Life- the End

Beep beep beep....

A sweet voice called "ki re,kmn lagche ekhn.....tor ek chatri dekha korte eseche, vetore pathabo?"

Tor ICU,tui janis.

Saradin oi Ipad na dhuke theke ektu bairer jogote ai....kalkei toke HDU te pathate bolechi.

Ish,tahole toke r dekhte pabo na?

Amai toh onekdin dhore rakhli,ebar jete de.

And suddenly she vanished in the mist of the morning.

And then i opened my eyes and saw you, 

Sir, Bhalo achen....ki j koren, sorirtar to jotno neben,boyes toh hoyeche onek. Bolechilen j Thailand er beach e ganja tante tante morte chan, ta ekhane ICU te suye achen keno. Taratari sustho hon, r beron.

Ganja niye esechis?

Eta ICU....u smiled with a bit of fake anger.

How much time you spent i didn't know,but it felt like eternity...it's a good thing that they don't allow watches in ICU.

So, again to kill the time and to keep the promise,i asked for my Ipad.

Our last night's sleep was interrupted by the sounds of packing and bundling. The whole ashram was awake, for the public bus to Kedarnath was to leave soon. Shivering in the cold October, i sat down near a window seat. As the cherry red sun popped up its head behind the green mountains, i could see the young laviscious youthful Mandakinini with her bents and curves cutting through the mountains (udvitto joubona sodyosnata romonir bokhobivajikar majhe bahoman nir bindu ....stop it,my mind screamed,u r writing the memoir of a old man but in the words of a kid.). At Rudraprayag, the youthful Mandakinini meets her placid somewhat mature sibling Alakananda. My sibling, who was sleeping till now, now pushed me for a better view of the rivers and i being a docile brother obliged grudgingly and gave up my window seat, and went to sleep. By the time we reached Gourikund, it was dark and again a small room in a ashram to gather your bearings (as the English call it). 

The next morning, after a dip in the hot sulfer (stinky rotten egg like smell) waters of GauriKund, we set off for Kedarnath on ponies, while my Grandmother on a Doli. It was long mountainous road through pine forests. To call it a road would be preposterous,just a small path made by the foot of centuries of travellers.After a few hours our road was blocked by a horde of mountain goats coming down the path. I don't know who is more foolish,the mountain goats or the ponies, because both tried to outdo each other by walking on the edge of the roads,near the khaad, trying to commit suicide. I closed my eyes in fright. Suddenly a defying sound "Har Har Mahadev, Jai Sibha Sambhu", and gently i opened my eyes and saw the Temple of simmering at a distance in the morning glow of the sun.I survived the journey,with a back ache and sore tasrif (it sounds so sweet in Urdu!). But the darshan of the temple against the white snowcapped Himalayas caught my breath away and i was Godsmacked (what an irony!). That night I saw my first snowfall in the full moon....the temple shinning like a shivling against the dark night. One can hear the sweet voice of the Alakananda, flowing near the temple. Only bad thing about that day was the lunch, rice, dal and soyabean (uffff....i hate soyabeans to this day).

The journey back was on foot. I had already fallen in love with the mountains, and just like all boys in first love, eager to know more about their muse, i left the ordinary road and went for the shortcuts. And sprained my foot badly. Also the water of mountain springs didn't work any wonder for me, and the breakfast of ripe bananas......all this made a deadly cocktail in my tummy, and the moment I reached back, i vomitted(i told you, i was always a sick child!).

After the mandatory scolding from my father,and the love from Dida, we sat on a bus for a overnight journey to Badrinath. 

Sir, the nurse inturuppted, time for your medicines.

Let me finish this,i pleaded....

Ok, just 15minutes.

And so we reached Badrinath, a beautiful temple. The weather was cold and chilly, and the two towering mountains of Har and Hari overlooked the temple with love and affection. The rest of journey i didn't remember, also the hands are aching from typing for so much time, getting old you know.

Switching off the iPad, i secretly brought out the ganja ciggerate that you have smuggled in the ICU. Asking the beautiful nurse to take me to the toilet, i secured the bolt and then lighted the cigarette and took a long puff.......BOM Bhole!

.           Bom bhole!!!!!