l am not only writing this article based upon my experiences at Nainital but the sea insights that I’ve got on my Gangotri(Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand) trip and a solo trip to Munsyari (Pithoragrah, Uttarakhand). last Autumn (2018). The series “The Pahari Life” will consist of several articles and the first being based on my experiences at Munsyari. This series of article will make people understand the hardships of living on hilly terrain where survival is a quest. It also brings upon the enlightenment about the truths of life that we must confront and embrace.
Chapter 1: Munsyari
I went to munsyari on a bike trip, I met with so many people, visited so many places on the way, tried to find out the energy that is running this unprivileged, remote and forgotten place.
Thrill, excitement and Pursuit
Till the time I reached munsyari I rode on life-threatening roads, humongous mountains, 1000+ mts deep troughs, dense forests, mysterious wildlife, forgotten cultures, forgotten places, and the mighty Himalayas. Even after this, I was still searching for something which is at the core of this place. I thought I am not at resonance with this place, so, I’ve decided to return back with a tiny hope in my heart that I would get something worth remembering. After half an hour of my stay at Munsyari, I asked my father that we should move back now and we’ll make our next halt at Kapkot (Bageshwar, Uttarakhand).
While I was on move I decided to take some pictures of Mighty Himalayas, so I stopped for a while (3 km from Munsyari), suddenly I saw that I was seeking this whole time.
That Happy Girl
I saw a lady, holding a big bunch of woods on her head and holding hand with a 3-year-old girl walking and running on her left. I was quite, my heart was filled with pain, my eyes were wet and I was numb. I looked into the eye of that small girl, she looked happy, she was holding a stick on her hand and waving it into the air. I’ve never seen a happiest girl like her in my whole life, her smile is still imprinted into my heart. I looked up and I saw the contrast, the lady had stoned eyes, downtrodden, not because of the weight she’s bearing but the weight of the responsibility she has been given by her fate.
I saw bare feet, unwashed and torn yellow skirt, a stick under the name of toy, messy hairs and a girl’s trust on her mother. She believed that mother would save her from every possible exigency.
Awakening ~ Reservation Policy
I was a strong protestor of reservation policy of India till that moment but right at that moment, I had a paradigm shift. My whole universe had changed, now I want every law, every principle of the constitution to be imposed that would prevent that girl from falling in the fate same as her mother. The only possible law that allows it was reservation policy. That girl being a citizen of India has every right to live a decent life.
I know that the system is flawed and unprivileged are not getting targeted deliveries of their rightful entitlements but I have this believe in my heart that someday they will.
~Rohit Kabdwal
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- The Pahari Life ~1– The Seen and the Unseen - September 22, 2019
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