H I MA LA YA N TRA VELS ,

BY

T . JOD H S INGH BAGLI NEG!

D EPUTY COLLECTOR ON D EPUTATION AS SETTLEMENT OFFI CERREVENUE MEMBER , TEHR I , GARHW AL STATE .

CALCUTTA

CHUCKERVERTTY , CHATTERJEE Co LTD

15, Co l lege Squ a re,

1920 .

3 5 ‘ S lau zm aw a . rf’

Ceffx 2 . (ma :

PUBLI SHED BY

T . JOD H S I NGH,

m um , GARHW AL.

3 m 0 ?“W3

Pr in ter : S . C . MAJUMD AR ,

SR] GOURANGA PRES S ,

M i rz a p u r S t reet , C a lcu t t a .

DED I CHTED TO

E. Go udge, Esq. , O.B.E

W i t h t hebes t rega rds o f the a u tho r .

CONTENTS .

1 . PREFACE INTROD UCTORY NOTEII . GARHW AL-BHOT

I . Jo u rney from Josh imath to Bar iH ot i via K a l j a ba r Bar i H otiPlateau .

2 . R eturn v i a D a m j a ng Pass3 . Pau r i to Jet h a kh a rk return

Games to be found i n the snowymountains Pp . 40 -49 )

III . A LM ORA BHOT .

1 . A lmora to Me lam via Kapkot .Mu nsya r i , Garj i a road . Games

in the V i c in i ty . Johar people2 . Kapkot to Pindar i Glac ier via

D h a ku r i

3 . A lmora to Lohagha t v i a Cham

ph awa t

Jalna apple garden & ne ighbo u rh o o d

M o rna u l a way to Bh im t a lNain i ta l

Fair at D evidh u r a in honour ofBa r ah i Devi

5 1—67

68— 74

74- 1 2 1

M a ya wa t i E state . Ch a m ph a

wat—i ts people old bui ldi ngs including the renownedEkh a tyé. Naul a of the neighbo u rh o o d . W a y to Tanakpurfrom Ch a m ph a wa t Pum agir i Ma i 9 3

—1 1 3

Sui-B i su ng , the old Su ni tpu r ithe Lo h a ba t i r iver I 1 6—1 2 1

Lohaghat toGarby a ng v i a A skotKhe la 1 2 1—1 9 1

Pi thoragarh the old cantonment,

the M o sh tm a no , Ch a nd a g ,

A su rch u l a h i l l . D i rect wa y toA lmora v i a Nain i . Jhul a ghat ,the boundary p lace of N epal .F i sh i ngGh a t s in the R a m ga ng a ,A bodes of old Nags . Ekh a tyatemple . D h a jpea k the abodeof Jayanti goddess

A lmora—A skot d irect roadA skot , i ts people the wi ldmen (Ba nm a nu s)

Ga rj i ét water-t al l . Nepal Guardpost at Jo l j ib the j unction ofthe Kal i the Gor i r iver sa trade depot . DharchulaBhotiy a s ’ im po r t a n t t ra dedepot ,

L 3 ]

Tr a fii c Regi stration Clerk ’ shouse . . H

Khel a vi l lage . R oute lead ingto D a rm a Val ley . Sobl a deadlycave . A new lake B ina ikgod of Bhotias . D h a rm dwa r .

A . M . M i ss ion houses .

J ibt i to Chha t t a—N irp a n iyéCliff wi th B i sh a ngi r U dy a r

Ch h a r t a , Lam a r i Buddh icamping grounds . K a wa lekh

snowy mounta in . K h o sa ko t

r i dge

Garby a ng camping'

ground .

V iew of Loh um & M em j ingDh a r a s . A uthor ’s d ifli cu l ty i nre turn ing from C h h ip i Ch

hy a ku i pea k

Garbya ng to Y a skh a v i a Kaw a . .

A cave having human SkeletonsSource of Kal i r iver . Y a skh aBu gy a l . Bya s S a rowa r .

Kawa to Jul ing KongKawa i t s people and land theycult ivate . K u nko ng land ofthe vi l lage god . P a i z K /z z

'

n a‘

2 0 1—2 0 5a poi sonous p lant .Kuti Vi l lage wi th Ch h a k a

1 5 1— 1 60

1 6 1— 1 66

1 7 1—1 76

1 77—1 8 4

1 8 5—1 9 1

1 9 1—2 0 1

[ 4 ]

Kh a rsa ko t fortKyé z t i Mounta in PeaksJul i ng Kong plateau i t s ChhotaS a rowa r Chhota Kai la s

7 . Lebung La ngpya Passe s8 . Y a rkh é. to M a nsa rowa r Kai la s

via T a ka l a ko t martL ipu Lek Pass . T a ka l a ko t i tsOfii cers

K h o ch a rna t h monasteryKai l a s . Gaur i Udy a r the bi rthplace o f Ganeshj i the R a ka st a lM a nsa rowa r lakes

J a rm o h a r a mineral . H o t waterSpring gold mine . N i necaves by the M a nsa rowa r lake ,Old-sa lt borax mine s

I V BHOT CUSTOM S .

1 . D h o ra ng ( Funeral r i tes ) as ob

served in Patti By a ns2 . Do . Do . Ch a u da ns

3 . Marr iage

V . T ibetan Ma t r imonial Customs

VI . L iquor as prepared used in Bh ot

T ibe t T i betan martsV I I . T ibetan terms the ir Engli sh

2 2 0—2 3 6

2 2 6 - 2 3 1

2 3 2—2 3 6

2 67—2 70

2 70—2 79

E s 1

V III . Su mmary of p i lgr im route—Stagesfrom H ardwar to Ga ngo t t a r i ,Y a m no t t a r i , Kedarnath , Badr inath return via Ramnagar ,Kathgodam K o tedwa r Ra i lwa y terminus 2 80—2 8 9

Photos maps .

ILLUSTRA T IONS .

V . A . S towe l l Esq.

L . Chiranj i La l Sah , R a i SahibPandi t R a m Datt PantA skot R a jba r fam i lyT heGor i R iver ValleyJungle and suspension br idge

R ope-bridge wi th T a nku l a around waist,

over the Kal i near DharchulaTemple and Prayer-pole at Ch h a l ikh i n

‘ Patti ByansV i ew of Snow from ByansV iew of Snow from Byan s PattiA water-fal l i n the Kal i r iverV iew of roar ing and foaming Kal i r iverR ope br idge over the Kal i

-Kunwar J a ga t s ingh Pa l,Pol i tical Peshkar

at Garbyang

T ibetansT ibetan Yaks and Ju bo o sA glac ierPhoto taken o

.

u Z I S t Sept . , 1 9 1 6 at Lipu lekhpass by P . H . T i l lard E sq , E . E .

J a bo o carrying T ibetan wool downhi l l wayLipu lekh Pass to Y a rkh a , covered wi thsnow 1 2 to 1 8 inch deep

View from the top of the L ipu Pass

Jo ngpon of T a ka l a ko t and D aba , twobrothers and Kumar Kh a r a ks ingh Pal

Gurla Mandhata Snowy Mou nta ins

J ongpo n of T a ka l a ko t wi th h i s two sonsand Kumar Kharak S ingh Pal

T a ka l a ko t FortD ogpa s trading wi th Bhotias

Other s ide of T a ka l a ko t beyond Yangs i

Gul la from which M a nsa rowa r Lake i s firs tseen

Rakas T a l with Gwa ns ikeV i ew of Kai las Mountain from consi derabled i stance

M a nsa rowa r LakeM ixed T ibetan and Indian groupD h o r a ng a s observed in Ch a u da ns

J ongpons

2 2 0

PREFAC E .

Dur ing my tenure of Government service i n

t he Kum aun hi l ls I kept note s of place s in theH imalayas“ which I had occasi on to vi s i t e i therwhen pass ing from one stage to another or in myea r ly morning walks , with the object of embodyingthem later in ‘the form of a book which might beof use to travel le rs and offic ials , furn ish ing themwith info rm ation regard ing places and obj ectsof intere st and also of the manner s

,customs

,

l ife and character i stic s of the inha bi tants of t hemount ainous region s which a re assoc iated in

H indu rel ig ious trad i tion as the place where theR i sh is

,sages and saintly persons l ived of yore

a nd thought out the deepest problems of l ife .

These notes were made dur ing a period pf severa l

years and were fini shed about the time of conc l u s io n of the last settlement ope rat ions of A lmora .

D i str ict i n which I was engaged in the beginningof the present century as Supervisor of SurveyAmins , under Mr . J . E . Goudge , O. B . E . ,

I . C .S . ,

settlement officer . It i s to th i s noble officer,

o f whose ofli c i a l connexion with me I 1 retain ad eeply grateful memory, that I have the privi lege

u of ded ica ting t he book .

In 1 8 94, I, for the first t ime in the D i str ict ofGharwal to wh ich I belong , publ i shed a pamphletby the name of “N i ti-H oti ” i n Engl i sh

,descr ibing

a j ourney to “ Bar i-H oti which I undertook,

leading through the N i t i Pass, . and the present

i s my second h umble attempt on the same l inesdescr iptive of more extens ive trave ls over d ifferentparts of H imalayan regions undertaken , by mein the course of many years . I hope i t wi l l befound useful to travellers , tour i sts and pi lgr ims whovi s i t these outlying regions of the H imalayas as a

guide and source of information on var ioussubjects . I could not make time from my offi cialwork

'

to arrange and prepare the MSS . for thePress

,which were lying unattended for a long time

a nd the book might have been delayed from publ icat ion indefinitely but for the encouragement of

M r . V . A . S towel l , O. B . E . , I . C . , S . ,who

impressed upon me the desirabi l i ty of pr intingi t . Thi s made me hasten its pu bi ica t io n .

For th i s encouragement my revereh t i a l thanksa re due to h im with whom I wa s assoc iated inoffic ial l i fe dur ing h i s beneficent admini stration

a s Deputy Commiss ioner of Garhwal , whenthrough his exertions and wi se and benevolent

c ounse l a solution of the long vexed question of

impressed labour was found i n the di str ict a ndamong other beneficent works an Engl ish H i gh

.

‘School was establ ished , the first of i ts k ind inBr i tish Garhwal . My equal ly warm and respectfulthanks are due to Mr . P . W yndh am , O. B . E .

C . I . E . , I . C . S . ,for the kind encouragement

. rece ived at h i s inherently sympathetic hands .

My thanks are also due to the members of.the A dvaita A shrama M a ya va t i 1 who very kindlyh elped in the preparation , and arranged for the

p ublication , of the MSS and also to K . KharakS ingh

,Pal

,Deputy Col lector , P . Purna Nand

Samual, Overseer , P . Lokm a n i K u kret i at

Dharchula,and P . Mukand R a m D a bra l of

S ij a u l , my fr iends and compatr iots , for thei nformation suppl ied and assi sta nce renderedi n prepar ing and improving the matter of the.book .

Camp Devaprayag ,The 3 oth apr i l , 1 9 1 9 ,

JOdh S ingh , B . Neg i

I NTRODUCTORY NOTE .

My fr iend Thakur Jodh S ingh Neg i has doneme the honour to ask m e to wr i te a br ief int ro du cti on to h is book of H imalayan T ravels . S inceI first met h im , nearly 2 0 years ago

,I have watched

Thakur Jodh S ingh ’s progress wi th inter est, a nd

have had the pleasure of a ssi sting him on severa loccasions .

Beginning in a modest capac i ty i n a di str ictoffice , Jodh S i ngh has worked hi s way up by dintof sheer hard work and honest mer i t to h i s presentpos i tion of Settlement Officer of the T ehr i-Garhwal'

State,for wh ich he was se lected by Government .

Jodh S ingh has d i stingui shed himself in manybra nches of Government work . In the A lmoraSettlement he earned the highest prai se from theSettlement Officer . In extend ing the co -operativecred it system among the ignorant people of themalar ious Tarai tract

,he d id much remarkable

work . On one occasion h i s success was charac

ter i sed by the R egi strar of the Co -operative CreditSocieties as “ a perfectly marvel lous piece of work .

Jodh S ingh orig i nated the Cooly A gency System.

i n the h i l l s . Thi s system ,which i s now a wide

spread organi sation , has been of great benefit t o

the people Of the h i l l di str icts by substi tuting avoluntary organi sation for the system of forcedlabour , which i t has replaced at the various centre swhere agencies have been establ i shed .

Thakur Jodh S ingh i s a member of a wellknown Rajput fami ly of Patti A swa l syu n, Garhwal .The fami ly trace s i ts .descent from one KapurChand of the rul ing fami ly of one of the S imlaH i l l States . He migrated to Garhwal some 1 0

generations ago . Theori ginal fami ly sti l l holds asmall raj in the S imla H i l l States , a nd the irdescendants i n Garhwal have sti l l maintained the i rh igh caste posi tion .

Thakur Jodh S ingh 's book of H imalayanTravels wi l l be found m ost interest ing by al ltrave l ler s in the famous H imalayan tracts , wherethe great shr ines of Badr i . Nath , Kedar Nath and

Gangotr i are s i tuated . H is book , besides being aguide to var ious routes i n t hehi l ls , i s a reposi tory

of trad ition and information on all points of local

interest .Thakur Jodh S ingh is a close observer and a

di l i gent recorder of al l p icturesque scenes andmatter s of local interest at the var ious points whichhe vi si ted . H is vivi d descr iption of places such asthe N irpa n i a Cl iff, Taklakot , Kailas , and Man

sa rowa r are ful l of interest, whi le h i s recordsof local customs and tradi tions are ful l of value

a nd a ttra cti on to the student of ethno logy a nd

rel i g ious usages a nd cust oms . H is notes on such

points as the wi ld m en of A scot , the funeral r i tes

o f the Bhotiyas a nd T ibe ta n customs are deserving

o f the attention and study of al l who take moretha n a pass ing interest i n th i s branch of st u dy,a nd i t i s to be hoped that som e day Jodh S i nghm a y find time to compi le a separate and mo red etai led work on t hepeople and the customs a nd

tr a ditions o f these remote and l i t t le-vis i ted yet

wo nderful reg ions .

1 -5- 1 9 . V . A .

‘ STOW ELL .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

im a la y a n Tra vels

GHA RW A L BHOT

J o s h im u t h t o T a po b a n , 6 M i les .

2 9 1 12 A ug u sz‘

,1 8 9 0 .

T a po ba n t o S u r a i n T h o t a m , I OM i les .

3 0 1k A ug u st , 1 8 9 0 .

Between Jo sh im u t h i'eand T a poba n the road i seasy and good , excepti ng at a place named

D h a kch a ra which i s a dreadful one for passers-by . A

new route has been now opened to avoi d the Chara ,making the way a l i ttle c i rcui tous . T heonly th ingworthy of note i n the . vic in i ty of T a po b a n i s a

very hot-water springi‘ si tuated at a quarter of a m i lehigher up from T a poba n and a few paces down

J o sh im u t h eleva t ion feet , in Pa r g a nn a h

Pa inkh a nda , popu l a t i on in 1 8 8 1 wa s 572 . Th e win t erres idence o f t h e R a w a l o f B a dr in a t h . A ls o n a m edJ y o t erdh a m .

Jr N o t e

—Bes ides t h eTh erm a l Spr ing m en t i o ned , t h et em ple o f a Bh a v i sh y a B a dr i i s lo ca t ed nea r Ta po ba n .

Th ere a re fo u r ‘

sepa r a t e h o t Spr ings a t Ta p ob a n ,

t wo a bo u t a m i le a nd two a bo u t °

one qu a r t er o f a m i lefrom t h evi l l a geo f t h a t n a m e.

HIM ALA FA N TR A VE LS .

the publ i c road towards the D h a u l i i“ r iver . The

road thence to Surain Th o t a m i s a lmost level , wi tho nly nominal ascents and descents

,and i s carr ied

on e i ther s ide of the r iver crossed by br idges . Themounta ins on e i ther s ide of the road come downin steep but most beautifu l prec ip ices . There i s avi l lage , the Upper Suk i (M a l i a Suki) set up upon aseemingly inaccessible he ight , and vi l lages uponsimi lar heights are general ly seen here and there .

T her iver i s rather sloping , noi sy and often brokeni nto cataracts . The road almost of br idges for2 0 0 yards at Ch a ku r i Jabar , i s fearful .

S u r a i n Th o t a m t o J u m m a . 9 M i les .

A ug u st , 1 8 90 .

Between these places , a d istance of 9 mile s ,there i s no extens ive view to be had from the pass

(where the road i s) i n any direction . Just comingup from Su rain Th o t a m , l i e s the Na gpo t a Chara .

Opposite to i t, i s the Gurma Guar h i l l , veryh igh and prec ip i tous . A t a di stance of 2 mi le s i s

Pa ngra su ,and thence two mi les higher up l ies the

*D h a u l i—W es t ern D h a u l i o r W h i t er i ver , a pr inc ipa lt r i bu t a ry o f t h eA l a kna nda , r i ses near t he N it i Passa nd u ni t es w i t h t heV i sh nu G a ng a a t V ish nu Pr iy a g( nea r J osh im a t h ) .

y UM M A TO M A LA R I .

G ar i Godna crossed by a Then commencesthe well-known Gar i road . It leads so c lose by theDhaul i r iver bank , that the waters of i ts main bodyhea t the wal l of the road with very great forces .A lmost al l the r ivulets , that one passe s i n the way,which conta in but small volumes of water , andwhich , therefore , would be properly cal led Ga dr i a s«or Ga dhera s i n the lower countr ies , are unfordableowing to the ir slop ing course , the impetuos i ty ofthe ir current , and the p ierc ing coldness of the irwater . They are therefore crossed by temporarybr idges and sometimes pu cca ones . From th i splace in the upward j ourney, the luggage oftravellers i s more frequently carr ied by women ,wh o carry thei r loads with greater ease than the i rhusbands do .

J u m m a t o M a l a r i , 9 M i l es .

1 3 1 Sepfem ber , 1 8 9 0 .

A l i ttle h igher up from Jumma , the r iver Dhaul ii s crossed over by a br idge to the left bank . On arock , there i s an i nscr iption , In Sambat 1 8 94 ,

one A jab S ingh came to N i ti . ” Th i s l ike ly

11: S a nga —a br idge form ed of su ccess i ve l a yerso f t im bers , pr o ject ing beyond t h e lower , fr om ei t herb a nk t owa rds ea ch o t h er , in t h eform o f a n a r ch .

H I M / I LA I ’A N TR A VE LS .

i ndicates that there was no publ ic-road before tha ttime

,and A j ab S ingh who was the Jamadar

attached to the P . W . Department , had the roadlai d for the first time . R i ng i and Kaga vi l lages l i eoppositethe publ ic-road on the left of the Dhaul ir iver . Far o ff, th e D u na g i r mountai n and i tssurroundings are c learly vi s ible . The ir peaks a recovered with perpetual snow which presents apleasant view . A t the ir foot l ie s the D u na g i r

vi l lage , covered from view by the si de of a h i l lock .

Jumma has a scanty habi tation and cultivation .

whi le Ga rpa k , Fa g t i Jelum and Kosha,

success ively h igher up on both sides of the Dhaul ir iver

,are more or less inhabi ted and cultivated .

T he s ites of al l these vi l lages are equal ly terr ibleand precipi tous . Ma lar i* i s the most inhabi tedvi l lage

,having nearly 80 houses , some two and

others three-storied . There i s a good deal ofcultivation

,the land i s leve l and commands an

extensive Vi ew . T he scenery i s beautiful . Itseastern boundary i s marked by a mountain havinga snowy peak , at the foot of wh ich l i es a considerablylong but undulating plai n which i s used as pastureground (payer) between May and September for

M a l a r i i s s i t u a t ed i n t h e ea s t ern a ngle o f t r i a ngu l a r pl a t ea u , a bo u t 1% m i les br o a d , feet a bo vesea level , inh a b i t ed by

' t h e M a rch a cl a n o f Bh o t iya sbet ween 24t h M a y a nd 23 rd Sept em ber .

M A LA R ] TO BAM PA .

horse s and cattle Theworld seems quite changefrom here . Barley and wheat a re yet stand inggreen , and wil l be harvested wi th in a fortn ight atsome places and in three weeks at others . Cheenaand Buckwheat (Ph a pa r) and Kauni (red) crop alsoare not r ipe yet . A l l these grains wi ll be harvestedsimultaneously

,here wi th other places . The

. crop i s exceedingly good . The stalks of al lthese grains are stunted and much smaller thant hose in

,

the lower reg ions .

M a l a r i t o B a m p a , 5 M i les .

2 728 Septem ber , 1 8 9 0 .

From Malar i,pass ing through a tolerably pla in

ground of about half a mi le , the Dhaul i r iver i s.c rossed by a br idge or Sanga named Burans

,and

t he road hence i s carr ied along the r ight-handb ank

l

o t the r iver . A t a di stance of about two

m i les from Malar i , on the other side of the r iver l i ethe two vi l lages of K u rku t i and Maha rgaon . The

scenery here i s n ice and cultivation cons iderable.

Some two miles h igher up,there i s a Khampa

h abi tati on called Gu rgu t i , on the left bank of.the r iver Dhaul i , and nearly two mi les further

‘

u p i s s i tuated the Parki vi l lage . Its habi tation i s

p retty large and cultivation suffi c iently extens ive .

H I M / I LA FA N TR A VE LS .

Further ahead l ies the vi l lage of Bampa separated ’

from Parki by a large undulating plateau . The

former vi l lage i s a l i ttle large r and i ts cultivati on.i s proportionate ly extens ive The houses i nboth these vi llages (as i s usual in the Ghata) aremade more of wood than of stone

,and often two

and sometimes three storied . The wood does noteasi ly rot here , and therefore wooden houses andbr idges stand strong for a considerable period oftime. From Malar i upwards to Bampa the road ‘

leads alongside a very picturesque glen . The

Deodar trees grow abundantly all along the sidesof the glen reach ing right down to the r iver be low .

A t Bampa the Deodars a re no more in evidence .

Each plant found in regions h igher up from Malar ihas a di stinct smel l of i ts own and bears flowers ofd ifferent s i z es and colours wh ich give a var i egatedand pleas ing aspect to the verdure . Thecrows

(Ca rea t T ibet a na s) here are larger than those found"

lower down . Thei r cawing i s le ss noi sy and the ir

feathers are smoother .

B a m p a t o N i t i , 4 M i les (nea r ly ) .

gr d Septem éer , 1 8 9 0 .

From Bampa passing along a level road which

descends a l i ttle to cross by a spar-bridge the

6

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H IM A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

of the ir l ive l ihood from commerce with the Bhotiyas .

Thevolume of water of the Dhaul i r iver and otherglac ia l torrents swel ls in the advanced part of theday onaccount of the melting of t he neighbour ingsnows and shr ink cons iderably in the n ights andmornings , whi le lower down , at Sura in Th o t a m andT a poba n ; the volum e of waters i n the Dhaul i i sobserved to increase at night and decrease dur ingthe first part of theday . Thevi llages of the Dhaul ival ley are complete ly deserted from the m iddle

o f October to the middle of May, dur ing whichtime the country i s covered beneath deep snowsand the inhabi ta nts thereof migrate to loyver

place s i n Nagpur D a so l i and Tai l i Chandpur Patti s .From N i ti , a route leads to N i ti Pass , about 1 3miles h igher up . Thehalti ng places of Europeansportsmen on th i s way are pr inc ipal ly Ba m l a s ,

D a m j a ng and G a th ing . Look i ng upwards fromN i t i to the val ley the eye meets a perpetual snowymountain peak , which i s sa i d to be inaccess ib leand l i ttle frequented .

N i t i t o K a l a j a ba r . 6 M i les .

4 t h Septem ber , 1 8 90 .

From N i ti to Hoti there are four routes .the straightest and eas iest one i s sai d to be

8

N I T] TO KA LA j‘A BA R .

r by K a l a j a ba r or Chor H oti Pass ; but i t i s lessfrequented owing to danger from avalanches .Thenext route i s the one leading through D a m j a ngwhich is a l i ttle c i rcuitous and scarcely admits ofr id ing on po nies . The th ird i s that which leadsthrough G a th ing wh ich i s also reported to be veryci rcuitous and prec ip itous . There i s another anda fourth route

[

from Malar i which i s the shortestof all but i t i s di fficult and sometimes almostimpassable owing to a rivulet that has to be crossedat various places . Its waters be ing too cold andtoo much (occasionally) from the melting of snowswhich forms i ts orig in , makes ford ing very difficul t .T im a rsa in i s the halti ng ground near N i ti , nearlya mi le downwards and thence the route toK a l a j a ba r i s a merc i l e ss ascent of nearly half a mi le ,after wh ich i t passes over flat ground for} a shortd i stance , descending slowly again to cross the ShelShel stream over a Sa h ga . Taking a hard but shorta scent on the r ight bank of the stream (Shel-Shel) ,i t passes again over a tolerably fia t ground whichascends by imperceptible degrees . The trave l lersof foot suffer much d ifficul ty i n making the ascenton account of d ifficult breath ing , theeffect of thera r ified ai r of the atmosphere wh ich i s lookedupon by the local M a reba s as a sort of poison ;t hat affects every travel ler and special ly those who

9

H IM A LA FA N TR A VE LS .

vi s i t these parts for the first time . Even theM em bers are seen suffer ing from i ts effects i n

making the ascent, but not to such a degree as the '

Ganga r ies (as the people of the lower regions arecal led by those of the upper) . T he rar i ty of ai raffects al l travel lers i n these parts i n degrees moreor less as they are accustomed to walking i n theseroutes or not . K a l a j a ba r station i s not so windyas other halting places lower down in the route toSurain Th o t a m , mentioned before ; but i t i s muchcolder owing to i ts h i gher elevation . Its s i tuationamong h i lls on almost every s ide makes i t les swindy . There i s no habi tation here e i ther permanentor temporary , nor are there any traces of old

‘

sheds used by M a re/t a r .

K a l a j a ba r t o B a r i Ho t i , I OM i les .

5 t h Septem ber , 1 8 90 .

The route first begins with a h igh ascent a nd

as the steepness continues unabated for four mi le sup to the Dhura

,the suffer ing of our ca m pm en i n .

consequence of the tenui ty of the a ir , was great .They exper ienced verti go

,i ncreased palp i tation of

the heart, a ccel a ra ted resp i ration and extreme '

difficulty of breathi ng . H ear ing of the ir complaints ,I d i smounted and began to walk for m y

1 0

KA LA 7 2 1 3 21 1 3 TO B A R ! H OT] .

personal experience . Though I d id not walk in

quick paces,I began to fee l the same agonies . I fe l t

intense pain at the chest, and suffocation seemedthreatening at every step . Fear ing i l l consequences ,

or an eventual col lapse , i f I continued walking , Itook to my horse again and wi th some difficultygot to the Dhura summit . A l l our animals sufferedmore or less from the ra r ified air .

H ere there i s a heap of accumulated pebblesand a flag i s p i tched at i ts top , giving the name ofthe god Dhura . The M a re/ ms teach the pious .

trave l lers to offer piece s of snow to the god,and

further ask them to make offer ings of s i lver coinwhich they sa y , a re the i r dues . T here was somesnow on the southern side of the Dhura whi le thenorthern side conta ined

'

none . A l l down thedecl ivi ty that leads from Dhura to H oti , much snowwa s accumulated . to such an extent at place s so

that the route could not be made out for somedistance

,and i t was d ifficult wading through masses

of snow . From the Dhura the route i s a deepdecl ivi ty unti l i t ends at a place , where the Malar istream runs in a wide , level , dried-u p and beautifulcourse for a quarter of a mi le . T he waycontinues again in a very steep decl ine for nearlytwo miles , reaching a plain gen tly undulatingplateau up to Bar i H oti . There i s no habitation

( I

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

here or i n the vic inity for many miles together .A man cal led Sarj i i s stationed here from the BhotS tate . H is Pal was p itched near a pool , al ittle below the place , where we were encamped .

The offi ce of th i s man corresponds to that of a

Ch a u k ida r . He has to see that no fore igneri ntrudes upon the ir dominion

,and in case of

int ru i s io n , to re strai n h im from proceed ing furtheri f poss ible , and if the so ca l led intruder sti l l doesnot heed hi s restrai nt

,he i s author i sed to k i l l h im ,

otherwise he would h imse l f suffer the penal ty ofdeath at the hands of hi s government . I saw th i sSarj i , but as we could not understand each other

’slanguage , we had to take the h el p of a M a re/1 a

i nterpreter . The Sarj i was not an educated manand was unable to reply to a number of searchingquer ie s put to h im . He did not seem to knowmuch of h i s country or i ts manners and customs ,r i te s and laws at court . He sa id , he was serving asa

“ beg a n and every vi l lage had to send one Sarj ievery year

,and these S a rj is got no pay from the i r

government . T hey l ive on suppl ies from the i rown homes and from contr ibution extorted fromtradesmen such as the M a r c/ms , etc . The S a rj i

’

s

work i s also to col lect tax from J u h a r is , M a reba s

and K h a m pa s i n k ind or cash,two t im a sh is

per cen t . and one t im a sh i extra for every hear’ th .

I Z

KA LA f A BA R TO BA R ] 1 1 0 7 7 .

From the l i ttle that I cou ld draw out from th i sman

,i t appeared tha t there was al l anarchy and

no good government in that country, and theinhabitants were discontented with the ex i stinggovernment and were anxious for Br i ti sh rule.Bari H oti i s an extensive plateau wi th l i ttle

undulations here and there . Theview from herecommands a large sweep of the hi l l s and i t i sseparated from another more undulating andlarger platea u by a small stream , a confluent of theR im Khim stream (which takes the name of

Gherdo u nga t Malar i a nd along which there i s aroute from Malar i u p

‘

here) . These two plateaushave a beautiful scenery , the one covered withgreen verdure and the other having a red surface

,

and covers a radius of nearly ten mi les,r i s ing in

slow ascents to the h igher mounta in the west andthe south-west s ide s are bounded by snowy peaksnad over the rest of i t grows a k ind of gentle ,slender and stunted (scarcely rai sed above theground) grass , yie ld ing a good pasture for thecattle of Bhot merchants . For near ly seven monthsin the year

,al l the p lace i s coveredwi th deep snows

which begin to m elt early in May and do notaccumulate again ti l l the beginning of October .

Thec l imate of the place i s extreme and cold .

’

It i s wi ndy from 9 A .M . to 9 P .M . ,the wind coming

1 3

H IM A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

i n gusts wi th some cessation . It increases bydegrees and i s most violent from 4 P.M . to 7 P.M .

A fter sunset and before sunri se the cold i s veryintense . If a vessel i s fi l led wi th water at n ightand kept e i ther outs i de or with in a tent the wholeof the water i s fro z en

,and before sunri se you may

take out of i t a sol id lump of i ce . Thi s wi l l g ivea sufficient idea of the intense cold cl imate of theplace . From Sura in T h o t a m higher up , r ice i s notproperly cooked nor does i t taste wel l so breadand meat are the ch ief and favour i te articles offood of the people trave l l i ng , frequenting , andl iving in these tracts . Th e camping ground i s

certai nly large and beautiful , and had i t not beenfor i ts h igh elevation so as to be covered with snow

for most par t of the year , i t i s large enough to haveb een the best place sui ted for a cantonment s i te i nG arhwal and Kumaon . It stands at the j unctionof four routes , one leading to Sh ib Ch i l l a m ,

thesecond to Da pa , the thi rd to Malar i and the fourthto N i t i . The last has two different branches onerunning S . W . through Chor H oti , the straightest ,and the other N . W . through D a m j a ng , a l ittlec ircui tous .

The Bh o tyi a s have guns much resembl ing the’

one known as l a m e/z a r i n t he lower part of the

c ountry (Garhwal ) . These have a two-legged

I 4

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

THE RETURN

B a r i Ho t i t o D a m j a ng , 1 0 M i les .

7t b S eptem ber , 1 8 9 0 .

The route i s a long and undulating ground tobeg in wi th for a mi le , and takes an ascent of nearlyfour mi les , which i ncreases i ts r igour but decreasesas i t reaches the Marchak-Dhura . The sufferi ngsof the party from the tenui ty of ai r were as dur ing

the forward march . The southern s ide of theDhura i s covered wi th perpetual snow, whi le thenorthern s ide and the Dhura i tse lf were withoutsnow and wi thout grass . From the Dhura

,looking

towards the Bhot d irection the eye firs t catche ss ight of the Kai la s peak standing up on the east .R i ght i n front stretches a dreary pla in without shrub ,tree s and habi tations . Beyond i t l ies the Bhot State

,

qui te perce ivable from the Dhura . Descending afew steps the route leads through a ravine

,covered

with deep snow which i s slowly melting these days

forming water-cour ses at first and r ivulets lowerdown

,and continues through a deep stony d escent

of nearly four mi les and ends at D a m j a ng , a leve lplain of near ly a mi le i n c i rcumference , possessinga beautiful verdure . Theplain 1 s bounded on the

1 6

east by D a m j a ng , a snowy peak , on the north byN i t i Pass and on the south by Ba m l a s-Dhura whichalso conta i ns snow at places . Thecl imate o f

'

t hese

places i s very cold and frosty .

Considerable portions of snowy h i l l s are seenbroken by avalanches which by throwing th iermoraines are bui ld ing up new hi l locks lower downat a di stance . Theway all through i s stony, underwhich at most places water produced by snow runsmaking a rumbling noi se .

They sa y i t i s sometimes so very windy at o r

near the Dhura that stones and large p ieces of snoware blown o ff from thei r s i tes render i ng the wayvery dangerous for passers-by . But we had noopportuni ty for notic i ng such phenomenon a s i t wa sa clear day when we passed .

D a m j a ng t o N i t i , 8 M i les .

8 t h Septem ber , 1 8 9 0 .

Theroute begins wi th a h igh and prec ip i tousascent for a mi le , and then passing a leve l groundfor a short d i stance i t again ta kes a very high butshort ascent to Ba m l a s-Dhura , where there was al i tt le snow here and there . Thence the route takesa very bad and deep decl ine which ends at Ba m l a s

,

a camping ‘ ground and a tolerably level one . A gain

1 7

H I M HLA FA N R 'TA VE L S .

commences a horr ibly merc i less descent of abouts ix miles to N i t i . It i s certainly the most difficultroute for travel lers to go and come through

,but i s

supposed to be not so dangerous as the Chor H otio ne.

N i t i , 9t h Sep tem ber , 1 8 90.

H is found a t ions i s in t h eH o ly m oun t a in .

Ps a lm 8 7 t h a nd l s t .

Th es trengt h o f t heh i l ls i s H i s a ls o .

Ps a lm 95t h a nd 4t h .

Th em o u n t a in sh a ll br ing pea ce t o t h epeople a nd

t hel i t t leh i l ls by r igh t eou sness .

”

Psalm 72nd Ch a pt er a nd 3 rd verse.

Erem ou n t a in rea red t h eir fo rm s su bl im e,Or h ea ven a nd ea r t h in o rder s t o od ,Before t h ebir t h o f a nc ient t im e,Fr om ever l a s t ing t h o u a r t God .

To u s , 0 Lo rd , t h ewisdom gi veE a ch p a ss ing m om ent s o t o Spend ,Th a t we a t lengt h wi t h Th eem a y l i veW h ere l ife a nd bl i ss sh a l l never end . (Select ed .)

J . H . G . PA UR I , Garhwal .

Cheena t h ePa nicu m M i l l i a cu m .

Ph a p a r or Pa ph a r o r t he(Bh o t iya) i s t h eFa gopyru m .

Ta t a r icum (Engl ish na m eA m ar a nt h .)

K a u ni o r Set a r z‘

a h a l ted—I t al i a n m i l let .

Ceda r—Su pr a su s D eodar a .

1 8

D AM 7 21N G TO N I T] .

G a m s a l i vi lla ge i s feet a bovesea -level a nd i st het h ird l a rges t vi ll a gei n t h eBh o t iya M a h a l s . B a r ley,bu ckwh ea t a nd o a t s a recu l t i va t ed . Scent ed vio let -ir is ,bl u e a nd pu rple, yell ow , wh i t e, a nd red dog -r oses , wi ldc u rrent s a nd go oseberr ies a ret o

'

befo u nd a l l o ver t heva l ley a r ou nd G a m s a l i .Celes t i a l ba r ley—N a j a n—Ch im a s (Bh o t iya ) or

H ordeum H im a l a yense.

N i t i vi ll a ges i t u a t ed a t feet a bove sea level .Th e N i t i Pa ss t h ir t een m i les fa rt h er n o rt h i s

feet a bo ve sea -level . I t i s Open t o t r a ffi c from t h e

l a t t er p a r t o f J unet o m iddleo f Oct ober .H o t i i s feet .

Ch or i H o t i Pa ss feet .

A T im a sh z'

i s one-fift h o f a ru pee.

I n M r . C a t t en’

s c a m p in t h is vic in i t y, Oct ober 1 2 t h ,

t h erm om et er wa s 1 6°

in t h em orn ing a nd t h eeleva t iono f h i s ca m p feet .

W i ld h o rses—M a y bet h eKya ng o r wild a ss whichr o a m s in t r o ops o f t en t o t wen t y.

Fiya—Perh a ps M a rm o t s . Perh a ps H i l l Fo xK a i l a s—A pea k in H u ndes t o t h e nor t h o f t h e

M a ns a r ober L a ke. L a t . Long. eleva t ionfeet a bo vesea -level a nd a bou t feet a bove

t h elevel o f t h epl a in in wh ich i t i s s i t u a t ed in Tibet .To f a r H im a l a y s

’

sum m i t s flee,K a i l a s a t h ere t h ou wi l t beh o ld,A nd R i sh a bh wi t h h i s pea k o f go ld ,Bet ween t hem see a m ou nt ain r ises .

W h oseSplendour wil l ench a nt t h yFrom GR I FFI TH

’

S RA M AYA N .

I 9

H I J lI A LA PA N TR A VE L S .

Pa u r i t o K h i r s u , [Of M i les .

1 7t l l Septem ber ; 1 9 1 1 .

Theway i s almost level from Pauri to KathuliKhal and used by bul lock-carts for carrying fue lon the road as far a s Paur i for consumption there .

Mr . Pauw,Dy . Commissioner , opened th i s road fo r

ca 'rts,though i t i s sti l l not i n a condi tion qui te fit

for them . A t a d istance of nearly 4 miles fromPaur i l ies Buba-Khal

,

” probably so calledbecause of the steep ascent from the vi l lage Garhbelow by the old road . The name may also havereference to the word B u ba

’

b/zen t n a ,meaning

“ undergoing very great di fficul ty ”

. T he roadhere branches off in four d ifferen t

'

d irect i ons , v i z .

Pa idu l seo n , Kh irsu or K h a t syu n , A dhwa n i and

Paur i . A t about 1 3 mi les onwards l ies MandaKha l . Thename suggests that th i s p lace mighthave been used in former times for thresh ing

(Mandna ) grain by the tenants of the Gadol i E state .

The road h ere branches o ff to Ch opryu n o r

Ch ifa l gh a t . Then comes at nearly as muchd istance Kathul i Khal , lying above the b i g vi l lage ofthat name and next Go rkh i Khal about three mi le sonward , where the Sr inagar-M u sa ga l l i and thePaur i-K h irsu roads intersect . A short way towardsPaur i l ies a summer camping place amid oak

2 0

K H I R S U TO BH A I N S OR A .

tree's , known as R i sh iku nd . There i s a smal l spr ingof cool wa ter at th i s place . A bove Go rkh i Khali s the h igh peak cal led U lkh a ga rh i , wherethere i s a temple of a Devi of the same name .

'On another and a much h igher peak lying aboveR i sh iku nd are the ruins of an old fort . A t K h i rsu

the road to which i s first a smart ascent and thena descent

,there is a forest bungalow

,and a few

new bui ldings are be ing erected for a M i ddleVernacular School . Two Shops , beside s a Sarkar ione , have recently been started and some moreare in contemplation .

K h i r s u t o Bh a i ns o r a [ S t M i les .

1 8 t b Septem ber , 1 9 1 1 .

From K h irsu the way begins wi th an ascentand then i t is a success ion of ascents and descents .A bout 2 miles up i s a Cb a z mr z

'

cal led Gh a n iga dCh a u nr i , above the vi l lage of C h a l a nsyu n Pattiand then another Cba z mr z

'

cal led Gh a ndkh o l a

Ch a u nr i about a mi le further up . These Cb a u n r z'

s

are platforms generally erected by Doms in memoryof the ir deceased relations—a ceremony analogoust o the S r a a ’l z which these people do not observe

,

unl ike the B i t h s . From here the road is first ashort descent and then tolera bly leve l . There i s

2 1

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE LS .

only one place for drinking water fit for use duringsummer between Kh irsu and Bh a inso ra , v i z . at .

Ch a r ipa n i , a fa ir ly long way o ff the Cha'

r i woodenbungalow (Ch a u k ida r R ikhwa M a t h iga on) , about

5 miles from Kh irsu . The way then i s almost anunbroken ascent

,somewhere mi ld , and ‘ at other

places steep,and i t i s only about the end of the

march tha t the way i s a descent from Jh u ndo l ikh a l'

.

Bh a i ns o r a t o Pu ng a o n , 8 M i les .

1,9 t /z Septem ber , 1 9 1 1 .

A t th i s p lace (Bh a inso ra ) there i s a wooden forestbungalow

,erected in 1 8 9 1 , when Mr . J . S .

Campbell was Deputy Commiss ioner of Garhwal .It i s sa id to have been bui lt from the proceeds ofthe fine imposed on the people of the M a nya rsyu n

and Langur W al la vi l lages for cutting down theKati l trees . The camping place i s at Ga dya ga d

‘

and i t h a s taken i t s name from Bh a insora , t he

vi l lage above . It i s s i tuated between two streams,

i n a deep val ley between prec ip itous h i l ls,where

certain kinds , of game are procurable . The

Ch a u k ida r i s Deb S ingh of M . Syo l i . It i s adamp place where leeches abound in great numbers .

dur ing the ra ins . Pa nch m u i s the Pa dh a n ofBh a inso ra and G0 pa 1u Chaudhar i of Naula

2 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

T i lk a n i wooden bungalow, on a waste level plot ofland . There are two rooms wi th two bathroomsin i t but no outhouses . I t s Ch a u k ida r i s fromB i sa u n vi l lage , a few chains on the near s i de ofwh ich , i s a camping place cal led Gh a ndya l sa in .

A t T i lka n i Khal there i s a temporary pool ofwater . D i str ict officers encamp at th i s placesometimes , when they come for shooting in thej ungle around .

Pu ng a o n t o A d B a r i , 8 M i les ,Septem ber , 1 9 1 1 .

Theway first i s a deep descent which lessensgradually from near K i

‘

r sa l Dharamsala . A bout 3 -3

miles further l ies D eva lko t Mahadev, below Gyon l a dvi l lage

,near wh ich the Baret a nd Pindwa ln i

r ivulets are crossed by a l ong iwo o den bridge .

A bout a mi le onwards i s the camping place named

Nauna Khal , a l i a s Dhura Khal , in a commanding

p osi tion at the foot of the A l i vi l lage r idge .

T he way hence i s a descent down to thej unction of A t a ga d (A d Bar i s ide) and K a nswa ga d ,

where there i s another wooden br idge across theconfluent r ivulets . Thej unction i s calledD ewa lgh a t .

H ence the road branches o ff to A d Bar i and S iml i

v ia Chandpur Khal or Garh . H ere are the ruins of

2 4

P UN GA ON TO A D B A R ] .

the palace of the old Raja sti l l standing , and indicatesi ts old grandeur . Stone-work of the finest qual i tyi s sti l l to beseen here . Thecarvings on them farsurpass modern ones . Big trees such a s T u n andBhyu nl and other Katru shrubs have grown on thewal l s of the palace . There i s one Chauka of stone

placed near Kai la-peer Deota,where A t hwa r takes

p lace annual ly . P . Kishan Dut Josh i of Syan i ssai d to have taken a Chauka from here

,but returned

i t afterwards because of cer ta in bad dreams whichhe had on removing i t . On the other s ide of theA t a ga r at some di stance l ie s the S a lerwa r Mahadevtemple . It i s said that th i s temple and the palace arebui ld ings of the same per iod , and i t wa s agreed between theMahant and the Rajah that the foundationstones of both the bui ld ings should be la id at thesame moment . But the Rajah ordered constructionof the palace before that of the temple

,without

g iving notice to the Mahant, who , therefore , sa i di n a rage

, M a r /i i R a i f a l i Ga r /i i L i z a ! f a l i

meaning “ the temple wi l l stand whi le the fort wi l l

c ome down There i s another saying i n connection wi th th i s palace and i t i s that Topy a l onbi t apt a p Cba z m a

’

ay a l u ko r aj , meaning“ the res idents of

the vi l lage T op lost time in making preparationswhi le those of the vi l lage Chaunda got soverei gnty

to r .ra'

j TheTehri Rajahs are in th i s way sai d to

2 5

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

be the descendants of these Ch a u ndya l s . But th i s .

seems to be a mere heresay and has noth ing tocorroborate i t. It i s , however , true that the fortwas erected by Rajah K a na kpa l , the ancestor of t hepre sent Rajah of Tehri . It wa s i n Raj ah A j d i Pal ’st ime that the seat of R a j wa s sh ifted to Sr inagar .There i s an underground way from thi s fort to t he

A t a ga rh running directly be low ,through wh ich the

Ranees used to go to bathe in the r ivulet and watercould be fetched when the fort was beseiged by a n t

enemy . Its opening by the s ide of the r iver i ssti l l vi s ible

,as also the entrance from the fort .

Theway hence to A d Bar i i s leve l,the d i stance

being nearly a m i le .

A d B a r i t o K im o l i , 10 M i les .

2 1 s t Septem ber , 1 9 1 1 .

Theway i s first an easy leve l for about a m i leand then i t ascends gradual ly . Var ious plots ofland have been turned into i rr igated ones of lateon both sides of the K het iga r and shops have beenbui lt at places wh ich accommodate and sel lcommodities to the Badr inath p i lgr ims on the irreturn j ourney . The two big ' v i l i a ges of Khetiand Mals i i nhabi ted by Pa bi l a s stand j ust abovethe road . ThePa dh a n of the former vi l lage i s .

2 6

A D BA R ] TO K I M OL ] .

S i tabu , who i s a comparatively wel l-to-do man .

Hekeeps severa l goats and cattle . The Pa dh a n

of the latter i s Bh a jeru ,who too is a monied man

of the local i ty but not so much as the former .A row of shops j ust be low the D im d im a woodenbungalow h a s been pul led down on the report of theCircle Dy . Collector t h a t

‘

t hey stood too close to?

the road . Th eascent ends at Dewal i Khal nearly

sémiles o ff A d Bari . H ence the road ba rnches o ff

to Kimol i and Ga irsa in A bout a mi le fromDewal i Khal

,on the way to Ga irsa in , there i s a

swampy ground contain ing a smal l spr ing whi ch

i s cons idered the source of the R a m Ganga a nd

i s revered a s such . On the Kimol i branch , about1 %mi les o ff l ies a temple of Gh a ndya l Deota . A

st o u t'

iron chain i s wound round the trunk of atree wi th which , according to local tradi tion , atiger (Sher) i s supposed to be tied at ni ght by theGh a ndya l Deota , so that the an imal might not ki l lpeople in the neighbourhood and might also be ofuse to the dei ty for r id ing on . The way hence i s.

an unbroken descent for abou t 3 miles , down to

the camping ground , where the Ga irsa in road alsomeets by the si de of a ravine . The place i s verych i l l and windy to some extent . There i s no}

bungalow here and the vi l lage of Kimol i l ies a fewchains o ff on a higher ground northward .

H I M LA FA N TR A VE L S .

K im o l i t o K u lsa r i , M i les .

2 2 nd Sep tem ber , 1 9 1 1 .

Thecamping ground seems to have been somewhat curta i led by the extension ' of cultivation onthe a d joining land . But i t i s a fai r ly large one sti l l .T he two streams com ing down from Gh a ndya l

Deota ~ si de (Dewal i Khal way) and Ga i rsa in s i demeet be low the camping ground and are cal ledM a nj a n iga d and To r iga d respect ive ly . A denseo a k and Tel a nj jungle surrounds i t on al l s idesexcept the north

,where there are cul tivated lands

of the adjacent vi l lages . T he way from the camping ground i s a descent throughout for about 6mile s as far as Narain Bagar and crosses severa l

Ga dher a s across wh ich are temporary br i dges ofeb i r logs but by means of U tar ( impressed labour )under the management of the D i str i c t Board Suboverseer . A t the first cross ing there i s a cave fo rtravel lers to take she lter when overtaken by ashower of ra in and P a /z r i pa n (bete l leaves)abounds in the vic in i ty . The descent ends at theKyur Ga dher a ,

which i s crossed by e/z ir logs .

Narain Bagar i s about :1* mile from here . There i sa post offi ce and a sarkar i shop there bui l t on arock at the foot of which flows the Pindar r iverwhich i s crossed by a suspens ion br i dge . T he

road branches o ff to Bani Baga r , whence i t goes to

2 8

K UL SA R I TO CH I R A N GA .

Ghat and thence to Nand Prayag , to S iml i , .

A d Bari , K h u l sa r i and to Kimol i . Theway hence ,i . e. , from Narain Bagar i s quite level . There i s

a camping place be low Panti vi l lage , cal led PantiBagwan . There were several mango trees at th i s .

place , about 2 mi les further there are several watermi l l s on the road , which are worked by water fromthe Ga dhera , having the same name a s the vi l lage .

A bout another two m i les f u r t her on , l ies H armonivi l lage

,where the Patwar i keeps h i s Chauki .

Kulsar i camping place i s about three mi le s fromhere . Oppos i te , th i s p lace l ie s Su na o n vi l lage

,

where P . Ishwar i Datt Kanungo h a s a good neathouse . He h imself now l ives i n a new housewhich he bui l t on a r idge because of the prec ip ito’us nature of the former house . K a k

‘

a r t o l i vi l lage,

where P . Bidya Datt D im r i l ives and h a s a beautifulgarden of vegetable and flowers , i s j ust above thecamping place .

K u l s a r i t o C h i r a ng a , 9 M i les .

2 3 r d t o 2 4 t /z Septem ber , 1 9 1 1 .

Theway i s first leve l for mi le , then an ascentfor as much and after a short descent i t is level a s

far as Tharal i , which i s three mi le s d i stant .Onwards , too, as fa r as Chi ranga , the way i s almost

2 9

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

‘ level . There are some streams to be crossed byordinary wooden bridges , such as the one below

Ba ino l i vi l lage and another below Bija ipur .A bout 2 miles from Tharal i , below Ba ino l i , i s aplace cal led Ba ino l i Ba z ar ,

where the Lt .-Governor

and other officers lunch . There i s a spr ing neart hi s place , cal led Pa nch pa n i , which i s a restingplace for travel lers who are to be seen si tting a nd

smoking every now and again . From Chirangathe di stance to the N u ndkesa r i suspension br idgewould be about 2 mi les only , but for the circuitousn ess of the road for some distance on account of asl ip below, Gwa ldom , which makes i t about 3 miles ,a l l uphi l l walk from Chiranga . Mr . Nash h a s atea plantation here , a good bungalow to l ive i n andsome outhouses . Hegrows vegetablealso

,but in

a small quanti ty . on a r idge to the north-west . He

had a good e/z ir j ungle from which he h a s alreadysold wood worth about a lac of rupees to

.

t imbercontractors , who float the wood i n the Finder andthen in the A l a kn a nda or the Ganges , for carryingthem down to H ardwar . A t present the N a ndkesa r ibri dge being swept away and the new one beingn o t yet fini shed , the tra vel lers have to go to

T haral i and thence to N a ndkesa r i , a distance ofabout 1 4 mi les , instead of only five, which is theusual d istance from Gwa ldom to the latter place .

3 0

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H H IJ A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

subordinate officers . There i s plenty of grass and‘

firewood in the vic in i ty and the supply of water too ,

i s qui te c lose . The Pinder flows near by and theground i s al l waste . Serpents are said to abo u nd heredur ing summer and in September also though Isa w none when I passed through the place norduri ng my stay there on two occasions late ly . The

way leads onwards to the r ight bank of the Pinder .Between Koth i vi l lage and N a ndkesa r i there has .

been a great s l ip- land , which swept away thesuspension br idge and left the road i n a very badcondi tion . ThePubl ic W orks Department has notyet repa ireda i t and travel lers suffer in consequence .

A t N a ndkesa r i there are two good temples . One

i s dedicated to Nand Devi and the other to

M ir t u nj a i Mahadev . There are two outhouses , i nwh ich Fakirs l ive

,and a Dharamsala for trave llers .

A smal l orchard of plantains and other frui ts hasbeen grown in front of the temples . There aremany eb ir trees h igher up and a bi g cypress treestands in front . N a n a

’ means a bul l ,—M a h a dev’

s

conveyance,Kes a r i means l ion , which i s Pa rwa t i

’

s

conveyance so that gives the name of N a ndkesa r i .Pi lgr ims sacr ifice a buffalo here i n honour of NandDevi . A fter an ascent of about two furlongs, theway to D ewa l dh a r i s fair ly level . Purna vi l lage ,i nhabi ted mostly by Doms , l ies on the way, and i t

3 2

CH I R A N GA TO D E W A L .

wa s i n th i s vi l lage , that a fami ly of ei ght members

wa s drowned in a house dur ing a heavy ra infal l lastyear . Two boys , who l ived in a cowshed , and afew cattle only were saved . In the middle of thei rr i gated land of th i s vi l la ge

,and j ust below the

publ i c road,l i e s a smal l old temple of the N and

Devi . She i s said t o have been detained here i nher fl i ght from the pursui t a R akshas and therefore

,cursed the land never to grow wheat . The

camping place of Dewal l ies c lose by , below thepubl ic road . A shop h a s been bui l t qu i te c lose t oi t as wel l as to the road . One Moti Shah from

K‘

a tyu r seems to have Opened h i s shop in thehouse against the wi shes of - the ne ighbouringvi l lager s and wi thout obtain ing perm i ssm n of theD i str i ct Board .

ThePinder and the Ka i l , em a na t ing

l

'

from t he

snowy peaks of Nand Devi un i te j ust below th isplace . On the other s i de of the j oint stream l ie sa fair ly big vi l lage of D eo sa r i Pinder W a r Palaand between the two r ivers l ies the Talor vi l lage .

Kai l v i l lage of Pinda rp a r Patti l i es o n the r i ghtbank of the r iver of that name . There i s a Sanga

(temporary wooden br idge) over the Kai l near thevi l lage by which people cultivating lands on theother s i de of i t cross the r iver . There i s a spr ingof hot water near the j uncti on and a consecrated

3 3

H I M A LAFA N TR A VE L S .

seat of Mahadev (Bet a leshwa r) on the left bank o f

the Pindar . A temple in honour of the dei ty hasrecently been bui l t by Kesar S ingh

,a moneyed

man of M . W a l a nga ra . He has also planted a

smal l garden of frui t-trees and vegetable round thetemple .

Kedar Khand ends at the j unction of the Kai la nd Pindar . Pa dm a l a l ies i n Manas Khand andTalor i n Kedar Khand . They are Gharwal vi l lageso f the same Patti , Pindar Par . There i s a bigs tone between these vi l lages

,which conta ins an

image of serpent carved on i t . It i s cons idered astheboundary between Kedar Khand and ManasKhand .

Dewa l t o Lo h a j u ng , 8 M i les .

2 6 1 12 Septem ber , 1 9 1 1 .

Thewa y i s first a short descent and then leve l

a lmost as fa r as the Kai l vi l lage , which i s nearlyhalf a mi le o ff . T heway is then an ascent u p ' to

H a t vi l lage , and aga in leve l as far as Ga m r iga d

(half a mi le) , thence a m i le ascent , and again leve l

a s far as W a l a nga ra Ga dher a .which i s crossed by abr idge of logs , and thence an ascent as

‘ far as

Pi l khera Khal ( i n M . Lowa n i ) , where the pi lgr ims

t o Nand Devi hal t for the night and second buffalo

3 4

D E W A L TO 7 UN G .

s acrificed at the place in the name of the Nand.Devi . There are two temple-sheds at th is p lacec overed wi th slates . A fter a sharp descent

,fol lowed

by a mi ld ascent, the road passes the vi l lage ofLowa n i , whence there i s a smart descent toBh a u nr iga d . H i gh offi c ials such a s the L ieutenantGovernor , during thei r tour in these parts , lunch ata r idge up th i s place

,whence the way i s an

unbroken ascent throughout the march . Thevi l lage»o f M u no l i l ie s on the way about half a mi le lowerd own the camping place , cal led Lo h a j ung . A

Government a ided school has late ly been started inth i s vi l lage

,which is a fa ir ly big one with i ts many

hamlets . T he school house i s j ust by the road on. a r i dge

,where Indian gentlemen general ly encamp

i n order to avoid the strong wind of the campingplace higher up . This camping place of Lo h a j u ngi s a commanding r idge , qui te broad and leve l a ndextended enough to accommodate the p i tch ing ofseveral tents . From th is place there are footpaths

“ to Bheka l t a l , Ba ra m t a l , Ghes vi l lage and Jet h a kh a r a kv i a A l i Bu gya l , by which the h i l l ponies are dr ivento B ug l/a ls (pastures) dur ing the ra ins . A bout am i le eastward on the same ridge on a h igherelevation l ies A j a ndh a r , a tree le ss plateau coveredwi th slender grass . H ere al l the sheep and goatso n the i r return from the adj oin ing B a gy a ls (which

3 5

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

include Baidan i A l i , Kwanri , M on ikh a ra k , A na rpa n , .

K u ra m t o l i , Ba ra r t o l i , G int o l i , Gh u ngh o l a Ba gchyo ,

S a m ku ku r Swa gu n) are shorn of the ir wool andthen taken back to thei r respective B ugy a l s . T heytake about 5 or 6 days to be shorn in themonth ofSawan (July) .

Lo h a j u ng t o W a n , 9 M i les .

2 7t /z Septem ber , 1 9 1 1 .

Lo h a j u ng i s a beautiful camping ground on a .

commanding leve l r idge beyond M u ndo l i vi l lageand just overhead of Bank , which i s a hamlet ofthe former vi l lage . Theplace is so cal led becauseLo h a swa r Rakshas (Dai tya) was ki l led by Nand

Devi at th i s place . There i s a smal l temple of theDevi on th is r idge at the pass i tself. H ere theth ird buffalo i s k i l led when the big y a t r a (pi lgr image) wh ich takes place every twelfth year to thesnowy Nand Devi , passes th is place , Gwa ldomand far ‘

o ff M a rh a u l a mountain vi s ible from hereon a clear morning or evening . The B ug ya ls ofNawal i and Begich i above Ghes vi l lage are alsovi sible : Beyond Ba gich i l i e K het a ga r i , i nc ludingthe following group of vi l lages i . e. , Kheta proper ,H armal , Ch o t ing, Merkhet, N a l dh u ra , Oda r ,

L inga r i , and Chaur . Immediately eastward l ies A l i

3 6

1 0 1 1 4 7 11 1 11 0 TO W A N .

B u gya l , beyond which i s the Jet h a kh a ra k shoot in g

p lace . To the west i s the h i gh mounta in on wh ichl ie Ba r a m t a l and Bheka l t a l , or the D h u nga Bu gya l ,above Suptal One of the five great surveyfbo u nda ry pi l lar s , called Gargaj , i s s i tuated on theKhami l

,the h ighest peak in the D h u nga Bu gya l ,

the second p i l lar being on S i skh a n i mounta in aboveTurti , or boundary between Gharwal and A lmora ,a nd the rema ining 3 are at Ranigarh , Deba D h amik

(between K inga d i and B a nga rsyu n) and theM a ba ga rh ,

A jm ere.

Theway from the camping ground of Lo h a j u ngi s first a descent, then tole rably leve l and aga in adeep descent down to the D h a nga r i ravine , whichi s crossed by a smal l temporary wooden br idge .

H ence the way i s a mi ld descent, succeeded first‘by a leve l way and then by a descent down to ar ivulet

,cal led K a l ibhel , on both s ide s of wh ich

t here grow several b ig Saur ( t he) trees re sembl ingt hePa yan or Bh o jpa t r a . From A kh o r i ga d , which“

i s a short way onwards , the way i s an ascent a s far a sM og indh a r , where h igh o fli c i a l s lunch dur ing the irtours and whence the vi l lage of W a n and i ts

c amping place upwards are caught s ight of . Belowt hi s M o g indh a r j oin the N i l Ganga , a l i a s So l i ga d ,

emanating from Baidani B a gyal and the W a n

G a dhera . Koku ndh a r , beyond ' which i s Kanol in

3 7

H I M ALA FA N TR A VE L S .

M ala D a so l i , i s al so vi s ible from th i s p lace . T he

camping grou nd i s a fair ly spac ious and leve lwaste land conta in ing a few terraced fie lds . Thereare several big Sura in (Cypress) trees c lose to th i s .

place . M ogindh a r i s a damp place: There i s atemple of Lato D ewt a at the upper erid of t heground . A very big Deodar tree stands c lose t otemple , which i s 3 4 feet i n gi rth . It i s the onlyDeodar among so many kinds of trees i n t he

j ungle . The Nand Devi J a t ra passes th i s placeand the i ron image of the Lato D ewt a i s carr iedalongside of the palanquin of the Nand Devi ,which i s carr ied from th i s place by the W a nt

vi l lage people , who have got th i s pr ivi lege and’

rece ive offer ings from the pi lgr ims i n return for t heservices .

K oku ndh a r, mentioned above—cal led also

Kukina or K oka nt h a—i s a big r idge covered withRago and Kharo trees

,and i s about 2 miles u p

from the W a n vi l lage northward . A great portionof Patti Mala D a so l i i s vi s ible from here . Lod

camping place i s lower down about three mi le sfrom the r idge . It i s a portion of Kamol vi llageand the camping place i s »t herefo recal led after i t .Hence too the descent continues and the way firstcrosses the M a n iga d and then the joint streams o f

Na nda g in i and M a n i ga d by br idges of logs and”

3 8

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

horr ible . Heused to dr ink the mi lk of women ,whose ch i ldren he would ki l l . He was alwayssusp ic ious of h i s Dol i bearers and used to tie themup to hi s Doll by mak ing a hole in the ir neckbones so that they might not be able to throw himinto a precip ice wi thout endanger ing the ir ownl ive s . H is winter res idence wa s opposi teNand Kesar i , where , too , there are the remains ofan ol d fort extant to th i s day .

The last vi l lages of Mala D a so l i , eastwards , arePer i and S u t o l

,from whence Gh u ngu l i , the p lace

of worship of the Nand Devi,i s only a day ’s

j ourney . A bove these vi l lages are D h a ina u l i andBa lpa t a hi l ls , where Thar

,Jaras and Kastura

games are ava i lab le .

Thewestern h i l l of Kokina i s M u nya l T hau

germ-

f t the way to wh ich place i s fit for r id ing .

S hikar i gentlemen often encamp at th i s p lace onthe ir way from W a n , the di stance be ing . about6 mi les

,and make short marches in the mornings

a nd evenings to shoo t Thars , etc . i n the a djacentj ungles . Onecan only go to Ba r a m t a l , Bheka l t a la nd Mala D a so l i vi l lages (Bheti S i z a u r i ) from th isM u nya l Thau dur ing the summer and ra iny seasons .T he eastern portion of Lo h a j u ng , between thev i l lages of Bank

,northward , Suya , southward and

M u ncl i westward , is called A j a ndh a r . It[

i s a

40

L OH A y z/N G TO W A N .

t reele ss plateau of extens ive magni tude , slop ingdown to the Ka i l Ganga in the east in a narrowedge r idge . I t is covered by a fa ir ly dense j ungleof K h a rsu , Oa k , Tel a nj , Rhododendron andRwu ins . Cows

,buffaloes

,and goats of the

s urrounding vi llages gra z e here dur ing the rains .

Goats and sheep from the h igher B ugy a l s (snowypastures) are shorn here i n great numbers in about1 5 days

’ t ime .

Dyo S ingha D ewt a ’

s temple l ies i n about thecentre of the plateau . There i s a key in th i stemple , by which i t i s sa id a certai n D a n a (Dai tya)had excavated a spring i n Mau z a Mala Ba ndu n i .

He left i t there and went to l ive in T a t ra gh a r ,a bove Su t o l , of Patti Mala D a so l i , where there i sa big temple without an entrance . A great fa i rtakes place here on the B a isfia k/z z

'

P u r na m a sb z’ day

,

in wh ich several goats are sacr ificed . Kwanr i,

Patar Nachani , S i l i Samandar,W a n

Bu gya l , Ba ch a m, A l i , Ber ibu nga , Pa ndu l h a l ,

K h irka n, Ba ga ich i , Dungra Bu gya l , though di stant

and on different mounta in ranges,are vi s ible

from here .

.The story about Dyo S inh ga runs as fol lowsA certain woman wi th her young son went to

a Bandani block to weed Mandua . Theso n fe l tst h irsty

'

. Themother gave h im a Ta ’ l a ’ (key) to play

4 1

H I M A LA YA N TR A VELS.

wi th . Theboy scratched the ground of the dry

r idge and water came forth and wetted h i s c lothes .On the mother asking h im the reason

,he showed

her the spr ing . Thereupon he left the l d at t heA j a ndh a r , h i s Jh a ngu l i (j h o l i ) at Ch hepl a ( lower

’

plateau between A j a ndh a r and Lo h a j u ng) and wentaway to T a t ra gh a r , Themother bewai led h i s d isa ppea ra ncebut in a dream saw that the boy had becomea god . He also told h i s mother how he left h i s .

7 a’

l a’ and Jh a ngu l i at A j an and Ch hep l a .

W a n t o J et h a kh a r a k , 8 M i les .

2 8 1 1: Septem éer , 1 9 1 1 .

Theway r i se s upwards for about a mi le as far '

as the r i dge known as Ranakdhar . It i s so cal ledbecause R a nka wa r Dai tya (Demon) was ki l led by

Nand Devi at th i s place . Th e lower or easterlyportion of th i s r i dge abounds with t i ral and '

Sarau,whi le i n the upper . o r wester ly porti on

M u nya l s are found . It i s exceedingly pleasant andinspir i ng to stand or walk on th i s beautiful r i dge .

W estwards several B ug m ls are vi s ible . They a re

( I ) M u ny a l T/z a k, called after so many M u nya l

birds found there (2 ) K l z a m z’

l , where one can finda few Thars now and then dur ing the summermonths and (3 ) B a r a m fa l where no game i s found ,

4 2

W A N TO 7 1? TH A KHA R A K .

but where goat-herds wi th the ir goats encamp .

Eastwards are—(r) B a ida n i , where a few Thars and .

M u nya ls wi th Kaso , i ts male f a kr a s are found

( 2 ) T i t h a ng where f a kr a s and M u nya l s with Kaso ,

are often seen and (3 ) W ang Bhandar , which i s ,

north of Baidani . It i s sa id to be the granary ofsome de i ty and the vi l lage of W a n der ives i ts namefrom i t . R i ce husk , they sa y , i s found here and i ssai d to have been carr ied here on the back o f

'

Thars by gods . From Ranakdhar for a fewhundred yards the way i s qui te level , which thendescends down to a r ivulet called N i l Ganga , whencethere i s a steep a scent for nearly 3 mi les as far a sDaul i B ina ya k . H ence the way i s fai r ly easy as far

as J a t ru Pani , where the L i eutenant-Governorlunched . Pheasants are numerous i n th i s local i ty .

Theway hence i s a m i ld ascent , along the foot ofthe extensive Baidani B a gy a l (pasture) upto a shedknown as Ghanbar i Thence , or rather fromA b inda kh a ra k i t covers almost al l the remainingdi stance a descent broken by ‘ one or two smartascents .From that portion of Jet h a kh a ra k which i s

cal led Thar , the fol lowing peaks of the greatNand Devi « ( 2 ft . ) mountain are clear ly and !

beautifully vi s ible .

(J ) K a n lekh the easternmost peak beyond:

4 3

H I M A LA I ’A N TR A VE L S .

wh ich l ies the Pindar i glac ier and from the northernend of wh ich the Pindar i emanates eastwards and theKai l southwards . Thenorthern and higher snowymounta ins of K a n lekh seem united W i th theT irsu l i

, bu t they are s eparated by an undulatingva lley about a mi le in breadth .

(2 ) T irsu l i , so cal led because i t has three peaks'

ft . ) r ival l ing each otheri n the ir br i l l iancy and eminence . Further to thenorth are two high peaks , the h igher one of whichwhi ch i s al so the h ighest i n the local i ty i s cal ledNand Gh u ngt i ft . on account ofi ts resemblance to a vei l usual ly worn by the localwomen. A fourth peak

,which i s the lowest, l ies

between the T i rsu l i and the second of the twopeaks j ust mentioned . It looks more l ike a mound

(Dhaya) .

j ust below Jet h a kh a ra k l ies the vi l lage of Balan ,conta ining near ly 3 5 fami l ies . Its present Pa dh ani s Pan S ingh . Opposi te th i s , beyond the Kai lr iver

,l i e H im a n i

,conta ining 1 5 fami l i e s , with

Pa dh a n Madan , and Ghes with 40 fami l ies , and

Pa dh a ns—Dal i and Dhan S ingh .

A bove Ghes vi llage i s the bea'utiful evergreenpasture known as Ba g ich , Bu gya l , M a nyal i , Lung iand Jarao are found in num bers there . Local goatsand sheep gra z e there dur ing the hot weather and

44

W A N TO 7 5 TH A KH A R A K .

rains . Beyond i t i s Mala Dhanpur of the A lmora

D i s tr i ct .A bove H iman i l i e Dolan and M insingh Bu gya l s , .

where M u nya l s and Thars are found in the upperpart and “beyond the K u m a nga d northward i s theMundan Bu gya l and sti l l more to the north i sT angar Bu gya l y where, too, M u nya l s , Thars andK a st u ra s (Musk deer) are found in considerablenumbers . On th i s side of the Kai l , wi thinM . Balan , l ies the Bu gya l of Jogi Koth i ( afi fi f t )about wh ich the fol lowing story i s current .

A hawker caught seven hawks and wa s anx ious .

to catch the e ighth,which wa s most beautiful and

whi te as snow . Heat last managed to decoy him intoh i s meshes , when al l of a sudden in h is hut, i n

wh ich he had placed the seven hawks , caught fire

and was burnt to ashes together wi th the hawks .He then went away in d i sa pppo in tm en t applyingthe ashes of the hut on hi s forehead and taking theonly hawk that remained to the Tehr i Durbar

, .

i n order to make a pre sent of the bi rd . Themountof th i s occurrence was since cal led by i ts character i st ic name on account of the hawker ’s puttingon the ashes on h is forehead .

The next Bu gya l is known as Chhatr i Bagar ,where many M u nya l s , .Thars . and Fa kr a s, are found .

Next i s Kunwa r i , the lower portions of wh ich are

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE LS .

=called T i d ing , Ph u ldh u ra ,Moni and Jet h a kh a ra k,

where M u nya l s, Fa kra s , Lungi—the most beautifulof birds—and sometimes Thars also are found

.

Ba gich , Dolam , M u i , at M u t a nd and D h a u nd

“ascend to meet the K a i l a sh , while Jogi , Koti andChhatr i go up and meet the T i rsu l i .Beyond Kunwar i Bu gya l to the north l ies Kuram

“

Tol i B a gyal where people of Balan take thei r goatsand sheep for gra z ing . South of K u m a r t o l i are

‘ the two eleva ted mounts known as A nya l Rauni

(abode s of A nya l s) , z'

.e. goat tenders and Pa nch ko t i ,beyond which nor thward i s Baidani

,the wel l-known

Bu gya l for horses . Southward of Pa nch ko t i i s A l iBu gya l , whence a track goes from Mai D h u ngas hed

,also cal led Ch a u bh a r i ( i hwa by which

place the road passes to Jet h a kh a ra k . Ponie s aredi stinctly seen to be gra z i ng over the A l i Bu gya l ,from Thur Bu gya l (above Balan vi l lage) , fromwhich place I am wri ting my note s .From th i s Thur summit are vi s ib le Ranikhet ,

A lmora , Gwa ldom , K a nsa in and Nain i T a l h i l ls ona finec lear morning . The lower portion of the

A l i Bu gya l i s a dense forest of R aghu and Kharu ,cal led Talo Khobla Jungle (a a h l a w w e;

the abode of bears , leopards and j a ra o s (big deer) .

There i s no ingress to or egress from i t, nor anyt t ra ck whatever lead ing to i t from any s ide .

46

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA KA N TR A VE L S .

into the N i l Ganga below . There i s a S i la (flatstone) , o ver which i s erected a shed covered wi thslates . There must have been a deep pool i nolden times at t h i s pl a ce. The earth broughtdown by avalanches from above might havegradual ly fi l led and made i t shal low as i t stands .Megh a swa r Dai tya i s sai d to have been ki lled byNand Devi at th i s place and i t i s i n her h ono u rthat the spot i s considered holy and worsh ipped .

It i s known a s B a i z‘a r a n i and the pi lgr ims to thehigher and snowy abode of Nand Devi off er

P in a’

a s to the ir deceased there . From 2 5 to 60

goats are sacr ificed here annual ly,and th i s i s

known as Ch h o t t i Jat .Theway to the actual Nand Devi proceeds

hence along a h i l l s i de , v i a A nwal La u ndh a r andthen to Pa t ra na ch a r . T h enext pa r a o or stage i s ,v i a Kai lu B ina ya k , a big boulder , on wh ich p i lgr imsrub g /z ee. It i s be l ieved to have the effi c iency ofgranting a son to one who embraces i t , a mi lchcow to one who rubs g /z ee on i t, and gra in i nabundance to one who offers fr i ed gra in to the god .

Thenext stage i s S i l i Samandar , v i a Jyu ra ga l i a

da ngero u s'

pl a cewhere the W a n people enjoy theright to conduct p i lgrims a nd col lect a T im a s/z i perhead . Thepi lgr ims sleep at night i n a big cave atthe stage . A stream flows hence to Mala D a so l i o f

48

W A N TO 7 1? THA KH A R A R .

Gharwa l . The last stage i s known as Gu m gu l i ,which ‘

i s d irectly at the foo t of the T irsu l i , and

where a big P uj a i s offered , H a m i s performed andhundreds of goats are sacrificed in honour ofNand D evi .

2 91 12 Septem ber , 1 9 1 1 .

M i n S ingh,above H im n i vi llage

,i s ft .

i n eleva ti on . Running northwards , i t meets a snowypeak of which the e levati on i s feet . Goingdown by s lopes for som e di stance i t meets the mainsnowy peak of T i rsu l i and the e levation of whichi s ft . The T irsu l i mountain extendseastwards and j oins the main H imalayas a long wayo ff meeting the Nand Devi peak

,of wh i ch the

average e levat ion i s ft . Thi s chain ofNand Devi peaks i s not clearly vi s ible from theThur mounta in above Jeth a kh a r a k . On a sunnymorning the T i r su l i peak emi ts smoke- l ike fog .

Thevi l lagers of the ne i ghbourhood bel ieve thesmoke to be r i sing from the kitchen of thePandava brothers who survive there , according t othe local tradi t i on . W estward s of the T irsu l i

,a

long way o ff i s the snowy peak of the NandGh u ngt i Opposi te and in an eastward d irection o f

Iran i vi l lage,where the Nand r iver r i se s .

49

H IM ALA FA N TR A VE L S .

M o u z a Bh a go t i , (S i rgu r Pa t t i . )

3 0 t h Oct ober , 1 9 1 1 .

A bove the vi l lage of Bhagoti i s an old fort

(Garh) . It i s now‘

the temple of Guru Maharaj ”

Deota,by wh ich name the Patti i s cal led i . e. ,

S i rg a r In the vi l lage l ies the temple ofBh a gwa t i , after which the vi l lage i s named . Fromthe fort there i s a pathway for wa ter to the Pindar

G anga . A t about half the way there i s a pueca

N aula , the water of wh ich i s used by persons goingt here to fetch grass or fuel . Thevi l lagers worsh ipthe Guru Deota once every th ird year , and cookH a lwa and R ot i and partake of “them merr ily .

S ometimes the Patti people also j oin them . Before ,the Bh a gwa t i an A t l zwa r (sacrifice of e ight animals)and therefore also cal led A sbt ba l z

’

takes place everyth ird year . Peoples of other vi l lages used to makethe sacrifice before , but now i t i s confined to theBhagoti people only .

50

A LM ORA — BHOT .

A lm o r a t o T a ku l a , I 5 M i les .

The way to begin with i s qui te level up toN a ra ya n tya r iki Dewal . Thence i t a scends a l i ttlea nd again becomes level . A t K a lm a t i , four mi le sd i stant from A lm ora

,a sh0 p i s kept for the

convenience of travel lers . A t D inda p a n i , 2 m i lesfurther on

,there i s a bungalow and frui t garden ,

belonging to a cer tain E uropean gentlem a n . Fourmi les onwards there i s a nom i na l shop by the roads i de belonging to a ce rta in man o f Bh i t u l i wi thhardly anything fo r s a le th ere . Fo r another m i let heway con t i nues leve l . I t then descends sharp lyfor nearly two mi les

,a nd i s level for the re st of the

way . A few shops and a Dharamsala stand near astream flowing o f a mi le to thi s si de of the A lmoraTaluka Dak bungalow with i ts outhouse standingon a r idge to the left of the road . T o the r ights i de there i s a sh 0 p where a vi llage post office i sa lso located . There i s al so a Dharamsala at thep lace .

T a ku l a t o B a gheshwa r , 1 1 M i les .

Descending a few paces one has to cross as tream of coo l water by a wooden br i dge . On the

S I

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

other s ide of th i s stream the Forest Departmenthas erected a cottage for the use of i ts offic ials . The

wa y from here i s an ascent for nearly half a mi le andthen a descent for of a m i le . It i s then easy forsome di stance and aga i n a steep a scent up to . t he

D ewa ldh a r gate .

Dewa l dh a r i s a notable frui t garden lying to theleft of the publ ic road . It belongs to La la Chiranj i .

La l Sah . Th u l gh a rra , so n of L . Jai La l Sah , t he

latewel l-known trea surer of Kumaun . T hegarden .

yields del i c ious frui ts of vari ous kinds . There i s

a

h

bu nga l ow at i t s centre and two other houses . T hebungalow though not very large i s splendidlyfurni shed a nd notable European gent lemen haveoften stayed in

' i t a s guests of i ts respectable andhospi table owner . A house for keeping frui ts i swel l-bui l t at an airy place .

..The water- spout near

the house in the . centre i s beautiful and_very wel l

fi t ted for native gentlemen to bathe at . Roads inand round the garden are al lwe ll la id out . In short,every t h ing

i

i s so ' well arranged i n the garden thati t speaks h igh ly of the ingenui ty of the able owner .

Thegarden has two arch gates, bear ing i ts name ,one at the top of the ascent as mentioned aboveand the other

,a short way dOW n . From the first

gate the way i s a deep descent down to a streamcrossed by awooden br idge . The way hence i s

52

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I J I A LA YA N TR A VEL S .

Someshwar, the th ird to A lmora v i a Takula , t hefourth to M u nsga r i , v i a Nachani and MawaniDawani , the fifth to M u nsga r i and also Indari ,v i a Kapkot and the sixth to Berinag

, v i a Thal .

B a gh eshwa r t o K a pko t , 1 4 M i les .

The way leads along the r i ght bank of t heSarj u . A r i vi l lage of wh ich the houses arescattered a long the foot of a h i l l covered wi the/z ir tree s , l i es two mile s further . A nother mi leonwards l ie s the vi l lage called Daso

,which i s

s imi larly si tuated . A l i ttle way onwards a r ivuletcal led Va l iga d emanating from Katyar s ide , j oins

the Sarj u j ust a l i ttle way below i ts j unction withthe Gomti and i s crossed by a wooden bridge .

The j unction here i s known as Ba l igh a t , a spotnoted for i t s antiquar ian interests . Near the sixth »

mi le-stone i s a vi l lage , called A na rs , lying by theroadside and at the foot of a h i l l covered with vi z ir '

trees . A stream flows between the main vi l lageand i ts cowsheds . The land below both i s good

"and ferti le . Near the 7 t h mile-stone anotherr ivulet cons iderably large , com ing down fromwest

,i s crossed by a wooden bridge . H ere l ies

H arsi l vi l lage , s i tuated simi lar ly to the neighbouring vi l lages . By the side of th i s r ivule t and below

54

B A GHE SH W A R TO KA PK OT .

the vi l lage i s a camping ground for officers o n

tour and travel lers when making slow marches .There i s no shop here , nor i s there any house tol ive in . The way from Ba gheshwa r to Kapkot i slevel al l along wi th a s low gradient

,along the bank

of the roar ing Sarj u and intersected by variousrippl ing r ivulets which come down from the lefts ide

,at place s c lothed with th ick verdure

,to

mingle the ir waters wi th the Sarj u .

A t the Kapkot camping ground there i s a Dakbungalow and a D h a rm a sa l a . Two large Pipal tree saround which a spac ious platform i s erected andwhich stand close to the bungalow have cons iderablyimproved the si te of the Dak bungalow . These tree sstand so close together that they at first sightappear to be one and the same tree . A th i rda Jaman tree has grown out of the Pipal trees .

The large vi l la ge of Kapkot i s a l i ttle wayabove the road . The scenery here i s pleasant andcommands an extensive view . On the left s ide ofthe road near the Dak bungalow l ive two missionar ie s of the London M i ss ion Society in a houserecently bui lt by them . Thecl imate of the placeduring the rains i s not very healthy .

The Sarkar i Bania keeps a shop in theDharamsala

,as h i s servi ces are required by

travellers staying in the bungalow . He has been

55

H I AI A LA PA N TR A VE L S .

given a piece of waste land outs ide the Dakbungalow compound to bui ld hi s shop on .

K a pko t t o S a i n a , I l a M i les .

TheSarj u i s crossed by a suspens ion br idge ata distance of a bout half a mi le from th i s pla ce .

There are two water-mi l l s above thi s place ,belonging to Kapkot people . They are conductedby a water channel cut from the Belung r ivuletemanating from Po t h ing s i de (westward ) , alarge vi l lage on a n eminence .

Oppos i te the 4 rs t mi le- stone (from A lmora) ,beyond the Sarj u , there i s a large cave cal led

D o t i l Udya r It i s capacious enough to holdabout 3 0 0 men . It i s used by Melam goa ts , dur ingwinter

. The Melam people have bui lt a pu cca

hou se for dwel l ing , close by i t .

The wa y‘ from here i s tolerably easy . A t

Khar Bagar,which isabout three mi les from Kapkot ,

the road divides i tself i nto two branches , oneleading to the Pindar i glacier and t he

'

o t her to

M u nsga r i . T hemarches to Pindar i are

( 1 ) Lwa rkhet ,'

9 miles from Kapkot .

( 2 ) D h a ku r i , 6 mi les .

( 3 ) Khati , 5 mi les .

(4) Dewali , 7 mi le s .

I (5) Ph u rki a , 3 miles , -whence the Pindar i

g lacier i s near ly 3 miles .There are Dak bungalows at every stage in th i s

s i de . (For particulars regard ing these stages se eelsewhere ) .Of the way to T i j a m a

,from Khar Bagar to H a r

S ingh ia Bagar,or rather Sai na Dhura

,has a

“

t olerably easy slope . T hen commences an ascent ,which conti nues to the same camping ground andends at the Sa i na Dhura a l i ttle way upwards .

Thevi l lage of Saina i s s i tuated 1 0 mile s o ff

Kapkot . On the road to the left, near the vi l lage ,there stands a house belongi ng to a Bhotiya . The

c amping ground of Saina i s h igher up the vi l lage ,nea r ly ré miles onwards and above Bhains Khal ,lagga of M . Saina . The camping ground i s

« e levated , cool a nd often windy . A stream of coolwater flows near by and there i s a dense forest of

o o a k , etc . , eastwards on a h igh hi ll .

S a i n a t o T a j u m , 8 Mi les .

T heway first beg ins wi th a l i ttle ascent , theni t i s level for a ,sh o r t di stance and again makes ad eep descent to the suspens ion br idge , cal ledR a m a r i Pull , for about s mi les . From here to{ T a j u m the way i s level for near ly a mi le . There

57

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

i s a Dharamsala at the T a j u m camping ground fo rtravellers to l ive in . It i s a pretty big plateau

between the r ivers Jakula and R a m G anga,wh ich

meet below i t . '

Thevi l lage of T a j u m l i es h igherup and further to the east . Some of the leadingBhotiyas of Melam , of whom Man i Budha of ol d .

and Kishen S i ngh,R . B . of later renown may be*

mentioned , cal led M i lm wa l s , l ive here and havefair ly big houses for the ir winter residence . They

leave them in A pri l and stay at M u nsya r i , wherealso they have pu cca houses , for nearly two '

months before going up to Melam .

T a j u m t o G i r g a u n .

“

I f M i les .

Theway i s leve l for the most part, along thebank of the Jakula r iver . Th ere

'

a reKwiti andother Bhot iya vi l lages by the roads ide . FromPu rda m bridge over the Jakula Nadi , the way is asteep ascent to G irga u n vi llage , or the campingground below i t . It i s a cool and windy place .

The vi l lage i s occupied by tenants under t he

Bhotiyas,who themselves do not general ly ti l l land

but trade al l the year round .

G i r g a u n t o M u nsy a r i , 1 0 M i les .

T heway i s first a steep ascent for four mi les . .

It i s then an easy slope to the Betul i Ga dhera .

58

GI R GA UN TO M UN -SPA R ] .

whence there i s again a n ascent for half a mi le to

Betul i Dhura . It is again a deep descent to theBhel a d i Ga dhera , whence the way slopes sti l ldownwards to Le lam vi l lage , i n which there i s a bighouse belonging to one Mani Budha

,a M i lm wa l ,

and also to R a n t h i more widely known by the nameof M u nsya r i . There I S a Dharamsala at th i s placeand a branch post offi ce i s also close by

,in a shop

owned by Sohan S ingh . Thi s p lace i s of amoderate temperature and has a good view . A boveth i s place a hospi ta l assi stant and a preacherbelonging to the London M i ss i on l ive and havebui l t the i r house on a commanding r idge wi th inM . j altha .

From M u nsya r i a road branches o ff to Garj i a ,

3 miles below A skot, on the way to Dharchula , aftercrossing the Gor i by a wooden br idge near M a dko t ,

which i s a Bhotiya vi l lage about 5 mi les d i stant .The road then leads along the left bank of ther iver

,v i a the Bhotiya vi llage of Mawani Dawani ,

at a di stance of 6 miles , Ba na khet or Tol i , 7 or 8miles

,respectively

,and Garj ia belonging to the

R a jba r of A skot , where there i s an i ron suspensionbridge over the r iver Gori . Thewhole journey of2 3

‘

miles i s qui te easy . 7 a ry a , b i r a r , K a ka r andbears are found in numbers above the road and inthe denser j ungle on the other si de of the r iver .

59

H I M A LA I ’A N TR A VE L S .

R a nt h i (M u nsy a r i ) t o B i n , 5 M i les .

The way i s first tolerably slop ing and thens omewhere leve l and at other place s ascending -o r

descending . A bout 4 mi les from M u nsya r i ther ivulet cal led Gh a tga r , i ssuing from Pata Dhura ,n orth of P0 10 and j a im i a vi l lage s , is crossed by awooden br idge . A l i ttle way further on l ives aregistration M o h a rr i r . who keeps accou nts of thebeasts of burden and commodities , imported andexported by Bhotiyas . Bin vi l lage l ies on the leftbank of the Gor i r iver . Below the vi l lage i s thecamping ground where there are 3 D h a ra m sa l a s .

TheGori r iver i s crossed by a wooden br idge toreach Bin and the road at th i s place leads throughr ocks for about a chain .

B i n t o B a gu dy a r , 7 M i les .

Theway is leve l , but l ie s a long the s ides of

p rec ip i tous hi lls . It first leads along the left banko f the Gor i for about 1 %miles up to the p lacecalled Bh a rpa t i a where the r iver i s crossed by awooden br idge . T he way now leads along ther ight bank of the r iver and i s easy walking . A t ad i stance of another mi le the r iver i s crossed by

[

awooden br idge cal led D h a ngs i a . Theway now i s

very prec ip i tous and n arrow. A recent land sl ip

60

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE LS .

partially west the passers-by . The way i s nowpretty level up to R i lko t

, a vi l lage -o f 1 5 or 1 6

fami l ie s . There i s a Dharamsala here,but

travel lers encamp on the vi l lage fields .

R i lko t t o M a l p a , 5 M i les .

T heway from R i lko t i s easy for about 4 mi lespassing over a mountain s ide . Martol i vi l lageintervenes midway in a val ley . It i s a large vi l lage

,

second only to Melam . There i s a bungalow

cal led Mangula D h u nga at a distance of four mi lesfrom R i lko t s ide . It belongs to the London M i ss ionand i s occupied by ladies attached to the M i ss ionand their attendants dur ing summer and the rains .

Malpa vi l lage i s only a l i ttle way hence and sl ightlyabove i t .

M a l p a t o Mel a m , 6 M i les .

Crossing the Gor i by a wooden bri dge the wayleads be low Bh u rpi Mala and Tala , the two largevi l lages , i nhabi ted by Bhotiyas known as Bu rph a l s ,a nd i s fa ir ly easy up to Me lam . A l i ttle inco nvenience, however , i s experienced in walking

,

particularly on the ascents , from R i lko t to Me lam,

on account of the tenui ty of air .Melam i s the largest vi l lage in the val ley .

6 2

M ALPA TO M E LAM .

A bout 40 0 fami l ie s of Bhotiyas l ive here from Mayto September . There i s no Dak bungalow orDharamsala here

,only the London M i s sion has a

bungalow and outhous'

es by the roadside .

T heroute to T ibet i s four days ’ j ourney fromhere . It i s the most d ifficult of al l route s to T ibet ,of which the easiest i s that v i a Byans val ley .

Martol i,the next b iggest vi l lage of the Bhotiyas , l ies

-4 miles lower down on the way to Melam , whencethere i s a di rect and shorter track to N i ti i nG harwal , but i t i s se ldom used because i t i snarrow and winds over precip i tous rocks andavalanches or r ivulets Springing there from .

The Melam val ley i s inhabited‘

by peopleb ear ing the gener i c name of j o h a r i s , which seemsto be der ived from f ofia r i , the Patti and Pa rga na h

which i t compr i ses . They are subdivi ded intocastes known by the names of vi l lages they inhabi t .There are D a m s ( low caste menials) also amongthem , as in the lower parts of the Kumaon hi l ls ,who work as tai lors

,trumpeters

,carpenters

,

blacksmiths , oi lmen , etc . Shauka (Soka) i s ageneral name appl ied to al l the Bhotiyas whether of

j ohar or Darma , which latter inc ludes Byans and

Ch a u da ns mentioned elsewhere . Thei r featuresgreatly resemble those of the T ibetans

,

though the latter look phys ical ly stouter and taller

6 3

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

T he main divi s ions of the Bhotiyas of Mana and’

N i ti val leys i n Gharwal are M a reba s and To lefz a s ~

which divi s ions are now denied , nay, d iscarded inpractice in th i s part , though they are extent to th i sday . T hej o h a r i s of the higher c lass con ti nue tointermarry wi th the avowed M a rei z a s a nd:

To lefz a s of Mana and N i ti , bes ides amongthem se lve s . Both claim to have been or ig inal lynot d ifferent i n stock from the H indus of the lowerregions , which i s quite poss ible though the generalbel ief i s that al l the Bhotiyas are of T ibetan or ig in .

The fact of the ir be ing considered as almostuntou chables by the H i ndus of the lower h i l ls maybe due to their practi ce of d ini ng with the T ibetans ,with whom trade i s impossible otherwi se . It i s truethey wear no

~7‘a nea (sacred thread) but th i s i s no .

i nsurmountable barr ier to the ir be ing cons ideredH i ndus

,for there are some tribes lower down , too,

who do the same and are nevertheless consideredas H in dus , though of a lower status than theyactual ly a re. If the Bhotiyas had at any t imebelonged to a h igher caste than the lower h i l l peopleto which only a l imi ted few lay their pretensions

,

then i t i s probable they might have done away withthe prerogati ve of putting on the sacred thread onaccount of the ir having to dine wi th the T ibetansin the interests of trade and for the r igours of t he

64

c l ime which they have to pass the greater part ofthe ir l ife . There i s now a strong tendency a mongthe Johar Bhotiyas to adopt the orthodox Brahman ica l r ights of the lower h i l ls and some have a lrea dybegun putting on Cfi a n a ’a n (sa ndlepaste) on the i rforeheads and read H i ndu re l i gious books afterbath ing

,at least when l ivi ng i n the ir winter

res idences . Th is i s sa i d to have come into voguesince one or two of the h igher c lass Bhotiyasembraced ‘ Chr i stiani ty and separated from the i rki th and kin for good .

The j o h a r is consider themselves h igher i n castethan the D a rm i s , but the latter repud iate the idea .

and sa y that t h ey'

bo t h have come down from t he

same ancestry and observed the same ri tes,marr iage

and funeral not more than two or three decadesago . Th is i s borne out by independent publ i copinion and there ‘ are yet severa l persons l ivingwho profess to have witnessed them both observingthe same ri tuals . There has however been of latea great improvement among the j o h a r i s so far aseducation . a nd conformation to the orthodoxBra h m ia n ica l r i tes of the h i l l H i ndus are concerned .

The R a ngba ng and D h o r a ng r i tes , sti l l r ife inDarma

,are seldom observable i n j ohar , though:

T ibetan gods are worsh ipped in the old way by thelatter people

“

also,apparently on account of the ir

65

HIM ALA FA N TR A VE L S .

trade under the ir ausp ices . There have been somepersons of note among the Jo h a r is , of whom NainS i ngh , the T ibetan explorer and KishenS ingh (now) Rawat, R . B . ,

head the l i st . Darma ,though better o ff as regards wealth

,unfortunate ly

.lags far beh ind in respect of refined ideas ands ocial r ites .

The tra d ing capac i ty of both i s proved by the

m arvel lously courageous way in which they haveproved a match for the c l imatic r igours of thefrontier and beyond , but the Joh a r i s as a

' rule arenot so affable as the i r bret hern e lsewhere , andi nvar iably demand exorb i tant pr ices for art ic les of

s ale , compared with the latter . Thepractice of

d emanding at first double or tr ip le the actua l price

a nd then higgl ing down is proverb ial among both .

The ir dialect i s also identica l . They both general lyaffix S ingh to thei r names but i t i s doubtful

whether the pract ice i s anc ient or a recent innovat ion

,which latte r i s no unusual th ing to a student

of the h i story of the Kumaun h i l l tr ibes and theconverts therefrom . But if i t be the former

,as

the i r tra its of phys ical hard i hood favour , i t goes along way to show that the people are not onlyH indus but Raj puts , ak i n to those found in thei rown neighbourhood and in the lower b i l l s or tothose who in olden times migrated to T ibet

66

M A LPA TO M E LAM .

f rom Central A sia . From what I have personal lyseen of the Bhotiyas and t heirwo m en fo lk, I th inkthe i r forti tude and int reped i ty i n keeping the trademonopoly over such tremendously difficult regionsand the ir active habi ts l ike those of del igen t lysp inning wool whi le carrying loads and driving anumber of s imi larly laden goats , sheep andother animals over fearful prec ip ices , are fine

i nstances of Rajput qua l i t ie s . So I am incl i ned tobel ieve that they are H i ndus , e i ther R aj puts or anall ied branch of them or Vai syas , rather than any

vo t her people .

67

PI N D A R I GLA C I ER ROUTE.

K a pko t t o Lo h a rkhet , 9 M i les .

Theway to Loharkhet (Lwa rkhet ) branches o ff

at K h a rB a ga r , which i s three mi le s from Kapkot .The j ourney i s not specia l ly attractive . The roadmainly l ie s through vi l lages and h i l locks wh ich arene i ther consp icuous in themselves nor do theycommand impos ing and cheer ing views . On

reaching Loharkhet, which i s s i tuated at the footo f the ascent , the tour i st leaves the banks of theroar ing Sarj u and girds h is loin s to make the steepascent of about five mi les (from below thecamping place) for h i s next march . Theair here

seems to be cool and refresh ing and consequentlythe fear of malar ial fever in A ugust or September:when there i s no lack of i t in the Sarj u val leybe low

,vani she s henceforward . TheDak bungalow

i s s i tuated on a r idge on both s ides of wh ich flowtwo streams

,amid some oak and wi ld chestnut

trees .

Lo h a rkhet t o B h a ku r i , 6 M i les .

Th i s stage of si x mi les , though a trying one i n.

so fa r as the steep ascent up to D h a ku r ikh a n a nd

68

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

digestive properties . So dyspeptics may come .

n ient ly leave their ph ials and pi l l boxes beh ind andlook to the stock of the ir provi s ions instead .

Bh a ku r i t o K h a t i , 5 M i les .

Th is stage of 5 mi les i s tolerably leve l al l alongexcept for the first two ' mile s where the travel lerhas to descend the valley of the Surag . Thereare a few imposing waterfal l s . Though thereare th ickets in d iff erent places , yet they are notso dense a s i n the last stage . TheDak bungalowi s s i tuated in the vic ini ty of the small vi l lage ofKhati

,which l ies i n the Pindar val ley and i s a

much warmer place and grows Barley, Ph a pa r andChua abundantly and Mandwa spar ingly . M u n i a l

,

D a fia Lungi , Pheasants and Thars are found in thej ungle and in the h igher prec ip ices ‘of the Vic i n i tyof D h a ku r i .

K h a t i t o Dwa l i , 7 M i les .

Thi s stage of 7 mi les , al l fai r ly level , i s t hemost beautiful and pleasant march , s ince i t cheersthe travel ler s in so many different ways and offersa thousand curi osi t ies to an observing eye . The

way which i s general ly shady l ies through dense

70

D W A L ] TO PH UR K I A .

th ickets . Some of the h i l ls r i se abruptly, whi lethe trees j utting out at r ight angles and thewaterfall s pour ing forth their s i lvery water affordextremely p icture sque s ights . T he eyes seldomti re see ing hundreds - o f foamy streams rush ingdown the si des of the h i l l s . Th e glory of thedashing wa ters of the Pindar i s most beautiful , themi ld rays of the sun playing among the sprays andproducing splendid rainbow colours which r ivalthe work of a tra ined arti st . Dwal i Dak bungalowh a s a co lder c l imate than that of Khati and i s

s i tuated at the j unction of the Pindar and thePa nkh u a k iga r .

Dwa l i t o Ph u rki a , 3 M i les .

Though i t i s a march of three mi les only, i t i snone the less fa tiguing . T heascent i s gradual andnearly imperceptible . The sense of wear inesswhich overtakes the travel ler i s probably due to therari ty of the air here . In a few places there arepatches of uniform herbage wi th blue and yel lowflowers on them which may wel l betermed thecarpets of nature . TheDak bungalow here standsat the foot of a h igh rock . W i ld straw-berr iesgrow in abundance in the vic in i ty during A ugustand September . Game too , i s found here as in theD h a ku r i ne ighbourhood .

7 1

H I M A LAFA N TR AVE LS .

Ph u rki a t o t hePind a r i G l a c ier . 5 M i les .

From Ph u rk i a to the glac ier , the way i s prettylevel

,ascending almost imperceptibly . The local

people count the distance to be 3 mi les but to atraveller unaccustomed to such he ights , i t seemshardly less than 5 mi les, the rari ty of the a i rmaking movement very tiresome and d ifficult .S i lvery streams do not yet leave the travel ler

,and

the scenery i s var ied . N ow the traveller meetswi th barren hi l l s . with mas ses of pebbles at the

base or huge boulders vying with and often

embracing one another , or again state ly rockst ower ing in maj esti c splendour . A bout 2 miles o ff

from Ph u rk i a there i s a cave which i s be l ieved byl ocal men to be the winter abode of the goddessNand Devi , after whom the highest peak in theKumaun H imalayas i s named . There are in some

p laces gigantic square rocks supposed to be thes a cr ific i a l

'

a l t a rs of the gods dur ing epic per iod ofIndian H i story .

A s the touri st approaches the glac ier,huge

rocks r i se on h is r ight and the snowy T r i sul i peakson h i s left . In the early morning , before the ful lsunsh ine h a s made the da z z le too strong for the

eyes , the reflected lustre of the snows i s noticeablea nd very pleasing to the eyes , and the tour i sta ctual ly finds h imself i n the tradi tional celestia l

7 2

PH UR K I A T0 P I N D A R I GLA CIE R .

regions of the H i ndus . Thepure a ir , the unearth lyglow

,the snowy reg ions near by r i s ing in front of

h im al l combine to insp ire h im wi th new l ife . On

casting a glance at the gla c ier from a di stance ,the travel ler i s l ike ly to be di sappointed , but whenhe ascends the actual r idge and goes down themoraine to the source of the Pindar h i s labour i sful ly compensated for . The source of the Pindarat the base of the glac ier i s about 6 feet wide andthe width of the glacier i tse lf at thi s spot i s notmore than 1 5 feet . On proceeding further to thenorth , stones . and pebbles

,mixed with hard

perpetual snow, form the observation ground of thetour ist . In the middle the glac ier measures abouta mi le and tiny streamlets flow over and under i tnatura lly i n a greater volume when i t i s sunny . Inmany places there are po o l s

'

o f water over the snowwhich free z e in the night and melt again at noon .

H i gher up cracks run in the snow generally from 5

to 2 0 feet wide and consequently i t i s impossibleto proceed any further evidently wi thout sappersand miners . These cracks give to the ne ighbour ingsnow the appearance of towers and pyramids

.

T he glac ier presents three different shades of ‘

colour , black at the base , h igher up blacki sh ,whi le at the top i t i s pure whi te . A l l round

,h igh

[u p a seemingly verti ca l c l imb of hundreds of feet,

7 3

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE LS .

tower the snowy peaks and their avalanches , those'

mute giants that have suggested to the H indu

genius the idea of the great ashen-covered god ,Shiva . The huge masse s of snow which a re

pushed down the s ides of the M a nda ko t and t he.

Gh u ng t i mounta ins form the glac ier , a trip towhich i s dec idedly most refresh ing and healthg iving and more tha n repays the travel ler fo r

al l h i s pain and labours . I spea k from personal

exper ience .

A l m o r a (hei gh t ft .) t o La m g a r a (hei gh t

1 0 M i les .

Leaving the town and proceeding in thedirection mentioned above i s a descent of 2 milesending at the suspension iron bridge over theSunwal r iver . To the left

,close to the bank of t he

r iver i s B i sva n a t h,which i s the funeral p lace of

A lmora town , a s also of the ne ighbouring vi l lagesof Khas Parja , Uchyu r and Tata La kj a npu r .

From the other end of the br idge begins an ascentof three mi les i n Patti Uchyu r . A t a di stance ofabout I f miles one would find a cool Spr ing(Naula) near D h a u r a ga on t0 ,

the left of the road .

There was formerly a school-house here which i snow in ruins . A mi le and a half h igher up at a placenamed Pa ndh a r , there i s a shop in the vi c in i ty

74

A LM OR A TO LA M GA R A .

of which i s Bandan i Naula (spr ing) to the r i ght of“

t he road , the water of which i s refresh ingly cool .H i gher up in the same direction i s the templeof Banr i godde ss . H ence the road i s tolerablyleve l up to La m ga ra . There i s another spr ingcal led Garkha Pani half a mi le ahead , and 1 %mile sfurther on l ies General W heeler ’s extens ive gardenon bo th side s of the pu bl ic roa d . Th i s gardenwa s formerly an extens ive tea p lantation , ofwhich a comparatively smal l por ti on i s now extant .It now grows apples , apricots , Bhotiya BadamEngl i sh peaches , N a sh pa t i (pears) and such otherfrui t trees . Thi s garden i s called j alna garden .

The best apple s i n the Kumaun divi sion andperhaps in Ind ia are produced at j alna . A numberof bungalows and outhouses stand somewhat apart

from one another wi th in the garden prec incts .Between Garh-Kapan i and General W heeler ’sestate l ies the Dhura Vi l lage , the ancestor of theinhabi tants of wh ich are said to have come fromKal i Kumaun where they are genera lly known tohave been in the non-o ffic i a l service (Cbo t te m ote

t b ingy a M a l a l z u ncfi a i z ba kny a , meaning“ short

but robust, well fitted as bearers) and some of themhave long settled in the town of A lmora

,com

placent in the memory of the ir super ior ancestry .

La m ga ra is a charming place si tuated on a r idge

75

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

commanding an extens ive view . There i s here aGovernment staging bungalow and a Sarkar i

(Government) Bania’s shop , the former a few paces

h igher up and the latter adj oin ing the road to i tsr ight . T h e Bania has planted a smal l orchard offrui t trees , i n the midst of wh ich he has bui l t ahouse to the r ight side of the road . To the

~

left i s a house be longing to one T u l a '

R a m whohas leased i t to a M a h om eda n . Th i s man keeps agood stock of beautiful hens , from wh ich he rai sespresumably a fair competence . A nother manGu

'

man S ingh i s now erecting a shop close to~

Tula Ram ’s .La m ga ra camping ground l ies wi th in Patti

B i sa u d , which i s to i ts west . T o the eas t and northl ie the patt ies of Malla Lakhanpur and Uch yu r .

Thehigh hi lls of j a geshwa r and Binsar l ie to thenorth

,considerably di stant

,but seeming to be near

enough . Mal la Salam l ie s at a good di stance to the

eas t

La m ga r a t o M o rn a u l a (hei gh t

8 % M i les .

(PATT I MALLA SALAM .)

The way i s leve l for a mi le or so as fa r

a s H a t ikh a n where there is a sma l l sh op

'

a nd a

76

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

purposes during summer . A lane passes by th i sDharamsala to Patti B iso d . One looking from th i splace towards Patti Salam , lying to the east, wouldfind a host of b ig r i dges and the i r beautifuloffshoots scantly covered wi th trees , some comingfrom the north

,others from the south and meeting

one another so as to form a ravine . V i l lages l ie onthe S lopes of these r i dges . ThePatti seems a coldone except that portion of i t which l ie s lower downi n the valley of the ravine . The road continuesleve l and shady on account of oak and kaf a l treesgrowing on both sides . A t the end of the 1 3 thmi le begins a short but smart ascent which i sfol lowed by a Short descent . T he road i s aga inlevel . On the r ight of the 1 4th mi le-stone twosmall streams j oin j ust below the road . A few

paces h igher up l ies the old Dol Dak bungalow.

Formerly D 0 1 wa s the first halting stage instead of

La m ga ra . Some 1 4 or 1 5 years ago a stag ingbungalow wa s erected at La m ga ra and that of Dolthus fel l i nto di suse . Government sold the latterto C0 1 . Dansy, the late propr ietor of the Lohaghat

Tea plantation . Shortly before h i s death he madea gift of the bui ld ing and i ts premises , etc . to h i sgardener l iving in Dol vi l lage

,which l ies on the Sp l l l"

below the bungalow This man has sold theproperty to a person i n A lmora who i s the present

78

LA M GA R A TO M OR N A ULA .

”owner . There are two water- spouts close to thebungalow and by the roadsi de . The water i sconveyed to them from the streams , which , as hasbeen said

,j o in a l i ttle be low . A few hundred yards

further on,the oad branches o ff i nto two , one

leading to Bh im t a l , 2 4-3 mi les , and the other to

M o rna u l a . From th i s p lace to S a u rph a t a k ,the

W a y i s leve l and for the most part shady . A t

S a u rph a t a k , the Nain i T a l or Bh im t a l road , ofwhich a branch goes d irect to Dol from about ami le h igher up

,j oins the A lmora road to M o rn a u l a .

From S a u rph a t a k the road makes a short ascentand then up to M o rn a u l a Dak bungalow i t is qui televe l and Shady pass ing through a fore st of hugeoak and other tre e s .

M o rna u l a staging bungalow stands on a commanding place . The perpetual snowy peaks ofthe H imalayas are di stinctly vi s ible from here . Iti s s i tuated in Patti Mal la Salam , almost every vi l lage .of which i s vi s ible from here . The S i te i s at agreat elevation . To l ive here i n these days of Mayi s simi lar to l iving at A lmora in the end ofFebruary

,at Ranikhet or Paur i in the middle of

March and at Nain i T a l in the fir st week of A pri l . Tothe west and south of the Dak bungalow l ie s a verybig j ungle of oak and other trees . Thi s mounta ini s the boundary in th i s d irection between the

79

H IM A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

Naini T a l (Patti Ch a u bh a ins i a ) and A lmora di stri cts .There was in o ld

'

d a ys a tea plantation at M o rna u l a

belonging to Mr . Lyal l , but i t i s al l a waste,now .

A few tea plants here and there and a few frui t treesare sti l l extant to remind one of the exi stence atone timeof a good garden here .

M o rna u l a i s 3 1 miles from Naini T a l v i a

Dhar i , v i z

Nain i T a l to Bh a wa l i , 6 miles , leve l 4 milesand descent 2 miles .

Bh a wa l i to Bina ik (Ch h a ka t a ) 3 miles , moderateascent .

B ina ik t o .Ch a m p i 2 miles , first a short ascentand then a very gentle descent .

Champ i to Dhar i , 6 miles , ascent 2 mi les , level

2 , ascent gentle descent 1 5 mi le s .

Theway from B ina ik l ies amidst a forest . Thevi llages lying here and there near the road are notinhabi ted during the winter months , the peoplegoing down to l ive i n Bhabar and leaving thevi l lages quite i solated dur ing the season . Cool ie scannot therefore be obtained on the way and mustbe h ired for al l the way from Nain i T a l to

M o rna u l a and back . The way from Dhar i toM o rna u l a i s particularly sol i tary and jungly . Itleads along a mountain of considerable elevation

8 0

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H IM ALA FA N TR A VE L S .

P . Ch a l s i , i s proposing to set zup here . H encethere i s a steep ascent up to Devi Dhura . A few

hundred yards lower down the 2 8 t h mi le-stonethere are two streams of cool water

,a few paces

apart from each other .H i gher up S l ightly to the r ight of 2 8 t h mile

stone there are ' two huge boulders,placed one

above the other . The surface of the upperboulder i s beautiful and wonderfully fla t . Thi si s cal led K a m i l a (fighting stone) . Through i ts .

centre there i s a deep chasm sai d to have beeneffected by Bhimsen , one of the Pandavas, bymeans of hi s club There i s a s imi larfissure in the lower rock also . A smal ler , roundboulder rests on the K a m i l a ,

which i s sa id‘t o have

been placed there and employed , a s some sa y , t o

cause the fissures in the aforesaid boulders,by the

sameval iant warrior of the D wa p a r a age . Threeplatform- l ike p i le s of carved stones rest on theR a ns i l a which are reputed to have been used bythe Pandavas a s a chess board . A . few yards .

h igher up there are two other huge boulders .

standing sidewi se . The narrow space betweenthem i s consecrated to Barah i Devi , Mahadev andBhimsen . There i s a th i rd boulder equally huge ,lying on the other si de . Between th i s and theother i s a fl i ght of stone stai rs a t

'

the narrowest

8 2

M OR NA ULA TO D E V] D H UR A .

place to enable the passers-by to walk through .

with ease .

A fa ir‘

i s held at Devi Dhura every year in:

honour of the Barah i Devi on the S r a wa n i

P u m a m a sfi i (ful l moon of the month of Sra va n) ,which fall s generally about the last week of A ugust .People as‘ semble mos tly from the ne ighbouringPatt i s and some from a di stance also . Shopkeepers from Haldwani , A lmora

,Pi l ibh i t

'

andTanakpur , besides the local ba z aars of Lohaghatand Ch a m ph a wa t , attend and remain there fromfive to ten days in order to se l l the i r commodities .Theattendance at the fai r i s at i ts h ighest p i tch onthe P u m a m a s l z i and the fol lowing day, when i t i sestimated generally at e ight to ten thousand .

Theformer day is marked by the observance of acertain ceremony known as Bagwal . Two factions

(D ba r a s) are formed mainly from the vi llager s ofPa kh o t i and Bh a insra kh of Patti Ch a l s i on ones ide , and W al ik P . Ch a l si and S a m ka t na P . MalaR a u (D i str ict N a tn i T a l ) on the other . They areknown as Mahar and Ph a r tya l Dharas, but areD yoka s of the pr iestly class appertaining to thetemple . Their re latives from other adj oin ingvi l lages al so j oin e ither party . Formerly the twoparties used to fight each other with clubs ands tones, whereby several would be wounded

8 3

ser iou sly, if not fatal ly . The pract ice con t inuesto th i s day, though no c lubs are now used , no r a re

s tones th u r led wi t h s uch force and r eck lessness asi n o l d t imes . The p arties at firs t hur l pebbl es.or sm a l l stones at each other from a di stance ,.neced in g briskl y a fter every throw so a s t o escape‘from being th i t by t he other . Then a few from

ea ch faction come -clos er wi th P l z a r a s (a protectionm ade «of N i gala W eed) on t he i r heads a nd s i t

d own on t he Ba gwa’l flat ground, s a y 1 0 yar ds

a part, on ei ther S i de of t heOa'a ( boundary .mank) .

.Shelter ing themselves under those canopies

( Pba r a s) ea ch part y throws larger sto nes on the

o ther ; vA f te‘

r a whi le the Pujar i appears wi th a.gong a nd worships t heOde, whereu pon the pa r t iesd isperse . Some of the pa r tie s r eceive prettys er iou s wounds wh ich ib

'

leed but t hey do net

eoom pla in a nd in stead consider themsel ve s t h e

m o re bles sed by the goddess . The hurl i ng of

s to nes is not c onfined to the D yoka s alone , bu ts evera l Mel a wa l a s or spectato rs from t he nei ghbo u r ing vi llages a lso j o in i t, a s i t were, rel igi ously

t o prop itiat e t hegoddess . T ra d it ion says t hat t he

p ractice i s a remnant o f yore , W hen h um ansa cr ifice u sed to be o ffered to the goddess

‘

bu t

that she i s n ow quite sa tisfied wi th b leed ingwou nds caused by th e throwing of s tones . T he

8 4

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

HIM ALA YA N TR A VELS.

carr ier ’s person or any part of the image i tself,whi le the carrier appears to take al l possible careto avoid i t . T he image i s bathed and clad infine appare ls and jewe llery by a man who i sbl ind-folded and none i s al lowed to

'

have a s ight ofi t, probably e i ther for fear of having to Stop apractice connected wi th the posses sion of thetemple property, or on account of the rel ig ioussancti ty of i ts person . TheBarah i Devi and theA i r i Devi are bel ieved to be si ster s and an interview1 8 , therefore , sought for by them , which i s broughtabout on th i s day .

Theoffer ings of p ice accompanied by huskedor fr ied r i ce , made to the goddess by the peop lea ssembled , on her 'wa y to the A i r i abode and backto the main temple i s appropr iated by any of theD y oka s or P uy a r z s. who may manage to lay the irhands upon . the offer ings . Those made at thetemple are pocketed by the P uj a r z

'

s i n the sameway

,except where they may no t be done so quietly

o n account of the i r bulk or importance , which atlast finds a place i n the temple storehouse . The

dark cavi ty between two huge boulders in whichthe m a m image l ie s g reatly favours the practice .

A few tal l Deodar trees cover th is Spur of ther idge on wh ich the temple stands .

There are some houses i n the temple prec incts

8 6

M OR NA (I LA TO D E VI D H UR A .

ra nd eastward of the Mela Ba z aar bui lt long ago by‘

t he neighbouring vi l lage s of the A lmora and

Nain i Ta l distr i cts for the i r own accommodation

d uring the fai r . They remain vacant and uncaredf or throughout the year and are in a tumble-down

c ondi tion. T ravellers 1 who occas ional ly find

shelter i n them only leave heaps of ashes and«other fil

'

t h beh ind .

The Ba z aar contains only 5 , smal l masonryh ouses , i n one of which , to the left of the road ,the Government shop-keeper se l l s the commona rtic les of food , and in the other , to the right,:a vi llage post-o ffice i s located . The post mastersel ls cloth and other petty artic le s also in the samebui ldings . H i gher up the shop i s the stag ingbungalow with an outhouse . S ti l l h igher up , at then orthern end of the r idge

,i s a tower-l ike smal l

bui ld ing in which there i s an image of theM a ch hwa r A i r i“ goddess

,mentioned before . It

l ooks l ike the image of a l ioness,with something

t hat looks l ike her two cubs,placed on i ts back .

There i s also a L ing a m (black stone emblem)«consecrated to Shiva close by. a nd a big , th ickrs t oneslab held above the ground by two other.s tones of same s i z e . M i lk i s offered to the«

goddess by the neighbour ing vi l lage people in the.bel ief . t h a t by so doing the ir mi lch cattle wi l l g ive

8 7

mo re mi lk and tha t if they’ fa i led ‘ to do so ; . the

cattle wou ld ceaseto give mi lk”. Thepla ce be ingsi t u a ted '

o n t he nor thernmost a nd highest crest ofth e hi ll comm ands a charming a nd extens ive Viewof the H im a layan snovlrs and the lower mou nta insfar and W ide.

Devi Dh u r a t o Dh u n a gh a t (h ei gh t ft ) ,

1 0 M i les .

(PATT I A ssr) .

A few paces o ff the Dak bungalow the roa ddescends pretty much down t o a smal l woodenbridge over a st ream , and i s then easy o r almostplane up to t he3 0 t h mi le-stone. It then gradua l lyslope s downwards. Near t heend of the 3 I St milethere i s a cool , clear-water, r ivulet which i s crossed‘

by’ a smal l wooden br idge . A l i tt le lower downa nother rivulet of greater volume joi ns i t ; T he

uni ted stream i s noi sy then on account of i t s

ex ceedingly sloping a nd stony c0 urse . There i s agood pine (M ir ) fere

'st here . The sloping nature

of the road ends at Ga r‘

sle‘

kh a n wh ich is

crossed by'

a lane from certa in vi l la ges in Pat tiMa l i R a u in Nain i T a l distr ict v i a G‘

o rsa ri , Pa ttiA ssi to Basu nd a nd Pa t a nga on in Patt i Cha l s i of t he

A lmora d istri ct . The roa d hence takes a sm a r t:

8 8

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M ALA FA N TR A VE LS .

lower . down , there i s a Dharamsala and anothersmal l house in which the branch post-master whoi s a l so a Sarkar i Bania keeps h i s office and lodging.

ThePatti (A s si ) Patwari has h i s Chauk i close by .

”

There are some pine and oa k trees in the vic in i tyof the Dak bungalow . The p i ne Jungle extendsa l l over the main h i l l going down from west toeast and ending in a ravine . Immediately northof the staging bungalow

,about half a mile higher

up a l i ttle below the peak of the h i l l , l ie s Ga h t o ra

hamlet . Lower down there i s a stream of wateru sed for drinking purposes by the vi l lagers andthe ir cattle .

A nother spur of the h i l l i s also covered dense lywith good pine trees . This spur i s paral lel -to the

other mentioned above . Theroad passes along ar idge and i s leve l . To i ts r i ght R a ntyu ra Kamlek ,Maha rgaon and K a na lga on hamlets l ie not far

«o ff the road and c lose to each other . BetweenKamlek and R a ntyu ra there i s a c luster of youngbut tal l Deodars .

‘

These hamlets wi th the Deodar

g roves are vis ible from the 4o t h mi le- stone .

A t some distance to the r ight there i s a bigmounta in wi th dense oak

,T i lan] , etc . ,

named S idhNar S ingh Badrinath Dhura . A n image of the godi s placed on the top of the h i l l with in an enclosure«of stones . A bout 1 0 vi l lages of the neighbourhood

90

D E VI D H UR A TO D H UNA GHA T.

a re assigned to the services of the god . The

M a i z cmt or ch ief priest l ives at A lmora and managest heaffairs and services of the god from there .

A l i ttle above the publ ic road are the ruin s ofOld Pharka stag ing bungalow . The way herepasses through young , grown up and beautiful ly

green Deodar , Kharsa or T i lan i trees and about am i le onwards i s t heplace known as Khati Khan ,where there i s an old primary school and where

a newmiddle school with a big boarding house hasrecently bee n bui l t .One branch of the road goes to Lohaghat ,

‘

7 miles , and the other to Ch a m ph a wa t , 8 miles .

On the Lohaghat road , about a mi le hence thereli s a Government school , formerly Teh s i l i

H a lqu a ba nd i . A l i ttle way further , on the 4 I s t

m i le-stone on the Ch a m ph a wa t road , there i s as tream of cool water cross ing the roa d . There i sa short ascent hence . The road further on up

.

tot he44t h mi le-stone i s tolerably level . Thi s m i les tone i s in the midst of a j ungle of oak and T i l a nj ,

‘ so dense that c lose by the road s ide there was anantelope at t h is .h o u r of the day (8 A . M . ) gra z ingfearlessly . From the 45t h mile-stone a descentbeg ins . To the left l ies the vi l lage of Kharka

,con

ta in ing two good big houses of certain Kharakwa l Brahman traders and a l i ttle way downwards

9 1

H I M A LA I ’A N TB A VE LS .

thereflows a r ivulet between thi s r idge on which .“

t hero ad pa sses and the other running paral le l to ir. .

The southern Crest of the latter r idge i s crownedby a c luster of b ig Deoda r s . The descent ends .

at a B l zwz'

n l a‘

(temporary a nd c lumsi ly'

madebr idg e) over a. stream whence the roa d pa sses o u t

.

to the other ridge a nd begins aga in from. a fewpaces further on to reach soon a r ivulet which i sjo ined by ano ther stream contain ing only a l i t tlewater in these summer days . The r ivulet h a s a ;

broad course and hence there i s no bridge accro ssi t . A steep ascent begins from a fewpa ces furtheron . The 46 t h m i le-s tone i s on the ascent c losebyThere i s a swin g. (H in a

’o l a ) here o n the spur of a

r idg e , on t heother s ide of which i s t he vi l lage ofD h a m sa in . Th ea scent i s nea rly a mi le altogeth erand ends at the top of the r i dge

,cal led M a o lekh ,

where there i s a hea p of stone collected in honourof a certain god

I

Ca l led K a t h bu r in Kuma un , and ,

Pa t h o r i a in Gha rwal . Such co l lections of stonesare no t u ncommon in the h i l l s and really mean t

differently to what the vi llagers be l ieve . In days ,

of yore vi l lagers were often put to trou ble by ”

ei ther the ir ne ighbou rs or foreign invaders claim ingsupremacy over them a nd were often looted ofthe i r valuables . The vi l lager s instead of fac ingthe ir foes with arms, which , i f ava i lable must ha ve.

»

92

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

HIM ALA YA N TR A VE L S .

to Lohaghat which i s nearly 3 miles d ista nt. The

way i s fai rly good , first tolerably level , and then forthe most part a descent down to the wooden br idgeover the Lo h a wa t i , which flows close to the station

and whence to the Ba z aar the way i s a smart ascentand to the Dak bungalow qui te level . The road i skept i n repai r s by the aforesaid T rustee s of t heM a ya wa t i estate . Themain road to Ch a m ph a wa t ,we were descr i bing

,i s slop ing downwards from

t he'

M a o lekh Khan , somewhere abruptly, at otherplaces gently .

,There is a ‘stream of cool tasteful

water near the 47 t h mi le-stone , where the descentends . T he road sti l l continues a l i ttle S lop ing but,i s pretty ea sy on the whole . A pl a nt a t ion of Deodari s seen from the road to i ts left on the crest o f

a spur of the h i l l commanding the Dhah na vi l lage .

N ear the 48 t h mi le- stone , to the r ight of the road,close to the stream side, a small p lot of leve lground i s consecrated to a certain god , calledK a l s in Deo . A partly curved stone of considerabledimension represents the god . Th ewhole of t hej ungle in that vic in i ty contains hundreds of hugeDeodar trees

,besides many other kinds and a re

considered by the neighbou r ing inhabitants to bethe personal property of the god . No body “

ventures to use or even touch any tree or i ts twigs ,whether dr ied up or green . Theold trees that fal l }.

94

D E VI D HUR A TO D H UNA GH A T.

down rema i n on t he Spot and the forest is

consequently a dense one . The road from thi splace i s easy but takes a s loping course from downbelow D h akna ga o n to the r ivulet which j o m s theCh ira pa n i r ivulet G i dni at D ip teshwa r below .

Hence there i s an ascent up to C h a m ph a wa t , which'

i s but a short d i stance from here . To the r ight ofthe uphi l l road a couple of ruined houses belongingto S

'

i lkho l a Josh i (so cal led after the vi l lage) , whonow l ives in the A lmora town

,l i e surrounded by

thorny bushes and nettle plants of high growth .

Thehouse of A lmora J h ij h a r Josh i s, also namedafter the block of landwith in Ch a m ph a wa t vi l lagewhich they inhabi ted before , stands opposi te on t heother s ide

'

o f the r i dge and i s occup ied by a singlemember of t hem . Both fami l i es be longing to thesame ancestry though very remote are cons ideredas the h ighest c lan of Josh i s . They he ld re specta

ble c leri cal and executive offices under the o ld

Rajahs in Kumaun . Thei r equals in descent

among Brahmans are Pandes , who sti l l l ive i nM . S im a l t a and Tal i Manl i , excepting a fami ly ortwo , that have settled in A lmora . These are knownto have been the Rajahs ’ cooks , which office oflucre as wel l as honour seems to have been givento h igher

'

clans only, i n those good old days . Thefact of ea ti ng o r

'

not eating Katch i Rasa i from

95

everybody ’s except equals’ hands «i s sti l l acr iter ion of j udgi ng r espect ively, t he lower andh i gher ancest ry or toa ste of t he i nha bi tants of t heKumaun h i l ls , inc luding Gharwal . Thepeers ofthes e Josh i and ‘Pande fami l ie s are a l so t he Pa ntsof j aj ul and

‘

Uprera vi l la ges i n Gangu‘l i of whom

a fa mi ly of renown has s ettled i n A lmora a ndproduc ed such eminent gent lemen

,as t he late

lamented P . Budhi Ba ‘

l l a bh Pant and :his able s on,

‘

P. R a m D a rt,wh o holds a respectab le Government

post . ThePants were R a j Vaidyas and also heldrespectabl e o ffi ces in those old times o f t he

Ksha tr iya s or R aj puts . Fo ur clan s dwel l i n a nd

around C h a m ph a wa t , v i a ,‘

T ara ki ,‘Karki , Bora a nd

Chandibar i . “

They intermarry am ong themselves .

TheBora s are o f vtwo ro l a s ses , the lower ,c las s being

c a l l ed K ot /z h'

y a B or a x (wea vers o f lhem pen bags) .Those who i nh a h i t here belong to t hehigher c la ssa nd t heCh a u dh ar is ‘here al so seem unl ike t hosefound in western A lmora , who genera ly i nterma rrywi th t he‘

Va i shya s a nd a re regarded as “belong ing tothat sect . "

These four c lans are known a s t hefourB u dfia s (Tih okd a rs) . T hey h el d di ffen

‘

ent .ofii ces

u nder t heaCh a nd and oth er H indu R aj a hs a nd t he"

T a -ra kis 'a nd ‘K a rk is were foremost a mong t hem a s

m artial o ffi cers .Ch a m ph a wa t i s s it uated i n Pa tt i Ta leChera l a t

,96

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

D E V] D H UR A TO D H UNA GHA T .

a n elevati on of 5,546ft . from sea - level ,t o the ea ster lyd i rection of A lmora . I t

'

wa s formerly the seat of

the Kumaun Rajahs before they settled i n A lmora ,some time

.

dur i ng the s ixteenth century . The.

palace of the Rajahs which lay in a fort i s now‘

in

utter ruin . Themagn itude of the stones and t h e

manner i n wh ich they are ch i se l led—some of theseexi st on the fort-wal l , doorway and the fl ight o f

stairs leading thereto,and several have been

th rown down the wal l—speak of t he magnificenceof the palace , which may wel l be compared with

that o f the contemporary Rajahs of Sr inagar,in

Gharwal, destroyed only late ly by the wel l-known

Goh na flood of 1 8 95. It i s sa i d that when the

foundation of the Ch a m ph a wa t palace was laid ,the priest declared on account of the rare

auspic iousness of the moment that i t would remai n

permanent,the more so , as a big serpent lay

beneath i t . The Rajah became inqui s i t ive

and demanded proofs . The priest demurred

but being pressed hard had to take out

the foundation-stone with a long and heavy

iron bar which pierced the head of the serpent .

TheRajah was sat i sfied and asked for replac ing i t

where i t first la y . Thi s was done but the pr iest

pred icted sorrowful ly that the R a j would change

before long,i nstead of remaining permanent)

97

HIM ALAYAN TR A VELS.

Thefort-wal l wi th the gateway only now rema i ns

and wi th i n i t are bu i l t the Tehs i l , i ts s t rong t reasuryroom and other blocks to accomm oda te i ts esta

bl ish m ent and the pol i ce guard .

Th ere a re several spots in and around

Ch a m ph a wa t which are celebrated as the abode of

D eva i a s (gods) . To the southwest res ides the

B ingl a D evi , al so cal led Hyu nl a D evi , i n t he crest

o f the mounta in of that name . There i s no temple,

h ere , but a big stone deeply embedded in earth" i s

consecrated to the goddess whom tradi tion bel ieves

t o have com e and’

settled there from the wel l

k nown distant H ingl a s . A bout half a m i le

northward there l ie s an anc ient bui ld ing i n ruins

wi th a Naula (spri ng) s im i lar to another on the

sa me mountai n s ide lower down on the track to

a nd from Ch a m ph a wa t . These are known a s

belonging to one R u dh i K a mayan,whose prac tice

was t o go down ‘ to Bhabar when the migrating

i nhabi tants returned thence and v ice-ver s a , and t o

t ake away peoples’ th ings steal th i ly or forc ibly .

Theworkmanship displayed in stones of both the

bui ld ings i s exceedingly good . Opposite the

bui lding and east of the H ingl a Devi’s abode, l ies

t heK ra nteshwa r M ahadev on another and a mu ch

h igher mountai n-crest, where there i s a smal l

t emple and the view i s more ex tensive . Thi s place

98

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA YA N TR A VELS.

makes a gift of a cow on every st h Navaratra fal l

ing i n October .

D ip teswa r M ahadev l ies . l ower down where

the Chhatar r i vulet j oins the G i ndi r ivulet .

There i s no regular temple here as the great god

absolutely wants none . M a neswa r M ahadev l ies

northwest of the D ip teswa r on an elevated h i l ls ide

a t a di stan ceof 2 miles from the latter . There

are two temples , one of wh i ch does not seem very

old,and a masonry work containi ng a spri ng

,the

water of which i s bel ieved to have emanated and'

run through a miraculous h idden passage al l t he

way from the M a nsa roba r of the H imalayan.

K a i l a sh .

A t Ch a m ph a wa t i tself l i e the temples of

Na gna t h and Baleshwar . The former wa s

establ i shed in honour of N a gna t h , a di sc iple of

Sa t na t h who l ived i n D ewa lgu rh , Gharwal , -in old

times . The former became a great devotee

afterwards and was su ccessfu l in h i s predic tions in

connection wi th the prosper i ty of the Chand

ruler s,as opposed to those of Katya r i . He i s ,

tradi tional ly sai d to have grown the mulberry tree

which stands to th i s day and under which he

h imself sometime after d i sappeared . The tree i s

sai d to have been grown from a smal l p iece of

mulberry twi g which he had plucked for us ing as .

1 0 0

D E VI D H UR A TO D H UNA GHA T.

:a toot h-brush a nd gs t u ck i n the ground wi sh ing that

i t might become a tree , wh ich i t d id . The templewas set up i n h i s memory on the spot after h i s

decease . There are various i ron tr idents placed in

another bui ld ing dedicated to the Bh a ira bna t h who

s ti l l rece ives sacr ifices of buffaloes and goats on

the B ij a z’

D a sm z’

day . Th i s god i s sai d to have

a bol i shed the old custom of ki l l i ng a sacrific ia l‘bu fi a lo before h im by g iving the animal cuts from

swords, etc . , whi le running—a crue l practice

i ntroduced by the Go rkh a s and he d id th i s by h is

s upernatural appearance before a man of authori ty“

a mong the people , forbidd ing h im to continue the

practice on pain of i nstant death . The assignment

o f revenue to the N a gna t h amounts to about

R s . 1 6 i ncluding land held free by the P uj a r z'

r i n”

l i eu of service done by them to the temple .

Baleshwar M ahadev i s the most ce lebrated of the

gods here . There are five temple s with i n the

c ompound , v i a , Baleshwar proper , R a sm a nda l ,

d edicated to Sr i K r i shen ( i ncarnation of V i shnu

Bhagwan) , i n front of wh ich i s located the

Su gribeshwa r M ahadev , Kal ika , R a t neshwa r ,

Ch a m ph a wa t i D evi , daughter of Bane shwar and‘

Bhairab . The la st i s a recent bui ld ing and the

arem a in ing ones seem coeval and of great antiqui ty .

T here are i nscr iptions on three stones known as

1 0 1

H I M A LA FA N TR A VELS.

Br ikh a m s here , one of which only ca n be

deciphered and gives the year 1 2 93 S i ze/t a r

but the i nscript i ons on the remaining

two have faded so much that they cannot now be

made out . TheTa m r apa t r a s (copper plates) which

the M ahant possesses , although of comparatively

very recent dates , are si lent as regards t he

inscriptions . Theexqui si te workmanship evinced’

by almost al l the stones of the temple s and“

specially those of the R a sm a nda l , though of much

antiqui ty, appears as i f i t were wrought the other"

day . These temples are sai d to have been fo r an

a gebur ied under earth and rank vegetation , unti l‘

one R a m D att Swami d i scovered them some 600 “

years ago . H i s grave l ies i n the compound under

a house bui l t i n honour of hi s memory and si nce

used by Yogi s and p i lgr ims to the K a i l a sh as a

re sti ng house . The assi gnment of land revenue

for servi ces to th i s temple amounts to R s . 1 ro/ p . a .

Nearly half a m i le to the northeast i s an old ’

house cal led N a nd/l u ngi a g /z a r nine-stoned

house) . Its owner s of the Pande clan deserted i t

and have been l iving in M al i R a y of the Naini .

Ta l D i str i ct fo r many yea rs . It has only six layers ,each of 9 stones finely ch i sel led and . placed

lengthwi se to m ake the front and back wa l l s and

t h e other two wal l s conta i n 5 layers , each of’

1 0 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA YA N TR A VELS.

To the extreme east, a short way o ff the

Ch a m ph a wa t Tehs i l i s the extens ive plateau of

Go ri lch a u r , at the eastern corner of wh ich is the

temple of the Go r i l god , of wh ich the image i s of

pure sandalwood , placed i n the last or second

room of the temple . On the outer wal ls of th i s

room two huge stones carved into h ideous images

i ndicate the two D wa rp a ls or sentri es of the god

with i n . The god was establ i shed here , as the old

P uj a r z'

sa id,i n the days of the Chand Raj ah s .

There i s a stag ing bungalow with an outhouse

a t an elevati on of ft . i n Ch amph a wa t , a few

hundred yards above the Tehsi l house . Just belowi t are the ruins of a ka le/wry house , known as

Kotwal Chaunra , be longing to one of the Rajah’s

chief ofi‘i cers and‘ a few chains to the north-east

l ies the R a n ika Chautra (platform) erected by a

Rani , apparently for s i tti ng i n the sun after bath ing

a t the Naula below . But a story runs that she was

i l l treated by a certa i n powerful R a j put of Sal i

v i l lage on her way back from a p i lgr image to the

wel l-known Pu rna gir i M a i ‘ (whose abode i s on one

o f the peaks of a h i l l r i s i ng h igh perpendicularly

from the bed of the Kal i or “ Sarda” r iver , i n Patti

T ala Pal be low) and that she dec l ined to move

from the spot where th is p latform was bui l t

i nstantly under her orders , unti l the man wa s

1 0 4

D E VI D H UR A TO D H UNA GH A T.

k i l led . Th i s was done through the combined

eff orts of the four Ch a m ph a wa t Bu dh a s, under

orders of the Rajah , and the treachery of hi s own

Brahman priest . TheBa z aar of old days stood on

t he r idge higher up the present staging bungalow .

T races of bui ld ings are extant at places on the

r idge to th i s day . Thepresent Ba z a ar i s lower

d own the Tehs i l on the road leading to Lohaghat .

There are on ly two or three shops,but compara

t ively many houses erected in a row or Ba z aar-l ike

fash ion . Once i t wa s a place of cons iderable traffi c

bu t i t has now altogether ceased to be so on

account of i ts ch ief merchant and well-known res i

d ent, L . Tula R a m S a h , who was worth thousands

formerly, becoming bankrupt . The road divides

f rom the lower part of the Ba z aar i nto diff erent

d i rections , v i a , southwards to Tanakpur , 3 0 miles ,and northwards to Lohaghat , 6 mi les , and to

D hunaghat , 1 1 miles westward . Ch a m ph a wa t i s

not a very cold p lace , and i s not at al l malar ious

or unhealthy on accou nt of i ts pos i ti on i n an

elevated val ley beautiful ly surrounded by higher

mounta ins . It was formerly a Government canton

ment station which was removed to Lohaghat

after sometime . There i s a Su b Post Office at

Ch a m ph a wa t . Tanakpur M andi i s ord inari ly a

day’

s march for the local men , but the way i s

1 0 5

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE LS .

general ly traversed i n two days . The i nhabi tants .

of the Ch a m ph a wa t neighbourhood mostly migrate

to Tanakpur Bhabar in order to earn thei r l ivel i

hood by hul l ing r i ce for the Th a ru s and such

ot her labour and to escape from the cold of their

vi l lages duri ng winter . There i s no br idge over

the La dhya r iver on the way, which , i n consequence ,remains closed dur i ng rai ns when the r iver i s .

general ly i n floods and therefore unfordable . The

hi l lmen avoid going to the M andi on account of

i ts deadly malaria and scanty habi tation , which .

»

encourages fierce wi ld animals to i nfest the

local i ty duri ng autumn .

Thefirst stagefrom Ch a m ph a wa t to Tanakpur

Bhabar i s D eor i,

1 5 mi les . It i s a b ig vi l lage

having 5 Pa dh a na s . There i s a D a k bungalow

wi th outhouses at th i s place . T he way i s qui te

easy and fair ly pleasant leadi ng general ly amid

oak and C/z ir forests v i a Baulak , 5 mile s and’

D haun , 7% mi les , barr ing a smart ascent from '

.

D haun to Bagela D haramsa la and a descent .

The next stage from D eori i s Mel j h a r i a l i a‘

s

Sukhidhang (dry r idge) , di stance nearly 8 miles , .

consi sti ng of one deep descent and a steep ascent .

TheLa dhya r iver l ies half-way . It i s a formidable

r iver be ing in floods dur i ng rai ns and has had no

bridge over i t for many years . There i s no D a k.

1 0 6

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

l ife showed unsurpassed ski l l i n a certa i n bu i ld i ng

belonging to a Shal low Rajah who wi sh ing that the

mason might not exh ibi t greater dexter i ty

el sewhere had h i s r ight hand merc i lessly cut o ff , a nd

i t was wi t h .h i s remaining left hand that th i s marve l

o f a mason executed such fine workmansh ip on. stones used i n th i s bui ld i ng afterwards . The

numerous figures carved wi th so much del icacy

a nd fineness are of exqui s i te exce l lence and speak

volumes i n favour of the expert who surely

d eserves to have h i s name immortal i sed on the

meri t of th i s work done wi th h is left hand only .

The man i s sa id to have rece ived a l ibera l“pecuniary reward for h i s former work from the

Rajah who depr ived h im of h i s r ight hand and

a sti l l g reater and more substantia l one for the

later workmansh ip but he d id not l i ve long

to enj oy i t . T he bui ldi ng has now partly come

d own .

C h a m ph a wa t .

T he scenery and Vi ew from Ch a m ph a wa t are

pecul iar ly charming and extensive , owing to the

d ense and beautiful oak forests that c lothe the

mountain s ides i n the vi c in i ty of which the h ighes t

p eak i s K ra nteshwa r M a h a dev’

s abode and the

1 0 8

CHAM PH A W A T

next h ighest,the H ingl a D evi

’s abode . (On t he

southern s i de of the latter and above M a u ra r i .

vi l lage i s a place known as Bh im ku a where Bhim ,

the greatest Pa ndava warr i or , i s sa i d to have drunk

the water of a spr i ng there and there i s an

impress ion on a stone‘

Of the angle of h i s arm .)The numerous perpetual snowy peaks of t he

godly H imalayas sh ine from afar to the

northeast .

, A mong other spots of notes i n Ch a m ph a wa t

there i s a boulder known as N a ka z‘

a a’

l z u ng a (a stone

for.

cutting nose) . It l ies on a .fiel d lying by the

Tanakpur road northward and owned by one

D aul ia Chamar whose ancestors must have had '

the task of cutt i ng the nose of unchaste women

i n times of the old Rajahs .

A nother spot known as L a rfika a’l z u ng a

(m u rder_

s t o ne) i s at the southern end of t he

present Ch a m ph a wa t ba z aar , whence a way leads

D huni and the D yar N a u l a s, of wh ich the latter

has the reputation of g iving the most salubr ious

dri nking water supply i n the ne ighbourhood , and

the other to the Tehsi l or i ts Kh a rkna u l a,to which

the water supply i s conveyed by earthen p ipes .

from a s t rea m Lo f that name in the H ingl a D evi .

h i l l h i gh up. There i s no D h u ng a (boulder) now

at the spot but i t i s cal led a s before al l the same .

1 0 9

HIM ALA .VA N TR A VE L

’

s .

T radi tion says that an ofli c i a l of the Gorkha Rajah

i nterfered at one time wi th the mode of worsh ip

or sacr ifice to the Bhairab D ebt a , offered a nu a l ly

i n A sa uj (September) at Ch a m ph a wa t outs ide the

N a gna t h temple . T hegod was offended thereby

a nd he appeared to the ofli c i a l ’s servant i n a .dream

at night and enj oined h im to cut h i s master i n‘

pieces j ust as t helatter had done the sacr ific ia lbuffalo contrary to local custom but i n conformity

wi th the D oti one . The servant obeyed and

ki l led h is master accord ingly at the spot s ince

cal led L a sfz ka a ’l z u ng a .

TheJhej h a r and Sel a kh o l a are two hamle ts on

both s i de s of the Ch a m ph a wa t r i dge . The latter

i s so cal led because.

‘i t i s a shady local i ty

‘ (Sel i-Shady) A fam i ly of Josh i now cal led

Jh i j h a r Josh i and Sel a kh o l a Josh i after them l ivesthere in . The tradi t ion about th i s fami ly i s that a

Chaube Brahman from j h u sh i i n A l lahabad ,versed i n a strology, happened to notice certa in

marks of a Rajah on the person of a young man

who lay asleep on a sandy ground by the roads ide

a nd was a di stant cousin of the then D elh i Rajah .

Hehad l ived for sometime at h i s s i ster ’s in Jh u sh i

but some di sagreement took place and he under

took a pi lgr image to Badr i nath instead of

continuing to res ide there . TheChaube astrologer

I I O

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M ALA YA N TR A VE L S .

of Lanka . Thi s head afterwards formed into a

regular lake wh ich was in after age destroyed by

Bhimsen Pandava after cremating h i s own son

Gh a t o tka ch at the eastern corner of the trad itional

lake , now known as Ghatu , having a temple i n

the midst of a fine D eodar grove and rece ivi ng‘

sacr ifice i n September every year . Thei nhabi tants .

to th i s day do not cremate their dead i n al l t hearea , supposed to represent the K a m a / m K a r a m

K l i opr i (skul l) but take them a short way beyond‘

i t for the purpose . A ccording to some,the word;

‘K u m a z m’ i s der i ved from K a m a n ,meaning an earn

i ng person . There i s no doubt that the people are

general ly born traders in var ious forms and i t i s

probable the country may have got i ts name

therefrom . The prefix ing

'

of the word “

_

Kal i ”

i s al so interpreted differently . Some say i t i s so ,

cal led because of i ts s i tuation so , near the Kal i

r iver forming the boundary ‘ between the Br i ti sh .

and Nepal Governments . A ccord ing to others,

i t i s named after one Kalu Taragi , who at o ne

t ime owned and ruled the Ch a m ph a wa t neigh

bo u rh o od and whose descendants sti l l i nhabi t

some vi l lages there,whi le st i l l others hold that i t .

was so cal led because of the dense or black

forests of oak and D eodar which occupied i ts .

greater portion .

1 1 2

CH AM PHA W A T TO LOH A GH A T .

N a gn a t h t emple (at Ch a m ph a wa t ) i s according

t o some asso ciated wi th one G a nna t h who is

sai d to have come to Kumaun from D oti . Hei s

trad i ti onal ly sai d to have possessed certain d ivine

powers and to have fal len i n love with a gi r l

known as Bhana Bamni (Brahmani ) from a certain

Josh i Khola i n P . Rangor , whom he took away

seduc ingly . Both were , when di scovered , ki l led

by the women ’ s ki nsmen, and she was quick wi th

ch i ld , a male one afterwards known widely a s

Balo Barm i was j ust then born .

T he N a gna t h i s sa id to havegiven c lue ofGa nna t h to h i s assai lants and so both used to be

worsh ipped at d ifferent places and i t i s only of

late that the one rece ives worship i n the same

loca l i ty a s the other . ’ In former times they never

appeared in the same local i ty .

C h a m ph a wa t t o Lo h a gh a t , 6 M i les .

Thewa y i s gradual ly sloping along the r ivule tknown as Chetar Ga dhera , wh ich i s crossed by a

wooden br idge . From thi s place the way is

tolerably level ascending almost impercept ibly.

Nearly 1 } mile s from Ch a m ph a wa t a stream of

water cal led Tel a u n i i s crossed by a smal l woodenbridge . A few paces further up there i s a beautiful

1 1 3

H I M / I LA YA N TR A VE L S .

plantation of D eodars young and . wel l-grown .

It may befor e long cover a larger area as there i s

plenty of young plants of the spec ies al l over

here . A short way up th i s p la ce a steep uphi l l

track leads to the M a neshwa r . Only a few cha ins

o ff there i s another c lump of D eodars on t he‘

other s ide , to the west . A smal l cultivation of

vi l lagers only i ntervenes between these two

plantation s . There are D eodar trees here and

there at short d i stances from one another on both

the r i dges . If the propagation conti nues,as i t i s

going on at present , the ri dges m ight become a

good D eodar forest i n a few years . The end

mi le-stone (8 3 rd from A lmora v i a Pi thoragarh)l i es c lose by . From here the road i s more

ascending and a l i ttle h igher up i s a spring of

c ool , tasteful water coming down a rock c lose by

t o the left of the road . T he ascent ends at the

r i dge where a D eodar tree i s growing . Th is tree

when grown up wi l l'

be of cons i derable u se to

travel lers a s a she lter dur ing summer . On the

opposi te s ide l ive the Bora clan of h i l l people and

the larger one of the M a n ih a rs who own big

houses,and point to D elh i a s the plac e whence

they imm i grated . Their dialect is a pecul iar

mixtu re of Kumauni and vulgar‘

U rdu . They

look very sickly ‘on account of the ir soj ourn

1 1 4

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE LS .

bridge i s a m i ld ascent up to the Lohaghat

station .

Lo h a gh a t .

Loh aghat i s si tuated on the left bank of t he

Lo h a wa t i r iver , s i x mi les north of Ch a m ph a wa t , 60 '

mi le s east of A lmora at an elevation of feet

above sea- level . Its s i te i s an undulating extensive

platea u , pleasantly covered wi th stunted grass :

almost al l the year round . In the westerly direction ,i t i s qui te open to the extent '

o f nearly three

miles . A l l the di stance i s a beautiful and u ndu l a t

i ng grassy plateau gently r i s ing towards the end'

of the val ley known as Ch h a m n ia . The vi l lages .

of Su i and B isu ng l i e on the r idge in a prominent

posi tion,and after these the Patt i i s named .

It i s the old S u n i tpu r i of the A su r a s from which

the name i s bel i eved to have been der ived . There

i s a very extensive grove of D eodar c lose to them

in the north direction . T he two old notorious .

factions of M ahar and Ph a r tya l ch iefly l ive here .

They are said to have rai sed some trouble i n the

mutiny of 1 8 57 . H ence , or from near Ch a nka nda i ,the whole of the Lohaghat plateau i s clearly vi s ible

on other s ides . Lohaghat i s enclosed by high and

pleasant h i l l s covered wi th dense forests of oak,

1 1 6

LOHA GH A T.

D eodar , etc . It was i n old days a cantonment

s tation for soldiers . Theparade ground of those

t imes l ie s on the left s ide of the publ ic road and

d irectly below M aj or H ennessy’ s bungalow

,and

the cantonment was abandoned long s ince ’o u

account of i ts remoteness from the planes , which

made the supply of necess i t ie s d iffi cult, and the

unhealth iness of most parts of the roads leading to

Newpa ra . The smal l market of Lohaghat is

l ocated at the lower corner of the first p lateau ,j utting out i nto the r iver low down to the r ight of

"

t heplateau .

There are a few shops of gra in , c loth and such

o ther ord inary th ings , and these supply arti cles of

food and other commodi ties to travel lers and to

the ne ighbouring vi l lage people . TheBa z aar i s

gradual ly growing i n importance wh i le that of

Ch a m ph a wa t i s decl i n ing . TheBa z aar l i nes stands

o n a ri dge and the . space between them is therefore

an ascent one way, and a descent on the other .

The shoemakers who occupy the lower part of the

market and si tuated at the back make good shoes,

u sed mostly i n the A lmora D i str ic t . But th ey are

n o t finer and more durable than those prepared at

Sr inagar in Gharwal . A S u b Post Office i s stationed

a t the upper corner of t heBa z aar . There i s also

; a di spen sary c lose to the publ ic road . . It was

1 1 7

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

establ i shed from donati ons made by the European?

settlers i n the ne ighbourhood and the genera l

local committee . Clumps of D eodar stand al l'

over the nei ghbourhood and wi l l probably one

day grow to m ake a dense and useful forest .

Theplateau i tself i s grassy and tree less . It is

at places covered wi th shrubs and bushe s and i s

intersected by streams of water which are uti l i sed

by vi l lagers (l iving h igher i n al l d irections at t he

foot of elevated r idges that surround Lohaghat) i n

i rr i gati ng their lower lands . A t some di stance to

the west i s a tower- l ike h i l l cal led K o t a lga rh i or

Bi su ngko t , which i s tradi tional ly known as the first

natural fortification f rom which the D a i ty a s'

(demons) oppos'

ed M aharaj ah Sr i K i shen , who“

after a h a rd figh t ki l led them all . The bloodshed

which ensued between these two r ival parties was

so much that a r iver of blood began to flow and

hence the r iver took i t s name L ofia wa t i . Vi l lages .

high and low are scattered al l round and are

si tuated very conveniently as regards the supply of

general wants and heal th i ne ss of the inhabi tants .T h efor t i s i n ruins now . In the m i dst of i t there

i s a very deep pool of water . Large tree s and

thorny plants have now grown wi th i n the fo r t ifica

ti on. It i s a very commanding s i te and even.

A lmora i s vi s i ble from here on a c lear morning .

1 1 8

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

care and labour on al l s ides of the bungalow,

except a l i ttle space in the west which i s too steep

and nearly unfit for the purpose of a garden and

conta ins only a th ick growth of oak and other trees .

The main bungalow is surrounded by beautiful

flower'

p l a nt s and creepers . The entrance to the

bungalow cons i sts of three pi l lars on e i ther s ide

of the road supporting rafters wh ich are covered

wi th creepers having beautiful red flowers . In one

of the paths of the garden there are many D eodar

plants which have grown of themselves . H igher up

to the north on a spur of the h igh Bh a ba l t a D anda

M r . R . L . H ennessy, D i str ict Super intendent of

Pol i ce,Central Provinces , i s bui ld ing a bungalow .

He is sai d to have selected the si te to l ive in after

he wi l l have retired from service . Thi s i s al so a

n i ce place with a good view but very ch i l ly and

windy during winter .

The‘

su pp ly of dr inking water at Lohaghat i s

from three na u l a s , excavated from t ime immemorial

a nd si tuated at some di stance from one another .

T heM ochi s or other l ow caste people have thei r

separate na u l a s .

TheM a ya wa t i estate lying south-west i s partly

vi sible from the station . Of all t he European

settlers i n the ne ighbourhood M r . H ennessy i s the

m ost popular because of hi s good nature and hi s

1 2 0

LOHA GH A T TO CHE I R A .

m i ngl i ng wi th h i s Indian neighbours . He i s very

a nxious for the well-being of the ne ighbours and

i s always wi l l ing to g ive them good advice . He i s

r eal ly a very sympathetic and popular person ,next to M r . Sevier only, and has spent several

year s of h i s retired l ife at h i s beautiful estate of

Bh a ba l t a above Lohaghat proper .There stands a temple dedicated to the goddess

Bh a gwa t i i n the midst of an expansive D eodara

gro ve i n Vi l lage Su i consisti ng of four more hamlets

k nown as Panwa Ch a u ka nde, D ungr i , Kande and

Ch a u bya ; the last lying j ust by the temple . A fa i r

t akes place at the temple on the S r a wa n i P a u r na

m a sfz i (ful l-moon of July) every year . TheD eodar

g rove represents the old h i stor ic spot or C i zjy qfS fio z z i tpu r of l be P u r a na s which was the head

quarters o f the D emon (R a kr/z a s) ch ief, Ba na shwa r ,and where he with h i s D emon fol lowers was ki l led

in a battle by Sr i K r ishen Bhagwan i n the D wapa r

A ge, whereby a s already mentioned , a r iver of blood

flowed which is represented by the L oi z a wa f i Na a’

i

( r iver of blood) flowing to th i s day by the town of

Lohaghat cal led after i t .

Lo h a gh a t t o C h h i r a , 9 Mi les .

Theway, to begin wi th , i s easy and good for

l i ttle over a mi le . Then i t ta kes a gentle ascent

[ 2 1

E LW ALA FA N TR A VE L S .

up to M a ro ra kh a n . A l l th i s di stance i s nearly

three mi les . To'

the r ight and close to the Khan

l i es the tea plantation now owned by a Benga lee

Chr istian gentleman . The place commands a

good view but i s very windy . The

.

bui ld ing

belonging to the plantation l ie on the Lohaghat

s ide of the mountain whi le the tea planta t ion l iesmostly on the Ch h ira si de . It i s s i tuated on an

eminence amidst a beautiful dense forest of oak

above Raikot vi l la ge through which a track runs

direct to the estate .

From the Khan the publ ic road i s a pretty deepdescent for a di stance of 3 mi les end i ng at t he

Bagri r ivule t crossed by a wooden bri dge . The

way i s conveniently shady first , amidst oak forest

and then under chestnut a nd other kinds of tree s

at places . Two or three chains further on from

the wooden br idge there l ies c lose to r 1gh t of t he*

road a good cool-water Spring and the r emaining

way to Ch h ira i s al l leve l , the di stance bei ng near ly“

3,miles . There is a D a k bungalow with an outhousehere and a Government Baniya ’s shop i s c lose

by, surrounded by frui t trees . The s i te of those

houses i s on a r idge j utti ng down very low . It is

therefore hot and unhealthy dur i ng summer and

autumn . The bungalow wi th camping ground

i s an open,bare place and the heat i s therefore.

1 2 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I AI A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

miles,of which about 5 mi les are a sharp descent .

Theway from the H ingra bridge i s qui te level for

a mile running along t he r i ght bank i n steep

val ley of the Sarj u formed by the two ,prec ipi tous

mountains . H ere the Sarj u i s crossed by a

suspension br i dge cal led Gh a tpa l , roughly 1 50 ft .

long and the road passes on to the left bank of

the r iver along the foot of K a n ta ga o n mountain .

The old road from Lohaghat v i a'

Ch a nka nda i ,

Kalkot and S i nda comes up to Ghat Rameshwar ,the confluence of the S a rm u l D hora i n M al la

D hanpur and Sarj u coming down from Ba gheswa r .

The R a m Ganga emanating from Namek in

D hanpur i s z —émile s upwards and the way thence

i s qui te easy amidst a S a l forest . There i s a

temple of M ahadev at the confluence and two

fair ly big fa i rs take place there on the ful l-moon

of B a ird/eh (A pr i l) a nd M a kr a S /z a nkr a nf i n

January every year . Ramchandra M aharaj i s said

to have establ i shed the temple after bath ing in the

Surya Kund near there below Bantar i vi l lage

shortly before he left th i s world for the heavens .

There i s a good fish ing ghat at Rameshwar and

European gentlemen vi s i t i t i n numbers every

summer and also fol low sometimes along the.two r iver banks for fish ing purposes as far as

Ba gheshwa r and Tej am .

CHH I R A TO GOR A NA .

The road from the Ghar su spension br i dge is .

al l a n a sccnt somewhere mi ld at other places steep .

A t a di stance of 1 -5 mi le s a young banyan tree has

sprung on a S a‘

Z t reeand appears to grow into a

big one in a few years fixing i ts roots i n t he

ground where t hemother tree at pre sent stands ,A big cave cal led M or l mafy a r a l i a s S i z a nka Udy a r

“

l i es close to the r ight of the road . The former

name i s g iven to i t because people carrying and

attending corpses to Rameshwar , a sacred crem ation

place of the dead bodies of the neighbourhood,

often lodge in t h is '

ca ve when they cannot reach

thei r desti na tions ei ther way . The latter name i s

g iven to i t because the Bhotiyas or Sh a nka s spend

the night there i n,whi le go ing to and returning

, from Tanakpur wi th the i r baggage and anima l s,

special ly goats . A nother cave rather a big one

and cal led J a t ra ga o n Udya r i s nearly two m i le s .

onward,a short way above the road to the right

,

close to wh ich the J a t ia ga o n stream of nice cool

water flows . . I t is also u sed as a hal ti ng place by'

l oca l travel ler s .

Go rna . st a g 1ng bungalow i s about two mi les

from th i s Udya r (Jo h a ga nj ) . Between the two

caves half way i s the s i te of an old D a k bungalow

on the old road wh ich led h igher up the present

o ne. The Gorna camping ground i s on a m

1 2 5

H I M A LA YA N TR A VELS .

elevated r idge fa irly flat at the p lace . It i s enclosed

by a few T u n and oak trees wh ich make i t

parti cular ly pleasant and shady i n the summer .

Oneof the T u n trees was cleft fromtop to bottomby l ightn ing , of which a

'

terribly sharp sound.was

heard at Ch h ira . There i s a staging bungalow with

an outhouse and a Government Baniya ’s shop close

by the road- s ide here . TheBa n i a y’

s private house

also l ies near by , surrounded by cultivated fields of

the vi l lage Gorna of which t hehouses are s i tuated

a few paces o ff on the other s ide of a spur of the

r i dge wh ich ends there .

To the cast, and at a d istance of nearly four mi le s

from th i s place,on the peak of a big mountai n there

stands t he temple of Th a lkeda r to wh ich there i s

an assignment of property wi th an income of R s. 52

per annum . Thi s peak i s the h ighest i n Kumaun

next to D h a j i n Shor and has a most extensive view .

Two streams or ig inate from th i s mountai n and flow

northward , which have each a p ret ty h igh waterfal l

vi sible from the publ ic road near t h‘

e‘

To l i vi l lage .

There i s a story re lati ng to an endowment orig i' nal ly made to Th a l keda r i n the time of the Chand

Rajahs wh ich runs thus

A s i ster of the Ch a m ph a wa t Kal i Kumaun

Rajah was marr ied to the Raj ah of Shor . T helatter"wrote to the former that h i s wife wa s anxiou s to see

1 2 6

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

2 miles , i s l eve l and plea sant leading along t he

vic ini ty of beautiful i rr i gated lands . H ere a r ivulet is

crossed by a wooden br idge whence the road takes .

an ascent end ing at a ridge named Tol i Khand

about a m i le d i stant . There . i s a smal l temple o f'

the Kedar at th i s r idge to t he r igh t of the road

and a track leads hence to t heTh a l keda r high up ,about 3 miles d i stant . H ence the way i s sloping ,but from the Sej u n i r ivule t to A inch o l i i t i s level .

A gain the way i s an ascent upto the A inch o l i r idge

whence i t i s al l qui te easy and good . Pi thoragarh

l ie s on an undul ati ng plateau in Patt i M ahar ,Pergunnah Shor , at an elevation of feet

above sea - leve l . There i s an old staging bungalow

here and a number of del a p ida ted houses formerly

occupied by a Gorkha regiment but deserted long

since on account of the unhealth iness of the place

and the difficulty of the transport of provis ions ,which Shor i tself ‘was unable to supply at a t ime

of scarci ty .

Theplace i s exceedingly pleasant i n every way

but for i t s cl imate and dri nking-water supply . The

whole of the beautiful Shor val ley i s vi s ible from

Pithoragarh , i ntersected here and there by streams .

of water and dotted with smal l vi llages on

p icturesque leve l land , made i nto exceedingly

good- looking terraces . The vi l lages occupying ;

1 2 8

GOR ANA TO PJ TH OR A GA R H

the val ley genera l ly stand on eminences a nd

must have been le ss unhealthy had t hey been

establ i shed lower down in the val ley . Th e

dri nking-water of Pi thoragarh and presumably of

the whole vici n i ty i s qui te di stasteful a nd harmful

except that of Pa ndega on S i l t h a n Naula wi th in

the M i ss ion compound . To a newcomer i t produces

fever and stomach complaints even in summer,no t

to speak of the ra ins,when even every permanent

res ident suffers from those complaints . W hen t he

Kharif crop stands ripe,i t i s very hot and si ckly

i n the vi l lages of the neighbouri ng val leys .

A t the south-western corner of the plateau

there stands the old fort of Lo ndo r , nearly

sixteen feet h igh,on an elevated large mound .

There are loop-hole s al l along the fort -wal l

about a yard apart for musketry,with platform s

in_

the i ns ide for p lac ing and leve l l i ng guns .

A barrack for sepoys to l ive i n l ies with i n

the fort, at the centre of which there i s a deepreservoi r of water to be got i nto by three

fl i ghts of narrow stone- stai rs apparently properly

fenced before . The reservoir i s perfectly dried up

now . There stands a grown up P a da m tree (mi ld

cherry ) between the southern edge of the reservoir

and the fort-wal l . There are two other good trees

a t the so uthern corner o f t hebarracks . TheVi ew

1 2 9

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE LS .

hence i s extens ive and beautiful indeed . The

whole of the Khas Parj a Patti can be clearly seen .

New houses have si nce been bui lt wi th in the

fort i n which the Tehsi l wi th i ts Su b-T reasury i s

located and the Su b-D i vi s ional Offi cer also resides .

To the north-west on a comparativelycommanding plac

‘e l ie s a square tower cal led

W i lk iga rh ,s imi lar ly loop-holed for musketry .

T h i s i s now in ruins and may come down any

d a y . The W alka D evi temple l ies on another

eminence , a few paces westward .

The

-

barracks of the Gorkha company stationed

h ere before l ie between the fort and ‘the tower a

l i ttle eastward . M any of these barracks have fal len

and only a few are standing i n utter ruin . Oneor

two houses -one formerly a dispensary—sti l l standand are used by di str i ct offi cial s and people trave l-J

l ing i n these parts . The maga z i ne bui lding of

t hose days i s sti l l extant . TheTehsi l wa s located

for many years unti l recently, 2 o f a mi le o ff to

the west,1n Ba jet i vi l lage . Four pol i ce constables

wi th a head constable are Stationed at the Tehs i l

t o guard the Treasury . The s i te i s comparative ly

low and the water reservoir here i s more unhealthy

t han those used in the rest of Pi thoraga rh . Lower

down i s a large grassy beautiful plateau,named

G h orsya l , the parade ground of the old Gorkha

1 3 0

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE LS .

the M i ssion abroad as belonging to higher caste

H i ndus . It i s wel l known that o neor twoBrahmanconverts at A lmora have often fought hard

’

fo r

being addressed as M essrs . so -and-so and not by

the i r old H i ndu names , and though they never care

about their caste , yet they love to add the ir old

ti tles after the i r new names . The M i ss ion com

pound i s establ i shed where the old vi l lageof

Bh a tko t lay , b elonging in days gone by to t he

grooms of the old Rajah s .

A bout two mi les h igher up from Pithoragarh\

on the A lmora road i s t he“M o sh tm a no hi l l where

Chand, M und and their subord inate A su r a s were

ki l led by the goddess s ince inhabiting the place . .

A Leper A sylum i s maintained at Ch a nda g by t he

M . E . M i ss ion . There are over a hundred lepers

at pre sent who are very wel l taken care of by t he

good M i ss ion .

Thesi te of t heoriginal fort which gave the name

of Pi thoragarh i s sa id to be on the r idge j ust above

La nt h yu ra vi l lage formerly al loted to menials of t he

old Rajahs , near which place , by the present road ,stands the Gh a nt a ka rn M ahadev . Numerous P ir r

or B ir s (H eroes) were ki l led i n a battle which took

place i n old times between Rajah R a t a nch a nd a nd

h i s r ival , Rajah A bh im a nch a nd,and their corpses o r

bones lay in a heap there and hence the name

1 3 2

GOR A NA TO P I TH OR A GA R H .

l

P i l fior a g a r /z or t heFor ! of P i r s . Thename Sbor

;given to the Pa rga na h i s , according to some of i ts

inhabi tants , derived from the fact that Bhagwan

R a m'

Chandra ascended to Swa rg (heaven) from

thi s neighbourhood , or pa ssed i t just before h i s

ascendance . But the inhabi tants have done l i ttle

to retain the sancti ty of the place , s ince var ious

a busive epithets are often appl ied to them both in

m ockery and ser iousness by outs iders .

A t a di stance to the west i s the h ighest crest of

the Ch a nda g mountain cal led Udeypu r , wh’ere

Udey Chand Rajah had hi s abode in days gone by .

Further o ff the Ch a nda g mountain there i s a highpeak cal led A ru r cl z u l a a s some A r a r a t (demons)were ki l led at th i s p lace by a certain goddess (some

say M ahakal i ) . The t emple of M os/i i god or the

god of rain l ie s on the h i l l of that name . W hen(ever there happens to be a drought

,worsh ip and

sacrifices are made to th i s god,who i s bel ieved to

cause rai nfal l . It i s a fact that there is always

abunda nce of harvest in the vici ni ty and never a

scarci ty . Indeed dearness of gra i n is not known

in the va l ley . T he expenses of the worsh ip are

m et from subscriptions ra i sed by the inhabi tants .

If the cl imate of th is val ley were good i t would be

a n i deal pla ce to l ive in .

There i s a road direct from Pithoragarh to

I 3 S

H I M A LA YA N TR A VEL S .

A lm ora which i s 52 m i le s bu t i s fu l l of ascents a nd

descents, th e intervening staging bunga lows beingat Bans 7 m i les , H a t 1 0 miles , Naini 1 0%m i les ,Pannu Naula 1 0%miles and A lmora 1 4 miles:

Jhula ghat , t he boundary place between t he

Bri ti sh and Nepal Governments , l ie s to the ea st,1 5 miles o ff . Thewhole way i s level , barr ing a

short di stance near Badalu vi l lage where there i s

first a descent and then a n ascent, and a dista nce

of 2 mi les from Ga u rya t vi l lage down to Jhulaghati tself which i s a descent . Ther iver Kal i i s crossed

by a suspension br id ge at the place . There l ives

a Sarkar i Bania,a Ch a u kid a r a nd a D a k M unsh i o n

th i s si de of the br idge and on the other si de l ive

5 sentr ie s o f the Nepal Governm ent . Som e fish inggha ts are inter spersed in the Ka l i r iver u p to }

Pa cheshwa r , bu t the W a y i s not direct and

convenient . The road branches o ff to Thal from

Sa t -S i l a ng i which i s 4 miles to the north of

Pithoragarh . The distance from Pithoragarh to ]

Thal i s 2 9 miles . Thewa y i s a succession of plain,

descent and ascent but the greater part i s tolerably

level . It leads to the heart of habi ta tion . The

first stage i s that of D ewa l t h a l , distance 1 2 m i les ,where there i s an old Upper Prim ary School and a

new one for the training of teachers . A

branch post office i s kept herebut the dak is not

1 3 4

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

HHUALA YA N TR A VE L S .

Thestory about i t, as i t goes , i s that i ts foundation

wal l gave wa y for a time no sooner i t was bui lt .TheRajah then had a v1S 1o n m which he sa w thatt hebui ld ing would not be fini shed unti l a humansacrifice was made . So a man was duped to br ing

a few pieces of gold and S i lver which weredesi gnedly left i n the excavation made for t he

temple foundation ,

‘ and a s soon as he went down

huge stones were rol led over h im to bui ld

upon . Thefoundation i s real ly very deep and

extends down to the stream emanating from the

Naina D evi h i l l above . A n image of Bha ira b

carved on a big flat stone i s placed at the entrance

of the temple . There are three more temples but

they Contain no image or Lingu m . Besides there

are two old D h a r a m sa l a s for the travel lers and

d evotees . A l l these bui ld ings l ie on the left bank

o f the r iver which i s crossed by a suspension

br i dge . On the r ight bank , higher up , there i s a

fa i rly large plane on which the main fair takes

p lace on the Bikhwa t Sh a nkra n t (second week of

A pri l) every year and the shopkeepers sel l the ir

a rtic les . There a re'

som e mango trees planted by

P . Ishwar i D u t Gh i l dya l , when Tehs i ldar of

A lmora , which have bea u t ified the place consider

ably . Three pueca houses have been'

bu i l t here at

a di stance from the M e la ground and belong to

1 3 6

GOR A NA TO P I TH OR A GA R H .

Bh a sbi and M aula Bux M ohammedans of A lmora

town and,Bije S ingh , a Johar Bhotiya . The place

i s gaining importance i n view of the trade du r 1ngthe M ela which general ly lasts for about a week .

M erchants from A lmora town , K ashipur and the

neighbouri ng patti s open the i r Shops at that t ime .

T he fai r i s largely attended by the Bhotiyas of

Johar wi th the ir wool len cloths,blankets

,P a sfim ina r

a nd D /z a s a i x ( fineand coarse shawls respective ly)and a few hi l l pon ies left to be sold from the

Ba gheshwa r fai r i n January , and elsewhere i n thei nter im

,and by t he D anpu r people with the ir

N i gala m ats and P i la r s (boxes) .‘

Oranges and

plantains are also sold at the fai r mostly by the

Shi ra people .

There i s a fish ing ghat at Thal i n the Ra m

G anga a nd simi lar ones up to Tejam .

The road branches o ff to A skot, 1 7 miles ,Tejam

,. 1 2 mi les , and Ben ina g , 1 0 miles , on the

wa y to A lmora . From Ben ina g where there is aBranch Post Office , a H ind i School , a forest

s taging bungalow on the h i l ls ide above the publ ic

.r oad a nd a few simple tea estates belonging to

M r . J . G . S tevenson , the A lmora road branches o ff

t o Ch a u ko ree, 6 mi les , another tea estate be longing

t o the aforesaid gentleman and D h a ra m gh a r ,

4 miles further on , whence one branch goes to

I 3 7

H I M A LA YA N TR A VEL S .

Ba gheshwa r , 2 0 miles , v i a A ner ich a u r i n P . D u g,

nearly half way , where there i s a H i ndi School and

another to Nachani , 1 2 miles , from D haramgarh

on the way to Tej a m from Thal . Ben ina g is

named after the N a g (serpent) of the name (Ben i'

l i t . m eans tr iple-twis t ed hair-ta i l) whose abode

l i es on a crest of the hi l l about 8 chains from the

forest bungalow . There are other abodes of Na g s

i n the neighbourhood which are known as

P ing a l N a g (yel low serpent) below Ch a u ko ree,

M a l N a g (root serpent) on the hi l l between . pa tt ies

Nakur i and B ich l a D anpur , P/z m i N a g (hooded

serpent) on the K h a m lek hi l l between M ala

Baraun and Pu ngra u n ,D fia u l Al a g (white serpent)

near Oda Bagicha belonging to Badri Shah

Th u l gh a r ia , on the hi l l between Patti s D a g and

K a m ry a r , and K a i N a g (black serpent) on t he

peak of the h igh mountain separating the patti s of

Pu ngra u n and B ich l a D anpur and j utting down

eastward to the R a m Ganga near S a u ki a t /z a l vi llage

so cal led because inhabited by Saukas or Bh otiyas

of Johar . Theabode of the K a i N a g 1 8 about

5 miles , al l uphi l l way from Thal . It is named

R a m a n ik D wip in the M a na skh a nd ,one of the

great antique h istorie s of the H i ndu R i sh i s . It

i s i n the midst, as i t were , of the R a m Ganga and

the Sarj u wi th thei r affluents Barar, J h u n ia ga d , ,

1 3 8

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FAN TR A VE LS .

p retty large tem ple , with i ts fl i ght of stai rs , a water

c ourse and the two spouts to which i t conveys

water from the streams close by, a reservoir for

water , the two spouts above i t and s itting places i n

front and on the ri ght and left of the temple,a

Lingu m with i t s J a l t a r i and a niche for artic les

o f worship are al l cut and carved ski lful ly , may be ,from one and t hesame hard rock which appearst o have been a huge one and wh i ch i n one side

(eastward) sti l l appears endless i n depth . The

making of the temple and i ts steeple i s s imply

admirable and di splays marve l lous dexter i ty on the

part of the arch itect . T he i nter ior of the tem ple

looks as if i t were erected only the other day,but

the ex terior Shows how very old i t i s . A l l the

splendid carvings are e x tant to th is day except a

l ion’s head which seems to have been broken by

s ome misch ievous person . Thei r orig in i s traced

t o the t imes of the D oti Rajah who ruled in Shi ra

and had h i s fort on the Sh ira ga rh .

’

No regularworsh ip is offered to the M ahadev i n t he

'

tem p le,

which looks l ike a deserted place , a fate the attractive

arch itecture hardly deserves . There i s a smal l

pu cca D haramsala bui lt c lose to the temple , which

i s of much later date though i t l ooks much older

o n account of i ts unused state . Pandi t S u resh a na nd

M a m ga in of R i t h a i Pa idu l syu n i n Gharwal ,

1 40

PJ TH OR A GA RH TO SA TGA R H .

d escended from the wel l-known P . A ch a l a m a nd

Ph a u nda r of the Rajah ’ s time accompanied me in

my vi si t— I Should cal l i t— a pi lgr image to thi s

noteworthy place and ful ly shared with me in

the high prai se which the ski l l of the arch i tect

deserves . It i s indeed a rare spec imen of i ts ki nd

i n the Kumaun h i l l s .

Pi t h o r a ga r h t o S a t g a rh , Pa t t i

K h a r a y a t , 1 0 M i les .

The road from the d a k bungalow isleve l for

a Short di stance . It i s then slop ing down to R a i

Pul—a wooden bri dge—over the stream ri s ingfrom Chandak D anda and flowing down v i a

Ch a t keshwa r M ahadev to j oi n the Kal i r iver

about a mi le be low t he Jam Tar i vi l lage in Patt iSaun . Theway from th i s bridge i s qui te easy and

good as far as Sa t -S i l a ng i vi l lage , a di stance o f

two mi les . It is then a l i ttle sloping and aga i n leve l

for about a mi le , then begins an ascent for nearly

a mi le fol lowed by a leve l wa y for nearly as much

di stance . Theway, then , i s al ternately descend

ing and ascending and at last ends in a mi ld ascent

at the ot h mile- stone whence theway f arther on i s

easy and good . On the ascent, nearly mi les

1 4 1

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

l ower down Sa tga r , close t o the road below a b ig ,

ca ve i s a cool Spr ing of pretty large volume. A new

road has S i nce, been opened from the Sa t -S i l a ng i

School to S a tga r . Thi s road i s fa ir ly level through

out except near the school and near the Naini vi l lage

where i t i s an ascent The stage now measures

1 1 miles by the new road . S a t ga r i s a camping

ground j ust on the publ i c road,on a r idge

,i n

the midst of a c lump of oak trees . It i s a Shadyand cold place . There i s no staging bungalow

here . A n old hovel i s the abode of K a l sin god ,higher up of th i s i s Kamal Nath and sti l l h i gher

up i s a smal l temple of Ch h u rm a l god,where

there i s an i ron swing for people to amuse them

s elves wi th . A t some distance , on the peak of

the mountain , on a seemingly inaccessible h eight

,known as B haj , i s the abode of Jainti goddess anda l i ttle lower down i s the a bode of Kh a ndc Nath

Mahadev . D /z a j l i teral ly means .a heap of weal th

stored and set apart by a wealthy man over a nd

a bove what he may requ ire for h i s use dur ing h is

l ifetime . Several local men are said to have found

wealth round about the peak in former times and

so the name has been given to i t .

Thecamping ground of Sa t ga r i s named after“ the vi l lage wh ich i s a pretty la rgeone of some

40 fa mi l ies .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H E P/A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

peaks of the Johar including the wel l-knownPanch Chul i and those of. D anpur . H igher up

to the south of the camping ground , on an emi

nence i s the abode of a god named D h a n lekh,

where a swing i s also p itched . There i s an aided

H i nd i School at S inga l ikh a n lower down the

road to the r ight .

S i ng a l ikh a n t o A sko t C a m p i n g gr o u nd ,

5 M i les 6’A s ko t vi l l a ge, 6 M i les .

It i s al l a descent down to the Gu rga d wooden

bridge , a di stance of a l i ttle more than 2 mi les .

From here the j ourney i s easy and pleasant . The

A skot camping ground l ies on a ri dge i n t he

midst of an oak clump . It is a commandingposi tion . TheKal i r iver runs down quietly i n the

val ley to the sou th . To the left hand o f

the r iver l ie the vi l lages of D oti Nepal , some

of which are perfectly i rr i gated . The A skot

R a jba rs i ntermarry with the D oti people ,—their

immediate neighbour s and peers i n birth . Al i ttle h igher up l i es a house belonging to t he

Ameri can M i s si on i n wh ich a native preacher

re sides . H i gher up on the r idge there are more

commanding crests of the r idge . On the highest

crest there stands a chhappar of a certain Bhotiya,

1 44

SINAL I KH AN TO A SKOT

who general ly winters on th i s r idge . TheA lmora

road m’

a Ba rech ina 8 miles , D h a u lch ina 5%mi les ,Ganai 1 6%miles , Ben ina g 1 2 miles , Thal 1 0 mi le s

D ig t a r a l i a s D ind ih a t I O mi les , and A skot 7 mile s

to ta l d i stance 69 mi les , leads along th i s r i dgefirst to the left and then to the r ight . Theroad on

th is ri dge higher up i s of an absorbi ng ki nd of clay

as i s found all over the Lansd owne i n Gharwal .

Therea reda k bungalows i n a l l the stages except i n

D i gt a r , where the camping ground i s beautiful ly flat

and large . Thereare two shops here i n a corner

eastward and a th i rd house belonging to a Chr i stian

i n another—northward . The Forest D epartmenthas lately bui l t a stag ing bungalow on a hi l l ,cal led Gh o rch a u nr , about 2%miles to the west of

D igt a r . There i s an abode of a god known as

Ch h u rm a l on a high peak of the same mounta in ,in which l ies the staging Forest bungalow . On

another peak c lo Se by, cal led S ireko t , from which

the Pa rga na h S i ra der ived i ts name , there are the

ruins of a fort of an old Rajah of D oti . A fl i ght

of stone stair s' from the fort to i ts Na u l a (drinking

water spr ing) below to the west are extant to thi s

day . Both the peaks are vi sible from the D i gt a r

camping ground . There a re copper mines i n

the ne i ghbourhood bu t have gone o u t of use for a

lo ng time .

1 45

HIM ALA FAN TR A VE LS .

From the h igher summits above A skot proper

one can clearly survey the perpetual snowy peaks

of the H imalayas from Nepal to D anpur . T hough

far away they seem to be near enough . Thepeaks

o n \ the Byans and D arma side are no t vi sible , the

h igh C h h ipl a ko t mountain whi ch , too , i s often

covered with snow, hides them from view . T he

smart shower that fel l las t afternoon (month of

M a y) has accumulated a th i ck layer of snow on

that mountai n .

A skot, unl ike Shor , abounds i n forests of oak ,pine and other trees . To the north the j ungle is

denser and there are but few vi l lages on that s ide .

T he R aj z'

s or B a nm a nu s (wi ldmen) , al so cal led

R awa t s , i nhabi t th i s j ungle of Ch h ip l a ko t i n thene ighbourhood of the Tol i vi l lage and on th i s side

o f the Gori r iver and are sometimes seen . They

used to dread even the ir ne ighbours , the A skot

people,very much before and sti l l more the offic ia l

class . They have , however , now become used to

mixing with the ir ne ighbours and to carrying on

their petty trade with them . These wi ld men have

the reputation of making good wooden jars and

indeed they make fine ones with the poor tool s

they have , which they exchange with artic le s

o ffered by the ir ne ighbours . They general ly l ive

i n the forests lying on both sides of the Gori and

I 46

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA YA N TR A VEL S .

stealth i ly come out of thei r hi ding place,em pty t he

u tensi l s and taketo the ir heels , of course leaving the

u tensi l s t o be possessed by those wh o paid the

price i n kind .

The i r general features agree cons iderably with

the Bhotiyas and T ibetans a nd show them to belong

t o the M ongol ian race . None have th ick moustache

and beard , which if ever grow very sparsely and

are of browni sh colour . They do not much differ

from those in the A skot neighbourhood. Their

dialect, however , i s perfectly different and can be.

dec iphered by none outs i de thei r own community .

Bu t there are some among them who now under

sta nd H industani and prattle a l i ttle i n i t .

They l ive m ostly on wi ld frui ts, rdo t s, fishes ,which they easi ly catch and wi ld fowls and bigger

ga mes , which they ki l l by means of pr imi tive traps .

They are a nomadic tr ibe and do not l ive for 'more tha n a few da ysat one place, nor have peru

manent dwel l i ngs , except a few in Tol i block , abou t

2 m i les westward of A sk‘ot

,i n which two fami l ies

l ive for the greater part of the year . W hen movingabo ut in the j ungle s they prepare a rfii z a ppa r t o

dwel l i n for a few days, o r so long as eatable roots

etc . a reavai lable in the vicini ty, wi th branches o f

trees a nd grass wi th a l l imaginable a lacri ty and

directly a l l go o u t i n search o f their food i n the

1 48

S I NA LI KHA N TO A SK OT.

jungle . A s a rule each makes a m eal of what he

or shebrings from the j ungle and even the case of

ch i ldren over 4 years i s not an exception to i t .

Chi ld marr iage is unknown among them .

M arr iages are settled by paym ent of one to five

Katcha rupees (equivalent , respectively , to 1 2 a s .

9 p .) and R s . 4 of current Engl i sh coin to the g i r l’

s

parents and a feast i s g iven to a smal l process ionheaded by t hech ief man among them or the D /z a m i

who i s the ir priest, doctor , counsel lor , and

what not

D i sputes are almost unknown among them but

if ever any crops up , i t i s settled by the ir own

P a ncl z a y a t most conclusively .

D ead bodies among them a recrem a ted o n the

r iver banks . The fami ly of the deceased fa st o n

the day and no other rel i g ious ceremonies fol low.

Bu t the lodge where i n a dea th occ u rs i s at once

g iven up . A fami ly somet imes keeps one or twogoats and a cow which they carry from place to

place where they themse lves move . They prefer

l iving on sunny hi l l- sides or low but j ungly r i ver

val leys to mountain t 0 ps , probably on account of

their. want of cover ing , and th is may account for

the ir blacki sh complexio n They smoke tobaccowhich they grow a l itt le near thei r dwel l ings

a nd make up t he deficiency by leaves of

1 49

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

Tu ng a or such other wi l d trees . A s ingle H ooka

i s suffic ient for the whole community . They have

no spec ial gods or temples of worship but there

are certain rocks i n the midst of the j ungles

which they frequent , consecrated to the ir dei tie s

cal led K bu a ’a i and M a l ika fj u n . Only red flowers.

a nd green b ra nches of trees are general ly offered

to thei r so—cal led gods .

A l i ttle lower down the camping ground i s the

resi dence of the R aj éa r s'

o f A skot and their tenants,the former l iving on an elevated place and the

latter lower t down .. TheRajh ar he ir-apparent has

taken h i s a bode\o n another eminence sl ightly

lower down , while on another r i dge sti l l lower down

but more commanding than the two above i s the

temple of the fami ly god of the R a jba rs . The

god'

i s cal led M a l ika rj u n a l ia s A ng a lek/z , by which

latter name the h i l l i s al so ca l led M a l ika rj zm i s a

corruption of ~M a l l ika rj u na wh ich l i teral ly means .

‘white l ike the j asmine and i s an epithet of

a Sh iva L ingu m ,special ly that in Sr i Sh a i l a . The

god a i s worshipped on D a s a z

'

n of N a vr a t r a s , fal l ingi n A sa uj o r K a r lik (September-October) . The

chief R a jba r alone i s author i sed t o\wo rsh ip t he

g od .

’

On the K a r i ik P u r n a m a sb z’

,the women of

the R a jba r’

s fami ly al so vi si t the god . The chief

R a jba r’

s wife herself worships the god on the

1 50

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

S I N A L I KH A N TO A SK OT.

even i ng of the C/z a fu r da s i z z"while the Raj h ar

h imself worsh ips on the P u r n a m a s/z z’

or the

fol lowing day . There are 3 D h a r a m sa l a s round

the temple , which are occupied by worsh ipper s

and the i r fami l ies duri ng the M ela which assembles

in the evening of the Cba /u r a’a rb z

’

and di sperses

on the fol lowing forenoon , and also by ascetic s

occasional ly , one of whom l ived a long time there

and acqui red wide fame for h is piety and divi ne

powers . Th e i nhabitants of A skot come to

congrat ulate the R a jba r dur i ng the fair . Such of

them a s are respectable br ing with them D a m a on

(a flat smal l drum) or kettle-drum (N a ka r a ) . They

are rewarded by the R a jba r at the rate of R s . 2 to

R s . 5 according to the degree of respectabi l i ty of

the rec ipient or the value of the pre sent they make

h im . From thi s place and lower down to thesouth-east

,where careful ly cul tivated level fields of

red soi l he,the scenery of the Kal i r iver i s

p icturesque and pleasant .

There was no staging bungalow at the camping

ground of A skot for a long time . The R a jba r has

now bui lt one amidst nice and tal l oak trees on an

eminence , for the convenience of European travel

lers in particular , who used to suffer some incon

ven ienc’

e for want of a sui table hou se at the

camping place . There i s a Vi l lage Post Office

1 5 1

H I M A LA YAN TR A VE L S .

and also a primary vernacular school at A skot but

no Bania to se l l fl our , r i ce , etc . ,wh ich i s ‘ a p i ty .

A M ohammedan keeps h i s shop of cloth,Bhotiya

wool len articles , musk a nd other petty artic les

o nly . It would be wel l if he sold flour etc . also .

Theablest of the R a jba r fami ly at present i s

K . Kharak S i ngh Pal , a very promis ing Govern

ment offic ial , most amiable and obl ig i ng .

A man-eater sometimes appears i n the A nglekh

hi l l of A skot and accord ing to local bel ief only

when the M a l ika rj u n or A nglekh god i s d issa t i s

fied with the pauci ty of worshippers ’ offer ings

made to h im . Bu t when propitiated the god- in

the form-o f-man-eater d i sappears and ceases to ki l l

human be i ngs .

A sko t t o B a lua ko f, a l s o ca l led

Ku ch i a —I l M i les .

Immediately from the A skot camping ground

the way takes a deep descent of nearly 3 m i le s

which ends near Garia vi l lage , where to the r ight

of the road there is beauti ful water-fal l o f cou s i

dera b leheight . C lose by , the Gori r iver~ i s sui ng

from the M i l lam glac ier and passing through

Johar,i s crossed by an i ron suspens ion bridge .

1 52

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

A SK OT TO B A L UAKOT .

H ere I found myself , a s i t were , once more in t he

grea t A l a kna nda val ley , i n the Gharwal d i str ict .

Among i ts boulders a nd round pebbles there are

so many beautiful specimens ,of those found

in thebanks of the A l a kna nda ,where I used to

amuse myself and take much del ight for so long a

period i n my happy ch i ldhood . T he water of the

Gor i r iver i s cool and tasteful but a l i ttle infer ior to

that of the A l a kna nda .

From the other s ide or p i l lar of the bridge onebranch of the road leads to Johar and the other toD arma and Byans . Close by i s a Government

D haramsala wi th four compartments on each s ide

and a bigger room on the front with a verandah ,neatly kept .

T hewildmen (B a nm a n u s) l i ve on the h i l l s in

th i s s ide and thei r care lessly made cultivation i s to

be found here and there . A fe w paces onwards i s

the a 7 t h mi le-stone , near which a number of spri ngs

po ur thei r waters on the road whence they are con

veyed by a channel to a t o t iya camping ground

for planting and growing tobacco . The way from

the suspension bridge i s easy and good . There is

a l i ttle ascent near the 2 8 th mile-stone .

‘

Themode of sowi ng Indian ' corn is pecul iar

here . A man plou ghs the land and a woman with

a basketful of grain on her head fol lows and puts

1 53

H I M / I LA FA N TR A VE LS .

careful ly and accurately i n the furrow one grain at

every span .

The Kal i and Gor i r ivers j oi n here at the

extremity of th i s r idge j ust below D udi vi l lage , i n a

val ley between two other big mountains . The

j unction i s cal led Jo l j ib , where a big fa ir takes .

place on the ful l-moon of K a r t ik (October

November) i n which Bhotiya wool len c loth i nclud

ing T/z u lm a s , Cbu /ka s and Sa ba ’a ns (surpr i singlybeautifu l and durable carpets) are sold . A smal l

temple of M ahadev l ies on a narrow plot of land

between the two r ivers . T he Nepal Government .

has a Chauki (guard-post) on i ts s ide to checktthe transport of gra in and othe r commodi ties from .

hat s ide to th i s and v icever sa . Those from th i s

Government who go even empty-handed to the

Nepal side are charged one M a fi a ( 1; o f a seer)of r ice by the senti nel placed at the Chauki . Both .

the r ivers are crossed by S a ng a s or temporary

bri dges dur i ng winter and summer when t he

volume of water dimini shes . They are swept away '

a s soon a s the water swel ls e i ther by heavy

showers or by the melti ng of snows . In that case

the only means of communication i s the i ron

suspension br idge at Jhulaghat . There i s a short

ascent from the wooden bri dge near the 3 r s t mi le

stone . A t some di stance further on there i s a ,

I S4

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE LS .

they cannot take with them at a time , pi led in the

godly cave both when going down to Tanakpur

a nd returning thence , without any one to look

after them but absolute ly left to the god to ta ke

care of them , and none 1 8 known to have ever

tam pered wi th them . .

K u ch i a o r B a l u a ko t t o D h a rc h u l a

10 M i les .

From Kuch ia the way i s qui te level and good ,leading along the r ight bank of the Kal i at the foot

of h igh mounta i ns , up to D harchula . A t the 3 7 t h

mile-stone , to the r ight of the road there i s t he

winter camping ground of Ba u na l and T i rma l

Bhotiyas ca l led Ch h a rch a in and close by a rea few

thatched huts of a permanent dweller , a Jo sh iBrahman by ca ste . Further on there i s anotherBhotiya winter habi tati on of D arma people named

T uni . A l i ttle way o ff the 3 9 t h mi le s-stone the

road leads on a l imestone rock named Chhati a

Bhel i n which there are two caves , resorted to by

Bhotiyas and other vi l lage trave l lers . The r iver

Kal i i s close to the road here,beating the base of

the rock pretty impetuously .

On the roadside further on , i s the vi l lage

n a r’

ned Jo sh ikhet , so ca l led because i t wa s formerly

1 56

B A L UA K OT TO D HA R CH ULA .

granted by the Raj h ar to a Josh i Bra hman . It i s

now held by a ‘Rajput Bi st fami ly . Kal ika , a ,

bigger vi l lage of 1 5 fami l ies , l ie s on the other s ide

ofl

Ch u nwa ga r which divides the two vi l lages . A

ca na l from thi s stream works a water-mil l o n the‘other s ide of the wooden bri dge across the stream .

Thevi l lage l ies on an elevated ground . T he40 t h

mile-stone i s close by, a s also a cave where

Bhotiyas stay , and a place under a Charbi tree

consecra ted to a goddess decorated wi th a few

scraps o f red and white cloth . There i s a stream

of water a nd also a spout wh ich i rr i gate some l and

j ust below the road .

Go t h i a Bagar , at the 4 rs t mi le-stone , i s anot her

winter camping ground of Ba u niya l and D u g t a l

Thoks of D arma Bhotiyas , conta in ing pueca houses

co vered wi th slate s . The Kal i ka people grow

Ind ian corn i n the land adj oi n i ng these houses , as

i t i s wel l manured by the long stay of ca ttle , belong

ing to Bhotiyas . A l i ttle h igher up , i s a smal l water

fal l from the rock overshadowing the place . Other

D a r 'ma Bhotiyas al s’o winter further on at places

and have pu cca houses c overed with nice slates .

A channe l h a s been dug out and ‘conveys water

from the Galati stream to the o ther s ide of a r idge

t o wo rk a couple of water-m i l l s by the high road .

The D harchula camp ing g round i s a .fine&

i S7

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

l ooking extensive pla ce on the bank of the Kal i

r iver . Its eastern extrem ity stretches towards

the r iver bank . It i s longest from west to east,

the southern and northern corners are compara

t ively strai tened . I t s shape i s very l ike a semi

circle,the road form i ng the diameter . Numerous

Bhotiyas winter here and an idea of thei r number

can be guessed f rom so many wal ls of houses

that stand roofless i n these days of M a y . It isa n

important trade depot of the Bhotiyas . T he di s

t r ict officers encamp at the centre under the two

Pipal trees that sui tably s tand there . There are

no other trees on the plateau except two pi ne trees

(one of them qui te stunted) standing near the

Government D haramsala . The ne ighbo uring

vi l lages grow the ir crop on the greater portion of

th i s ground abundantly,~ because of i ts r ich soi l ,

during the time i t i s untenanted by the Bhotiyas .

It i s very low and therefore the heat i s almos t

i ntolerable bu t for the cool water of the r iver flow

i ng close by,which i s eas i ly access ible . Scorpions

infest the place mostly i n the hot weather . H i gh

er u p on the western r idge i s a bungalow belong

ing to the American M i s s ion . Thi s s i te i s

comparatively cool , but the dri nking water i s hot

because i t i s conveyed by a channel from a distant

s tream . There are numerous mounta ins of great

1 58

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

BA L UA K OT TO D HA R CH ULA .

al ti tude on a l l s ides of K h a t loko t , and M a lbela ko t

lying in the east,K a wa l ik or Ch h a kr i , the h ighest

cone,seemingly touch ing the sky i n the north , and

D h a rch u l a ko t lyi ng i n the west . It i s a l i ttle open

only southward . A t the eastern extremi ty of the

p lateau the Kal i r iver i s crossed by means of a

strong rope fastened to strong pegs on both banks

and a stool (p irka ) attached t o i t i n such a way

that the person cross ing may move i t e i ther side

he chooses to carry h imse lf . To cl imb on th i s~cradle requires a dea l of exertion .

T heAmerican M i ss ion h a s twp houses at the

eastern end of the plateau,one used as a d ispen

sary and the other ' a s a dwel l ing house . Two

other houses stand close by . In one of those i s

a Government School and the other a D haram

sala bui lt by one H arpal Ga rbya l . Thenorthern

portion of the plateau is very stony . There i s a

shop of cloth and tea on the roadside belonging.t o a R a jba r . Theway from the M i ss ion bungalow

descends down the r idge and meets the h igh

road at the stream which suppl ies water above ,iby means of a canal , as mentioned already.'

This is a mere lane . The other way , which i s

the publ ic road,though far better i s very c i rcui

. tous .

A few p a cca houses have -s ince been bui l t by

I S9

H I M / I LA YA N TR A VE LS .

the Bhotiyas at . D harchula for the i r winter resi

dence . Governm ent quarters for ‘ the Pol i tical

Peshkar were erected at much ex pen d desert-N

ed almost simultaneously . P . Lok K u kret i ,

Reg istration clerk l i ves i n a thatched hut . He i s

very obl iging and keeps a stock of valuable

Vaidic medici nes prepared wi th great care and

labour from H imal ayan mineral s and herbs,which

have proved very beneficial to the neighbouring

vi l lagers , t he trad ing and migratory Bhotiyas and

pi lgr ims to the M a nsa rowa r or the K a i l a sh,to

which sa nct u a r igs he has been more than once .

Opposi te the D harchula plane , beyond the Kal i ,i s the residence of a Nepa lee Li eutenant wh o

exerci ses both c ivi l and cr iminal powers and hash i s ku t chery house and a jai l for convicts there .

D h a r ch u l a t o K hel a —9 M i les .

Theway i s leve l along the r iver‘

bank for about

3 miles , shut on al l s i de s by bare and prec ipi tous

rocks . A t th i s d i stance there i s a Government

D haramsala having four apartm ents on each s ide

and one in front, wi th a verandah , named D o ba t i a ,

and a laneleads hence to R a h t h i vi l lage h igh up

to the left . Theroad from here i s not uniform .

A t som e places i t i s leve l for some dista nce , at

1 60

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

o thers a n ascen t or a descent . Th ere i s a succes

si on of a l l t hese a s fa r a s Ra ngut iga r . Just abovet he so t h m i le-stone Lie s the vi l lage of Jumm a .

Between this vi l lage a nd Ra h t h i flows a r ivulet of

cons iderab levolume , erossed by a wooden br idge,

about 40 feet long . A few pa ces onwa rd, the

rocks to the left of t heroad i nd i cate , by the marks

left on them , that t hecourse of the Kal i ri ver was

oncea long th i s way . Next i s t heSya nku r i vi l lage

QD‘

a lm ost equal he i ght . Between th i s vi l lage a nd

Ra h t h i to o ,flows another r ivulet, a l i ttle larger,

ca l led t heRela ga r , crossed bya wooden br idge of

nearly 6o ft . span . A skot l imits end at the Re lega r

a nd theD arma Pa rga na h begins thenc e .

From R a ngu t iga r t heway i s a stee p ascent for

over a mi leand then a l i ttle m i lder for the rest of

t hewa y to Kh e la camping grou nd, e leva t i on 5,o oofeet, whence a few paces back a rou te leads to the

D a rma va l ley . The sta ges are

1 . Sobl a , 9 mile s , where there ,are a few pueca

hou ses . covered. with stone s la te s , belonging t o t he

Da rm a Bhot iyas who u se i t a s a t rade depot .

There i s a sma l l cave here wh ich is sai d t o ki l l

any bird or a nimal t hat may enter i t . I ha ve

m yself noticed many dead b irds a nd the i r feat hers

therei n, a nd,a dog that out of cur io s i ty en t ered i t

soon retu rned, stagger i ng a s if poi soned .

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

z . U th ing , 8 mi les—on the way to i t about a

mi le beyond Sobla , near D a r vi l lage , there i s a

hot-water spr ing of very h igh.

temperature and

some 7 mile s from U t h ing , by a different track ,red bears are found in a j ung le known a s M andeh .

3 . Na gl ing vi l lage , 4 miles .

4 . Baleng vi l lage , 3 miles .

5 . Sa u ndu gt u vi l lage , 3 miles , lyi ng at the foot

of the Panch C hul i Peak or i ts glac ier . Fromabout 3 miles onwards , near the M archa vi l lage , a

track leads on the left to Shibu , 8 mi les , which

i s the 7 t h stage and the last vi l lage in the val ley .

A nother track leads on the r ight to Bedang , nearly

9 miles from S a u ndu g t u ,and the last vi llage i n

that direction inhabi ted by Kh a m pa s . This way

leads v ia Go h vi l lage lying‘

beyond the D haul i

r iver, about half way between D u g t u and Bedang .

‘

Jet h o ra Bhotiyas do not seem to inhabi t beyond

Khela in D arma and M u nsya r i i n j ohar . They

are the first settle rs and are therefore cal led“

f et a , meaning elder . They cultivate land and

do not trade l ike the other Bhotiyas and are

considered superior to the la tte r i n caste . They

d o not eat wi th the T ibetans as others .

The camping ground l ies on t he spur of a

p recip i tous rock , immediate ly below which flows

the Kal i r iver . The Space i s very smal l . There

1 6 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S ’

.

about 3 miles and on the ascent there i s a pretty cool

Sp r i ng , about a mi le above the br idge . H ence

one may clearly survey the Khela habi tation and

cultivat ion . Looking to the north of t heD a rm ya ngVal ley a pretty clear water-fal l and a vi l lage named

J a m ku at some di stance to the left of t he

D a rm ya ng r iver are vi s ible .

Theplace where the ascent ends i s consecrated

to B ina ik god of the Bhotiya s . A heap of stones

have accumulated here , be ing thrown one at a time

by passers by from time to time . There are also

numerous scraps of red and white c loth hanging

on the bushe s and sticks pi tched on the top of t he

above accumulation of stones . A fter th i s the road

i s often level and on the whole easy and good .

Near the s9t h mi le-stone , c lose by the road

side,l ie s Pangu vi l lage of some 2 0 houses , most

of which are thatched. Jewt iga r‘ camp ing ground

i s si tuated on a flat spur of the R a ngt o m ounta in

at the foot of wh ich flows the stream after wh ich the

p lace i s named . It has h i gh mountains on al l

s ides . There i s a good forest of oak , chestnut

a nd rhododendron trees here and al l round but

there i s no staying bungalow or D haramsala here .

The vi l lages of Ranto , Ch h i l sa u n and Pa u nl a l i e

c lose by . The stream i s crossed' by three roughly

shaped logs covered wi th planks which are now

1 64

Tem p l e a nd p ra yer p o l e a t Ch h a l ikh in

Pa t t i By a n s .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

of the road j ust beyond a stream running in t he

val ley, there i s a big j ungle of Pa dhel a or Tang

sh ing trees which are a lmost identi cal i n appear

ance with D eodar'

and Surai , but i n worth

a nd durabi l i ty of timber are very much inferior

to them . T hemi ld ascent ends at a r idge cal led

S ikhan . H ere the way, to cross the summit, first

leads between two mounds si tuated close to each

other . A cross them there i s a finer ope fastened

and hung with red and whi te p i eces of c loth—th e'

way thus formed being‘

known as D h a r a m dwa r ,or the door o f

' r i ghteousness . Two smal l images

o f wood awkwardly carved are placed to the ri ght

of the road . From here the snowy peaks of‘

K a m lekh Ph a fu of Nepal are clearly vi s ible . A t

some d i stance below l i e the hamlets of Repo ngand Rabal in Bhot t erri tory .

”

Below t he 6grd

mile-stone l ies the vi l lage of S i rdan . W heat crops

sti l l standing qui te green and M iwa J a n , a l i ttle

superior spec ies of barley, nearly r ipe , are on the

fields. There i s a H a lqa ba nd i school at S ir‘

da ng

on a r idge below the vi l lage si te . Theway henceto ‘

S irkh a camping place i s pretty easy and good.

There i s no regula r camping ground here a nd

tents are pi tched o n'

cu l t iva ted fields of t heS inkhavi l lage—whichever may be without crop . Between

the cultivated fie l ds of th i s vi l lage and the j ung le

1 66

Vi ew o f Snow from By a n s .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

S irkh a , is ea sy . Hence i t i s first a descent a nd

then moderately S loping , and agai n easy . A l l

th is m akes rem i les . Then i t i s a‘

steep‘

a scent

first a long t her ight bank of the Sh a m iga r (a r ivulet ) a nd t henon cross ing i t , some way upwards

in t hemidst of a dense forest of huge K h a rsu ,

Ti l a nj , rhododendron and other trees . By the

bye, i t m a y be noted that K h a rsu and T a i la njbelong t o t hesa me Spec ies and a re very s imi lar

in appea rance , the only disti nc t ion between them is

that the latter has pr ickly-poi nted leaves,whi le the

form er h a s smooth ones. Theascent is near ly t h ree

m i les long and ends at R u ngl ingdh u ra ( summit)where a s usual t hepeople have h ung a number ofscraps of coloured cloth On N iga la sticks stuck up

there fer the purpose.

Ga l a dh u'

ra m ountain is j ust opposi te,on t he

et her s ide ; i t ha s yet (first week of j une) deep

snow on i ts uppermost parts and recesses:

From R ungl ingdh u ra the way i s al l a deep

desce'nt am id a dense forest of big K h a rsu a nd

such other h i l ly tree s a s far down a s the Syang

khola camping ground , near which l ies the 7 r st

mi le-stone . TheS inkh o l a ga r r i vulet ,’ from which

the camping ground deri ves i ts name ,’ r i ses from

th é Si de a t the Nirpa ni a mountain,is j oined by two

Other Stream s before i t pa sses by the camping

1 68

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

HH lI A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

pi tching tents and pals . It l ies at the root of h igh

prec ipi tous mountai ns and i n a narrow and pretty

low valley at the bed of the Sya ngkh o l a r ivulet a ndi s of moderate temperature consequently

. There

are no houses for travel le rs to put up in . The

Bhotiya vi l lage of Bongbon i s close by to t he

south .

S y a ngkh o l a t o J ibt i—3 M i les6 171 f a ng , 1 8 94 .

Theway i s easy and good al l through . A bout

1 -5 mi les o ff i s a Government D haramsala by t he

roadside and higher up l ie s the vi l la ge of Gal la ,by which name the D haramsala i s als o cal led .

A t an equa l di stancei s the vi l lage of J ibt i belowthe road

,i nhab i ted by the J u m l i people , with

thatched house s and a fami ly from upper Ghar

wal .’

T hecamping ground i s above the road at a

stony place on an elevated spur of the great N ir

pania mountai ns . A t some distance to t he

south on the s ide of Ru ng l ing mountain l ies

T a ngku l a ,a Nayabad vi l lage belonging to t he

Rung vi l lage peop le‘

bu t tenanted by old immi

grants from some part of upper Garhwal . Justbelow thi s vi l lage the Sya nkh o l a r ivulet j oi ns t he

1 70

7 1 3 T] TO CH H A R TA .

Kal i r iver wh ich though flowm g southward at a

d istance,i s c learly V i sible from the J ib t i camping

ground . There are i nd ica tions of an antique

bui lding here and i t i s probable that a fort of

some Raja might have exi sted here i n days long

gone by . Eastward hence stand the snowy peaks

of N a m ro n . T he spr ing used i n the camping

ground i s j us t above the h igh road and i s got at

by a foot-path . It i ssues forth from under the

roots of a big oak tree and i t s water i s therefore

pecu l iarly cool and tasteful . Thi s short march i s

necessary in order to prepare oneself for t he

N irpa n i a cl imb which wi l l be noted hereafter .

J i bt i t o C h h a t t a —4 M i les .

Leaving the short footpath which i s a descent

to j oin,the high roa d , the way i s easy

,along the

s ide of a prec ipi tous h i l l,for about a mi le

,that i s

,

as far as the Ben t h o t r idge . A t about half th i s

way the road passes through a gate as if i t were

formed by two huge stones lyi ng on e ither side of

the road on a markedly rocky spur of the great

N irpa n ia mountain j utting down into the Kal i r iver

bed‘

. Thi s r idge cal led B indko t i s considered to

be the boundary-mark between the Ch a u da ns and

Byans Patti s . H ere , as usual , scraps of red and

1 7 1

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

whi te c loth are hung on a sm al l tree . S tones and

pieces of bamboo are also attached to these scraps .

So 'me di stance o ff i s s i tuated the » vi l lage o f

D u m l ing i n the Nepal terr i tory, by the s ide of a

r ivulet formed by two smal ler ones , each of which

has a beautiful water-fal l a few paces above and

south-east of the vi l lage . Both these streams meet

a l i ttle lower down near the vi l lage .

A nother spur of N irpa n i a half a m i le onwards ,i s also cal led Ben tko t , on wh ich P . W . D . cool ies ,who are a t work on the road , have erected the i r

sheds to lodge in . Yonder i s the Kalgu r ivulet

i ssuing from the S iph u glac ier wi thi n Nep‘

al,and

j oining t heKal i where th i s Ben tko t spur ends on1

th i s bank of the r iver . T heway hence i s a deep

and circui tous descent conta in ing fl i ghts of stone

St airs . A t places there are many caves on the

roadside wh ich the Bhotiyas u se for the ir tempo rary

res i dence on the way to and from their homes .

One of these i s noteworthy . It l ies c lose down

the road and i s formed by a large fia t stone leaning

over _a rock a nd leaving ample room in “ a co rner

ca pable‘

of g i ving shelter to about 3 0 persons at a

t im e . A l i ttle way onwards i s the rock now cal led

Ni rpa n i a C'ha ntha (cl i ff) where a poor

‘

workman lost

h is l ife in the course of blasti ng work last year .

TheW a y over the rock here i s very prec ipi to us

1 7 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A L’

A FA N TR A VE L S .

G a l a ga r to Ch h a r t a though nearly as per i lous

takes now hardly more than 3 hours . Theold

way was so terr ific and dangerous that people with

cattle could only pass i t at a great r i sk . H orses

were seldom brought from Bhot by th i s route,and

if ever , i t was by means of ropes t ied round thei r

bodies and supported by a number of stout

Bhotiyas . The an imal bought at,sa y , R s . so i n

T i bet wa s sold at nearly three t imes i ts orig ina l

value soon after i t safely passed—if i t ever d idth is dangerous portion of the route . Thi s may

suffice to give an idea of the h ideous nature of t he

old track at the place . The present road too,

though a l i ttle safer , better and much shorter ,contai ns some sharp ascents and descents and i s

sti l l very c ircui tous . It i s therefore be ing replaced

by a more d irect one over extremely prec ip i tous

rocks . One who may be unconsc ious of the

benevolence of our Government must come to

witness th is enormously expens ive undertaki ng

for the general good . He wi l l be sati sfied once

for al l h ow dea r are the subjects to their merc iful

Government which has so profusely employed

i ts coff ers for the good of i t s people i n t hi s

one instance out of many , and thi s only to

obviate the r i sk of l ife and property to wh ich the

Bhotiyas were often subj ect . No meta l l ic batter

1 7 4

77 3 TI TO CHHA R TA .

m g can ea s i ly t a keo ff the stubborn and continuous

r'

ock over which the road has been proposed and

begun . D ynam i tes or s imi lar explos i ve agencies

are be ing used in breaking the tough rocks to

yie ld a way along them . The cool i e s have to

work by means of scaffolds sustai ned abreast the

rocks by ropes made of N i ga la ( local reed) barks

fastened to iron bars infix ed i n scoops , dug out i n

the rocks themselves for the purpose . T h e

posi tion of the workers i s doubtless a ha z ardous

o ne and a few deaths by sl ips among their class

unfortunately,

took place when the present rock

was first worked on by means of i ron bars thrust

deep into i t s body and planks or bulky flat stones

la id upon them . These cases together wi th

another that took place last year have contr ibuted

a deal to fr ighten people from engaging themselve s

i n the work here a s free ly as they would other

wise have done . It i s partly due to the h igher

than ord inary rates of wages off ered here and

partly to the endeavour and affabi l i ty of the Su b

Overseer , Pandi t Bala D att, that there are a s good

a number of col ie s at work now as funds would

permit . If thi s part of the way be successful ly

improved as contempla ted,th i s route i nto T i be t

from the pla ins may be the eas ie st , next perhaps

o nly to that of the N i t i val ley .

1 7 5

It i s amusing to some and pa infu l ly fr igh ten ingto others to wi tness these hardy ga l lowsundauntedly at work here with impregna ble rocks

overhead , i r'

on bars or wooden poles ; to support,

t he ir feet and noth ing but, t heangri ly no i sy waters

of the Kal i'

eager to. rece ive them straight belowi n case of a fal l

The Gar i . roa d, between Surain Theta , a nd

Juma vi l la ge i n the N i t i val ley i s not at al l

fearful or d iffi cult t o pass in compar i son with the

N irpa n i roa d .

From a few paces o fn ish a ng ir Udya r there

i s a prec ipi tous ascen t for about half a mi le a nd“

then a rapid descent for as m uch di stance . The

rest‘

o f the way i s level , leadi ng close by t heKal i

bank but equal ly da ngerou s because Of a prec ipjtous mountain hanging overhea d whence stonesrol l down now and th en , and oftener when

the sky i s c lear after a shower . E very ca ution

therefore m u st be observed in ,maki ng th i s part

of the j ourney, namely. fro m ‘ J ib t i . to Ch h a r t a .

T h eCh h a r t a camping gro und l ies on t he¢

r,i gh tbank of, the Kal i ri ver , where t he current flowing

over a slop ing bed i s very. noisy . It l ie s a t the

foot; of a highly precipi tous , m Qu n t a inL whence

stones now and then sl ip . Recently, a , sma l l la nd,sl ip took place j ust a bove t heplace which is qu i te

1 76.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

CHHA R TA TO LAM A R ] .

capable of widening further . In short , th i s i s not.

always a safe place to encamp in .

C h h a t t a t o L a m a r i , 6 M i les .

T heway first begins wi th an ascent wh ich i s

a hard one from t he br idge over the N i j a ngg a r ,a r ivu let of considerable volume , wher e the old

N irpa n i a track m et . Just above the road there i sa spac ious cave

,only a few paces from t he

camping place of Ch h a r t a and another not so

room y as the former , through whi ch the road’

i tself passes . A few paces further up,near a

bridge,the r ivulet h a s a beautiful cascade . From

the base of the fal l very minute parti cles of water

are seen to be flying about that look exactly l ike

m i st .

T heway i s an ascent from the bridge to Bhola

dhar whence parts of the old path to G a l l a ga r a re

vi s ible now and then over precip i tous mounta ins

or naked si des , far away though . seeming to be

near . Its nature can be suffi ciently j udged from

th i s Bh o l a dh a r, Opposi te which , on a s mu ch

elevation , l ies the hamlet named Th in i n the Nepal

terr i tory, that i s , beyond the Kal i . H ence the

wa y i s easy for a short d i stance but prec i pi tous

at places . It i s then a descent for about half a

I 77

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

mile ending i n a fl i ght of narrow stai rs on a

fearful ly precip i tous rock , immediately below

which flows the Kal i wi th impetuosi ty . H ence

theway i s easy, lead ing along the river . There

are two fine- looking caves , apparently formed by

the action of t her iver i n old times , when i t seems

to have flowed where the present road runs .

T hehigh rock to the left of the road , too , h a s

many indications to th is effects Further on i sM alpa Parao a camping ground of the Bhotiyas

where there i s a d i lap idated D haramsala bui l t by

a cert a in Bhotiya many years a go . A r ivulet of

some volume runs by the northern s ide of th i s

camping ground which i s named after i t s » The

r ivulet is crossed by a wooden S a ng a or temporary

br idge . The way i s then an ascent ending at

Peh o ledh a r , whence i n old days , that i s , previous

to the opening of the present route , i t led over a

dangerously rocky mountain . A gai n t here'

i s a

descent , short but very very deep . Further onl ies the Pi ls i t i Ch h ira ( cascade ) coming down

'

from a hi gh mounta i n breaking into several

cataracts before i t fal ls down on the roa d i tse lf ;

W hen the stream swel ls duri ng the rains a pa sser

by cannot wade through i t without getti ng wet and

at other times , too, some partic les would fal l on

him unless he chooses to walk along the weary

1 78

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

LAM A R ] TO B UD H I .

edge of the road which i s here s l ippery and a t the

same time terribly prec ip itous . H ence there i s

again a smart ascent and from the 8 3 rd mile-stone

the way onwards to Lama r i i s qui te easy and good .

TheLamar i ca mping ground stands by t he

side of the Kal i at the foot of the Ch hya nka n

m ountai n . Numerous boulders l ie al l over the

ground , i n the midst of which there are very smal l

patches at places to pi tch pals or tents on . Bhotiyas

encamp here wi th the i r herd on the i r way up and

down . Thecamping grounds in the entire valley

are general ly fil thy because of the accumulation of

the excrement of the ir herd , and th i s one i s part i

cu l a r ly .very much so . The smal l space where

officers p itch the ir tents i s somewhat e levated,on

the other side of the road , immediate ly below the

mountain . On the o t her s ide of the r iver i s

another h igh mountain , the lower portion of which

i s densely covered wi th trees . Theplace l ies in a

val ley which i s hardly open from any s ide and i s

therefore of moderate temperature .

La m a r i t o Bu dh i , 5 M i les .

Theway i s ea sy for a short d i stance along t he

Kal i r iver bank . A few paces ahead of Lamari a

stream i ssuing from a very h igh mounta in and

I 79

H I M A LA YAN TR A VE L S .

rol l i ng along i ts side,passes the road . There i s a .

pretty large cave named Ramri Udya r on the left

of the road . HenCe begins a‘

n ascent of a

moderate nature . A short way further on, another

stream cal led the Kothala emanates from the high

mountain of i ts name and flows down i ts rocky

surface,breaking into cataracts at places—a beauti

ful spectacle . It crosses the road on the ascent

and j oins the Kal i j ust be low . The ascent conti

nues and at one place i t i s ex tremely prec ip i tous .

From the top of the ascent the vi l lage of Budhi i sclear ly vis ible .

'

T h eway i s then a mi ld descent

down to the La ngba ng r iver spring ing from the

Ga l khesh a glac ier and crossed by a .

‘

S a ng a

(temporary br idge) , on the' other s i de of which

the re i s a big cave .

T hecamping ground of Budh i l ies on the ‘ left

bank of the La ngba ng or Palangar r iver , a l i ttle

way towards the vi l lage and lower down the publ ic

road . It i s a waste p iece of land with huge stones

at places,leavi ng short plots of ground for the

pi tch ing of tents,and i s surrounded by the vi l lage

culti vation . Three old walnut trees stand on t he

ground,which are of l i ttle u se i n point of shade

which i s h ardly necessary in a cold place l ike th i s .

The water- supply i s made from a stream named

Y a rso i ssuing from the fort of E lba D hura, a very

1 8o

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

LAM A R ] TO B UD H I .

l ofty mountain over sha dowing the'

camping ground .

Two water-mil ls j ust on the left of the road are

worked by thi s stream , which i s voluminous

enough to work a do z en more mi l l s . It would

easi ly i rr i gate al l the land in the vic ini ty, but

i rr i gation in these cold places i s of l i ttle or no use

and therefore never resorted to .

Yonder to the south-east l i es the snowy moun

t ain of K a wa lekh . On the top of one of i ts cones

a certai n M uni (devotee) is be l ieved by the people{to be engrossed in hi s devotion . A n image looking

exac tly l ike a man i s vi s ible on the summit . The

place i s i naccess ible because of the perpetual snow

that covers i t and i t s deep recesses lower down,

and because of t he great prec ip i tous nature of the

mountain on al l s ides . T he people are thus at

l iberty to form thei r own opinion of the image .

They, of course , do not trouble thei r heads as to

h ow a human be ing , be he a devotee or a nybody ,c a n l ive so long i n h is earth ly form ,

nor do they

c are to ascertai n from a convenient pos i ti on near

by that the form of a human being i s real ly nothing

.bu t a part of the mounta in summit

Thevi l lage of Budhi l ies a short way onwards.a t an elevation of feet above sea- level . It i s

bounded on the north by E lba D hura,on the south

.by Na inj u D hura—a perpetual snowy peak beyond

1 8 1

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

the Kal i r iver , on the east by the Ch hel a k plateauand on the west ' by the Sera ng a nd M a ngrokh o

mountains . It has a t present 2 5 houses , al l roofed

wi th slates . Nearly 90 fami l ie s crowd together

i n these houses . Thevi l lage cultivation extending

in patches down to Lamar i l ies mostly below the

vi l lage si te and scattered patches of i t are seen far '

o ff on both sides to the East a nd W est . To the

East i t extends beyond the K h a soko t r idge where

the land i s finely leve l but productive of a s ingle

crop of Ph a pa r i n a year,unl ike the land below

the vi l lage and the camping ground . To the W est

i t extends beyond Ph a l a nga r towa rds the W hya r

m ountai n . M ost of th i s latter land yields two

crops i n a year v i z . W heat and Uwa (oats) sown i n

the latter part of Kartik (November) or ai l i t t lebefore

the people go down,and th i s they reap at the end

of Jeth (first half o f June) when they have comeup and Ph a ph a r or Ch ina , sown in A sar latter

part of June and first part of July and reaped‘

in Kartik before they leave for the i r so -ca l ledl

warm cl imate re s idences . W heat and Uwa a re

mostly yet unr ipe but fair ly luxur iant and plentiful .

Numerous huge stones l ie in the midst of the

cul tivation which instead of‘

i nterfer ing with the

outturn conduce to i ts improvement . Thevi l lage

people also cultivate two patches . roughly amoun

1 8 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

and so the present Budh i i s a purely new

habitation . A certai n Lama one of the priestly

c lass of T ibetans ) i s said to have stuck up bymeans of hi s sp ir i tual incantations a tal l roundish

stone on the way to Budhi from Garbyang , by the

Kal i bank which was frequented by the above

destructive evi l Spir i t . Th is stone i s extant to

th i s day a few paces o ff the K h o sa ko t r idge , to

the north-east or below the Ch helek plateau . It

i s looked upon as an insurmountable barrier to

any evi l sp i r i t ever aga i n enter ing the present

vi l lage and i s therefore preserved with the utmost

rel igious care i n the centre of the narrow path,

leaving hardly suffi c ient room for a single animal

to pass by conveniently .

Two or three fami l ie s i n the vi l lage are very

wel l- to-do . One by name D asi i s said to be a

mi ll ionaire . From hi s appearance the man seemshardly worth a few pice , but i t i s a fact that the

man iswealthy: Hehas lost h i s sons and i s now

too old . I have seen several old d irty- looking

bags ful l of rupees and gold mohurs when taken

out at h i s yard to be laden , as customary, on Yaks

in a fu nera l ceremony of one of h i s sons . H is

r ival , A i t ra m , of the same vi l lage , has begun to

r i se i n importance by trade,whi le the poor old

man i s going down as h i s affa irs are now qui te

1 8 4

B UD H I TO GA R B YA N G .

“ at the mercy of h is Bh u r i a s or A nwa l s menial

servants to tend and accompany t he trade goats

Budh i t o G a rby a ng , 4 M i les .

The way immediately from near the vi l lage‘

Budhi i s an ascent for about 1 %miles . Then l ies

the extens ive plateau of Ch helek along the heart

of which the road passes . It i s an undulating

grassy ground having a number of Rago trees

lower down the road . It extends gradual ly high“ up to the s ide of E lba D hura and low down to

the precip ice above Kh o sa ko t land belonging to

Budhi . There are three houses on thi s plateau"bui lt by the Budh i people to transact bus iness

wi th thei r customers , the T ibetans ( D o gpa s ) ,when the latter themselves come down there i n

the beginning of winter . It is extensive ly used

as a gra z ing ground and grows nice flowers on i ts

grassy surface at places . A t var ious spots there"i n large quanti t ies of grai n are stored under

ground or i n deep holes enc ircled and covered

by bi rch leaves a s a pro tect ion from damp , to be

sold to the D ogpa traders who* are general ly

weal thy and se ldom come wi th the i r beasts of

burden lower down than ft . which is the

elevation of the plateau . Beyond i t onwards is

1 8 5

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE LS .

a sharp sl ippery descent cal led Shya k S ingl iki and‘

then a short ascent named Bh u bu dh a ng . Now

l i es another p lateau named Champhu less exten

sive . H ence there i s a pleasant view of Lebu m

and Mem j ing D h u r a s , the perpetual deep snowy

mountains lying afar . There i s a sho rt deep

descent to cross a r ivulet named after the plateau

and i ssuing forth from M a l kh a ne D hura . The.

way i s easy onwards to N a l a nga r i , a beautiful ly

grassy plai n now studded with flowers of var ious .

kinds and colours on plants hardly r i s i ng abovethe surface . From its southern corner beg ins a

precipi ce stretching down to the Kal i,of which

there i s hence a n extens ive a nd pleasa nt vi ew . .

It i s now a descent of a few paces down to

A l t a kh o , whence the way i s easy ending with'

a

short ascent at K a rj a ng D har , of which alm ost

a l l the bushes a re covered wi th scraps of coarse

and finewhite cloth . H ere are three bulky stones

set up re l ig iously to keep, evi l sp ir i ts from enter ing

t he vi l lag e . Close by i s a fourth pi l lar- l ike stone ,whi ch used to be the wh ipp ing-post of the T ibetan .

o ffi cers -in old times . H ence after a l i ttle descent

a t‘

Ch h u a the way i s easy a nd good , leadingbetween t he highly ro cky Gagla D hura fort and

Garbyang vi l lage cul ti vation , as far as t he vi l lage

i tself,which stands at the foot

'

o f Ga gla D hura

1 8 6

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TO GA R B FA N G .

bounding the vi l lage on the north . The vi l lage

i s bounded on the south by Bh a pa D hura , on the

east by Kel i ra u n mountain above the Ch h a ng‘

ru

hamlet of Nepal , and on the west by Shya ngu pa nghi l l , on the top of which l ie s the Ch helek plateau

referred to before .

Garbyang i s a big vi l lage contai ning a number

of houses al l roofed wi th slates wi th neat m asonry

and fine woodwork . New houses are be ing bui l t

every year surpassing in workmansh ip and cost

l iness those of the preceding year . Nearly half

the fami l ies i n the vi l lage are fai rly wel l- to-do .

Th evi l lage cultivation i s al l beautiful ly leve l

fo f a considerably long d istance eastward a s far as

T a da ng r i dge,an offshoot of Ch h indu D hura ,

j utti ng down into the Kal i r iver bank . On

th i s S i de of the ridge l ies the hamlet of Ch h induLagga (subordinate vi l lage) of the pr inc ipal vi l lage

Garbyang . T heother s ide of th i s r idge‘

i s terr ibly

rocky and Steep . Thehamlet contains two main

poor-houses contain ing compartments suffic ient

to hold 6 households and the ir movables . They

are bui l t so low as to be proo f against the winter

snows and look more l ike dens than houses . The

haml et had formerly Suffi c ient land for i ts cultivation , but a landsl ip taking place sometime a go

close to and south of i t has destroyed.

much of i t s

1 8 7

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

best land . It i s sai d that a few years ago a Bhotiya

by name D oba , of M au z a ~ R u nga ind , Patti Chau

dans wa s passi ng by the road below, when the

l andsl ip occurred h igher up near Ch h indu vi l lage .

T he sl ip carr ied h im to the other s ide of t he

Ka l i r iver perfectly unhurt . The man i s sti l l

l ivi ng and every one i n th i s ne ighbourhood testifies

to the correctness of the fact . T heprecip i tous

nature of the region and the great d i stance of the

place of landsl ip from the other S i de of the Kal i,a

large r iver , hardly admits of the possibi l i ty of such

an occurrence,which if i t d id take place was

doubtless a p iece of most uncommon pr'

ovidential

i ntervent ion .

Equal ly level cultivated land l ies below the

vi l lage running s ide by side of the other land and

separated from i t by a mound or h i l lock which i s

gradual ly givi ng way,destroying the higher land

abutting on i t and damaging the other lying below i t .

The vi l lage cultivation yie lds but one crop

year ly o n account of i ts great elevation , roughly

t en thousand feet above sea - level . The soi l i s

rather of a sandy nature and produces only Napal

( i nfer ior kind of wheat) , Uwa (oats) , Palti (buck

whea t) and Ph a pa r . A l l the se grai ns are sown

almost s imul taneously dur i ng June and are cutd uring A so j and Kartik (October and November) ,

1 8 8

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

p

H I M / I LA FA N TR A VE L S .

from a few yards below the summit . To be

frank , I once or twice despaired of my l ife when

I could find no way , ei ther up or down , from fearful

and bare rocks i n the way . In vain d id I wave my

l inen scarf (D ohar) to attract the attention of the

camp people below to come and save me from th is

inextr icable d ifficu l ty . But nobody noticed i t

because I was too far o ff and high up from them

fortunately however I got out, I do not qui te reco l

lect h ow. On my return the camp people sa id that

they could see me only up to half way,gradual ly

d im ini sh ing as i t were i n stature a s I proceeded'upwards , and eventual ly d i sappear ing . But I

noticed down below our pal s and tents as if theywere a few bi ts of someth i ng whi te spread on the

ground .

T heview from the summit i s extens i ve and

b eautiful to the east , west and south . Lofty snow

peaks and fineglac ier s are c lea rly vis ible . T o the

north i t i s al l a world of rocky and steep moun

tains . A few recesses near the summit conta in

beautiful ly pleasant flowers of d ifferent colours

blossoming on plants hardly rai sed above the

ground . Thes e period ical natural gardens

surpass any that can be grown by human labour

and ski l l , I dare say .

Khangla D hura i s away from th i s eminence of

1 90

GA R B YA N G TO K A W A .

C h h ip i‘

Ch h a k t u . But the way thereto i s apparently i naccess ible . Khangla D hura or rather i t s

lower,southern sides are extens ive ly used as

pasture and the way for cattle to go there leads

between Gagla D hura and the Champhu rivule t

flowing a l i ttle way westward of Garbyang .

There i s a H a lqu a b a nd i school a nd a vi l lage

post office i n Garbyang . Its people cul tivate land

up to Ya rkh a where there i s a house newly bui l t

by one of i t s people . Thepeople are generally wel l

to-do and cul tivate land with much di l i gence and

carry o n , t ra de also extens ive ly . The chief man

i n Garbyang i s now Gobr i a Pandit, so cal led

because a school teacher before . Hefirst used to

trade with money borrowed of D asi of Budh i buthas now suffic ient money of hi s own to tradewi th .

G a rby a ng t o K a wa , 4 M i les .

Immediately leaving the upper cul tivated plot

of Garbyang. there i s a short deep sl ippery descent

down to the right bank of the Kal i whence the

way leads close by the r iverside and along the

foot of T a du ng mountain . A lane leads alongthe s ide of the Kali di rect to Kuti

,the last vi l lage

in that si de of the val ley , whence there i s a way to

D arma proper passing through Jul ing Kong .

1 9 1

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE LS .

T h e Government has taken up to replace th is

lane by a more convenient road of which the

construction i s at present in progre ss . Theway

hence leads beyond the Kal i to the Nepal terri

tory by a Sanga (tem porary br idge) cal led S i ta Pul .

T he r iver course at th i s place i s bi sected by a

rock wh ich has greatly helped the construction of

the br idge . The r ight section of the channel ‘

has sometimes l i ttle or no water . On the

other s ide o f the r iver , a'

few paces h igher up,

below the Ch h a ngr u vi l lage (elevat ion ft) ,on a r idge there I S a Chauki located by the Nepal

Government . F i ve Ch a u k ida rs headed by a

Jamadar l ive here i n ’ two small cottages to look

after the interests of the ir Government . Their

ch ief business i s to prevent any armed travel lers

or offi cial s of a foreign government from enteri ng

the terr i tory of Nepal or passing through i t .

There i s a bi g cave nearly z o o yards above the

vi l lage, considered as the abode of demons .

H uman dead bodies and heaps of thei r hai r l iehere and none can say h ow long they have been

lying . A S rotti ng i s unknown and noth ing i s

defini te ly known of events happening in nooks

and corners at such an alti tude,i t i s poss ible they

may be lying there for over a hundred years .

People admit that the cave wa s used as a h idi ng

1 92

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

HIM ALA FA N TR A VE LS .

partly on the slope of the r idge and partly i n

front of i t , close to the Kawa camping ground .

T he Kawa ridge i s . commanding enough '

a nd

has an extensive view of the val ley through

which flows the Kuti Y a nkt i r iver , origi nating from

var ious glac iers i n the Lu m p iya lek Pass (leading

from D arma into T ibet) . Kawa is a temporary

habi tation of Gunj i people who lodge here dur ing

the time t hey c u l t iva te land there . T hecultiva

t ion belongs to the Nepal Government . It i s at

the foot of Kawa D hura, a steep snowy mounta i n .

There are many R a i su l tree s here . From aglac ier of the D hura , water i s brought through a

channel for t he use of the people l iving at Kawa .

The r iver flows consi derably farther down and

to fetch water from i t would be a great inco n

ven ience, which has however been removed by

the channel . The r iver i s crossed by a Sanga to

go to Nai l vi l lage .

K a wa t o Y a rkh a—S M i les .

Theway is easy for a short di stance but stony,going along the foot of R i sh i D hura and t he. K a l i

r iver bank , through R a isu l trees . Nearly a mi le

up the Kal i i s crossed by a Sanga which consists

of three ord i nary logs placed over two bou lders

1 94

I ( A W A TO YA R KH A .

So c lose to each other on ei ther s ide of the r iver

that one can j ump over from the one to

the other with the help of a bamboo . Thepassage

here i s cal led Sh u ngdu ng ing . Theway hence goes

to the r ight of the r iver. A few paces onwardi s a smal l plai n cal led Ba ngch a n on which grow

some R a u nsa l a (local ly cal led L im sh ing ) trees and

wi ld rose . A pa t h hence leads direct to Gunj i

and Navi vi l lages south-eastward , along the

r ight bank of the r iver . Thewa y hence i s a short ,stony ascent and then easy . T he mountains i n

th i s vi c i nity have almost all completed the ir thaw

and a few only are pour ing down torrents from

thei r snows . A bout 3 miles from Kawa there i s a

beautiful val ley going up a h igh r idge . Bhotiyas

dr ive the ir herd -by th i s val ley to the r idges and

mountains h igh up for gra z i ng purposes . They

themselve s lodge there i n the cave s al l the time“ the herds gra z e there , defying the r igours of the

ch i l l c l imate , the difficulties of the apparently

inaccess ible rocks and the inconvenience ari s ing

from the want of even ordinary requis i tes of

l ivel ihood,during the ir stay (sometimes for two

or three months) there so far away from the i r

homes and human habitation .

Close to th i s val ley there i s a p iece of black

rock unl ike others found al l over the mounta ins .

I QS

H I M / I LA FA N TR A VE LS .

The way hence leads pretty straight on stony

ground and crosses a rivulet cal led Na t ich a

coming down from (northern) snowy mountain

on the left hand side and joining the Kal i j ust

below . Theway continues easy and crosses the

Kal i by a Sanga to lead again along the left of

the r i ver . The way then descends by degrees

up to Tel s i where the Ga rbya l s ( i nhabitants of

Garbyang vi l lage) have cultivated some land .

There i s a but c lose to the left of the way which

i s used by cultivators when they are at work

there . A r ivulet originates from ~

u nder a rock

j ust above the road . Its bed i s of black clay and

i t i s therefore called Kalapani . People general ly

bel ieve i t as the actual source of the Kal i r iver

and therefore rel igiously consi der i t sacred . The

land higher up or i n front of Ya rkh a , which i s

partly cultivated by the G a rbya l s , belongs to t he

Briti sh Government to whom they pay i t s land

revenue .

Thi s r ivulet i s cal led the parent strea m of the

Kal i r iver and not the other of much bigger

volume which i t j oi ns a few paces downwards . If

the bi gger stream were called the Kal i r iver . the

Y a rkh a land would go to the Nepal Government .

Kalapani i s therefore rightly and advantageously

cal led the source of the Kal i r iver . E very H i ndu

1 96

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

E LM/ I LA YA N TR A VE L S .

waste . It i s bounded on the east by L ipu D hura ,.

on the west by K u ndka D hura on the north by

Go r ipu D hura and on the south by T i l inl a D hura,

a perpetual snowy mountai n , and by K o rj i t a

mountain . It l i e s between two r ivers,one

emanating from north or Ga r ipo glac ier or D hura ,and the other from east ‘or L i l i nti D hura . These

r ivers are cal led after the D h u ra s they reSpec

t ively spr ing from , and j oin each other j ust below

the camping ground . The water of the former

i s muddy whi le that of the la tter perfectly clear

for the most part of the year . The portion of

land j utting towards the confluence i s cultivated by

the Ga rbya l s who have their huts at i ts south

end,on a mound a few paces higher up the bank

of the Li l i nt i r i ver . The upper part of the platea u

i s bushy . Two spr ings flow through i ts north

western part close to wh ich Gobr i a Pandi t of

Garbyang has lately bui l t a descent- looking house

for hi s own convenience and that of h i s customers

of H u ndesh (T ibet) .

There i s another extensive plateau higher upwhich i s al so undulati ng in the i nter ior but rapidly

r i s ing to the foot of the snowy mountain bounding

i t from ea st'

t o north a lmost . It i s j ust above the

camping ground and i s reached first by a prettysteep ascent

,then by a mi lder one higher up , a nd

1 98

KA W A TO YA R KH A .

lastly by a very steep one near the uppermost part

of theplateau , which i s immediate ly below the most

snow-covered peak i n th i s s ide Theplateau h a s

smal l bushes al l over and grows a kind of beautiful ly

fineand evergreen grass , with scented plants here

and there which bear var iously coloured odorou s

flowers at thi s sea son (June . and j uly) . Th i s ki nd

of vegetation i s local ly call ed Bu gya l which i s

the most strengthening and fattening th i ng for

horses,sheep

,goats

,Yaks and al l cattle i n general .

H ere the spr ing season h a s j ust begun and most

plants are yet i n the i r buds,whi le only a few have

blossomed . The surface of the ground nevertheless

i s sufficiently adorned wi th fine flowers of many

kinds . Nature ’s beauty i s nowhere e lse so co nsp i

cuons as i n these places . M ost of the peaks of the

mountai n have perfected thawing but there i s sti l l

pretty much snow on some peaks and recesses . The

mountain to the north also contai ns some snow yet .

T he mountain to the west,cal led Pankha D hura ,

i s seemingly close to t hecamping ground and sepa

rated only by the r iver coming down from the north .

It i s comparatively of smal l e levation but most

prec ipi tous , sl ippery, rocky and inaccessible from

th i s side . Between thi s mountain and the other

immedia tely northward cal led Ga ripu D hura there

i s a beautiful val ley through wh ich l ies the way to

I 99

H I M A LA I ’A N TR A VE LS .

the summits of both these mountains . ‘ It snows

on al l these surrounding mountai ns even in these

days of June (last weak) , and when we have as l ight shower of ra in of fine drops (as usual

i n these regions) i n the val ley or lower ground

such as Y a rkh a , i t snows on the mountains higher

up,visible

‘

by their wh iteness which disappears

immediate ly if the sky i s c lear . A cer t a in bird

Cal led Change i s found here , resembl ing the crow

of the lower regions , but a l i ttle smal ler and

having a red bi l l . I t s cawing too differs fromthat of the crow . The way hence to Lipu Lek

D hura (Pass) and beyond i t to T a ka l a ko t and

M a nsa rowa r , which wi l l be descr ibed in detai l

later on,l eads from the east end of the lower

plateau in a mi ld ascent . A cons iderable portion

of the way i s vi sible from the plateau i tself and

the L ipu Lek D hura i s about s ix m i les o ff . One

has to return to Kawa from Y a rkh a when bound

for Kuti or j u l ingko ng . A bout six m i les o ff

Ya rkh a and Kalapani or Kawa there stands a

charming lake in the Nepal terr i tory known asByas S a rowa r . Theanci ent and holy R i sh i Byas .the immortal author of th e M a ba b/z a r a l and the

Gi fa sat i n meditation at the place and i t is so

named after h im . Patti Byans al so der ived i ts name

simi lar ly . The way to i t i s d ifli cu l t and trying

ZOO

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

plateau cal led Ta sa d ing belonging to Gunj i

vi l lage and in the ' eastern corner of wh ich the

American M i ssi on has a bungalow for a native

Chri stian doctor, M r . H . W i l son , a very soc ial and

interesting man indeed . Theplateau i s an exten

s ive level one but contains numerous big and

smal l stones . M ost of i t i s waste and i s used as ‘

the Vi l lage pasture and only a smal l portion below

the road i s cultivated . Immediate ly further on.

i s the vi l lage cultivation and the vi l lage i t self, a

large one conta i ning over 8 0 households . T he

vi l lage si te is at the foot of a precipi tous and bare

mountain of great elevation , on o neof the spursor rocks of which the v i l l a ge people perform

certai n funeral ceremonies shortly after the

D h o ra ng . W e noticed careful ly and closely the

D h o ra ng ceremony from beg inning to end . I t s

performance is i nterestingly singular and will be

mentioned i n detai l sepera tely under the head of“ funeral ceremonies .

Thevi l lage cult ivation i s on enti re ly level land

but yie lds only Napai , Palti and Bhai ( Ph apa r )once a year, which i s also the case wi th the

neighbouring vi l lages of Newa lch o ,Navi and

R u ngko ng or. R u nkh l i . Newa lch o vi l lage l ies

opposite mau z a Gunj i on the other s ide Of the

Kuti -Y a k t i r iver at the foot o f'

Per , a snowy'

2 0 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

mountain the vi l lage people have fixed a pole

wi th a flag on i t to dr ive away evi l spir i ts which,

they bel ieve , may enter the vi l lage and molest

i ts inhabi tants . On ei ther s ide of th is r idge flow

the two streams above mentioned .

From Gunj i to Nai l the way is easy amid

R a u sa l a trees for a di stance of about a mi le . The

latter is a s big a vi l lage as the former and si tuated

d irectly at the foot of an awfully precip i tous rock .

T hecultivation be low the vi l lage si te i s beautiful ly

level but yie lds a single crop during the year

l ike i ts ne ighbouring vi l lages . Therei s a H a lqu a

bandi school at Na i l wh ich stands on a waste land

on the way from Gunj i . On the other s ide of the

vi l lage a stream called j a ngh kh o , leaving the rock

above Navi by a cascade , has to be crossed .

H ence a path leads to R u ngko ng cross ing the

K u t iya kt i by a Sanga . Theway then i s easy for

a short di stance and then cl imbs over a fearful ly

prec ipi tous c l iff cal led Bh a l t h a . Now the way i s

pretty easy along the bank of the river which i s

c omparatively wide here . The halting place i s

properly cal led K a l indh u which i s a level p lateau

on the K u t iya k t i r iver side . It i s surrounded by

lofty mountains on al l s ides and has a few Ranga

trees and some bushes in one corner . It i s

general ly windy here i n the daytime , espec ial ly

2 0 4

NA I L TO

on clear days .’

The water-supply i s from the

r iver which i s very muddy during the summer

and rains . The ground grows abundantly a

certain plant cal led P a n K l z z’

n a which aff ects goats

and horses tha t vi si t the place from T i bet for the

first t ime and gra z e on i t, with a kind of s ickness.

The animals eat i t eagerly and remain in a per

fec t ly unconsc ious and sickly condi tion for a day ,and more or less so on the

nex t

‘

d a y .

There turn way from Nai l to Garbyang i s 1 0

miles d istant and passes j ust be low,

the Kawa

camping ground . W emade th i s return journey

on j une 3 0 , 1 8 98 .

N a i l t o K u t i—7 M i les .

Theway first i s easy along a plain for a l i ttl e

d i stance , then a short ascent and then , over the

Sh ya ngo prec ipice where the path i s very narrow,

i t i s a giddy cl imb , exceedingly ful l of stones that

have rol led down wi th drifts from a mountain

high up . D escending a l i ttle the path leads close

to the r iver- side am i dst huge stones that have

come down simi larly . T heway i s agai n narrow

and bad over dr ied up courses of torrents . Nearly

two mi les from Nai l a torrent i ssues‘

fo r t h from a

Hyu nga l (avalanche) on the other side of the road

z o s

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

a nd of the r i ver K u t iya kt i , a l i a s K u t iya ngt i . On

the road itself there was a big avalanche wh ich

thawed only a day or two ago and leaves yet a

smal l por t i on of the si de of the r iver below the

road to melt . Thi s place i s also named Shya ngo .

Theavalanches here for the rri o st part of the year

cover the river and make a passage for Bhotiyas

to go to the other s ide and melt thoroughly only

dur i ng j uly . T he lofty mounta ins on both s ides

of the river here s t i l l retain some snow wh ich pour

down torrents a t day time . Landsl ips i n th i s

vi c ini ty have damaged the pa th greatly and made

i t often narrow and prec ipi tous to boot . Bidd ing

adieu to th i s part and passi ng a mi ld descent t he

path leads eas i ly along an undulati ng plateau .

From K a rbe, a snowy mountain h igh up , emanate sa r ivule t which i s crossed by a s ingle log pla ced

over i t . Then comes the plateau of the name of

Naptha . It i s pretty extens ive and wel l studded

with Ba lch a m ch i plants bear i ng exceedingly

b eautifu l and odorous flowers . T he plant does

not grow more than one foot above the ground

and has deep green smooth leaves wh ich densely

cover i t s var ious stalks growing on a.

s ingle stem .

I t s flowers are'

t he most beautiful and pleasant

among so many kinds of flowers found in Bhot

d uring th i s season

2 0 6

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I AI A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

Kuti vi l lage , of which the height i s feet,

aad i ts halting place lying on the left si de of the

K u t iya k t i r iver , are bounded on the north by

Shya nt h a ng , on the south by S i tey and

Su m da rka ng , on the east by R a nt h a ng and Pu sya

and on the west by M andang mountains which are

al l lofty, re tain ing even in these days more or less

snow on the i r tops and recesses lower down . It

consi sts of about 2 8 houses of wh ich 6 are o f'

m odern archi tecture and the rést are mere hovel s ,though many of them are two or three- stor ied .

The number of households i s about 40 . Its

cultivation i s a considerable expanse of beautiful ly

level land on al l s ides of the vi l lage except the u p

per one where there i s a big and high mountain

close by . It grows almost s imultaneously a single

crop dur ing the year v i z . Palti , Napal and Phapa t .

It i s the last vi l lage i n the val ley and has an

elevation of ft . above sea~

level . The

mountains surrounding the vi l lage have bushes

and brown grass to some he ight , and h igher up

are perfec t ly bare , rocky and precip i tous . It i s .

often windy here at daytime . The i nh a bi tants

are pretty well-o ff . The adult male members

trade almost a l l the year round and the women

folk,with the help ‘of servants or D oms a s

elsewhere i n Bhot,cul tivate land , beside s Spinning

2 0 8

wool and making blankets and fine pieces of

wool len cloth for the i r own use and for sale .

A griculture i s real ly no ser ious pursui t , except

i n the lower parts .

Ku t i t o S a m eko m s , 5 M i les .

Passing along the s ide of a r idge and then

along i t s main body j utting down,the way crosses

the K u t iya kt i by a Sanga placed over the narrowest

portion of i ts current , j ust be low Pa m a r i r idge . The

way hence i s level where i t leads along the foot of the

K u m doko ng mountain to the r ight of the r iver but

stony,precipi tous , and narrow over landsl ips caused

by avalanches which sti l l exi st here and there

along the r iver bank . Leaving the r iver at some

di stance below there i s a smart ascent and then

an undulating plateau ascending by rapi d degrees

from the r ivers ide to the summit of a h igh rocky

h i l l . On the way there i s a cave spac ious enough

to hold over fifty men and close by flows a snow

fed torrent i ssui ng from the snowy mountain

above . A l i ttle further on i s vi s ible , towards the

east,a r ivulet of consi derable volume which

contains very tasteful and clear water . It i s.cal led

Bh i t r a i -Gwar-Ga r which i ssues forth from a snowy

mountain to the north-east and j oins the Kuti

ya kt i which has now a sort of muddy, reddi sh water ,

2 0 9

d ue to the sl a y nea r i ts sna res W h ich , they Say ,

i s oi tha t colou r . Theconfluencei s ca l led Kya n

ba lche.

Theway here leads straight along a r idge oyer

big and smal l stones brought down bydrifts . To

the left nowl ies t heKya z t i mountain , the peaksof wh ich are deeply and so very beautiful ly cover

ed with snow as to look very l ike the whitewashed

Sh iva l a ya s (temple s dedicated the Shiv) of the l ower

reg ions . j ust at the foot o f th is attract ive mo un ta in

there i s a good piece of level ground , through

which the path lea ds , so ,prett i ly covered with

gra ss and flower-bearing plants that i t quickly

removed altogether the fatigue of t he j ourney .

Making thence an ascent , which i s precipi tous a t

o nepla ce owi ng to a recent landsl ip , the way

lea ds over a pla t eau r i si ng by degrees to t he top

of a ridge and intercepted by a snow-fed stream .

S ome di fficulty is ex per i enced at th i s place i n

walking by reason of the tenuity of theair .

Lower down t heKya z t i ascen t th ere are two

good pla ins reso rted to by the Bhotiyas fo r locatingthei r herd .during the rains . Theway now passes

over stones accumulat ed by dri fts undernea th

wh ich water flows m aking a rum bl i ng no ise. I t

i s .now s lop ing upwa rds to a nother ri dge whence i t

i s pr etty s traight and easy , but mo re stony u p t o

2 1 0

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I MA LA YA N TR A VE L S .

t ie into bundles and fetch on their backs i n no time,

some for‘

the ir own use and the rest for thosewhose loa ds

'

they carry . They do not at a l l

experience or betray s igns of fati gue which outs ide

travel lers general ly feel greatly i n that part .T he streams flowing along ‘ the sides of the

’

place , which have been noted above , emanate

from the snowy m o u n t a m

'

lying closely to t he

west . These are three different streams higher up

but two of them joi n a l i ttle above t he

Camping ground and flow along the northern

side of i t , whi le the other flows along the southern .

side in a stony bed which looks as if i t were

desi gnedly constructed . The stream divides i nto

a number of branches before i t throws i tself down

a prec 1p l ce to j oin the K u t iya kt i r iver below .

The north-east corner of the plateau i s very

steep . The wind blows here a l i ttle between

1 1 A .H . and 1 P .M . and al so a l i ttle i n,

the early

morning .

S a m ch u m a t o J u l ingk o ng , 5 M i les .

Cro ssrng t hesnow-fed stream flowing along

the northern sideof S a m ch u m a campi ng -ground

the way,to begin wi th , i s a short but sharp ascent .

It then narrows and leads right along the side

o f a r idge, which owing to a recent landsl ip h a s

2 1 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Lebung snows a long t he so'

nt liern side of t he"

pl a ce to join t her iver Kut iya kt i down below. It

has a ub i oa d bed hi gh‘

e'

f up, often”

dried up, wh i chha s occup i ed most of t hetipperpart of t hep

‘

l f féfa'

u.

I t strai tens gi a‘

dua l ly a s i t “ rol l s dovv'

fiW a fds, so

fn‘

u iz h so tha t t he channel nea‘f theplabewh ’él’etents a repi tched canbejumped over by any oneisssa a s g a t a a l i ttle h imblen

‘

es'

s . There af

fefnoiinds o fea ft h here a nd th’é i‘e

’

06 t he pl a‘

féa fi

a hd also h iige 14161165 Wh i ch hav'

é

brought“

downby drifts .

Thesurface of t hepla teau is densely coverB'

d'

wi th everg‘

r‘een herbagea nd plants which Bea t

different k i nds of flowers . Theflowers a ret h an,

as can beex pected from the stuntéd plants as

wh ich they grew, but ea ch kind gives i ts“

ésa

plea sant smel l . Onesu rveying thewhbl’

e'

fi eld

would find t ha t there i s a pa tch 111 11 wh ichconta i iis pl ants bea ring only t

i

ny red flowers.a no t hef blue , another qui te wh i teand so a s . 111

other words , there a repa tches a l l over t hegi ofifidgrowi ng diff erent coloured flowers not fa r awayfrom each other . A s regards wiflfl a nd

“ch i l l i t

i s like Si m ch u fna but i s fa r rfi oreextensive, pleasant a nd bea utifu l than that . Much dil’ficfll ty is

ex per i enced inwa lking a l l theway ffo tn Sa’

firc‘

Hum‘

a

18 J u l ingko ng beca use df therari ty of a ir . A bou t

a.{1 4

Ha lf a‘

isireonwa rds to nsfigpya D hura er wa nd

t he two ri‘

dgés“

off J a l ingkong thereis a la keor

sh ine renown. A ccording to H indu "

mytho logyth is la ke or poo l wa s proposed By the gods t o be

wha t i s nowca l led t he M a nsa‘

i bwa r a nd t i re

Lebung D hura closeby to h‘

é t heKai la s. But

somehow t heprena t al h a d to bé dropped a nd

Mi nsa rowa r ari d Kai la s were set up where theysawseas . Thepoo l 15s 1111 1s t a riy ca l led C hho t a

sa rbesi and t he sires/y m ounta i n Chh’

ota Kai las ,a ii d a lSo Le0bong

'

. It l ies between i b ig r idges

Wh ich,a re spu rs of t i t s different snowy m o u n é

wa s h igh fip‘

b ti t im i t'

e lower down form ing t heba se d i t h

‘

s la ke. Theso-‘c

'

a l led Sa rowa r l ie s can

the lower port ion bf ah Extensive undu la ting

pla tea u a nd has a na rr'

d'w outle t i n i t s southern

coine‘

r t h i b u gh which thé wa ter of t hepo ol flowsi nto the K u t iya kt i . Thew

’

a te'

rASupply i nto the

peel is from two snow-red fo r‘

reii t s‘

springi ng from

both si des 61 the t op of t he nor thern ri dgeandjoini ng in t he upper pa rt of t hep60 ] . H a d the

baseof t hela kea rid t heoii t lét from i t been a l i ttlefi lers eleva ted , t he poo l woii ld h a ve been moret hfin a m i lein length (west to eas t ) . But d i

‘

vingt o th is

’

b ii t léi béir’

i’

g a l i tt le too sloping i t i s not

more than a qua rter of a ini le‘ i n length and nearly

a s ni t i c li i ii I t s water i s eit t refrlély chi l ly

2 1 5

H I M A LA YA N TR A VE L S .

as i t must be , and i s general ly a l i ttle .muddy on

account of the torrents that bring with them

earth from the si des of the ri dge s above .

’ Its

bottom contains very soft clay which sticks to the

feet of those who enter i t for bath ing . It i s not .

very deep . W ehave been up to its centre and the‘

water where i t wa s deepest was a l i ttle more than

breast-h igh . Thegreater part of the pool i s dry

but for the narrow currents of the streams which

come‘ down to the pool through i t . The way

to La ngpya D hura or Gya n im a leads close by and

lower down the outlet whence the stream i s cal led

Ba ngsh i t i flowing down to meet the K u i iya kt i .

The s ides of the ridge and plateau round the

pool are studded with plants bear i ng va r 1o u sly

coloured and nice- smel l i ng flowers . The ducks

which swim merr i ly and le i sure ly across the pool

seem to be the sole masters of'

ir.

On the other s ide of the southern ridge and

th i s s ide of the h igh mound-l ike spur close to the

north of the j u l ingko ng plateau , there 1s an

extensive swamp tradi tional ly known as the irr igated

land belonging to Parvati , the venerable consort

o f‘

M a h a deb . On one part of i t grows a certa i n

plant,very much if not altogether resembl ing pad

dy plants , and on the other , another plant very

much l ike M andua ; Both these plants grow with

2 1 6

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

7 UL I N GK ON G TO KHE LA .

the regulari ty that i s observed by husbandmen i n

p lanting their homogeneous gra ins , on irr igated

and Upra um land respectively .

A l l bunches of the plant stand equal ly di stant

from one another and are of the same s i z e . The

swamp indeed looks exactly l ike an i rr igated field

on which ri ce has been planted a month si nce

and watered afterwards. So the vegetation i s

cal led the rice and M andua of Pa rva t ij i .

J u l ingkong i s the usual hal ti ng place in the

Kuti val ley through which the way to both theLebung D hura and La ngpya D hura leads . The

former Pass leads to Patti D arma and the latter to

Gya n im a , a mart of the Bhotiyas of D arma , and

some part of Byans for carrying on trade wi th the

T i betans . The stages to both these place s are as

fol lows

Lebu ng D h u r a .

1 . JULI NGKONG TO BED ANG , 6 M ILES .

The first half of the way is an ascent up to

Lebung D hura and the latter half a descent .

Bedang i s the habitation of K h a m pa s . It is 513 0

cal led H iml ing . The track hence branches o ff

t o Ralam , i n j ohar , by the Ph u l iya ngt i val ley and

the snowy mountain- sides which give ri se to the

r ivulet .

2 1 7

2 . satell i teT6 Cs, 6 Ma s s.

Mild descent for t heFfibvst“

part a nd easy belieand there .

‘

GO i s‘

a Big vi l lage containing a bout t o house

holds .

3 . Go TO BA ILING, 5 MILES .

Ea‘

Sy wa y . Ba l irig is also a vi l la ge co n

ta ining abou t 3 0 households .

4 . Em m a i ts 6 M a rs.

Ea sy way . Two or threefami l i es o‘nly lista t W a th ing .

5. W A TH I NG TO D AR , 5 M ILES .

A scent for nearly one m i le and then the way

i s almos t level . D a r h a s nearly 2 0 households

(M a wa sa s) .

6 . D A R TO KHET , 9 M ILES .

T heway i s easy along the Khela or D haul i

r iver .

The vi l lage of Khet l ies a l i ttle a bove the '

road and conta ins about 1 2 households

7 . KHET To K irELA ,

Ea sy W a y‘

a lb'

ng i t s i lvei s ide. TheCfiififi i i‘

lg

gibUh d kns’wn

'

a s Khet l ies W i thin t he J a n—f li t

vi l lage h igher up .

2 1 8

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

HIM ALA YA N TR A VE L S .

d estination i s simply admirable and compensates

for al l the t oi ls of the weary trave l ler .

Snowy pheasants and musk-deer and Thars

(another species of deer) are said to be'

fo u nd i n the

vic in i ty .

Y a rkh a to T a ka l a ko t , 1 4 M i les .

T a ka l a ko t t o M a ns a r owa r o r t heK a i l a s ,

2 6 M i les .

The way begins with a l ight ascent which

continues up to the D hura known as the Lipu Lek

Pass , the di stance be ing 6—3 miles . A t D unga

which i s 3 miles from Y a rkh a there i s a D haram

sala set up by the Bhotiyas . It i s a very cold and

windy place where no fuel i s avai lable . Green

shrubs cal led Pama,which are very combustible ,

a re used as fuel for cooking and heating

purposes . They have fragrant leaves and as such .

are used as incense . The plant grows no more

than 1 0 ft . i n he ight . The local i ty abounds in

plants produc ing flowers of various colours , several

of wh ich s ingly bear flowers of five to seven differ

ent colours , al l charming to look at . The Barbar

a nd Nawar games are seem roaming about in the

vic ini ty .

Sya ngch a in , feet above sea-level , l ies

1 7} miles onwards . It . i s a sti l l colder place

2 2 0

Ph oto t a ke n o n l t S ep t , 19 16 a t Lip u lekh Pa s s

by P. H . T i l l a rd ,Esq , E .E .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I MALAKAN ER A VELSZ

Green wood i s a va i la ble here for fuel a nd bu rns

well . Thewa r tbro u a ha s t. is. sl a sing downwards.

Ha m lets,

a nd thei r cul ti va tion begin from a bqqtha lf thewa y, wherethat o f. Ta shi ngo n first meets

thetra vel ler .

Ta ka la ko t a lso , i ca l led Pura ng a nd l i sa in

( elexet ipn ft ) , i s . a m a rt Of the, Brassa nd Cha uda ns Bhotiya s a nd I s 4 m i les from Pa la ,

a nd Lies. a t thefo o t . o f t heGu rl a M a ndha t a m onn

t a m, hei ght.

2 53 50 ft . The Ka rna l i river h a s,t o

be. cros sed. a m by a » wsoden bri dge. before t bsTa ka l a ko t ,Mandi is rea ched. Two other r ivu lets,one, of which i s ca l led, Tidey a nd t he, c er Bi l iggd,meet theKa rna l i , at thep la ce. On th is side , of

theKarna l i river there a re6. or 7 Vil lages. Of. theHu n ia s wh ich ,

grow, peas, Qma ta r )t a nd Uwa

ba rley ) sown in A pr i l a nd ,rea ped. is . §spéemkef o

The fields, a re i rrigated by means of. ch annels

ekca ya ted from ,t he neighhoh r ing s tream s, a nd

nothing ca n be grown wi th out, i rri ga tion. Ra in

water is. not consi dered, valuable for crops, a ndthereiqre- ney s r. a sh a m ed . On th i s

,

Side ba th?

r iver ba nk t he Bhgt iyas of Ch a u da ns a nd Bya nsca rry on,

their. tra de. §hops a re. kept in stoneenclsssrss over whi cl i Pa ls a reSprea d Theba s sesof the.Tibetans hgvemu d wal ls a nd mi l d. roofing,Oneor two logs, of wood em pl oyed in thern, a re

2 2 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

Gokaran , takes place on the Sra wa n i Chauth

( fourth day of the moon ) every year there .

A nother fai r i s he ld on the ful l-moon day of

Bhadon when people assemble on h o reseba ck

and play on musical i nstruments i n that posture .

Oneman by turn from among the T ibetans is

dedicated to the god every year . He i s c lad with

three pieces of steel on'

the head,prior to h l S ‘

dedication . He i s looked upon as possessed of

divi ne powers—certainly not so much as he

considers h imself to be—for two o r three years

being able to u se spe l ls a nd charms against any '

formidable force of an enemy . He i s selected by'

the T ibetan Rajas , the nobi l i ty and priesthood

who al l j oin the fai r . He i s carri ed for -dedication

on horse-back to the temple lyi ng on a h i l lOck , a

Short way from the M andi . A fter certain necessaryceremonies and prayers he i s brought back by

the people to the M and i where a horse race ,followed by a feast—o i which the conspicuous

feature i s dr inking—takes place before t heM eladi sperses . D ur ingboth these fest ivals the images ,clad in gaudy and valuable apparel , are brought

outs ide for publ i c g a z e and veneration .

‘

T h ewhole

di stance of I 4 miles from Y a rkh a to T a ka l a ko t

i s se ldom traversed in a single day by travel lers .

but one on horseback can do so qui te easi ly . .

2 2 4

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

YA R KH A TO TA KA LAK OT

Trave l lers general ly take two days to reach

T a ka l a ko t whi le the Bhotiyas cover the di stance

on foot i n a si ngle day, being inured to the rari ty

of t he a ir but thi s they can do only when t hey

are wi thout beasts of burden or merchandi se and

are not much laden with thei r own baggage .

T a ka l a ko t i s the most convenient T i betan mart

or trading centre . It ha s several houses to store

goods that are not sold , for the next season , unl ike

Gya n im a which has none and Gartok wh ich has

only a few,whence such goods are consequently

taken back or sold at a loss . The Karnal i r iver

forms the eastern boundary of T a ka l a ko t and on

the other S i de of the r iver t he.Nepa Iesehave the i r

M andi known a s Ch h a nga ga n to carry on thei r

tra de . The paths to the Kh o ch a rna t h monastery

lying to the south-east v i a Golaghat and J id iko t ,along the side of the Karnal i r iver

,and to the M a n

sa rowa r north-eastward,lead through thi s mart .

Thedi stance to the former place (Kh och a rna t h )i s 1 0 miles and to the latter about 2 6 mi le s

,which

may be traver sed i n 2 days . There are no vi l lages

or dwell ing-houses save caves on the way,though

the route i s much frequented by pi lgr ims. Some

vi l lages are met wi th on the other way,of the Kar

nal i val ley, and the Bhotiya traders therefore gene

ral ly go by i t . There i s a big temple at K h o ch a rna t h

2 2 5

H I M A LA’

YA N TR A VE LS .

which co nt a ins a huge im age of Buddh a on the

no rth side of wh i ch there are sea ted two

di sc iples-fi -whi ch some i nterpret a s represent

ing‘ R a ma ch a ndra wi th

,

h i s wife , ‘ and bro ther

La kshm a ni. The ima ge'

i s sa id"

t o beof natu re’s;

own m a king; so‘ ex t rao rdinary i s t he W o rkman -f

Sh ip . Behind i t i s the image of the Kh och a ri

D ebi , after“wh ich t h‘

eplac‘e K h och a rna t h is nam ed :

TheLingum here is a'

Ph u t l ing—a i natu ral em bl em

em bedded deep . i nto” t he ea rth ; a nd a ppear ing byi tself, wi thout

' hum an" i nt ervent ion . Im a ges o f

vari ous : gods a nd saints form a group here a nd

s i de; by s ide a re pla ced the images of f D a i tya s ;

o f‘

wh o se'

na m e s nonepretend to know anythi ng.

Peop le‘ from fa r a nd ' wi de vi s i t the sa nc tu a ry '

a s i a

pla ce' o f‘ pi lgrim a ge: So » do tho se from Lha sa ;

T herei a r

'

e' col lections o f . va r ious re l igiou s books

a nd i'

om a m ent ss- o'

i antiquity i n the nona nster'y J

Thei

'

N‘

epa l bounda ry a tbu'

t s i on the Kh o ch a rna t h

loca l i tyfwh ich

'

i s rt hes t a’

rt ing point? to Ch a ndrana t hz

,

T a ka l a ko t to K a i l a s .

Thedi rect “way to t he"Ma nsa rowa r and"Kai la s

branches offi north -ea s txva rd‘ from“

t heNepal Mandi

a s m ent i oned above . Another way lea d s‘along

'

t he

ba nk'

of’

t heKa rn a l i'

r iver: K'

arda m '

, the l a st'

vi l la ge

2 26

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

on‘ th i s way; i

'

s'

1‘

z’ fii i le

‘

s d ista nt fr’

om‘Taka la kot .

Rdfi’

gofi pla cebetween the t d’

. Thereis a cna

'

turfitukfii

‘

fiber-faced; imageof Em bers;t h

'

e'

D Cret or , of t heH indu Sh a s tra‘

s‘

i inthe vi l lage( if where t heJo hgphbh er Ta k

t

a'

la‘

léc’

J t

used'

t o"1'

ive before. Ori the other wa y l ies t he

v i l lage'

o f To'

y'a wh i ch i s o nly

’

z Taka la

kot'. A long t hewa y o neca n see'

va rious inscript io

'

n'

s“ in‘

Pa l i ' chara cters on stoiie'

s W h ich , on

a ccount”

of t he efii cacy o f t heinscF'

ipt io fl'

S‘

ka n

a s Ta ri t a’

r Ma nt a rs'

a re c ircum‘

ambula ted bypi lgr ims g

'

o i iig'

t o‘

a‘

nd re turni ng1 from t he

’

heavenly

Ka i la s . There is a n edifice , cal led‘

Mantar (a

te'

rifple i s thus" c

’

a'

l le’

d in.

th i s vi l la ge of

Toya'

, erected i n of the heroic

J'oh ‘

a‘r S ingh who led’

t he La da li li

Gu l afb S ingh i'nto'

T ibet in“

1 8 4 1 A‘

.D . but wa s , as i l l

luck would ’ha ve“

i t, k i l led’

t‘

here. It’ is said

,

that bits

of ari d,

bones wereli ‘ep t byevery Raja

'

0 1"big folk

’

i n T i bet iri I h

someinstances “ they”

a reex ta‘n’t’

t o th is day i nfl a t e

looked upon wi th vét

nera t icin

i n thela nd, or ra ther"

i n

t heHouses they rest in. Thebra'

vé’

g’

eneral ’s sword,

m a tchlock‘

(La rh cllh‘ét

‘

r Ba h cluk) a nd other’ weaponsth is

.

da'

y i n a'

Ta ka lakot Gup’

lia

( sa ve)? Ti rer’a‘

i s a‘

sa n‘

i'

a dhi th is vil lage ,

2 2 7

H I M / I LA FA N TR A VELS.

which i s sai d to be that of the W a z i r,probably Bast i

’

Ra m ,who , accord ing t o some accounts survived

‘

the campaign and fled away through the L ipu

Pass . The way appears qui te dry . No watermeet s t he eye ,

up to‘

1 r a m , as, al l t hest rea m s a refro z en ; They

.

begi n to m el t . so o n after and i n

the afternoon a,sm al l stream even becomes

difficult of‘wading partly on account of the volume

of i ce-cold .water and partly on account of the

impetuosity ,with which

,i t . ru shes down its course .

No t rees a re‘

t o be seen in a l l the i neigh b'

o u rh o o d?‘

excep t such a s each fami ly keeps planted in a wal l

of i t s dwel l ing house , apparently rel ig io u sly , . a nd

are known as Gursi n i n the Bhotiya d ialect . Gaur i

Udya r (cave) . i s 1 5 miles d i stant from th i s v i l lage .

H ere both the tracks to M a nsa rowa r meet . There

a re3 caves at the place which i s renowned asthe birth-place of Ganeshj i , the god of wisdom

and remover of obstac les,invoked and worshipped

at the commencement to f . al l important under n

takings by the H i ndu . There i s no habitation

round about and dacoi ts are consequently much

dreaded i n the neighbourhood . A kind of thornyshrubs cal led D uma grows here . They are se ldom

more than 2 feet i n height and ré i nches i n gi rth ,but burn even whi le quite g reen and are used for

cooking purposes . A bout 1 5 miles farther on ,

2 2 8

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

gra z ingwees? in t he sane Vicini ty 9 » a ccountof

fther ichness ,

o f t heverdh re a nd ,t he ex tensive

mess of thepl a teau,wh ich st retches fa r and ,wi deW i thout a ny obsnuct iess . l amb“ or 19mm» in

Spicy herb, greys in t he loca l ity , a nd 90 t reesswept theOrdinary iPr iPkly Shrubs meet theweina ll theneighbourhood . Th ed i st a nce between thetwo l‘a kes z

i s three m i les . Th ey a re rh m o u red t o

j oin at times , which fa ct a ,clonhec t ih g link.

t ha t

appea rs to (ex ist in pretty fa irlyThe.vya y t o Ka i la s iea ds between the two ,

Sa rowa rs

(l akes) Ba rkba"

Karim is at rest pla tea u 019 8 6? t o"

the M a nsa rowa r extend ing for oyer i s mi les

towards Gya nim a . It i s so h arried beca useof the

r£§ 1d99q¢ of a T ibet a n efiicer ; cel led Tarjem

Ba rk/1 m l i terally mea ns a pl a te» a nd T901m , enofii ce: of inflam e. Hf? resides there p h iefly ts)See tha t sqm munisa t ion with Lh asa , thehea dqua r ters of the T i beta n Government , i s pfpperlyconducted, a nd ha s j ur i sdic tion over theva l ley v i l ia ges , theSa rowa rs , Kai las a nd onwa rdsas fa r a s Gya nim a , i ncluding t het ra deca rried ppthere a s Wel l a s at Ba t kh a 'fia rj um itself . Thie

pla ce is 1 s,o feet a bg ye sea-leyel a nd ha s a n

ordinary h ouse for theTa rj u m to l ive in and

am ther ,a

.sort pf [ D i lemm a s erec ted by the

Tibeta ns, for wh i ch , when ,a seg by outsiders or

z ae

TA KALAK OT TO KA I LA S .

peopleof ou r side, a hire i s levied . The t raders

a renot al lowed to bui ld houses on the plateau for .rea sons best known to the m i ghty Tarj a m , a nd

they reside there under Pals only .

D arch in lying j ust at the foot of Kai la s i s

7 mi les d i stant where a petty Bhuta n i Raja cal led

D oshak resides independently of T ibet . Thereis a n abbey here bes ide s a M and i (mart) at wh ich

trade i s carr ied on to a smal l extent by the

Bhotiya s and the T i betans . It is a place from

wh ich t he Pa r ikra m a (ci rcumambu lation) of t he

Great Kai las begins as i t ends there . F i ve mi les

onwards , on t he way round Kai las, l ies the cave

known as Nend igu ph a ,where pi lgr ims worsh ip the

Tr i loch a n (three-eyed god) . Thi s place of pi l

gr image i s sa i d to have been founded by the

Chinese . Thedoors of the cave a reset with ivory .

Twelve mi les away l ies the D id iph u cave

which contai ns an image of t he Great Buddha .

A very old and remarkable Lama j osh i (prie st)l ives here . Thi s monastery i s founded by the

T ibetans . A fter getti ng up a steep ascent one

comes to a place known as D h a lm a l a, 3 mi le s

d i sta nt . Thep i lgr ims fee l extreme difficu l ty i n

walking here and utter inabi l i ty to speak . Th i s

is t he place where the T ibetans and the Chinese

perform their re l i g ious rite s and make offer ings .

2 3 1

HIM ALA YA N TR A VE L S .

Thespot i s d irectly at the foot of Kai las . A l i ttle

lower down th is place i s the Gaur ikund , also

cal led Gu pt a ku nd , because entirely covered with

snows and vi s ible only on brea king the upper

layer . -T he surrounding th ick snows add much

beauty to i t . Re l i gious r i tes are performed after

ablutions i n the pool there . The T ibetans do not

bathe but observe the ceremony only by spr inkl i ng

a l i ttle water over the i r heads or clothes .

La l u lo n cave i s s i tuated i a t,a di stance of

7 miles . It i s consecrated by the T ibetans and

contains images o f var ious gods . On the way

round to D arch in , which i s now only 6 , mi les

d i stant, there i s a m ine of J a rm o h ra a l i a s H a r iya l a ,

a soft stony mineral , whi ti sh , redd i sh and greeni sh

at the same time , used in prepar ing var ious effica

c io u s medic ines .

Nendgon gu ph a consecrated by Ladakh is al so

l ie s on the way, whence D archin i s 3 miles . It

contains over two thousand images i nc luding those

of Rama and Rawan with thei r adherents . There

i s one more cave,though a smal ler o ne, about half

a mi le hence

Theentire c ircui t of the Great Kai las measures

nearly 3 3 miles . It takes the p i lgr im from 3 to 7days accord ing as he chooses to walk ordinar i ly

or by measuring h i s length on the ground , which

2 3 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M ALA FA N TRA VELS .

a re sai d t o be those of ..the devotee a nd a re i n con

sequence ,looked upon with rel i giou s ho no ur .

Gosa lgu ph a I S 8 m iles hence . Th is, t oo, t he

pi lgrims visi t and m a ke th ei r .obei sance by l i gh tingwicks t her e .

There a re9 .caves of renown ,by theside of t heLake (M ansa rowa r) , v ia . 1 . Th u ka r, 2 . Yango,

3 . S a ra lon , 4 . Bh u nde, 5 . La lu lo n , 6 . Jya u n,

Go sa l , 8 . Nend i and 9 . D i r i . The first one

is t he larges t or most spac ious , i n wh ich t rade i n

var i o u s a r ti cles i s car r ied on , on a fa ir ly la rge

scale . The M a nsa rowa r Lake i s sa id to be

ro ughly 60 mile s in c i rcumfer ence . Th ere

ap pear s n o outlet of water from i t . Seven p rettybig r ivers (Ga nges , as they a recal led) flow in to i t

from d ifferent s ides . Swans , geese , cranes and

herons of v ari ous co lo urs a nd si z es are vi s ibl e

lei z u rely swimming on the waters of the Lake a nd

cackl ing on i ts banks . Sm a l l fis hes with com

pa ra t ively sb ig head'

s abound in the Lake bu t a re

seen only when stranded on t he shores cast up by

the waves . They are p icked up , cleaned a nd

dri e d up in the sun and taken by the pi lgr ims to

their d i sta nt homes t o be used as i ncense , having

t he property of dr iving away evi l sp i r i ts from .

human beings and of cur ing var iou s cattle di seases .

Thebea u ty of the Lake a nd of i t s waves tha t

2 3 4

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

so o ften r i se a nd fall wi th gpnsidera bleforce , a s

wel l a s tha t o f t bemost lux u r iant ,verdur e in t helocal i ty i s simply charming and beggars descr ip

ti on . Its water i s not so very cold as i t ought to

have been at that elevation,probably on account

of the hot spr ings that fal l i nto i t, be ing only a s

cold as of the Bh a g i ra t h i at D eopra ya g i n Garhwal .

A pi lgr im plunging into the Lake wai st deep , gets

water over hi s head spontaneously , as i t were , on

account of the influx of the waves . The sacred

Kus plant grows exuberantly all over the banks of

the Lake and i s h ighly appreciated by vi s i tors

without exception . Surely the whole scenery i s a

grand vi sion in one’

s path , ful l of the most sancti

fied assoc ia tions,and one no t to be eas i ly obl i ter

ated from memory .

T hepi lgr ims to the M a nsa rowa r and Kai las

subsi st on Gu rpa pr i (coarse flour fr ied in ghee

wi th sugar) , butter , tea , and S a t fu (fr ied flour) only ,owing to the scarc ity of fue l and the im pra c t ica

b i l i ty of cooking th ings l ike r i ce , dal , etc . at that

extremely cold temperature .

W ool i s mai nly exported from the vic ini ty of

the M a nsa rowa r to var ious parts of India . Sal t

and borax , of wh ich the mines , to the north , are

not very far away,find the ir way to T a ka l a ko t

which i s about 2 marches from i t .

H I M / I LA YA N TR A VE L S .

The T i betan name for Kai la s i s Ga nr u

M a r ch /21°

and the Bh otiyas cal l it Ga ng a r i .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

HIM ALA YA N TR A VE L S .

round box) made of brass , t i n or som e other metal

a nd ca rr i ed home . The bo x with the p iece of

skul l i s‘ bu r ied' in a fie ld set apart fo r t he pu rpo se

o uts ide the house of the deceased .

From the day when one dies to that of h i s

D h o ra ng wh ich i s performed withi n

m o months , t hemembers of'

h i'

s fami ly place a

portion of bread!

or B fia t‘

( cooked r ice -wli i'

cl'

1

ever’

they ma y t h'

e’

ni selves ea t—every day (morni ngon a stone outsi de

“

th e ir"

house . Oh

t he th ird da y of’

h is‘

exi t some r i ce l s cooked ,bal ls a rem a dethereof a nd each h o u '

seh o’

ldx

in the

vi ll a ge i s given two bal l s and D h o ra ng'

i s commen

oed afterwards whenever a fami ly m ay beable to

Collect‘ such“

a s i ts means may permit .

To begin“

wi th'

, some 1 0 o r

'

1 2 days previous

to j’im (foca lly madel iquor) i s prepared

i n the house o f the decea sed I ts qua nti tyr a nd

qua l i ty depend on the means of the fami ly .

S imi lar ly W heat 1 8 ground into flour accord ing to

means”. Two or three days later cakes of Phapa t

(amaranth) or Oga’

l (buckwheat) a recooked and

distributed a mong t hewhole vi l lage people , every

household rece i v i ng one cake . One man from

every hous‘

ehold repa i rs to the j ungle. Some8or 1 0 men bri ng as many loa ds of Ch h

’

yu l afi (p i ne

k‘

n‘o

'

ts Or'

the most combustiblep'ar t o fl

gr'

own"

up

2 3 8

fCh ir tree‘

s used genera lly ,as torches inl h i l l

h ouseholds, a nd the rest bring dry wood from - t he

j u ngleto t he house of the decea sed . W hen the se

th ings ha ve been accumu lated , a h t he vi l la ge

people a re sent fo r a ndl offered 7 M a nd B i z a f ,

which t hey ’ eat . D au gh ters o f’ the‘ deceased W i th

t hei r husband'

s , if any, go to thei r‘

mother‘s , ea ch

wi th a goa t a nd some f a n: Ul t a (rever sed)m u s i ca l i nstruments a re played as an‘ indi ca t ion

o f gr ief on‘ th i s occasion . The next day al l the

vi l lage people go and preparebread and cakes of

the ground whea t ‘ or flour dur i ng the night at’ the

deceased ’s house . E very vi s i tor is offered a ! cake ,cooked r ice a nd f a n there . The next day such

number of goats a re ki l led a s-the means of the

deceased ’s heir wi l l a l low . Baskets of cakes are

pla ced on mats spread ou ts ide the house. R a w

fl esh of goats is scattered on t hemats . Two or

three men from t hebrethren of the deceased wi thru nco verd l hea ds offer a cake and somera w flesh

t o ! every o ne of the whole vi l lage and to vi si tors

from ou t si de. The deceased ’s maternal unc le ,br i nging wi th"h im t a: goat a nd

’

som eo r ice, feeds the

v i l la gepeople who dance a nd gambol at n ight a t"

t he place of D h o ra ng . The women belo ngi ng

t o"

t he=decea s ed ’s household, and those,

‘ of h is

b ret hren, with reversed c lothes o u , d istr ibute fr i ed

2 3 9

H I M / I LA YA N TR A VEL S .

grain of different kinds , frui ts , sugarcandy a nd :

molasses among the gathering . R eversed musical

i nstruments are also played . If the deceased be

a male,firearms are fired , but not otherwi se . Cakes

and bread are cooked that ni ght also . Thecooks

and other people who help in the D h o ra ng"

business are offered f a n and B i z a t l iberal ly . On»

the th i rd day the whole vi l lage i s invi ted to parta ke

of f a n and B ira i . A few days pr ior to D h o ra ngone or two sheep which are purchased and

brought i n from T ibet for the ceremony a re

carr ied to a field . F i rst , both the i r s ides arecoloured with Geru reddle then a quanti ty of

r ice i s put on thei r back in order that the soul of.

the deceased might al i ght into the grain . Now

the clothes of the dead are laden on the sheep or

Chanwar (yak) as the case may be , i n the ir reversed

order . Other valuable c loth s are also placed over '

them simi larly . Ornaments are i n addi ti on put on

the animal ..

A long piece of cloth i s then tied to

the horns of the sheep . Theother end of the cloth

i s held by the women re lative s on the i r heads who

lead the animal . R eversed musica l instruments

are beaten ahead of them . In th i s way they"

proceed to the d irect ion of the deceased ’s house .

The brethren of the dead fol low the animal bare

headed . One of these men throws parched grains

2 40

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

D H OR A N G I N PA TTI B YA N S .

t hebone li es . Others of the vi l lage also follow .

The son- in-law of the deceased goes to fetch fuel

from the j ungle . W hen the sheep have got to

t he place where the bone i s , the c lothes of the

dead , together wi th costly jewel le ry and colouredpieces of c loth , are again arranged on thei r backs ,th i s time not i nverted but i n the usual way . The

bone wi th the bo x hold ing i t i s p icked up and

t ied t o a c loth on the back of one of the sheep .

The ornam ents continue to remai n on the back

o f the animal . Now agai n the gi rls wi th one

end of the c loth on the i r heads , the other end

be ing tied to the horns of the animals , lead them

o n a ccom pa ined by beat of reversed musical

i nstruments . The sheep or Chanwar cows , as

the case may be , are fol lowed by the brethren

o f the deceased to the latter ’s house . If the dead

be a male , guns are fired when return ing . W hen

coming back to the vi l lage every household feeds

the sheep with some f a n , B l mt , S a t t u etc . on the

way, whi le the brethren of the deceased take them

(t o thei r houses , clean th e ir feet and mou ths , and

g ive them f a n and B ira i to eat . W hen they have

returned to the deceased ’s house h i s daughter or

son-in- law first g ives the animals f a n and cooked

r ice and then the re st of the fam i ly , havi ng spreadsom e bedding and washed the i r feet and mouths ,

2 4 2

HIM ALA FA N TR A VE L S .

feed them with B ira i , f a n ,frui ts , and sugarcandy

etc . with lamentation . T he son-in- law goes to

hew woo d in the j ungle and fe tches three poles

thence which are placed ve rti cal ly wi th i n the

house . The c lothes and t he bone e tc . having

b een taken away from the animals are now ar

ranged o n these ‘poles . Theclothes belonging to

the deceased fir s t and then other c lothes a rewrapped round the pole s which are thus turned

into a c lumsy sort of image for veneration . The

bone i s t ied wi th a c loth to the wai st and a turban

i s wound round the head of the image . The

j ewel s are placed i n such places as they are fitted

for . The image i s made to represent a human

be ing . Its maker i s , off ered fine cakes and the

man who chants rel i g ious verses to i t i s also g iven

as ‘many cakes . Others , too , who join i n the

si nging get a cake each . Subsequently some

rice or barley gra ins are thrown at the image so

that the soul of the depa rted l

m igh t come» down

into i t . The image i s then worshipped and

offered fr ied grains of ph a pa r , rel i gi ous verses

be ing sung al l the wh i le . A lamp i s l i ghted before

i t . T he oi l consumed by the lamp i s suppl ied

a s a ru le by the deceased ’ s daughters and the ir

husbands . Ropes’

are tied round the image and

valuable c lothes are hung on them . Thedeceased ’s

2 4 3

brethren place a large pla tenea r the pla ce wherethe lamp burns, a nd each depos i t s a

‘

ba l l of S a lly

or B ira i on h i s own accou nt . A L o l a (meta l po t )and a brass bowl conta i n i ng wate r a nd 7 a m respec

tively a rea lso p la ced there. T he s i nger : goem on i

singing rel ig io uscha nts i ns ide t he ho u se. Ot her“

people f etch“ two baskets o f cakes a nd muskets

a refiréd .

‘ T heb a skets are placed‘ on t he grou nd

outs ide ; Two'

o f the breth ren , bare-h eaded , g i vea l l a cake a p 1ec

’

e a nd then a l l go to da nceand jum p

a bout on the fie ld .

“

T he girls di str ibute fr ied

grains , fru i t s a nd sugarcandy etc . to them there.

Thebrethr en dance bare-headed and the vi l la gepeopl e attended wi th regu lar no t reversed )m u srca l ins t ruments , da nce about wi th turba ns

on a nd flourishi ng their swords and sh i e lds . In

th i s wa y the l a t ter r et u'

rn t o the decea sed ’s ho use,W here they a re ea ch offered a bowl of su per ior

f a ir . Ha ving drunk i t and danced a wh i le there

they return agai n to wh ere the bre thren have been:

dancing bare-headed . There a l l' da nce toget her

t i l l m idni ght when the brethren, sti l l b are headed ,hol’di ng torches o f burn in

o c/z /ly u l a (pine torches)i n the ir hands and playing wi th certai n vessels

and da nci ng , a pproach a pla ce whe re a fire h a s

been kindled . They dance round i t t o the left,and the vi l la ge people to the right s ide attended

2 44

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

HIM ALAFA N TR A VELS .

wi t h reg u lar not reversed m u sical instru m ents .

The form er h aving danced three or four rou nds

leave t he torch es and p ieces of c loth there, and

en ter the deceased ’s hou se wi t h the utens i l s wh i ch

h a v ing been entrusted to t he househo ld m em bers ,t hey ret urn t o the place o f danci ng . A l l the

sons-in- law of the deceased .dance there o neby

one. Hewho‘ does not condescend to dance i s

fo rced to do so . They a ll return a g ai n to .the

deceased ’s house playing with r egular .musical

i ns t ruments before daybreak . They are again

enterta ined with f a n and B h a i . Some of them

a fterwards go home , ot her s s it near t he im age and

hear the rel i g iou s chan t s rec i ted the re . Fr ied

gra in, su garcandy, frui ts , G u r ( lumps of molasses)a nd whatever ea t a b les may be

’

a va i l a blea resupp l ied

t o t hem so t hat they may be kept from s leep ingt hewhole night—sleep ing be i ng consi dered a bada u gu ry at such .a n o ccasion . A t daybreak the

c hant ing of rel ig i ou s verses .i s conc lu ded .

Two g ir l s hold i ng the cloth tied to the sh eep’

s

h ead , f rom bot h si des dr ive t he animal wi th the ir

ha nds to the d irection or p lace where t hey “would

h a ve ‘

h im go to place the bone at . Them embers

a nd t hef am i ly a g a i n feed h im .wi th f a r: a nd B ba t l

ha ving .firs t wa sh ed h i s m ou th and feet . Th ey

t h en t a ke o u t t heim age f rom t he h o use a nd p lace

24 5

D H OR A N G I N PA TTI B YANS .

i t on a mat . The clothes of the deceased a re

taken away from the image and placed on t he

sheep together wi th the bone . The other c lothes

a nd o rna m ent s are kept back i n the house . The

wood of the ima ge i s thrown at a d i sta nce . The

son- in-l awof the deceased now holds the rope t ied ‘

to the horns of the sheep and runs ahead . He -i s

fol lowed by other people who ru n whi stl i ng a nd

making a tremendous noi se . The sheep i s carr ied“

to that d irection in which the g irls carr ied the cloth

in the morning . There t heclothes wi th the bone

are ta ken away from the sheep and placed in a bag

which the deceased ’ s daughter and'

son-intl a w

locate at the usual deposi tory of such bone s

generally prec ip i tous rocks . They also dr ive t he

sheep towards a j ungle and soon after the Hundes,

D oms and priests ki l l and eat them . A l l the other

people return to thei r homes . Those who a re t he

deceased ’s kinsmen shave the i r heads and worship

the horns of one or two sheep after fixing them on

t hewal l above the i r doors . A goat i s k i l led on

return home . Branches of trees are al so fixed o n

the wa l l and worsh ipped . Thi s worsh ip i s som e

times repeated afterwards , al so . The vi l lage

people are now aga in fed with f a n and B ira i and

flesh of the goat. In order to purify every o ne

equ al ly, they partake of a cake or two , touched by

2 46

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

they mea nt t to ca l la ba elt z t he decea sed’

s so a k to hex

ba rn a ga in im bh a fa m i lyt her depa r ted t rons

Thewa y; t he T ibet a n mom s ki~l~l 1 theE lamsheep . is . m os t bru ta l . They (t h esheep) a re not :

behea dedsh u t: their s tom a ch is pierceda hy a sh 'm p

kni fe and t he hea rt a t t hénm o cem m su rna m e.

tur e is pu lled o u t whi ch»pu t s . a n endure. t heir: lives .

These hea r t less bn t cheus ofitezn qu a rre l over? their:

shame, ofi t he sa cr ifice a nd . u se. crim ana l fro rce

before thei r d i sa greement is fina lly se t tled. by

everybody ’s making away with as much as he can

lay h is hands on .

These . D o m . butchers accompany the Lama

pr 1est who inaugurates t hefunera l ceremony a nd

conducts i t. th roughout, and return to T i bet wi th

h im . A l l the time the Lama puts on“ a most

subl ime appearance. He i s be l ieved to be doing,h i s best, nay , everyt h i ng possible , to send the soul

o f t he deceased to the innerm ost ci rc le of the

highest hea ven and"to exti

‘

rpa t e t he dem on that

caused t he deat h a nd? t hu s obt a i n imm u nit y" fo r

t hevi l l a ger s from"i t s ha unts whi ch a rebelieved t o ; he

frequ ent; espec ia lly di ning t hefour d a ys of iD ho ra nga nd from t he h o ur of demise to t he

'

endi of t ‘he

cerem ony:

in the‘

ca se o f babies .

“

They are sim p ly- h u r led

‘

s48i

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

D H OR A N G [ N PA TTI CHA UD AN S .

0

i s ki l led and thrown away which the D oms o r '

blacksmi ths pick up ‘ and consume . S i x of the

balls prepared as above are kep t apart . Four ofthese are al lotted to the man who prepares f a rt

(l iquor) and di stributes i t dur ing the ceremony,and the remaining two are given to the vi l lageR i ngla or Sa rba ra ka r , whose business i t i s t o

send for people and work for the vi l lage and

arrange for the D h o ra ng . The D h o ra rg i s

commenced subsequently when the requi si tes arecollected accordi ng to mea ns . Ten or twelve days

prior to the commencement of the ceremony, the

R i ngla who first of al l gets the l a ddu s (bal ls) , i nforms

the vi l lage people to bri ng ch hyu l a s and fuel .

E i ght men from the v i l lage fetch loads of ch ip/a l a s

and the rest fuel . A l l these loads are placed at

the deceased ’s house . Thehe irs of the dead give

three n a l is (nearly s ix seers) of barley parched in

the sun to every household to prepare f a n with ,and two or three sons- in- law or kinsmen of

’

the dead go to T i bet to purchase a yak (Chanwar)for the D h o ra ng . On the way home the animal

i s fed with f a n and B i z a l i n the name of the

deceased by them and gods are also worsh ipped bythem to warrant the safety of the animal . The

flour i s prepared by the deceased ’ s fami ly and

every kind of grai n be ing fr ied i s a lso stored .

2 50

HIM ALA FA N TR A VEL S .

Frui ts , sugarcandy and molasses etc . which ma ybe avai lable are la i d up accord ing ‘ to means .

W hen t heYa k has reached home , cakes , fr iedgrain , and S a l t y are offered to the persons

present,and the bel l which contains the bone is

taken out of the wal l . A l l the clothes belonging

to the’

he irs of the deceased are brought wi th t he

bone before the Y a k . A s a pre l iminary step some

wheat and r ice ar'

e spr inkled over the body of t he

Ya k i n order that the sou l of the dead might

al ight into the animal . H aving done th i s in t he

absence of the deceased ’s son- i h -law some other

person appl ies red earth cap-a tpie and on both

sides of the Ya k . F i rst of al l the clothes 'o i thedead are laden on the animal and then al l other

bag and baggage . T hebed of the Y a k i s a lso

adorned wi th ornaments , and the bone wi th

bel l be ing wrapped i n a new cloth,i s t ied to the

left s ide animal by means of the same cloth . The

gi rls be long i ng to the deceased ’s fami ly pour g hee

(clar ified butter) on the Yak’s head , arrange i ts hairs

wi t h a com b and weep by cal l i ng out the dead

by the relation they bore to him . Thehei r again .

washes the feet and mouth‘

of the yak and t he

girl s feed i t wi th f a n , cooked r ice and curd etc . byutter ing forth the decea sed ’s name . A l i ttle of

fr ied grain , sugarcandy, frui ts etc . are off ered to

2 5 1

D H OR A JVG MN . PA TTI CHA 'UD A N S .

t hethy-standers . M u si cal ins t ru m ent s 'o fm our n ing

a replayed on a nd mu skets are fired .

' ?I‘

he g i rl s

ho l ding a wh i te fclo t h m easur i ng 5 to 7 wh ite,or st i ll longer , .go a hea d . They are fo l lowed bym u sical i nstru ments . The ,yak i s then conduct ed

by mea ns of a rope and brought t o t he decea sed fs

house. The V i l lage i s c irc trm a m bu l a ted by t he

a nima l, which i s taken before ea ch (housea nd fed

ther e by'

i t s inmates W i th j am and B rief . I t i s

lastly brou ght before t hedeceased’s house a nd (fed

s im i larly . M uskets are fired . A l l the fur nitu re

wi th t hebo ne is unloaded from the an imal a nd

pu t' i n .a ba ske

‘

t ' m a deof N igala ‘ (dwarf b amboo)which i s p la ced west of the house . One per so n

from every household i s i nvi ted and fed wit h f a n

a nd B /z a t . A l l m ales a nd fem ale s o f t he v il la ge

subsequ en tly com e at n ight and cook cakes a nd

bread . Fou r m en chant certa in re l i g ious i nc an tations, l ea rnt by hearsay from t im e immem oria l ,a t t hep lace where the bo ne i s loca ted wi th in t he

ho use . The Bho t iyas do not reveal these i nca nt a

t ion s . A l l t he tem ple are fed wi th t he cooked

r ice the following d a y . Thepassers by wh o m a y

h a ppen to be. i h t hevi l la ge are al so fed .

The peo p le of o ther vi l la ge s wh o j oin t he

D h ora ng, cont ribu te t o it o ne na l i o f b a r ley ,per

head , wherea s the inh a bi t a n ts o f t he vi l la ge

12 52

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

D H OR A N G I N PA TTI CH A UD AN S .

f a n and B i z a t to i t . The animal i s then brough t

before the deceased ’s house , the boys and gir ls of

which al so give E l mi , f a n , frui ts and cakes etc . to

i t for eati ng . They wash i ts mouth and wipe i t and

with p iece s of cloth in the i r hands run ahead and

the yak accompanied by musical i nstruments fol lows

a nd i s taken to the fields where the poles were fi x ed .

M uskets are then fired . Theclothes being taken

away from the yak are arranged on the poles so a s

to make a resemblance of a man . W hen the image

has been made,a goat i s whir led around and

ki l led . Its flesh i s eaten by the D h o ra ng people.Thebasket of bread i s then brought before the

image and one of the he irs of the deceased put

ting o ff h i s cap di str ibutes 1 0 pieces of bread t o

each household of the vi l lage . Of the remaining

loaves one i s given to each he ir a nd kinsman of

the deceased . TheW omen-folk bring ing fr ied grain

there,give some to each and l ikewise d i str ibute

f rui ts , sugarcandy and molasses . A n empty cask of

wood i s placed there . A j ar of j a n i s first poured"i nto i t by the members of the deceased ’s fami ly and

every one presen t there then pours a l i ttle f u n i nto

i t . A l l partake a l i ttle of the f a n . Men and wo

men then dance wi th musical instruments of con

dolence . The latter form the greater part of the" assembly . Thereupon some four or fivemen go to

2 54

HIM ALA I ’A N TR A VE L S .

invi te al l the vi l lage i nhabi ta nts . W hen shortly

afterwards people of other vi l lages approach close

to the vi l lage danc ing wi th swords , sh ie lds and

p ieces of c loth , the vi l lage people , too, beating t e

versed musical i nstruments , go out to welcome

t hem a l i ttlewa y o ff . There they fire muskets ,whistle

,and rai se a cry and when all come back

beating the reversed musical i nstruments to the

deceased ’s house , f a n and B ira i are offered to the

invi ted persons . A l l then go danc ing to the field

where the image or semblance of the deceased

l ies . D a ncm g there one or two turns and loading

t heyak wi th c lothes and the bone taken o ff from

the image , they br ing back the animal to the de

cea sed’

s house . Thegirl s of the house again wash

the feet and mouth of the yak and give i t 7 am ,

B h a i , milk and curd to eat . They then unload the

animal and carry the th i ngs wi th the bone inside in

a basket . f a n , B i z a t and flesh are then given to

every one to eat inside . Theremnant i s g iven away

to D oms , Lohars , H u rk iya s and other players on

musical instruments . TheR inga la i s again offered

two bal ls of S a lt u so that he may invi te any that

m i ght have ra m a m ed unnoticed during taking food .

Those that come are fed . Then they come out

and dance on a field , dr ink f a n , firemuskets and

flouri sh swords and sh ie lds . Four men keeping

3 55

a ll kind s of grai n a nd fr u i ts etc . wi th in t he ho use

where the bone is loca ted , rehearse re l ig i ous ver ses,the rec i t a l of wh ich i s conc lu ded t ha t night . The

grai n a nd fru i ts et c . lyin g th ere a re m a dea m ea l '

of and any rem na nt ther eof i s thr own awa y . I n t he'

m orning of the for th da y 7 am a nd B l tv

a l‘ are ind iscr i

m ina tely given to a l l . Thebone wit h clothes a nd

a l l i ts accompa n im ents bei ng t a ken o u t of t he

h ouse , are once more loaded on t he back of the

yak . Thegir l s hold ing a cloth lead the anima l'

wh ich , accompanied by hea t of mus ical inst ru

m ents, i s made to go round t he vi l lage . The

vi l lager s feed the animal wi th f a n and B l z a t in t he"

aforesaid way and bring i t la stly to the d'

eceased ’s

house . H ere t oo they offer 7 a m,coo ked rice ,

frui t, grain and tea to the animal wh ich i s co ndue

ted t o the field where t he pole s t a ndS ,’

“

a ccom pa n i

ed by boat of musical instruments . There t heyagain put the c lothes and a l l other furniture on

the poles which are thus idol i sed . Havi ng

fastened a Ta ula (a large round copper vessel) ;

and an earthen p i tcher (Gha t a) to the back of t he

yak, al l return t o the vi l lage . The animal i s

allowed to rema i n i n t hefield . On rea ching home

they offer f a n to each other a nd dance about i rre

gu la r ly . The vi l lage damsel s di str ibute grain,

lumps of Gu r a nd fru i ts , et c . , tothe whole mob,

2 56

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

HIM ALA FA N TR A VE L S .

vi l lages and givi ng them food and f a n ,s ing

,dance

and make merry al l the night at the deceased’s

house . On the morning of the th ird day another

goat i s ki l led and rice and bread are cooked . Athorny twig i s fetched . The horns o f al l goats

,

ki l led duri ng the D h o r a ng , are fastened to i t wh ichi s suspended to a wal l . The c loth wh ich lay on

t heyak ’s head i s tied to the twig . It i s then wor

sh ipped with f a n , B l z a z‘

, bread , grain and bal l s of

S a m . A man from each household of the vi l lage

i s i nvi ted and fed with f a n and B fia f , the relations

a re presented with gifts of clothes and utens i l ,a cco rd ing

u t o means . Those who prepared the f a n

are given cloth measur i ng 1 0 cubi ts and cakes 3 6 i n

number . They eat half the number of cakes and

return the other half to the he irs i n the intere st of

the deceased . Thereason for th is procedure is

attr ibuted to the i r be ing equal ly purified thereby .

T hefour persons who rec i te re l ig ious verses i n

t hepresence of the bone are al so awarded certa in

clothes . T he vi l lage people then make small

bal ls of S a t t u , which they divi de amongst them

selves and eat . They consi der themselves pur i

fied by the procedure . By drinking a l i ttle f a n the

D h o ra ng i s eventually consummated and the

p eople return to the i r respective homes . If a man

d ies somewhere i n the plains or at thei r winter

2 58

M A R R I A GE I N BH OTE .

r es i dence , his bone i s brought home wrapped up i n

a cloth and the funeral r i tes are afterwards observed ,a s mentioned above . In carryi ng the bone home

wherever there i s a br idge , or a di fficul t way ,threads are made use of

,i n order that the soul

of the departed may eas i ly find i ts way there , as i s

done by the Byans people .

D h o ra ng is performed on a Y a k i n every

vi l lage of the patti . Over and above the goats

brought for the D h o ra ng by the relations of the

deceased , the nearest he i r s purchase and sacrifice

others too in accordance with the i r means . T he

yak led astray in the j ungle i s ki l led and appro

pr i a ted by D oms or Kh a m pa s . But the ki l l ing of

the animal i s not customary and whenever i t i s

d one , i t i s effected c landesti ne ly or without the

knowledge of ki nsmen of the deceased . The yak

and the semblance of the deceased made on the

pole are looked up to , treated and caressed as the

once l ivi ng body of the decea ssed t h ro u gh t o u t the

ceremony . TheT i betan Lama i s the ch ief per

sona geat whose instance the whole funeral ce re

mony i s conducted .

M a r r i a gei n Bh o te.

M atr imonial customs are i dentical among

all the Bhotiyas of the D arma Pa rga na h .

2 59

H I M A LA YA N TR A VEL S .

S imi lar cu stom s exi sted am ong t h ose of j oha r'

also in old da ys , as t here a re [no two Op i ni ons

abo u t them , b u t now they a re 'm uch m ore‘l ike

those ex ist i ng ‘among the H indu s o f t he fower

regio ns than those of D arma . I n D arma Pa rga na h

which i nc ludes Chand a u s , Byans a nd‘bo th D a rma

patti s,a ' house i s set apart for men a nd wom en to ,

m eet at ‘night in every vi l lage. Big vil la ges h ave

more than one such m eeti ng places . Su ch a'

ho u se

i s cal led R a ng éa ng ku r z’

,m ean i ng ‘ l ove ‘

o r merry

making house.

’

Men a nd women married a nd u nm a rri ed a tt end

the ‘ R a ng ba ng .

’

G i r l s begin to a ttend ‘i t from

ab ou t .t’

he age of 1 0 year s an d consi der i t ina u Sp i

c ion s or a curse to s leep wi thi n thei r own doors

af ter that age . M ar r ied wom en s eldom vi s i t after

they are mo thers a nd un les s they u nfo rtunatel y

(or f ort u na t e ly) lo se their hus ba nds . Pa rties of

young men from di fferent yi i l a ges a re seen

dr opping into a v i l lage , wh i stl i ng and waving

pieces of ci o t h at a bout"sunset ‘

to attend ’the

R a ng ba ng . G i r l s do no t a s a rule go t o anot her

vi l lage fo r i t, probably because i t i s they tha t .

rece ive the guests or R a ng ba ng male part ie s from

other vi l lages and provide them wi th food and

cOverm gs . H a ving gath ered together i n the

R a ng éa ng house where a fireh a s been l i t by t he

2 60

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

HIM ALA YA N TR A VE L S .

well fixed and reciprocated thei r love . Chi ld

bi rths are not uncommon before marr iage actual lytakes place and the mother may not sometimes

find an acceptable male to marry al l her l ife .

S imi lar i s the case among males , phys ical defect

be ing the chief impediment to marr iage , a s an

instance of which ma y be noted here the case of

La l S i ng of vi l lage Sosha , who , though a Th okda r

and son of a Patwari (a lucrative and popular

o fli ce i n the h i l l s vied now by forest guards and’

foresters only) , has nevertheless”

remained

unmarr ied up to h i s r ipe age on account of t he

mi sfortun e of having a s ingle eye . Such offspr inga s are born without marr iage are known as

R a ng ba ng K a Xen i a (male ch i ld) and Kent i ‘

(female chi ld) , as the case may be .

Successful wooers m arry and the consent of

parents to the wedlock i s of seconda ry,i f at al l.

any , consideration . T hebride ’s choice predom i

nates,though certain ceremonial s have to be

gone through before the marr iage i s publ ic ly

recogni z ed . Thegroom h a s to offer to the br ide

some money cal led Ta r a n , varying accord ing'

t o !

hi s means and not exceeding ten rupee s , wrapped

u p i n a piece of cloth , e i ther d ia ec t ly or through

her maid assoc iates of the R a ng ba ng , to whom t he

su m ,i f accepted

,final ly goes for feasti ng on t he

2 6 2

M A R R I A GE [ N 3 1 1 0 TE .

wedding day or soon after . The groom su bse

quently with a few fr iends or relat ives,goe s to the

R a ng ba ng hou se , on some convenient night and

fetches th egi rl i n company of a few other g ir l s of

the vi l lage most i ntimate to her . On reach ing

home the party is offered l iquor,sugarca ndy and

rice by the vi l lagers which they partake of j oyful ly .

Thecouple too exchange the eatables with l i quor

between themselves , a s a necessary step to show

to the publ ic that they are now husband and wife

whole-hearted ly . General feasti ng then fol lows

and conti nues for one to two weeks,dur ing wh ich

per iod dr inki ng often runs to excess . The groom

(Byo l i sh a ) and hi s party afterwards vi s i t the br ide’ s

(Byo l a u’

s) vi l lage as guests of i ts R a ng éa ng maids

through whom the final so -ca l led consent of the

bride’s parents is obtai ned on payment of a few

rupees varying from 5 to 2 5 as a recompense for’

thei r g ivi ng birth to and bri nging up the gi rl .

W i dow-marr iages are common and the ir o ff

spr ing occupy no i nfer ior status to those born of

wedlock . D ivorces happen generally if the wife

may take i t i nto her head that she i s not properly

treated or if she actual ly finds herse lf sick of her

husband,i n which case shepresses the latter , and

generally su cceedsn

in forci ng him ,to g ive her a

piece of a wh ite cloth which i s considered as

2 6 3

H I M ALA YAN TR A VE L S .

conclus ive proof of a divorce . Hehowever gets a

recompense for what hespent on her , i f she takes

t o another husba nd and goes to l ive wi th h im

permanently . Johar Bhotiyas general ly look downupon the R a ng ba ng and i n fact have none such

now am ong them , but when vi si t i ng D arma they

t o o attend i ts R ong ba ng houses as whole-heartedly

as the B armi s , apparently deprecating the change

t imeh a s wrought i n the i r own parts by cons i gning

the custom to obl ivion a bi t too soon .

Ti bet a n cu s t o m s a nd pr a c t ices a s t o ma t r im o ny a nd t hei r dea d o nes et c .

There i s no fixed age for m arriage a m ong the

Tibetans . Thegirl i s sometim es qui te a n infant

of 4 or 5 yea rs , at o ther times as old as 2 0 years .

The groom i s genera l ly from 2 0 t o 2 5 years of

age . Theeldest brother only i s married a nd the

younger ones , whatever be the ir number , share

the wife wi th h im . M arr iages a re contracted

general ly on payment of Rs 8 to R s 1 6 to the

br ide ’s pa rents . Thebr ide i s first a sked of her

parents and must wa i t at least a co u pleof days

to obta in the i r consent, du r ing wh ich period he i s

bound t o salute every i nm ate of the gi r l’s hou se'

a s

many times a s he or shemay cha nce to come out.

A sm al l fea st only i s g iven to the groom’s pa rty

64

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M A LA FA N TR A VE L S .

Both sexes are apparently very re l ig ious . A

person over 40 years i s seldom seen without

twi rl i ng a prayer-wheel or tel l ing a rosary with the

words , Orri M ani padme H ung , bel ieved to

possess manifold efl‘i ca c ies , even when walking

over prec ip i t io u s rocks i n Bho t .

The shaking of hands between acquaintances,

fr iends , customers and re latives i s common among

the T i betans . H i gher c lass persons take off thei r

caps when saluting the i r officers or remain ing i n

thei r persence and the lower c lass one s only

stretch out their tongues a good deal as a mark of

the i r obei sance to author i ty or superior i ty in soc ial ,

posi ti on .

There can be no shopping wi th the T ibetans

unless the i r cooked food or tea i s partaken of .

So al l Bhotiyas dine wi th them as an i ndi spensable

necess i ty to keep up thei r monopoly of trade wi th

them .

Puni shments among T ibetans are most brutal .

Torture i n al l i t s aspects i s prevalent . Needle s

and nai ls are dr iven into the body of an accused

or cr imina l . I n some case , the nose , a leg or a n ;

arm is cut o ff, at others the culpr i t i s shut up and .

sewn in a wet leather bag and left i n the sun to

die i n as many days as he may , or thrown down a

prec ipi tous rock bound hand and foo t ti ghtly .

2 66

E l Q l/OR S USE D I N BH OT 69’ TI BE T .

H owever , a person accused or gui l ty of a he inous

cr im e/

ca n purchase h i s l ife on payment of a fine

of R s . S imi lar ly, other m inor offences areransomed by payment i n coin to the admini strator

of j ustice personal ly . None of any tr ibe i n T ibet

eat thei r dead . W hen any one of them dies,a

re l i g ious book i s consulted by a Lama priest . In

accordance wi th the results'

o f the consultation .

some dead bodies are buri ed in the ground,some

cremated , some placed on some hi l lock fo r

vultures and other carnivorous bi rd s to feed upon,

and others ou t i nto pieces and thrown into a r iver .

TheT ibetans practi se no such funeral ceremonies

(D h o ra ng) as are observed to be held in Bri ti sh

Bhot under the auspici ous of the Lamas who hai l

from among themselves .

Liqu o r s a s prep a red a nd u sed‘

i n Bh o t a nd

T ibet .

( 1 ) f a n .

R i ce , wheat or barley i s fir st boi led . W hen

ful ly cooked , a s we do wi th r ice , i t i s spread on a

mat inside a house , grain by grain . Then cold

Balma or yeast,which some th ink i s the root of a

pla nt but i s not so , i s powdered and mixed there i n.

at the rate o f a Tola of Balma for every Nal i or

2 67

H I M ALA FA N TR -A VE LS . .

two seers of gra i n . Them i x ture i s . m a de fo r. t he

purposeo f ferm en t a t ion . TheBa lma i s a ma nu

fa ctured a rt ic le a nd. none knows or, wi l l poi nt , o u thow or with what ar t i c les: i t i s ma nufac tured .

The secret of i ts preparati on in t o. sm al l ba l l s l ie s

i n t hehands of one or two fam i l ie s in a neigh bour

hood who se ll i t . to others , T he ba ll s. a re of a

whi ti sh co lour. and, lo ok l ike. hardened “ but ter

a nd are ex tremely l i ght for the i r s i z e . In former

tim es t he- i dea wa s. th at i t wa s most i nauspicio u s . to

manufacture the Balma,excepting in such a fami ly

a s h a s been , ma k ing i t fr om before. But , now.

m ore fam i l i e s prepare. i t ,, th ough the . m a i n in

g red ien t i s u nknown t o t hem or h a s , been kept , a

m ys tery and t hey ca n only ma ke i t.

by m i x i ng a

l i ttle of the older preparation .

Thecooked grain thus mixed i s then p laced i n

a. ba sket or. wo o den ve ssel a lways i n the sha de,wrapped up i n a p iece of wool len cloth or hairy

skin of goat or deer , and the warmer the wrapper ,the better . In colder season or cl ime i t i s kept

fo r three o r fou r days a nd m hotter ones fo r two

days on ly . W h en sufficiently fermen ted a nd an

odo u r l ike that of Sp ir i t begi ns to} come ou t ,‘

i t is

placed i n a n earthen . ves sel), o r even. cani s ter ncyv,a nd it s 'm o u t h ' is closed th oro u ghl y ,

In: fi ve or s i x

days t he l iqu o r cal ledl 7 4m i s-prepared . If. i t is to

2 68

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

H I M /1LA FA N TR A VE LS .

of moi stened or kneaded flour and placed upon an

iron tr ipod over a fire, usual ly in the verandah of

the d isti l ler ’s house . The vapour ascending

through the central hole i n the Bh a pka or wooden

cover coming in contact wi th the cold lower

surface of the plate condenses and collec t s in the

hol low part of the l id and thence passes through

the spout into a vesse l placed rea dy to receive i t . ‘

The Spiri t was te sted i n the house of f

R u m a and

Surma , two wel l-to-do si sters of Garbyang , P .

Byans,and found 50 degrees under proof i n

strength . The Bhotiyas sa id that about s ix bottles

of th i s strength could be prepared from a maund

of gra i n .

b

Th i s l iquor i s prepared only in wel l-to

do fami l ies and for espec ial fe stivi ties .

T ibet a n M a r t s

N i t i M ana—D apa and Gartok , 5 or 6 stagesfrom Gya n im a

,v i a U nta D hura ft h igh .

j ohar—Kharko and Gya n im a .

‘

D arma—Chhakra and Gya n im a,v i a No i l a or

Shekh a la' Pass ft . high .

Byans Chandau s—T a ka l a ko t , v i a Lipu Pass

orT i nker Pass .

SOME T I BETAN TERMS .

Ti bet a n ofi ci a l des igna t ions .

Gapu—i M a lgu z a r or vi llage headman .

z 7o

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

M a ng lo—Pice.

Jyo -A si lver coin equivalent to 3 % a nnas .

(T im a sh i ) . D e (th i s)‘Shok (a rt ic le) ming (name)

La (what) . K h a n sa ro n (called )—W h at is t hi s

th ing or artic le c alled 9

Phi Su n—I r is la te now .

D h im pa nu r— This art i c le is fi t .

D h im a m i m -He i s a goo d m a n .

D h a ngpo Shehung—Yes , you a requite right .G na (I) do hung—I go .

G ina d ojeh u ng—M a y I go

Sh u kpo (temperament or body) Nacha ( i l l) duk

(i s) —I am unwel l .

Tokri (hungry) duk (a m ) - I am h u ngry .

D hopa (belly) Tokri du ke—M y bel ly is en ti relyempty or I am hungry .

Knm r i

Ch h u (wat er) kum r i—J fee l th ir st y .

A r a (l iquor ) kumr i—I want l iquor .D a re kumri—I wa n t eM a m /z l z .

D h a ngm o j u ng—I t i s very cold .

D h a ngom o pho song—I fee’ l co ld .

Khalak chho s a ngai n—H ave you h a d your

food

Ch hyo sar- I have h ad i t , i .e. my (foo d .

K a chya Neda ng—M i nd me .

K a chyai

(saying) a m chyo l (ea r) H i i a n (hear)

2 7 2

S OM E TI B ETAN TER M S .

—H ear m y say . D yu ru (here) ne (from) (name

the place) R ingpo (di stance) ch a m du ng (h ow far)—H ow far i s (a certai n pla ce) from here

N i nga (near) duge ( i s)—Is near .N i nga duge , r i nga duge—i nea r or far .

R i nga duge- I s far . S a jya (food) t h u ngjya

(water) t h a bhyu ng i (obtainable or get) kho (there)—Shal l I get food and water th ere

D i ru (here) shyo—come here'

(may be said to

an ordinary person ) .

Phepche—Please come .

Th a dh u j a n—please go .

D o— go away .

Gyu k— run .

Phet a la do— go out .

Nangla shyok—come i n .

Nagla phepche—please come in .

Sh u kdya n z ya r—please take your seat .

D a t si t .

Gna (I) dh i ra ng (to-day) dobang (go )—I wi l l goto-day .

Rang (you) ch ichya (what) kanduk (doing)W hat are you doing

Jya— tea .

Jya thung—D r ink tea .

Jya terjya—G ive tea .

Jya ko ljya—prepare tea .

H I M A LA PA N TR A VE L S .

Khula (him) shya gche (cal l)—ca l l‘

h im .

H ago j unge—H ave you understood P

H ago j ung—I have u nders tho d .

Go sung- I have heard .

Oh , Oh ,—Yes .

M a, M a , or Me, Me, - No

,No .

Khe(you) rangal (to) hago (know) duge( i s)D o you know

Gné sh é mehung—I do not know .

N i ngu N i ga la—pen .

Chyak (steel) N i ngu—stee l pen .

Gya ph i l l ing ningu—Engl i sh pen .

Chhipa—heat of sun .

Ch hy ti (water) duumo (hot) —H o t water .

Ch hyt i dh a ngm o—cold water .Shya

—meat .

Phok—Pay (salary) .Shyu ga m

—wooden box .

Chya kga m—i ron box .

Nyung gam—weed box .

B hua—stone .

T erj e—give .

K h irshyo—bring .

Gna nt o (to-morrow) shyo (come)—come tom orrow .

Go (door) gya p (shut) -Shut the door .

To ru r t i—even ing .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Kacha dh a ngbo—true saying .

K u shyo—S ir .

Chya m a -lady ; Kyogo—husband .

N imo -day ch imo—night .D ang—yest erday '

Gna to - to-morrow .

N ima pheka— noon.

‘Ch h a m u p‘heka—inidn igh t .

D awa ~—m onth Lo—year .

Ch h a rpa—ra i n ; N a m—

“sky .

Kha—snow Lu ng—W i nd .

D uka— thunder D u k—l i ghtning .

N ima—sun D a—moon .

T in— cloud ; Nagpo—black .

N a g—dark ; K a t—l i ght .

Sabi—earth , mud .

A pa or Pha—father M a or A m a —mother .Pun—brother i n general .A ch yo

—elder brother . N o—younger b rother .Ij i—e‘lder .si ster . T igm u—younger s i ster .

Ch h a u—nephew ; Ch h a m o—niece . A gu—uncle .

A j an—maternal ‘ uncle A n i—aunt . Sumo

maternal aunt .

Meh—grand “

father Ibee— grand m other ;Chhan—grandson .

M akpa— son- in- law Chumo—grand-daughterNama—D aughter- in- law .

2 76

. I

Ch hobn w a do pted. son . H um —m i lk ; Ch ha—salt . D e—r ice .

Nora—heh , Ma r ti or num—ei l ; Chwango nion Chi—tongue .

j im a ka ra—Sugar ; N a rpo or sh inbo—sweet .M a rbu w -tobacco for smoking .

D h u na k—tobacco powder . M arbu thu ng

wi l l smoke

Mar ia n thung kh irsyo—le t m ehave a , smoke .

M i thung—I do not smoke .

M aru—red ; Gyam o—da rk brown . D wa k

colour . Ta—horse .

Bu ngu—A ss Bh a la ngph o—o x , Bh a la nga m o

cow .

M a i—buffalo Kh i—dog . La ngm oche

elephant .

Lu g—sheep ; R a - she-goat . Rabo—he-goat ;

Mya lj a—sheep .

Lwang—get up ; Kai- !voice M u k—weep ;Bota—tree .

S i ng— fuel ; Cha—grass Ba gpe—wheat or

flour Swa—barley.

Na—Uwa j a u (a spec ies of barley) .

D a n—Ph a ph a r (a coa rsegrain) .Chh u ch h iya—a la rge r iver . Ch h uch inwa—a

s trea m .

2 77

H I M ALA YA N TR A VE L S .

T a p t i—penknife . Gu r—tent, D abak—muske t ,

gun .

D i—sword D h i—th ick bedding . D h i D a gpo'

—owner of throne .

La—a peak ; Gen—ascent , act ivi ty ; Th u rgya k—descent .Rurki—smal l metal pot ( lota) .

R i—slanting ground .

Thang—precip ice, Th a i lga

—plai n , Pu chya nghod—are you doing wel l ?

A go nebo song—come wi th me .

La m ch ina duk—H ow i s the road or way ?

To'

sa jya—le t me take my food . Nya l a u n

let me sleep .

Ya r laung—get up . Syar i dong—I go soon .

Syar i do—go soon Syar i tyal—come soon .

Chin tang—Jet me make water .

Kya kpa t a ngj a—let me answer the cal l o f

nature .

Hyu l—vi l lage ; Hyu l ch ik -these vi l lages .

D h i hyu l ch i ga tpo swin—W h o i s the headmanof th i s vi l lage P

Ga tpo syok—The vi l lage headman should

present himself .

Ga tpo du nabo—seven ch iefs or headmen . (Sa t

sayane—vi l lages of the Sa t sa ya na s of Garhwal

Bhot i .e. ,r . Sausa—N i ti 2 . Sya lch a k

2 78

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

[ 2 8 5 ]

”Hr-«Ier cow00

fi le‘ H ld"M "3 fl '

m N N

H H ¢-

m

E« 3

s

eem

sm

EED

tfifiEU

mamm

gm

cem

M

«

So

w

9

6£

82

5

o

asemccem

seem

eE

Em

F

E

856

e

go

s“

Z

espeevcm

m

8

5

Em

Em

g

em

eo

fio

3mm:

«

3

0

Es

est

eem

w

e

s

o

no

c

an

. “

voeoem

2:

EweAe

E

A

EQ

vwa

wsum

m

m

o

zm

oaao

o

f

no

820

éo

Emcs

mso

m

e

oo

mm

fi

was

.

mu

EO“

m

o

m.

e

em

ESg

Q

bea

m

.

m

aocm

firs

meema

fin

o

835

9

8

eao

aosvm

.

m

aozm

a

3

809

m

.

oe

fio

=a

ew

5

“

s

o

9

8we.«W

EBE

Q

Qam

o

m.

e

5

QED

«amm

emm

vse

m

«

Sow

EU

no

va:

E

2 86E

.

z

ac

Rea

m

tee.

a

e

EmUo

M

8

mo

m

o

no

ce

fi

as

?

0

388

was

860

m

om

Ram

ne

si

a

.

m

e

$8“

s

.

o

Q

.

o

Q

.

m

om

sos

EEO

.

m

om

sos

9

5new

Bo

fi

mwcs

m

e

.

oo

EO“

m

om

9

8

850:

.

m

aosm

.

m

Om

sos

wee

aosm

.

0

Z

8a

com

3873

.

95

8

4

do

m

9

80

388

.

SSEBE

Q

.

ow

.

o

Q

.

m

om

son

9

8m

acaw

0

xa

Q

.

82

8

mm

.

8

96

o

Sm

o

f

£

t

8

$50

$3

a

9

8

$50

o

n

o

0

8

2o

ne.

2855

Eo

o

n

885

5

evades

?

SH IN

1\ i-4

p4|o1 A le) H i“ A les POM

M d " N M N m N N M H

F i lmFi lm

webefifin~

£

$

c

“

529

0

80x

32

fific

fiM

enxm

e

cean

u

«n

ew

tea

m

Su

fism

sw

arm

s

ava

ges/

Em

Sa

fiem

mena

ce“

80

M

555

fine—5

0

80x

?Z

SSA

Q

EM

eQ

fiESEU

8am

sea

m

etexsm

Swag

em

3

8

e5

595m

m

wa

fcm

m

30

M

Lem

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

6

5a

m

So

:

faceevo

m

o

wc

m

ow

E

co

n

com

o

v

3.

25a

o

f

8m

finc

EM

Decu

Ease

go

m

8953

m

owSm

$3

.

88?

a

.

m

owsoz

m

eem

M

acada

m

oo

m

o

m

m

efi

em

Ee

EQ

o

0

2

393

0

H

fl a wmwm flwfl fir i le)

N fi - m m N fi

F i ler” lfi‘ fi lm

a

«

8”

ED

fie

fiwmo

M

Sefi

Em

m

c

fiEewhfi

.

vcsx

csamv

Seawfiom

SQ

EN

M

our

5

ezs

mfio

M

enm

esh

ed

czm

m

zeweem

canv

as

sed

«H

eav

fiom

Sach

em

SQ

«ca

m

88m

Smox

u

vcsxebcem

de

fens

e5c

m

vo

wEEG

s

ewage»

EBO

S

EQ

a

280

case

?»

ca

m

ezeao

a

am

en

50

m

vo

w

«

be

g

h

emmed»

fi

es/

U

xeno

fio

cew

a

«

8.

ED

8 8 8 8fi ler CQH H IO‘ o’JN fl H N

NNN

fi lm o lw-‘Ivi <1 N H

h-l

8 8 8C)

8

88

50

8

«

8

m8

8m

fiefio

a

«

2

88m

«

A

0

885

8

580

0

.

.N

om

EO

M

8m

88m

£0

82

«m

emeemcem

emxfiscsms

m

88a:

28

5

20

8

8

88

m

288

m

35

80

5

8

0

8

80

83

580

0

88

8m

EO

M

8885

88

82

8

8n

8w

8m

88889

55

«caeei

8

805

0

I 9

2 90

.

88

q

900

282

8

M

“

0

000

8w888£0

o

f00

888

fl

888

8?o

f

98

8m

.

8

8m

88£

Q

.

30

awcsn—xm

a“w

88m

88£

Q

m

2

8m

0

88

mo

an

M N fi les r ule: v-d

8

8

50

w

£

8884

8

51

85

ocms

m

m

80

5

500

38

5

0

mwca

fifia

m

M

awmcms

k

.

O

H

00

38

0

0

mwzmm

fi

fia

m

Eamcaar

fi

.

80

5

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

0

0

0

o

0w::

m

:0

Q

00

00

0

0

00

00

w0o

m

"

0

00

50:

0

:

Q00

mom

0

0m0

m

10 P M c l N

M fi - M uu

”N"H IN H

NN fi ‘

m

H lv' M H M 0 10

50

:

M

80:

m

o:

m

0

50

5:

00

0:

m

B:

m

Em

0

3

ES

M

00

0

00

0:

0:

H0

S

80

209

000

8

to

v0o:

0

:,

fi

.

0

00

80:

0:

Q

2u

0

0

m

50:

0

00

0

5

m

<

Em

w

w0x0

a:0:

0v~

sm

0n:0

q

0

sow

m0x0

5:0:

0v:

sm

0wm0

u

Esom

m0

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Pa

2 97 1

0

:0

m

<

00

0

5

00

60

0

0

0A:

0

00:w

m

00

800

0:

Q

A

3

2000

55

:0

Q

.

A0

:0

m

<

300

0-

5

$0

005

3:

:0

Q

.

0

oom

A

50

0

:0

0

3

M:

00

0

00

00

0:

55

0

:

5

0:

00

A

M

m:

B:

50:

BO:0

M

.

x0

:0w<“

A

00

0

0

&0:m

050

005

3:

:0

Q

0

0

00

0

0

:

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join