I was at the Himalayas recently and trekked to Kedarnath and Badrinath. It was a truly exhilarating and liberating experience. The altitude, the terrain and the weather truly test a human being's mettle and resolve.

Climbing the 14 kilometers to Kedarnath for example was a very tiring and physically strenous experience for me. Surprisingly though, when I reached the top and completed the journey, rather than feeling exhilirated and triumphant at having achieved such a task, I actually felt subdued and humbled by the grandeur and majesty of the mountains. Only then did I realize that a human being is a small and minuscule thing in the scheme of things. On the scale of the mountain, a human being is no bigger than an ant.

The Kedarnath temple is one of the 12 Jyothirlingas in India and is located at an altitude of 11,700 feet in the Garhwal Himalayas.I had been to other Jyothirlingas before, including Rameshwaram, Omkareshwar and Kashi Vishwanath. However, I was never so powerfully affected as I was at the Kedarnath Temple. Though the actual linga is only a small outcrop of rock, being in its vicinity was a mind-blowing experience. The Shiv Puran says that this shiva linga is one of the most powerful in the country, and I have no reason to doubt it.

Besides the temple, the town of Kedarnath is still recovering from last year's devastating floods. It is clear that the government has not done enough, despite the hullaballoo and media frenzy about the 6000 crores allocated. Many of teh guides and shopkeepers I spoke to were still in dire straits and rebuilding their lives. The temple may not have been affected at all by the tragedy, but the human calamity is still an ongoing drama in Kedar. Hopefully the authorities will act to remove the pain and scars of last year's events soon.