Let’s see what exactly the mythology behind this valley is. The story goes that there was a clan that was faithful towards the Kauravas (Duryodhan) that lived close to the currently existing village of Osla. They were so loyal to Duryodhana that they built a temple (well, not when he was alive though, but much after his time)! We can safely presume that they (or the warriors among them) would have fought for Duryodhana in the war that mattered, the Mahabharata.
Now that’s just one part of the story; the second part is how Pandavas chose this valley in the wide Himalayan range for their final journey, to their final adobe. Mind you they had traveled many or most regions in the Himalayan range; they could have chosen anywhere but they chose a valley where they knew a temple of Duryodhana exists and the clan is still faithful towards him? Did they have any guilt? Or was it their last war to conquer….the fight against their own guilt, the war they needed to survive, in order to attain their ‘self’?
Legend goes that while all Pandavas started together, only Yudhishthir survived till the end. Well, it’s no secret that Bhim and Arjun were definitely fitter than him but they didn’t make it. Why? Did this valley throw some questions their way which they could not avoid and hence fell deeper into guilt? Yudhishthir also had something he could not conquer and sacrificed one finger on this journey. A dog accompanied him till the end; this is no surprise as you see dogs tagging alongside trekkers even today. Why we’ll never know!
These are only some questions I find myself asking but fail to arrive at a definite answer. Do you think you have the answers to these? I’d love to know what you think about this piece of our history and tale.
We will revisit these questions a bit later in the text – because I do have my own version of a probable explanation which I think is quite on point! But for now, let’s move on to take a look at some of the features of this valley of Gods that make it majestic, to say the least. The valley starts from a small village, Sankri and moves towards the Swargrohini peak which stands tall at 6,252M with many small villages at its foothills, like Taluka, Ganghar, Osla, Seema, all having their homogeneous structures tied together with some sort of cultural glue.
The valley is shaped like a cradle right on the border of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand (if you bother about the current political boundaries) and provides an ancient trade route to Kinnaur valley (if you are a history buff). The valley is connected through Borasu Pass, a high altitude pass which rests at 5,450M, to the Baspa valley. It boasts of certain attractions like Jamdhar glacier (3,700M) and Swargrohini peak towards the south-east, Ruinsara and Morinda lakes, Bonga peak, Black peak, Supin River, Fateh Parbat, views of Bandar punch towards the west, a great diversity of vegetation, and multiple thriving species of birds.
Let’s take a look at each of these in detail:
1. Vegetation –
Well I am no expert of botany but I do notice flowers and herbs that look different. I do ask about them; it’s not always that I get clear answers but sometimes I get lucky. This valley is rich in medicinal herbs like Guchi, Nagchatri, etc which are used in the practice of Ayurveda even today but local consumption of these herbs is on a decline. Most of these herbs are procured by the locals and sold off to mediating agencies that take these to China. People make big bucks in this business but the valley is getting devoid of the herbs with the money kicking in! These days you hardly find these herbs while in the past they were a common commodity in every household, used extensively in everyday cooking. The valley is also rich in Birches, pine trees, Bhojpatra – the same tree whose leaves were used in the ancient times to write on, Brahmkamal – a flower found around high altitude lakes, similar to the lotus that we see on plains.
