of new stadiums and the infrastucture – the positive effects [of creating this] will be felt for many a long year after that."

Tutu hailed the mark of 7.5 out of 10 offered by FIFA president Sepp Blatter for preparations after the recent Confederations Cup rehearsal as "close to a distinction."

Crowd favourite

He also drew a positive message from the manner of home fans’ support for the national side Bafana Bafana.

Using the example of defender Mark Booth, he said: "The Boys have this one player who is white, Booth, and each time he touches the ball people who don’t know think the fans are booing him because they don’t understand what the 'Boooo' is all about.

"In fact, it means he’s one of the crowd’s favourites and that huge crowd is largely black - which means these people are trying to give the world the impression that whites are not so bad - they love him, he’s a fantastic player.

"Also, it’s got significance. It’s helping us to gel."

Tutu acknowledged the manner in which the worldwide anti-apartheid movement had used sport as a weapon to help bring down the white supremacist system; also how Nelson Mandela had then used the 1995 Rugby World Cup as a means to bring all South Africans together behind a symbol of newly-reborn statehood.

He said: "We owe a lot to the international community because the anti-apartheid movement grabbed the imagination of the entire world.

"We were prayed for in many, many places and thank you that you did and were part of the anti-apartheid movement. After all, you gave the world the gift of Nelson Mandela; if apartheid had won you would never have known that you can have such magnanimity, such nobility of spirit, as his."

Sports Features Communications®

As people around the world reacted in horror to the dramatic television images of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore earlier this week, youth leaders from ten countries were learning techniques on using sports for conflict resolutions.

The Department of Posts has signed an agreement with private life insurer ICICI Prudential for collection of insurance premium through Post Offices, an official statement said today.

The service is now available at more than 200 Post offices in Gujarat, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra Postal Circles.

The will be no additional cost involved for the customer and the premium amount realised will be sent to ICICI Prudential through the ePayment system of India Post.

The tie-up is another step in the efforts to make the Post Offices a one-stop shop for the community. Already, post offices in several states are selling gold coins and UPSC and university application forms. They sell Darjeeling Tea in West Bengal and aloe vera products in Gujarat, while in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh they take orders for distribution of "prasadams" of various temples.

INT