A Time In Hills With Life

by Mahjabeen Tamanna (India)

I didn't expect to find India

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15 December 2018. Stepping down from the Tata Sumo in that chilly weather of the Himalayas in Darjeeling, I didn't realize even then that the coming 2 and a half days are going to transform my life, perspective, and passion for forever. It was 4-degree Celsius outside and being a girl who had always lived on the plane, it was a bit difficult for me to stop my teeth from colliding with each other in a shiver. My mind was heavy, restless and upset. Just before a few days, a very precious person left my hands and side forever. I had lost all the meaning of my existence. My daily life had become a series of crying, screaming and seeking help in medicines. While walking towards my hotel on that 3500 meters altitude, all I was able to think were these. When I was at the edge of terminating my life, I thought to give it a last chance, and it saved me for a lifetime. Darjeeling is a hilly-Himalayan town on the eastern side of the Indian map. It is a part of the state of West Bengal. The culture that the people inherit there is mainly Nepali, they speak in Nepali and their life-style and everything has a mixture of Nepali, Bengali, and Tibetian touch. This culture and the people around played a vital role in the whole process of me becoming ME. It is true, what we try to avoid, comes after us. After walking back to my hotel all I was thinking that I should have gone somewhere else. There, I saw Nepalese everywhere, I heard Nepali always and it was a whole NEPAL. Nepal, which I was trying extremely to avoid at that time. But who knew, that place is going to reshape my mind and values. It was the next morning when I saw the Kanchanjangha, the great part of the Himalayas just in front of my eyes. The first sight of the dawn, the first tea with the Himalayas. I know what is 'Love at first sight' from that very moment. Within a fraction of second, I got a wave that this hill-station will save me, this place will save me from dying. I just need to give the hills a little bit of time to heal. The exploration started within the city. Me and my friend, we both were there for the first time, and I was enjoying every little bit of detail. No, I never forgot what I have been through. I had that in my mind every second, everywhere I went and everything I observed. We went through tea gardens, natural rock gardens and the mesmerizing hilly roads of Darjeeling. The day ended, I saw the twilight in the hills. I saw the amazing creation of the creator. It is true, the maker will never give you problems you can't solve, it is we who lack the eyes to find it. As the night fell without any notice in the hills, my thoughts started their marathon again. I wanted to wash off everything, but the mind is a great player. It was freezing there, the temperature was below 2-degree Celsius. I was waiting for the morning to spectacle another breath-stopping view, the Tiger Hill. The sun rose, I saw it from the peak of Tiger Hill, the first ray fell on the Kanchanjangha like a pearl and I was breathing the air like I was breathing the sun. It was my last day there. Flaucking around the roads of Darjeeling, I found my passion, I found that traveling will and can keep me alive. I left the next day but I never left Darjeeling. I went back there and many other places. I traveled more than 9 big spots after that within a year. I am a hardcore traveler now. I am forever grateful to Darjeeling for this. I can't bring back the people who left my side, but I have the power to cure my wounds. And I found my power in traveling. I believe a new hill, a new beach, a new language will heal me. It will bring my life back to me. Always.