Spotting Om Over the Kinner Kailash mountain range

Chocolate mousse with scoops of vanilla.
Yes.
Now I will add to it a dash of orange.
Perfect.
Oh you don’t like orange? Never mind. After some time , I ‘ll make it strawberry?
This is exactly what God must be thinking when he painted the magnificent Kinner Kailash range.

kinner-kailash-range-kalpa
The Kinner Kailash range, Kalpa

 

kinner-kailash-sunset-view
Sunset View of the Kinner Kailash

 

Cotton clouds swirl around snow capped mountains engulfing the Jorkanden and Raldang peaks.

kinner-kailash-himachal
Clouds engulfing the range

 

I was in the lobby of Hotel Grand Shamba la in Kalpa, peering outside the glass , trying to identify the ‘Shivling’ in the Kinner Kailash range. What seemed a tiny 1 inch chalk-like structure perched on one of the peaks, to my eyes is actually a 79 foot Stone boulder.

shivling-view-of-kinner-kailash
The Shiv ling is a monolithic rock boulder

 

shivling-kinner-kailash-mountain-range
Zoomed in shot of the Shiv ling of Kinner Kailash

kinnar-kailash-shivling

The range is revered by pilgrims from far and wide, appreciated by nature lovers and is an absolute delight for photographers. Everyone seemed to have a story associated with it. As I heard these stories, I wondered in my heart of hearts, would I have one too?

kinner-kailash-kinnaur-himachal-pradesh
Magical cloud play

 

Every now and then I look up from my balcony, observing the clouds lazily marching past the  Shivling.

kinner-kailash-clouds
A photographer’s delight

 

Curiously I ask Doreen what the trek would be like. She says it’s extremely tough and arduous.

By now I am absolutely certain I will have no story of my own apart from the umpteen pictures I have clicked.

kinner-kailash-range-kalpa-himachal
Snow capped peaks of the Kinner kailash range

 

prayer-flags-at-kalpa
Prayer flags
kinner-kailash-sunset-kinnaur-himachal-pradesh
Sunset hues
kinner-kailash-kinnaur-himachal
Of clouds and peaks
kinner-kailash-kalpa
Panoramic view

 

 

It’s 7 pm and the hotel lobby is unusually silent ( courtesy the wifi password given out by Yashpal, the guy at the reception).

This is when I choose to yap away with Mr. Anil Nair, an adman and a biker who was on his way to Kaza.
I learn about his fantastic initiative of Goodwind riding (full post on that later).
He narrates his story of the Kinner Kailash. A vision of the very same mountain range and a déjà vu feeling when he saw it in real.

kinner-kailash-himachal
Divine and serene
kinner-kailash-range
View of Kinner Kailash from Hotel Grand Shamba La, kalpa

 
Another Kinner Kailash story added to the list.
On a parting note, he tells me to go up to the attic on the 5th floor from 6.05 am to 7.10 am.
I look at him puzzled.
He stresses on the time again and says confidently, “You will witness the most spectacular show on earth“.

Quite like a prophecy, I feel.

The next morning I wake up at 5. ( my body clock reminding me of the prophecy).

Within an hour I am making my way upstairs to the deserted attic.

5-floor-attic
The 5th floor balcony of Hotel Gramd Shamba La, kalpa

It is cold and the mountains are silhouetted. Sitting on the sofa I mentally talk to myself.

silhouette-kinner-kailash
Silhouetted Kinner Kailash at 6 am

It’s beautiful.
Now the sun will rise further up.
He said Spectacular show. What will that be?
The Rays?
What’s with the time though?

My thoughts are interrupted as the door opens and he walks in, smiling that I paid heed to his advice. “Keep watching” he says and those are his last words to me.

Keep watching?” His words echo in my mind.
I fiddle with my camera, take a few pictures, contemplate going down, talk to mum, sigh and then focus on that chalk like structure, breathe and without thinking start singing Shivoham, my favourite meditation chant.

I have now begun to enjoy this solitude. Eyes transfixed on the scene ahead, at 6.35 am a cloud hovers over the mountain. Rays have started dispersing symmetrically. And within minutes the scene changes dramatically.

kinner-kailash-mountain
The drama enfolds

My hands are numb because of the cold. But my eyes are transfixed on the cloud.
The wisp is now a clot.
After a few minutes, my heart skips a beat.

kinner-kailash-om
The series of pics clicked before , during and after the OM sighting

The clot is now shaped in an OM. I blink and see again in disbelief.
In a crazy moment, I capture what I see just to be sure I am not dreaming.
The photo shows what I see. It isn’t an illusion.

om-kinner-kailash
A cloud formation in the shape of OM

I look up again.
The wisp is gone.

I run down to inquire if Anil has left. He has indeed and my mind is abuzz with questions.
How did he know?
He was so confident!
This WAS the spectacular show?

I go up to the attic again thinking just like some events cannot be explained, some questions can really not be answered.

The clouds have enveloped the mountain, completely shielding it from my view.

kinner-kailash-kinnaur
Clouds hiding the shiv ling

It is no doubt that this is truly Shiva’s divine abode. Where else can he get such tranquility.
As the wind blows in my ears and the sun shines brightly on my face, I beam from ear to ear, whispering a small thank you.

Thank you. For giving me my story.

kalpa-himachal-pradesh
Cloud play

 

kinner-kailash-sunset-view-from-kalpa
The varied hues of Kinner Kailash

59 thoughts on “Spotting Om Over the Kinner Kailash mountain range

  1. Lovely images. My sojourn to Kalpa was also due to my solo biking trip to Kaza. And I found Kalpa better than most of other hill stations of Himachal. The sight of Kinner Kailash is out of this world experience.

    1. Thanks! 🙂 absolutely! Kalpa is a serene, non touristy hill station away from chaos. Didn’t go up to Kaza. That’s for another trip!

  2. Fabulous, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping!! Words can’t express how much I am awed by this post. I can only imagine how amazing it must have been to be there in person and see these spectacular sights! I loved the initial description you gave 😉 Spotting the OM was purely a divine experience I must say! Yes sometimes one has no questions, its something beyond what mortals can think of….simply divine!

    1. Thanks so much Kala! Your comments are ever encouraging:) glad you liked it. The sight was sheer bliss. Nature and it’s million surprises!

  3. Truly majestic! Lovely, lovely photos and your words perfectly capture those moments. I do love mountains too. They’re a wonder and make you feel so insignificant, but in a beautiful way.

  4. Wow! I seriously don’t have words to express how good and divine these pictures are!
    Also, I’m mesmerized by the way you have described the whole experience and storified the post with breath-taking pictures! Loved it, Divyakshii! 🙂

  5. Wow, that is indeed a Gr8 Sight to witness for sure ! Totally magical, somewhere between collecting the spiritual threads and believing in the Magic of Divine : We find some Nature Interventions and this incident happens to be one of those 🙂 gr8 Picturesque !

  6. The trance of Kinnaur Kailash is unbelievable. Watch kinnaur kailash on a full moon night if you havent yet …. U literally feel gods have come down to the land of humans. Theres some kinda dance of kinnaur kailash on a full moon night . We 6 people recently visited Kalpa and spent a whole day just gazing at that peak, mesmerized and in complete trance. Just did nothing else. What u have mentioned in this article about Om is true … Its capture by us too in the camera.

    1. Wow that’s so nice to hear! 🙂 I missed the full moon night. Will go again for sure to see it. I’d love to see the majestic mountain under stars as well. Divinity at its best:)

  7. Wow.. This is so divine.. and much heavenly ..
    that solitude; the dawn and the Om; what else could we ever ask for !!

    You are indeed blessed 🙂 & thank you tonnes n tonnes for this post !!

  8. Whoa! What a magical moment, that sight Divsi! I am awed by the captures that you shared and by your thoughts during those moments. Mountains reveal a different universe altogether. So peaceful, I felt blessed along with you!

  9. What a delightful little read. This so reminds me of how I spotted the face of Buddha in the Stok mountains in Ladakh after an arduous climb up Stok Kangri. An what a story you got to pen. I’d love to be at that same attic someday and witness this magic in person too. Love the images. May he shower prosperity on us all. ☺

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This function has been disabled for Quirky Wanderer.

%d bloggers like this: