His Himalayan odyssey
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Taking an unconventional route, P.G. Rajendran treks the Himalayas to study the people and their culture.
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STANDING TALL: The magnificent Himalayas.
THE IMPOSING Himalayas beckon all. Words cannot convey its majesty. Adventurers are keen to conquer it and do so occasionally. But P.G. Rajendran had quite a different interest in this much trodden icy mountain range. He took an unconventional route, from the easternmost part of the legendary range, from the Brahmaputra to the Sindhu, studying the kind of people who inhabited the Himalayas, their culture and history, getting details right from the horse's mouth.
This solitary quest began from Kibutho, on the Sino-Indian border. With Rs.50,000 in his pocket and a will that refused to bend, Rajendran covered the areas that the Himalayas graced - Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh Ladakh and on the Shankara Hills - before he called it a day. By then, he was older by two-and-a-half years and richer in knowledge a thousand fold, for his notes held the present plight, hopes, achievements, and culture of the tribal belt that identifies itself with the Himalayas.
"There were times when I thought that my mission would be aborted, but faith in God and myself prodded me on. I found help all along and was surprised to find good-hearted people everywhere, who offered me food and shelter," Rajendran, who hails from Kodungalloor, said. He had financed the trip partly from the money from his book, `Kshetravijnanakosam,' an encyclopaedia of temples in Kerala.
Tough weather
The kind of obstacles Rajendran had to overcome were chiefly of the climatic nature. "Once, when I reached the heights, I thought I would die, because I could not even breathe. Surprisingly, I encountered no trouble from Maoist rebels or other groups. Of course, I was subjected to searches every now and then, but I had an identity card and there was no animosity or thefts," he said.
In broken Hindi, he recorded all that he saw and heard. Many of the second-generation tribal people know English, thanks to the Vivekananda Schools and the schools run by Christian missionaries. The people of the 42 different tribes that live along the Himalayas are further divided into double the number of sub sects. "The tribal people worship the sun and the moon, and traditionally, there are no temples, but now, there are makeshift sheds. The tribal youth, now educated, have a renewed interest in their tradition and culture," he feels.
In Tejur, Rajendran was stunned to find a place called Parasuramakund. "The tribal people told me the story of Parasurama and the Makara Sangramam is an important festival for them."
Customs
Rajendran said some of the traditional customs of the tribal people are now resented by youths with the advent of civilisation. The custom of offering the `mithun,' an animal common in the Himalayans, as dowry to the girl's family, is still in force. When the girls and boys are still kids, a marriage is fixed and an advance of one mithun is given to the girl's family (These animals are good only for their meat). Girls often do better than the boys and so they go for higher education. When the time for marriage arrives, the more sophisticated girls do not want the uneducated boy and fights ensue between families.
He found many Nepalis settled in Sikkim. Rajendran is thrilled when he narrates how in Nepal he took the same route that the young Karmapala took when he fled to safety. Bhutanese, it appears, are slipping into great believers of astrology, for people from Andhra Pradesh make a decent living telling their fortunes. "They go back to their home State occasionally with the proceeds and return when it is all over."
Rajendran has put his experiences down on paper, has found a publisher and is on to his next project, a journey throughout India to collect details of temples - a Herculean task, considering the fact that every place has temples at every corner.
PREMA MANMADHAN
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