By Bishnu Giri Nishchal
There was no word that could express the joy of enjoying the natural beauty of Mustang, for a traveller who was exhausted by the dust and smoke of Kathmandu city. For me the journey to Muktinath in Mustang district, situated around 3,800 meters above sea level, is not only a religious tour but also a civilizational study. It is an important common religious site for both the Hindus and Buddhists.
We decided to go on a trip to Mustang to give meaning to the plan of the business company established at the initiative of we four young people and to develop intimacy among friends. But to convince one of our friends, three of us had to work very hard, but there was no disagreement at the end. On the 22th of May at 7:30 pm, we left Kathmandu heading towards our destination. After arriving in Pokhara all the way from Kathmandu on a private electric vehicle, we made arrangements of another vehicle for our journey to Mustang through phone calls. The journey started with sweet gossips. We had our meal in a restaurant known to a friend at around 12 o’clock at night. Even though we paid money for the food, we received good hospitality.
We reached Pokhara at 3:00 PM. We can’t sleep without looking at the beauty of night life of Pokhara and we went to the lounge. After spending some time, we came to the hotel and went to sleep. After an hour or so left for Mustang. Along with Hari Dhakal, an experienced driver of old age, we toured the Baglung market by car. The sight of Baglung Bhagwati made the heart very pleasant. The residents of that area had good faith on the Goddess. I had never seen such a good arrangement in the hill side. While visiting Galeshwar Mahadev, we had dinner at Hotel Kaligandaki and Thakali kitchen near Beni. On the way from Beni to Muktinath, there lies a hot spring. We moved forward with the plan in mind to stay there after we return.
The journey progressed enjoying local curd and banana, and sometimes talking about organisational and business matters. We continued the journey enjoying at the roadside view. The Kaligandaki river, originating from Tibet, flowed southward through the gorge of the towering mountains made of rock. We were enthralled by the flow of Kaligandaki river and the surrounding beauty. The Himalayan region was naturally cold. Small rivers could be seen flowing in between and merging into the Kaligandaki. The views were very fascinating. The sky seemed to be narrowed in places. The Himalayan road is crossing big rockymountains. They are not scattered everywhere in the name of mining operations like in the vicinity of Kathmandu. Eternal beauty is blooming. As we got closer, it felt like entering the house of the mountains, as if the mountains themselves became closer and filled the tired eyes with life energy.
At Tukuche, Marfa we wandered around for some time and made a tiktok and the journey stopped at Jomsom.We planned to stay there over night and visit Muttinath next day morning. In the evening, friends Rajan Kadel and Ashish Bhandari working in Gharapzhong rural municipality of Mustang district came up with a proposal that they would like to organize a literacy program in the rural municipality. We didn’t want to miss that opportunity. So the responsibility of organizing the program was given to Pradip. At night, with the taste of delicious Mustange food, he went to the lap of Sleep-Goddess (Nidra Devi) with the desire to visit Mutinath after sun rise.
The journey to Muktinath commenced on 24 May morning because after visiting the temple we had to travel to Upper Mustang after the program. The Nilgiris and Dhaulagiris were to our south. There we got to see the beautiful view of Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri mountains. Dhaulagiri was white as washed with milk and Nilgiri was blue as the sky. We finally reached Muktinath, our ultimate destination. Muktinath is known as the abode of Lord Narayan, who liberates us. It is not possible to describe that beauty in words. That is why Mahatmas, saints, devotees, administrators, politicians, industrialists, traders, artists, and common people have the faith of all. Many Indian pilgrims came to visit the temple. Horses and stretchers were also provided for those who could not go to the top. We were ready to walk all the way to the top. We reached the top by taking small steps. Many Indian pilgrims were carrying themselves on people’s shoulders to visit the temple. There were two ponds in front of the temple. There were 108 taps behind the temple. We also ran and completed that task. Then we dive into the pool, without caring about the cold. We also imitated the custom of taking out money by dipping in the pool in front of Mukti Dham. We did Puja with devotion and love according to their values, belief and self-religion. The joy came from the heart. It sometimes occurred to me that I could live by doing that service. By enjoying that endless beauty of nature. We felt a lot of joy there. This temple at a height of 3810 meters cannot be described it’s beauty in words. After seeing Muktinath, I felt that the war had been won. Mustang is a waiting room for mental exhaustion, a hotbed of religious faith and the only common place where Hindu and Buddhist devotees visit. (Translated by Pratima Sapkota)
