The Mystery of the Kailash Trail - Chapter 5 - Part 4

Chapter 5: Part 4: They who came from Iran and lived in seclusion in Tibet. 

It was quite a distance from Darchen to Shiquanhe. Why would the two pilgrims leave their other companions on the kora and return? That would not be allowed for Indian pilgrims. The local police would have kept track and the pilgrim guides would have immediately informed about it to the local government officials or police officers. Nobody kept track of the many hundreds of pilgrims who came from all over Tibet, and usually it would not have been noticed, thought Luo Tsering. These two pilgrims had been noticed because of the rainstorm.

What was this big mixture of languages? India seemed to be like China, he thought. These people from a very small region in India spoke in several different languages. It must be quite significant for them to have been disturbed about the two pilgrims though they looked like all other Tibetans. Now that they had pointed them out separately, Luo could see that they were not Tibetan. They were fairer, and taller, and had much cleaner clothes. As Maharaj pointed out, “Those clothes have been made to look dirty.”

“Back home at Navsari, we hardly get to speak to the priests of the Parsis during their prayers inside their temple. We meet them only when they sit at our neighbourhood Pol, at the shop that sells sandalwood and other oils and material for prayers and rituals,” said the Pilgrim Guide, who also doubled up as a spiritual guide to the pilgrims who accompanied him from Gujarat, “These pilgrims are speaking that most difficult dialect in a very comfortable manner. They do not seem to be from India.”

Maharaj decided to take matters in his hands, and approached the two pilgrims, and said in his pidgin Tibetan-Chinese, “Greetings, my brothers. Have you had any breakfast? I noticed that you did not take any. The night was very bad, and it looks like it would rain again in some moments. You may not be able to travel out there. Have some food, special food for pilgrims like you, who look like you have traveled all the way from India.”

The two pilgrims looked up startled at Maharaj having approached them. They understood what he had said, for they nodded in agreement. They did not speak, but approached the hot stove and accepted the hot breakfast, sat down quietly and began to eat. They did not eat the food, as an Indian from the Navsari region of Gujarat would have done. These two pilgrims had not washed their hands, and had sat down to pick at their food by using the fingers of both hands. No devout Indian, especially from Gujarat, would have used the left hand, unless he was left-handed, thought Maharaj. These two, he declared in Hindi to the Jain monk and the pilgrim guide, these two were definitely not from India.

Maharaj and Luo sat in front of the two mysterious pilgrims and looked at them. Luo spoke to them in Tibetan, “Brothers, it is not that we are curious, but it is because that we are worried that we ask. There is enough trouble nowadays in Tibet and the policemen will come later and talk to me and maybe, they may not allow me to run my business here for the coming seasons. I need to ask you, for these pilgrims here, from India, feel that you have returned to Shiquanhe from Darchen, without the rest of your group.”

The two pilgrims stopped eating, and sat silently. They did not look at each other. Maharaj pointed at the food on their plates and gestured that they could continue to eat. Silently, he added some more food on their plates for fear that they should presume that they would not be allowed to eat unless they answered questions. That would not do, thought Maharaj, for he could never push away people from the food that he served them. They began to eat again, slower this time.

Luo sat patiently. Waiting. Maharaj sat nearby. The pilgrim guide and the Jain monk sat with the other pilgrims at some distance. The two mysterious pilgrims ate slowly. Once, one of them looked pleadingly at Maharaj who immediately served them another complete helping. Luo asked again, “Brothers, please do realize what I am asking of you. You do not seem Tibetan. The monk from India, he who is sitting there with the other pilgrims there, told us that you were seen at Darchen with twelve other pilgrims. And that you speak a very strange language.”

The elder of the two spoke, in fluent Tibetan, “My friend, we thank you for your hospitality. We did not know that you were concerned and that the pilgrim brothers had seen us at Darchen yesterday. We took a lift with one of the trucks that this pilgrim group had with them, and the Tibetan driver had helped us come away from the predicted rainstorm at Darchen. I thank you and your cook from India. This food was very tasty. We have never eaten these foods before.”

“Never eaten these?” asked Maharaj, “But the Jain monk in the group said that he could be very sure that you spoke Parsi. Actually he said that you spoke old Parsi. Who speaks that language in Tibet? Nobody. And now, you say you have never eaten Indian food? And you speak very good Tibetan. They also said that you came away from the Darchen area without the others in your group that had been moving around in the kora. They saw that you had walked all the way to Tarboche earlier.”

The elder pilgrim replied, “My friend, there is nothing to fear from us. We are like anyone else. I am only surprised that the pilgrim brother from India recognized our ancient language. We speak Tibetan freely, but we also retain our ancient language. We are happy and pleased that some of our brothers are in India. We did not know that. We returned from Darchen because we go to return to our place. Our group will return later.”

“We are Tibetan now. We live in Tibet,” he continued, “We come in pilgrimage. Our group will complete the kora and they will return later. We have done the kora earlier. I have done it twice. My brother, sitting here with me, has done it once. We came to get our group to the kora. There is nothing wrong about us and there is nothing suspicious about our actions. For us, the Kang Renpoche Mountain is most sacred. More sacred than for any of you.”

The Jain monk and the pilgrim guide had come to sit near and were listening. Maharaj translated the discussion for their benefit and explained what was being told to them. The Jain monk smiled and said, “Come on, that is not correct. I am a Jain, and for us this is the location of the Ashtapada Mountain. The legend of the mountain is the oldest of all, even earlier than Shiva, and the other stories of Buddhism. Yet, all religions coexist here in peace. For all, this mountain and the region is the most sacred of all, in our religions. How do you say that this is more sacred?”

The elder pilgrim smiled, and replied, “Peace be with you, Master. We bow to you, and to the legend of the Ashtapada Mountain. We are at peace with all religions. We are from a very ancient religion, and of a very ancient people. You would not understand about our religion and about our way of life. We come from villages to the west of the Ngari town, deep in the mountains that have never been visited by tourists, scientists, governments or armies. We live in peace there. But for us, this region is the home of our most ancient gods. The mountains are the homes of our gods and we come to visit them.”

The two pilgrims accepted the hot cups of spiced-up sugary tea that Maharaj handed around. The elder pilgrim continued, “We are more curious about the fact that our ancient language is still spoken in other parts of the world. We live in seclusion, having come to Tibet from an ancient spiritual land to the west. We keep our customs, and we live in our small world. Every three years, some of us, our priests and the monks among us, are selected to travel to this sacred ground. We visit this place and return. That’s all. We are like all pilgrims here. We have done the kora earlier and we are returning.”

The Jain monk said, “A land to the west of Ngari and Tibet? And you speak the ancient Pharsi language. You must have come from Iran like all the other Parsis. Are you also a Parsi? You are certainly fairer than the Tibetans. That is most amazing. I should tell my friends back at Navsari. They will be very happy. But I did not understand the fact that these mountains are more sacred to you than they are to others.” The elder pilgrim replied, “Master, there are more secrets here than what you know or what you have heard about. This region has more secrets than there are stories and myths about the mountains. You know of only sacred spirits and gods and demons. For us, these mountains, people, animals and the waters hold more secrets than the stories.”