Middle of a Memory – 6 days in Jibhi, Himachal Pradesh

” Courage, dear heart!”

Some places need the courage to walk past by. Some places are meant to be walked again. Some places need your footprints. After the longest wait to make it to Tirthan Valley, we packed our bags finally in the first week of June. The heart & head eager for a reboot, we made our way from Delhi to Aut Tunnel by an overnight bus destined to Himachal Pradesh. After almost a 6 month long pre-booking & few years of mustering the courage to go for this one trip, we reached Aut on a fine sunny morning.

Aut market rustles with rustic beauty, a flourishing market place, roadside fruit peddlers & a mysterious mountain overlooking the people of Aut – busy in their daily humdrum. We had prebooked a cab driver to take us to our residence for the next 6 nights at Mudhouse Hostel. It was time that we checked out from urban to some purely rural – raw experience, thrilled as we were we made our debut into Jibhi in a drive of 1.5 hours from Aut. Traversing past the narrow roads & a speeding car, the only halt that made sense was at The Mudhouse Hostel. The first glance & we knew we were to live a lifetime here. The sound of the river gushing the senses & the open grounds of the hostel just made up for the long journey.

We were welcomed by our host & manager who led us to the dormitories & allowed us to pick any one dorm for we had that option. One look at the first room & we were already there, just peaked into the other to be sure of that first intuitive call. Keeping our bags in the dorm & freshening up we made our own grand life here. Four of us & some old school charms was a deadly combination, we knew this was going to be one hell of a trip. Walking past the surroundings we grabbed a spot near the river, just to soak in the ambiance. It was deafening quiet after the river opened up its rush. Spending some time there we made our way to the dining area, an open sitting with some pastiche music.

Lunch was served according to preferences – humungous paranthas & hot tea made for a good start. We traced our way back to the room & packed ourselves for a short hike to the Waterfall. In a 15 minute walk on the road from Mudhouse, this peaceful waterfall was dedicated to Choi Devta. Apparently, Choi devta happens to be the Adam of all gods in Himachal, the source of this information was the guard at the waterfall. We spent quality time here soaking the water droplets falling from the high of the fall. It was beautiful to see how a gang of really old couples managed to walk up to the fall & were making photographic memories, marking their presence.

We soon walked back to the hostel & ordered dinner for the night. Mudhouse runs on a concept of ‘coming together time for dinner’ & we conceded, in the name of travelers all around. It was beautiful to share a moment with people who share a common love, even though we shared no words. The food was extremely good & we satiated our taste buds with veg & non-veg home-cooked platter. Contentment takes place at a collective level, no one soul can be content & live alone. It is a shared feeling & we four were definitely on the same grounds. Calling it a day, we crashed on our bunker beds with the sound of the river lulling us to sleep.

Day 2 was meant for that perfect Himachali village hike & Seri was not far from our hostel. We left early to avoid the sun & began our road hike to Seri village which was 6 km away. This pure ascension on road, amidst distant views of Jibhi & some distinct trees, surrounded our way. We walked until we saw that road which diverted further to the village while the other took us somewhere definitely. I had a sense that the raw path would definitely take us faster into the village & so we all moved into the other direction. Sometimes chances are good & there was no doubt about this one. We literally entered the village in no time & passed through the narrow trails of this almost European village settlement. Having a conversation with the older gentry few marched ahead to see what the village had to unveil while few stuck to gathering some first-hand experience with the inhabitants.

I had never seen any Himalayan village with such immaculate sense of living. It was a clean village with one odd sheep grazing the ground & small kids playing in the courtyard, perched in the heart of the village. It was lively & unbelievable at once. I had been to several villages in Uttarakhand, but had never come across one like this! As we marched into the courtyard led by a local shopkeeper, we took a halt at his shop. Buying some sweets & an old adage like cream biscuits, we relished a packet with quite a sugar rush. Kids were thrilled to receive sweets & we just soaked in their happiness.

Walking further from the narrow trails we descended to make our exit when a middle-aged lady called out one of us. We all turned to realize that she was calling us for a cup of tea at her place. When I looked a little closer I saw a small kid, in rustic brown – muddy hair peeking through one of the windows of the house… I just had to be there. After a minute of silence when one of us agreed to her invitation, we all marched behind one another into the terrace of her house. The terrace was under a huge tree canopy, the lady laid small rug like carpets for us to sit on. She was a typical hostess, who was actually waiting for some other guests (Thinking us to be the ones) she called us over. We all shared a burst of laughter on reckoning the truth.

While she still played the role of a perfect host, we awaited for that black tea which she had promised. It was a fancy waiting we did while we looked around perched on the terrace, taking a panoramic view of the village. The courtyard still stood distinct with small children playing their own little games. As the lady walked in with tea in her hand, we reached out for the glasses & took that first sip of pure bliss. She had actually prepared lemon tea with jaggery instead of sugar. The non – sweet tooths had a tough time gulping it down after a while, it was as difficult for me as well to gulp that tea bottoms up. During our tea session, we asked the lady if we could meet the small kid whom we saw peeking through the window.

It was funny that she wasn’t ready to bring the kid out at first for he had not even taken a bath. As for us, he turned out to be a prized possession as she finally got him out of the house. This kid was her grandson & the youngest kid in her house, as she claimed. We were thrilled to play with the kid, who came rushing to us to grab one biscuit at a time & if we held him even for a nanosecond he wailed right away. The game continued until the kid was diverted by a small goat & he literally pulled its ears & coat in play. We captured the other kids who had gathered by the terrace now & one of them looked as real as the genesis of Aryan race. Such distinct features, we wondered what makes for the genetic pool of this intriguing village.

Soon we took the lady’s leave thanking her for the unlimited hospitality & as we were shown the way out we came across the village temple, dedicated to a well. It was a well they worshipped, upon which the temple was built. I could understand the sheer beauty of the village must have been for their pantheistic beliefs. The worshippers of nature are genuinely blessed with greater beauty & I sure wanted to make it my religion. We hiked back to the road head to reach mudhouse by lunchtime, making it a 4 hours hike both ways. Today we grabbed lunch at the hostel itself after bathing & soaking in the Mudhhouse vibes. Towards the evening we made our way to the Jibhi market in a walk of 15 minutes on the road. The market is a decent urban settlement with one atm & S.B.I bank branch, a couple of cafe’s, all your basic needs catered to & not to forget, a pharmacy. Thrilled to see a cafe named Hope Rooftop Cafe – from which we had High Hopes & we took a flight of stairs to fly above the ordinary, literally.

The cafe opened up to the massive views of the other side of the hill from where we had walked. A distant cottage on the hill & the river beneath made for the immediate views from the cafe. A man named Dinesh, who was the host of this cafe was an intriguing personality. Himachal offers the best of hospitality traits & Dinesh was no less hospitable. We took a seat outside in the open sitting to grab a cup of hot coffee & bruschetta. Cafe’s here served every delicacy you could think of, being flocked by foreigners they ensure they have something for everyone. We grabbed our hot bites & caffeine sips to call it a day in hours of catching up about life! It was just beautiful coming together, in a completely new place with a group of friends you resonate with.

We took some more time to absorb the life here & as I perched on the hammock, I felt there is no escape from this place. We all grabbed our corners & literally made a life for ourselves amidst the views. Soon we left for the hostel in a walk of 15 minutes & settled to call it a day. Everything seemed destined, after our time at the Cafe I realized what beauty it was to be with people who share the same love for the outdoors. We joined for dinner at the open dining area, finding more guests flocking in & it was quite a vibe! Some playing cards, some carrom & some indulging in a musical exchange. It was a lit place & we all had our ways to celebrate it within & without.

Day 3 – So today we decided to call it a rest day, for where we were headed as per our itinerary, our frontman was missing. Lazing around in the premises till late afternoon when the co – hostellers were returning to the hostel, the four of us barged outdoors. The thunder – lightning took a toll on the weather & here we were, 4 silly people wearing their hoods making their way in the opposite direction. This was the birth of “The Adam’s Family”, we truly were strange in our own ways. When the whole day long we could have gone out, we chose the most evil of all times to find an exit. Honestly, we were happy this way and as we marched towards Jibhi market, we landed ourselves into “High Hopes” Cafe. None aware, that this would be one of our favorite places in the days to come, this place chose us literally. The cafe owner recognized us from the previous day & there began endless conversations.

We called it a grand evening celebrating with some music & a variety of flavours to appetize our existence. We were one in this place, fits of laughter about our latest crowning as Adam’s Family & the fact that we were self-pronounced social outcasts cracked us up. It was one perfect night of reboo,t until it was time to head out. Making our way to the road which was lit dark we realized it was close to 11.00 pm. Walking in pitch dark with no other soul to claim apart from the four of us, we kept walking. It was a perfect time to talk about ghost stories, but that too felt funny for we couldn’t stop laughing. When we finally reached the hostel in a walk of 20 minutes, we all crashed on the bunker beds. It felt like a full life lived in one day! That is the power of having the right bunch of people around you! Moreover, Jibhi prooved that you could just be anything here, it welcomed all alike.

Day 4 – We rose with a lark, all refreshed by the previous day’s extravaganza at High Hopes! Mornings began with a mug of ginger lemon tea, which literally helped me process the day. A little fatigue was still within when one of the guys declared that we would head to Chehni Kothi today. Jibhi is host, not only to one Mudhouse (The hostel we were at) but the traditional mudhouse of Jibhi was at the Chehni Kothi village. In a drive of 45 minutes from the main Jibhi market, we could just hop on a cab/ bus & reach Shringa Rishi Temple. But as Adam’s Family had the knack of taking decent risks, we began from Jibhi post lunch around 2.00 pm. Patiently waiting for our dear guide, who never turned up, we finally decided to make a move. When we reached Jibhi main market on foot, we began our long wait for the bus which was supposed to be there by 2.30. When we saw no signs of transport, we began walking on foot, knowing not where we were headed. We kept walking until we saw a familiar face walking towards up from the opposite direction.

It was our host from High Hopes, Mr. Dinesh, how comforting was his face was – always at peace! He told us we were on the right path, just the long one! We shrugged but continued walking & seeing vehicles pass by in a jiffy, we thought we could just take a lift. When not a soul stopped after seeing us, we waited there & it was only when an open camper, with people standing in the back open porch stopped, we decided to hop on. We requested if we could take the roof seats, the driver acceded to our request & we four sprang from his window to the roof, happily perched on the top making our way to the road head of the temple. The views from the top were like an eagle’s flight on the lowland. We were enjoying the rush of simply being on top of the vehicle, what beauty it is to travel raw, I reassured myself! We had hardly started enjoying our ride when the driver stopped the vehicle at the road head & we had to jump back on the road. The meandering road had not a soul on it & we continued our walk until we met a man who suggested an alternative route to his village. He even offered food & lodging if we happened to ask anyone about his house. Assured, we moved uphill on a narrow path amidst the treeline to the village. The narrow trail opened up to broad patches of land, with an odd shepherd assuring us of the route we were on. While his sheep ran all over, we rushed further as the clock showed 5.00 pm. We wanted to witness the sunset from the village & felt we were already running late. Tired as we were due to the perpetual climb, slightly confused if the man guided us right, we persisted.

When another trail led us to a village in the distance, we thought this is it! I almost convinced myself after having walked for 3 hours “let this be Chehni Kothi”. The ladies in the village were descending from somewhere & on asking they informed that the village was another 20 minutes away. Taking a halt of 5 minutes there, we got to taste some freshly plucked sweet peas from the ladies. It was one sweet pea, I had had in a long time. The beauty of organic vegetable is beyond taste itself. Soon we began the last leg of our ascend to the village & hoped that it had the right views to offer us. I had never seen a village almost living in itself, the first glance at the courtyard which opened to men, women, young & old all at once. The narrow alleys which led to this courtyard had colonies of settlements like that of Harappan civilization. The mud house was a distinct object here with such beautiful faces springing from the windows & alleys, we knew this was no ordinary place.

Walking ahead, we came across the lady who was also the host of a café & we requested her to take us there. The village ends where the café began & the café ends where the sunset begins. It was a narrow escape but we managed to reach & witness the sunset on time. The tower in the courtyard & the distant sun setting made for one of its kind views.

While the café lady prepared for us a maggi meal, we were grateful for just being there. There was another lady at the café with a small girl child on her back, like a baby kangaroo… just on the back porch. She was packed in protection & also to facilitate a smooth walk for the lady. She unraveled the child & believe me it was one warming sight to see.

As we finished our food & drinks we managed to go back to the courtyard to capture the last glance of what Chehni Kothi held. It was a community living in absolute peace with themselves. It was a full-fledged civilization they had established & each face had a story of its own. There were two old ladies sitting by the tower, watching it like the guardians of the region, as quoted by a friend. We settled on the benches there for a while only to absorb the sheer vibrancy of this place. As the light was nearly fading away, we rushed back to the road-head, in order to reach Jibhi on time. Walking past the narrow trails we reached the road head of the temple, which we realized was the actual route to enter the village. It was dark by now & we had a 4 km distance to cover until we reached the main road. With barking dogs to confront, our only guiding light was the stars. We were all walking on a pitch dark road, each in their own zone after a while. It was a day of cleansing, I almost lost track of my own thoughts while walking in the darkness. There was something comforting in the lack of visibility, like a clearing.

As we reached the main road which was a huge relief, we were hoping to get a vehicle to reach Jibhi, as we were too late by the clock. It was already 9.00 pm & we realized we might have to walk till Jibhi market. This meant another 1.5 hours of a walk if nothing. I gave up. So we all waited for a cab/ bus/ taxi anything that ran on a motor for our own engines had shut down!

Soon a Tata Sumo arrived & asking for a lift, one of the guys asked if he could drop us to Jibhi. The vehicle was headed towards Banjar & he agreed to take us back till Jibhi market for 400 Rs. He was literally god-sent, for by now my limbs had weakened & I felt kind of feverish. As we sat in the car with a night light on & some offbeat music from the driver’s playlist, we all giggled in comfort. On reaching Jibhi we just froze our plan for the following day which was to go for camping at Raghupur fort. Talking of which we four collectively did not even have 1000 Rs in cash with us. We realized we should withdraw some money from the atm.

Now Jibhi has just one atm which is functional subject to money availability. And here we were stuck with a small amount of money, only good enough to get us back to Delhi, the atm ran out of money & I felt strangled. I literally felt like a vagabond that day, for whenever in mountains I usually carry enough money for survival. But for our plans to camp the following day we needed at least 3000 Rs. After a lot of brainstorming, we just walked into High Hopes café. Seeing Dinesh there, was kind of relieving, we were anchoring our hopes on him. Dinesh, the host, by now turned out to be a new friend from the mountains. The boys discussed the situation with him & he happily lent us some money & not forgetting a 7-course meal under his roof!! I giggled to myself, another feather to the cap, we felt like gypsies at mercy!. We were grateful for his help & promised to return him the money a day after. He was more than happy to host us. Under his roof that day I chanced upon his diary of poems & here’s a glimpse of it. So this was Dinesh for us now, a poet, a host & a fellow traveler by heart!

Finishing the grand meal that too on pure mercy of Dinesh, we all shared a peal of good laughter & asked for his leave. That night Jibhi felt like home. Soon we traced our way back on foot to Mudhouse hostel. Crashing on the bed, thinking of this well-spent day, we realized how different things could have been, had we only left early in the morning. Also, what if Dinesh wasn’t there! Having said that I was relieved to receive the comforts of bed & the thought of our Adam’s Family as nothing but a pure nocturnal breed. We were meant to go late, we were destined to live each experience the way we did. And it was truly wonderful!

Day 5 & 6 – The previous night was tiring & rewarding at the same time. Fatigue got us good sleep, so we started early with a hot cup of lemon tea. Today as planned we were to board a bus to Jalori Pass in the morning, however packing our backpacks for the night & keeping our luggage safe at the hostel we only managed to leave by noon. We got some parantha’s (Indian Stuffed Bread) packed & hit the road with our backpacks. The last bus to Jalori leaves around 1.15 pm & here we were packed in the last bus. The journey of 1.5 hours falling at every curve was one thing & the other being the mountain bus drivers. They are pros, I truly believe so.  Standing all the way, holding on to a grip on the bus I realized how happy I was in this journey itself, that the destination just didn’t matter.

As we got off at Jalori Pass road head we took a moment to grasp the snowy mountains at a reasonable distance & the lush green around. It was a different landscape now, in comparison to the silent rivers of Jibhi. Thrilled as we were, asking the route from the road head, we began our hike into the forest for Raghupur fort. Our sole agenda today was to capture the sunset here too & we started trekking around 3.00 pm from Jalori Pass. The vast meadows took us to narrow paths leading to a forest walk. The distant barking of mountain dogs was alarming until we saw a shepherd who helped us take the right route to the top. The green meadows & treeline disappearing in the last patch was a pure uphill hike. We even took out some time to do stretching in between, reminding me of the struggle to even stretch, during the mountaineering course. Suddenly everything we did there made sense.

The last leg of our hike made me realize that strength is all in the head, of course not disowning the power of your legs. But here we were in 3.5 hours, checking into our isolated camp at Ragupur fort, right before the sunset. We threw our backpacks inside our tents, layered ourselves with a jacket as it was windy by now & simply rushed towards the fort to witness the most spellbinding event of my life. Perched at the edge of the mountain, facing the fort but away from it, we found this nature’s amphitheater to witness a sight for life. As the birds chirped their way back home, four unique souls settled their being on the top of a mountain & waited for nature to unravel its beauty.

Sunsets have been a common feature but watching it up close that too in numbing silence was new to me. I had never felt that deafening silence within myself, before. The myriad shades of the sky from orange to slight tinge of purple were beyond the eyes to decode. It was only to be absorbed deep within & enclosed like a fallback when in need. We were quietly absorbing the colors & depth of the setting sun until the sky turned slightly dark & we walked back towards our tents. Everyone was so quiet as if the sunset was some prophet which proclaimed a prophecy of calm within. I had literally achieved something, like unlearning everything. Walking back into the tent the host of the only campsite at Raghupur served us hot tea as we packed ourselves inside the quilts with the tent flap open to watch the night sky.

The sky was lit with stars & we were lit within. It was inexplicable, like the right blend of fatigue & happiness we had our own share of laughter & music. It was a quiet night after a wholesome dinner of dal & rice served hot, inside the tents. We probably exaggerated, but the night was so beautiful, everything seemed valid. As we dozed off inside the warmest bedding possible for a tented accommodation, I put an alarm for the sunrise.

Waking up at 5.45 am, I watched a silent sunrise. There were only the moos of cows & some birds barely awake. It was as if things had slowed down in the morning, there was just no rush. We all greeted each other with a morning tea & ordered our breakfast. The Pir Panjal ranges were distinct from the host’s kitchen & I watched it come alive while brushing.

As we sat inside the kitchen to have our breakfast, playing our playlist, I realized what had happened. The mountains were peeking below the meadow, the sun was yet to shine overhead & there was a pleasant breeze. I thought to myself, do I deserve this. Do we always get what we seek or is it the universe seeking us? I concluded I must keep seeking, for this & only this can keep me alive. Walking towards the tent & bringing out our backpacks we thanked the host & began our journey back to Jalori road head. The slight showers turned out into scary thundering & I started chanting to keep fear at bay. It was rare when I actually chanted in the mountains, only once back in the course during height gain that I felt a sense of epiphany in pain. But this was fear, I hate sounds from the sky, but the chants worked. I felt at peace as we silently marched towards the road head at Jalori. Two of us collectively decided that we should head back to the hostel from the first bus, but the other two were seeking more. So they headed for another short hike to Serolsar Lake, which is about 5 kms from Jalori taking 2 hours both ways. As two of us hopped on a bus back to Jibhi, the other two were to take the last bus for Jibhi at 3.30 pm.

Reaching Mudhouse in absolute shreds, only a bath could save us. Refreshed after a good sleep, we woke up by evening & there began the last phase of Jibhi. I wanted to make the most of this time & so I sat by the back shed facing the river, punching words & taking in the sound of water. The evening drew so soon, that we four decided to call it a grand night. We began painting the walls of Mudhouse with our traces as Adam’s Family. The night of complete revelry, music & words – it felt like a life lived in 6 days at Jibhi. We half did the painting until Dinner was served & then called it a night after a silent closure towards 3.00 pm. Sitting there, I reckoned one thing, you could have the right people, at the right place at the right time all at once. It was such a complete feeling to be with a good company.

As we took the last sleep on our bunkers, I drew my curtain by the bed & allowed the morning light to wake me up. Morning came with the sound & vision of the river right below the hostel; something triggered a sense of loss & happiness at the same time. I woke up to take that last cup of coffee & freshened up to pack our baggage. We were to check out today, but we had the liberty to keep our luggage safe at the hostel till eve. Our return was from a bus at 9.00 pm from Aut & we still had half a day at Mudhouse. Taking the last round of Jibhi we had a brunch at Reverberate, a fine café hosted by a Himachali gentleman. From Shakshuka to a perfect English breakfast, we gulped everything down & raced our way back to Mudhouse by noon.

Walking back we settled at the doors of our dorm & continued painting the other characters from the last night. We definitely wanted to leave our marks; we were probably the longest living characters there. As Adam’s Family, we truly left a part of ourselves there & began our journey homewards. There is always a sense of nostalgia for the present & the company you have makes it more so. The places are just an excuse to prolong the presence of people, but it is also the place which makes these people. Places make us & we just become in the process. This was Jibhi & as I write… I still feel as if I am there, in the Middle of that Memory.