This blog post is about a few good men I met on the way to the peak of Kheerganga and I will come later on it. Don't presume from the name Kheerganga that I am going to recite you the beauty of the nature that I saw and how white snow embellished the high peak mountains. Well, as I said in my earlier post I would like to share my experience. The natural experience is experienced by everyone. I decided to write this post because of something else to which I will come a little later. This post is about a story which resides in the humble heart of these few men whom I met in Kheerganga. My Kheerganga story perhaps.
Kheerganga is a beautiful place which is in the hilly ranges of Himachal Pradesh. I went from my hometown Haridwar to Bhuntar by boarding a normal bus. The driver was old and I thought he might take some extra time to reach the destination i.e. Bhuntar. But no!! I was wrong. The way he drove the bus on the hills is inexpressible. He was driving at a speed on which many of us do not drive on the plains. It was his own route, I understood. I boarded at 2000 hours and reached Bhuntar at around 9 in the morning. I now had to take another bus to Barshaini from Bhuntar and then a cab to Tosh village. Bhuntar and all the neighbouring areas like Kasol, Tosh, Barshaini etc are kind of famous for their weed and hash. It had just been 2 minutes standing on the bus stand when a guy came to me and asked, "Bro, what do you need? Tell me". His voice was so soft and he was so in a hurry. I said," Nothing". "Bro just tell me. Red ice? Weed? hash? Just tell me bro. I will give you the cheapest here." I said, "I don't smoke brother. Leave it." He insisted a few more times and then left. After just 10 seconds another guy came to me and asked,"Bro, tell me what do you need? Red ice?? Malana cream? Just tell me." and I was like, I NEED TO CATCH A BUS TO BARSHAINI RIGHT NOW!!!!
So basically you need to board another bus to Barshaini which is the base point of the trek to Kheerganga and from where the popular Kheerganga trek starts. Either you can stay at Barshaini or visit another village called Tosh which is a beautiful village and close to Barshaini. Since there was no bus allowed till Tosh, it was a quiet place. No one living there owned a motorcycle. So you could see only two things. Humans and goats. Do not consider dogs, they are everywhere in India. I had decided to stay in Tosh.
I reached Tosh at around 2 in the afternoon. I endeavoured to find a humble guest house with a good view. I stayed at a guest house called The Mountain Goat which was about at the end of the village. It was managed by the owner Ajay who was just 26 years old as he told me. He lived alone there and when I reached there, no guests were staying. It was just Ajay and me who were in that guest house that day. I became a fan of his cooking skills. He was a very skilled cook and made such delicious food. I could not resist but click the picture of the Maggi he cooked. It was awesome. We passed the night by staring at the stars and listening to the sound of water falling in the river. He asked me, "Hash Brother?". "No, I don't smoke". "Me neither brother, just occasionally," He said. "Brother, cigarette?" "No, I don't, Sorry". "Me neither brother, just occasionally". He had a habit of saying "Brother" in almost every sentence. "Brother what would you like to eat?" "Brother, do you need anything else?" "Brother tell me one thing". Every sentence. He talked about his house and other normal life stuff. I wished him goodnight and went back to my room at around 11 pm that night.
"Good Morning Brother" he shouted from two floors below me when I came out of my room to get some warmth of the sun. Yes, it was cold out there in the month of May. I had heard so much about Kheerganga trek. The trek is beautiful with waterfalls everywhere. The beauty you will see during the trek can never be erased from your mind even if you get Alzheimer's. You are very lucky to be here etc. I was very excited. I went down to tell him what I would like to eat when he told me something to shatter the excitement. "Kheerganga trek is closed forever, brother". "Kidding??" "No, Brother, I knew it long back but some tourists went to the trek three days before you so I went today to Barshaini to confirm but from today the trek has been closed by the tourism department of government." His words were nothing but the arrows of sadness that were piercing my ears. I told him, "I will check once again in Barshaini and if closed, I will stay tomorrow at Kasol, which is a popular tourist destination, especially Israelis." I went inside my room to freshen up and pack my stuff.
I started walking from Tosh to Barshaini which was around 3.5 kilometres on foot because you know, I was in the mood of trekking. As I exited Tosh a dog came closer to me from the other side of the road. He started walking with me. I thought he would leave me after his territory is over. But he didn't. I thought then he would leave me after I reach Barshaini which is the starting point of Kheerganga trek. But he didn't. I had never imagined that this dog will track with me all the way 14 kilometres up the mountain. He did not leave me until I reached the peak of Kheerganga where the trek finished. I was very surprised by his gentle kindness. One can say he saw me going alone and hence accompanied me as there were very very few seen alone. He stopped when I stopped and again come by my side as I picked up my stick. I reached Barshaini and asked a shopkeeper there about the trek. He said, "Although the trek closing deadline went one week ago but govt extended it to one week because of the pleas of the people, so today is the last day".
How lucky I was. It was the last day to trek along the Kheerganga and witness the beauty along the trek. It was the last day for anyone to go to that peak and witness waterfalls from several hundred meters above the peak which was already several hundred meters above. I was overwhelmed. I was quite relaxed and the dopamine level increased in my
brain. I looked at the distant mountain where I needed to climb. I did not know I would meet some men who would leave such an impact on me.
Kheerganga is a beautiful place which is in the hilly ranges of Himachal Pradesh. I went from my hometown Haridwar to Bhuntar by boarding a normal bus. The driver was old and I thought he might take some extra time to reach the destination i.e. Bhuntar. But no!! I was wrong. The way he drove the bus on the hills is inexpressible. He was driving at a speed on which many of us do not drive on the plains. It was his own route, I understood. I boarded at 2000 hours and reached Bhuntar at around 9 in the morning. I now had to take another bus to Barshaini from Bhuntar and then a cab to Tosh village. Bhuntar and all the neighbouring areas like Kasol, Tosh, Barshaini etc are kind of famous for their weed and hash. It had just been 2 minutes standing on the bus stand when a guy came to me and asked, "Bro, what do you need? Tell me". His voice was so soft and he was so in a hurry. I said," Nothing". "Bro just tell me. Red ice? Weed? hash? Just tell me bro. I will give you the cheapest here." I said, "I don't smoke brother. Leave it." He insisted a few more times and then left. After just 10 seconds another guy came to me and asked,"Bro, tell me what do you need? Red ice?? Malana cream? Just tell me." and I was like, I NEED TO CATCH A BUS TO BARSHAINI RIGHT NOW!!!!
So basically you need to board another bus to Barshaini which is the base point of the trek to Kheerganga and from where the popular Kheerganga trek starts. Either you can stay at Barshaini or visit another village called Tosh which is a beautiful village and close to Barshaini. Since there was no bus allowed till Tosh, it was a quiet place. No one living there owned a motorcycle. So you could see only two things. Humans and goats. Do not consider dogs, they are everywhere in India. I had decided to stay in Tosh.
 |
| Tosh Village |
I reached Tosh at around 2 in the afternoon. I endeavoured to find a humble guest house with a good view. I stayed at a guest house called The Mountain Goat which was about at the end of the village. It was managed by the owner Ajay who was just 26 years old as he told me. He lived alone there and when I reached there, no guests were staying. It was just Ajay and me who were in that guest house that day. I became a fan of his cooking skills. He was a very skilled cook and made such delicious food. I could not resist but click the picture of the Maggi he cooked. It was awesome. We passed the night by staring at the stars and listening to the sound of water falling in the river. He asked me, "Hash Brother?". "No, I don't smoke". "Me neither brother, just occasionally," He said. "Brother, cigarette?" "No, I don't, Sorry". "Me neither brother, just occasionally". He had a habit of saying "Brother" in almost every sentence. "Brother what would you like to eat?" "Brother, do you need anything else?" "Brother tell me one thing". Every sentence. He talked about his house and other normal life stuff. I wished him goodnight and went back to my room at around 11 pm that night.
 |
| Ajay's Maggi Noodles |
"Good Morning Brother" he shouted from two floors below me when I came out of my room to get some warmth of the sun. Yes, it was cold out there in the month of May. I had heard so much about Kheerganga trek. The trek is beautiful with waterfalls everywhere. The beauty you will see during the trek can never be erased from your mind even if you get Alzheimer's. You are very lucky to be here etc. I was very excited. I went down to tell him what I would like to eat when he told me something to shatter the excitement. "Kheerganga trek is closed forever, brother". "Kidding??" "No, Brother, I knew it long back but some tourists went to the trek three days before you so I went today to Barshaini to confirm but from today the trek has been closed by the tourism department of government." His words were nothing but the arrows of sadness that were piercing my ears. I told him, "I will check once again in Barshaini and if closed, I will stay tomorrow at Kasol, which is a popular tourist destination, especially Israelis." I went inside my room to freshen up and pack my stuff.
I started walking from Tosh to Barshaini which was around 3.5 kilometres on foot because you know, I was in the mood of trekking. As I exited Tosh a dog came closer to me from the other side of the road. He started walking with me. I thought he would leave me after his territory is over. But he didn't. I thought then he would leave me after I reach Barshaini which is the starting point of Kheerganga trek. But he didn't. I had never imagined that this dog will track with me all the way 14 kilometres up the mountain. He did not leave me until I reached the peak of Kheerganga where the trek finished. I was very surprised by his gentle kindness. One can say he saw me going alone and hence accompanied me as there were very very few seen alone. He stopped when I stopped and again come by my side as I picked up my stick. I reached Barshaini and asked a shopkeeper there about the trek. He said, "Although the trek closing deadline went one week ago but govt extended it to one week because of the pleas of the people, so today is the last day".
How lucky I was. It was the last day to trek along the Kheerganga and witness the beauty along the trek. It was the last day for anyone to go to that peak and witness waterfalls from several hundred meters above the peak which was already several hundred meters above. I was overwhelmed. I was quite relaxed and the dopamine level increased in my
brain. I looked at the distant mountain where I needed to climb. I did not know I would meet some men who would leave such an impact on me.
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