Balou Lekh

In a bookstore recently I bought a postcard that fascinated me. It’s a photograph of two shepherds in Balou Lekh, Nepal. Backs to us, they’re standing in an open meadow watching their small flock of sheep and herd dogs. It is a brilliantly sunny day. Their bodies cast long black shadows across the ground, as if they were figures on a sundial. In front of them, miles in the distance, is one of those astonishing panoramic views of the blue-gray Himalayas. The photo is so rich and exotic in both subject matter and locale that you don’t know where to look first.

When I got home I propped the card up next to the computer screen. Since then I find myself staring at it often and dreaming. An eye doctor once told me if you work at the computer a lot, you should frequently look away, out the window if possible and focus on the natural world a while to give your eyes a rest from the electronic jitters. I used to do that, but now with this card, with an eye flick I’m in Balou Lekh.

Jonathan Carroll is the author of over 20 novels and short story collections. His latest novel “Bathing the Lion” is now available in trade paperback. If you liked this piece, there’s lots more on his monthly newsletter. You can subscribe here