“The Earth has music for
those who listen”
– George Santayana (philosopher, essayist, poet
& novelist)
It is indeed
true…if you wish to hear & smell the nature’s inexplicable wonders, then
the low symphony of a natural surrounding can forever draw you in & leave
you under its captivating spell…however if you choose to ignore it, then the
same natural surrounding can be boring and daunting.
Gushaini is
a stunning hamlet of untouched, pristine beauty & is especially blessed by
nature’s bounty. To our mind the whole village represents of everything a dream
vacation can be.
So, after
the last post, where we travelled to this heaven & revelled in the beauty
of Raju’s cottage & surroundings…and just had a laidback time with food
& wine, it was time for some action!!! J J
13th April:
Cycling Trek:
Musafir: Which cycle trail should we catch?? We have two Firefox with us”.
(He loves flaunting themJ J)
Vicky at Raju’s cottage: But why did you get Firefox all the way from Delhi…we had them too!!
(there you go…hehehe…Musafir looked humbled)
Musafir: No No we wanted to take ours out (yeah yeah…save the day!!)
All this while Hasina is clicking
pics with her camera phone of this, that & what not!!
Vicky: Ok…take this gorgeous trail…10 kms. uphill & then downhill…very
easy!!
Hasina: (stops clicking…freezes…gulps) T…t..ten 10kms.uphill??!!
Vicky: Yeah yeah very easy…very easy!!
Musafir: Oh please, it’s very easy!! Sounds easy (yeah right!!) I think we can
do it in (long, thinking pause)…what, 2 hours right?!! Considering we will
click pics also?
Vicky: Yeah or maybe lesser…
Musafir: Hmmm…cmon lets go!!
All this while Hasina still has a
zapped expression…& off we went!!
3 hours later:
We had
covered a total (back & forth) distance of….(pause..gasp..wait for it..) 4
kms!!! Yes, that’s right…2 kms.uphill & 2 kms. downhill (J J J)
Well to be
fair, Musafir could have easily done 7 kms up & 7 kms down…but Hasina could
not catch up at all (what to do…after a point your legs stop peddling uphill!! L L)…and he being sweet & patient,
waited for her to catch up & thus abandoned the idea after 2 kms.
But on the
upside, we did cycle like travellers on a bridge, with river gushing beneath &
had other travellers throw us looks of awe!! (hehehe…cheap thrills), that soon
turned to jealous looks when they saw us entering Raju’s cottage later (told
you, it’s very very popular….gleeful cheap thrills!!)
Also, we
managed to click some good shots!!
Post our 4 hour expedition, we decided to go back to Raju’s, as Hasina had earlier expressed her desire to “do nothing” at least one day at Raju’s. Oh the pleasure of doing nothing!! J J
Post a
sumptuous breakfast (we were so hungry…look how much we cycled!! Need to eat
extra J J J), we sprawled under the balmy April
air of Gushaini, under a large Cherry tree & read on…
…and scenes
that enthralled.
Afternoon
time was again for stream side, music, drinks cooled by Tirthan!! We overate at
lunch yet again…and trekked back to nap under the same tree (sigh!!), all full
& happy.
Evening time
was spent in some board games (how we missed these, & almost forgot how to
play). It was nice re-living old, school-time memories; followed by bonfire
with drinks & music….and then we noticed the evening sky being overcast!! Next
day was going to a rainy day… (rain in mountains…double thumbs up!! J J)
14th April:
5am –
We were supposed
to get up to go to Jalori Pass today, and were supposed to start at 7am from
Gushaini…but all we could hear was rain coming down torrentially on the wooden
canopied roof of our cottage (imagine the lazy music it created!!). We were
contemplating whether to postpone Jalori to next day in face of such a weather
& sleep in further with the rain playing pitter patter symphony above us
(the latter sounded so much better), when Raju’s son Karan advised us to shift
our Jalori plans to next day as bad weather would not only make the route
tough, but we would not enjoy our trek either, as rain here meant snowfall over
there.
It wasn’t
difficult to persuade us & off we went to a peaceful sleep (after all how
many such opportunities does one get in the city).
We woke up
and came down for breakfast at our pace. It was still raining, but the ferocity
had reduced to gentle drizzling now. In the face of fresh rain, the whole
valley looked washed, resplendent & fresh like a mint. We were dying to go
for a walk in the rain kissed Gushaini, and were suggested a beautiful &
very easy trek by Karan & Vicky – The Nagini Village to spot the Waterfall!!
Off we raced
with our cameras, cellphones (for music..duh!!) & umbrellas…it was still
drizzling lightly.
It seems
like every nerve & sinew of a valley wakes up to welcome the light shower
that the rain brings with it, and every corner looks so mint fresh & alive that
you cannot believe the heavenly beauty unless brought back to reality.
We managed
to click some pictures along our way on the 6 km trek (one side) to the
mystical & gorgeous village of Nagini.
Every turn
we took brought new delight to us...
This is a very minute wildflower...one that grows on the roadside. It is extremely tiny...it looks large here due to zoom lens & close proximity.
We were
walking in perfect solitude taking pictures & observing the beautiful
village & its winding roads & the laidback lives of its people while we
could hear birds of many species chirping on the rainy morning.
Nagini Mata Mandir in the Nagini village
This was
also a point where we spotted a pair of Magpies (yes that’s right…a pair),
flying together in perfect rhythm, with their large blue plumage designed with
black spots out on display, but they were too quick for us & sadly we could
not take a decent picture of them. For those who are not aware, a magpie is a
rather large bird. It has an unusually long tail, which is its most beautiful
feature; its coat is sky blue with black spots beautifully designed & it
has a fiery orange beak. For any lover of fauna in hills, a magpie is a sight
not to be missed. Unfortunately we have no sharp pics of them!! L
In fact
there was a point when we were desperately spotting the duo & the song that
was simultaneously playing on our mobile playlist was “Jaanejaan dhoondhta phir
raha hoon tujhe raatdin, main yaha tu kaha” from Jawani Deewani J J seriously, not kidding!! It started
on its own right at the point when we were hunting for the pair in a field!!
Hehehee…
The flora of
Nagini village was however captured in full glory!!
By this
time, it started raining pretty hard & we had to keep our cameras away in
our bags. Only Hasina’s Samsung Galaxy Note 2 was out, as she would rather die,
but part from her one & only love – her phone. So some pictures you see now
are taken from that.
The
panoramic view of the whole valley from while ascending the flight of stairs
was heavenly.
However, the
rain started beating harder & it was becoming tough to climb up the now
broken, jagged & narrow staircase with umbrella in one hand. At this point,
Hasina gave up completely & preferred sitting out on a ledge on the stairs
while Musafir would continue further in hunt of the Waterfall.
After some
20 mins later Musafir returned. He could not reach the waterfall either as the
staircase had become much narrower & very slippery due to rain. He did spot
a gigantic red tree, and miraculously did take a picture, while supporting
himself on a narrow ledge with an umbrella in one hand.
We did get
one shot of the “Waterfall” as well…here it is:
A hot lunch
awaited us at Raju’s, which we sat down for immediately, now suddenly tired
from the walk (LOL)…and had triple helpings of all the food!!!
Overstuffed
yet again, we came to our cottage & slept like logs!! Possibly the most
peaceful sleep we had J
6pm:
Evening onwards,
rain came down hard in Gushaini. So hard that it was impossible to do open air
bonfire (although they do have a covered Gazebo for a bonfire in rain situation
– yes they are very well equipped for all possibility), and the temperature had
dipped crazily low; coupled with the fact that the river was gushing right next
to us, it was quite cold outside.
Since the
indoors were snug & comfortable & we also had an attached small room
with large windows that overlooked the valley while being seated comfortably
right there, we decided to play along & got our books out again.
It was so
peaceful, to read on, sitting next to each other, not saying a word & both comfortably
immersed in their respective books, while the rain & wind gushed &
rattled windows outside. The calmness within the cottage on the face of that
was so beautiful & surreal.
Our reading
reverie was only broken By Vicky providing us with popcorn to munch on &
apple juice to make large pegs of Rum in the cold weather (how i adore the
hospitality at Raju’s).
No matter
how much fun a bonfire is or musical parties can be, this moment, the one where
you sit in a room for hours like an old couple & enjoy the silence for not
one but 3-4 hours, while reading your respective books, is an unforgettable
moment. Its subtelety is its biggest strength, its mellowness is its most
alluring part J J
That aside,
we trekked down to the dining room around 10pm for dinner. It was raining quite
heavily indeed.
While
eating, we just discussed with Karan that we would like to go to Jalori Pass
the next day, rain or no rain, snow or no snow!!
He told us
we can go, but it has definitely snowed there & we could find fresh snow.
Plus he described the gorgeous villages of Jibhi, Shoja en route. The description
was so tantalising that we made up our minds immediately to brave any weather,
hail, storm, anything…but go to Jalori!! However, we were advised to tone down
the bravery a bit (hmmm) and take a cab from the cottage till Jalori Pass,
instead of driving down in our Figo.
Musafir & Hasina in unison: No no
no no…we will drive down.
Karan: Still it’s advisable to take a
cab.
Hasina (Musafir silent): No no no…we
will drive down.
Karan: The rain forms a slush &
puddle on the way & driving in Figo can be a challenge.
Musafir: Ok, we will take the cab.
Hasina: No no…let’s drive down. That’s
the fun!! Why have we come by car then??!!
Karan: The mud in rain forms a slush
& at times the car skids in that slush, the lanes are narrow…on that road
& a skidding car can mean…
Musafir & Hasina: Ok we are
taking the cab!!
LOL…
The rest
couple of hours in the cottage was spent in listening to music & discussing
our respective books and our day’s trek, while the rain outside had slowed to
gentle pitter patter now. One look out of the window & we could see a light
on in Raju’s home downstairs. Lone light in an otherwise dark & cold valley…lone
source of warmth & comfort, that told us all was still well with the
World!! J
It was time
to call it a night & wait for more adventure next day!! J J J
Coming Up Next:
·
A
drive through villages that jumped straight out of paintings…the villages of
Jibhi & Shoja!!
·
And a Trek in ankle deep snow to see a frozen
lake; a trek so backbreaking that we wanted to run away from it…but how??!!!
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