From Madurai to Mount Kailas, a pilgrim's puzzling progress

A chance find in a Pondicherry flea market points to an unknown Tamil Nadu pilgrim party's mysterious journey to the base of Mount Kailas in 1948, only two years after Heinrich Harrer arrived in Lhasa

Last Sunday, as I am prone to do on weekends, I paid a visit to the flea shops on the East Coast Road in Pondicherry. These shops, which usually offer a motley collection of old stuff – terracotta figurines, calendars and posters, furniture, French porcelain, old black-and-white photographs, books and the usual bric-à-brac, sometimes throw up a surprise.

Rummaging through an old tin trunk full of dusty faded black-and-white photos I came across an old, slightly faded picture with a mountain in the background. That was surprising enough – 90 percent of the pictures are usually studio portraits of respectable South Indian families, newlyweds, demure housewives and pious Brahmins – but what hooked me was the familiar outline of the peak. From its aspect, it could have been only one mountain -- a huge mass of rock and snow, magnificent in its setting, awe-inspiring and bequeathed with majestic grandeur. It was Mount Kailas (6714 m).

My heart pounded as I dusted the picture and read the text printed on the mount: “Photo taken on 10-7-48 during the pilgrim visit by Sri K. L. N. Janakiram to Holy Mount Kailas.” Four men stood in front of the mountain, three looking away from the camera with the canvas tent visible behind the fourth person. The four pilgrims appear in good shape, proud but with no visible swagger at this achievement, which even in these times when Toyota Land Cruisers race down to within shouting distance of the holy mountain, is a matter of undue vanity and arrogance for quite a few.

To put this in context, the region was still being explored in the late 1930s. A paper written in 1942 by the eminent geologist Darashaw Nosherwan Wadia (after whom the Institute of Himalayan Geology was renamed in 1976), mentions explorations carried on between 1928 and '38 in the Kailas-Manasarovar region as having "raised some doubts regarding Sven Hedin’s conclusions [the Swedish geographer, explorer and writer was the first European to enter the Kailash-Manasarovar region]. Though not a professional geographer, the Swami [Swami Pranavananda, whose book Exploration in Tibet attempted to surmise the sources of the Himalayan rivers] has made a record of most interesting, accurate and painstaking observations of natural features and phenomena which provide valid data on the intricate question of fixing the sources of these rivers”. 

The rivers spoken of are the Indus, Sutlej, Ganges and Brahmaputra. Heinrich Harrer’s fabled escape to Tibet via the Tsang Chok-la Pass (5,896 m) near Badrinath was made only in 1944 (he reached Lhasa on January 15, 1946).

Partly due to its remoteness, but mainly since Tibet was closed to foreigners through much of its history, the chronology of first explorations of this mysterious Himalayan kingdom is as intriguing as the land itself.

While trade between India and Tibet, conducted during the summer months once the high passes were free of snow, has a long history, the first Europeans on record to visit Tibet were probably the Jesuit monks António de Andrade and Manuel Marques from Portugal who arrived in Tibet via the Mana Pass near Badrinath. This was in 1624 during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir. They set up a short-lived mission in Tibet and their travel accounts were quite popular in Europe where they were translated into all major regional languages.

Between 1893 and 1908, Hedin led three expeditions into Central Asia and Tibet. During his second expedition (1899-1902) he was unable to reach Lhasa, being turned back by the Tibetan army, he exited via Ladakh continuing to to Calcutta via Delhi, Agra and Benaras. During his third expedition (1905-1908), he became the first European to reach and explore the sacred Kailas and Manasarovar region of Tibet. He was also credited with locating the sources of the two greatest rivers of Asia – the Indus and the Brahmaputra (a discovery that was later questioned – he may have found one of the sources).

The British, who were not allowed entry into Tibet, worried that other European powers would beat them to it (the Russians were persevering hard to enter Tibet). They trained and sent several Indians from Johar Valley in Uttarakhand to carry out surveys in Tibet. Between 1865 and 1882, Nain Singh, Mani Singh, Kishen Singh and later Kinthup (from Sikkim), disguised as Ladakhi merchants, undertook several undercover survey missions to Tibet, explored the land (they were trained to cover a fixed 33-inch pace and click a bead after every 100 paces), measured the altitude (by measuring the boiling temperature of water, mercury was hidden in a cowrie shell and the walking stick a makeshift thermometer) and coordinates of Lhasa , surveyed the Manasarovar region, and successfully determined the course of the Sutlej river and the upper course of the Tsangpo.

One gets an idea of how little was known about Tibet despite all these attempts by the fact that until 1912 it was not known if Tsangpo in Tibet was the same river as the Brahmaputra in India. In 1878, Kinthup was specifically sent to Tibet for this reason but despite his valiant efforts this mission met with a tragic end. He was to float 50 specially marked logs a day for 10 days down the Tsangpo. Surveyors were to lie in wait for these logs on the Indian side in Arunachal Pradesh. However, first he was duped and sold as a slave by his fellow-traveller. Then, 18 months later, when he managed to flee his captors on the pretext of a pilgrimage, his letter to his handlers never reached India. He floated the logs and when he finally returned, his hunch that the Tsangpo was indeed the Brahmaputra (he correctly described the river as it rounded the huge peak of Namche Barwa, 7745 m, entering a deep gorge within a short distance of the Indian hills) was met with scepticism. The gorge described by Kinthup is now known as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon – the world’s deepest canyon where the Brahmaputra cuts through the Eastern Himalayas to enter India.

The north face of Mount Kailas, also spelled Kailash (Photo: Ondřej Žváček/ Wikimedia Commons)

I could learn very little about the routes taken to Kailas during the days of British rule. Several options existed via the Mana pass (5608 m, near Badrinath), Lipulekh (5334 m, the current route), via Leh over the Changtang plateau, from Sikkim via Nathu La (4010 m) and via Bhutan, or from Nepal. I can only guess the route that this party from Tamil Nadu could have taken. But regardless of that, they would have faced lawless bandits, inclement weather and the perils of uncharted routes. It’s a testimony to both their endurance and faith that this journey to the abode of Shiva was a success.

While I feel sorry that the photograph of these four pioneer pilgrims ended up in a flea shop, as someone who is completely taken in by the mystique of the Himalayas, it is a perfect gift. The photograph has finally come home.

Text by Sahastrarashmi 

Main Photo: Unknown

References: Trekking in the Indian Himalaya (Lonely Planet). For pictures of turn-of-the-century Tibet, visit The Tibet Museum

Fur trade: When animals die for people

Via PETA: a heart-rending video of animals being skinned alive for their fur If you don't have the stomach for it, here's what the video is about: In China's Hebei province, workers are skinning raccoon dogs alive. PETA claims that over half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the USA are sourced from China. It's gross, it's nauseating and it's horribly cruel. And it makes me want to step into that video and beat the balls out of those Chinese assholes who are bludgeoning those raccoon dogs and skinning them while they are still twitching. What are those bloodless bastards made of? Do us a good turn and recruit them to fight terrorism instead. I'm certainly not a fan of the philosophies of PETA and CUPA and suchlike animal rights movements that, in my not-so-valuable opinion, cry themselves hoarse for most of the wrong reasons. Their passion for animal rights is misled and most often obstructive to genuine causes, as in the case of urban stray dog control and the eradication of dogs from wildlife sanctuaries (see my earlier post on Sultanpur). But this video, coming from PETA as it does, is genuinely upsetting. Let me put this clearly: I am not against farming animals for food but I am opposed to the hunting of wild animals for food or trade or whatever other purpose they may serve (in this category fall all the reasons the Chinese employ to persecute wildlife). But the fur trade is something else. It is more dangerous than the trade in ivory or the killing of animals for bushmeat or the hunting of tigers and rhinos for their body parts. In terms of severity, it is perhaps surpassed only by whaling. And the primary reason for that is the legitimacy accorded to it. Fur isn't a necessity to anyone other than the Inuit. It's a high-end luxury. And so much cruelty for the luxury and profitability of some people is just plain wrong. And that needs to be fought. Those who can afford fur don't necessarily care where it comes from and how it is made. If the fur trade were like shearing sheep (where the animals remain alive) or extracting leather (where the animals are dead anyway), I wouldn't be writing this post. In the fur trade, ethics and trade pass each other by without mutual recognition. On the one side is a multi-billion dollar industry endorsed by some of the biggest names in the fashion apparel business. On the other, there is the heartless treatment of animals that are killed for their fur. PETA deserves credit for getting this video out to the world. If it doesn't bring up your lunch, I am sure it will make you think twice before you wear fur (when you have the money for it). But then, I also have a word or three for the other causes that PETA supports and encourages. I'm an animal lover, but I am also (in my belief) rational in my choice of chauvinisms. I am indifferent to cats. I love dogs. But I don't like having either of them in wildlife sanctuaries. Because dogs and cats aren't wildlife. They are adjuncts of our so-called human civilization and, much like humans, out of place and dangerous in a wild ecosystem. If left with a choice, I'd risk not keeping a pet than keep it in a way that can negatively impact its surroundings, and itself. I think that is the cause that PETA and CUPA and suchlike should really advocate: As far as possible, leave animals alone. If that cannot be done, interact with them, study them, protect them in order to leave them alone. Farm them ethically. Eat them if you will. But in that case, breed them to be eaten. And breed them in humane and ethical ways. And if they must be killed to be eaten, since meat from an animal or bird that died of natural causes is considered neither palatable nor hygienic, kill them painlessly. But never, never hunt them. That video is a bit of a tummy-turner. It came via email, along with a petition. Since I do not sign online petitions for the reason that I think my contribution to any cause should be in the form of time and effort, this post is warranted. And anyone caught wearing fur must be forced to sit down in front of a giant screen with their eyelids taped open and made to watch this video in slow motion and surround sound.

Choked on the milk of feline kindness

If zoos are meant to aid conservation, this is certainly NOT how they should go about it. Kindness and compassion are one thing, but wholly different (though not exclusive) from scientific approaches. Consider this dilemma: If you had all but one motherless baby red panda in the world with a few hours to live, where would you look for a surrogate mother? In China, they found a cat that was willing to take up the job. Is cat's milk the closest in nutritional composition to Red Panda's milk? Did the zoo's caretakers know anything about Red Panda's milk at all? Did they prepare for such an exigency by having the right formula ready? After all, the mother was still alive. No one has discussed this story as a failure of conservation methods. It's no use crying over spilt milk. Really. Newsweek has more

Baby Red Panda Adopted and Nursed by House Cat Dies

via Truemors by acbert on 7/18/08

If your Friday has already kicked off in a Debbie Downer kind of mood, you may want to skip the latest update in Amsterdam's panda and cat saga. The baby red panda rejected by its mother and subsequently adopted by a zookeeper's cat has died after choking on milk. The grey and black tabby cat had recently given birth to kittens when the panda faced abandonment, offering the tiny animal an extra teat to share with her four kittens. Zookeepers hoped the panda would nurse from the cat for three months until it could begin consuming a diet of bamboo and fruit.