Blessing or course? Naukuchiatal

  • Admin
  • Monday | 21st November, 2016

Suresh Kumar, in a tweet, condemned the letter and maintained t ...(Read Full Coverage)

For along time, Naukuchiatal or the nine-cornered lake was considered sacred. It was only after the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit in August 1986 that tourism officials woke up to its virgin charm. Today, it’s a tourist hotspot.

Naukuchiatal is another piece of Pandava legacy; it’s believed to have been formed when the fourth Pandava brother Nakul shot an arrow into the ground. The Pandavas are believed to have taken their last bath here before ascending to the heavens. They say if you take a dip in its waters with a clear conscience and good intentions, your wish will be fulfilled. How many of us in Kalyug have such noble character? Very few had it even in the age of innocence. Story goes that after the ascension of the Pandavas, many hundreds of years ago, nine sages sat in the nine corners of the lake and meditated for peace and prosperity. Once their mission was accomplished, they submerged themselves to be eternal guardians. One day a young fisherman slipped and drowned in the waters. As he sank to the bed of the lake, he saw a huge subterranean temple there and met the nine saints who promised to restore his life if he did not tell anyone about the temple. The boy promised not to reveal the secret and left. But next day, he confided in his friends and his body was found later in the placid waters.

Other myths about the lake’s forbidden beauty have gathered momentum since. Locals believe that if you can find a spot from where you can see all the nine corners of the lake at once, you will be blessed with good fortune if you are pure in heart or will die.

I look into its blue waters, measuring my human worth for a dip. Like the Naini Lake, the waters have retreated due to lack of rain and snow this year, “There was a time when this road would be flooded with water,” says my guide. “And the waters were a darker blue, as if by some celestial charm.” Maybe it is soaking up too much of our earthly sins than it can handle. For as I near the lake, which meanders its way around bends like a river. I find a dry patch. But a few steps ahead, the lake is all swollen and bubbling, as if it had surfaced to flood away my doubts. Tourist boats bob up and down as the pine and oak skirting the lake seem to indulge them in their sunny dayout.

The wooded lake has been the muse of music-makers from around the world. in the 70s, it had turned into a mini Woodstock that paid homage to John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. My guide tells me that the Lake Resort at Naukuchaiatal is still known for its jam sessions where amateur and professional musicians synchronise in perfect harmony. You would find singers from Shillong, composers from Mumbai and flautists from Kerala combine jazz and rock with folk.  The party continues till dawn. Music, they say, is a divine gift and the nine sages have never been disturbed by those who pursue it.

My guide insists upon giving me the best view. so off we go to the top of a nearby hill, following pagdandis or walking tracks. I can see eight comers barring one. Perhaps it is not meant to be seen, perhaps I am not the chosen one. Then I shut my eyes. And I fly across with the birds, skin the lake’s surface with my belly, slice open its secrets and dive down to its stillness and serenity. The sun’s becoming a haze, the noise is becoming a hum, an unfelt coolness is tricking up my veins, my breath bursting into bubbles and for one transcendent moment, I am at complete peace. Till I gasp up to live again.


If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.

Related Articles