We woke up early in the morning with lots of enthusiasm. Though it was cold, we managed to walk through the village. The alleyways were filthy, partly because of the rain at night and partly because of the lack of awareness in cleanliness. But, it was true that they were at least trying to keep the village clean. The hamlet lies on the sloppy terrains with a cluster of not more than twenty houses. Most of the houses were one storied and stone roofed. The place was surrounded by sky-high mountains, and the running river down below made unabated whispers.
We returned to the community hall, and had our breakfast. Weather was good for trekkers. It was cloudy, but no rain. Standing on the edge of the courtyard of the community hall we could see the mountains' bases like a dovetail. As time passed, the host bade farewell to everybody with offering Khada. We wished them good businesses in coming days. After finishing this ritual, we started our journey downhill in different convenient groups. Raman was a FIT.
It was dangerous to walk down on the sloppy hill with lots of dry strands of pine trees. It slips like anything if we don't heed on it. We had to be careful. We enjoyed our journey chatting and taking photographs on the way. Photographs are evidence of your journey, and also memory slides. Your memories rolls and slides around those times when you shuffle later on. Memories may be good or bad but when you recall them from a distance they are equally felt sweet.
I don't know exactly when we reached the hotel for the lunch. I guess it was 12:30 pm. Someone was talking that the last gang appeared 1 and ½ hours later of the first gang's arrival at Thambuchet where we had planned to have our lunch. And, of course, we were not the last gang. Thambuchet is a small village, and lies at the confluence of rivers at 1800 m. There were about 20 houses, some of them as hotels. Some huts were in dilapidated conditions, and an unused disk of VSAT gave false impression of good infrastructures. After having lunch, we walked again through the same village, crossed the same bridge towards our destination. Today's our destination is Tatopani (hot water spirng) famous for bathing. People believe that the hot spring would heal skin diseases. That is the main attraction of visiting the place more than anything else.
I had taken a book "Raktakunda" to avoid boredom during the journey. It was a much talked book at that time. We walked in various groups. Some gang walked fast, some slow and some in between. I thought I could make use of the time and divert my mind from the boring trudge. I started reading the book while walking, also paying ample attention on the path. It was a unique experience. But, I could not continue for long. Most of the time we discussed and debated about the issues and event mentioned in the book.
The book was a collection of already known facts and some guess work. The writer didn't sell the book, but sold the time. He published it on the background and climax of reactions of royal massacre. There were more than a dozen of this type of books in the market. I read the book and others listened. Everybody walked in a rhythm as if they were tuned to a favorite radio program.
We crossed another bridge on the way, now our journey would follow a uphill climb. Gobinda was like a wild goat, moves fast in such terrains. He got this nick in Austria during our trekking. By and by, I handed the book over to him for recital. He read in loud voice, and we listened as we steadily climbed the hill. I don't remember most of the recital but the act of Gobinda. Soon, we dropped the idea of recital because of two main reasons firstly our eyes became busy with observing the scenic beauties around, and secondly it became mundane.
On the way, we relaxed for sometime, and ordered tea in the stable like only hut existed there. Some slow friends met us there, and after some time we started the boring and difficult ascend. The eyes always run faster than the legs. Physically it takes a lot of time and effort to reach there. What next? Inquisitiveness always attracts travelers during the journey.
When we reached on top of the hillock, we could see our destination far away. I thought it would take about 2 hours to get there. The gentle slope of the trail was much easier to walk than the previous vertical scale. Some friends were way ahead and they safely and comfortably reached the venue, and fixed the menu. Some of us could not be so lucky. Drizzles started on the way which accelerated our walking. At the same time, it made me totally exhausted. Weather became colder as time slipped away. I totally tired walking and outrun by the heavy rain. There is nowhere a shade to stop. The final lap of the journey was indeed very difficult because it was like climbing a ladder. When I reached the small tavern like hotel some of my friends were already in the rooms. Outside, it was becoming darker and colder. We asked for the bonfire because there is no alternate way to keep us warm. We knew that it's not proper to use woods as fuel. What could we do? We felt warm while sitting around the fire-place in a circle. The wisdom of books and minds smiled wryly at us. Some of our friends were still on the way. We worried about them. Finally, they appeared like ghosts in the dark totally drenched in the rain. It was still pouring. We drank tea, ate noodles and biscuits to keep us warm and gained energy. Again, Gobinda recited the book, this time for all who were on the fire-place. I took light dinner, and went to sleep. It's too cold that I could not sleep at all. I don't know how I spent the night forget about others.
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