Mountains are standing all over the world as silent guardians. As if they know we will run to them now and then to seek refuge like children scared of darkness and coming back to momma. If you have lost a dear one from childhood this is where you will find them, among the branches, the green leaves, the birds singing and the soil holding us from falling down. Even if you cannot see them you will feel them. The mundaneness and the numerous trivialities that heap our minds and almost make us stop believing on the magical qualities of life are challenged with a single glance at them. It’s almost like they welcome you with a father’s patience and eagerness to listen. After all, all we need is someone to hold us and say ‘I am there, tell me what happened child?’
This story is about a trip we took to Doors of west Bengal. We reached the by train on a certain morning with warm tea and pakoras, already a different breakfast than our usual office brunches. We were a team of five with one among us hailing from the region we were reaching fast. Our little friend who knew the place through and through made us drive through the magical roads, and the tree trunks before we reached her home. This was the most hospitable place that could ever exist. She and her mother welcomed us in their home as family, so did the large trees and the animals that saw us from darkness.
The day we reached was the day when one fellow baby elephant has come in the village to say hi, and it was the talk of the town. But, we could not see her. By the time we reached she has gone back to her mothers and was probably fast asleep. We spent the night on rooftop counting the stars, and devouring the most beautiful food one can imagine. The beauty was not only for the peculiarities in the spice choices native to the region but because they were filled with a mother’s love that made us believe we too hailed from the same jungle.
Next morning was our day for answering the calling of the forest. Rather, we entered a kingdom that was oblivious to the dirt we were carrying with us from the city. But the kingdom was way more connected with the soul of mother earth. The inhabitants of the kingdom boasted their independence in front of us almost ignoring our presence. Among them were an elephant family trotting their way home, numerous peacocks and peahens looking for each other for mating, a deer family chilling on the pasture and a couple of fierce looking bison. We could not find the queen though, the cheetah of Doors, but is it really possible to venture a kingdom without having the queen aware? When we were returning it was almost dark. The darkness in forest brings a message from the underworlds. Maybe, the queen was witnessing us slowly fading as shadows as she checked if we had left her kingdom unharmed. We were however, too polite and scared to be honest to do anything to her kingdom. We have already ruined ours; why not let them keep theirs as mischievous, dark and original?
All these time the mountains were there as guardians watching us and calling. We answered their call the next day. In the morning after breakfast we boarded a car by a person who welcomed us as a brother and guarded us the day. We were moving towards Bhutan. The queen of the northeastern Himalayan range.
To be continued in part 2