Sometime back we got a chance to visit Vaishno Devi. It was a long awaited and planned trip - wifey was waiting for it since last 4 years, and I was planning for it since last 4 years :)
So finally, when my '
गृहलक्ष्मी '(Ghar ki Lakshmi ) got angry and became '
दुर्गा' (Durga), entire trip was planned and all reservations were done within 4 hours.
Now the biggest question was how to climb up the mountain. Me, Ankita & Piku, we all were not able to agree upon any common conclusion.
- We could hire horses, but wifey was scared to ride...
- We could hike up, but carrying Piku for 12 km uphill daunted me. Somehow, it didn't occur to me for quite sometime that I would need to carry him 12 km downhill as well...
- We could hire a 'Pitthu' (or Guide) to carry Piku, but Piku wasn't willing to do so. Of course he didn't literally say this (he was just 2+ years old then), but we knew that he won't let anyone else carry him...
So, we left the decision to our fate, boarded the bus from our hotel and repeated with everybody "Jai Mata Di". Probably Goddess was obliged, and Piku fell asleep by the time we reached 'Katra', the foothill of the mountain. Without any second thought, we hired a 'Pitthu', and he took Piku on his shoulders ... and the seemingly impossible ascent began.
The weather was pleasant, and every now & then the 'jaikara' echoed which kept on pumping the morale:
"Jor se bolo, Jai Mata Di"
"Prem se bolo, Jai Mata Di!!!"
After walking for hours, me & wifey were tired & sweating and decided to take a break (first break). After having refreshed ourselves, we asked our guide how much more distance was left. I couldn't hear anything past the words "11 kms ONLY". We pledged immediately not to ask him about the remaining distance (although I broke the pledge fifteen minutes later). Also, now I understand the concept of time relativity.
Anyway, we carried on with our ascent with frequent action packed moments. For anybody else there might not have been any action, but for me there were many incidents.
For e.g.: every time Piku woke up, I had to run and get behind his back, so that he would only see his mother and assume that I'm carrying him on my shoulders.
Another instance: every now & then, we, the two legged creatures (humans), would be sidelined by four legged creatures (horses) or six legged creatures (horses with people sitting on them) or eight legged creatures (horses with people sitting on them with babies in their laps).
Our guide was also doing his part to keep us moving, steadily. Sometimes he would increase his pace, and we would have to in-turn move faster so that he doesn't get out of sight.
Sometimes he used to tell me (de)motivational factors.
- 'अरे आप से भी मोटे-2 लोग चढ़ जाते हैं (people fatter than you also climb very easily )'... Motivation - There are people fatter than me! Demotivation - I'm fat!
- '
ऊपर पहुँच कर मौसम अच्छा हो जायेगा (weather would be pleasant upwards)'...... Motivation - It would be nice after sometime! Demotivation - It's hot right now!
- '
बस, उस point तक जाना है (just need to reach that point)'... Motivation - I can see where I need to reach! Demotivation - Still X kms to go!
The echoing 'jaikara' had also slightly changed:
"Jor se bolo, Jai Mata Di"
"Mil kar bolo, Jai Mata Di!!!" After all, combined efforts were needed to carry on the trip...
Anyhow, after many more breaks (& refreshments), lots of sweating and weary bodies, we finally reached the holy cave. We entered the caves, moving wearily to get a glimpse of 'Mata Vaisho Devi' and before anyone could sense anything, we were on our way back. Thankfully, some friends had guided me earlier so my trip wasn't wasted.
Later, while we were descending, the echoing 'jaikara' was changed to:
"Jor se bolo, Jai Mata Di"
"Awaaz na aayi, Jai Mata Di!!!"
After returning back, I was doing some calculations and found that:
Total distance walked ~ 28 kms
Time taken ~ 10.5 hours
Weight lost ~ 0 kg
Conclusion - if an object moves in a closed loop, the net work done is zero.
Moral - whatever I read in physics in school, was true.
