sprinted depending on the volumes
and gradients and ingredients of the
bedrocks. Plants sprouted. Trees bore
blooms. The rain-soaked earth smelled
nice. Snowy peaks smiled on the
horizon. The road did not yet shrink
and completely hide under the annual
pilgrimage traffic.
Professional mountain bikers, mainly
from India, competed for the Ultimate
Uttarakhand Himalayan Mountain
Terrain Biking (MTB) Challenge in
April 2019. The fourth edition of the
race covered 600-kilometre of the
mountainous roads starting from
Nainital. The race route wound through
Almora, Kausani, Rudraprayag, New
Tehri, and Chinyalisaur before ending at
Mussoorie. Many of the race participants
passed by my vehicle on Nandprayag-
Rudprayag section of the NH7.
Beyond Joshimath, a pair of famous
snowy technically challenging peaks,
Nanda Devi and Nilkanth, topped the
horizon. A small hot spring beside the
road that was not a part of the highway
spewed the steam at Tapoban. The
steam temperature was adequate for
cooking. Some visitors boiled eggs in
the spring water. The traffic trickled.Snowy peaks disappeared. Steep slopes
of the Dhauliganga valley ran beside the
road until I reached Lata in Niti-Malari
valleys adjoining the Indo-Tibetan
border.
Lata is a weird name. Lata means leg
and foot. The outlines of the village
and a leg do not match. A folklore says
that the village was named after the
lower limb (leg and foot) of goddess
Nanda Devi, wife of Lord Shiva. Nanda’s
father did not like his son-in-law. Since
the father did not invite him for an
important havan, Nanda followed sati
ritual during the havan. While Lord
Shiva carried his wife’s body back home,
the body parts fell or body parts were
deliberately scattered along the route.
The place where lower limbs fell was
called Lata.
Women do not play any role in Bhikhodi,
an annual festival of Lata village whose
principal deity is the goddess Nanda
Devi. Dark sharp mountains of Tolma
village looked tempting and close to
Lata. Nonetheless I could not hike up to
the view point in the former village for
a close up of Dunagiri peak (7,066m) as
untimely rain limited my outdoor time
during the short stay.theoff.info
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