Rom Nath Nepal
Some months ago, I made a pilgrimage to the far-eastern part of Nepal. I was quite excited about the journey. I was passing through our ancestors’ place up to Pathivara Devi temple, one of the famous religious spots of the Hindu community.
My journey started from central city: Kathmandu. In my experience, most of the students, who are studying in Kathmandu, feel better and happy to go to their places. I feel the same.
That day, my memory started tickling my mind as soon as I was on board the bus. I missed my childhood days and remembered many things attached with me. The place I was visiting, after a long gap, was one that held my childhood days, trees, temple, waterfall, river, steep land etc., which evoke my past, for that is the ground where I grew up. Those things are still the same.
I started my journey with the golden rays of the sun in morning. Peaceful and calm environment, cool air from the forest and the burbling sound of the river were my allies during the journey. I had left that busy Kathmandu, through filled with educated people, had dusty roads, pollution, rushes and garbage. I was alone in the crowd. As soon as landed on my home ground, I felt close affinity with the wilderness therein. There were many things attached with me.
We reached Rankey Bazaar, located in the northern-most part of Ilam district, and stopped there for tea. This is one of the coolest places in Ilam, and people generally stop here for orthodox tea. That tea is famous all over the world.
After taking milk-tea we left that place. But I have not forgotten that tea yet, for it was handmade, and the milk added to it had been recently milked by man in that very place, where people fed medical herbs as grass to their cattle. They are familiar with soil, rock water and other things there.
In the speeding taxi we passed through different places. Sometime we reached top of the hills and some other times, the foothills and banks of rivers. We also went past Phidim Bazaar which is like a valley topographically. The market is in plain area and hills surround it from four directions.
Next we stopped at the Kabeli River. The driver stopped the taxi, and I and my friends got out of it. All of us went to the bank of a river to feel the coolness of water there. It is said that water is colorless but the water of the Kabeli looks blue. From the bridge lain across the Kabeli, we saw meeting point of the Tamor and the Kabeli. Water in the Tamor is bluer than that in the Kabeli. I remembered the holy river Bagmati of Kathmandu and its pathetic condition in Kathmandu.
After 7 hours’ journey, we reached Suketar Airport. We ordered lunch and went to see the airport which was under construction. The erstwhile greenery was no more to be seen around the airport.
We started hiking after lunch. Although we had a taxi with us we preferred going by foot. We had to feel every inch of soil with own feet. We left the city area and entered the forest, where several flora and fauna provided us a company. Unknown as well as known birds were singing; deer were dancing; musk-deer were searching for smell all around the forest without knowing that the smell coming very much from their navel area. Rhododendrons were blossoming to welcome us and all the hills were like a bridegroom with a head wear and cosmetics. The beauty of nature grabbed our eyes. I looked at the spectacles without closing my eyes. That beauty of flower and greenery of trees not just attracts young lovers but also encourages elder people to live longer. It gives inspiration to the poets. Green leaves and red flowers of the rhododendron suggest the pied-beauty of nature.
When the thought occurred to my mind, I remembered a few lines from G.M. Hopkins’ “Pied-Beauty”
Glory be to God for dappled things
For skies of couple-color as a brined cow,
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim
Fresh-fire coal chestnut falls, finches, wings.
On the way we found some fruits like: hazel, walnut, etc., enjoyed them and moved on. At dusk, we reached upper base camp which is at an altitude of 3200 m. We were tired and pale. Yet, we climbed a hill for two hours, but slowly cold gripped us. At night, when we got ready to have our meal, it had already gone cold within a minute. The temperature there was around 2 degree Celsius.
The next day, we left out hotel about 5 am. To be safe from altitude sickness we had kept ginger, popcorn, sugar candy, water, Redbull etc. with us. There was snow all around the forest. We walked safely on the snow. We had to climb 500 meters more. About half-past six the first rays of the sun kissed the Mt. Everest. That snowy mountain turned into a mountain of gold. Simultaneously sunlight touched Kumbakarna and Kanchanjungha mountains too. After 30 minutes sunlight met us and we felt warmer. The rays of the early morning sun brightened our yellowish faces. There I sang a song, “Let Her Go” by the famous singer Passenger:
Well, you only need the light when its burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home.
Like in the song, I was missing the sun when there was snow. I was waiting for light because there was thick darkness.
On the way we met several other pilgrims. They were all climbing the hill just to wish for peace, progress and prestige for themselves, their families and relatives. They had to meet the Goddess and say their needs and desires.
After 3 hours of hiking we reached an altitude of 3794 meter, which was our destination. More than 3 feet snow had added beauty to that place. Chill penetrated our soles and passed into us.
After worshiping the Goddess, making our wishes and narrating the story of our pain, we snapped a few photos.
There I saw several young he-goats slaughtered in the name of bali. I don’t know whether God/Goddess demands for murder or blood of innocent kids, which are, after all, creations of the same nature or let’s say God. The snow there was filled with blood. Heads lay thrown helter-skelter everywhere, while the rest of the bodies were taken for meat. I remembered how innocent goats were following people without knowing where they were being taken along a journey of 5 hours by a taxi from its station. The practice has always continued. I don’t know whether those goats know why people are killing them.
After seeing that pathetic scene I requested God to save the life of innocent animals, instead of making any wish for the humans.
The scenes around the temple made us stay there for 2 hours. Playing with the snow was a new experience for us. I touched the snow for pleasure. I held it until my hands froze. But there were trees, animals and insects which were facing the snow all the time. I didn’t know the pain of those things. I asked the trees how it feels. They remained silent; they must have thought that human beings cannot understand it. I don’t have the capacity to understand the silence of nature. While playing with the snow in remembered Wallace Steven and his poem “The Snow Man”.
The environment of the places that didn’t have human touch was clean and beautiful but near the trail of the coon, we could see thrown-away plastics, beer cans, RedBull cans, and bottles of water that suddenly made the natural beauty of the forest tarnished. Pollution around those places is growing too, but we are careless about it.
After sometimes the climate changed. The sky was overcast with clouds. Suddenly it started raining, frightening each one of us. My friends close their eyes and ears while it thundered, but I saw nature celebrating the advent of the spring season. That new leaves were symbolizing new generation. I enjoyed with the rain again and again, and touched the snow. I slipped on the snow but didn’t get annoyed because going there was my choice; it was not nature that has pulled me.
Other friends were sad with the weather but I was not. I didn’t ask nature to be in my favor; I celebrated nature with its own system. It knows when to rain, when to thunder, and when to re-create leaves on trees.
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[Rom Nath Nepal is an MA in English from Tribhuvan University.]