A Storyteller who drove us to SPITI

Tripoto
5th Aug 2017
Photo of A Storyteller who drove us to SPITI by Utkarsh Jumle

A man picks us up from Manali early in the morning, with a great smile… murmuring Kangada songs while handling the steering wheel carefully on the mountain curves…

Our journey from Manali to Rohatang was enthralling, with a stupendous view and blind turns on the road…

In that first leg of our trip, that man sitting on the front right seat won our heart as we reached Rohtang pass safely… yes he drove very carefully as it was raining.. we saw some boards that read ‘shooting stones’ and also witnessed some unfortunate events on our way… But he drove us safely and in a relaxed state, we started to communicate with him. Our conversations continued for the entire duration of our Spiti Valley trip…

Photo of A Storyteller who drove us to SPITI by Utkarsh Jumle

Yes, Vinodji, the storyteller who drove us to Spiti was younger than us and was equally excited to visit the Spiti valley…

As we started our conversation he realised that we shared his love for nature and the mountains… And he started regaling us with anecdotes…

He was tireless in his story telling… from day one. The scenic Spiti Valley is still a remote place and the roads connecting it to Manali via Rohtang are not in very good condition…. and bad roads meant more travel time…

Dhankar Village

Photo of A Storyteller who drove us to SPITI by Utkarsh Jumle

Throughout our trip the road had the river flowing on one side & mountains on the other… every turn on the road gave us an enchanting view of the landscape…

We drove for five to six hours every day, but Vinodji paused at every mountain, river & monument, continuing with the endless stories he had to tell…

His stories were about Birds, Local Herbs, Local Food, Road Accidents, Past travelers Experiences and about the Schools of the small villages of Spiti…

all of which was much more interesting than what I had read in books…

Mud Village

Photo of A Storyteller who drove us to SPITI by Utkarsh Jumle

Today, as I go through the photos, I remember his stories… which are engraved in my mind due to the manner in which he had narrated them…

We were really lucky to be with him on our trip, a mountain lover who loves to drive… A storyteller who drove us to Spiti…

Chandratal Lake

Photo of A Storyteller who drove us to SPITI by Utkarsh Jumle

Every trip teaches us something… and I learned storytelling from Vinodji during my Spiti Trip…

I believe that to be a good orator we really need great storytelling skills so that our stories get engraved in the heart & mind of the listeners …

Skills aren’t necessarily imbibed by attending schools and classes… there are so many people around us from whom we can learn so many things to be the best every single day…