wild ferns and other small flora of the Shevaroy hills, Eastern Ghats at Yercaud, near Salem, Tamil Nadu - August 2016

I am always fascinated by the sheer strength and persistence of wild ferns, mosses and lichens and other small flora in the steep hill slopes and plateau grasslands of the Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, Satpuras and the Himalayas. I wonder if there is a good field guide to the ferns and mosses of the Indian mountain systems. There are a number of fern species and they do come in various sizes. Some are endemic to certain hill ranges while some occur through the Indian Subcontinent. Most of these varieties and species have been cultivated and their variegars are good garden plants. 

I had accompanied my daughter to Yercaud, a hill station above Salem in Tamil Nadu. We wandered about the Shevaroy hills over a couple of days, and were amazed to see the diversity in ferns, mosses and small flora. The flowering season seemed to have just gone by, but the absolutely glowing greenery made up for it entirely. All along the slopes and in the inner forests, the strength of the small flora was very obvious.

This photograph was taken near the botanical gardens, and along the roadside. This patch was just next to the local parking lot and shanties vending various food items. It was a very disturbed location and could have easily been without any vegetation. However, the small ferns and other small flora were quite pugnacious and were able to make their own way in spite of the disturbance, exhaust fumes and shanty kitchens nearby. 

the hidden Saraswati River at the Adi Badri temple, where the sage Veda Vyasa wrote the Srimad Bhagavatam - border of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh

Long long ago, before the current network of roads and railways, it was natural topography that helped delineate roads and transport and movement across the Indian Subcontinent. One of the most prominent gateways to the Himalayas, ie Haridwar and Rishikesh, did not have their access from Meerut and other routes from New Delhi as it is today. The historical entrance during the times of the Mahabharata was from Adi Badri and Adi Kedar temples that are located north of the Kurukshetra battlefield. As their names suggest, these temples that were at the frontline of the lower Himalayas and the river plains, helped people plan their pilgrimages to Badrinath and Kedarnath. 

It is said that after the great battle of Kurukshetra, the sage Veda Vyasa was disturbed over how the future generations would perceive the role of Krishna in the Mahabharata, and about the reasons why brothers would kill brothers and families would destroy families. He was not content with being a central catalyst in the epic that he wrote, as he was also one of the mainstays of the various turnabouts in each generation. Without him, there would have been no Chitrangada, Vichitravirya or Vidura. He realised that the aspect of Krishna, and the aspect of victory of dharma would have to be explained differently. 

So he retreated northwards of Kurukshetra to Adi Badri and wrote out the eighteen volumes of the Srimad Bhagavatam, and the holistic and most comprehensive aspects of Shri Krishna, delving into various aspects of dharma and humanistic values. As he sat down to write, as the locals explained to me, he could not concentrate, for the fall of the Saraswati River over the gigantic mesa was very vigorous and energetic, and the sound was extremely overwhelming. So, he requested the Saraswati River to quieten down and flow through the great mountain at the location, and search out an underground terrain for herself. The Saraswati River is thought to have acceded to the request for she understood the importance of retelling the aspects of Shri Krishna. 

It is at this location that the river is thought to have disappeared, as the ancient tale suggests. I have visited the temple on various occasions and stayed overnight with the local sages and wondered at the most splendid forests around. The morning dawn is not to be seen at any other location along the Himalayas and the beauty of the place takes over all your expectations. Various sages and Sankaracharyas over the years have come to offer their salutations to Adi Badri, the Lord Vishnu, cast in black rock at the temple. This is a place where veritably, myth, epic, nature, water, religion, devotion, journeys and mystery come together. 

the clouds came to rest alongside the flowing alaknanda as dusk took over the valley - at Karnaprayag to Devprayag, Uttarakhand

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. 

this nation belongs to these school girls who keep walking daily in the Himalayas - near Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand

I am always amazed to see school kids, especially school girls, in excellently turned out school uniforms, all the way from northern Uttarkashi ie Yamnotri in the west through the Himalayas to Sikkim and Dibrugarh in the east. One can spot them early in the morning, walking in the biting cold, dressed up smartly, trekking at least 2 to 10 kms daily - one way - and back, to reach their school without fail. 

They walk alongside fast moving traffic, risking eve teasers and various other problems. Most of them, of all ages, carry heavy school bags, and yet look quite happy and cheerful. They put to shame, all the urban school children, who need school buses, or their parents or chauffeurs or whosoever, to drop them and pick them back from school. India belongs to these courageous and brave girls of the Himalayas. 

At least, on two locations, one at Khansali, in Yamnotri, and later, near Karnaprayag, I was able to meet them very early in the morning. I was wearing at least three layers of warm clothes, and I was totally humbled by a tiny tyke, possibly about 8 years old, in excellent school uniform and seemingly proud of it, with splendid creases, and a heavy school bag. This small lady of India, all of 8 years old, did not have any warm clothes on her. She was smiling and glowing, and I am sure, that some time in the future, we will hear about her and be happy about our India. 

This photograph is from the highway between Devprayag and Rudraprayag, before Srinagar, in Uttarakhand. 

women grass-cutters near Karnaprayag, Uttarakhand

From sometime in September 2009, on the road near Karnaprayag, in Uttarakhand. These are the lower Himalayas, and on the Char Dham route (= the four pilgrimage location route). They are a regular sight and reflect on the dependence of the local women on biomass. They seem to work through the day, traveling further and about, harvesting fodder and journeying back with a heavy headload. I had a number of questions to myself, for I could not bring myself to stop them and ask them or delay them. 

We were traveling from Haridwar by road through Rishikesh, Devprayag, Karnaprayag and Rudraprayag to Adi Badri. It was a most fascinating route, complete with surprises on every blind turn. Nowhere else in India would one come to such a limitless bounty of diversity and convergence. 

Hats off, salaam and respects to the hill-women of the remote villages of Uttarakhand for having struggled to just live out their lives in the rugged Himalayas. The strongest of Indians.