Tung village (1.10.26)

Getting up (7.30 am)

There are some days, pretty rare I admit, when we wake up, lie staring at a panelled ceiling, and discover, with mild surprise, that we have absolutely nothing to do. That too not with a feeling of lack, but with one of fullness, one that comes when you realise that the universe has arranged things in such a manner today that not a single thing has been left for us to do if we did not feel like doing it. We could laze in bed and gaze, we could sit outside and gaze, we could go for a walk and gaze around, we could dabble in the stream and gaze, gaze at a book if we felt like it. An opportunity to be a pure witness without doership. Does not easily happen. We smiled in gratitude and called our kids.

The sun was up already but sunshine had not yet reached our lawn. There was still a nip in the air. We made our tea and sat on the small balcony, our minds suffused with the muted roar of the river in front. We talked small matters that are often not talked about, swept away as they are in the ebb and tide of daily tasks. When the surrounding is peaceful, so is the mind. There is no point to prove, nor a position to defend, and sharing thoughts becomes fun. This, my friends, is probably a major gain in chilled out trips like this.

Breakfast on the lawn (8.30 am)

The homestay is owned and run by two brothers, Amirbhai and Kamlibhai. Amirbhai is the chef while Kamlibhai does customer coordination and property maintenance. Food at homestays are always simple, healthy and tasty, and this place is no exception. Today Amirbhai had prepared simple parathas served with pickle and some egg bhurji that we had specially ordered. I guess eating in the fresh open air adds a dollop of taste to the food. 

Let me talk a little about Kamlibhai and bro. They had set up this place around three years ago - four rooms and a kitchen - and they are now adding four more rooms on top, using the money from phase 1 to finance phase 2. They spend their nights at an old hut next door to the property (the original Walnut House), and their families live in some village. Quite a hard life, though I guess in deep winter they shut up the homestay and go back to their families.

Kamlibhai himself got into the tourism business while still in college. While in school he used to accompany his uncle who was a trekking guide, and while in college he himself became one. The Great Himalayan National Park nearby is fertile ground for trekkers and they usually cover it in 5-7 days. After he saved up, he started this homestay, preferring this to the life of a trekking guide. He comes across as a person of quality, as reflected in the room designs and fittings, as well as his conversations, humble yet knowledgeable.

We get neighbours (10.30 am)

Three rooms were empty at the homestay, and the guests arrived today, slated to stay for three nights. We were a bit apprehensive, expecting a noisy Delhi crowd, but we need not have worried. Eight kids from Haryana, four boys and four girls, who had taken the overnight Volvo to Aut (our transhipment point), and then boarded another bus to be dropped in front of the homestay. They looked like college kids. In no time at all, they were in the river, splashing around in the chilly water with whoops. We sat in the balcony next to the kitchen watching them indulgently, recollecting our younger days. Not that we had ever come to Tirthan. The Teesta was our limit. 

They were a decent group. Except that they chose the room next to ours for their late night adda and had to be firmly told by Panna to shift to a remote room. 

A village walk (11.30 am)

We did not want to go sightseeing today, but we did need our daily calorie burn, right? So we had a choice - the village of Tung to our left, a kilometer away, or the village of Bathad to our right, a similar hop away. We decided to go left (Bengali tendency, no?).

This portion of the road was very well tarmacked, just this end kilometer or so. Questioning Kamlibhai later, we learnt that the SDO had halted further asphalting till the roadside gutters were first laid. Otherwise that work would spoil the newly laid tarmac. Makes sense. So we took our pics standing in a well-paved road in the middle of nowhere.

Tung is such a small village that its population is not even listed. Visually, maybe 10 houses, two shops, two cows, one cowherd, one old man standing in a doorway, one bahurani chivvying a child up the stairs. Not a soul otherwise, though we stood gawking at a washing machine. Probably the men go for work in nearby Gushaini. 

We strolled down, quite aware that we were going downhill and would have to face it when returning. We saw eggs being sold in a shop and popped in. Why?

Eggs served by the homestay were chargeable at Rs 30 per piece. The chicken would have been proud how well her kids were doing in life. In the shop, we were getting them at Rs 8 apiece. We proudly bought a dozen, having hoodwinked the monopolistic grip of the remote homestay industry.

Our walk ended at a 40m span bridge that straddled across the Palachan river, patiently waiting for people to cross. The river was even faster here, and viewed from the top, quite attractive. 

We walked back, huffing and puffing, sometimes squeezing to the roadside when the odd Bolero whizzed by, thrilled at having reached tarmacked roads at last. 

Panna takes a bath (1.00 pm)

She normally takes a bath every day, of course, but I meant a river bath in this case. Armed with the essentials, viz camera and selfie stick, she waded out to the spot where the kids were bathing earlier. I sat on a bench on the intermidiate level, a book by Osho on my knee, and contemplated the infinite. Panna was not really visible from where I sat, which raised the age-old doubt in my mind (and here I was in the good company of existential philosophers): if I don't see something, does it exist or doesn't it? Maybe Osho has something to say.

Lunch and after (1.30 pm)

One thing was for sure, the brothers were stickers for timelines. At 1.30 pm I was dragged out of the depths of Osho by "Saar, lunch is ready". So I collected Panna and had our simple lunch. 

Post lunch sessions are a bit lazy for us - some net-surfing, Panna's online work (lo, the dedicated soul), my online blog, a bit of snooze, evening tea at 5.30, watching the sky slowly darken. (I still cannot get over how blue the sky is. Even during the day, one can see the moon.  Unimaginable!). 

Kamlibhai lovingly serves us dinner by 7.00 pm. We watch and episode or two on our iPad, and by 9.00 pm, we are actually feeling drowsy. The beds are super comfortable here, and after the little fracas with our neighbours mentioned earlier, we drifted off to sleep, full of gratitude.

Tomorrow night be a very similar day. What fun!