Heaven and hedonism in Incredible India

Colourful blessings for a safe passage

I take a daily walk into the forest that is starting earlier and earlier. I used to set out around four pm, returning as the sun begins to set. Then it was after lunch, then mid-morning.

Tomorrow I plan to get going immediately after breakfast. It’s that good. Walking in nature restores me on all levels. I always return feeling calmer, centred and uplifted.

There is a specialness to this landscape that seems to be healing and nourishing me and I relish every moment.

This walk takes about an hour. I timed myself  using the clock in the Himalaya Tea Shop in Dharamkot where the auto-rickshaw drivers drink chai while waiting for business. This is the start of the walk. Take the level path to the left of the water reservoir and keep going. 

The path begins broad and smooth and from time to time I have to step aside to allow tourist vehicles to pass, mostly mini-buses containing Indian families, who seem to prefer to be bussed about rather than walk.

Today I passed a pair of maroon robed monks who had stopped to enjoy the view and were sharing tea from a flask. A little further along an ageless brown skinned Gaddi shepherd in hand knitted sweater and woollen cap was skillfully herding his goats.

Furry forest guides

I received the blessing of a tortoiseshell butterfly dancing ahead of me in the warm, bright sunshine. Above, a stunning blue feathered bird with exquisite long tail feathers sang to his mate who responded from across the valley. 

You can’t get far on four wheels, paved concrete yields to lumpy stones and the path narrows and bends.  As you penetrate the forest you will notice basic dwellings where  Buddhist monks retreat intosilence  solitude to meditate for days, weeks and months at a time. Neatly printed signs request ‘Quiet Please’. 

An abundance of coloured prayer flags decorate the passes, impossibly strung between sturdy pines.  I was told that they carry blessings and good wishes for travellers, which is a beautiful thought.  Below on the forest floor, meticulously arranged stones and rocks form rudimentary stupa that have a peaceful quality. 

As I headed deeper into the forest, I passed a stone-cutter working with hand tools, Namaste was our mutual greeting. At the weekend, this patch is busy with noisy laughing school boys undetaking a supervised litterpick.

A little further along I was joined by a friendly pair of doggy guides who bounded ahead joyfully, disappearing finally up a steep bank to pursue an irresistible scent.

My special place in the mountains

Finally the view I had come for revealed itself: snowy peaks across a plunging valley and a scattering of rocks to sit on and absorb the panorama.

I bring myself here to meet the mountains, their presence so powerful speaks to me and fills me with something... beyond words.

I sit here a good while, tilting my face into the sunshine and sighing deeply as relaxation and bliss flow through me.

This is Dev Bhoomi, land of the Gods. Himachal Pradesh is Shiva and Parvati’s lovers’s spot, they meet here, they marry each other, they have sons, all in this area, explained Raju. Quick minded, energetic and charismatic, Raju manages the day to day running of Paul’s Guest House where I have taken a room.

I was showing him photographs taken on my walk and speaking of my rapture: I feel so peaceful and happy, I just have to take that walk every day to sit with the mountains.

Raju nodded and gave a broad smile, You feel something spiritual when you come, and your feelings come like WOW! I am happy now! 

Raju tells it as it is

He continued enthusiastically: People recognize special place. Some people stay for two months, three months, a lot of people come longterm, because they want peace, they want to think about himself, they want to be happy, they want to ponder his way.

Despite his obvious passion for Dharamkot, Raju was preparing to relocate in the coming days. He had been summoned south to spend the winter (November – March) tending bar in Goa. Party season was about to begin.

How do you like Goa? I asked.

Raju’s answer was blunt; In Goa you can’t hear your soul. The peoples who come Goa they want to enjoy, they don’t know what is real peace. They dance, they smoke, they drink beer, listen to noisiest music, girls in bikinis, girls in no bikinis. Goa is a totally crazy place.

Maybe such people should think about visiting Dharmashala, I suggest.

Raju laughed loudly, shaking his head firmly in disagreement: People from Goa cannot come here! Just you call them, ‘Come here, it’s a nice place, No drinking, no smoking, no music, nothing! Just sitting on a chair, watching the hills, come come!’ Just imagine!

I appreciated Raju’s honesty and sense of humour and that he was speaking without judgement. I know Goa well and admired his versatility at being able to move so easily between two such different worlds and told him so.

He was stoical about his circumstances: This is not my personal choice, I have to earn, I want to spend most of my time here, I love here, this is my place!

I could easily picture Raju serving drinks to pleasure seekers in sunny Goa as trance music thumped from dawn to dusk. Once again I was amazed by the diversity of experiences on offer in this magical country. Open and generous enough to accept and embrace the hippies and the Tibetan refugees and to allow these communities room to grow and flourish and integrate with traditional Indian culture.

Raju's final word, borrowing the official slogan of the Indian Ministry of Tourism: This is called Incredible India, we have everything here. 

Blessings

Jennifer