Home away from home in the Himalayas.

by Syed Nahid Anjum (India)

Making a local connection India

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Some unmelodious realities of my native society have made my way to Chandigarh for college, one of the northernmost cities lying in the frontiers of the state of DEV BHOOMI(Land of Gods) Himachal. The 1st semester of my college days were full of ups and downs. Having almost no connection to the roots of my native society I was all alone in the far land some 3000 kms away from home with no friends and no one to rest upon. Days passed and winters arrived and then I was getting myself more engulfed in loneliness and alcohol and nobody cared about this introvert creature who have distanced him from the rest of the college and hostel. Then the Holi holidays arrived and people started leaving for their respective homes. A day before Holi I was sitting in our hostel dining room all alone. Generally it used to be filled up with students but that day I was all alone having my lunch. Suddenly a guy came and sat infront of me with his food. We exchanged glances and he started the conversation with a Hi!. Then he asked me my room no. and I replied back. After I finished my lunch and bid him a bye before leaving for my room. After 15 min he came to my room and we started knowing about each other over a cigerette and he found out that I am going to be all alone in the hostel that festive season. He said he belongs from Himachal, a village near Shimla and he was about to leave for his home that night to celebrate holi. His name is Amit. As we finished the cigerette he asked me if I would like to visit his home for celebrating holi as I will be all alone and get bored in the hostel. I missed the feeling of being home so much and without thinking much I agreed. We started packing and I was so excited to be on the mountains. We started our journey around 9 pm and within an hour our bus reached that point where the Himalayas meet the plains of North India. I smelled the mountains and I was so happy that I have never been before. Then our bus stopped by a dhaba around midnight and we had our dinner there. That journey brought me and Amit more close sharing our life experiences and thoughts. Finally by morning 5 am we reached to a market area from where we had to hike down 20 min to reach his home. The dawn on the mountains greeted me with a love that I was missing all these days, I felt so blessed. We reached his home and uncle ji, aunty ji, his younger brother Akhil and of course the most important family member Bruno(his pet dog) greeted us open heartedly. We exchanged pleasantries and then aunty prepared us a welcome tea. That morning tea drained all my exhaustion which I had due to the long journey. Then we changed our clothes and everyone in the village was in a festive mood and Amit took me to the place where everyone gathered to celebrate holi. The village consists of 15-20 houses and everybody knew each other. I met everyone where we gathered and Amit introduced me to everyone and they all were so welcoming and lovely bunch of people with so innocent hearts that at that very moment I got attached to them and it felt like I am a part of them and I have known them for years. I made a local connection there. Then the rituals started and I was so drowned there that I felt I am at home some 3500 kms away from my home. The days I spent there brought me more closer to everyone in the village and I felt so connected to them. After few days when we came back I really missed being there and their love. I felt a strong connection to them and every year from then I used to wait for Holi holidays so that I could just pack my bag and rush to the home I have in the mountains of Shimla.