Kathakali Chatterjee wrote this article.
Amarnath temple is one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations in India and also incredibly picturesque. The beauty is breathtaking but the 5 days journey of approximately 40 miles back and forth is extremely strenuous.
Amarnath temple is one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations in India and also incredibly picturesque. The beauty is breathtaking but the 5 days journey of approximately 40 miles back and forth is extremely strenuous.
Well, there are countless temples in India with millions of visitors everyday -- what's so special about Amarnath?
The cave is
situated at an height of 3888 m. (13,000 ft) in northern India and is
known to be around for the last 5,000 years.
Every year the ice naturally forms a cylindrical structure that resembles the imgae of Lord Shiva. It waxes during May to August and gradually wanes after the two-month period. This supposed to be the "miracle of the nature" is basically a stalagmite. The journey to Amarnath takes almost 5 days back and forth from the base camp and it is reported almost 70,000 people from different parts of India visit every year -- some enjoy the grandeur of nature, some seek spiritual/religious fulfillment.
The trekking route is accessible for the mass only for two months (July and August) in a year, so is the private chopper/flight service. I am neither overwhelmed nor bothered by the mythological or spiritual legendary of Amarnath but the wonder of the natural stalagmite formation on a regular basis - year after years - really intrigues me, let alone the serenity of it.
This year, the formation melted before the journey even started. Some argues the reason is influx of visitors, some blame the "global warming." I believe in the latter. This might be a spiritual journey or purely a tourist attraction but it is something unique which, unfortunately, is on the verge of destruction. The 12 ft. tall natural ice structure shrinking to a mere 4 ft is a poor victim of global warming - some might think otherwise though. The dispute whether the melting/shrinking caused by "global warming" or because of the increasing number of visitors is still thriving, but all I know that no proper awareness campaign is followed.
The pilgrims are saddened, frustrated, outraged and what not because of the shrinkage of this holy image but are they aware of the real cause? In this over populated and overtly uneducated country it is very easy to exploit people's faith and start business on it. Because, people are fearful of anything unknown. Moreover, if we do not become aware today, when we will be?
Every year the ice naturally forms a cylindrical structure that resembles the imgae of Lord Shiva. It waxes during May to August and gradually wanes after the two-month period. This supposed to be the "miracle of the nature" is basically a stalagmite. The journey to Amarnath takes almost 5 days back and forth from the base camp and it is reported almost 70,000 people from different parts of India visit every year -- some enjoy the grandeur of nature, some seek spiritual/religious fulfillment.
The trekking route is accessible for the mass only for two months (July and August) in a year, so is the private chopper/flight service. I am neither overwhelmed nor bothered by the mythological or spiritual legendary of Amarnath but the wonder of the natural stalagmite formation on a regular basis - year after years - really intrigues me, let alone the serenity of it.
This year, the formation melted before the journey even started. Some argues the reason is influx of visitors, some blame the "global warming." I believe in the latter. This might be a spiritual journey or purely a tourist attraction but it is something unique which, unfortunately, is on the verge of destruction. The 12 ft. tall natural ice structure shrinking to a mere 4 ft is a poor victim of global warming - some might think otherwise though. The dispute whether the melting/shrinking caused by "global warming" or because of the increasing number of visitors is still thriving, but all I know that no proper awareness campaign is followed.
The pilgrims are saddened, frustrated, outraged and what not because of the shrinkage of this holy image but are they aware of the real cause? In this over populated and overtly uneducated country it is very easy to exploit people's faith and start business on it. Because, people are fearful of anything unknown. Moreover, if we do not become aware today, when we will be?
Great article, Katha! I love it when you bring India to us! Wonderful work!
Hi Katha,
What an extraordinary landscape! I am in awe. Have you ever seen a snow leopard?
One of your links postulates that troop movements might contribute to the melting. You're not buying any of that?
Donna
Thanks David!
It's sad to watch one of the nature's miracle to just getting wiped out, it's even more sad that we still don't pay attention to the "wake up call"!
Hi Donna,
Usually snow leopards live in much higher altitude – so no luck! :-(
I have never been to Amaranth but went to the first base camp known as Pahalgam – the beauty is beyond words.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/manukaushik/tags/pahalgam/
This particular place was the greatest tourist attraction of India (known as “Paradise on Earth”/ “Switzerland of Asia”) but not any more – because of terrorism and insurgence.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/allaboutkashmir/pool/
The troop movement might add fuel to fire but certainly not the “only” reason for it. May be the “troop movement and terrorism” is adding up to global warming?
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1917/19170280.htm
Hi Katha,
That second link is so beautiful. I don't have words to describe it. It left me totally breathless and in awe of the beauty. It's such a tragedy that terrorism has ruined it.
I am intrigued by creatures of the snow. I love penguins. Snow leopards and snowy owls also fascinate me. I love owls of any variety! I love birds, in general.
Here is a link to the penguins we have at our city's aquarium. I'm not crazy about zoos or aquariums, I prefer sanctuaries, but they did go to a lot of trouble and expense to create a realistic environment for the penguins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2BZxE2WFQ
Donna
Oh and Katha,
Snowy owls don't inhabit the ice, but they are some of my favorite creatures!
http://www.owling.com/Snowy_nh.htm
Donna
Hi Donna,
Yes, it is sad to watch the destruction of such an unbelievably picturesque place.
Thanks for those lovely links! I love penguins!!! I am glad they could create the right environment for them!
I read an article in National Geographic once that a wild life photographer waited for 6 months to get a glimpse of the “shy cat”… :-)
This is a photograph of snow leopard in the wild, in India –
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0508/excerpt2.html
Hi Katha,
Oooooh! What a magnificent creature!
Donna
Katha,
What an amazing site! Very beautiful indeed.
Here in Oklahoma poison ivy grows rampantly and, as an Oklahoman, every summer you know at least a few people who have an unfortunate run-in with the stuff. I saw a feature on the local news recently that was explaining how, because of global warming, our little three-leaved friend is growing even more aggressively than normal. It is the elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that cause the plant to thrive and even produce higher, more potent levels of its poison.
I was at the gym when I saw this newscast and I glanced around at the people around me who were also watching. They all had looks of disbelief, some rolled their eyes, one guy even said, "Gimme a break! Everybody knows global warmin' ain't real!"
A small (okay, not-so-small) part of me couldn't help but hope that very sensitive parts of their bodies meet with this amped-up poison ivy one day soon... :mrgreen:
Hi Katha,
It's always enjoyable to see other parts of the world, even if it is just online.
I hope global warming turns out to be just an aberration in our weather situation and will go the way as the "coming ice age" that was discussed not too long ago.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15391426/site/newsweek/
If we do prove that global warming is here to stay and isn't just a variation in the Earth's temperature that occurs over time, I hope that we don't just shift carbon production to China -- which is now using a lot of the world's oil -- and India to "offset" the problem.
Moving steel factories and other carbon emissions to places where labor is cheap and environmental controls are lax won't save us in the long run. It will make multi-national corporations rich however.
Also, buying carbon "offsets" so that we can continue to emit carbon via our private jets and luxury tour buses doesn't do much -- except to make the carbon credit salespeople rich.
After thinking about it some, I'm convinced we need to do something to save the world from global warming. Just wait until I get a seat on the Chicago Climate Exchange before you start buying your carbon offsets. I'll make sure to put a carbon credit bumper sticker on my private jet when I'm flying to Aspen for some winter fun!
Hi Emily,
Yes, that place is gorgeous!
Sometimes we just believe what we want to believe and ignore the rest because that spares us from thinking deeper!
There will be people who will still roll their eyes even if they will witness their backyards getting filled up with “poison ivy”…. :D
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the excellent comment and hope you enjoyed the journey!
I hope "global warming" to be a mere theoretical hypothesis too...only don't know what to expect!
http://solar-center.stanford.edu/sun-on-earth/glob-warm.html
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2004/august4/biomass-84.html