It was the morning of July 12, 2014. As usual, I was sleeping like a baby.
It was going to be a boring day for I had no plans whatsoever- studying or
otherwise. It was already 9:00 am and since I had slept early the previous
night, I had to get up sooner or later for even my body wasn't going to
entertain any more sleep. The second I got up, I did what majority of us
do-checked my cellphone. I had missed a call from my dad. (Dad was scheduled to
leave for Srikhand Mahadev the very next day)
'Good morning, papa.'
'Good morning, son. How are you?' he asked.
'Very well. You called?' I enquired.
'Yeah. Is my trekking bag lying with you? I need it.' he said.
And that was it. I found the excuse I had been long looking for(my studies
were going to suffer and this was holding me for a long time but not anymore).
Dad needed the bag and I desperately wanted to go to the trek with him.
Suddenly, the boring-to-be day turned exciting. As soon as I was done
convincing dad, I started packing my stuff. By 1:00 pm, I was on my way to
Shimla. I stayed the night at my maternal uncle's place.
Next morning, at sharp 5:55 am, I boarded the bus for my next stop,
Rampur. While in the bus, I made friends with a 7 year old girl. I was so busy
chatting with her-knowing all about her village, the school she went to, who
her best friend was etc etc- that I hardly realised how the journey passed.
Finally, at Rampur, I bade farewell to her. As against the MET department's
forecast, the weather was pleasant till now(Oh boy! I wish I had known what
awaited us for the coming five days).
Over the next half an hour I waited
for my dad at a restaurant. Soon he, along with a couple of his pals, arrived
and we began our journey towards Jaun(a tiny village in district Kullu from
where our trek was to start).
The clock struck 5:00 pm and we were at Jaun. Here we reunited with our
friends from the last year's trek. Seeing all those faces after an year's time
gave me a sense of relief and joy. High in spirits, we marched on. We reached
Singhad(base camp we were to stay the night) by 7:45 pm. We were given a warm
welcome. Soon, forgetting the day long gruelling journey, every single one of
us was singing and dancing. It was electrifying. From a lady in her late
seventies to a young lad, everyone made merry. It was an occasion of great
festivity. Ultimately, we fell asleep amid the chants of BHAM BHAM BHOLE.
At around 2:30 am it suddenly started raining cats and dogs. It was so loud
that majority of us were left wide awake. I didn't sleep for a minute post this
abrupt change in weather. At 5:00 am we left for our next stop. Since it
was raining heavily we removed our shoes and wore slippers instead(the last
thing you want on the first day of any trek is to get your shoes soaking wet).
With each passing minute, the weather turned more inclement. There was no sign
of respite from rain. However, for no apparent reason, I was enjoying every
second of it. Within minutes everything was wet and slippery.
It was 12:00 noon and we reached Thachdoo(another facility set up by
generous beings where one can have food and relax). We took a halt for almost 2
hours before proceeding further. Since I
was all wet and it had stopped raining, I decided to change clothes. While
packing my bag after changing, I forgot to put in the carry bag containing both
dad's and my own shoes(it was going to change the entire mood within the coming
few hours). At 2:15 pm we left.
Clueless of the blunder I had just committed, I was clicking photographs.
The following picture potrays me as a 'poor clueless guy' whose smile was going
to vanish in a couple of hours.
We were just 10 minutes into our
next strech and it started drizzling. It appeared we had upset Rain God and
He was in no mood to spare us. With hours of continuous downpour, the path
became all muddy. Now it was getting difficult to walk. We managed to move at a
decent speed and reached the mesmeric spot named Kaali Ghaati at 4:30 pm(we
were running behind schedule and rain was the lone factor to be blamed).
Ahead of us
was a steep descent. Here,dad advised me to put on my shoes. I told him to
continue ahead and that I'd catch up with him soon. As soon as I opened my bag,
my world fell apart(At first I thought of going back to get the shoes. But it
wasn't a feasible option. I went blank and didn't know how to disclose it to
dad. I feared him killing me with his bare hands). Somehow, I summoned all the
courage I had and moved ahead. After 15 minutes I was finally able to find him.
I told him everything. To my surprise, his reaction was one I didn't expect at
all. He was calm and his words were comforting. He was telling me the do's and
don'ts for the rest of 'shoe less' journey(actually he didn't realize that not only had
I forgotten to pick up my shoes but his too). About half an hour later, he
suddenly turned back and asked,
'You have brought my shoes, right?'
And there it was. BOOM! His expressions were thunderous. We moved without
talking for, at least, the next half an hour. Knowing that we had to complete
the rest of journey without shoes certainly brought a major dip in our
motivational levels. However, one needs to hope for the best but at the same
time, prepare for the worst in adventurous treks like these. Soon we forgot about
it for we had no other choice. Finally at 8:45 pm we were at Bhim Dwar, the
place we were to stay the night. We were dead tired. All we wanted was some
nutritious food and a comforting stay. Fortunately, we had everything we
desired.
Next morning marked the beginning of the penultimate day(the most crucial
and challenging of all).We left the tent at 4:30am. We had a slow start as it
was chillingly cold and our bodies were getting warmed up. I talked to dad every now and then. After sometime we came across the first
gigantic glacier. With visibility at its rock bottom, it was going to be a
difficult task to cross it. However, we did it quite smoothly and without any
hiccup. Slowly and gradually we progressed towards the next camp. At 7:30am we
were at Parvati Bagh-undoubtedly one of the most beautiful highlights of the
entire trek. We sat down in a private tent and had breakfast. Besides, we
bought power bars, biscuits, water, chewing gums and other necessary
stuff(there were going to be no more tents after this spot and we were going to
be on our own).
Looking ahead, we could figure out that it was going to be a
real test since the path ahead had ample snow and slippery glaciers.
What was a real disappointment here?
The return of our little lost friend-rain. But at this point one is so energetic with
the will to reach the ultimate destination that such things hardly seem to
bother. Together we marched ahead. Every step we were climbing meant higher altitude which, in turn, meant a continuous dip in oxygen level. That coupled with
icy winds, since we were walking on glaciers and snow, is surely a deadly
combination. Defying all odds we marched ahead for we had only one goal, to
reach the top. After an arduous trek of almost 5 hours, we finally were at the
top. As against last time, the weather opened up, though for a little while. We
accomplished our goal and were on cloud nine. We paid our obeisance and
performed religious ceremony known as Yagya at 18000ft. We thanked the almighty
for making this trek a successful one for us and began descending.
At last, it was really a nice feeling for having been congratulated by
those in the trekking business for making it through(apparently, it was the
toughest trek in the last 24 years).
PS: We were the lucky few who could complete the trek this year. As it
turned out, the trek was formally closed due to inclement weather a day after we
reached the base camp. It was heart shattering to find out that many lost their
lives. May all of them R.I.P
