It is 5am, and I am up for a long trip to Chiu Gompa. We had gathered at 6am for breakfast in Saga, and boarded the buses at 7am. Today, we have to drive 480 kilometers.
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| there is no view on earth that matches this, first view of Kailash across Manas Sarovar |
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| the glorious Gurla Mandhata in the distance |
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| my father has brought me so far |
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| first steps towards the dip in Manas Sarovar |
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| AUM Namaha Shivaaya |
After getting off the road, and driving along side gravel, we had hit the Visitor Center, and finally the place to take a dip.
After the dip at Manas Sarovar, we joined the road that comes from Taklatkot.
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| towards the road from Taklakot - the beautiful Gurla Mandhata in the distance |
The road to Taklakot has Rakshas Tal on the left, and Manas Sarovar to the right as we drive towards Chiu Gompa.
While Manas is dotted with monasteries, Rakshas Tal does not sport any inhabitants. Nor does life grow in the waters. Unlike the fish at Manas, Rakshas Tal is lifeless but beautiful.
Each time we have visited, the pooja at Manas Sarovar has been outside. We would be dressed in five or seven layers and surround the yagna kund for the flame to stay lit. This is the first yatra, when the preparation of the pooja has happened inside the large room that used to be earlier a little restaurant with cup noodles of different flavors and some candies being sold.
The room is nice and large, and painted in a colorful Tibetan pattern. 70 of us sit comfortably for a pooja here, 30 more could have sat in. We are so used to finding logistics challenges in this yatra, that we don't recognize it when we fall in the lap of convenience.
Venkatji and Srinivasji lead the chanting, along with Naveenji. Shiva decides, Shiva provides. So far, chanting consistently and aloud has been a distant dream during the Manas pooja. Standing shoulder to shoulder, blocking the cold breeze from the lake, double gloved hands, and double socked feet freezing without shoes, it has been a tough physical tapas but this time, Shiva has been kind. We sat comfortably and performed the pooja.
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| offering jal to the lingam |
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| offering jal to the lingam |
As the pooja ends around 11:30pm and we go to our rooms, we have already completed 75% of the parikrama of Manas Sarovar by bus. We got off the road when we reached Manas Sarovar, took a dip and met the road from Taklakot, and came up till Chiu Gompa. Tomorrow, a short trip to Darchen on the other side of highway 219, closer to the land of my father.
AUM Namaha Shivaaya
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