The Mighty Himalayas

A mother smiled encouragingly at her daughter but fear was obvious in her eyes. The daughter too lifted her lips in an equally unconvincing smile. It was clear that they were deep in trouble. Nonetheless, they held each other’s hands and waited for the nature to calm down.
We were stranded at a height of eleven thousand feet above the sea level. It was raining heavily and we were barely getting saved from soaking wet because of the shallow cave we had taken a refuge in. My mother and I were alone and there was not even a single soul on the ten feet wide trek leading to Kedarnath temple. All our other travel companions were also stuck somewhere on the fourteen kilometer long path entwining the mountains.
I was cold. I was hungry. I was petrified. A boulder could block the entrance of the cave or our small den could cave in. But we could only wait. As I lifted my head up from the debris running down road with the water, I was rewarded with the most overwhelming site. Magnificent gigantic snowy mountains and deep green valleys. How could one not get affected! These were the mighty Himalayas! It was a site so serene and so powerful, that I was bound to be in awe of it. It was beautiful, no doubt but I was moved because at that moment my life was at its mercy. My fear was not unfounded. Only two years ago, flash floods had taken thousands of lives on this very road.
I am a traveler. I like adventures. Some risk is always involved. But we hadn't anticipated this life-ending danger when we decided to take on the journey to the Chota Char Dham in North India, exploring the Himalayas along with it. The Hindus of the world are drawn to these pilgrimage sites (Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath) in the state of Uttarakhand in North India. The simplest way to tour all the four places is hiring a cab or a bus from anywhere in Haridwar or Rishikesh (both in Uttarakhand as well). These professional drivers are expert in driving through mountains and act as efficient guides too.
Well, after hours it finally stopped raining. As we were waiting for the last of the water to clear from the trek, our group photographer came walking down. He saw us and clicked a picture. We both are smiling in the photograph, happy to be alive. It has been more than five years but I have never been that frightened in my life, never that helpless. We encountered the wrath of the nature but we came out of it smiling, thankful for the little cave which came to our rescue!