Sohini Devaraya

Karthikaswamy Temple. Suddenly one day I heard the name! Find out in this fun and easy web site over the last few years. Why is this name omitted? Little children, accustomed to playing with paper balls, would one day go down to play in the big yard and look at the red ball lying in amazement in amazement. There are snow-capped Himalayas on three sides. Some of the peaks holding hands are Bandar Punch, others Kedarnath Dome, Chaukhamba, Elephant Mountain, Nilakantha, Dronagiri or Nandaghunti. There are also Trishul Nanda Devi, Meru and Sumeru mountain ranges. While reading ‘Sagarsangme Nabakumar’ part of Kapalakundla in my childhood textbook, I read a line, ‘Aha! What a sight! I will not forget it from birth to death. ‘ Unbeknownst to him, the words came out of his mouth.

Karthikaswamy Temple

Then I don’t know how many dreams I have seen, I have listened to the travelogue seen with the eyes of others with eager interest, I have seen the scene of this path before imagining it. Just wondering when to go? Will you go at all? But the opportunity came very soon. I thought, I will go to the land of ice in winter. I prepared the complete itinerary by November. Exactly, at the end of the second week of December, it will leave for Lucknow, part of Uttarakhand, Delhi and Agra. In the first three days, I went to Lucknow and from there I took a bus to Haridwar. After reaching Kanokchauri by morning bus from Haridwar, the rest of the places will be visited after returning to Haridwar in two days. Busy, what else! On the appointed day, Karta and Ginni set out on a mission to North India.

White all around on the ice

I got on the evening bus from Lucknow and reached Haridwar very early in the morning. From there take a bus to Rudraprayag at 8.30 am. It is here that Mandakini merges with Alaknanda. Rudraprayag The path from is divided into three parts. One goes to Yoshimath, one to Pokhari and the third to Deoria Tal via Tungnath. Karthikaswamy Temple In Connaught. If you want to go to Kannaukchauri from Rudraprayag, you have to take a bus going to Pokhari. After a short drive from Rudraprayag, the bus started moving along the snow-capped peaks. As if their beauty is overflowing in the last sun! For such a long time, I have never realized such a beautiful beauty of the mountains. Gradually, when the light of day was extinguished, the horns hid their faces behind the clouds. I looked out of the window of the bus and looked for them. I saw snow like cotton on both sides of the road. Just what a path, by then the surrounding plants, houses are all wrapped in a blanket of ice.

Karthikaswamy Temple

I reached Kanokchauri at five in the afternoon. In the middle of the frozen snow, in the middle of the one-lane road, the bus dropped us and the bus blew away. In an instant, the line of his tail light merged into the fog. The soft light snow that had fallen profusely began to accumulate on the rucksacks and jackets. Shivering in the cold, I went in search of shelter.

Where can I find shelter now? The adventurous young couple forgot about the Himalayas and never thought about it before. We did not book anything! Although I stayed in two or four hotels and homestays to spend the night in Kanokchauri market, I did not like it. In fact, we wanted to see more mountain life in the vicinity of the village people. There was no obstacle in fulfilling this hobby at that time before Corona. So it was decided that our sanctuary would be in a village called Pokhtha, one kilometer below Kanokchauri Bazaar. A local family invited them to have tea when they saw two unidentified children walking on the village road in the evening. Not only that, he also received an unsolicited offer to stay at home for two days. After the tea-chat, it was not too late to fall asleep in the lap of Panchmisali dal khichuri.

I woke up very early in the morning and saw that all around the snow had turned white but the sun had risen with great radiance. I knew that even if there is nothing special in Pokhtha, if you can reach the Karthikaswamy temple, you will see many things. After finishing my snack, I started walking towards the destination with some food. The road from Kanokchauri to Karthikaswamy temple. Tuktak trekking experience did not require a guide. Snow up to the knees in some places along the way. I picked up the broken branches of the tree and built it on the ice and proceeded very carefully. There is not a single cloud in the sky. The horns are shining in the rays of the sun, as if the goddess of nature has bathed herself and made herself beautiful with diamond-pearl-studded jewelry. There was a little shortness of breath in one place while walking. After leaning in with a slightly tilted mouth and exhaling through the nose, breathing became normal. After crossing the ups and downs, I reached the premises of Karthikaswamy temple in two hours. Yabbar, hanging in front of the temple, pierced his body with the solemn sound of the bell. I sat facing the hill. I don’t know how long.

White all around on the ice

There is a mythical belief about the Karthikaswamy temple. In the Puranas, Shiva instructed his two sons, Karthik and Ganesha, to travel around the universe. Ganesha revolved around his parents, declaring that his orbit of the universe was complete. But when Karthik actually travels around the universe and sees that Ganesha has been declared the conqueror, he angrily throws his flesh-skin towards his mother and bones towards his father. According to folklore, Karthik’s body, including skin and flesh, was thrown towards the mother, i.e. south, and was worshiped as Morganaswamy. On the other hand, the body with bones and skeletons is worshiped in the direction of the father, i.e. in the north, in the name of Karthikaswamy. For all these reasons, the Karthikaswamy Temple is considered as a very sacred and important place by all, regardless of the devotees and mountaineers.

The direction of the path
From Haridwar to Rudraprayag there is a well-equipped bus. Buses will also be available from Rudraprayag to reach Kanokchauri. If you want to avoid a break journey, you can also take a bus directly from Haridwar to Kanokchauri, though it is very few in number. The return bus from Haridwar departs from Haridwar at 6:30 am and from Kanokchauri to Haridwar at 6:00 am. In addition, private cars will match.

Karthikaswamy temple is 3 km from Kanokchauri. The whole path has to be traversed by steep hills. The third week of December was a bit of a hassle as there was a lot of snow but it didn’t seem very remote. However, inexperienced people should take the advice of local guide in this regard.

White all around on the ice

To stay
There are two to four homestays in Kanokchauri market. There are also a small number of hotels. The house rent is between 1000 to 1500 rupees. Pilgrims to the Karthikaswamy temple mainly visit these addresses. I had to pay 500 rupees per person per day to stay and eat in the ‘homestay’ in Pokhtha village.

In addition, there is a priest’s house 500 meters below the Karthikaswamy temple. Although the priest himself does not demand any money, everyone pays a small amount for living and eating. It is important to remember that if you do not reach Kanokchauri Bazaar from Haridwar at least in the afternoon, it is risky to reach this dormitory by walking two and a half kilometers along a dark hilly path. If you can avoid the ice season, it is possible to visit Deoria Tal, Chopta, Tungnath, Karthikaswamy Circuit at the same time.

Author Sohini Debra is currently associated with an NGO. The main subject of his writing is mainly travel story. However, a lot has been written on fairy tales, science and social issues. This time Sohini shared her personal travel experience with Digital.

Sohini Devaraya