What The Snow Brings

THE VISTAS OF GADAGUSAIN MAY BE DIFFICULT TO TRAVERSE BUT THEY SURE INVOKE A CHILDLIKE EXCITEMENT.

- Rangeet Ghosh

The call of the snow and clear blue skies were the only things that I could think of when I thought of the last weekend in 2019. I yearned for them; dreaming of a number of getaways (some fancy, some fancier). As lofty as my dreams were, my pocket only allowed so much and after a few hours of research, I picked the quaint hamlet of Gadagusain nestled in the Seraj Valley of Himachal Pradesh. With little of my itinerary planned, I convinced my flatmate to tag along and off we went.

The next morning, I woke up to the winding roads of Himachal; the fresh air of the hills already a soothing balm. And though an eventless commute, the last leg of the journey was spent stuffed in a state government bus surrounded by chatting, happy locals, their bleating sheep, and vomiting children. Enough to make me question my destination and for my flatmate, Diganta, to mutter and glare at me. The bus driver sped through hairpin bends with a speed that would put six-time F1 World champion Lewis Hamilton to shame. The glaring and the muttering continued, which I pointedly chose to ignore.

It was only when the first patches of snow started dotting the road that we relaxed a bit. This wouldn’t be so bad, I thought. I had, after all, yearned for it.