1.Going Solo on a Nomad trek

After quitting a steady job of more than 15 years, I wanted to get away somewhere very far. I had met many western men and women who travel alone with a large bag pack and a small day bag. Why can’t I do it my own country? I had traveled to Himalayas with my family and chaperoned school children to several treks and trips. How would it be to go solo and check? Will I get robbed, raped, duped, attacked, or fall sick? Thousands of questions came to my mind. Friends and family gave their best wishes but I could see the worry in their eyes.

The announcement for “Nomad Trek” to Kalap came on my FB page through a friend just like several other posts. The trail follows the path of the Nomadic shepherds who move from one pasture to another for their sheep and goats to graze on. The word "moderate" caught my eyes and I thought that I could make it! I was thrilled to see the pictures and instantly wanted to join. I felt this is the village of my dreams where I always want to go to. Initially, I had planned to go in October with my husband but the dates were not convenient for our son who wanted to come home during that time. Also, I felt October was too far and decided to go alone because my husband was not free in August. Going alone was a big decision but once I decided, there was no turning back!

V. Anand Sankar – a photo journalist and former Bangalorean has almost adopted this village of population 500. The nearest road is at Netwar which is 5 hours of walk through tough terrain full of ups and downs. He has set up a school (for after school hours and weekends) with two full-time teachers from cities. He had a clinic which is in a process of shifting to a neighboring village and is going to grow into a hospital. One can reach Anand by phone only when he is in Dehradun or if you are lucky to get him in the BSNL range. I had a very brief telephonic conversation with him but I felt confident that he will do the arrangement properly. He is very tall and refers himself as “Higher Iyer” on his profile but he is a simple, humble man with a great love towards the mountains and village people. He plans the treks with a lot of care and ensures that there is no trace left behind.

After registration, I started taking jogging and stair climbing seriously. They say that running on sea level and trekking at higher altitudes is very different but in my opinion jogging at Kaikondrahalli lake and Shivaji Park definitely helped me. My flight to Delhi was from Terminal 2 of Mumbai airport. I visited the airport for the first time after its renovation. Here I was getting ready for the natural beauty however, I have to accept that I was thoroughly impressed by the artwork and magnanimity of the new airport. I felt like a village girl walking in large palace. When the flight landed in Delhi, I met the other three Mumbai nomads- Himanshu Rohilla, Gauri Dakhne and Shormistha Mukherjee. After that, we were going to be together for 8 days. While chatting at the airport, Gauri pointed out that my shoes were torn and a new worry hit me! How will my shoes survive such a long walk? Throughout my packing how did I miss out that the sole was coming off? Anand had clearly mentioned that one should avoid trainers. The same evening after reaching Renee’s guesthouse in Dehradun we managed to go to the city and I purchased Lomer trekking shoes. This turned out to be a very important purchase.

Next morning, I visited the beautiful Shakya Monastery. The monastery had beautiful paintings however, the monks were busy reciting so I could not explore much. After breakfast, we began our journey to Purola which is a small town on the banks of Yamuna about 142 km away. It takes about 4 to 5 hours because one cannot speed in the mountains.  I usually get sick in the mountains but this time I decided to avoid the pill which makes you drowsy and you cannot enjoy the journey. I kept chewing on ginger pieces that I got from the guesthouse. And it really worked! The hotel in Purola is built on a slope such that the winding road was reaching its terrace. From the ground floor one could go the market and from the terrace one could board the car!

To read Part 2 of this travelogue click here

2.Kalap Kaleidoscope

(Continued from part 1)
From Purola we drove to Govind Pashu Vihar National Park and sanctuary. At Netwar, it was time to bid good bye to tar road and the vehicle. The network had already vanished from the phone. Contact with the outer world stopped. For the first time, I realized that I was far away from the world. We met a local 14 year old boy called Ankush who was extremely happy to see Gary, who had visited Kalap last year. They both hugged each other as if they were buddies for ages. Gary gave him a cloth bag filled with the complete set of Harry Potter books.  This time, Gary was going to Kalap to teach English and he was going stay there for a month. He was all excited about it. Our bags were loaded on mules and our trek began. Soon it started raining.

The trek to Kalap is 11km long and it can take about 5 to 7 hours. It was through paddy fields and we had to cross several streams on the way. All the while, I was worried about my shoes getting wet. At some points, I had very little control over this and I had to step into puddles of water. Soon the socks were wet because rain water was sipping in from my calves and not through the soles of my brand new shoes. We were all drenched and stopped worrying about shoes getting wet. The clothes would get wet and dry off when the rain stopped. There was no point in worrying. On the way we stopped to have Bhel puri made by Gyan Singh- our guide and chef. The group split into two with Shormistha, Gary and I walking ahead and others following us. After 5 hours of walking through woods we started seeing rustic, wooden houses and little children started gathering around us. They welcomed us and took us to the right house through rocky streams. We were served hot tea followed by soup and complete hot meal of roti-sabzi, daal-chawal. We slept in different wooden houses in the vicinity of the trust office. Water coming from streams was channeled through a tap outside the toilet.  During the trek, I managed the journey on the same pair of jeans. I would change my T-shirt and undergarments occasionally. On the way back we had stopped in Kalap again. After trekking for 6 days I treated myself to a bath with just one bucket of hot water heated on wood fire. The wooden bathroom had openings on the top and bottom. Cold air was rushing in even though it was past noon. The hot water spa was simply superb! It is very hard to appreciate these small things if you live in a city with 24 hour water and electricity supply.

The next morning i.e. on August 15, we went for flag hoisting at the local school. The function was low key due to the recent death of a young woman who had cancer. Ashwini- the Environment science teacher employed by Kalap trust dressed up in a saree and kids loved to see their “didi” looking beautiful! Here, I saw that children really valued the work done by Anshu (English teacher) and Ashwini.  These young teachers have developed a rapport with the pupils and they bring in a variety of resources from the internet into the classroom. The classes begin at 2 pm after the regular government school and go till late evening. But the children did not show any signs of boredom or tiredness. In the night, there are adults who come to learn English and they are eager to learn about the outside world. It was interesting to see how Anshu has been using Harry Potter and Avengers to kindle interest in learning English. On my return journey, I reached Kalap on Friday afternoon. That evening, after Gary’s class I taught a Hindi song which speaks about notes of Hindustani classical music. The kids were from classes 6 to 9. They were very quick in learning the song. Shormistha taught them some Kathak steps and I also danced along. We played Kathak charades. It was a fun-filled evening with a lot of learning for me. 

After dinner, a few ladies came to chat with Gauri and me. They were curious about our lives. One of the girls had completed her bachelor's in Political science but was not sure about her future plans. Women appeared to be quite bold and hard-working. They had beautiful complexion and athletic built. Their clothes were old and simple. The houses had very little stuff.  Although, they go through a tough life of hardships, their tanned faces looked happy and contented! 

 To read Part 3 click here

3. Karba, Bangala, Beejay Dhar

(Continued from part 2)

After the Independence Day celebration in Kalap we had our “brunch” and started our trek to Bangla. This was a long and partly rainy day. But the trek was relatively simple. We walked for about 4-5 hours and covered 6 km. The downward slope from Karba top was very steep and slushy. Overall, all the treks were filled with ups and downs. I used to feel good when I was going upwards, but within a matter of an hour, there would be another valley or stream to cross! Although we were gaining height mostly it was never a continuous climb. The water of these streams was sparkling clean and it used to be a treat to drink this “mineral” water. I am happy that I managed this complete trip without purchasing packaged water. In fact, even in flights and road journeys, I managed with water-filled from hotels and streams. Anand has managed to get a water filter for camps. Luckily, there was no stomach infection at any point. 

We spent three nights in sleeping bags and tents. One at Bangala Bugyals (9500 ft) and two nights at Beejay Dhar (12000 ft). We slept in comfortable sleeping bags however, after the first night I had the fear of answering nature’s call in the middle of the night. Due to my age, I could never wait until the morning. All three nights it was raining incessantly and going till the toilet tent (which itself was a bliss!) used to be a challenge. By the third night, I had mastered the technique of getting out of the sleeping back, wearing trekking shoes and raincoat, holding an umbrella, torch, and walking stick.

The people in the mountains eat two big meals a day. Our brunch used to be at around 10 am just before setting off on the trek and we used to eat dinner in the evening. It seemed difficult on the first day when we did not get a lunch but soon I started eating dry fruits and bhel etc on the way. And most importantly, not eating a heavy lunch helped in keeping the pace. Each morning, I used to feel that we should start our journey early and reach early. This feeling is a result of my years of working in a school. Until a couple of months ago I was getting up at 5 am and was leaving the house at 7:10 am. It took me a few days to understand that it is alright to just go with the flow of Anand’s plan and enjoy the beauty of nature rather than trying to get ready early in the morning. Packing wet clothes and other stuff each morning was a big challenge. Though my backpack was just 8 kg, I felt there was too much stuff. I have to learn to minimize it further.

Bangala to Beejay Dhar had a few steep climbs where the paths were not very clear. But our team of Anand, Rajmohan, Gyan Singh and Mohan Singh were very helpful in guiding and giving a hand. They would give a lot of confidence and hope. However, their estimates of the duration of the walk were almost always on the lower side.

In this last phase, we went primal forests of deodar, pine, fir, rhododendron, fern. Some places had extremely dense canopies and large tree trunks. Colorful mushrooms were found everywhere. We witnessed a good play of rain and shine. We saw beautiful rainbows in several spots. At one spot close to Beejay Dhar there was a plateau where we saw a breathtaking view of green and silvery slopes and the mystical Swargarohini peak. Every minute the colors of the mountains would alter. When you are clicking something in one direction, you would miss something amazing behind you!

After reaching Beejay dhar(12000 ft) we all felt great but the rest day turned out to be rainy and we could not really walk ahead to the Bugyals. We waited for the sun to show up but sadly, it literally poured one whole night and day. It felt like doomsday. In the evening, the rain stopped for a while but white clouds kept floating around. At midnight, it felt as if we were the only people left on the earth, and any minute we too could be washed away. As if nature was teaching us a lesson, that we were helpless!

On the next day at Beejay, we were lucky to get sunshine early morning. Everyone got up and clicked pictures frantically as if the Sun was going to vanish again. We started our return journey to Karba. It was a long 5-6 hours walk (11.5 km). Although Gauri Dakhane was in pain she managed it very well.

I reached Karba with Anand and Anshu very early. After that, Anshu went back to Kalap the same evening and I walked down to Rajmohan’s Chhani. Many people in the mountains maintain two houses. One at a lower height where the families live during winter and kids study. This is like their head office. They have their farms on higher slopes and shepherds go to even higher places in the summer. The “branch office” at a higher altitude is called a “Chhani” which in my opinion means “Chhavani” or cantonment. Rajmohan’s father welcomed us and he had prepared bhel and chai for us. The old man plucked arbi ke patte from his yard and prepared a tasty meal on a wood fire. 
I sat down on the deck was admiring the vast mountain ranges ahead. Suddenly, I heard a few kids calling me from across the valley. They were inviting me to their house but I was too tired. So they came running across the rocks to see me. They had very cheerful, innocent faces.

That evening was remarkable because I could speak to my in-laws and convey that I am doing fine. Secondly, as the darkness was gripping the mountains, stars started twinkling beautifully. I sat alone on the deck as the others too tired and were sitting in the kitchen. I sat facing the eastern sky and kept staring at the full moon shining. It was certainly the most magical, stunning moon that I have ever witnessed. I can’t remember how long I sat there. In Beejay, I was longing so much to see the moon. My prayers were answered in Karba! The whole sky was brightened up with moonlight.

Epilogue

The whole experience of trekking through unknown terrains and with unknown people gave me a lot of confidence and courage. My worries and anxieties went away to some extent. At least, I learnt to catch the fears as they came to my mind.  I realized that when worries start bothering me, I should focus on the next step and take deep breaths. I learnt to balance my mind and body. The simple lives of mountain people and their state of contentment in meager earnings was a big lesson. Perhaps, I gave a lot of tension to my husband and my in-laws who were back in Mumbai. I am immensely grateful to them for allowing me to go. Many thanks to nomad friends from Mumbai and Kalap who made this trip possible!

Video: Kalap Kaleidoscope

THE NOMAD TRAIL ITINERARYAug 12

Arrive at Dehradun. Stayed at Renee's guesthouse

Aug 13

drive to Purola (140 kms, 5 hours)

Aug 14

After early breakfast, short drive Netwar. Trek to Kalap began (11 kms/5-7 hours summer)

Reached Kalap (7,800 ft) by levening. 

Accommodation: Stayed overnight in the village with families in traditional Garhwali wooden homes. 

Aug 15

Trek to Bangla Bugyal after flag hoisting (6 kms, 3-4 hours, 9,500 ft). 

Accommodation: Camped overnight in tents 

Aug 16

Start early on the hike upwards to the magical bugyals (7 kms, 6-7 hours, upwards of 12,000 ft). T

Accommodation: Camped overnight in tents

Aug 17

Rest day at Beejay Dhar (12000 ft)

Accommodation: Camp overnight in tents

Aug 18

Climbed down to Karba, (5 hours, 11.5 kms). 

Accommodation: Stayed overnight in the village with families in traditional Garhwali wooden home.

Aug 19

Climb down to Kalap (2 hours, 3.5 kms) 

Spent time with kids in Kalap.

Accommodation: Stay overnight in the village with families in traditional Garhwali wooden homes. 

Aug 20

Climbed down to Netwar (11kms, 4 hours). Transfer to Dehradun guest house