Musing

The lone road streaking the steep mountainside was devoured by a mythical monster. The mountains moved and shifted shapes in Uttarakhand, a few miles off the Indo-Tibet border. Schisms revealed their rocky innards. Himalayan tectonic upsurges and cloudbursts unleashed the wrath of landslides, choking the lifeline to the sacred Sikh lake of Hemkund Sahib and the Hindu shrine of Badrinath.
The road morphed into a stream of pilgrims, their path to redemption blocked with pieces of the mountain above. Descending from a trek, I was stranded with them. The bulldozers were clearing other roads. This one would take hours, we were told.
Precariously perched on the vertical mountainside, only two structures stood. A small Hindu temple and a Sikh gurudwara, sole companions on this desolate rockface. Hindu by birth, I instinctively sought sanctuary in the Hindu temple. Flies settled on swarms of pilgrims, their eyes devoid of purpose. Stench, squalor and stagnation hung heavy in the air. Stifled, I couldn’t stay.
Helpless, I made my way down to the gurudwara, a naked shell of pillars holding up a roof. I customarily covered my head and entered hesitantly, Sikhism was unfamiliar territory. Bustling with volunteers and pilgrims, none asked me my religion. Instead, food was served from brick stoves, water and blankets were given, basic toilets were cleansed with spring water and a sense of dignity in the labor of humanity. Anyone was welcome, no questions asked. A weathered old lady sat me down and asked if I was hungry. As I ate, she took out a faded CD cover proudly telling me of her son, a folk singer in Mumbai. A religion propagating seva or ‘service’ took the form of a nurturing mother-figure.
Up on the road some Sikhs were gathering around the landslide. If the machines can’t come we can clear this ourselves. Jo bole so nihal, ‘Whoever utters (the name of god) shall be fulfilled’! With religious cries of anthemic fervor their voices rose to the heavens, drawing in men from all beliefs. Yellow turbans and broad bodies moved in unison like a giant yellow bulldozer fueled by faith. As the rocks parted, the Hindus and Sikhs resumed their respective pilgrimages.
Till now, I had questioned the idea of religion, believing it was a power wielding institution to control men with faith and fear. Here at the edge of paradise I was humbled by an unquestioning faith, of men coming together to help themselves and others without bias. This was faith that could move mountains.