Serene at a moment and gale at the next, the Himalayas is a calm yet unpredictable mountain range. The snow-capped mountains to gigantic water bodies originating from, tall pine trees to the white tigers, Himalayas is a different world that holds several stories. The Himalayas have more to offer than just captivating beauty. After my first trek in the Himalayas, I decided to again do a trek in the Himalayas and this time, it was Bhrigu Lake.
We had halted at the same place near Vashisht temple in Manali as that of the last time. I had a vivid memory of the people there but I couldn’t forget the dog! As soon as we entered the place, we were welcomed by a huge german shepherd looking pahadi dog. Last time I was here, he was still a puppy and I was so happy to see him grow. Then the memories started flashing back and I could remember the host - Gupta ji and his family.
If I had to give an example of an old man with a young heart, it would be Gupta ji. (Gupta ji is the one in the Pahadi cap) The man in his 60-70s was the most enthusiastic person among us. From making sure we had healthy and filling meals to getting us comfortable in the tents, he always had our back. We had a day to start our trek and to get acclimatized, we had a small hike to the Jogini Falls. While returning from Jogini Falls, I was greeted by a guy in his 20s. I was taken a little aback at the first as I was wondering who is this guy and why is he waving at me. Then I realized that he was the local guide - Ajay bhaiya who had trekked with us on the last trek to Deo Tibba base. I was so happy to see him remember me and we had a long chat and then returned back to our temporary homes!
The next day, we had our breakfast and started for our trek and guess what, Gupta ji was our local guide this time! We took a ride till Kuhlang and started trekking towards Moridugh with our backpacks. Gupta ji was always ahead to lead us while our trek leader - Sachin sir motivated us to keep going by saying, “Bas 5 minute baki hai” (5 minutes are remaining). After approximately 4 hours, we reached Mori Dugh at 2500 Mts above sea level. It was an easy ascent and we had a scrumptious meal of dal, roti, sabji and rice - the local Pahadi style.
On our second day, we had to march ahead to Bota Dugh. It was also an easy accent with a gradual climb crossing the forest and meadows. At the start, we had to trek through plain terrain, but later, we had to trek along a steep climb. We also had to cross a small river on our way to Bota Dugh. Though the river was huge, the wooden bridge was quite unstable. Gupta ji made sure we all crossed the bridge properly by cracking some jokes every time we looked down! Gupta ji helped us reach Bota Dugh safely within 4 hours.
After such an exciting trek, we were so hungry that we attacked the kitchen tent and started asking the cook bhaiya to feed us and fortunately, he had already prepared lunch. Later, the weather started changing and it started raining in the evening, we all gathered in our dining tent so that we could stay warm. This day, we had something special! We had noodles and manchurian for dinner. Although we all had noodles hundreds of times, the joy of having it in the Himalayas in a tent was something different!
After dinner, we all went to our respective tents and slept off in our sleeping bag as we had to trek to Bhrigu lake the next day! However, at night, someone started hitting our tent with a rod. I got up scared as our leader had scared us by saying that there were wild boars around! But as soon as I got up and checked what the matter was, it was Gupta ji and two other guys clearing the snow from our tents. It was snowing heavily and Gupta ji made sure that our tents were intact. As it was night, we slept off after knowing the situation.
The next day, after waking up, the first thing I saw after opening the tent was the entire area was covered with snow! This was like a dream come true! I stepped out of the tent in excitement only to realize I was wearing only my socks. We all got out of the tent and started playing with the snow. We soon learned that we had to return back as the weather was going to go further bad. Disappointed about not being able to see Bhrigu lake, we started descending down towards our base at Vashisth. Gupta ji knew that we all were disheartened and tried to cheer us up.
Nevertheless, we returned back and Gupta ji had already asked to make a delicious meal for us.
Though we could not reach our destination, we made a lot of memories. That day, I learned one thing about Pahadi people. From Gupta ji, the local guys made sure our tents were intact to Ajay Bhaiya, I realized how generous and kind Pahadi people are.
I wish to spend some more time in the Himalayas, with the locals, knowing about them and their culture and embracing the Pahadi lifestyle. However, I have noticed one thing, due to lack of awareness among tourists, our Himalayas have been facing a lot of environmental hazards. This is not only impacting the environment but also affecting the locals! On this world tourism day, I have decided that in the coming years, I will make it a point to visit the Himalayas and contribute towards rejuvenating the Himalayas.
