MATERIALISM IN EXPERIENCE

by Pawan Kumar (India)

A leap into the unknown India

There is excitement then there is adrenaline rush and then there is that feeling that you might die any second but the experience to overcome that fear is what makes us feel more alive. I had such similar experience when I made a trip to the most beautiful place yet the deadliest road on earth – Sach pass through Spiti valley . Located in Himachal Pradesh, Spiti is fullness in nothingness. There were hordes of bikes rushing towards leh, but I wanted to be at a place where I hear gush of wind than rather be somewhere where horns of bikes blow in synchrony. I with my group of bikers – India Bull Riders, left from udaipur in wee hours and reached rohtak riding for 700km in one day. The next day we left for shimla but the weather had some other plans for us. It started raining very heavily and we had to stop for some time but then we left in the rain taking the weather heads on. One of our bikes broke down enroute so we had to stop but somehow managed to reach shimla in late hours. The next morning we left for Chitkul- a small and quaint village which some say is the last village of India on Indo-China border. Every one was excited the next day but riding off road had taken its toll on the bikes as well as the bikers. We were to leave for Spiti that morning but due to a massive landslide we were stranded in the middle of the road for 3 hours after which we had to take a stop at kalpa. We reached Spiti the next day crossing 10 odd landslides. The fear was apparent but we were determined to complete this trip whatever happened. We stayed at spiti for this next two days and released the frustration of not having seen a proper road for 3 days. Kaza is a small village with nothing to boast about but around it there are some of the World's highests such as post office in Hikkim, highest village – Komic, highest motrable bridge – Chicham bridge. Then we left for Sach pass which is one of the most deadliest roads to have a ride on. We were exhilarated but at the same time terrified by tbe vision of some deadly cliffs. On the route we saw mesmerising views of Lake Chandrataal and crossed some crazy water streams. We reached Sach pass and even the first sight of it made us feel relieved and filled us up with energy. There was a wall of snow on both the sides of the road which was as high as 10 feet at some places. We now had to go downhill only and now we could also find proper tarmac which after 4 days of off roading felt like a bliss. Before the sun could set we were at Chamba, located on the banks of the River Ravi. The next morning we left for Dalhousie where we enjoyed paragliding at Khajjiar, which is also called the Mini Switzerland of India. We left for Ludhiana after that and the feeling of longing had already began to haunt. Such was the experience of the trip and the thrill which had pumped us once and again in the last week. There are two kinds of belongings one, of experience and the other being material. This experience was so real and so tangible, I could keep it with me. Materialism in experience. End