Pindari - Day 6/7

Day 6 - Dwali to Dhakuri

It was the 6th day of the trek now and we were on our way back. There wasn't the usual excitement of arriving at some place for the first time. Perhaps, it was this fact that helped me relax. Perhaps it was the wonderful start of the day or perhaps it was the music I listened to. Or it was all these things combined. For I don't know how else to explain the wonderful sensation that swept over me. I felt happy and not in a normal way. It was as if for a few moments happiness had filled every pore of my body. I felt blissful and free. I could find nothing wrong with the world around me...

The day started with our morning fairy knocking on the doors. It was Tiwariji trying to wake us up at 4:30 am. There had been some huge misunderstanding between us. We were under the impression, that with only the return journey left, we don't need to lose our morning sleep anymore. Our forest guardians though wanted us to start even earlier as the weather was not holding very well. Tiwariji voiced his concern about the rainfall. I told him it seems impossible to wake up Diggu and others early today. After this brief interruption, I tried to get back to sleep but could not. So i decided to enjoy the sunrise.

It was still dark outside. The hills on the opposite side were appearing dark silver in the twilight glow of the sky. I could hear the Pindar flowing across the valley below. The air was a bit chilly so I immediately went inside and got a jacket for me. I joined Tiwariji and others who were sitting around a fire inside the kitchen. I shared a cup of tea with them. Then I went outside and seated myself on a wooden bench. I sat there enjoying the early morning views of the surrounding peaks. The sky turned from dark grey to silver, then took some shade of red and finally started turning blue as the light started to fill in. It was a beautiful sight and the whole surrounding felt real peaceful.

As the day broke in, I saw a herd of sheep sleeping in the valley beside the river. They were all huddled together in a big circle keeping each other warm. I got out a camera and decided to go down for a shot. The herd was accompanied by a group of four locals. They told me that the sheep belonged to villagers from Khati and they were going to drop them at Pindari for grazing where they would remain for the summers. They offered me some tea but I told them I just had one. I took their photograph and got mine taken with them and the sheep. We had a great time sitting around a fire and listening to each others stories. When I went back to the rest-house Chote was already standing outside. Together we woke up the rest of the group. I got myself ready and sat down to read Mr Burton's philosophy again. Chote wanted me to listen to a song on his Ipod. The lyrics are totally unmentionable here but the song was great. I started going through the other songs and was soon lost in music.

Everybody was taking his time today and no amount of coercing from Tiwariji could get us to leave before 8am. The DDA team had left hours before us. We descended down to the river, crossed the bridge and headed back to Dhakuri. Most of the way between Dwali and Dhakuri goes through a thick forest. I dropped back from the group till I felt I was walking alone through the forest. For the first time I was walking without a bag on my shoulders and I felt wonderfully light. Pindari was flowing along to the left. The weather was a bit cloudy giving the whole surroundings a slightly romantic touch. There I was walking alone amidst beautiful tree covered hills. Suddenly a feeling of profound happiness overwhelmed me. I realized there was no thought, no worry, no hatred, no love in my mind. I felt totally free. Free from traffic, free from rules, free from work, free from responsibilities, free from relations, free from misunderstandings. I put on my favorite song at full volume. Soon I was actually dancing to the beats as I got more and more drunk on my own happiness.

The surge of happiness lasted only a short while but the effects remained much longer. I continued to walk till I caught up with the rest of the group as they waited for me near the river. We sat near the edge listening to water forcing its way through the rocks. After the usual round of photographs, we continued along the up and down path through the forest.

We would have been walking for a couple of hours when we reached the tea-shop at which we had taken shelter from rain while coming. It was a strange coincidence that as soon as we got there, it started to rain again. We had maggi with a cup of tea while waiting for the rain to stop. Realizing that the weather gods were not going to relent anytime soon, we got our raincoats out. I have always loved rains. I was actually enjoying the light drizzle falling across my face as we made our way forward. However, with more than 13 km still left, the rain was slowing us down considerably, as we stepped carefully over the slippery stones avoiding water holes and muddy paths. We also had the last 3 km to Dhakuri in mind. While coming it was a swift descent but now we would be faced with a steep climb up-hill. Dwali and Dhakuri are almost on the same altitude and the 18km trek goes up and down, at times descending into the valley only to climb up the opposite hill. We realized that we were in for a long day.

The rain in hills is very different from that in the plains. It comes without much warning. The sun would be shining one moment, and within minutes clouds would fill in quickly and it would start raining before you had a chance to take cover. Fortunately, in most cases it does not pour down heavily. Its mostly a persistent drizzle that may go on for hours and when you would have resigned yourself to it, it would stop just as suddenly, and within minutes you would have the sun shining again. The rest of our journey continued between this hide and seek between the rain and the sun. It rained continuously for an hour, stopped suddenly, and just when we had taken off our raincoats, it started raining again. The last few kms to Khati was a climb. We caught up with the DDA team on this stretch. It had stopped raining by now but the path was very slippery. It got even worse around the landslide area near Khati. The original path had been taken away by the landslide. The new dirt trail that ran around the landslide had turned into a river of slippery mud. We had a hard time going forward. As the trail crossed over the landslide it had become a real risky affair. Imagine our delight and relief when we finally reached Khati.

At Khati we sat down near a chai-shop. We asked the owner if he had anything to eat. We half expected the reply to be maggi when he said that he can also prepare Aaloo Paranthas but it would take 10 minutes. The wait was well worth it because the Paranthas tasted out of this world with a slice of butter and green chilly pickle. A shameless attack on the paranthas followed as they were brought one by one only to be grabbed in a second. A casual observer might have inferred that we hadn't had anything to eat for days. The final count of paranthas came down to 20 but I am sure the owner had missed a few. Kailash was so impressed with the paranthas that he wanted to stay at Khati for the day. I too was having a relaxing time as I sat down with my book.

The rest and the paranthas did wonders to our battered souls and we were ready for the second leg of the day's journey. I looked back at the small beautiful village for the last time. Just outside the village, a herd of sheep blocked our path. I was pushed into the side of the hill as I tried to find my way forward. My attention was on the sheep and I failed to notice the 'Bichhu' plant as my legs brushed against it. 'Bichhu' plant is named so because it actually stings pretty badly if you are unfortunate enough to come in contact. The leaves are covered with small thorns that injects a chemical and the effect lasts for hours. There is another plant whose leaves are supposedly the cure. I tried to look for this plant but without much luck. Meanwhile I continued enjoying the stinging sensation. After half an hour it started raining again. We continued to make slow progress in the rain. As much as I enjoy the rains, we have had enough by now and we couldn't wait for it to stop.




Rain finally relented after a couple of hours. We stopped at a chai-shop in a small village. The village was in a valley surrounded by small peaks. There was an extra-ordinary stillness in the surroundings after the rain. Not even a single leaf was moving. All the clouds were rooted to their location. I stared at the hills, the clouds and the valley in front of me. It was as if I was staring at a huge wallpaper. After the valley, we started the ascent to Dhakuri. The weather was better by now but we were really tired. The steep climb was taking its toll now. The trek was skirting round the face of a hill. Dhakuri lied midway on this hill. Losing their patience, Diggu and Kailash started climbing directly up the hill. My experience is that taking such shortcuts usually drains much more out of you. So if you are tired its better to stick to the trek. It took all our reserves to climb up to our destination of the day. It seemed like a great achievement at the time.

Once at Dhakuri we left our shoes and socks for drying. Clouds were clearing by now and fading sun was spreading its rays around us. All of us sat outside enjoying the warmth of the sun after a wet day. After a while, we had a wonderful view of the Maktoli and other snow peaks near Sunderdunga glaciers. We had missed this view during the whole of our earlier stay at Dhakuri because of cloudy sky. We managed to get a few shots before the peaks disappeared again. Vikas wanted to spend the night in a tent. He had never slept in a tent before and had contemplated the idea every night of the trek. Each time the fear of cold and leopards had deterred him from going ahead with the plan. We used to joke that Vikas is waiting to get back to his home where he would pitch the tent on his roof. Realizing that this was indeed his last opportunity, Vikas started to pitch the tent. He implored everyone to help but all of us were feeling too lazy by this time. Kailash finally offered his help and soon both their ladies also joined in the action. It was getting cold outside so the rest of us moved back to the room. Soon we had tucked ourselves in the two quilts that were lying inside.

After putting up the tent, Vikas started shifting anything useful he could find in the room to the tent. First went the rubber mats and plastic sheets lying on the floor, followed by the two mattresses. Then the bed sheets and all the blankets. He even took the door mat. Obviously, he had already kept his dagger and pepper spray inside. Throughout the trek, Vikas had made sure that he kept a one foot dagger and a pepper spray besides his pillow. He felt he needed them more than ever now, sleeping outside amidst wild leopards. It was indeed funny to imagine Vikas spraying pepper spray on a leopard. Amused by the proceedings we were wondering if he was going to come for the beds next. Instead he came for my quilt. I flatly said that there was no way I was getting parted from my warm quilt just then. By the time Vikas finished, he had turned the tent into five star accommodation. It was decided that the couples would spend the night in the luxury of the tent whereas the bachelors would have the honor of sleeping on the beds for the first time. Next there was a round of cards inside the tent. Diggu had fallen off to sleep by now and I decided to read till the light lasted.

During dinner, Chote started teasing Vikas about the dagger and pepper spray. He retorted that when the time comes he wont be able to kill a fly with the dagger. He also joked that how would Vikas lock the tent to keep the leopards out. By now Vikas half suspected that Chote had plans of scaring him during the night and warned him to stay away from the tent. We also joked that if Chote ventured anywhere close to the tent he was sure to get pepper spray in his eyes. We continued the bakwaas for a while. Then the two couples departed for the tent and the three of us occupied our respective beds for a well deserved sleep. During the night few dragon flies found their way inside the room. I wondered if a few would have also managed to get inside the tent and if Vikas was chasing them right now with a dagger in his hands.

Day 7 - Dhakuri to Loharkhet - drive to Bageshwar

If rain had troubled us the previous day, this day was to be the wettest of the trip. It was raining already when we woke up in the morning. Perhaps it had been raining all night. Any hopes of enjoying the morning view of the snow peaks was soon washed away. Rain drops were looking beautiful falling on the carpet of green grass. We knew they wouldn't feel as good falling on our heads. Lazily, we started getting ready for the final day of the trek. None of us were in any hurry to get back to civilization. We had been without electricity, mobiles, TV, newspapers for 6 days now , something totally unimaginable in our routine life. We just hadn't managed to live without them, we never missed them in this beautiful place. I know soon development of the region would mean bringing electricity and roads to the place. Perhaps it would make the life of the people and tourists more comfortable, but it would definitely take something out of the place.

We got our bags ready, put on our poonchos (raincoats) and stepped out into the rains. The first km was a steep climb to the Chilta Pass. The path went in circles around the slope. I tried climbing straight up the face and was soon exhausted. Up at the pass, we sat down for a breath as the rains continued to pour down on us. It was down all the way from now on. But the descent was made tough by the slippery surface. Worst of all, I couldn't employ my strategy of running down. We walked slowly, careful not to step on the slippery rock faces. Still we slipped and slided. I tried to concentrate on the surroundings instead of the path, but it wasn't easy. It was taking forever to cover a few kilometers. Rain seemed our worst enemy just as it does between an important cricket match.

Vikas and I were walking together when we came upon the shortcut we had taken while coming up. Vikas wanted to take the shortcut but I thought it would be too slippery in the rain. While we were trying to decide between the longer route and the slippery shortcut, Chote went past us down the shortcut. Not to be left behind, we started to follow. Soon Chote slipped but managed to regain his balance. I found myself in the middle of slippery mud with no where to go, my legs sliding in all directions. As I was trying to make my way out, I witnessed Vikas losing his footing. But instead of landing straight on his bum, he took a couple of somersaults before coming to a stop. Then just as abruptly he stood up and started running towards the stone trail. I didn't know what to make of it. If I hadn't known better it would have appeared that instead of slipping, Vikas has just performed an amazing acrobatic stunt. Initially I was worried if he had hurt himself but seeing him run I assumed he was alright.

I was in a sticky situation myself and instead of following Vikas, where evidently it was much more slippery, I continued down the shortcut. I joined the stone trail, some distance down. I had left the others behind me. It was raining heavily and there was no shelter to stop. I started to walk down alone. I saw a local porter walking up and I asked him if there was any shelter nearby. He told me that there is a chai-shop only half kilometer down. I decided to reach the chai-shop and wait for the others there. I walked on hoping to see the chai-shop after each corner, only to be disappointed each time. What was half kilometer to him turned out to a couple of kilometers. Walking alone in the rain, the journey seemed endless. A lot of times I thought about stopping for everyone to join, but there was no place to sit. I had almost resigned myself to walking till Loharkhet, when the chai-shop finally arrived. The rain was slowing down by now.

I ducked into the small room and spread myself on a chair kept near the fire. The shopkeeper was a young local and we talked for a while. Meanwhile he got me some hot tea. I was so happy to see everyone join in some time later. The rain had stopped by now and sun was beginning to shine from behind the clouds. Everything was suddenly looking bright after hours of gloom. We put some chairs in the open.