Unplanned visit to the land of deities Himachal Pradesh, India
We were both going through a transient phase in our lives where we had quit the old way of living and working driven by the ego and found ourselves on the threshold of embracing a new story in which deep connections with people, doing things we were really passionate about, true service to humanity, embracing the unknown and living in the present mattered the most.
Our unplanned trip to Shimla gave us an experience of all of the above as we both are passionate about travel. Without having any concrete plans, we just trusted our innermost feelings and backpacked for a trip to shimla. We just took a local state transport bus from Gurgaon headed for shimla. The bus drive was comfortable and was probably my very first time that I was travelling in a state transport bus.
During the overnight journey I was able to appreciate the simplicity of life and realized that you don’t need much money to travel but rather the courage to follow your gut is all that’s needed. Another learning from the journey was that trusting and relying on local people and resources always helps reduce unnecessary travel expenses & makes the whole experience richer.
We arrived at Shimla next morning at around 7:30 a.m. and were received by a very good friend of our’s who lives and runs a school in Shimla. We checked in into his lovely 3 bed room apartment and instantly felt at home.
Since we were on an unplanned trip we had no idea what would be next and what life held in store for us in Shimla. The purpose of the trip as we could forsee it, was to connect genuinely with unknown people, spend time with our friend, travel places, meet new people, enjoy photography and enjoy the silence which is abundant in the Himalayan foothills.
We spent the whole day chatting with each other, and catching up on what was going on in our lives. My friend who is an avid traveler shared stories and real time experiences from his travels all over the world. During our conversations we could all realise and appreciate that the things that really matter in life are beyond what money can buy.
The next day we drove down to my friend’s village in Kotgarh near town Narkanda, around 80 kms from Shimla at an altitude of 3143 mts. My friend’s uncle and aunt stay there in a lovely spacious home. We joined them as guests that evening. They were great hosts, treating us generously with everything that was special about the culture in that village. Aunty cooked awesome meals and it was blissful to drink milk freshly milked from the cow at their home. For me it was my first home stay in a Himachal village and every moment with the family was worthwhile. Though I was meeting them all for the first time, we connected as though we had known each other since long.
Next morning we went for a walk to a beautiful lake nearby and strolled through the woods. Strolling and trekking in the forests was quite an experience. There was deep stillness in the atmosphere which could be felt and every moment spent trekking through the deodar forests was feeling connected.
After a sumptuous lunch we went to see Dhamni grounds, the huge skiing slopes located at Narkanda. The sight of the vast green pasture slopes (since we visited in monsoon)with cows and horses grazing were simply a treat for the soul. Spending silent moments there allowed us to sense the deep and natural connection we have with ourselves and with the rest of the world including nature, animals, inanimate objects and people.
We returned that evening to Shimla and spent the next few days just living indoors most of the time (except for a Sunday drive to a resort at subhatu) and just stepping out in the evenings to the local market place.
Every trip I had taken before this one was usually full of ‘doing’, be it treks, adventure sports, sightseeing, shopping etc. however this trip was meant to be all about enhancing genuine human connections.
We would have long spiritual conversations on some days while other days were just spent in silence doing simple household chores like cooking for ourselves, cleaning, washing and laundry. On some days we would go for long walks, enjoying the scenic landscapes on both sides, spend time capturing beautiful views of evening sunset, landscapes, nature & people in our camera, on other days it would be adhoc spiritual conversations and exploring eternal questions or just jotting down our thoughts in a journal.
It was a period of ‘non — doing’ and yet being fully present. There were moments when we would not know what to do and yet the energy of spiritual union and silence would bring us back into the NOW and silence the thinking mind.
What was most unique about the trip was the experience of presence. At every given moment, no matter how much I tried hard (forced by habit) to think, plan about the future, it would be impossible to do so. Life would force me back into the awareness of the present moment and push me into a deep deep silence that cannot be described in words.
We returned back to Gurgaon after spending nearly 15 unplanned days in Shimla — just trusting the flow and living moment by moment & enjoying the small and simplest things of life. We met many new people from various backgrounds which was a refreshing experience. The trip has been one of the most fulfilling in terms of deepening our connection with ourselves, each other & nature and a great experience of living truly in the unknown.
