A Mukherjee World View

Days 7 and 8

The next day was only a little more tedious and a little longer. I've noticed before that he last day of a trek is always difficult. All the excitement and energy is gone and all that is left is to trudge along morosely, leaving the best of the views behind and heading towards the hot and dusty plains and all the hassles that come along with them. The kids were irritable and the walk, despite being mostly downhill, was interminable. My knees were shouting out loud at each downhill stretch. Puffed rice had never seemed less appetizing. We had left Seema a little before 8 and when we finally reached Taluka, it was exactly 1.30. Our car was waiting for us, so we spent just five minutes bidding adieu to Deshraj, the horse man, and the horses, and then we were on our way.

By 5 p.m., after a fairly uneventful drive, we were in Purola. The clouds had gathered in earnest by now and there was no electricity and no cellphone coverage. It rained for a while. We went out for dinner - Ballu had closed the kitchen and either finished or given away the last of the provisions. Late in the evening, electricity came and I had the luxury of a hot bath and a shampoo just before going to bed - six whole days since my last bath. The kids were asleep by then, so they had to wait one more day.

It had been a good trek - an unbelievable, amazing trek in many ways. Neither of us had expected the kids to be able to walk the whole way, so we were both blown away by the fact that they not only did it, but had energy to spare. Even the locals were impressed by that - and that's saying a lot. It was also good to see (yet again) how easy-going they were. They put up with early mornings, cold evenings, cramped rooms, and a whole new set of circumstances and experiences with very few complaints and very rare tears. At Osla, we encountered two mountain dogs. Mountain dogs are huge. These two looked like a cross between a German Shepherd dog and a St Bernard - huge, square, with a head like a lion and a shaggy coat like a bear. They came and crowded around me while I was eating lunch. You'd think the kids would be scared. Tara was - she's got some sense, after all; Mrini wasn't. When she saw that the dogs were non-aggressive, she came and sat next to me and patted them! And these are strange dogs whose heads are bigger than hers, who are about chest high compared to her, and who, if they wanted to, could easily knock her flat with a casual swat of one paw! That girl has no sense but a ton of courage! And then, of course, she also happily got on to a horse and was led around for a few minutes. Afterward she patted him, too.

The next day Ballu woke us up at 5 a.m. as usual. The kids had a slice each of bread and jam thrust down their throats at 6, and by 7 we were in the car on the way to Dehradun. Ballu had a bus to catch and he was determined to catch it. In Dehradun, we checked into a nice hotel with a fantastic bathroom. I didn't even have to say anything, Mrini and Tara were the ones to say, "what a lovely bathroom, see how clean it is!" That proves it: trekking is good for the soul. It helps you appreciate things that you might otherwise have taken for granted.

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