A Silent escape to quietude | Kangra and Chamba (Jan 2014) – Part 5

[Earlier posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3| Part 4 ]

  

B. Life is full of uncertainties!!

Turning a bit philosophical, am I not? Well, that’s how life’s subtle lessons hit you—through raw, unexpected experience.

 

Here I was, (kind of) stranded in a tiny village about 14 kilometres short of my destination, completely uncertain if I’d actually make it to Bharmour today. And then, I had already walked close to 7kms to get to this place Khadamukh, and I was not sure if  I should push ahead or if I should turn back and walk the same 7kms and try to get a bus back to Chamba.

 

To top it all, I had a connection from Amritsar to Delhi the next day, to catch my Sunday morning’s flight back to Bangalore !!

 

While these thoughts were going on in my mind, Umar informed me that since there was no vehicle by now, he will be walking the 12 odd kms to Bharmour and suggested that I wait for transport at Khadamukh itself; He also suggested that the landslides would be cleared by afternoon, so I could get back to Chamba atleast by the end of the day. If nothing else, that single piece of news about the roads reopening later was deeply comforting… With nothing left to do but wait, I wandered along the quiet village road with my camera.

 

With nothing else to do now, I just walked around the village (rather, the road), clicking pictures…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a bridge and on the opposite side there was a small Devi (goddess) temple. I just walked across there. From the temple, the road to Bharmour looked like a steep climb - I realized then that if no vehicle turned up, there was no way my legs would carry me all the way to Bharmour!

 

 

 

 

 

The mountains on the opposite side

 

 

 

Kharamukh village

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ab To Kuch Nahi, Sirf Dal Chawal!"

 

I think I had clicked enough pictures. Still there was no sight of any vehicle from Bharmour side and it was almost 10:45 am. I decided then to walk back to Luna and take the first available bus to Chamba. I needed some strength to do that and I was also hungry (hadn't eaten anything since the previous night). I went to the only Dhaba in Khadamukh and asked what I could get to eat – ‘Ab to kuch nahi, sirf Dal Chawal’ (Nothing right now, only Dal Rice). He was still cooking, so I waited the10 minutes for the dal to simmer. In my hunger, it felt like the best Dal-Chawal I had ever eaten [not that I eat Dal Chawal often, but in the north, it’s like the staple food for me]

 

I paid 40 rupees for my hearty brunch and came to the main road, still deliberating what to do… I had always dreamt of going on a trip without any planning, but then I often ended up being so obsessed with planning, that I usually do it till the last detail !! Today, the mountains decided to force my dream into reality, whether I was ready or not!!!

 

A pano view of Kharamukh village from opposite side:

 

For the moment though, I just stood gaping at the beauty of this place - towering peak faces on all sides, framed by a serene, blue-green river gliding through the canyon below. No buses. No schedules.

 

In one word, PEACE !!!

 

C.    C.    Adventure’s not yet over

 

I had almost made up my mind to head back to Luna – well almost.. that’s when a shared jeep came down from the Bharmour side. I was excited – Well, excited would be an understatement !! The driver told us that he’d drop the current passengers till the landslide spot and then come back to pick us, and asked us to wait.

 

It was 5 minutes..... then 10 … and there was no sight of him yet. At first, I was so happy that I’d be able to go to Bharmour, alas, it seemed to be short lived.

 

I started walking again, when another vehicle came from Bharmour side, this time I decided that I shouldn't get too excited. The vehicle dropped the people at Khadamukh and came back within 2 minutes, and he asked us to get in. By now, I had made friends with a guy Sanjay (second guide for the day  ) and we got into the car… and off we zoomed.

 

In no time, the landscape transformed completely - we found that the road was full of snow, some now melting with the heat. I was thrilled again.. Cheers to Bharmour..

 

Have a look yourself -

 

 

 

(That’s the Manimahesh Kailash peak in the background)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By now, the snow on the road was getting heavier, and the driver, I think, was now not so confident on driving in heavy snow. So he said, ‘gaadi aage nahi jaayegi’ (The car won't go any further) and so we had to get down.

 

I asked Sanjay what to do now, coolly, he told me, ‘Chalo, aise hii haste haste chale jaayenge’ (Come on, we'll walk it off with a smile!), I was like how far is Bharmour from here, and he says ‘bas, 6-7 km hoga’ (hardly 6-7 kms) .. I am sure it was more, because we had hardly travelled 15mins in the other cab !!

 

Anyway, we started walking and in a matter of two minutes, another cab from Kharamukh side came, thankfully, he had place for the four of us from the old cab, and we all got in. Again I was skeptical how far we’d be able to go in this cab and how much we’d have to walk !!

 

But the scenery outside made me forget all this.. it looked like I was in a dream.. snow, snow, snow  everywhere.. and could I ask for more adventure than driving in the middle of this and getting excited (but also worried at the same time) in each curve overlooking at the deep valley..

 

Enough of my thoughts, see for yourself now..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming to think of it, it’s amazing how this unfolded - a senior colleague at work mentioning a remote town he audited decades ago – very little info available on the internet, a tiny blurb in a Lonely Planet guide  -  and I actually booking a bus ticket on a complete whim from Dharamsala – just to go and check it out – It sure looks like it was all divinely ordained..

 

This spontaneous detour turned out to be the absolute highlight of the entire trip!

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(Stay tuned for the next part!)