The Unexpected Adventure - A Picture Journal Entry
It was early February, and It had not snowed in Himachal yet. The snow delay was expected to hurt tourism and agriculture - two functions that were the lifeblood of the Himachali economy. While this was sad news, I had one more reason to compound my sadness further. I am a South Indian. As a South Indian who grew up in the South, I could never experience weather other than ‘hot’, ‘hotter’, and ‘hottest’. Snow requires sub-zero temperatures, and it is no surprise that I had never seen snow in all these years. Therefore, the fact that it had not snowed caused me acrimony beyond that faced by farmers and tour operators. For all of winter this year, I’ve been asking questions like, “Where is it snowing near me?” “Snow in Himachal” and “Snow forecast”. I had left no stone unturned when finding out this information. Somehow, the Himachali folk had beaten Google by a mile in this particular department. They typically knew precisely where it was snowing. Some even had photographic evidence with date and time stamps of where it was snowing.
Interestingly, I was not the only one who wished to know where it was snowing. Dr. Urvashi Rathod was also like me. She had never seen snow and wanted fresh snow in a place other than a screen or poster. Therefore, we had formed this merry little band who had agreed to go see the snow together.
We had requested many of my colleagues and other locals to let us know immediately when they came to know that it was snowing nearby. While Snow was a no-show in December and January, good news reached us on the 8th of February. It had just begun to snow (the delay has been attributed to global warming) in the lower Himalayas. There is a place called Chadpur Dhar, just under 100 km from Paonta Sahib, where fresh snow has fallen. Our merry band had gathered together and decided to quickly drive there to see the snow for the first time. And on Saturday, the 10th, Ujjwal, Tanvi (Mrs. Ujjwal), Dr. Rathod, Mr. Rathod , and I embarked on a picnic to see the snow at 6.45 am from Paonta. We intended to go see the snow and come back by sunset, but little did we know that a completely new experience was waiting for us that day.
So, instead of my typical approach of painting a picture with my words, I’m going to take you on a visual joy ride this time- this of this as a photo journal.
Let’s go up? Also, we’ve exhausted all our food and water by this point. Eating ‘Baraf’ to stay hydrated.
Phones lose connectivity and charge. Managed to charge the phones and had Kichadi at night. Sleep in a wooden cabin.
Really happy to be alive! Awaiting sunrise.
We begin the decent with the help of locals. Still hungry and Thirsty.
Despite feeling tired, hungry, and utterly exhausted, we were enveloped in a profound sense of gratitude. To be alive in a world brimming with wonderful people who extend their kindness and go beyond the call of duty to adorn life with beauty and ineffable joy is a blessing beyond measure.
#happytobealive
