If you were to describe a simple word such as ‘beauty’ the Uttarakhand experience might leave you stranded for words. Beauty is so inherent to almost all things Uttarakhand stands for – the magnanimous Himalayas, the holiest of the rivers, the spiritual mystery, stunning landscapes, the incessantly colorful play of nature, enchanting history carved in ancient stones, a mesmerizing floral and faunal plethora and the simplest of the people. Myths, anecdotes and stories are part of every visual that unfolds itself to the eyes of the beholder.
It was thus not a mere coincidence that Charles A. Sherring, the celebrated 19th century British anthropologist and surveyor noted down in his highly acclaimed work ‘Western Tibet and British Borderland’ – “In those lovely valleys there is still the romance and poetry of life: each tree has its god, each bush its spirit” – Mr. Sherring was describing a fair part of Uttarakhand.