Week 5: Maggi in the Mountains
Never have I seen such a magnificent sight.
Although later, I would be informed by my friends that the view before me was not of the mountains.
They were simply hills.
But how could something this massive be deemed just a hill?
My friend from Nepal was quick to correct me, and after she showed images of the Himalayas I knew that I simply had to visit to redefine my definition of a mountain.
Although we might have been able to see the Himalayas from where we were, the fog had other plans. However it created a mystique calm throughout the valley, as if mother earth had adorned herself with a cloudy shawl.
On Thursday, July 30th, we set off to Rishikesh with our driver. Having a driver was a very new concept to me. Typically the person taking me to and fro would be my mother driving me to dance or school, so having a stranger transport me to a new location was a foreign experience indeed.
I was very excited to be in a car for 6 hours staring out the window. Back home I have to keep my eyes on the road as to not hit a deer, so this was a special treat. I saw so many things, but one instance stood out in particular. A man in a full suit, with dark sunglasses and a briefcase, was zooming down the highway on a motorcycle. He had no helmet, which was jarring at first, but there was not a hint of fear in his eyes. I was sure that I had just seen James Bond. The scene was picturesque, and certainly not something you would ever see in Iowa.
Unfortunately for our driver (and for Adalyn) I am prone to yapping while on road trips. As I commented on the scenery outside, the driver picked up on a couple of words and attempted to explain to me the sights. I saw many men wearing orange and carrying jugs of water connected to sticks. Me and the driver created our own way of communicating, a mix of sign language and English, so that he could explain what this pilgrimage was. What I got out of it is that the water in the jugs they were carrying was spiritual. After some more gestures depicting something flowing, I deduced that the water must be coming from a river. The Ganges River!
It has been difficult to wrap my head around religious concepts in Hinduism. The river is a goddess. And Shiva's hair? No, the hair caught the river as it descended upon the valley. And the river is a goddess. And the goddess is not only Parvati, but Kali, and Durga. And Shiva is a guy, but also half is a girl, and that girl half is Parvati? But are they two beings? Or one?
I have much to learn about Hinduism, and many other things for that matter. When you've spent your whole life in the midwest, the history of the ancient world feels so far away. Midwest folk are very simple, and religion can be a sensitive topic especially. Some churches I went to when I was a kid talked about other religions like it was something to be cautious of, like they were dangerous. While being in India, I have found that we have a lot more in common than some might think.
It was clear as we reached closer and closer to our destination that the place we were traveling to was sacred. As soon as we saw the towering hills and the great body of water that was the Ganges, we were met with a sense of awe.
My favorite aspect of the scenery were the murals painted on the sides of the road depicting the religious and cultural significance of the river through art.
Our plan for this trip was simple: Explore the mountains and become one with nature after a busy summer of research.
The next day, we spent basically the whole day in the hills exploring temples and waterfalls. We visited the Kunjapuri Temple located on the top of one of the hills near the river. The temple is said to be one of the places where a fragment of the Goddess Sati's body rests.
The view was incredible, but as we were walking up the stairs to the top of the hill a monkey came down and snatched Adalyn's bag of snacks right from her!
Besides the sneaky monkey, the whole morning was wonderful. We headed back to our room to get some much needed rest before we would continue exploring the mountains in the evening.
Later that day, we went back up the road in a heavy duty mountain vehicle to explore some waterfalls. A lot of them were closed due to the monsoon season, but it was still cool to see even the smaller ones.
Even though I consider myself to be quite brave, I sometimes have an aversion to heights. We had decided to stop along the side of the mountain to have a picnic before continuing our trek. It was a beautiful view, with the entire valley and Ganges River being visible right in front of us. If it was a view depicting in a painting in a museum or on a poster, I might have felt a little less queasy. However the daunting distance between me and the base of the valley was right in front of me.
I was starting to get quite anxious, until a fury friend ran up to be from the roadside.
The guide said that the dog's name was Ruby, and they were owned by some locals who lived in a house just down the road.
I instantly felt better with Ruby there. Her cute face and little nose helped me forget just how high up I was. I shared some of my sandwich with her as a gift of thanks for bringing me a sense of comfort while facing my fears.
While we were eating, the guide informed us that the house next to us had a place to get some maggi to eat.
Maggi is like a yummier version of ramen noodles. Whenever Ram makes it for us for breakfast, I know it's gonna be a good day.
Me, Adalyn, and Ruby had a scrumptious helping of maggi while watching the sun slowly set over the Himalayas.
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