Mostly people refer Mountains as nothing but a heap of granite boulder and rocks…may be, but these days, it is opposite!
January, 1st, 2017, I completed my year’s first humanly solo hiking and hill-walk all the way to Billing and RajGundha, the gateway to Thamsar Pass, Bara Bhangal of high Dhauladhar Mountains!
By 02:00 pm I was back at Bir and boarded Anurag Bus service for Baijnath, as the passengers boar
ded along the bus, a tourist couple/friends (may be from Delhi/Gurgaon, as they later boarded Delhi bound bus) also boarded on the way (my guess they had landed after paragliding from Billing).
Then after some distance a local folk’s family boarded. One of its family members sat on the empty seat by my side. The bus was moving to Baijnath.
My mind still in RajGundha, still repenting for not having stayed over there and ending my solo-hike at Barot, which of course was not planned!
Anyway we approached Baijnath, the tourist couple/friend stood up to get off at the entry point of ISBT and in the process from the side pouch of the girl’s bag the empty water bottle jumped out on the bus floor.
The girl though asked her friend to pick it up, but he ignored it and side lined with a kick.
I was watching those moments but without much attention and the girl also stood up and moved on, BUT it was then my intuitive eyes saw something heavy also jumping from the seat where the girl was sitting.
I felt it but almost ignored until when the local folk’s male member sprang towards the empty bottle. At first I thought “wow, he might hand over that bottle to girl”! But wait, he got hold of something like a FAT pouch! Wait that pouch turned out to be a really really FAT wallet
The local folk quickly picked up the wallet and rather than calling on the girl, he changed the seat side and perched over the wallet like some “Bald Eagle on the ground tries to defend its fresh prey with its wide wings by covering it!”
The couple got off the bus and as the bus was about to enter farther inside ISBT, I gentally asked the male folk to “hand over that wallet to the girl”, to which he angrily and very arrogantly in abusive manner said “Why is this, your wallet? / Kyun ye tera purse hai” (You/Tera type of Words are insulting, specially if used with angry expressions) and further said “I will hand it over to her later”. Which actually meant he will not, as the couple was moving to the outer opposite perimeter of ISBT, probably waiting for the Delhi bound bus!
I again asked him for the wallet, so that I could hand it over the couple/friends, but the local folk just denied.
I stood up to get off the bus and decided to call them and noticed the conductor and told him about the girl and the wallet!
To my surprise even when the conductor was asking for the wallet, the local folk repeatedly kept on saying “I will hand it over to her later” LOL.
Ignoring them I moved at normal but long pace towards the couple, as I was certain that they will not be going anywhere for next 10-20 minutes. But then the conductor outpaced me by running toward them and handed over the wallet to the girl and as he turned around, the girl was saying “O thank you, thank you” and then I also told them (what may sound to be rude) “Hey brother, you did not picked up the bottle but at least should have picked up the Wallet”. The girl again “O thank you”.
That wallet was sure FAT! 😀
I bet the local fellow was cursing me like hell! Well not an issue with that curse, as already have plenty of and I moved on and was really hungry after around 35 to 40 km light weight hike (just 3kg Camera set, an self defense symbol and water bottle) that I gulped in two plates of Chole Poori and also got Jalebis and continued on with RajGundha and Snow Clouds over Thamsar Pass of Dhauladhar Mountains, still possessing my heart!
I was wondering how fast humans have changed and that too just for paper/metal/digital MONEY!
These very humans stab their own blood relations and kick out the mother cow just for property and money, which ultimately will be of no one’s!
For this money their hearts are becoming like solid lifeless, dramatic, Granite, while the mighty Mountains may have the skin of Granite with harsh appearance but with the core of a soft heart, which is more ALIVE and attracts, refreshes everyone, that too without asking for money!
So who are COLD MOUNTAINS?