Finding Stories – The Overlanding Way
Pondicherry, the Mother blesses us.
We were walking back to our car after a much-anticipated visit to the Matri Mandir, Auroville. The experience was exhilarating and peaceful at the same time. The road was almost empty except for a few pedestrians like us; from afar we saw a very old village woman standing by the roadside. There was a bundle of firewood next to her. As we approached her, she said something in her native language. We expressed our helplessness in understanding a single word, she indicated that we should help her lift the bundle. As city folks the three of us found the bundle quite heavy. The woman nonchalantly put it on her head, gave us a charming smile, and off she went with a gesture of blessings.
Dharamshala, an epitome of compassion
After a trek down from McLeod Ganj to the Dharamshala bus stand, we were tired and impatient, waiting for the overnight bus to take us back home. Apart from the two of us, not many people were around. Suddenly a huge Bhutanese dog lazily came strolling towards us; And without much ado put his head on my partner’s lap- unconditional love, unconditional trust! Somehow, he knew we would not harm him, so decided to oblige us by putting his faith in us.
Gushaini, The Trout story
“A trout is a moment of beauty known only to those who seek it.” –Arnold Gingrich
Thus, we, & a few of my friends, went for fishing in the Stream of Tirthan River in Gushaini. As soon as we landed in this quiet village surrounded by the great Himalayan Mountain, we decided to try our luck in catching some prized trout in the streams of the village. Equipped with all possible fishing equipment and the latest gadgets the remote place could offer, we were indeed in high spirits till we discovered that it was not such an easy task. After many attempts, trial, and error, only one of us could manage to reasonably master this seemingly easy task of angling. But, managing the fishing equipment was only half the job done; Catching fish was another story altogether. Three hours of sitting still and no luck! Our high expectation was vanishing with every tick of the clock, perhaps the fish knew we were in alien water! Suddenly there were these two village children who came running with their own version of fishing rod, if you can call it so, and sat down a little distance away from us. Unbelievably, within half an hour or so these kids gave us satisfied smiles showing their catch, a reasonably big fish though not a trout! They did not miss the puzzled look on our faces. To be fair, we did get a consolation after another hour of ‘fishing’ with a trout about six inches long!
Overlanding is full of such unexpected stories; more so, when one is overlanding in India. The cultural diversity of people, the richness of nature, the flora and fauna- all these are interesting components of these stories. And then the biggest component is each one of us- our understanding of these realities, our experiences, and our take-away from each of these stories.
Overlanding and camping in India are unique opportunities to discover the uniqueness that is India on our own terms, at our own pace, and with our own eyes.
Overlanding and Camping in India has innumerable stories in its warp and weft. Unless we step out of our comfort zone, unless we embark on the journey of the unknown, little-known India, such stories stay untold, waiting for us to find them.
Happy Overlanding!!!
Contributed by Pamela Dutta
