Kailas Manasarovar Yatris given a warm send off by Foreign Minister Krishna and Tarun Vijay, MP, Uttarakhand.(Nav Bharat, Raipur)

Pic caption- l to r - Shri Gautam Bambawale, Jt Secy, MEA, Shri S.M.Krishna, EAM and Shri Tarun Vijay, MP addressing the yatris

2. A group picture with ther first batch of Kailas yatris in MEA

Kailas yartris given a warm send off by EAM Krishna and  Tarun Vijay The yatra is a symbol of India-china friendship-Krishna Journey to Kailas is a life time experience which is the greatest spiritual experience too-Tarun Vijay 31st May 2012-New Delhi- In a graceful function organised in the MEA's committee room, External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna gave a warm  send off to the first batch of Kailas Manasarovar yartris. Shri Tarun Vijay, MP and Member, External Affairs Committee, who has done the yatra twice and written books on the pilgrimage was a special guest to address the Yatris. Shri Krishna said that this significant journey to the abode of Lord Shiva is a lasting testimony of the India China freindship. Shri Tarun Vijay said that the journey to Kailas is a life time experience which is the greatest spiritual experience too. Jain Tirthankar Rishabh Dev, Adi Sankara, Guru Nanak and Bhagwan Swaminarayan had also gone to this abode of Shiva, Vijay said. Done in sixteen batches till September,  each batch consists of app sixty yatris and it takes 27 days to complete the yatra. The yatra is facilitated by MEA ,and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam of Uttarakhand govt with highly professioanl help from ITBP soldiers on the way. It is considered as the world's most difficult pilgrimages taking yatris to an altitude of 18,500 ft and temperatiuures varying to sub zero levels. Most of it is done passing through Uttarakhand.  Two media clippings of news published in Daily Hindustan, and Amar Ujala Dehradun