At an advance age  of 86, Bimla Devi, a mother of six children,  set out on a pilgrimage on the Char Dham in Uttarakhand to fulfill wish of her lifetime to  have darshan of Lord Kedarnath. 

It is in  the dizzying heights of the mountains where the “weak and old and even younger souls” gasp for breath,  and many of them breathe their last.

But  my mother did what no other of her age has  done so far:  Armed with her stick she undertook Char Dham yatra on foot  on a steep 26 km long trek from Badrinath to Kedarnath and on the 6 km long trek from Jankichatti to Yamanotri at  over 12000 ft altitude.  

She was not alone. She was with her sister Mastu Devi, 82, here relative Janki, 78,  and their niece Sarla Devi, 67. They choose the arduous trek to walk on foot. 

She had deep reverence and prayers to Lord of the Land:  Lord Kedarnath,  where the rocketing divine peaks and gushing holy rivers tell a divine tale.ī

It was not a pre-planned voyage as such; it was an impulsive  desire that came from within, a voice from heart that beckoned her to take on this challenge while her doctor has advised her not to trek higher altitude at this age.

The journey began in Shimla, spanning over 2000 kilometers. However, the real test lay ahead - a daunting 24-km trek from Badrinath to the Holy Kedarnath, situated at a dizzying height of 12,000 feet.

Undeterred by the odds, Bimla Devi and her co-yatris  marched forward. They were inspired by a desire to witness the divine aura and power  of Badrinath and Kedarnath that drew their Devtas from their village and pilgrims alike for A holy  dip ('Nahan') to the sacred Char Dham.

They saw awe-inspiring landscapes and spiritual bliss of the Uttarakhand mountains. “The craggy hills are not that green and fertile as we see in our Himachal”.

They paid their obeisance at Baba Badrinath temple which was jampacked in the month of  early and Mid-June.  

We started at 5 AM in the morning from Gaurikund Badrinath. It is advised that whenever you  ascend and descend the mountains, you should start early morning as by noon the weather becomes unpredictable and turbulent in higher altitudes.

On the way as they surged ahead, Bimla Devi couldn't ignore the plight of the poor mules, horses and porters on the pilgrimage route.

Some of horses are half-dead and discarded on the trek by the owners as they failed to take the load further. The porters carrying old pilgrims on their back, in ‘Dolis’ and ‘Kiltas’ were literally  gasping for breath in streams of sweat conspicuous on their face in  scorching sun of May-June months.    

She refused to ride on mules or horses, as she believed it would incur a divine wrath and be sinful. Instead, she chose to walk on her own two feet, setting an example of compassion and respect for all living beings and others.

Moreover, she said she responded to her inner calling not to do Char Dham on the back of animal what to speak of Human.

When she reached  the Kedarnath after 10-12 hours of trekking, Bimla Devi was overwhelmed by the  divine place and a sheer number of pilgrims crowding the holy site.

All of the tiredness of arduous trekking vanished  as they approached at the feet of Kedarnath.

Hygiene was often neglected, and the pilgrims' sheer rush hampered the experience of a serene darshan.

Bimla Devi called upon the Uttarakhand government and the authorities in charge to regulate the flow of pilgrims and ensure better management, to maintain the sanctity of these divine abode.

But they have all praise for the Uttarakhand government for maintaining the 1600 km long road that connect the Char Dham right from Holy Town of Rishikesh through Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath and back. This makes the journey by road smooth. 

They halted for the night stay at Kedarnath in a temple sarai.  There were kirtans and divine feasts. Pilgrims think of Lord Shiva and her consort Parbati there and nothing else. 

They marveled on how Lord Shiva’s  temple survived the Flood in 2013 there when everything was washed away.

They  also raised  other concern of the pilgrims - the prices of food and water are very high, not only at Kedernath, but all places they halted for meals and Chai.

But they realized that the food items are procured from towns that cost them dearly due to high transportation cost.

 “We find that the food is served cold and is highly priced at all pilgrimage spots where we halted for meals and snacks. A water bottle cost Rs 50”.    

The Gangogtri and Yamanotri also presented the divine presence in the Holy Mountains where pilgrims wrestle to  get darshan doing pujas of the Divine Rivers and Godesses.

At Yamunotri at 10,804 ft, the group split, and while the women decided to rest, Deepak, Satish Virender, Bittu took on the mighty 26-kilometer steep trek to Gomukh Glacier, the site where the Bhagirathi, a tributary the Holy Ganga  is born.  

Deepak Kumar, her son, who is  an apple farmer from Shantha(Chopal)  said  Yamunotri glacier has retreated by a km we were told by a local there.

The snow-clad Gaumukh has a unique charm as water comes literally from mouth Mukh of Gau.

It is still an evolving nature of the region that falls in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. You find gravel, crumbled crags and cliffs,  boulders and shales and debris, all filled up along the course from  the starting point of the  Bhagirathi.

There is no project, no road and no human settlement here and you are not allowed to go beyond from here, he said. They had a holy dip and came back filling pots of sacred water of Gaumukh.  

After doing the ouja they started a back journey to Rishikesh by road winding up their 15 days pilgrimage of the CharDham. 

My mother's eyes sparkled with fulfilment and divine inspiration. The Char Dham Yatra had left an divine footprints on her soul, an experience that could not be fully described in words, she said.ī

She knew that this sacred journey would forever remain in her heart, cherished like a holy jewel. When I asked her,  “If  worst would have happened, she said promptly echoing the sentiments of all genuine pilgrims, “What would have been  a better place to die, if one dies in abode of God”.

Bimla Devi's Char Dham Yatra was not just a pilgrimage; it was a power of compassion, and love for all living beings and adoration of Divinity. Her journey exemplified the resilience of the human spirit and  a faith that transcends age and time.

As Bimla Devi returned to her home, she knew that her pilgrimage was not just a personal achievement but a calling  to see  these sacred sites.

Her inspiring tale would resonate forever with all of us and her grand children- Ritvik, Kartik, Ishu,Ankit  Vaamanvir, Sarthak, Atharv, Daksh,  Shalini, Sharvya, Vaishali, Aanchal,  Avni, Divya, Shinam, Sejal, Bhavya,  Aahna and Vihaan, who gave her big hug when she reached back home.

Her spiritual journey is  encouraging them to embark on their own spiritual journeys in some point of time, and cherish and protect the beauty of nature, even as it constantly evolves around us.