Gangotri is a religious place for Hindus. It is said to be the source of Ganga River though it originates from ‘Gomukh’. I also had once got the opportunity to visit the place. We were in group of seven with three children. It was summer when we went there. We reached Rishikesh from where we hired a Jeep to go there that was the best mode of transport in the hills in my opinion. By the time we arrived at Uttarkashi, mid way in the route, it was about to be dark and it was drizzling. So we decided to stay there till morning.
In the morning, we again began to go up to the hills. The moment we reached Gangotri it was noon. We were feeling hungry so we went to a restaurant, where South-Indian dishes were available we had had them as per every body’s choice. I told them about my desire to go to Gomukh. Having listened to my desire Vaibhav and Sambhav also became ready to accompany me in this trip. So I told them to take their bag with one dress. I told them that we wanted to reach Bhoj –wasa, the last point near Gomukh to stay, before sun set. We had started our journey but just after five minutes Vaibhav’s mood had changed, the reason I didn’t know, so he went back to join the remaining group.
On way to Gomukh, just after about a kilometer, we hired a guide who would tell us about route and keep us up date for all necessary information. When we were a few kilometer away from Bhojwasa, the sun was about to set and the cold in the atmosphere had increased. I was just in half sleeve shirt along with a warmer inside. I looked at my forearm and found it red in color with semi-erected hair on it. I thought the color of my skin would have been changed by the effect of the weather. I couldn’t sense that it was the alarming sign as my body had been getting cold inside. By the time I arrived at Bhojwasa I got the attack of watery stool and my body was shaking with cold. I laid down under five-six quilt, even after an hour I was shivering. Then I asked the inn owner about the fire. After understanding my problem he took me near fire. Having sat there for about an hour I felt a little bit comfort. Sambhav and the guide also helped me a lot at that time. Sambhav proved himself matured though he was teenager.
In the morning, next day I was feeling well a lot, so we proceeded to Gomukh that was still five miles ahead. Some of the pilgrims also accompanied us, they were also quite young. I stopped going ahead the moment I saw Gomukh from distance but the other people said they would go just near the origin and told me to send Sambhav with them. After a few hours they all came back.
We decided to return to Gangotri. When we reached Gangotri it was quite dark and we didn’t know where they were staying. But just after a few minutes we found them as they were also eagerly waiting for us. We went to our hotel. I was still not feeling well. I vomited a lot of water twice at night. In the following morning I was feeling well but weakness remained with me. I took bath in hot water in the hotel to go to the temple. At the temple we met our some friends who also came there for the same cause. Meeting each other we felt very happy. After that we came back home.