Dusk comes up quite suddenly in the Himalayas, and there does not seem to be any difference between winter or summer at night. We were driving back, from Karnaprayag to Rudraprayag, to go ahead to Devprayag and on to Rishikesh, some years back. Barely 4.30 pm at Karnaprayag, a traffic jam delayed us as we crossed across the Alaknanda River. And by 5.15 pm, it was beginning to darken, and a drizzle had started fogging up the road. The vehicles in front of us were our only guide to understanding the dimension of the road, and the dangerous slopes to the valleys below.
The Alaknanda River goes all alongside the road from Karnaprayag to Rudraprayag, and then keeps going away and coming back up to Devprayag. As we drove slowly alongside the river, a beautiful panorama was playing out. All the clouds seemed to come down the higher slopes of the mountains, and by 6 pm, they were below the road. A bit later, and some kilometres further, one could see the clouds coming to rest all over the river, and soon enough, the river was not to be seen. We could only guess that it was the river, because of the clouds resting over it.
It is said that Parvati, is thus known, because she is forever the Goddess of the Parvat, ie the Himalayas, and she would never want to leave the embrace of the mountains, who are her parents. And as I watched, it seemed like the Goddess came down silently, etherally, gently descending, and came to embrace her sister, the river, and that they rested peacefully at dusk within the valleys of the Himalayas. I looked above, the peaks shone in the moonlight, and one could be assured that Maheshwara, or Gangadhara himself, looked down and was pleased.
The Alaknanda River goes all alongside the road from Karnaprayag to Rudraprayag, and then keeps going away and coming back up to Devprayag. As we drove slowly alongside the river, a beautiful panorama was playing out. All the clouds seemed to come down the higher slopes of the mountains, and by 6 pm, they were below the road. A bit later, and some kilometres further, one could see the clouds coming to rest all over the river, and soon enough, the river was not to be seen. We could only guess that it was the river, because of the clouds resting over it.
It is said that Parvati, is thus known, because she is forever the Goddess of the Parvat, ie the Himalayas, and she would never want to leave the embrace of the mountains, who are her parents. And as I watched, it seemed like the Goddess came down silently, etherally, gently descending, and came to embrace her sister, the river, and that they rested peacefully at dusk within the valleys of the Himalayas. I looked above, the peaks shone in the moonlight, and one could be assured that Maheshwara, or Gangadhara himself, looked down and was pleased.
