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Old 6th April 2020, 14:20   #16
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Re: A walk along the Ganges to Gangotri and Gaumukh

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Originally Posted by akshay_ritz View Post
This is an absolutely phenomenal thread. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Thank you sire

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Originally Posted by sayyam.gaur58 View Post
Absolutely amazing! I've been visiting Vashishtha Guha with my family from the last 20 years, great to see the place especially the Guha picture and that amazing river bed still intact and clean.
Wow, nice to see folks who visit the Gufa here. 20 years is a long time! You must have seen the surrounding gone to the dogs with the white water camping mafia.

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Originally Posted by Miyata View Post
My earlier reply somehow did not go through for whatever reason!

Wonderful post. Reading through also reminded me of a book I'd read a long time back - "autobiography of a yogi". Looking forward to now dust it off during this lockdown and read at least parts of it!
A superb book. I hope you've dusted it off and started reading it. Trivia: This was one book that Steve jobs would pick up and re-read every single year until he passed away.

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Originally Posted by earthian View Post
What a great travelogue and very good pictures too. My wife and i like going to Uttarakhand but unfortunately, we don't have the capability to 'take it as it comes' anymore. We plan our stay mostly and that means following a fixed itinerary which is a bummer. However, off late, we have tried to 'wing it' on a few occasions. We like staying in Ashrams too, but we take permission in advance.

Wish you many more of such wanderings.

Romba nanha irundhedu
I think you can do a version of the "take it as it comes". What I do is not pre-book unless we're talking about a GMVN or a KMVN. Those are usually in high demand and I would go with booking those ahead of time, especially so in the mountains when you dont want to be caught out by bad weather. I try and do the "research" at home, pre book govt. acco, and then contact the private establishments over phone and make an introduction to tell them I'm coming that way.

But I agree, with my fam in tow - I would probably just book out everything ahead.
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Old 6th April 2020, 16:14   #17
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Re: A walk along the Ganges to Gangotri and Gaumukh

Absolutely! Got the book out and have been reading. Being that it is a paperback version and not hardcover, it's gotten a bit tattered. Guess I could have maintained it better as well.

A walk along the Ganges to Gangotri and Gaumukh-img_20200406_154746.jpg

I still prefer the paperback version though - is lighter, easier on the eye with no glares.

During a conversation more than an year ago, an Italian colleague wanted to read the book. When I took it to her she was shocked! Apparently, she can only read hardcovers and not paperbacks!

Wasn't aware of SJ's fondness for the book. I'd read about him talking a bit about Hare-Krishna / ISKCON.
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Old 6th April 2020, 16:37   #18
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Re: A walk along the Ganges to Gangotri and Gaumukh

This was the first book he read related to Indian spirituality, and which brought him down to India. He came, i think at the invitation of Ram Dass, and tried to find Neem Karoli Baba, but it was too late and baba had already passed away by then.

Apparently he met another sadhu who made him sit down and had his head shaved. And then proclaimed that jobs had to go back to the West as he had a great lot of work to do there.

Jobs was also the one who asked Mark Zuckerberg to go to India and stay at the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram in kainchi. Mark came and stayed over too:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...562_story.html
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Old 6th April 2020, 17:37   #19
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Re: A walk along the Ganges to Gangotri and Gaumukh

Thank you for sharing this journey and the beautiful photographs. The lure of the Himalayas never fails. Your travelogue reminds me of my trip to Gaumukh in 1975 with an uncle who was in the Army and in-charge of that area. He was on an inspection tour and in that more innocent time my cousin & I were invited to hitch along for a 12 day tour. Looking forward to your tour next year. Lovely to see a mention of Maa Anandamayee and Lahari Mahasaya.

Last edited by V.Narayan : 6th April 2020 at 18:06.
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Old 6th April 2020, 17:52   #20
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Re: A walk along the Ganges to Gangotri and Gaumukh

Wow, @RedLiner, lovely travelogue and superb narrative, thanks for sharing

Just loved reading through that experience, glad you came out of that initial stage of mountain sickness, you made the right decision to return and I guess your past experiences in high altitudes probably helped set off that alarm, otherwise one can easily ignore the signs.

Several years ago, my dad's business partner was a big Chinmaya disciple and so they named their first 3 apartment projects Chinmaya, Tapovan and Sivananda
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Old 7th April 2020, 15:36   #21
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Re: A walk along the Ganges to Gangotri and Gaumukh

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Originally Posted by V.Narayan View Post
Thank you for sharing this journey and the beautiful photographs. The lure of the Himalayas never fails. Your travelogue reminds me of my trip to Gaumukh in 1975 with an uncle who was in the Army and in-charge of that area. He was on an inspection tour and in that more innocent time my cousin & I were invited to hitch along for a 12 day tour. Looking forward to your tour next year. Lovely to see a mention of Maa Anandamayee and Lahari Mahasaya.
Wow. Gaumukh in '75 must have been something else. I have seen real pictures of kedarnath and badrinath from the 50's and they look absolutely stunning.

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Wow, @RedLiner, lovely travelogue and superb narrative, thanks for sharing

Just loved reading through that experience, glad you came out of that initial stage of mountain sickness, you made the right decision to return and I guess your past experiences in high altitudes probably helped set off that alarm, otherwise one can easily ignore the signs.

Several years ago, my dad's business partner was a big Chinmaya disciple and so they named their first 3 apartment projects Chinmaya, Tapovan and Sivananda
Yeah, it pays not to be a boorish idiot up in the high mountains. Its all about humility, and i got droves of that lesson on this trip. I think every trip amps the humility lesson a little more

Haha, what a way to pay tribute to the great spiritual super giants of India!
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Old 7th April 2020, 16:06   #22
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Re: A walk along the Ganges to Gangotri and Gaumukh

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Wow. Gaumukh in '75 must have been something else. I have seen real pictures of kedarnath and badrinath from the 50's and they look absolutely stunning.
!
Gaumukh was all nature. No buildings. No even a hut. Kedarnath had only the temple and a few chattis and one BSF guest house. Kedarnath was a 22 km 5000 feet climb on foot from the nearest road head. I recall a sulphur spring enroute. Badrinath had a few brick buildings and an Army camp; otherwise quite open. I believe both Badrinath and Kedarnath are now quite built up :-(
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