Shriram's space

Day 2 :: SUNDAY 16 Aug 2015 : Arrival at Kathmandu

Arrived Chennai the previous night (15 Aug) by Shatabdi and headed to the Isha Arogya Center for a night halt. My first experience with Ola Cabs and realized that they are pretty efficient though did not comprehend the logic of higher charges for a pre-booked advance journey.

Arrived at the Chennai Terminal at 0400 hrs for the 0630 flight. Since I was flying Jet on both sectors (Chennai-Delhi and also Delhi-Kathmandu), requested them to do a through check-in. The guy at the counter Santhosh Rao was amazingly helpful and patient. He was delighted to know that I was a volunteer at Isha and he spoke fondly of Sadhguru, whom he happened to see a few weeks earlier (June 21^st) when Sadhguru has flown out of Chennai airport to Delhi on the International Yoga day. Have invited him to come and visit the Isha Ashram at Coimbatore and have given him my coordinates.

The Chennai – Delhi flight was on schedule and on arrival at T3 Delhi, I got ready for a long wait for my next Delhi-KTM flight. Met K K Chopra briefly at T3 before he boarded his 1120 Indigo flight to KTM. Met a lot of the other Kailash Manasarovar yatra co travelers from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru etc at Gate 8, as they were also on the same outbound Jet flight as I was. You could easily recognize them by their brand new Quechua waterproof hiking boots, flasks etc.

At T3 airport a middle aged person by name Manoj Kumar Bisra based in Milan approached me and asked me if we had met in Amritsar!! He claimed that I had helped him and his 20 year old daughter Nikita Bisra, who was mentally challenged. When I assured him that we had not ever met in the past, he asked where I was headed. When I stated that our destination was Mt Kailash, he exclaimed Har Har Mahadev and requested me to pray for his daughter!!, I promised him that I would. He has taken my coordinates and said that he would maintain contact. Insisted that if I ever visit Milan I should contact him. Strange event but I mentally resolved to pray not just for myself but for all beings / creatures when I reach Mt Kailash!!

Boarded the Jet flight to KTM and arrived 15 mins ahead of schedule. We were received by the Ruchi Tours staff who had carried an Isha Sacred Walks placard with Sadhguru’s photo in front of Mt Kailash, given a traditional welcome with a Nepalese silk scarf. Boarded the buses for a 15 min ride to the Radisson. Were met by the coordinators/volunteers at the Radisson and allotted our rooms. We were told to assemble at 2000 hrs for a Satsangh and orientation.

In the Satsangh, Sadhguru spoke about the significance of Pashupathinath temple at KTM, how the Hindu kingdom of Nepal had tried to retain the traditional culture. Sadhguru talked about how Shiva was embodied as two bodies with one head. One body going southward and another westward. The southward body was more disciplined and devoted, whereas the westward one as more liberal. Pashupathinath is the forehead of Shiva, Kedarnath being the hump of the back and Muktinath the crown of the head or sahasrara. Need to understand this better!!

Instructions were given to us about managing the acclimatization to higher altitudes : taking Diamox, drinking lots of water (min 3 liters a day), no asanas / hata yoga practices, only Shambhavi , Shakti Chalana kriya & shoonya, regular medical checkupus etc etc. No sudden movements, no bending down and moving very slowly in measured steps. We were also told to do the spinning exercise at each bio-break point. Keeping the arms aloft at shoulder height and slowly spinning clockwise, keeping eyes open at all times. This was supposed to aid the acclimatization process. Were given our down jackets, duffel bags and headed for dinner and crashed for the night.