Journey To The Hills
(Trek Leadership Course | October 2019)
The beautiful song of my homeland by J. B Jasokie goes like this-
While in distant land away,
I contemplate the beauty of my homeland.
It brings solace, it brightens my spirit.
My yearning for you is never so great till I depart from you.
The land of my nativity.
Adorned with rivers and mountains,
Your magnificence surpasses human descriptions.
I recall the harvest time with raptures,
With the moon and stars with rare brilliance shine,
Brightening our way as we carry the crops home
My beautiful homeland.
I was always fascinated by the idea of “learning as much as you can by doing as much as you can”, but being born and brought up in a conservative society, I never had the opportunity to learn as much as I can by doing as much as I can.
Many a time I would think of the mountains and talk to myself. How they stand so high and calm when we human beings destroy them with our savage instincts, thinking only about our luxurious existence. Nobody really cares about the heartaches and the pain they bare. At times I could hear the mountains whispering to me and calling me. But I am from a small village surrounded by mountains and climbing is a daily task for us and so my people never pay any attention to a so-called mountaineer.
My aspirations to become a mountaineer eventually got deeper as I set out more into the wild. As a tourist guide, I always felt proud to share the majestic mountains that surrounded me and how I treasured them for it was the only way to stay close to them. I believed I was doing something good for them.
My forefathers lived with nature and the mountains were home to them. They are still my home and I have a right and a duty to protect them. However, I never had much clue to help the mountain though I have felt so much about them. Therefore, I decided to go out to find some ways and solutions from the other side of the globe and come back to work with my mountains. It was not easy as I expected to break the shell of the family to do something which they have never dreamed of.
Now the call and the cries of the mountains became so loud that they started to pinch me. So finally, I decided to gather all the strength I had and set out to the mountains. “It is better to die for something than to live for nothing,” I said to myself with a happy note saying it won’t be long and I will come back. An opportunity came my way and I took a course in a mountaineering institute which ultimately flamed the zeal inside me. My thirst to be in the mountains was now at its peak.
Every day as I opened my window, I saw the mountains. How I longed to be born in a place where I didn't have to fight any other war but the one for mountains. Even if I became dust and bone of the Alpine slopes, I would still be happy. How I wanted to prepare myself to face the Mother of all the mountains (Mt. Everest).
With so much in my heart and yet unable to do anything, I was surprised by the trip I had this winter(2019). I was on a course (Trek leadership course) at Hanifl Centre, Mussoorie.
My course was arranged in such a way that I had to be out in the wilderness for nine (9) days. With the mountains so close, every day became a gift. The happiest moment in my entire journey met me on the fourth day of our trek when the beautiful and majestic Himalayas came into sight.
My joy knew no bound when I stood motionless and didn’t know what to say staring at her. My eyes were clouded by my tears. I wiped my tears and forced a smile. I was filled with memories of the mountains throughout my trek. I had my last gaze at her on my returning journey to Hanifl Centre. I have made a promise to go back to her. “My homeland is waiting for me and I must go now. When I go back, I will tell them about your beauty and your strength. I will arm myself with your all behaviours and come back to you."
My biggest thanks goes to Hanifl centre, Director, instructors and all the staff for doing a very professional job. Thank you for being the best instructors up and down the hills and the mountains.
A big thanks to the Nagaland Tourism without which this course would not have happened.
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