Zen Travel: Haunt of the Himalaya

Raana Haider

'A scarf of pure white snow
   Hangs down from its head to its feet,
   Cascades like strings of pearls
   Glisten on its breast,
   A net of drizzling cloud
   Encircles its waist like a grey woolen shawl:
   An astounding sight, still and bright,
   Our blessed Himalaya.'
   'Himalaya', Lekhnath Paudyal, Nepal's 'Crest-jewel Poet'
   The rooftop of the world, a mighty and magnificent creation stood there - an ethereal curtain drawn along the blueness of the sky. Endless stupendous snow-heights and traversing ridges criss-crossing one another was our waking-up fixture. This was the picture-postcard scenario that presented itself every morning in Pokhara - in our 'room with a view' at Hotel Barahi. In a superb stage-backdrop, soaring above us was the Annapurna massif of the Himalaya. Himalaya is the abode of snow; for in Sanskrit, hima signifies snow and alaya is abode. And we were in the 'Greater Home of the Himalaya.' For, we were in Nepal that is home to eight of the world's ten highest mountains and home to Mount Everest at 8848 metres - the highest of the highs.
   "Everest: terror and love
   No veil is upon you, no cloud
   Doubts the huge hump, mighty monument set on earth,
   Harp of the wind, snow-song and avalanche tears,
   And tinier tale of men. But men are so proud,
   Their mole-story is hill-high."
   Wilfrid Noyce wrote the above lines in 1954.
   It is common knowledge that the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. It was in 1996 that Jamling Tenzing (the son) achieved the same. In My Father's Footsteps is the title of Jamling Tenzing's book. The Sherpa people are known as 'living heroes and mountain tigers' for their survival skills and provision of essential support services to fight against every odd element - far above the snow line.
   The lure of the rooftop of the world has long led to its early documentation in the form of art, writings and organisation. Baillie Fraser first drew the majestic snow-capped mountains of the Himalaya - the 'mountains of the god and the playground of gods' in 1815. His sketches were published in 1820 as 'Views in the Himala Mountains.' Francis Younghusband - as legendary a figure as Marco Polo and T.E. Lawrence - wrote The Wonder of the Himalaya: Travels in the Himalayas in the Years (1884-1886). This appeared in 1924. Younghusband was appointed President of the most prestigious Royal Geographical Society in London in 1919. He was a mentor to Frank Smythe who thrice made attempts on Everest - determined to reach the top. "Younghusband always felt a great disappointment that the summit was not reached in his lifetime. Unlike some of his contemporaries, he was convinced it was possible. 'The mountain now stands there proud and erect and unconquered,' he wrote in The Epic of Mount Everest, but 'in the end man will have his way'" notes Patrick French in his riveting book Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer.
   Tibet and Nepal Painted and Described by A.H. Sanger was first published in London in 1905. The Himalayan Club was founded in 1928 'to encourage and assist Himalayan travel and exploration and to extend knowledge of the Himalaya and adjoining ranges through science, art, literature and sport. It continues to encourage members and mountaineering community for exploration, climbing and all subjects related to the Himalayan range. 'The Himalayan Journal' first appeared in 1928. The Library of the India International Centre in New Delhi is the repository of the archival 'Himalaya Collection.' There are some 550 books that consist of books on mountaineering, sports, travels and adventures, maps and on Himalayan subjects. Famous books authored by many include books written by Francis Younghusband.
   The first Annapurna mountain range ascent took place in 1950 led by Maurice Herzog. This was the first time an 8000m. peak (Annapurna I at 8091m.) had been climbed and that too in what "was then a remote, inaccessible and little-known area. The harrowing aftermath of the climb, when a severe storm caught the retreating mountaineers, resulted in Herzog losing most of his fingers and toes from frostbite," notes Nepal, Lonely Planet. The French-led expedition led Herzog to write of his experience in his book Annapurna, the mountaineering classic.
   The Mountain is Young is the novel Han Suyin wrote following her visit to Nepal at the invitation to the coronation of the King Mahendra in 1950. An excerpt from the book describes the sight of the Himalaya in the early morning light. "Frederic Maltby knew the bend of the road where he would suddenly see, and always with the same shock of happiness, the snow peaks, rosy in the early light, emerging above the hill. Although from his bedroom window he could see them jus as well, yet it was pleasure redoubled to meet them just at that corner, to see the lords of the snows towering incandescent pink in the early sky. I shall see them here again tomorrow, he thought, and felt himself fulfilled. He had been five years in the valley. He would never leave it. Never would he go back to the plains. He would remain here until he died, lifting his eyes to the mountains in the morning and many times during the day. 'For the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills..."
   William Kirkpatrick who visited Kathmandu in 1793 made the earliest reference to Pokhara. Francis Buchanan Hamilton described Pokhara as "a considerable town...which is a mart frequented by merchants from Nepal (Kathmandu), Palpa, Malebum & C. and afforded duties that in so poor a country were reckoned considerable." The Japanese Buddhist scholar Ekai Kawaguchi made a trip to Kathmandu from Tibet in 1899. He has provided us with a detailed description of Pokhara at the turn of the century. "Pokhara looked like a town of villas at home, the site being chosen for the beauty of its natural scenery. Bamboo covered ravines, flower-roofed heights, rich in green foliage, picturesque because of its rushing and winding stream, itself set in the midst of high mountains - such were the characteristics features of Pokhara...In all my travels in the Himalayas I saw no scenery so enchanting as that which enraptured me at Pokhara" Kawaguchi raptures.
   Pokhara has a long history as an important depot of the trans-Himalayan trade and as the staging-post for the old east-west main road. Donkeys and horses have now given way to motorbikes that buzz by but mercifully do not pierce the air with ear-splitting horns. Pokhara is a 'city of motorbikes.' Browsing through one of the many bookstores, I came across Pilgrim with photographs by Richard Gere and In Search of Shangri-la by Michael McRae. Books on Tibet, yoga, meditation, Buddhism and the sacred heights abound. After all, this is where the 'earth touches the heavens.' Boxes labelled 'Cannabis' intrigued me. Closer inspection of the stock revealed them to be incense sticks scented with jasmine, rose and sandalwood.
   A literary ramble is Peter Matthieson's The Snow Leopard (1978). His is a trek through Nepal in search of the Himalayan blue sheep and the rare snow leopard. It is also a spiritual search - for the Buddhist lamasery on the Crystal Mountain of Shey. Matthieson describes the Himalayan heights as seen from Pokhara: "Glaciers loomed and vanished in the greys, and the sky parted, and the snow cone of the Machhapuchare glistened like a spire of a higher kingdom. In the night, the stars convened, and the vast ghost of Macchhapuchare radiated light, although there was no moon...I went out at daybreak and saw three peaks of Annapurna, soaring clear of low-soft clouds..."
   We woke up at 4:30am to board the mini-bus that would transport us to a mini-mountain from which we would take in the sunrise over the plains that would illuminate the Annapurna range of the Himalaya, including the solitary piercing peak of Machhapuchare (popularly known as 'Fish-tail Mountain', for its sharp and jagged twin-peaks at 6977m. elevation). An attempt to climb it was made in 1957 by the legendary 'Mountain Man' Colonel Jimmy Roberts. He got to within 50m. of the summit when the accompanying Sherpas refused to conquer the top of the holy mountain. Climbing Machhapuchare is no longer permitted. Yet the Annapurna Trail for trekkers is most popular. All bundled up, we stood in darkness and then emerging twilight - along with a threesome of Japanese professional photographers - decked in innumerable photographic paraphernalia for the forthcoming exercise.
   Around 5:30am. From the eastern hills and plains did a rosy hue alter the distant horizon. Before our very eyes, a sublime and spectacular transformation was taking place. The pale rosy waves turned deeper and clearer. Our eyes kept switching from the emerging sunrise to the dark mountain landscape. Suddenly, in no time - the tips of the highest peaks of the Annapurna carried a soft pink tint. Gradually, more than the tips of the peaks were coming into their own. As the sun rose further in the horizon, so did the sunlight shine further down the snow-capped tops and bathe an Almighty creation - for the start of another day. A revelation that is as pure as perfect.
   "The almost mystic appearance of the Himalayan mountain ranges in the northern part of the country, and the most hardened traveller finds a trip to Nepal a stimulus to imagination and contemplation" is the write-up in All-Asia Travel Guide. One can only concur with the assessment in this 'land of the rising sun.'
   One late afternoon, we hired a rowboat on the aquamarine Phewa Tal lake in the midst of Pokhara valley. Floating on the placid lake, while taking in the town of Pokhara to one side, the dense green forest to the other and the Annapurna contours turning a flaming orange in the setting sun is one magical memory. The double range of mountains then appears first on the horizon and then reflected in the silent waters. As dusk slowly fell and we returned to shore - there was consensus - it was one enchanting evening.
   "A glimpse of the resplendent, a-glistening
   Baidam, Kaski's lake;
   On rumination, recollection realize
   This world a deluding image."
   Nepali Folk Song.
   Returning to Kathmandu, a mini-airport at Pokhara awaited us. A cloudless brilliant blue sky covered us. A majestic Annapurna range stood regal. The tarmac appeared full of miniature aircrafts with wonderful names: Sita Air, Zen Air, Buddha Air, Yeti Air, Gorkha Air...Before we boarded our 'Gorkha Air' aircraft, I read in my treasured copy of Zen and the Art of Travel by Eric Chaline the following lines coined by Matsuo Basho:
   "Amid the mountains of high summer,
   I bowed respectfully before
   The tall clogs of a statue
   Asking a blessing on my journey."
   With immense karma coming my way, I found a vacant right-side window seat in the tiny 12 seater plane. And we flew for forty minutes parallel to the Himalaya heights - 'Goddess Mother of the World.' As far as the eye can see - seemingly for eternity - continues the super-scenic route. And in the words of Matthieson, "the great rampart that spreads east and west for eighteen hundred miles, the Himalaya - the alaya (abode or home) of hima (snow). And this is when the piercing lines written in the ancient Hindu texts Skanda Purana came to mind.
   "In a hundred ages of the gods, I could not tell thee of the glories of the Himalaya.
   As the dew is dried up by the morning sun, so are the sins of mankind by the sight of the Himalaya."
   Raana Haider, a travel essayist is the author of 'Paris: A Homage' (2007) and 'Fragrance of the Past: A Middle Eastern Itinerary' (2007), Tara Press, New Delhi.

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The 24th anniversary of the death of Justice Abdul Jabbar Khan, former speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, was observed on April 23.
   Justice Khan died in his house at Gulshan in Dhaka on that day in 1984.
   Born on January 1, 1901 at Baherchar Khudrakathi at Babuganj in Barisal, Jabbar Khan began his career as a lawyer and later joined the judiciary. He retired as a High Court judge and entered politics.
   Jabbar Khan became president of the East Pakistan Muslim League and speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan. He also devoted himself to social work and established a number of schools, colleges and mosques.
   The family of Jabbar Khan visited his grave and said prayers on the occasion of his death anniversary. A milad mahfil was also arranged in his village home, said a release.
   Justice Abdul Jabbar Khan Public Library also held a commemorative meeting at Kedarpur in Babuganj.

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