'Kailash: Jewel of the Snows' by Rajinder Arora tells a unique story about the journey to Mt Kailash

The description of the valley of Chhialekh high in the Kumaon Himalaya is one of the evocative ones.
'Kailash: Jewel of the Snows' by Rajinder Arora
'Kailash: Jewel of the Snows' by Rajinder Arora

Separated from his group at an altitude of over 4,500 metres, a height which plays games with human mind, the author and his two friends stray off the track and get hopelessly lost. The mental freeze and the plummeting temperature add on to the panic and the trio are forced to spend a night in a deserted hut which leaks cold wind from its innumerable orifices. Woefully dressed for a night at this altitude, the three friends struggle to stay warm. They are re-united with their group the next day to tell the tale.

The tale that Rajinder Arora tells in this book is unlike any other about the journey to Mt Kailash and Lake Mansarovar lying high on the Tibetan plateau. Most books—certainly the more recent ones—treat the journey as in the search of god. And the reason is understandable—it is first and foremost a pilgrimage to the abode of Lord Shiva. Not only that, the region is considered holy by multiple faiths—besides Hindus, animist Bons, Buddhists and Jains too rever it. But Arora shrugs off the shroud of the devout. This is the account of a pilgrimage seen through the eyes of the one for whom Nature is god. 

As he tells a fellow traveller: “…why do we love Shiva? Because I love Nature and Shiva too loves Nature…because Shiva is also a naturalist.” He then explains this in some detail: “He carries the River Ganga in his matted locks; holds fire in the left palm; his necklace is a snake; rides a bull; wears tiger skin; adorns a crescent moon as a clip on his tresses…” and so on. At the end he again asks: “Could anyone be closer to Nature than Shiva?” His explanation does not leave room for doubt.

No wonder then that Arora’s writing is more a travelogue than a mere pilgrimage. Though the journey to Lake Mansarovar is quite a tough one—the trek within the Indian territory passes through the over 17,000-foot high Lipu La and beyond that is the oxygen-deficient Tibetan plateau—Arora manages to add more adventure to his trip. Getting lost during the course of Kailash parikrama that passes through the high Dolma La is just one of them. His experiments with the local brew and confontration with the Chinese officialdom over his cameras add to adrenalin. 

Adventures apart, Arora has a keen eye for flora and fauna. The description of the valley of Chhialekh high in the Kumaon Himalaya is one of the evocative ones. He visits Sikh warrior Zorawar Singh’s burial place and treks up to Chhiu Gompa during a freezing night to see the full moon rise above Mt Kailash and Manasarovar. 

A sign of a good book is that the reader does not want it to end, a feat that Arora’s book attains. I, for one, am looking forward to reading more about his journeys, which, as the book reveals, are many.

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The New Indian Express
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