Trekking your way away from the bustle!

It is not every day that you get to chat with yourself. So when one was told about a place where you just ‘can’t do anything’, the temptation was just too much to resist – coz that’s when you actually can think of doing so many things.

Jari. For those who have been to the Sikh holy shrine at Manikarn, or Himachal’s ‘little Israel’ -- Kasol – Jari is just a hamlet that takes exactly 40 second for the tourist taxi to speed past. Those travelling the route by bus, well, know it by 2 minutes more for its halt there. 

But, about 2 hours uphill from the district town of Bhunter, Jari is a place that lets you form your own opinion – you may call it the most boring place one can suggest for a holiday, or come back with a new definition of it.

Off the road

One can’t ignore the comfort of a taxi-drive, especially when in the hills, but I like being on a bus. Not that one enjoys the bumpy-curves while trying hard not to dose of on a petit Himachali shoulder – there’s something strange about journeying through the hills, may how hard one tries to savour the gorgeous peaks and gushing rivers that run beside you, the eye-lids seem too busy to meet each other. (Now, how poetic can you possibly be while describing a rolled back head with an open mouth!)

Well, it’s kind of nice to become a part of those people’s lives who are going to be around you for the next few days. And there’s no better way than to have a bus ride while listening to Kumar Sanu crooning through the 90s. And if you are lucky enough, it’s not unusual for hill-people to just break into some Garhwali song.

Little kids hop from one hamlet to other for morning schools, farmers taking the fresh produce to the market, villagers going to some temple for a local festival – a little bus ride leaves you suddenly with so much knowledge about a place’s local life that you were completely unaware of even a few hours ago. And all these for just Rs 30!

As you hop down at Jari, little momo shops, a few local taxis and a couple of grocery shops are the first things to greet you. Make sure to fill yourself with some, for a little trek to nowhere waits for you.

Also, make sure the batteries for your little torch are working fine, the Odomos tube has something in it. Remember, up there you’ll hardly have any shops to offer you these, for everything people need in their daily lives need to be carried on their back or on donkeys from the shops down here. Every little thing.

Where am I?

Having had a fair share hill life, mostly in the north-eastern part of the country, one is acquainted with climbing through the zig-zag steps that cut through every little hamlet on the slopes. So one takes the steps that start from right behind the taxi stand and climb up among the little wooden houses. Trust, one has no idea how much the scene is about to change in just five minutes.

Within 6-7 minutes of climb I’m walking through one of the most sought after ‘thing’ in the whole world. Yes, sought after by people those who ‘do’ it; and those who do it are always sought after by the police! No guessing required, marijuana plants grow here like coconuts in Kerala!

But something more exotic is waiting for me, which is no less sought after. That too, without any guilt.

I continue my trek upwards, with the faint sound of the River Parvati from miles away keeping me company. Of course, the unusually fresh air is always there.

From about 100 metres away one spots a tree that has more shades of pinkish-red than the green of its leaves. Then more trees like that starts falling in line. And suddenly it’s everywhere. On my both sides, till where my eyes can run.

I’m in the middle of apples. Thousands, or even lakhs,of them.

For a city dweller, the brush with ‘straight from the tree’ is limited maximum to the one odd lemon tree in your garden. But apples -- no way. Do I pick up some? Whose are these? Do they penalise people for plucking?

I don’t even realise that I have been just standing and staring at them for about 2-3 minutes now. Ripe, juicy, yellowish-pink little apples right above my nose – just a pluck away!

“Apple khaayega,” the voice a 40-something woman breaks the spell. Two ladies returning with baskets on their backs have caught me gaping, and have with no doubt read my mind. They ask again. Sheepishly, I give a nod.

 Within a moment I’m handed over two just-pluck apples, and I take them just as one had last taken chocolates about a decade and half ago on a Children’s Day in school. The ladies walk off with a giggle while munching on apples, leaving me to do the same. I seriously don’t blame Adam or Eve! 

Who needs heaven...

The scenes are drastically changing with each 5 to 10 minutes’ climb. The imposing peaks are coming closer. I have been climbing for about 30 minutes now, and truly there’s no chance of feeling tired. You have one brain – you can either let it think about the walk, or let it feel overwhelmed while standing in the middle of a vast corn field.

Have you ever thought what kind of an adrenaline rush the cricketers must have when they stand in the field of play with the colossal stadium filled with people thronging at them? Electric.

If not the same, but you get quite a similar feeling here. Surrounded by the massive Himalayas, here you stand in the middle of a field. You take a 360 degree look around with the wind rushing through the crop, gushing against your face, making a sound as if cheering you. The village temple courtyard can be taken as the pavilion end!    

Another five minutes takes me to my ‘home’ for the next few days. Chandra Place -- a two-storied cottage with 3-4 rooms. One the way up I have spotted a couple foreign tourists, but none is staying here. I’m given a choice to take any room I want. All for Rs 100 a night!

If you want a simple veg-meal for lunch or dinner, it’ll be provided for Rs 100. One is free to cook if you are carrying the stuffs needed.

For the next two days I wake up with mists and bird chirps and go back to rest with the silence of the hills. Read books sitting in the balcony longer than I hate spending at my office’s desk, and just stare at the lofty peaks as moonlight bathes them. And all this while I try to reason myself that yes, there can be places on earth where you just can’t hear anything mechanical.

So long...

Every person has a place, an emotion or even a friend, whom he wants to remain untouched. Not because one fears losing it – or maybe – but he loves it too much to let it get spoilt. Adulterated. Jari is one such place that every traveller would wish no one comes here... so that he can return there, time-and-again, and find it just the same -- whenever he is tired from everything else. He knows this little trek through the apple orchards is sure to bring him back... to himself.

** Nature’s best when it’s free! **

Raju bhai, the cottage owner has an orchard, and I was given a free run to pluck as many apples I wanted. I returned with about a kilo of them.

I asked the price after coming down to the Jari town. Rs 40, the girl told me. After an hour and half’s journey to Bhunter, it was Rs 80. The next morning in Delhi, the vendor just below my home was selling apples for Rs 130 for a kilo!