Colors of life

This happened a few years ago. My friends Sri, James, Milind and I decided to go to Goshaini, a remote place in Himachal Pradesh. As I didn’t have any rainproof jacket with me, I did some shopping and bought a cheap green translucent raincoat for myself from a Chinese product store in Lajpat Nagar which sold everything for Rs. 99. As usual, later, the others, looking at the rain-sheet (it takes some imagination to call it a jacket, really!), wanted one each for themselves, and asked me to buy them. As a loyal friend, I went and bought the jackets, but as luck would have it, they were out of the green sheets, so I bought pink translucent ones! Ok, I admit, they were not out of stock on those green jackets, I did it on purpose: I couldn’t resist to dress my portly friends in pink translucent rain-sheets :-P

Cut, to a few weeks later in Goshaini, we all enjoyed our stay there and one day we went for a trek to Jalodi Pass. Now, the way this one day trek happens is… you catch a morning bus to a drop point on Jalodi Pass and then trek to a Mandir besides a lake a few miles away and come back to the same point and catch a bus back to Banjaar. The catch is, there are only two buses in a day. One at noon and the other at 3 p.m. So, we went there, enjoyed the trek to the lake and enjoyed the views, and started our trek back. Now, the twist in the tale: it started drizzling!

Out came the green rain-sheet and the three pink rain-sheets! We draped our tired bodies with fashionable rain gear and re-started our march back. After a few minutes, I somehow gained some distance on the others, and looking back couldn’t see them anymore. The visibility was low anyway, so I stopped for others to join me. I waited for them, my body started to cool down, but there was no sign of my friends! I waited for some more time, I started getting shivers (from the rain, not out of fear, I swear), but still, no James, no Sri, no Milind! Then I started back tracking, and suddenly, as if they were waiting for me to retrace my steps, they appeared out of the white mist! Looking tired, troubled and almost as if they were coming back from Everest summit (I have heard, never been there myself). I asked them about their delay, but they remained silent.

We rushed back to the bus stop and finally caught the bus, but it was so crowded, we didn’t get to talk. Finally, when we reached our guest house, came the truth. On their way back, they faced a big black bull, which blocked their way. I passed the same bull, but the bull never even glanced at me. But with them, the bull made sure, they couldn’t pass. They took a detour, which they claim required some rock climbing, and rejoined the marked trek path! Damn those pink rain coats!