Travelling in Himachal in June – 2007
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Next morning, I had to get down from the bus at Solan – a little before Shimla, and head to a riverside camp owned by a friend, which was another hour’s drive away. “I will be picked up by someone at 5.30 at Solan by-pass”, he had told me. Unfortunately my bus had reached there much earlier – at 3.45 and I had to wait till 5.15 in a nondescript place which, to some extent resembled a bus-stand but did not have a proper place to sit. Being up north, dawn broke earlier than I expected and people started moving up and down the streets a little before it was still well lit.
I started a conversation with the driver the moment I was in the car. He lived in a small village near the river camp with his family and they depended primarily on agriculture. Working as a part time driver earned him some additional income. He said “we are eleven people in the family”. Most of the houses in the region had a lot of people living under one roof. I asked the same question to another guy later on, and he did not have an answer ready. “Bahut log hein” – There are many, he said without bothering to get a count! Despite living in the hills and having to do some tough physical labour, most of the locals did not look very strong, but seemed a bit frail instead. Neither were they talkative, smiling and enthusiastic lot that you normally get to meet in the high hills.
We drove through winding hilly roads which offered vistas of the valley below. “You must be finding Himachal very beautiful”, said the drive, without really giving me a choice of an answer. I nodded. He suddenly stopped the car at a place nowhere, overlooking a valley and said – “spend some time and have a look at those beautiful hills”. It was very unlike any driver and I got down from the car, surprised. His motto became clear when he walked a little farther to quickly relieve himself and got back to continue the journey! We deviated from the main road, crossed a river on a narrow bridge and continued on a road that got narrower, lost its tarmac, and eventually terminated at a river-front. He halted and said “you need to walk on this track along the river bed”, and we parted there.
Continued at Giri River Camp, Himachal
So you re finally penning it all down, just when I can see a very busy time ahead for myself. I wish you could have made it to Coorg, it was good to meet Anil P there.
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