The Vehicle With the Soul of a Man

In the Himalayas, at a height of 4000 metres, one of the holiest places of Hinduism is located: Kedarnath, or Shiva’s grave. Every year, thousands of pilgrims visit this place, but the road to the sanctuary leads along a narrow path that rises very steeply for fifteen kilometres. Most pilgrims literally have themselves carried up the mountain. There are two kinds of sedan chairs: the with four bearers and the with a single bearer who carries the pilgrim in a basket on his shoulders.Ram Bahadur is one of these pitthu bearers, hauling up pilgrims six months a year like a human vehicle, in order to earn enough money for the whole year. His slow upward gait looks like a religious ritual and is shown without any comment or interviews, but with solemn background music. A visual account of a serene trip that is made silently through a gorgeous stretch of unspoilt nature.