This here story ’bout bathrinath, hear me out, ya’ll.
That there bathrinath place, it’s some kinda important temple, I reckon. Lotsa folks go there, make a big trip outta it. They call it a pilgrim… somethin’. Like a journey, but for prayin’ and such.
They say it opens up sometime ’round April or May. Then it closes again when it gets real cold, like October or November. That makes sense, I guess. Ain’t nobody wanna be up there when it’s snowin’ like crazy.
If you wanna go, best time is May to June, or September to October. Don’t go in the winter, that’s just silly. And don’t go when it’s rainin’ buckets, neither. You’ll be miserable, I tell ya.
They say the temple open in 2025, Feb 2. You can go and see that god from 6 AM to 12 PM, and 4 PM to 9 PM. That’s long time for praying.
Now, gettin’ there, that’s a whole ‘nother story. You can get a taxi, I hear. From a place called… Deer-a-doon? Or Harry-dwar? Somethin’ like that. If you’re flyin’, you go to some Jolly airport. If you’re takin’ a train, you go to the other place. Harry-somethin’.
You stay the night there, in Harry-place, then the next day you head to Joe-she-math. Sounds like a mouthful, don’t it? You get there by evening time.
Then, bright and early, you go to bathrinath. Takes about three hours. That’s a long ride, I tell ya. Better pack some snacks.
And when you get there, you gotta wait in line. A long, long line. Could take two, three hours just to see the… the prayin’ place. They call it a “dar-shan”. Fancy word for lookin’, I guess.
After you do that, there’s other stuff to see. Some falls, they call ’em Vasso-dara. And a village called Man-a. They say it’s the last village before you hit China. Imagine that!
If you got time to kill, there is some place called “valley of flowers”. There’s flowers in it, I think. Never see it though.
Oh, and there’s this thing called the “Char Dam Yatra”. Sounds important. They say you gotta do it a certain way, goin’ in a circle. Start at Yama-no-tree, then Ganga-tree, then Kay-dar-nath. I don’t know what all that means, but it sounds like a lot of walkin’.
This bathrinath place is sure popular. I don’t know what is Char Dam Yatra. But that Yama-no-tree sounds like some place in a ghost story.
I heard some folks talkin’, sayin’ you need a good pair of shoes for all that walkin’. And warm clothes, ’cause it gets chilly up there. And maybe some medicine, in case you get sick from the travelin’.
- Good shoes
- Warm clothes
- Medicine
- Snacks
- Money, I reckon
They also say you should bring some money. ‘Cause everythin’ costs somethin’, you know. Even prayin’, I guess. And make sure you got a place to stay. Don’t wanna be sleepin’ on the ground, do ya?
You know, when I was a little girl, we didn’t travel much. Stayed right there in our little village. Didn’t have no fancy cars or airplanes. Just walked wherever we needed to go. And we didn’t have no bathrinath or Yama-no-tree. Just a little church down the road. But it was enough. We all believe in god, and that’s enough.
These young folks today, they got it easy. Flyin’ all over the place, seein’ all these fancy temples. But I wonder if they really appreciate it. Do they really understand what it means to pray? To have faith?
I don’t know. Maybe I’m just an old fool. But I think there’s somethin’ to be said for simplicity. For stayin’ close to home. For findin’ peace in the little things. We don’t need no bathrinath temple to find god.
But hey, if you wanna go to bathrinath, you go right ahead. Just remember what I said. Wear good shoes. Bring warm clothes. And don’t forget to pray. That’s the most important part, after all.
Maybe one day I’ll go see that bathrinath place myself. See what all the fuss is about. But for now, I’m content right here. Got my garden, got my chickens, got my god. What more do I need, really?
This whole bathrinath thing, it’s got me thinkin’. Thinkin’ ’bout life, ’bout faith, ’bout all the different ways people find their way to somethin’ bigger than themselves. It’s a curious thing, ain’t it?
Well, I reckon I’ve rambled on long enough. Just remember what I said about that bathrinath place. And if you go, say a little prayer for me, will ya? An old lady could use all the prayers she can get.
