Sun was setting behind Dhaulagiri.
…… a sudden decision
Because a while ego there it was, burning happily up, among the harmless mounds of floating , until the air turned suddenly cold, sending a shiver down my spine.
And almost immediately the air grew heavy-- with the scent of logta, the paper plant and with an impeccable silence.
And also a dash of possibility……….
Walking among a field of tall, dry grass
I suddenly found the going tough. The light became less generous , and there were loose rocks, under the grass bed testing my steps, challenging them with uncertainty. But no matter how trying the going got, go I had to .
Because I was going to have a date. A date with bravery.
It was the beginning of January. And I was wandering around in Mushtang.. the districts that divided Nepal from Tibet. Or binds them together, as the people there feel.
It was cold, as it usually is. It was misty, as it always is. It was peaceful, as one would expect it to be.
I was walking through forest land, following the narrow track taken only by woodcutters and occasionally by traveling traders or ‘ghumanta vyaparis’ as they are called. I was, therefore an oddity ..and yet I didn’t quite feel like one. I felt completely at ease and at home.
My destination was a hill. Isolated. Tall. Quiet. And almost uninhabited ..except for one man. And that man.. that solo dweller on the isolated hill in Upper Mushtang was the one I was going to meet and going to spend the night with. Literally.
Sun or no sun, sunrise or sunset….I had a reason to be euphoric.
To be continued…..
