A sketch

Nature was never a part of my soul until i passed my high school and tripped back to the Uttrakhand hills with my family . I was one of those kids who used to wonder that there is no need for us to go out on a religious expedition for holidays . But had no other way out apart from joining them.

We left for uttrakhand packing our luggage all set in the train , we were 9. The 5 of us , the kids of the family , we were all together 

dinning and as usual like any other trip , ascended our births and slept.

And here we were in haridwar , I stepped down from the train it was 5 a.m. and the second my feet touched the platform my left half of the body felt fresh heat . I rotated my neck and amidst the cold morning winds i found a relief of sunlight . This was a pleasure i never felt before . 

We checked in a hotel , and without wasting much time we left for kedarnath hills.

On my way I was preoccupied with my favorite music. And our driver slowly shut open the windows of the car . Now I could actually feels winds running across my face . Those winds were as if inviting me to dance with them . And i started waving on my beats . Soon my body started leaning toward one side of the car and the switchback roads began . Now we could see the distant icy peaks and the nearer ones more green. With more and more twists and turns , we now began ascending the hills and now could finally look down to the valleys. The most beautiful sight that ever caught my eyes were the white streams that flowed uniting the V- shaped valleys . Brake! And the car stopped . The driver guided us that the car cannot go beyond this point , for the temple all of us have to go walking rather hiking 16 km . Our excited spirits pushed open the gates and our slippers tic toed ahead . 

I can't explain those gestures in words and my guilt of thinking of not coming to see this beauty unless I was myself surrounded with the greeny mountains on all sides and could to all intents and purposes hear the ebb and flow of the ice melted streams . I could precisely see now how clear the water was . And how invigorating the winds were . At some points they felt pleasurable under the sun , but at some points they made me quaver. The elders of the family boarded a pony ride but our troop chose to walk. I think all of us started falling for the beauty . 

Nonetheless , 16 kmweas prodigious and it was a lengthy decision . Our spirits cherished we kept on singing in unison and encouraged each other not to stop. What a beauty it was! We sang so loud and so rhythmless but it gave us energy and our laughter couldn't stop . We were almost hammering the silence of the valleys . The most peaceful place apart from the daily hustles . 

We used to be so engaged in our daily work, the desk jobs , the board exams that we almost forgot that such a peaceful place still exists on earth . Now i realised that the huge ceilings and big buildings of the city in reality , was not luxury . It instead limited our vision to see beyond, the beauty of the world . It blocked our fresh air . It occupied spaces for our trees .

We were quite hungry by the mid way but the parents fasted . For twice we were in a delema about what to eat and what not. And out of nowhere we suddenly concluded that we should continue fasting and will only eat once we succeed our pilgrimage . I think it was because there was some hymn in the air that purified our souls completely . 

And what was still left to be purified was our physical selves . So we bathed in the gauri kund , a holy pond that was blessed with shiva and parvathi . It linked to many mythological stories , every pilgrim had their own tales to propagate but what minded me was the hot water springs , after the chilling winds pierced our chests , this hot water spring , the kund was a consolation.  

My real love for travelling began when i entered the temple , our soul as i said were purified with some magic , and that was not the end to it , as if i entered in the heaven itself . I HAD ALREADY WITNESSED HOW NATURAL BEAUTY LOOKS LIKE AND NOW I SAW SPIRITUAL BEAUTY .

We offered the shiv linga flowers and leaves that were limited to only those hills, also the milk and fruits , everyone was pushing each other to seek blessings . We came out of the temple and behind the temple we saw something prepossessing !!! 

For the first time in my life , i saw something so magnificent like that . A huge, very huge snow covered mountain and on its peak floated a cloud ring . Yes i had seen snowy mountains before because every year our family planned holidays on hills but this was a kind that i never witnessed before.  

It conveyed some different story . For some time , i was flabbergasted and i froze to admire it . It was as if i watched some movie or something like that , it didn't seem real anyhow . Those dignified series of white mountains were more appealing like animations than reality . So white was the ice!!

And so clean it looked with one streak of sunlight projected on it . Mom called me out to have the prashad . It was a proper lunch . We felt so blessed to have it and after a tiresome day we finally got to eat something . 

We were all set to get down the hills before sunset but now the universe played wild card . Black clouds started raining . 

And it rained so heavily that we were almost afraid expecting flood . But before we were harmed by floods , our finger tips started turning blue and it was too cold a weather to admire . And we had absolutely no means to stay there . We didnt book rooms previously , we didnt had ample clothes , there were not too many food corners and we were clutched by bad climate at the hill top outside temple . The weather was too harsh to land us down safely . So by hook or by crook we had to stay back there only . 

With great efforts after running all the way hither and theither in the hill rains my brothers managed to get a tent because the rooms were already filled . And we ran inside in those wet clothes and lay ourselves down heavily tired and half frozen losing all our spirits in the hands of shiva . A bit relief calmed us down that now we are under a roof . It's quite pleasant inside with no winds and waters . 

None of us was willing to go outside in search of food it was raining too harsh. 

My aunt had some crisps in her bag and some wafers. We shared that . My uncle joked to play antakshari but none of us had anymore strength . The rain drained it all alongwith. And all of us zipped our sleeping bags to go for a long sleep praying inside the rain to cease the next morning and there should be no flooding. 

And luckily , a clear sunny morning welcomed us .

That day i saw two textures of the sky . 

But the risky black one also gave me a pleasure of adventure and that day a traveller was born in me!!!!!