The Mystery of the Kailash Trail - Chapter 9 - Part 5

Book 2: Chapter 9: Part 5: They discuss the Beyul at Gyangdrak Gompa

Vijay Kulkarni had affirmed his interest in wanting to see the parchments, maps and sketches that were spoken about by the senior monk at Chiu Gompa. Loga of the Kla-Chu, as the senior monk was to be called, said, “As I told you, I have not got to see the ‘mouth of the Lion’, but I do know that those documents will be able to tell you more about the location or the possible location. Perhaps, the time has come. Perhaps, this is the reason why I was not able to go to the secret valley that my grandfather spoke about. Do you really want to see those documents? Why? Should they not remain a secret? Should the location of the source of the Indus not remain a secret?”

Vijay nodded in agreement, and replied, “You are correct that what is a secret is best served by being a secret. There are justified reasons as to why our ancients kept some matters to be hidden from the common view. This is one such reason. The sources of the rivers were always to be seen as a precious treasure. The rivers can be controlled in the valleys that give birth to it. Kings can rule their kingdoms wisely, or deny the water to other kingdoms. If allowed to be shared, it becomes a resource that can be restricted. In any which way, the source of the river is the fulcrum of a kingdom, its people and their king.”

The senior monk looked up at Vijay with new respect, and said, “You speak wisely, my friend. You speak very wisely indeed. This is the treasure of the Himalayas, the upper Himalayas in Tibet. The Kang Renpoche is at the centre and holds the secrets to the treasures of the world. The greatest of the rivers, and many rivers there are, they emerge from the folds of the sacred mountain. Everyone, one and all, they think they know that such and such river starts its flow from such and such place. But, they do not. They do not know the exact source, or the exact valley. For, every river, at its source, has many streams that feed it. One does not know which stream or which valley is actually the cause of its birth.”

“But, my friend, the parchments, maps and sketches and paintings are not here at Chiu Gompa,” the senior monk said, “I had kept all those documents in a protected box and I have placed them in the custody of the senior monk at Gyangdrak Gompa. They have many more such documents. The Gompa is at the entrance to the inner kora. Have you been to the inner kora? The Gyangdrak Gompa is at the very edge, and one can see the Kang Renpoche in all its glory from that very place. We will go to the Gyangdrak Gompa. Come, I will go with you. We will drive down to Darchen by one of the jeeps and then borrow horses to go to the Gompa. We will reach early.”

Vijay was excited to be on the move again. A chance to go to the Gyangdrak Gompa? Who would refuse? To be at the edge of the inner kora? How could one stay away? To be a guest at the Gompa for a couple of days, if I was lucky, he thought. This was it. The senior monk, Loga of the Kla-Chu, managed to get a lift on one of the pilgrim vehicles. It was a truck, and Vijay sat along with him and two helper boys from Nepal who had been hired to work with the pilgrim groups. They served them with hot tea from a thermos flask that they had. Vijay was blissful at the taste of the sugary milk-laden tea that he had, ‘just like it was made in Pune’, he thought to himself.

At Darchen, the senior monk from the Chiu Gompa went about asking at the eateries for horses to be taken on hire to go to the Gyangdrak Gompa. There seemed to be a scarcity of horses, for most pilgrim groups would have taken them away on the kora. One of the yak-boys came up to them and explained that it would be best to ask the eatery run by the old couple from Shiquanhe, for they had many horses and yaks. Why, only today, the yak-boy explained, the monk from Choku Gompa and a funny looking Indian and the Shiquanhe boy had gone in haste towards Gyangdrak Gompa. The old couple from Shiquanhe would definitely be able to help, the yak-boy said.

At the eatery run by Norbu’s parents, to their surprise, the senior monk of Chiu Gompa and Vijay explained that they needed two horses to ride up to Gyangdrak Gompa. Norbu’s father expressed his curiosity and explained that there seemed to be quite a number of people going up to the Gyangdrak Gompa from the other monasteries. The Choku Gompa had sent two monks earlier, and now Brother Tameng had gone in with Norbu, his son, and Hariram Maharaj, a vegetarian cook from Gujarat in India. There was something happening in an exciting way, he suggested.

Norbu’s parents described the events of the night at the Choku Gompa, of the twelve pilgrims who vanished, of the herd of giant wild yaks and the wild wolves and the expedition from Dirapuk to enter the hidden valley. As long as his son was safe, and more and more sensible men were involved in this matter, Norbu’s father had no hesitation in helping them out with horses and supplies. He assured them that he was certain that they would not be returning any day soon. He thought that they would be drawn into this adventure, and more and more, he was sure that they would be traveling for many days.

Vijay and Loga of the Kla-Chu thought about Norbu’s father and his predictions as they rode up towards the Gyangdrak Gompa. This seemed to be getting exciting, and they were looking forward to being drawn into it. As Loga of the Kla-Chu, the senior monk of the Chiu Gompa told Vijay, “Brother, as I told you, there is always a time and there is always a reason about why events happen when they do, and the manner in which they occur. Today, we are both witness to this amazing turn of situations and happenings. Let us see where they lead us.”

They arrived at the Gyangdrak Gompa, and noted the number of horses and yaks that were already gathered in an open shed. There were many visitors, Vijay thought. A junior monk had seen Loga of the Kla-Chu and knew him to be the senior monk at the Chiu Gompa. He rushed forward to welcome them and offered to take them to meet the venerable Nam Ang Tsering, for they were probably here for the meeting. In answer to an immediate query about the meeting, the junior monk replied that there were many monks and visitors from different lands who had been gathering here since yesterday and since that strange storm on the Kang Renpoche.

Master Ang Tsering was not surprised to know that there were more visitors to the Gyangdrak Gompa. He welcomed them and requested them to join the group of other visitors. It was quite a team that had assembled here, and he was thankful to the sacred Kang Renpoche for making such a meeting possible, he said. There was Sardar Amarpal Singh, who wanted to walk inside the inner kora, and try to climb on the slopes, which was simply unthinkable. Along with him was Brother Sonam Sangye, the monk from the very sacred Nalanda. We are truly blessed, he said, smiling at Sangye. Escorting them both was the unexpected companion, Shenshe, the policeman from Shiquanhe. He was also welcome.

Brother Shedrub Repa of the Gyangdrak Gompa introduced himself and introduced the two brother monks from the Choku Gompa, who had arrived earlier, with the first news about the twelve pilgrims who had vanished below the slopes of the Kang Renpoche. Brother Tameng was introduced by Master Ang Tsering who in turn spoke about Hariram Maharaj and Norbu. Shenshe look curiously at Hariram Maharaj, but kept his peace. Vijay Kulkarni and the senior monk from the Chiu Gompa, Loga of the Kla-Chu, introduced themselves.

Brother Tameng retold the turn of events, for it was he who knew of what had happened on the slopes of the Choku Gompa. He described the rain and its intensity, of the strange group of twelve pilgrims who sat in the circle of stones. There was silence in the Gyangdrak Gompa, as the group heard about the herd of giant wild yaks and there was awe as they listened to the description about the wolves that were silent. Norbu spoke of what he had heard in the night at Dirapuk, and they explained, in turns, about the hidden valley behind the monastery. Sardar Amarpal Singh spoke of his vision during the stormy night and Vijay Kulkarni explained that he had had similar visions at the same time. Each one of them had been witnessing a part of the happening of that storm as they had gazed at the Kang Renpoche.

Master Ang Tsering spoke about the sanctity of the Beyuls and the aspect of divinity of the mountains and lakes in this region. There was magic in the place, he said, as he had said earlier, and it was not in our power to seek the mystery. Events would happen, and the mist would lift by itself, as it did in these mountains. The senior monk of the Chiu Gompa, Loga of the Kla-Chu, explained that he had once deposited a set of maps, sketches and paintings about the valleys to the north-west of the Kang Renpoche. The answers could well be in those documents. This was the reason for him to travel from Chiu Gompa to the Gyangdrak Gompa.