Trekking Notes

khati view sm
Originally uploaded by Sarah in Nepal.

Trekking is similar to backpacking. Probably the largest difference is that where backpacking leads you to secluded places far from civilization, trekking in India leads you past tiny villages. This certainly doesn't mean that it's not remote! Places that would be uninhabitable in North America are quite similar to places here where people have lived for thousands of years.

Trekking Notes... Kaphni Glacier

When I first saw the glacier I thought it was rock. Soon I noticed that it was dripping. The whole location was striking... one minute you're in green meadows and jungle, the next there's nothing but rocks, even sand. It seems like you just arrived on Mars. Mahima wanted to get close enough to touch it. She eventually turned back after our repeated screams that she was going to get beaned by one of the rocks tumbling off the top of the glacier and crashing around her. Just after she turned back a stone fell, then bounced right through where she was sitting in this photo with a force that would have taken her head off.

Trekking Notes... Path back from Glacier

For me it was a bit surreal. You're walking in "the middle of nowhere"and you bump into people along the trail. Part of our trek took us to the foot of Kaphni glacier. It was a 12 km (7 mile) walk. We saw absolutely no signs of human life on this walk, but as we were coming back a man appeared on the trail. He was dressed a bit odd. His short trousers were made out of something like a burlap sack. Our guide, Tara, immediately recognised him and they began chatting. After a minute Tara asked us if we wanted to have chai (tea). Mahima and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows and glanced around again to see if we had missed something. Nope, there was nothing but green jungle, a river, lot's of rocks, some lovely wildflowers, and maybe some goats. We gave Tara a confused look and he smiled and waived for us to follow him up the hill. We walked towards some large boulders. As we got close we saw steps were made leading up to one of the rocks, and beneath the rock was a small opening.

*cont...

Trekking Notes... Cave

We followed our new friend, who turned out to be Tara's uncle, into the cave. His 3 dogs greeted us with some mildly treatening barks, but settled down right away. He told us that they need to sleep all day because at night their job is to watch the goats and protect them from leopards and bears. Leopards and bears?? We asked. Oh, yes. Tara said he'd seen bear tracks this morning as we were walking. No wonder everyone up here has dogs, I thought. Tara helped is uncle get the fire rekindled then they put the pot on for chai. He apologized that there was no milk! Everything else he could possibly need was inside that cave in large burlap sacks - sugar, tea, flour. He spends 4 months each year at this cave, the rest of the year with his family. He works as a shepard.

Trekking Notes... Chitai making

One place where we stopped for chai was a small village just above the river. Tara's inlaws lived here, it's his wife's birthplace. Four of the villagers (most of the population!) were cutting bamboo into thin strips. We learned that the strips will be woven into floor mats, just like the one in my room in Varanasi. After we left and continued our hike, we passed a group of women carrying massive loads of bamboo on their heads. The strips were longer than the height of the women carrying them. We clung to the end of the narrow path to let them pass. I'll never look at my floor mat the same way again.

Singing the Story

Harmonium
Originally uploaded by Sarah in Nepal.

On New Year's Eve, which I spent in New York with Clara and Myq, I was asked what my New Year's resolution would be. After thinking for moment, I declared that I would learn to sing... in Hindi. So... about a month later, back in India, I went with my "little sister", Nicki, to meet a music teacher. I was impressed right away, not just by her voice (which is quite lovely) but by her nature. I began vocal lessons, with the focus of learning bhajans, that week. After my first lesson, I remember thinking, "this is who it's all for"... this woman is the reason why I learn about culture and music. She's full of bhakti (devotion) and God forbid that ever be taken from her. Her culture, esp. it's music, shines through her in a special way. God created this beauty and if she's to hear of Yesu... it must be in a way that communicates to those depths.

This last week we had our second Maheela Mandali (Ladies meeting). We gather to sing Yesu bhajans and pray together. I asked my music teacher, Gopa, if she would like to come. She was the first to arrive and the last to leave. We had an excellent time of worship. Afterwards, while we were visiting, Arati asked her if she would sing something for us. She sang a bhajan... later Arati mentioned that she noticed that there was something about the way she sings that's not just beautiful, but really touches people's souls.

Today, in my class, I took a copy of the Yesu Katha... stories from the life of Yesu, written in song form. I told her that I want to learn how to sing it... but we only have the words, not the tuning. She looked at the first few lines and began to sing it softly. It was beautiful. "This will take time," she told me. She had me leave it with her to work on... after she learns it, she'll teach me.

The thought of singing the Story... we'll... that's much more than I had hoped for when I made my out-of-the-clouds New Year's Resolution.

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Nepal protesters challenge curfew

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Nepal protesters challenge curfew