On a blind run.........

he sky was still blue though moonless and patched with clouds, I tried to infer, it’s not very late in the evening yet. The Venus right before us shone bright, even as the somewhat stilted, shadowless giant black deodars hid it occasionally. The cool wind pleasantly brought back the memories of the hot day at a sticky sweaty destination. We were strolling down towards the tiny town of Bhowali in the kumaon hills. Even as the country sweated with heat, this place was comforting with its tender chill. Just hours back we were in a larger, hotter town, where the unshapely shopping centers were the only rescue from the sweltering heat turned murderous once coupled with the din of the place.



Earlier the sun was still completing the daily ritual of hiding behind those mammoth mountains, more green then they were huge. On the back of the open mini truck, just a foot or foot and a half above the road, cutting through the cool air we stood and could see the bright sun between a silver cloud and the towering mountain. The light filtered through the cloud, and the rays immersed to form an amazing spectacle. The stream of light consolidated with the bright heavenly cloud, magically transformed the sun light at the top of the mountain to bright yellow and sparkling white rain, the rays transforming to rain suggested a certain divine gesture and the truck curled is way down to a famous shrine of the region, the Kainchi temple. At the temple the unflustered serenity took over the buoyancy of the drive to the place. The muscles composed themselves involuntarily and the senses took time to slow down to the leisure and the minutiae of the place. The pines clustered over the temple, a stream flowed at its foot.


This all began when just past the midday, there was inkling for lunch. As clouds provided some relief from the sun, the argument on what we are doing sauntering in the heat grew? We were in Rudrapur then, a typical Indian town. Hot, hurried and unorganized with the generators running on diesel causing enough ruckus to create further discomfort. And then the suggestion, let us race up to the cooler mountains, yes we are late, its already past the lunch time, but then we can always squeeze time, run to the mountains at least 3 hours away and turn back with some fresh, cold air in the lungs before the night. The proponents of the idea were uncertain and those reluctant never stated the unwillingness. Without any plan, without the need for a road map we were off.


It was already twilight when we started the drive towards the temple of much revered deity of the kumaon, The darkness had started taking over when we reached Gorhakhal a cantonment area with famous temple of Golu devta. The temple is unique in its mood, at the top of the hill it has bells of all sizes chiming and hiding the walls of the place. The moments were adding themselves every now and then. The giant lake in the valley below us had begun to sparkle with the lights at the bank, and as the darkness took over there was no way we were getting a vehicle to Bhowali now. The walk down the cold road was always meant to be refreshing.


The breather on the stream of large rocks, the sudden change of unmade plans, the outlandish climate, a lake visible from wherever we go, some terrible food made a tremendous run, and with another 1 mile walk and some luck going our way, we were back in hostel by the midnight. The next morning was delightful, the sun hot as ever, the fan whistling overhead, and I was surprisingly unruffled after a good post-midnight sleep. It was half a day where no rules, no rationales existed it was all spontaneity. There was no fear of a plan going astray, no step we took and no direction we watched was restricted. It was a bit of madness and I can only wish for such madness happening to me more often.

Posted in: