Few days back, I went to my husband's village ‘Sukai’ which is located in the lap of mountains in Garhwal district of Uttarakhand . It is 6hrs drive in the mountains from Ramnagar. Unlike a tourist destination this place is located in interior of Uttarakhand and is surrounded by terraced farms and cold streams. I heard a lot about the place from him. Everyone understands mountains in own way and climbing for all of us means something special to me . This endeavor with untouched nature reminds me of an Irish saying - 'marry a mountain girl and you marry the whole mountain.' Here it's a boy though.
Firstly,
I loved the drive, the panorama of mountains , streams by their side, pine forests, fruit trees, red coloured mountain flowers, deers relishing on grass
freshened up by dew. There were no hawkers with mineral water bottles.
If
we were thirsty, we would stop along the road and walk to a stream, cup our hands
in the water to capture some of the cold liquid and drink it. Our 3 years old daughter
is also a nature lover. She imitated us and learnt the skill of enjoying in mountains.
Although the drive was long , but
as soon as limpid water touched my tongue, I could straighten up and swallow
the gifted liquid treat. All through my journey I never allowed my eyes to be
diverted from the changing scenery. Everything in the village seems to be
gifted by mountains. The roofs and walls of the houses made from stones, walls
smeared with mud giving it earthy aroma. Low ceilings and small heighted doors
make it warm and cozy, apt for burrowing in the cold temperatures. Sweet
smelling aroma of chapatis cooked on chulha, and freshly prepared walnut
chutney made me eat several folds more than my usual appetite as we passed hill
side terraces thick with pine, fruit trees and here and there, cold mountain
streams.
Next morning I got up after hearing jingle
of bells coming from the ponies hurrying up to transport goods to a nearby shop.
My daughter was quite amused to see them and called them small horses. All day
we climbed several hill tops to visit sacred temples of the village. People
were busy in harvesting wheat, chickpeas, vegetable from the fields, roof tops
and porches of the houses were beaming with freshly picked wheat, jowar, still
attached to their branches. Each small grain of chickpea bursting in my mouth,
enveloping it in a taste and texture, I cannot describe in words. Things provided by nature
in their purest form are not attached with price tags here, only payment is not
to arrange it and enjoy its holiness in its unarranged form.
Most
of the people in the village speak Garhwali , this language has a unique lilt
of its own. Traditionally women wear Saree which is tied in a different style ,
with a knot on the shoulder . Whole village lives like a well knit family ,
present in celebrations or in need. The sturdiness of hill people can be
fathomed by the hard physical work they do all day, one can easily spot women
carrying wood on their back men taking cattles for grazing, children climbing ,
crossing streams to reach their schools and the simple fact that people living
in those handful of houses have converted the whole set of surrounding
mountains in terrace farms.
During nights we used to sit on the
terrace , stars glittering above , mountains with eternal silence, fresh cold
breeze filling our hollow souls with new energy . These mountains have their
own way of conversing in silence which made me feel humble, like a beggar ,
just lucky to be there. Mountains have a
way of dealing with over confidence, they help sorting out what is important in
life. That is why thousands of tired, nerve shaken , over civilized people are
beginning to find out going to mountains because that wilderness has become a
necessity.
As we navigated back to busy city streets ,
the panoramic world morphed drastically. People in never ending haste, cars ,
their horns blended with angry drivers, screeching car brakes, poles apart from
the sweet symphony of nature .
Legendry Chinese poet ‘Li Bai’ perfectly captures the serene
solitude that people find on mountain tops.
You ask me why I dwell in the green
mountain;
I smile and make no reply for my heart
is
Free from care.
As the peach-blossom flows down stream
And is gone into the unknown,
I have a world apart that is among
men.
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