A

conversation about roads

for pilgrimage with one of

my trekking guides ended

awkwardly. He cited, a handicap

wishing to do chardham would

never reach Badrinath in the absence of roads.

Differently-abled may use palanquins and / or horses

to seek blessings of chardham, I suggested. His

jeering smile summarized me as selfish and unkind.

He reiterated importance

of laying the roads even

in tectonically unstable

remote areas.

Even differently-abled

climbed Mt Everest

that does not have a

road. It was the desire

to feel the highest point

on the planet. Everest

is a pilgrimage for

mountaineers. Now a

days everyone wishes to

stand on the point and

see how the earth looks. Would a road to the peak

provide an equal and fair “climbing” opportunity to

everyone?

Indian mountaineering institutes have successfully

conducted rock climbing courses for blinds without

building roads on the rocks.

The pilgrimage sites in no-man’s land were built

for a purpose: peace, relaxation, time to reflect, and

value wilderness. Traditional padyatra enhances

merits of the pilgrimage. Modern vehicular- and heli-

pilgrimage reverses the merits.

Pilgrimage sites have become zoos where

pilgrims follow

a consumeristic

approach to the

religion and

spirituality instead

of practicing it. They

find long overnight

or daylong bus or

car journey to the

site boring. So, they

play cards and video

games on mobile,

watch all sort of

movies, plug their

ears with English pop or Bollywood remix.... Many

vomit here and there to adjust with sudden ascent

from the sea level to more than 3,000m. The next

morning they take bath and await in the temple

queue for a peek at the idol and for a special puja

But what about rights’ of the

“less-abled than us?” The animals

also want freedom to choose

their food, shelter, and privacy.

Do animals want roads in their

natural homes? Do they want

home delivery of food? They

prefer foraging and hunting, I bet.

Clichés to

Correctness

Himalayan Key

Museum, Zoo...

330
Volume 4, Issue 1 | June 2019