A love story from Leh, Markha Valley:

 

Let me start with a riddle –

Throughout your life, you look forward to this thing.

It’s more important than your salary, bonus and even dreams.

Without it, you can easily get frustrated.

Without it, you can hardly find time to celebrate and relax.

 

What is it?

It’s the holidays!

Holidays are the best thing that can happen to a person.

But for me, it was a punishment. I am Ashwin and I hate Leh.

Everything was normal a few weeks back. I stay at the extension of the equator, Chennai. Getting roasted, barbecued, and steamed is a part of my life style. And by nature, you can call me a Sakht Launda (guy with focused attitude - Zakir Khan). As my routine goes, between Youtube and Netflix, I do some work from home.

New years eve was around the corner and my social window was filled with ads. As soon as I opened my social media apps, everything was calling out to me. There was year-end sale, flash sale, DJ night, special dinner, music might, and even discounts on lingerie (Why Google???).

I wanted to do something different. Something unique. I shut my social window and started thinking. What can be challenging and totally different for a South Indian guy to experience? Suddenly, a notification popped up on my phone. It was an FB post with two huge snow-covered mountains and the caption said, “THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING YOU”.

A unique temptation filled my mind and when I answered the mountain’s call, 30 thousand rupees went out of my pocket. I had booked the “MARKHA VALLEY WINTER TREK” with Bikat advebtures. Then, the next thing was the obvious show-off. I was flaunting my rucksack, trekking attire, and leather boots to everyone. My journey until the Leh airport was filled with many #^s. (#explorer, #himalayas, #InnerPeace, #snow, #2021 etc.)

As soon as my flight landed at Leh airport, I could still hear the voice of the mountains. They were constantly calling out me. I ogled the compact airport premise out the window for some time and finally got ready to come out of the plane. When I stepped out, I was in for a huge revelation. The mountains were not calling out to me, they were laughing and giving me Gaali.

The temperature was – 15-degree celcius. My nervous system went mad and my fingers started playing tabla. My teeth were clacking like a typewriter. The others members of the Markha trek group who joined me at the airport were completely excited and taking selfies. I was faking my smile and just rushed towards the hotel. To add to my misery, the high altitude gave me headaches and dizziness. Throughout that night, one thought kept popping in my mind – the DJ night in Chennai would have been a better option.

The next day, my entire group assembled in the common area of the hotel. After a lot of struggle, I added more layers of clothing, sneaked out of my room, and managed to reach the common area late. I was literally looking like a fat onion. our trek leader was briefing about the trek and everyone was introducing themselves. Since I had already lost my confidence to the harsh weather, I remained silent. That's when a warm sensation crept into my heart. Something pleasant was approaching me. A beautiful girl came out the kitchen and sat next to me. Sometimes in our life, when we see some thing or some person, a familiar bell rings and creates an impression. The warm feeling which I got from her was sensational and not just rang a bell, it played violins in the backdrop.

She was totally different. She had a radiant complexion that stood out. Her body was so curvy and her lips were way prominent than others. Even her silence radiated warmth and her presence was like flowing water. Everyone sat around her and shared their stories with her.

Wow, what a girl, I thought to myself. The fear of cold and high altitude was fading away. My lost confidence found its way back to my heart and when I was about to make a move, she went back to the kitchen and never came out. From that moment things got interesting. The thought of the DJ night vanished and my heart was filled with that mysterious girl.

My curiosity went crazy and a lot of questions came to my mind.

Who is she?

Will I see her in the trek?

Can I steal a glance from her?

Will I get some alone time with her?

 

With a lot of anticipation and unanswered questions, I dozed off.

 

The next morning, my journey to Markha valley began. After witnessing the beautiful landscapes and snow-capped mountains, my small heart automatically grew and I became magnanimous. After watching many Bollywood actors dancing on snow, I always wanted to feel my first impression on it. That happened at Markha valley. Walking on the frozen river was exciting and my trek mates were sliding and dancing on it. Everyone relished their time there.

This was all because of her. Just a few moments with her in my life changed my perspective of this place. I missed her. I wanted to spend some quality time with her. I wanted to share my view and my experience with her. I wanted to thank her for just being there.

Finally, after a lot of waiting, I saw her back at our dining tent. After observing her, I understood her routine. She appeared for 3 times a day. During breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No wonder she was always stuck in the kitchen tent. People say the way to a person's heart is through delicious food. So, somehow, I believed her timings were set for me.

This little clarity gave me solace. Now, the next big thing was to get some privacy and make her comfortable. However, my lively teammates started to irritate me and surrounded her most of the time. Whenever I got closer, the others sat around her and kept her for themself. They enjoyed her warmth and kept on sharing their stories with her.

Being a Sakht launda, I had never experienced jealousy before. But this time, it was really heavy. I wanted to steal her and keep her for myself. I wanted to embrace her round waist and make her sit on my lap. I wanted to tell her the stories of my past and make fresh memories with her. Thankfully, the mountains helped me with this issue. Initially, they mocked me, later they gave me enough momentum, and peace to move on.

I waited patiently. Though I was in my late 20’s, I acted like a teenager. Sometimes, late in the night, I would leave my tent and sneak into the kitchen tent to see her. I would make excuses and started getting close to the cook, just to make some eye contact with her. As usual, she would reply with a warm silence.

Finally, the big day came where our group reached the vantage point and saw the mighty Kang Yatse peak. Enroute a successful summit, we all became close and shared our personal views and the revelations we got at Markha Valley. Everyone spoke about their views on the beauty, the peace they got there and a few even planned to revisit this winter wonderland. I remained silent and just thought of her.

The journey ended and we all came back to our hotel at Leh. I was still patient and waiting for my moment with her. It was the last night and New Year’s Eve. To celebrate 2021, the entire group went to the nearest deluxe room and started to party. I stayed in the common area, alone. And that’s when she came out of the kitchen.

My heartbeat rose, violins from the backdrop started to gain tempo in my mind and the silence was loud. Without any hesitation, I removed my gloves, embraced her waist, picked her up, and made her sit on my lap. I played a piece of romantic music on my phone, opened the windows, and we enjoyed the view of the moon-lit snowcapped mountains and twinkling stars at -25 degree Celsius in the night. It was a magical moment for both of us.

Just like her, I maintained a deep silence even now. Our body warmth grew in sync and we finally bonded together. From the first moment, I knew that this will be a short-lived love story and this won't continue. She belonged to the cold mountains of Leh and I belonged to the hot plains of South India.

After a few moments of bliss, I took a glass from the table, gently slanted her, and poured some hot tea from her mouth. I enjoyed every sip of it and finally broke the silence and said - 

“You are the most beautiful kettle I have ever seen in my life”

When the song ended the cook from the kitchen took her away. For the last time, we exchanged glances and parted our own ways.

With a heavy heart and a fresh feeling, I came back to Chennai and wrote about her in my diary. This is the reason I hate Leh. I hate Leh for giving me a beautiful experience. I hate Leh for giving me a new perspective and I hate Leh and Markha Valley for making me fall in love. I hate Leh because I love it.