HIMALAYAN PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE C

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Over the course of a 7,000-day conversation with the Himalaya, Vaibhav has tried to visually capture 70,000 wondrous moments using ordinary, inexpensive non-SLR cameras. One-hundredth of that quest can be witnessed on these pages.

Part C

A Journey from the River Kali to the RIver Kali Gandaki
Byans, Chaudans, Gurans Himal, Kanjiroba Himal, Dolpo, Dhaulagiri Himal, Mustang, and Annapurna Himal

C001. The magnificent accumulation zone of the Jolingkong Glacier on the northeast face of the sacred Adi Kailas (5,945 m)

C002. A tearful reunion with the beautiful Jolingkong Glacier

C003. I love to gaze at the copiously glacierised body of my beloved Adi Kailas (5,945 m). From the invigorating Permo-Triassic shales and limestones in its head to the rugged but soothing quartzites in its belly, every bit of it is sacred to me.

C004. The glacial kingdom of the shale-and-limestone-crowned Kailas Baba or Hya Gangri of Jolingkong

C005. After attending a demons’ parade in Almora and a twelve-yearly botanic fiesta in Chaudans, I was lucky enough to spend the evening of the Hunter’s Moon in the sacred lap of Adi Kailasa (Hya Gangri of Jolingkong, 5,945 m). I gazed at his wondrous Permo-Triassic crown for an hour.

C006. An evening by Gauri Kund or Jolingkong Cho (4,610 m), a moraine-dammed glacial lake in the lap of the sacred Adi Kailas

C007. Gauri Kund or Jolingkong Cho (4,610 m), a moraine-dammed glacial lake in the lap of the sacred Adi Kailasa massif

C008. Gazing prayerfully at the copiously glacierised, shale-and-limestone-crowned Adi Kailas (5,945 m) from the northern shore of Parvati Sarovar (4,495 m)

C009. Blowing spells into the frozen ears of Hya Gangri from across a fluid enigma

C010. Gazing reverently at the copiously glacierised massif of Adi Kailas (5,945 m) from the northern shore of Parvati Sarovar (4,495 m)

C011. Standing quietly on the eastern shore of Parvati Sarovar (4,495 m)

C012. Bhim Ki Kheti (‘Bhima’s farm’, 4520 m) is a seasonal marsh between two great moraines near the foot of the glacierised Adi Kailas massif. Verdant during the monsoon, it is revered as an ancient paddy plantation with a miraculous origin linked to the legendary Pandavas’ stay here.

C013. Equine ennui in Jolingkong

C014. A conference of eleven merry ghosts on her sun-drenched belly

C015. I love to gaze at the 21,000-foot-high glacier-bitten ridge that stands between the headwaters of the mighty rivers Kali and Karnali, marking the boundary between the historic realms of Byans and Purang.

C016. Beyond the western frontier of Purang-Guge lies the deeply crevassed glacial groin of Sangthang, a sanctuary for banished and irredeemable ghosts.

C017. I would not be surprised if great troves of metaphysical tourmalines were hidden beneath the glacial cape of Yeshe Walmo, the ever-enigmatic, ever-invincible keeperess of timeless wisdom.

C018. A homecoming

C019. Night falls over the icy moraines of Nikurch Rama as the sun sets behind the northeast face of the lofty Brahma Parvat (6,321 m).

C020. Sangthang (6,480 m), the lofty spewer of sinuous glaciers, prevents the gentle Kuti Yangti from uniting with Mapcha Tsangpo, the puissant Peacock River.

C021. One of the many sinuous glaciers that nourish my beloved Kuti Yangti is born of Hya Sangthang (6,480 m), beyond whose cloud-kissed forehead flows Mapcha Tsangpo, the fabled Peacock River.

C022. Illuminated by the morning sun, the east face of Cheepaydang (Peacock Peak, 6,220 m) watches over the kindly moraine whose juniper mats and stunted birches are home to chubby, frost-hardy rosefinches.

C023. The east face of Cheepaydang (Peacock Peak, 6,220 m) watches over sacred birches and old stone houses in Kuti.

C024. Mutton being sun-dried on a birch beam in the historic hamlet of Kuti (3,850 m) in the fabled realm of the mighty Hya Gangri

C025. The historic hamlet of Kuti still has more than a dozen quaint houses with sacred birch poles and centuries-old likhai wood carvings.

C026. This is Pandav Qila (‘Pandavas’ fortress’, 3,780 m), a fabled hillock on a barley-and-buckwheat-yielding terrace by the Kuti Yangti, a headstream of the River Kali. The grey limestone along its left (NE) edge holds shells of ancient sea animals (ammonites, echinoderms, and bivalves).

C027. Dusk falls upon Nampa (6,729 m).

C028. The dusk-kissed forehead of Nampa (6,729 m), the gallant guardian of Nepal’s northwestern frontier

C029. Another tryst with Nampa (6,729 m) at dusk

C030. The setting sun caresses the northwestern face of Nampa (6,729 m), the puissant pyramid that stands sentinel at the northwestern corner of the Nepal Himalaya.

C031. Our foremothers’ spirits pirouette gleefully as the fading sun casts a sanguine glow on the glacier-laden northwest face of Api (7,132 m).

C032. The ice-laden crown of Api (7,132 m) pinkens at dusk. Many a lost spirit swirls around it.

C033. A million womshing firs look on as the setting sun casts a warm glow on the ice-laden northwest face of Api (7,132 m), the tallest mountain in the northwest corner of Nepal.

C034. Peering into the enchanted glacial realm of Api (7,132 m)

C035. The west face of Dhanvantari Pahar (6,036 m), the serene healer of the creatures that inhabit the realm of Api and Nampa in the Gurans Himal

C036. Ganesh Parvat, the elephant-faced cliff that watches over Kalapani

C037. Om Parvat (5,557 m) is a wondrous mountain near the Kumaon-Nepal-Tibet tri-junction in the fabled realm of Byans. Its northwest face is glacially inscribed with the letter ॐ (Om), whose sound is used by countless meditators to relate to the origin of the cosmos.

C038. Good children never slide down frozen sorceresses’ armpits.

C039. Waving at my solemn-faced friend Lasha (6,189 m) from the dark gorge of the River Mahakali

C040. Namjung Himal, the piercer of minds

C041. Never ascend the frosty elbow of the numinous Namjung Himal!

C042. My favourite resting place on Namjung Himal is the col between the horns of hope and despair. It is an awfully windy spot, but it makes one feel very alive.

C043. Far above the dark canyon of the River Mahakali, this 5,320-metre-high ice-carved horn adorns the crown of Namjung Himal. According to legend, it is Hongrayochuchcho, the frozen bill of a numinous giant hornbill that used to swallow the bitter fruits of young men’s wicked deeds.

C044. A pretty little plumbeous redstart in the great rugged gorge of the River Mahakali

C045. I love this upstream view of the high valley of the River Kali/Mahakali near Napalchyu. The sacred river marks the open India-Nepal border. The pines are known as ‘sallishin’ (from the Eastern Pahari ‘salli’, meaning ‘Pinus wallichiana’, and the Tibetic ‘shing’, meaning ‘tree’).

C046. One of the many India-Nepal footbridges over the River Kali or Mahakali

C047. The whistling salli-shing (Pinus wallichiana) woods of Narayan Swami Ashram in the windswept realm of Chaudans

C048. Mighty Rung women come together to celebrate the ceremonial destruction of inauspicious blooming Strobilanthes bushes during the twelve-yearly fiesta of Kangdali near the historic hamlet of Sirdang in the mountainous realm of Chaudans.

C049. Heavily bejewelled Rung women perform a slow victory dance to celebrate the ceremonial termination of the inauspicious twelve-yearly purple bloom of Kangdali (Strobilanthes wallichii) near the medieval hamlet of Sirdang in the fabled mountain realm of Chaudans.

C050. A Rung family returns to its ancestral village in the mountainous realm of Chaudans to carry out the ceremonial termination of the cursed twelve-yearly bloom of Kangdali (Strobilanthes).

C051. Many Rung ladies in Chaudans were kind enough to let me photograph their ceremonial attire: Chyung-Bhala (two-piece dress); Chugti (headcloth); Rakalcha (sleeves); Bali (head ornament); Bahã (bracelets); Khongle, Chyungch, Kanthi, Chandrahaar, Baldang (necklaces); Babch (shoes).

C052. A proud little phulchuniya or sipraja bungechara (crimson sunbird) stares at me from his colour-coordinated poinsettia throne.

C053. A common Jezebel butterfly (Delias eucharis) drinks from a Lantana camara blossom.

C054. While gazing at the glistening snows of Api (7,132 m), Nampa (6,728 m), Bobaye (6,808 m), and Jethi Bahurani (6850 m) in the Gurans Himal, I pay my respects to the sacred realm of Gurla Mandhata (Naimona’nyi, 7,728 m) and Kailasa (Gang Rinpoche, 6,638 m), which lies behind that icy wall.