We were
seven girls and a driver in a car moving towards Rhautang. We were first to
reach. There were about fifty more cars loaded with girls moving upwards from
those wonderful roads. The roads themselves were so beautiful and exciting,
shouting out loud that we were on the road to heaven.
We reached
there, though we expected snow but unfortunately as we reach late all the snow
was melted. Our driver asked us to keep our windows closed as temperature
outside the car was really low. We were waiting for the instructions. While sitting
inside the car we regretted for not being able to experience snow, unaware of
what coming out of the car would be like.
Finally, we
got the instructions. We were given half hour to explore the place. Though there
were not much things to see, it was more like a barren land. As I stepped out
of the car, I experienced an amazing feeling. I got down, covered myself with
warm cloths, switched on my camera and started moving. The wind was cold, strong
and continuous. My soul got excited, I was talking to myself loud, I informed
myself, “girl you’re 3,978m above sea level, in a place with -2 degree
temperature, on a land where hardly any life survives. Our cars were parked
along the leh-manali highway.
We all
scattered in the ground to experience the place in our own ways. I walked
alone, my soul was talking to me aloud, experiencing something it always craved
for. I was walking towards the valley
and the wind was strong and in the direction of the valley, making it easier
for me to walk, it felt like that place was equally excited to have me there. With
each step towards the valley,I was falling in love with nature, with that
place. My heart asked how beautiful it would be to get used to such
experiences, this is something I have always longed for, I want to feel this
again and again. Would I even mind dying here?
As I reached
to the edge of the valley my eyes experienced a feeling of satisfaction. I asked
myself a thousand times, why am I away from this?, why am I wasting my time
living in one place when I have so much to see, live, experience? Just look at
those larger than life mountains, the white sheet of snow making them look more
beautiful, there deep down in the valley a river flowed, looked like a river of
milk. The barren land was not so barren after all. The sun looked more
beautiful and brighter. I wished, I could fly to see those mountains still far
away and so high up there, to see what does that valley deep down has. I captured
those wonderful scenes of nature in my camera, wondering how beautiful this
world is and wishing to explore it more.
While walking
back towards my car, it was difficult to breath due to low oxygen level and low
temperature, I felt breathless and walking against the wind made it more
difficult for me. Every step I took needed a lot of effort, like the place is
pushing me back and doesn’t wants me to go. I reached the cars and was
searching for my car. I ended up sitting on a rock because my head and ears
were paining really bad and breathing was equally difficult. Sitting on that
rock silently, I looked at everybody else, they were busy clicking selfies and
giggling, whereas I sitting there on that rock felt the best thing of my life. It
was a joy of another kind, a joy only a nature lover, a traveller could feel.
That place
taught me how wonderful life can be when you do something your heart and soul
longs for. It taught me how even pain can be full of pleasure. What doing
something you love feels like. And…. That is when I understood how people do
all those remarkable works.
Rhautang is
a place I will never forget because it showed me the path to create my life the
way I always wanted to. I want to travel as much as I can, I want to experience
the depth of the sea, want to see world’s hottest and coolest places, want to
jump from a high mountain and swim with sharks, I want to experience the nature
to its extremes. I want to spend my youth creating stories, so that I could
tell them and relive them when I get old.
P.S- all pictures are clicked by me.
