Highland Journeys

Highland Journeys

For the average humans who are born, live, and die on the plains, the thought of seeing a mountain or hills is truly exciting. If this excitement is translated into an actual journey to the highlands, a romance of some sort is inevitable. If however, one has allowed oneself to experience such romances occasionally or intermittently, a whole new phenomenon can occur- a love story. 

As an average mainland-er, I have always wondered how it would be to go to the hills and have harbored a secret vision to build a shack in the higher altitudes, live there alone surrounded by books, a dog or two, maybe a horse, although they are alien to me, yet I have always held them in high esteem and think of them as a symbol of freedom. I have even dreamt of such a life. Therefore, it would be easy to understand the thrill I felt when I first saw the Kanchenjunga and her companions, from a resort boasting of a complete view. It was disappointingly far away, I thought. I did, however, love the verdant green mountains of Bhutan, and was even more impressed that it contained hardly any population! The lack of populace, I felt, was an added attraction. 

Later on in life, I became very attached to Sikkim, having explored almost all of its content especially the far reaches of those impossibly tall mountains, and spent a few years reveling in those few days of romance. What a marvelous piece of work I thought. What a beautiful land, and how lucky its people are. The bitter winds of winter and the scarcity of warmth could not dampen my desire, which by now was slowly turning into a passion - for the mountains. 

Someone of course sniggered that I haven't experienced the Himalayas, and alluded that my so-called passion was superfluous, since I know nothing about Her. Quickly deciding to rectify the situation, a visit to the Himachal Himalayas was planned and executed. The Andaman visit was stalled, and instead, I was off to the 'real' mountains. The fact that on the very day that I landed at Naldehra instead of Port Blair, where a catastrophic Tsunami almost wiped Andamans off the world maps, convinced me that I should stick to my one love, the mountains. It was again a grievous winter, yet the layers of thermals helped warm my heart to these highlands. Stories of the Himachals, I shall reveal another day. Time to move on. 

All mountain lovers have this itch to go higher and higher. It seems the passions are fuelled further by altitude. I would think the altitude makes them breathlessly in love! The pains, thrills, and passions of a human love story are identical to the mountain experience, yet not as fickle. The usual story of an attraction leading to ecstasy with all its drama in between, is a common theme in both cases. It is quite baffling how an altitudinal change can bring about such attitudinal change! I suppose the beauty and majesty of the Himalayas have the power to transform the most sluggish minds into thrill-seeking behavior.  Or maybe, it brings on changes at cellular and psychic levels.