The Mountains Echoed

15/6/2014

That feeling of experiencing the lush green mountains and the chilly morning breeze in the month of June, in a country like India is more than enough to describe the feeling amongst the 19 of us who were looking out of the bus window in complete awe of the beauty and at the same time were trying to calm and reassure each other that the bus wont just topple off from the edge. In the midst of the excitement we were also aware why we basically started this journey to the foot hills of the Himalayas; we were going closer to nature, to experience how things are changing, to get a firsthand account of the changing face of nature and the environment in the name of development.

Somewhere, in the middle of nowhere you come across the village of Banjar (no, not pronounced as 'BANJAR', as in barren, but instead 'BANJAAR'). Contrary to its name the village lies in the breath taking Tirthan Valley, surrounded by echoing mountains and the gushing Tirthan River sounding like the band of musicale (nothing short of the Beatles or john Denver of the country). I make it sound dramatic, not because I want you to perceive it as such, but because I want you to close your eyes and picture, picture how it feels to stand in the mountains, hearing sounds that have been so alien to us, and listening to water over flowing, not from the tap of your bathroom but from the source its self, the abundance of life that we chose to ignore and take for granted, the things that require as much love and attention as the dog in your house or your new born baby sister, its' all out there, quietly providing for us, without any demands or expectations.

A narrow road, with mountains on one side, and the Tirthan River flowing on the other side, it is getting darker minute by minute and the bus carrying us, decides to break down on the middle of the road, completely shutting itself down. It is pitch dark, dark enough to make us stutter, and long for help to come soon. That stranded feeling of adventure, of how one gets lost into the wild and has to find his/her way back home started creeping in on everyone, and all of us tried to come up with brilliant ideas to help save the day, like one batman wasn't enough (pun not intended.) Calls were made and we had cars swishing around us for our rescue, and thus started the journey inside of The Great Himalayan National Park.

Camping in the jungles of the park, had a completely different feel altogether. We were lucky to reach Himachal on the day of the rare full moon night, which we witnessed in the true essence of it, in a place where everything felt so right, with good food and warm sleeping bags in which we crashed, to witness the place with the beautiful sunrise.

The various kinds of adjectives that we might want to use to describe the place would lose its true meaning if you happen to witness it first hand, as to how isolated a place can be, but still you feel so close to home.

The next day started with the trek to the illusive water fall, and I swear to god that those apparent "4 Kms" seemed longer than the walk back home. I warned the guides escorting us to the fall, that "if it doesn't prove to be a trek worthwhile, I shall commit to crimes of taking lives." But as you got closer, you could first hear and then see from the higher heights of the sky, a gush of water falling face down into the river, the water so numbing cold that it made your spine hurt but all the effort worthwhile. I didn't get a chance to try my hand out at fishing. Trouts happen to be a specialty of the region, the Tirthan river having abundance of it.

Returning back to the camp, we had a gentleman patiently waiting for us to return from our expedition, so that he could meet us and share with us the actual scenario hovering over this place. Ghuman Singh, a local of the place and a highly influential social worker, who has won over the hearts of the locals through his work and love for his mother land, an activist of the Himalyan Neeti Abhiyan, a collective of grass root people's resistance defending local livelihoods, environment and social equity.

According to Ghuman Singh, in the midst of this rapid development, globalization, liberalization people have completely lost the essence of life, and especially in the mountains, this farce objective of development through tourism has left the Himalayas shaken and distort. People do not understand that the consequence of playing with nature can be very harsh. Like you or I would want to have our privacy and contain our own livelihoods, similarly the inhabitants of Himachal want to live with their dignity and want their homes to be homes and not tourist destinations for people to come holiday at.

He tries to give us an over view of what actually is happening in the state, of how he is not against development of the state, but instead, it is his major priority too. But he makes it clear that development at the cost of ruining someone's native land is highly questionable and should therefore be debatable.

'MEGA - TOURISM' and 'MEGA - DEVELOPMENTAL' projects have led to rapid deforestation at a very large scale in Himachal. The influx of migrant population into the state, and the unlimited process of urbanization have threatened the ecological balance and livelihoods of the people. The limitless exploitation of natural resources, disturbing the ecology and limiting the rights of the locals on these natural resources should definitely raise questions in everyone's minds.

He opposes the mega hydro projects and the damming of rivers, which changes the natural course of the river. The fight he leads is against the corrupt government trying to make money where ever they can, the SEZ's that see the beautiful state of Himachal as a money minting machine for their own consumption and greed. It was by the HNA's instilling efforts that they were able stall the ski village project of Ford Foundation at Manali - Kullu which was estimated to be a project worth 1500 cr, the initial costing. It was there initiation that stopped the building of the Renuka dam. They are struggling for the rights of the people at various levels, to secure them a livelihood, and save their state before it is completely engulfed in the hands of wrong doers. They are at present fighting against the decision of declaring the great Himalayan national park as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as it will endanger the people inhabiting the area, and limit their right over their own lands. Their major struggle right now is to get the Forest Rights Act implemented in all the regions of Himachal so that the community claims are recognized under this act and the faith of the people restored.

There are genuinely very few people in the world who have a greater calling; that's what I believe. It is you who makes whatever that is you make out of your life. Do you think a 9 - 5 job at a corporate office, a beer at a lounge, dinner at Nando's, watching the news at home to be updated and 'voting' is all you can do? I'd say stop whatever you are doing and contribute to the humanity in every little way you can, because the apple juice you drink from the Tropicana Carton or the apple martini that you drink at the bar happen to be in your hand because someone somewhere in the hills, grew those apples in there orchards to give you the life that you lead now.