MUNSIYARI-TALE OF THE THE OLD SALT ROUTE

MUNSIYARI – THE LEGACY OF SHAUKAS SALT ROUTE As per the Puranic descriptions the hilly part of the Utter Pradesh is known as Kedar Khand and Manas Khand. The present Garhwal division is Kedar Khand and Kumaun division is Manas Khand, both now are in the newly created state of Uttaranchal. Munsiyari is a quaint place. It is a Tehsil of Pithoragarh district of Uttaranchal State. With a population of 15000 it can be said to be a fairly large Himalayan township. Along with Dharchula the northern most Tehsil of Pithoragarh Munsiyari is situated in the foothills of Himalayan peaks and in the valley of Gorignga and Kali rivers. Before Pithoragarh was made a district the area under Munsiyari Tehsil was known as Johar Pargana and people living in this area were known as Shaukas of Johar. Shaukas are popularly known as Bhotias and prior to 1962 their main occupation was the salt trade from Tibet. Munsiyari is surrounded from three sides by the Himalayan peaks as Nanda Devi, Nanda Ghunti , Trishuli, Nanda Kot, Hardeval, Rajrambha and Panchchuli. After getting loaded with this information and fascinated by the prospects of having a view of these beautiful Himalayan peaks along with the hope of seeing and meeting the people who were on the old salt trade route it was almost impossible for a mountain addict like myself to resist visiting Munsiyasri for long. So after packing my cameras, lots of film, necessary clothing and my trekking gear I was off to Munsiyari. From Jaipur the journey is along one about 915 Km. So after leaving Jaipur in the after noon and having a nighthault at Delhi, I instructed my driver to wake me up at four Am so we could start early in the morning. The route is straightforward although it is advisable to equip oneself with a good road map. It is always good to carry a lot of drinking water. Once in the hills, those prone to motion sickness should take an anti vomiting tablet although I found the roads to be very good and the curves gentle, unlike the acute stomach-churning turns in the other parts of Himalayan areas. But as the journey is long it is always good to be a bit more care full. Another important thing is to keep track of refueling points; one must be very particular to keep the petrol tank full at every opportunity. If possible it is advisable to keep a 20-litter jerrycan of petrol in the car. On the way from Kathgodam the pine forests welcome you, the profuse greenery and the colourful flowering shrubs soothe the eyes. From Almora onwards the play of clouds and Himalayan peaks start, throughout the way upto Chokory where I had my next nighthault the sight of the most beautiful view of trishul, Nandadevi and Nandaghunti and Nandakot rewarded me. At Chokory all these peaks were spread before my eyes bathed in the evening light and turning into gold, to see these Himalayan beauties turning golden is an experience which can only be described as sublime, but let me save the story of Chokory for some time other occasion. After having a sumptuous breakfast at Chokory I headed for Munsiyari. This final lap of 70 Km proved very interesting and enchanting, on the way there are a number of hill streams falling from hundreds of feet above. The journey was interrupted at several places, sometimes by minor landslides and sometimes by the sheep-herds crossing the road accompanied by giggling children waving happily. As I turned the bend round Kalamuni, the highest point en route, a stunning view of Punchchuli peaks held me in trance for a while. There is a temple here. After this it was a steady descent into Munsiyari. Every bend presenting a fresh view, often better than the last one. It is really a wonder that how the slightest change in elevation changes the perspective entirely. A little enquiry at the bus stop and I was directed to the Wayfarer Resorts where I had a booking for my stay at Munsiyari. It is a nice place to stay, set in the elevated fields it is a resort which houses it’s guests in Swiss-cottage tents well equipped with bathroom and toilet facilities attached. After unpacking I came out with my cameras. The majestic Punchchuli range was spread before my eyes flanked by Rajrambha, Hansling and chhipalkot glistening in the after noon sun. Before the clouds hide this view, which is very common in the Himalayas, I decided to capture this beauty on the film, by the time I was through a dozen shots it happened. The peaks suddenly banished behind a thick curtain of clouds; the whole scenario changed in a minut and it started drizzling. Over a cup of tea I inquired from Vivek Pandey, the resort manager a charming young man with a keen interest in trekking and a good local knowledge. While we were talking about the salt trade and Shaukas of Johar he suggested meeting Dr. Sher Singh the next morning. So after having a short walk round the local market I decided to call it a day and after dinner enjoyed a much-required good sleep till next morning. Dr Sher Singh proved to be a veritable dictionary of the area, he had a vast knowledge about the place, its people. A retired teacher he is known as Masterji by every one in town. He has written a book on the history of Shaukas of Johar for which he was awarded a Ph.D. Munsiyari has a very interesting history. The area is generally known as Johar valley. The Shauka people from time immemorial inhabited it. They led semi nomadic lives actively engaged in trade with Tibet across the difficult Himalayan passes. These sturdy and courageous people used to go to Tibet and it took them nearly a month to come back loaded mainly with salt from Tibet. Almost the entire supply of the salt for this region came from Tibet, as the Sambhar salt was not available with regularity and also was considered inferior to the Tibetan salt. Though the Sambhar salt was cheaper it was not preferred however in the latter years when the cost difference increased some of the poorer people started consuming the Sambhar salt also. Masterji recalling his childhood days told me “I still remember when I was in school, the month of July brought our Tibet returned friends with their flock of sheep laden with salt, they hummed music while measuring salt and grain with local measuring pot, Nali, which used to be a bamboo cylinder. The rate of barter of different commodities for a Nali of salt was decided from time to time as per the prevailing demand. Almost every villager beating drums and blowing trumpets used to accompany the out bound group to Tibet till the very edge of the village to bid the group goodbye, for children this used to be quite an occasion.” Masterji told me that in those days every able-bodied man in the village braved the treacherous passes to cross over to Tibet as a trader, petty businessman, helper or as a muleteer, as it made him some thing different from others and bestowed him with an importance. They traveled in convoys carrying cloth, utensils and other provisions on the backs of sheep and mountain goats, each animal carrying about 30 to 40 Kg of weight. In the exchange against their goods they brought back from Tibet mainly salt, the soft Pusham wool, and gold. The British’s called them “Bhutias” but they are not to be confused to be Buddhists because of this as they are devout Hindus, who are ardent worshippers of Nandadevi and of other gods of the Hindu pantheon. I had an opportunity to witness a Ramlila in a near by village the very same night as those were the days nearing Dusshera festival. It was a treat to watch the village kids and youngsters to perform on the stage the episode of Sita-Swayamber with the local touch of humor. But all this glory of and fascination of the salt trade came to an end in 1962 when Chinese border was closed after the indo-China war. The locals suddenly found themselves without a viable means of livelihood as the trade with Tibet stopped completely. Agriculture has never been a viable alternative here, because of the unfavorable climate. Therefore most of them had to migrate to the bigger towns of the area or to the planes in search of livelihood. Most of the villages to the east of Munsiysri like Milam; Burfoo and many others are almost deserted now. The youth here is also quite frustrated because of the lack of employment and business. Some are engaged in tourism now a days as this area has started to attract tourists, others prefer to venture out in search of greener pastures. After this interesting encounter with Masterji and having a much-required lunch I with Vivek visited the nearby village Darkot. A walk through the village gave a fair idea about the life here. The houses were simple and were made of the locally available material having the typical hilly elements incorporated. Some the houses had intricately carved wooden doors and windows. Most of the houses in this village were equipped with looms on, which were working the house lady weaving intricately patterned Shawls and blankets from the coarse goat wool. This handicraft as I came to know is quite old to these villages, earlier it was practiced for self use but now a days it provides some employment as these things are fancied by the tourists coming here. From Darkot I headed to have look at Goriganga, the river. Ten kilometers by car and a one and half kilometer of walk and I found myself at the Goriganga. Flowing majestically through this area the river divides the area into tow. There are villages on both the sides of the Goriganga. It originates at the Milam glacier. This 18-Km long glacier is situated 5 Km west of Milam village at a height of 3852m. Gori after meandering through the valley flows into Nepal to the west of Kumaun, and joins the Kali river of Nepal. Munsiyari is also a very good starting point for the high altitude trekking to Milam glacier and Nandadevi base camp. In fact, Vivek told me that the Wayfarer itself regularly takes groups for ten to fifteen days for these treks. They organize all the paraphernalia like camping gear, porters and the inner line permits when required. As I was not having that much time at my disposal so I decided to take a two day trek to Khalia top, 13km from Munsiyari and at an altitude 12000feet, in the hope that if clouds remain kind to me I will be able to photograph the Himalayan peaks from a vantage point. So next morning after break fast I was off to Khalia top accompanied by Vivek, my driver Ramprasad, Chander the cook and a porter who carried the paraphernalia to the top on his zippo the hill ox. We followed the narrow tracks passed through Walnut, Juniper and Birch forest. There were good patches where the hillside was a wash with some late blooming variety of rhododendrons. In the way up longhaired mountain goats and sheep tinkled their bells as they gamboled up and down, chameleons darted across the hill track. The sky was clear so after climbing some nine kilometers I decided to make use of the clear azure blue sky, from a vantage point there was a breathtaking panoramic view of the whole range. I started photographing the peaks,Hardeval, Rajrambha, chhipalkot and the beauty that is Punchchuli. All the five peaks of Punchchuli range were there under blue sky standing witness to the time since eternity. These peaks are called Punchchuli as the legend is that Pandavs of the epic Mahabharata while finally going to heavens cooked their last meal on these five chulis (cooking hearths) hence the name Punchchuli. In the late afternoon when we reached the Bugyal (green meadow) on Khalia top, it was the same old story, thick clouds and every thing which was before our eyes a little while ago was hidden behind the curtain of clouds. So after enjoying the dinner cooked on the firewood gathered by Chander and Ramprasad as the kerosene stove refused to obey I decided to retire in my tiny Alpine tent. As it was too early to sleep so I put my booklight on and delved into Munsiyari’s past. I came across this very interesting account of Pundit explorers who hailed from this Johar valley. Pundit Nain Singh was born in Milam village in the year of 1830. His land mark journey of 1200 miles from Kathmandu to Lhasa and then to the Mansarovar lake and back to India which he carried out in 1865-66 won him praise of the geographers all over the world. The royal geographical society acknowledged his contribution in drawing up a map of Tibet, Mangolia and central Asia. He was awarded a gold watch for his success. Prior to this, these upper parts of the Himalayas and beyond were shrouded in mystery and maps of these areas either did not exist or they were very vague and inaccurate. It is really interesting to know how Britishers set systematically to cartograph this area. A section of the survey of India known as the great Trigonometrical survey was assigned the task of fixing the co-ordinates of points on earth and their elevation. In 1863 colonel Walker and captain Montgomery started training Indian explorers to calculate latitude by sextant, directions by compass, to calculate heights, to count paces and keep accurate notes. All this had to be done without attracting attention. The explorers had to pose as simple travelers. The Indian travelers had a definitive advantage of going unnoticed in the Indo-Tibetan areas. They most often disguised themselves as Buddhist monks. Like all good Tibetans they carried a rosary in one hand and a prayer wheel in the other. But instead of 108 beads, their rosaries had exactly 100 beads and after every tenth a big one. A bead was counted after every 100 paces, the larger one reading 1000. The prayer wheel was fitted on the in side with stripes of paper on which they took down their notes. Very few strangers would venture to speak to a lama twirling the prayer wheel and chanting the manta Om Mani Padme Hum and looking suitably inscrutable. They could carry their work uninterrupted. What a fascinating way to conduct a survey! Had it not been for such people bitten by the wanderlust bug we could very well have been completely oblivious of these enchanting places like Munsiyari and many others. There was still a lot to venture around this fantastic place called Munsiyari but as all good things are destined to end it was time for me to be back in the same old concrete jungle with memories of the enchanting Himalayas and a wish to return. Arun Mudgal 8/100 Vidyadhar Nagar, Jaipur Phone-339835