Hugging the Himalayas

*Crump* 

*Crip*

*Kudum* 

The leaves and the twigs broke under my shoes. I was panting and puffing and sweating. Ashu dada called out, “We are almost there!” 

I put my head down and kept climbing until there was no more to climb.  

“Guys, you got to see this!” 

I raised my head and lost my breath. 

We were standing atop a hill overlooking the the magnificent snow mountains. The Dhauladhar range covered in white swept across our eyes. The sky was a true ‘sky blue’ and the sun shone on the tallest of the peaks. 

I was in heaven! 

And to prove that the cities lay on the other side cramped up like little ants. 

At Triund  and Photograph by me :) 

Once I had gotten my bag in my yellow tent I sat outside and lay on my back  watching the soft fluffy white clouds breeze by, taking in every bit of the snow wonder. The snow mountains looked no less than a bowl of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with choco chips. If only I had a spoon that would fit what I could see! 

We were at Triund which was our last of the stops of our trek. 

Our trek had commenced some six days ago after we had got off at Jalandhar station and had bus-ed to Mcleodganj. That evening we saw the monastery where Dalai Lama stayed frequently, walked around the bustling Tibetan market and went to bed unaware of waited for us in the next few days of trek. 

The next day we were dropped by cars on a clearing circled by the pine trees. Cars, mobiles and everything worldly was soon to be forgotten as we were going to traverse and disappear into the heart of the Dhauladhar range. That day we climbed down, crossed a few villages, walked downhill amidst the pine forests and climbed a hill. It took us close to seven hours to reach our first camp site which was  near a river, in a meadow near the Kareri village. We were first greeted by our khacchars (mules) our trusted aides who had and were going to carry our baggage, tents and food for the rest of the trek. Picking our tents and freshening up we were served warm tea and soup soon after.  Once we had eaten our dinner under the starry sky and warmed up to each other around the campfire we went back to our tents and slept snuggled in our sleeping bags. 

The journey

Everyday from then on was a different campsite at night, a different peak, a different height. And everyday brought a new set of challenges. 

On the second day on our trail we faced the wrath of the unpredictable weather of Himalayas.  Just as we had finished eating out pack lunch around a gushing river it started raining. Something hard was falling on us, hitting us. It was not just rains but hailstones raining. Luckily we spotted a shepherd’s makeshift hut and ran inside for cover. That day we realized how temporary everything is. Some minutes ago we were happily devouring the food in the sun and now we were huddled up praying for the hailstorm to stop. After a good two hours of raining it indeed stop. 

When we came out what we saw was a change of scenario. The green pastures on which we were walking were covered by a sheet of white snow. It had stopped raining but the sky was seized by an army of grey clouds who were moving swiftly, towards other mountains.

We carefully trotted not wanting to slip on the snow and in an hour’s time reached our ‘rescue campsite’. Our original campsite was feet above from where we were but estimating our speed and the weather the leaders and the guides knew that we might not be able to make it to the scheduled campsite in daylight. A quick decision was taken of camping at a nearby site for the night and continuing the trek the following day. 

By the time we reached our ‘rescue campsite’ the rain and the winds had mellowed and the sun had begin to shine again. Our prayers had been answered! 

The rescue campsite was called ‘Revati’ locally. Revati was nestled in a valley, alongside a river. 

It was here where I found my writing dream spot from where I wrote in my dairy, it was here the fellow trekkers bonded on drying clothes over the campfire and it was here where we realized the true worth of our race.  I had around rupees thousand with me on that day when it hailed. But none of those rupees translated to help. All we did that day was to surrender to the mercy of God and Nature and pray for the hail storm to stop. 

Nature indeed was and is the greatest and humans no matter how rich and intelligent are no more than a tiny entity, a minuscule part of God’s creations. 

At Kareri Lake

The next day we trekked up to the Kareri Lake which is at a height of over nine thousand feet above sea level. The trail up was the happiest and the most relaxed of all for we halted and snapped ourselves, crossed a shepherd’s hut and met three newly born sheep, lunched at the temple feasting on the view of the lake as the Minkiani pass reflected in its pristine, clear water. As our tents were being pegged we climbed till the snow slopes and let our inner child take over us. Everyone in our group from the fifty six year old to the seventeen year old took part in the sleighing on the slopes! Our wind cheaters were transformed into sledges. We slid in ones, two’s and three’s as we laughed and giggled and had time of our lives :) 

The last four days of our trek were devoted to Triund. We camped two nights at Naddi village and Baal village respectively and enjoyed a brush with the local life. Our guides Rajesh and Dimple lived in those villages. In the little interaction we had with their families and neighbours we understood that money had no or little value in the Himalayas and that what truly matters is kindness. The families welcomed us into their worlds warmly and open heartedly. They chatted, invited us to stay with them whenever we wished to in future. 

Of what we saw in those small villages is that the Himachalis had money, property all the worldly materials but yet their lives were so difficult. Some kids hiked for over an hour uphill and downhill everyday just to make it to school, the men and women carried their own burdens and had to trek just to reach the nearest bus stop so they could run errands in the nearby city.

In Himalayas it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, what matters is how you keep on going, facing such difficult conditions. Its not easy living up there yet people live happily years after years. 

The next day after we had reached Triund we were scheduled to visit the glacier and Lahesh cave but the plan was marred by incessant rain and hail storm. That day we stayed zipped up in our tents again at the mercy of Nature waiting for the rains to stop its whiplashing. The seven hours of rainfall blew away and demolished our dining tent and the toilet tents. 

The storm at Triund

Yet in those seven hours we caught glimpses of the snow peaks disappearing from sight, saw how the clouds circled the cities below and showered on them, we heard the hail stones drumming against our tents and we sang our hearts out almost jamming with the rain. Inspite of the crazy rain and the hailstorm our kitchen staff cooked us a delicious lunch of pipping hot khichadi. 

That afternoon we napped in our sleeping bags wishing the rain would stop before we wake up. And it did! As we were called out for tea we saw the sun was already working on drying off anything drenched. 

Nature was indeed funny! It made us wonder if the storm was for real? Nature restored everything the way it was before. 

Up came our toilet tents! Up came the horses and the sheep who had miraculously gone undercover till it rained. Up came the blue sky and the soft fluffy white clouds! 

The eight days of our hardcore trekking in Himalayas had changed my life and (as I know) the lives of my fellow trekking friends. Every single person was away from their real life, their routine, their home but yet living this trek was real. We all were disconnected from real time, from the world yet we neither mind it nor missed it. 

We were busy living in the moment. Busy experiencing the real things- feeling the tiny droplets falling on the face, going to sleep listening to the wind blow, running our hands and feeling the ripples of the river, marveling at the grand Himalayas, being hypnotized watching the stars and sneaking out of the tent in the middle of the cold night just to get a sneak peek of the Milky Way Galaxy (oh yes I saw the Milky Way Galaxy band and it was enchanting!). 

I have come back home richer (with more friends with whom we shared each other’s life secrets and stories), fresher (every sight was more beautiful that the previous one and it remains in my memory forever), mesmerized (every small thing about Nature- the day, the night, the sunset, the mountains, the stars everything). 

Even though I am here now I can close my eyes and go back in the mountains and feel that I am indeed hugging the Himalayas.

Oh yes I lived and how!  :) 

© Amruta Pradhan