Trails from the Himalaya
As the plane took off from the runway, I started to have my
palms wet as usual…yes, it always happens despite a decade of me taking flights.
and me and my fear of heights always remain…but it is very strange that some
things just don’t change in a flight journey… there is this husky voice coming
out of nowhere just when you thought all is well at 30000 feet
above…saying…this you your captain speaking and we are now entering into a area
of turbulence…..Man!! who made this guy a captain..if he knows very well he is
entering into the turbulence weather..why the fuck does he enter..can’t he take
a slight detour to avoid those clouds…and just then, as soon as I would have
convinced my heart to stop racing and would have slept to avoid anything that
scares me, the sexy airhostess will
always wake you up..tell you to open the window shades, fold the tray table,
sit upright and put your seat belts…as if I am going to miss out watching
something spectacular in the sky when the plane starts shaking..Ufff…
Anyways, this was a good day…the plane took off as soon as
the pilot saw my wet palms…and the air conditioner got switched off.. KT was
next to me as I was seeing the plane leaving the homes of all Bangloreans in
the window below…Dr. Prashant asks loudly ; “why the hell did the AC had to be
switched off ?“…The high spirited and always fun Sunderesh says, “ Mama…its
like Car kano…uppalli pick up sigbekallwa..aadke off madhidhare J.. that’s it…I knew I
had a good gang to hang out with for the next 10 days of my life.. without
gadgets..without office pressure..without routine..into the unknown..into the
hardship of 100km trek in the mountain terrains of India’s best trail and the
chance to touch the mighty Himalayas.
The day had started before the dawn wearing the brand new
shoes..a new trek pant..new jacket and yes..no surprise, a new trek bag..
shows how many times I have trekked beforeJ
I had no idea how the next 10 days would
turn out…I was going to spend the next 10 days with a bunch of people I had
never seen. But it was also my time of redemption. I was increasingly becoming
arrogant and irritating to all who were with me. Finally, I hit my low, when I
found myself fighting with 2 boys on the streets of Bangalore for no fault of
theirs..the wounds healed but the scars of being a mad man will remain
forever..this was the only way I knew, I will be healed and I took off to a
land, where I have read, great people in History always went in search of peace
and life’s meaning. I was doing both but I wanted to find myself, the real
person in me. And at the moment though, I was hating myself for more reason
than one.
As the plane landed and in half an hour, we had seen the
best and the worst of Delhi train traffic. By the time we were licking our fingers for that
yummy Channa batura in Haldiram’s at Chandini Chowk, we had seen the worst of
India’s capital already. It was an alien feeling to be there, among the hard
working , sweaty and stinky fellow countrymen.. I felt like a blessed human to
afford what I can, to work in air conditioned rooms, to drive a car..or to eat
what I was..and in those moments of seeing an apparent separation of classes in
humans, it felt like the learning of life had already began.
When the train to Uttarakhand got delayed by a couple of
hours, we found ourselves catching all kinds of bugs in the old Delhi railway
platform. Those three hours saw a lot of us changing from bad to worse and most
specifically , Shantha caught the mysterious holy spirit virus, which made him
literally unconscious for the next 24 hours…although I must say, he didn’t miss
much..as the only thing I remember from the train journey was lot of mosquiots
and even more dangerous – oil dripping- stale-but hot poori’s…by the time we
reached the calm town of Kathgodam,
in the last border of Uttarkhand, it was 2am..if not for the joy of eating some
aloo paratas and curds, none of us would have got up for one more day of travel
in a mini van to deeper borders of India.
As the minivan cruised along the turns and twirls of the
mountain ranges, many of us found out why people prefer to travel in a trainJ the more you ate the
yummy food on the way, the more you suffered. But the best thing about that
drive to Bhageshwar Base Camp was the amazingly delicious fresh fruits we ate. And
to ensure we don’t get too much hydrated, we bought some holy spirit as well.
The magical spirit chased away the virus in Shantha and for the next 7 days,
there was no way to stop our own Milka Singh from conquering the snow mountains.
Bhageshwar was a disappointment in terms of rooms and
service and food, but we smiled when the Hindustan Times journalist took a
picture of ours just when the trip to a
place called Saung started in a bumpy jeep..it would take us 4 hours for 40 kms
to Saung from where there would be no more motorable roads. When the legs
started to move up the hilly stone clad trail for the first time, it took us
just 5 minutes to realize this was not going to be an easy week. Dan, an
American who knew more about this trek and this side of the country more than
any one of us ; Mr. Chawla, a fit and sixty something young gun from Delhi and
2 tall boy’s in Sameer and Sidharth from Mumbai joined the 9 of us from
Bangalore. By the time we climbed up 2 hills to reach Loharkhet, it took us 3
more hours to get our feet back to strength. Dr. Prashanth’s innovative games
and stretching exercises went a long way to make sure, none of us dropped out
in the middle of the long trail.
By now, we were experts in predicting the dishes for lunch
and dinner. It was always the same for the next 10 days.. breakfast prediction
was tough as they would fool us by having 2 varieties in their armor. We got it
wrong every time we guessed. The next day was to be a no- stop 7KM steep climb
and then another 8 kms after lunch. The best part of all this was the tea shop
in the middle of no where and the spectacular view of the mountains,
re-emphazing the decision to leave everyone you love behind and to have come on
your own so far. This was going to be my solitude.
As the base camps rolled by, as we ate the same food once every
5 hours, we started to become more fit. More healthy. Met people who are simple
and living in their own world cut off from the so called modernized
civilization. The humbleness in their words, the truth and innocence in them
got me really scared. It got me worried about the people I live with, the
person that I am, the way the rat races happen, the frequent fights, the
unnecessary pain, the heartaches..gosh…it is definitely something we don’t need
to live happily. I met people who had never left their villages. They
apparently don’t even step out for 4 months of an year when the snow covers up
their world and their houses. And as the old man said, we chat a lot, we laugh
a lot, we drink tea and eat all the food that we are accumulating rest of the
year. Gosh, basic life in its glory. I and you can never live like that. We can
never be so happy in life. We can never be content. For we always need more. We
need more money or we need more love. What we have never suffices.
The pain that the body took everyday was humongous . For
people like me who are sitting in the chair all day, this was the other
extreme. But as Sameer and Sidharth decided to quit at the last but one base
camp, I was looking for some hope. That came in through the young Mr. Chawla.
His way of walking 20 steps -take 10 deep breaths technique was mesmerizing. He
did that for all the hills we scaled and all the glaciers we crossed. Slow and
steady…he would have won the race, if not for the fast and furious Shantha and
Sundersh. While Doctor Prashanth practiced reading the medicine list every day,
people queued up in front of him for some free medicines. KT consumed the most
variety of pills, while Shantha choose to take a sip of 8pm arranged from a old
military man’s house in the Khati Village. The only shopping I did through the
journey were those 2 amazing bottles. Kept us warm. Kept some healthy. But most
of all, kicked up some fun at the end of the day when legs were singing.
We had a sweet Fruit & Nut couple with us…and the reason
I called them that was not because she was sweet or he was nuts over her…it was
more because they had the most dry fruits with them and had a glucose bottle
that served the entire team through the trek. Rest of us instantly made her our
sister as soon as she introduced her husband right at the airport in Bangalore.
Luckily Shambu was not late that day or for the flight. Otherwise, the dude
really showed what solitude is all about and how one should enjoy the mountains
and the jungles and the waterfalls and the spirit of fun is always in the journey and not in the destination. As
he dragged his feet towards the base camps each evening, it seemed like the sun
was holding back his last rays of the day to guide him and would pave the way
for the chilly moon right after he entered the camps.
Sundaresh was at his best spirits right from the moment the
pilot switched off the AC and till we forced some spirits to him. For a moment,
I felt, I failed for once as a salesman. And I did. I finally met a person whom
I couldn’t manage to get drunk. When Aravind followed him in non drinking vows,
it just took him a sub zero degree bath at phurkia to gulp one straight down
his throat without a wink in his eyes.
In Shantha, I have always felt amazing human qualities. Learnt a lot in
my life just by observing him and when he ran once in a hill trying to see in a
dear in a godforsaken forest in Kuderemukh, I knew he was made for the mother
nature. It was amazing to see how much he enjoyed every bit of this wonderful
hills and snow and wilderness. He felt at home always. Be it a dip in the
flowing water or a fall in the ice or a run in the terrains of wood, it was
just like watching mowgli from the jungle book in real. And his buddy was KT.
Now, Mr. Krishnanand himself doesn’t know why he is called a KT, but it fits
him for he is an amazing person that I found in this trek like the rest of the
gang. There are few people who appeal to you very strongly in their first
meeting. KT is one of them. His highlight for me was when he made me go in the
dark to the donkeys to record the sound coming out of their bells tied to their
necks. KT wouldn’t have appealed to me if I were to be at the wrong end of
those donkeys in the dark.
There were lot of moments that made me live this trip like a
bachelor. Be it the mandatory double meaning jokes session at night after
dinner, when we all slept in the same room like a boarding school , or the
adrenalin with which we ran through those hills and jumped over boulders and
rocks and the slides on the snow or even the Deepika-like-shake-it-baby dance
from Sunderesh or the night forest walk in the dark to catch a sunset painting
the white snow peaks with orange. There were quiet moments as well, when we
watched an amazing sky show during the sunset in Dwali..A show I can never
believe till date that god can be so artistic…there were surreal feelings one
went through at the sight of the big Himalayas, the astonishing silent talk
when you are staring at the mighty nature and you seemed like a tiny ant in
front of her.. All along the trip, I was wondering why Pradeep sat silently and
most times walked silently ; for I was just the opposite… It was finally when I
reached the zero point that I understood, that even silence can be an amazing
tool. Not that I practiced it later…but now ..writing this in a far away lonely
place in USA, with no one to talk to, I am feeling the power of silence.
While kudos go to the man behind all this, Anjan who did the
leg work and planning, it was the torch bearer, the captain of the team, the
duplicate doctor in crisis, the let me walk first and slip glacier walker, the
kid in me makes me slide on snow dude, the emotional father of a cute son, the
king of double meaning jokes, the example of mind over matter of being agile,
the man in glasses and with pen to note down team’s expenses, the guy who looks
like a red ooty apple when offered whiskey, the lion king among all snoring men
was Prashanth. Now, with so many adjectives, I hope he will not kick my ass for
not writing this blog earlier.
Dan, the American showed why we are the only race in the
world which cribs always. He ate his chapati’s and aloo sabzi every day twice,
as if it was his last meal. He burped happily at the end of it, when we were
still staring at the lifeless piece of wheat and a tasteless colored boiled
vegetable.
Walking in the dangerous slip-n-u-die glacier crossing was
fun on the last stretch of the trek. Having clicked pictures at every single
angel and view, including Dan pissing on a road side, we were finally not
bothered about taking pictures or for that matter, we were done with the worldly
things anymore that day. It was a sense of reaching a goal. A sense of
realizing what a beautiful place this world..this earth is afterall…pristine..pure…magical..mighty
beauty. The real calmness nature brought us there was amazing., I could live
happily at that no man land, provided what the Baba who lives there has. A
satellite phone, solar charger and a lot of good will of the innocent villagers…oh
one more thing.. A village qualifies to be called a village if there are more
than 3 houses and more than 5 people. Anything more, it becomes a town there.
Having soaked in the snow, with Prashant doing the final
slide from the big mountain to end an hour of slides, we were racing back to
the camp. It was not because we were scared of the rain and the chance of we
being dead trying to cross the slippery ice glaciers in the rain, but because we
had eaten just a small cup of Maggie to start our big day. By the time I
reached the camp all wet, I would have eaten the buttler’s hand if I didn’t
sight the same old chapatti and Aloo sabzi..on hindsight, I guess the hand
would have been a better choice.
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