The Enchanted Loom: A NovelThe Enchanted Loom is based on the discovery in 1942 of over 300 human skeletal remains on the scree slopes above a small, remote and utterly desolate mountain lake 16,000 feet up the central Himalayan District of Garhwal, where the author was Deputy Commissioner from 1941 to 1945. The local superstition is that anyone who sees the bones will soon die. This and the forbidding aspect of the site were sufficient to ensure that it was not disturbed for centuries. When, eventually, it was discovered and investigated by experts, it yielded up a fascinating tale. Although the story of Rajah Jasdoul was never written down, it is preserved in the form of a ballad still sung 600 years after the event by the women of the village nearest the scene of the disaster. All the facts discovered about this site and also a description of the now discontinued Nanda Devi Pilgrimage, which once passed close by Rupkund, are included in an Appendix. |
Contents
The Messenger from Ajodhya 37 | 3 |
The Badis Tale | 7 |
Chosen by the Gods | 16 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
Ajodhya amulet asked Badhan Badi Badrinath Baghchuwa Bala Singh Bhairon Prasad Bholu Bhotia bones boulders camp climb Dancing Flat dark Dasehra edge eyes face father fear feet forest Garhwal ghost girl glacier goat gods gone grazing Guman Singh halted hands Haru Hayatu head headman heard hills Himalaya Hindu holy Joshimath journey Kartar Singh Kedarnath Khiraun knew Krishnagiri Lokni marry meal miles mountain Nanda Devi Nandakini Narain Dutt never night no-one old guru once Padmini Patar Nachar path pilgrimage pilgrims Pindar Prem Dutt priest Prithvi Singh Raja reached realised ridge river rock rose round route Rudra Singh Rupkund Santu seemed sheep shepherds Sher Singh Shiva shrine of Nanda side silent Singh looked slopes snow snow pigeon started stood story suddenly sunnyasi sure Swami Krishnagiri tell temple thought told took Trisul turned valley village voice wait