VELAPANTI DIARIES 6

THE MOJO OF THE WHIMSICALS

“Mojo is an essential ingredient for being Whimsical!” – Col RS Sidhu

 

Backdrop

The Whimsicals were last engaged in major action as a team, while undertaking the 19 days motorcycle odyssey to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in May of 2024. Health issues of family elders, and the drudgery of monotonous familial duties precluded the Whimsicals from engaging in group Velapanti. It is ironical, indeed, that the very Velapanti articulations employed by the Whimsicals to escape the grind of dull domestic chores, was also the cause that precluded them from indulging their favourite Velapanti moments!

It led to serious soul searching whether we had lost our mojo, the very raison d’ etre of the claim to being Whimsical. A couple of in-person sessions and group chats on closed SM platforms convinced us, down to earth humans that we are, that to arrive at a truthful conclusion we had to progress from the stage of mere dialectic enquiry to an action based self-appraisal.

‘Outward Bound’   

‘Outward Bound’ is a nautical term that denotes a ship leaving the safety of the harbour for open seas. Kurt Hahn, an innovative and celebrated German educationist, introduced a practical learning based curriculum in the 1930s that rewarded development of practical skills through undertaking outdoor activities and expeditions, and named this concept as ‘Outward Bound’.

Kurt Hahn postulates that “any pursuit to explore the unknown in nature entails risk; and under pressure our true and authentic nature comes out in the wilderness.”   

The Whimsicals, following the above hypothesis, in letter and spirit, reached a consensus to carry out the desired self-appraisal by undertaking a 12 hour day trek, involving a round trip of 28 kms, from Village Thangaon to Bhadraj Temple Hill in ‘Pachhwa Doon’. Two external invitees were also included in the group for obtaining independent viewpoint, if needed.

Layout of General Area Bhadraj Temple

Clouds End, is a popular viewpoint on the western end of the main Mussoorie ridgeline. Bhadraj Temple is located atop a hillock to the Southwest of Clouds End; while Benog Top, another popular trek, is to the north of Clouds End.

Bhadraj is a well-known landmark for the armed forces officers who have undergone pre-commission training at the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun. It is also a popular trekking destination, accessible from four directions.

The easiest and main approach is along a 14 kms black top road from Library Chowk Mussoorie/ Hathipaon to Village Doodhli, and onto Bhadraj Temple; the last two kms being a dirt track negotiable only by two wheelers or on foot.

The second is a slight deviation from the first approach; a 7 kms track cum road that descends from Clouds End onto the Mussoorie Doodhli road and onwards to Bhadraj following the alignment of the first approach.

The third is along the 24 kms road from Bhauwala/Sahaspur to Village Koti, and thereafter an 8 kms foot track along the Southwest ridge leading to Bhadraj Temple.

The fourth, the least known and rather most difficult approach, is from Thangaon, a quaint village nestled in the Mussoorie foothills in the ‘Pachhwa Doon’ region of Dehra Dun district. Thangaon is reachable by a 25 kms long road/dirt track, from Nanda Ki Chowki/Selaqui. The road from Nanda Ki Chowki passes through villages Kolhupani – Pondha – Kandoli – Doonga, whereafter it turns into a dirt track up to Thangaon. Whence a 4 kms narrow foot trek traverses through thickly vegetated and steep slopes to Village Chaskhet. Here it converts to a 4 kms cemented pathway leading to a trijunction with the metalled road from Library Chowk Mussoorie/Hathipaon. Hereafter it follows for 6 kms the alignment of the first approach onto Bhadraj Temple.   

Being Whimsicals, it was but natural to take the Thangaon approach to Bhadraj temple.  

The Whimsical Plus Team

Apart from the Whimsicals, veterans Capt Nandan Singh Bisht (6/8 GR), Captain Anoop Chauhan (IN), Cmdre Ravi Nautiyal (IN), and Col RS Sidhu (12 MECH INF); Mr Ajith Jacob, Principal DIS Riverside Campus, and Mr Kanishka Asthana, son of Rear Admiral Mukul Asthana were also invited to be part of the team for the trek.

Itinerary & Co-ordination

The trek was scheduled for 27^th of September 2025, ‘come hell or high water!’ The saying was specifically invoked to emphasise the non-negotiable nature of the undertaking at hand. 

The planned itinerary involved RV at 0500 h at Pondha, reach Start Point (SP) at Thangaon before 0600 h, commence trek at 0600 h, reach Bhadraj by 1230 h, commence return trek at 1330 h, and reach Finish Point (FP) at Thangaon by 1800 h, well before sunset. 

The team was to move self-contained for refreshments and beverage, carrying light backpacks, walking sticks, and torches.

An Interesting Happenstance or Coincidence

Anoop had initially announced his reluctant exclusion from the enterprise owing to his onerous pre-commitment of announcing the Tombola at the DSOI&M on Saturday 27^th of September, a sacrosanct event for the legion of devout Tombola addicts.

However, the collective will of the Whimsicals was strong enough to be sensed by the ‘Shaktis’, or so it may be presumed from the subsequent flow of events. The Tombola was cancelled at the last hour on Friday 28^th of September. Anoop, during his mandatory daily ‘post sundown communion with self’, realised it as a sign of ‘heavenly conspiration’ to his inclusion in the coming day’s trek.   

At 0445 h on 27^th September he called up to announce his intention of participating in the trek, if the RV time could be postponed by 15 minutes. A request agreed to with great alacrity.

The legion of Tombola addicts may draw their own conclusions! While we do commiserate with their loss; as Whimsicals, we were sure elated at this quick turn of events.

Move Pondha to Thangaon

The move commenced on 27^th September at 0530 h in two four wheelers and web reached the SP at Thangaon by 0625 h. The normal parking space was already squatted upon by a herd of goats. After some jostling for position with the squatters, we were able to safely park the two four wheelers, or so we presumed.

It would be much later that we would know that the goats did not take our intervention kindly, resulting in end result which held adverse repercussions for the two four wheelers.

Thangaon to Chaskhet

After a short couple of minutes brief we commenced our trek at 0630 h. This stretch is marked by thick vegetation, steep slopes, and narrow cattle tracks. The monsoon had resulted in undergrowth covering the track at several stretches. The presence of leeches in the undergrowth came as a nasty surprise, with Nandan being the most impacted.

In a thought provoking observation, we noticed that the leeches reflected a marked preference for individuals who had less alcohol content in their bloodstream. A point well worth serious study by a joint team of biologists and savvy tipplers!

The track surface was uneven, strewn with stones of various shape and size, some loose, while others were embedded in the surface. Coupled with overhanging branches, the mental faculties needed to be focused in both the horizontal and vertical plane to avoid accidental slippages.

After two short halts, for ‘de-leeching’ actions and breakfast, the team reached Chaskhet by 0930 h. This village is also home to an unfinished hotel, under construction for more than a decade. While the villagers link it to the evil supernatural influence, the caretaker ascribes it to mere human failings, involving legal dispute pending in civil courts. Either way, its forlorn looks and elevation, make it as a useful landmark visible from afar to the trekkers.    

Chaskhet to Doodhli

After the earlier strenuous climb, the gradual gradient and sure footing of the cemented pathway from Chaskhet was a breeze for us. After a brisk 2 kms of road walk we reached the tri-junction with the Mussoorie/Hathipaon – Doodhli road. However, we avoided the metalled road, and proceeded along a well-defined dirt track for 2 kms, along wooded slopes, that led us straight onto Doodhli village, by 1030 h.

Doodhli to Bhadraj Temple

After a short tea break at a roadside kiosk, we commenced the ascent to Bhadraj, at 1050 h, along a cemented path accessible to four and two wheeled vehicles also. The traffic was minimal, as the extreme inclement weather incidents during the monsoons, acted as a deterrent to tourist inflow.

At a standing break midway, we had a pleasant encounter with a smart village dog. He promptly came to us with a stone grasped in his jaws, which he placed at our feet and invited us with his looks to play ‘fetch’! After a five minutes of this entertaining interregnum further ahead. After two kms of steep incline, the cemented path gave away to a dirt track, though well defined and with smooth surface. We reached the Bhadraj Temple by 1300 h.

The Bhadraj Temple is devoted to Lord Balram, the elder brother of Lord Shri Krishna. The priest dates the origin of the temple to prehistoric times of the ‘Dwapar Yug’, the time of the ‘Mahabharat’ epic. He also traces his family lineage as the keepers of the shrine since its establishment. The temple has three idols of Lord Balram, denoting his three ‘swaroops’.

After paying our obeisance to the Deity, we had our lunch break before commencing our return journey.

The Return Trek to Thangaon

We commenced our return trek at 1400 h. The sunset in this season occurs at 1805 h, with last light near 1830 h. Here we faced a couple of issues. It had taken us six and half hours for the onward trek. Whereas we had just four and half hours of daylight for the return trek.

Anoop is near blind at night due to medical issues in his eyes which impact his depth perception. This condition gets further aggravated in poor visibility conditions. Ajith had a severe foot infection, while Kanishka had an aggravated groin muscle pull. That the three were participating despite their medical infirmities, is a tribute to their grit and determination.

Reaching the finish point before last light was an imperative, and became the driving point for the return trek. There was marginal scope for reducing the trek time in the Chaskhet – Thangaon stretch owing to the difficult terrain. So we focused all our efforts on descending quick time in the Bhadraj – Doodhli – Chaskhet part.

Our efforts paid dividends as we reached Doodhli by 1500 h, that is, in half time than that taken in the ascent stage. By 1630 h we had crossed Chaskhet. When in vicinity of the FP, it became evident that the whole group would not be able to make it to the FP before last light. At that point Anoop and Rakesh moved ahead of the group, and were able to reach the FP just as last light faded. The balance group closed in by 1850 h, having negotiated the last fifteen minutes of the trek under torch light.

Contemplation Time

Having closed in successfully within the target time, and while waiting for the rest of the team to reach the FP, the twenty minutes or so were contemplation time. The brilliant star lit night sky provided a broad canvas to contemplate the dichotomy and inherent contradictions in the human world.

We, the human race pride ourselves as being the most evolved terrestrial species, despite engaged in actions that imperils its own survival, and also of the very earth, and billions of species living thereupon.

While the religions offer the fundamental source of solace to respective followers, more death and destruction has been wreaked in religious conflicts than in forced accumulation of wealth and territorial gains.

As of date the Christian bloc in the EU countries supports the Islamic Ummah in the Levant region in their finish to the death struggle against Jewish Israel; while maintaining studied silence on the Christian genocide by the Islamists in nearby Africa.

An atheist China is engaged in genocide against its Uighur Muslim minority, while siding with the Islamic Ummah in their struggle against Jewish state of Israel.

In the region of Rus, the Islamist mercenaries are at loggerheads with each other, while arrayed behind the opposing armies of Ukraine and Russia.

In the geoeconomics, the Indian diaspora is deeply leading running of the US economy, even while POTUS Donald Trump is hell bent on ruining the Indian economy through ‘Trump Tariffs’.

Geopolitically, US is battening down against its own Islamic population at home, but covertly manipulating regime change to install and support Islamist regimes in India’s neighbourhood, first Bangla Desh, and now Nepal being live examples.

Even the fine line distinguishing the freedom fighters from terrorists has been deliberately blurred.

The veracity of the adage “Money makes the mare go whether it has legs or no”, should no longer be in doubt!

But to the cognisant there are subtle signs of change in the geopolitical environment. POTUS Donald Trump shows subtle affinity to the imperious image of ‘Nero fiddling while Rome was burning’. In sharp contrast, the Indian central leadership shows no sign of buckling to the 360 degree US pressures.

As for India, its time has come to rise again, after centuries of decline. Most surprisingly, but a clearest indication of the changing geopolitical balance is showcased by Xi Jinping’s China supporting greater role for India in the UN, during the 79^th session of the UN General Assembly. The Pakistan PM’s address at the UNGA session also carried a discernible change in nuance in relation to India. Pakistan claim of destroying seven Indian aircrafts during Operation ‘Bunyan ul Marsoos’/ Operation ‘Sindoor’ was watered down to damaging seven Indian aircrafts.

Postscript

With the trek having been successfully done and dusted, two aspects clearly stand out. The mojo of the Whimsicals is intact. Its time now for the Whimsicals to indulge more pronounced Velapanti actions!

The Whimsicals also broke new ground by taking Ajith and Kanishka under their wings for this trek. It promotes the Velapanti field to a larger audience, a clarion call so to say, to all the hidden Velas to emerge from their self-designed closets, and proudly proclaim their Vela status to the world at large…