"Tapovan" where gods would meditate

Tapovan could be any place where intense meditation is performed, but "Tapovan" can only ring one bell in my head - the most beautiful high altitude meadow nestled between the base of the Shivling and Bhagirathi peaks.
For both Deepam and myself, Tapovan had been a near miss when we had gone to Gaumakh years ago. In Sept 2012  we got an opportunity to escape the mundane once again and we headed off to Tapovan finally. Starting off from Delhi, we headed to Kuflon to Anil and Shree - our comfort zone in Uttarkashi which can never disppoint us. Early next morning effervescent Tilak was there to accompany us further on. The connection with Tilak seems spiritual at times :)
Sitting in a Bolero with our supplies on the roof , we picked up Kishan and started to make our way to Gnagotri. Nroute we stopped close to Harsil to pick up some fresh apples and stocked some in the supplies. Enroute we crossed the Weilson bridge and rememebred the man on the white horse. His travels continue to inspire me till now. At Gangotri, a short mandatory visit to the temple and obtaining the passes for entry into rstricted zones, we were fit to go by late morning.

Hiking with Deepam, I have learnt some lessons, they are practical but hillarious. The foremost is that I should not walk with her, even though she wishes me to. If I am around she has a outlet for her pain, at times reluctance to carry on and being tired. But if I am not there and instead someone else then she is a bit constrained to let it out. This I have a

pplied since Chandrashila hike, when Sambhao was with her. This time it was Tilak - mean of me , I say no its not (with a chuckle). Tilak likes to talk as well and has a different perspective to life, whch opens up a bit your own eyes and he is in love with the montains. Given these, I knew they would be fine. The first half day was re-living our previous Gaumukh hike as we were on the same path. By dusk we ereted our tents, set up the kitchen tent and after a belly full were soon off to sleep for a long day tomorrow.
Starting early we were in high spirits and traversed the distance till Gaumukh by early noon. Enroute we started to drink off the streams, observe the myraid wild flowers, saw a herd of Ibex and witnessed a light show by clouds and the sun. All along the Shivling peak kept a watchfull eye on us. This is one of the most challenging technical peaks and some day.......soon.
At Gaumukh there was a babaji, made a small prayer, had the prashad, some rest and started off. It looked simple enough, we just had to go along the let flank of the glacier, gaining hieght on the adjoining hill, then do traverse accross body of glacier, and then afterreaching the right flank make a steep short ascent to the meadow. Simple. But I forgot - the left flank hill has nothing but loose rocks and scree. The glacier traverse has thousands of open crevases, fall in one and you will be out floating in the Ganges a few centuries later. The small steep climb , is not really small. And you have your loads to carry. And cross the glacier before the weather takes the finicky turn that it does each noon in higher Himalayas.
The scree was managable, if you were quicker than the free falling rocks then you were safe, but the glacier traverse was a different being all together. The first sights of the crevase made Deepam nearly cry.

Unlike crevases that you see  in high altitude passes, here its not white, not blue, but its black.. Infact in the whole tapestry of the Gangotri glacier which extends neary 30km never closely resembles a glacier in truest sense. Its a valley glacier system and has svereal supraglacial lakes, moraines and the runn off from the surrounding Gangotri peaks, Chaukhamba, Shivling and Meruu give it a dirty brown top cover.

Years of rock fall and sand and ice being mixed followed by the warming have made the crevases look like black gashes on brownish surface. On the sides of these gashes precariously balanced are few rocks that periodically fall down and you hear the thump, whooosh and then silence. The glacier - ate it, a boulder as big a smal building. Thats when the enormous apetite of the crevase hits you, that you could be a measley snack. To top it Kishan continued his stories of people lost on these glacier and those who never came back. Hopping, skipping, walking and clinging we made it accross in one piece. By now we were tired. Then began the "small" ascent up. Going a significant portion on all fours we were moving forward, when the inevitable happened. One of us fell - slipping and ended with face in the mud , all dusted but no broken bones. A long arduous climb we arrived at the meadow of Tapovan. Quite exhausted, quickly the camp was set in place. Deepam and me got in our tent and in the sleeping bags. Deepam was fatigued beyond expression and I contemplated the steps for an emergency evacuation for her, if needed. Tilak and Kishan got in some hot food in our tent and soon we were in sound sleep.

The next morning we woke up to a bright day and to completely renewed ourselves. No trace of being tired, no fatigue, we were super charged. We felt the energy of this place and could feel the energy of a place where supposedly hundreds of powerful sadhus are meditating in the visible form.

 We could feel that within us, it was magical. The lanscape was frosted over by the night. There were these swirls of frost that formed over small plants. On holding in the hands they melted . The litte stream that flew had a layer of ice on which sat the crows. The first lights on the shivling baught out all the glory of this mighty peak. Tilak narrated that the valve for the gas burner was perhaps forgotten at the previous camp. They found the "mauni" baba who has been meditating here since years and he lent us his valve to make food. If it were not for him, we would have no food last night and non today either.

Today was also Tilaks birthday and Deepam took out the laddus she had been saving for him all this trip in her backpack. We celebrated with the laddus, Kishan made some steaming hot paranthas, tea and with a full belly and having seen then breathtaking meadow which can never be enough, we started back around noon. Retracing our steps we look down from the left fank and could see the entire Gangotri glacier complex , its magnificient. On the other side when we saw the setting sun on shivling peak, we could see the face of Shiva on the peak, it was breath-holding and we were spellbound. Soon enough we set up our camp, had some pasta and played a lot of cards game, with huge and roaring bouts of laughter. The next day we started our way back and then the day after the drive again from Kuflon to Delhi.