Trek it easy

Open spaces.

It is always fascinating to venture into wild open spaces. More so when the current lifestyle is made up of a few restricted movements in a constrained space, called home, that is majorly occupied by fancy furniture from Ikea. Outside the home it is mostly a rush for the "driving in traffic" Olympic gold medal. It is all about navigating oneself thru intricate patterns made by a bunch of rapidly slithering crippled snakes, otherwise known as 'Vehicles', with names that make Greek Gods cringe. Where then to find peace and tranquility that one is supposedly destined to gather at the end of a frenetic day?

"Onward ho" to the Open spaces then.

It wasn't really an arduous Himalayan trek that one would be made aware of by all the new form of social media that normally makes a news item of anyone above forty climbing any height of more than forty meters. That too but the beauty of such an expedition lies in its obscurity, earthly simplicity and, a whole bunch of what one would call, the hoi polloi. No one would notice, would they? No one should notice. And that's the idea.

Trekkenture is a couple of simple souls who love trekking so much that they are relentless in making more people fall in love with their, well, love. And Junoon is a bunch of passionate professionals - a breed so rare that one would end up feeling like Indiana Jones stumbling upon that long-lost treasure on meeting them. The quest from then on is to find a way to carry this rare treasure back to our temples of suffering - workplaces that is. We will not be able to take away the treasure of course. The closest second is to treasure the many takeaways this combination has on offer at the end of a five-day sojourn surrounded by majestic mountains and soul filling grandeur that only genuine simplicity can offer.

As we traversed our way from plains down south through the plains up north and eventually to the base camp situtated in the Dhualadhar range of the Himalayas, what stands out is a carefully planned journey, full of empathy and understanding for the motley crowd that is stepping into an unknown fraught with risks. We must give it to Ajit and Bharati for how they mix emotion with discipline and, building up anticipation with caution as anchor. That requires some serious people skills and they sure have it in abundance. And so the motley crowd, with ages ranging from 5 to 65 (and every other multiple of 5 in between), pranced their way to the leisurely looking basecamp in a village called Salli in the Kangra district of Himachal.

Now, Salli is anything but a quaintly village in the middle of nowhere (well, it actually might be that too). There is a stream gushing through with the mountains on one side and human habitat that is Salli on the other. The constant swishing sound of this stream did have the power to quell many a wandering worrying thought in the mind. The stream helped create a refreshingly grounding and simultaneously soul lifting ambience around the base camp of 10 odd tents. Prancing still with a step or two added for the effect, the motley crowd settled into the assigned tents in the base camp.

Enter Bela.

A street dog is a street dog is a street dog. Yes? Maybe not so when it comes to Bela. She came along into our basecamp on the day we landed there. Maybe she was just suspicious of all the newcomers and wanted to check out if they were up for any good or just in need of a quick scare. She wandered around a bit, got a sense of who we were and then, lo and behold, she became an essential part of this group – inviting herself into the tents quietly and, in a dignified manner, hovering about during lunch time and just being with us wherever we went. She walked the distance, rested when we rested, played in the snow when we played and was just being another innocent child in the group. She never pestered us for food or tried to do anything that doesn’t behoove a beautiful heart. Not sure what made Bela do what she did, but she definitely made us understand that there are more unseen connections in this world than what a human mind can perceive. It was also extremely pleasing to see that the entire group took to Bela just the way she took to us. Responsive, kind and treating her at par. While the mountains provided the beauty and grandeur of God’s physical creation, Bela provided the beauty and grandeur of what lies beneath all the sensory experiences. And as Bela chased our vans on our way back to the madness (return to Hyderabad or wherever we came from), we could only feel sad about how brutal circumstances can be. Detachment is an essential part of love, maybe.

So long, Bela. We wish you well.

The group, then.

One of the most fascinating things about India and Indians is that no matter where people have reached in their lives – in pursuit of material gains and a consequent rollercoaster pleasure-grief ride or, age and consequent nuanced appreciation for insignificance – they remain, in essence, the hoi polloi. Common people. Pull them aside and drop them into mountains and streams, goats and cows and, a decent dose of interesting cuisine along with a possibility of a bear attack anytime, and they come back to their natural best. It is such a pleasure, therefore, to be part of a group with hardly any pretense.

We had many sub-groups. There were seniors above 40, middle aged between 25 and 40, youth, young adults, babies and kids. And then there was one guy who constantly flitted between the various groups and yet fitted into all of them with elan. Make it two, actually. The baby in the group was, by far, the most matured bar few! All were eager and keen on the trek as we progressively got acclimatized with the area, then with the village and its people, and finally with the rocky terrain and shepherds. There were interesting discussions, enlightening debates, enchanting songs and excruciating walks. There were bird watchers and moment catchers, joke crackers and crack jokers, and a whole lot of other characters. It is not about each one being a specific character. Rather it is each one being all of those and more during those 5 days. Oh! the beautiful and varied colors of human character can far outshine any of those birds some of us were busy capturing on camera. We just have to set the context.

I will not wax eloquent on the actual trek. It was arduous in itself with the rocky terrain, scorching sun coupled with gentle cold, risky stream crossing and fun games that were especially taxing for those who had a generous paunch. The bonfires and anthakashari, the singing brilliance of few and the vociferous accompaniment of others – all these made this into a happy holiday. We had to get back leaving all that, of course, but then it was a needed break from the daily drudgery (that paid for it!). Cannot complain about it either.

The last word for the organizers then.

Trekkenture and Junoon are made up of wonderful people and great organizers. Their planning, coordination, care and pursuit of compassion outweigh any other complaints or concerns people might have. Then there is the support staff and the choice of help they choose from the local villages. Absolute magic every time. Crafting experiences for a lifetime is not an easy job. Excelling at that is an even demanding ask. How they do that with a smile is just God’s gift.

Stay blessed, folks.