Remembering Joshimath

Nature’s cry for help.

- Kiran Rawat

Few months back when I visited my mother, she handed me a treasure trove - old snaps of our childhood. Among them was one of my favourite snaps in which I am tilting my head to whisper a few words into my little cousin's ear to make him smile for a perfect picture. In the backdrop are the serene hills, of Joshimath. We were in Joshimath almost 23 years ago, but the memory of this place is still fresh in my mind.

A visit to Badrinath temple was the main reason for our stay at Joshimath. Other than Badrinath temple, visiting the Valley of Flowers was also in our itinerary. But we had to cancel it due to bad weather conditions. I had heard so much praise of it, so I desperately wanted to visit it. We left for Delhi the very next day. I was very disappointed, but I made up my mind that I will revisit the valley when I grew young. Looking at the picture reminded me of my resolution to revisit the valley. However, the recent news of land subsidence in Joshimath came as a jolt for me. I was shattered to know that the valley is bickering beyond repair. I realised that perhaps I won't be able to relive my moments in Joshimath.

It is true that with the sinking of Joshimath, one of my dearest desires may have remained unfulfilled but my heart goes for the residents of Joshimath, who are dealing with the pain of forced migration. It is not easy to leave a place you call home.

It was home for you as a child, it was home for your children and it continues to be the home for your grandchildren. When your heart, your feelings develop roots in a place you have been living for ages; when your thoughts and beliefs limit to a place, you can never imagine the thought of ever leaving it. But when you do not know how to survive in another place but you don't have any alternative but to choose it, your situation is similar to a fish taken out of water.