Life Without A Purpose

It was more than two months that travellers had stopped coming to Salli due to off-season. Madhu would find some work in the kitchen or in the garden to keep herself busy. Also, Chit chatting with neighbours and passerby villagers would keep her sane in those workless days. Noor, as usual, wouldn't need anyone. She would roam around the house, talking to herself and playing with toys. It was me who would get frustrated by too much of free time. A man was built to work and not to just sit idle. My initial plan to work on online fitness coaching and stock market trading was long lost. I had tasted enough of hippie life to not to go back to the previous career options. Everything in my life was going great except for a stable career. I didn't mind spending my whole life like a hippie as long as my income was decent and stable. I would often sit in the porch looking at the mountain cluelessly of what to do. A sense of worthlessness was sinking in, and everyone could feel the dark energy arising in me. 

Since the hunter gatherer's time, the man was the provider. He would go out, hunt the animal and bring home food. Men were built to fight, to perform, to achieve, to stay disciplined, and to work on their mission. That masculine energy was fading away in me. We need a balance of both feminine and masculine energy in our life. I was getting soaked in self-doubt and inertia day by day. Wandering in the mountains aimlessly, walking through the streams, spending hours sitting on the rocks, watching the sunset and then returning home hopelessly, became my routine. I was getting sucked into the self-created black hole. I had lost most of my muscle and had become thin like a stick. That was hard to believe that it was me who had trained hundreds of people to become fit. And now it was me who actually needed fitness guidance. I had no desire to do anything except mourn in despair. Once upon the beautiful looking mountains were now losing their shine in my eyes. I had created hell for myself in the midst of heaven.

 

Nobody ever demanded monetary support from me. Neither my parents nor Madhu. My pain was about not having the capability to support them if such time comes. I was nearing on finishing my savings. I had decided since the beginning not to share profits in the guesthouse business. As I had not made any investment in the business and that was run solely by Madhu. My initial plan was to help her a little bit here and there and keep my own career in place without getting dependent on anyone. A stable career with a decent income was the spine of a man. Self-worth, self-image and confidence of a man were directly derived from what a man does for his living. The man was known for his work and not for his lifestyle. I was getting weak in my spine. Nobody had stopped me from going after building my own career except my own inertia and self-doubt. After enjoying the peaks of the mountains, now I was witnessing the deep valley. 

My only solace in those time was Noor. She was way too mature for a six-year-old kid. Her talks would take me out of my head filled with nagging thoughts. I would go on walks with her. While she would share her cute little perspectives on things, it would bring me back to the present. She loved playing in the water so we would go to the pool in front of our house. I would pick her up and act like I would throw her into the pool. She would giggle and get scared with complete trust that I won't throw her. Picking her up would feel like I was picking myself only up from the loser mindset. When she would see me sad, she would offer me her pearls of wisdom. I remember once she said, 'Maratha if you make more friends you will be happier.' I was surprised by her mature comment and smiling asked her back, 'How to make friends, Noor?' Her reply was even better than her first comment. She said, 'I can tell you what I do. I share my things with those with whom I want to become friends. I share my pencil, eraser, sharpener, chocolates etc. with them, then they like me, and we become friends. So share if you want to make friends.' I was speechless to listen to her talk like a grown-up person. Noor was definitely the next version of Madhu.

Child Was Father Of The Man.

Himachali Houses

Mornings in the mountain would be pretty cold to get up early. Getting buried under the heavy warm blankets would be everyone's preferred choice. But we had a little warrior among us who would get up early and get ready for the school all by herself. She needed nobody's help to dress her up or to arrange books in her school bag. Noor was an independent girl, just like her mother. Someday's, to our surprise, she wouldn't get up not wanting to go to the school. She would give the universal reason which all kids give to bunk the school. Stomach Ache. Maybe that reason was coded in our DNA. Also, partly because I used to spoil her. Madhu was well aware of my laziness and easy-going attitude. She would blame me for my bad influence on Noor that the kid was getting lazy because of me. In my defence........ well there was no defence. Madhu was right. So I too would blame myself. 

It would be a fun day when Noor would bunk school. I would cook her favourite chapati-omelette while simultaneously mixing bournvita with warm milk in her Spiderman cup. By the breakfast time, she would have already forgotten about her stomach ache. The promise she would make to her mother about studying the whole day instead of going to the school would fade away by early noon. Noor would be back in full action of enjoying the day. Roaming around the garden, sitting on the rocks in the stream, collecting stones, playing with dolls and munching on fruits would be part of her daily grind. We would also go hiking together. The trail passing in front of our house would lead uphill to the villages situated up in the mountain. Madhu and Noor had many friends in those villages. So we would plan short visits to them with a plan of collecting woods on our way back. My main excitement would be in seeing those beautiful mud houses. 

There would be some earthly feeling in those houses. Absolutely different energy than concrete houses. Looking at them would seem like witnessing some beautiful creation. 3 feet thick mud walls, heavy roof slates, big stone's flooring, and a wooden work throughout the house would make those structures unique. They carried a certain rawness in them reflecting beautiful imperfection in their design. One could smell soil while sitting inside. Mud houses would keep the climate warm in winters and cool in summers. It was said that mud houses were alive because they would breathe. Even though they would lack in strength, the feeling of a home would never lack in them. Every house had a front yard which would give the residers space to carry out their farm produced activities. Also, that space would come to help when they would host some function at their house. Not to say, that would also serve as a playground to the kids. 

Madhu was so fond of mud houses, that she had decided to paint the cement walls of our house with mud. For the sake of longevity and strength, she had chosen to build a concrete house. She tried her best in keeping less concrete and more wood for the house. Visits to those cute little villages would bring immense joy. Noor and I would sit in the balcony repeatedly brushing off the soil getting rubbed on our clothes. There would be goats and cows tied next to the yard. Some chickens would be roaming around in the garden. Elderly would be sitting outside with walking sticks in their hand. Meanwhile, kids would be busy hopping around and playing with the dogs. Women in the house would be waiting for their men to return from the farms. Each part of those houses would reflect life. They had no basic city house furniture and appliances. Like, sofa, fridge, washing machine, geyser, gas stove etc. Still, they looked complete to me with all their imperfections.

Those Mud Houses Had Life In All The Forms.

First House Tattoo

One evening Noor had found a stray dog puppy in the village. She brought it home with all the excitement. It was a brown fluffy cute little one. They kept her name 'Zora'. She was so little that she would fit in a small basket, which soon became her bed. Noor had cushioned that basket with soft cloths. Zora would roam around everywhere marking her territory. There were many mongooses in the mountains due to which we could hardly see any snakes. Those cute little creatures would often come near our house in search of food. Their appearance would be considered a good omen. Those mongooses would be all the time around us as our dog. Maybe that's why we had been living a great life full of good omens all day long. Noor would carry Zora everywhere as if she was her favourite toy.

Occasionally, we would get some visitors. One time in the offseason to our surprise there were 6 visitors at our house. Madhu would wait for such gatherings as it would bring more energy into the house. Out of six, five were Israeli backpackers and one was a French woman. We had made our house environment such that every guest would instantly feel comfortable as if that was their own home. Within 30 minutes everyone would sit together and enjoy like long lost friends. Madhu had created magic. She knew how to create good vibes. Backpackers usually would have some artistic skill in them. Whether it would be drawing, singing, playing a musical instrument, making jewellery or painting walls with designs. The tribe which we were hosting had some painting skills in them. They insisted if they could paint on the front wall as a heartfelt gift for our warm hospitality. We were more than happy to receive their souvenir. In two days time, they created a beautiful colourful Mandala. That became the object of first sight once someone would climb the stairs to enter the house. The bright colours added vibrant energy to the house. It looked like the house had got its first tattoo.

Madhu was know as Madam in the village. As she was a physiotherapist, villagers would often come to her for treatments. Also, her image in the village was like a woman who had friends worldwide, speaks great English, highly educated, had a big house. Hence, Madam. The innocence of the villagers was so adorable. Madhu was the most friendly woman in the entire village. Usually, women from that tribal area would be under the veil, dependent on men and conservative in behaviour. On the contrary, Madhu was a modern woman taking the bull by the horns. Such qualities reveal their light sooner or later. People from all walks of life would find a friend in her. Many kids would come to our house in awe as that was the biggest house in Salli, like some palace. Madhu knew that the financial condition in most of the houses was not good. So she would gift the kids some clothes, notebooks and often would feed them. I never saw poverty in those kids eyes. They would be full of life as if they had everything. Their clothes would be little torn but not their souls. The sparkle in their eyes would be magnetic. I guess that had been only the city life which would fill people with inadequacy, emptiness and an insatiable hunger for things. I found kids in that village very peaceful and content in whatever little they had.

Less Was Beautiful.

Swimming In The Khauli River

The neighbours had left soon after helping us to carry the furniture till our home. Now the next task was to arrange that in a proper way. There was a bathroom attached to the living room where we thought to keep the washing machine. And the fridge was kept in the corner of the living room which was adjacent to the kitchen. One wardrobe and the double bed were arranged in the living room as our plan was to convert it for a guests room. The other wardrobe was moved to the private room. In every room, we kept 2 bamboo chairs. The house had become more beautiful with the newly bought furniture. That looked as if we had entered some different house. After keeping the fridge untouched for one day as advised by the shopkeeper, Madhu and Noor kept all the necessary food in that. There would be many Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates for Noor from the guests, which she would keep in the fridge. Milk, vegetable and fruits soon filled the fridge. The happiest moment would be in seeing Madhu using the washing machine and giving rest to her hands. She was relieved from that arduous work. Finally, the house was looking complete in every way.

Our evenings would be fun when we would walk uphill for collecting woods. There would be many dried pine tree branches fallen down. Its dried needle-shaped leaves would burn very fast so we would collect them as well. There was a technique to build a fire which Madhu had taught me. At the bottom, there would be quickly inflammable things like paper and dried leaves. Over that thin dried wooden sticks and on top of that the thickest ones. As fire defies gravity and moves up, the quickly inflammable things would fire up the thickest wood which would usually be hard to catch fire. But once that catches fire you would be out of worry as that would keep burning for a long time. Every evening after having our masala chai Noor would insist us to go up in the mountains for a walk. We would wear warm jackets as the evenings would get extremely cold. Noor always would run ahead and wave at us looking back. She was having the best childhood any child could ever have. Madhu had made a brilliant choice in raising her daughter in the middle of the jungle.

Salli had a beautiful Khauli river flowing down from the Dhauladhar ranges. There was one hydropower plant at its bank named Lanco. From Salli village, the road going to that project was around 400 meters uphill. The road till the project was made for their trucks. Little far from the project, you could see a bridge over the river which would be connecting to the other side of the mountain. Just under that bridge, there was a naturally created big pool in the river surrounded by many big size white rocks. One could sit on those rocks and just enjoy looking at the river flowing in its beauty. The water would be shoulder-deep so that would be safe to enter even for those who didn't know swimming. One afternoon we went to the river for swimming. Noor was having the best time as she was extremely fond of playing in the water. Madhu was getting scared to enter the water initially. But later she jumped in only to get frozen in that cold water. Noor was dancing on those big rocks. Soon after being in the water for so much time, we came out to relax on those big size warm rocks. The sudden temperature change from cold water to warm rocks was soothing for the body.

We Had Discovered One More Beautiful Place In Salli.

Furnishing The Guesthouse

The offseason gave us ample of free time to prepare the guesthouse in a much better way for the coming season. Our very first year taught us many things to improve on regarding business. After building a big size mud stove, most works in the kitchen was taken care of. Our focus was on making the living room and guest rooms better. As we would host mainly backpackers, there had been no need to build private rooms like big hotels. Usually, backpackers travel in a group of 5-10 and as their focus would be to save money they would stay in shared rooms. We had 2 big rooms upstairs where 6 people would easily accommodate in one room. Those rooms had no furniture like bed, wardrobe, table or chair. We had placed 8 mattresses on the floor only. That way we had saved a lot of space for more guests to stay. There was one big private room downstairs next to the living room/kitchen. That had a double bed, wardrobe, table and a chair. Kind of luxury suite preferably for couples. Also, we had kept Noor's all toys in the corner, as that room would be used by her when there would be no guests. When some couple would come to stay in that room, we had to warn Noor to not enter the room for the sake of not getting any accidental traumatic memories. 

The mattresses which we had for the first season were not that good and comfortable. So we decided to invest in good ones as that was the only thing that mattered in the room. The nearest town to buy anything related to furniture was 22 km away from Salli. We were thinking to buy one more double bed which we had planned to keep in the living room and turn that room also for guests. Along with that, there was a big need for a wardrobe in the house. We would be keeping our clothes in the trunk till that time. There were many things necessary to buy for the house. It was a surprise how we managed to survive the season with so many visitors in a bare minimum house. There were two more essential things missing in the house. Fridge and Washing machine. Even though the temperature in the mountains would be cooler, some days would get hotter more than usual making the food go bad. And seeing Madhu tirelessly washing clothes every day, the washing machine had become a necessity. We decided to buy everything in one go as transportation had cost us more if we had planned many trips. That would be a back-breaking task to carry all those things all by yourself 200 meters uphill through the forest. We had already asked our neighbours for help so that was a little relaxing.

 

The day came when we went to a nearby village called Draman to buy furniture. We bought one double bed, 2 wardrobes and 8 bamboo chairs. That was all safely loaded at the back of the rented pickup truck. We left Draman to make a small halt in Shahpur where we had bought a fridge and washing machine. The pickup truck was completely full. Madhu and Noor were sitting at the front with the driver to guide him to Salli while I was sitting at the back keeping an eye on things from falling down the valley. The beauty of those winding roads, high mountains and deep valleys could be truly experienced only by sitting in an open pickup truck. When you would sit at facing the back of a vehicle, you would see roads coming closer to you as the vehicle would accelerate ahead. I was enjoying the journey knowing very well what was going to happen when the truck would stop at Salli. I called the neighbours as we were about to enter Salli. By the time we parked the truck, they were already down waiting for us.

Then the Herculean grind began. The most challenging part was carrying a metal double bed and wardrobe. The Heavyweight and its uncomfortably large size made it arduous to carry uphill. Four people at four corner had been our strategy to carry those mammoth objects through the stream, rocks, trees and bushes. We decided to let the metal objects reach home first till we had fresh energy. Then later when got exhausted we could have carried mattresses, chairs and those plastic machines. That took good 2 hours for us 6 people to finish the task successfully without damaging anything. The magical view in front of the house helped us to relax fast. Later Madhu made nice tea for all of us. The hard work made that tea taste even better. Kids were all excited to open up the fridge and washing machine which was safely packed in a cardboard box. There had a magical thing inside those boxes called bubble wrap. I remembered, as a kid how much I had enjoyed bursting those bubble wraps placed on top of our fridge. As soon as they opened the box, all kids jumped to grab the bubble wrap. I also had my fair share. After the neighbours left, I and Madhu were looking at how beautiful the house was looking with all those newly bought things.

Our Home Was Getting Complete.

Building A Permanent Mud Stove

The season was getting over as last month of June was approaching. The number of visitors to our guesthouse had significantly reduced. We would host few guests once in two weeks and that was also becoming lesser. Our days would be free to do nothing. The work routine which had gotten us used to during the peak season would be missed. Knowing that the next season would be 8 months away, was uneasy to digest. We were used to be around so many people everyday working actively and keeping ourselves busy. That drop in regular work was unsettling. We would search for things to do in the house. Like, managing the storeroom, cleaning house of unwanted things, spending more time in building garden, collecting woods etc. Madhu was a people person so I would see emptiness on her face. She needed people around her. Sometimes she would call her friends to visit Salli so that there would be some energy in the house.

 

On the other hand, Noor would be comfortable all by herself playing alone with her dolls roaming around in the garden and stream next to it. I would often spot her talking to herself while playing. Just like her mother she always had something to talk. She would collect stones from the stream and then keep them for sale by setting up her little shop. The stones would cost from 20 rupees to 1 million rupees. She had her reasons. I would then bargain to reduce the price of stones and after a while, she would agree to sell 1 million rupees stone to 10 rupees. She definitely wasn't trained yet in business by her super-smart mother. Noor was extremely fond of painting. She had a variety of colours from crayons to sketch pens to watercolours to oil colours to colour pencils. All her room walls would be taped with her drawings. The kitchen set in her toy store would consist of a few small mud pots which she had made by herself. She liked to play in the mud and build things, just like her mother. She would often invite me to play with her. Just being around a pure soul like hers would bring immense blessing for me.

As our kitchen would be free most of the days due to the drop in visitors, Madhu decided to renovate the kitchen and make it better equipped for the next season. Our current mud stove wasn't permanent and also was very small. A stove was the main tool in the kitchen so she decided to make that even bigger and permanent to the ground. There were some village women who were expert in building mud stoves. One day she called them to consult. While they were sitting in the kitchen brainstorming, I was in sitting in Noor's kitchen bargaining for the stones. I was spending my time wisely cracking business deals with Noor on the precious stones. The soil needed for building the mud stove was high up in the mountain. So we went uphill with some empty cement bags to carry soil in it. In mountains usually one would find red soil but for mud stove, one would need yellow soil. We found it after climbing for a while. We filled 2 full bags and then started climbing down. On the way, we also collected dried pine tree leaves which would look like needles. The village women suggested mixing those dried leaves in the soil while making the mud as that would strengthen the material. After 3 hours of intense work, those brilliant tribal women built a big multipurpose mud stove which I had not seen ever before. I was amazed by their skill. Like the season had changed, so did our work had changed from hosting people to building the house again.

Life Had Started Unfolding New Chapters.

My Birthday In Salli

We had a really fruitful season in the very first year of business. While we were busy hosting backpackers from all over the world, the word of mouth publicity was driving even more people to Salli. The day would start by cleaning the entire house especially kitchen which would be completely messed up. I and Madhu would take all the dirty dishes and pots to the stream next to our garden to wash. Washing clothes and dishes in the open stream was followed by all the villagers. That would remind me of my childhood days spent in my grandmom's village. The constant flow of water would keep the stream always clean. By the time we would wash all our dishes Noor would fill the water bottles from the pipe which was connected to one deep mountain stream uphill. Around 100 meters up from our house there was a place where a small stream had come out from the mountain rock. That was the purest drinking water full of minerals which all villagers would use. The taste of that water was magical as if it had come directly from heaven. Initially, everyone had to visit that stream carrying water pots for their daily use. That would get extremely difficult in monsoon and winters to fetch water. Looking at the situation Madhu had done water pipeline from that stream to our house. And kept the pipe open with joints for all the houses along the way. So no villager had to go to the stream. They would just open the joint, fill the water and rejoin back the pipe. Madhu would think for everyone and not just for her.

 

The day would go in cleaning, arranging the house and cooking three times for 10-15 people every day. Usually, our evenings would be relaxed and spent either in the balcony or sitting under the open sky in our porch. Making masala chai would be my responsibility and speciality. That was the only thing which I was doing good among all the business activities. Masala Chai and Good Day biscuits treat was something for which everyone would wait. I would see the sparkle in their eyes when I would walk carrying the treat tray towards them. I guess we all were kids deep in our heart. The time would just fly and the day would end. As much as it would be fun to be with all the traveller, someday it would just exhaust us. We would dream of having no guests on someday so that we three could just relax by ourselves and do nothing whole day. We would rarely get lucky to relax when nobody would be in the guesthouse. The season was about to end so we thought of not taking any break. As the coming months of monsoon would bring fewer travellers anyways.

On my birthday which would be in the last week of June, Madhu decided to not have any travellers so we could celebrate in a more relaxed way. That was my first birthday in Salli. As that was a special day for me, I was spared from letting me know what all mistakes I do in a whole day. Noor would get excited on such occasions of birthdays and festivals. She would go all her way to make such events grand by decorating the house, drawing paintings and writing cards. In the morning I was not asked to wake up early unlike every day. As I was not a morning person it would take efforts to wake me up. By the time I got up the whole house was clean and breakfast was ready. I was impressed by the ladies. I wished to have my birthday every day. Noor had filled the living room with balloons which she secretly had bought from the market previous evening. They wished me a happy birthday with a surprise shout as I entered the living room. Noor had written a beautiful birthday card along with a drawing in her own innocent way. That was the most heart touching wish I could have ever received. Madhu had cooked my favourite kheer puri for lunch. They reminded me of my mother and my younger sister. Madhu had given me more than I could have ever dreamt of. A beautiful home, lovely family, majestic mountains and a great life.

What Else One Can Wish For.

The Hailstorm

While leaving Goa we had invited all our friends to the mountains before they would fly back to their homeland, Russia. Some of them had made their plans to visit us. We were excited to see them again. The first friend who came to Salli was Sasha with her 3 young kids and in the state of expecting one more. Sasha was Madhu's best friend in Goa for the last 8 years. They had a really great bonding with each other which I had seen while we were in Goa. Madhu would take care of her kids like hers and they would equally love her back. I could sense the excitement in Madhu's eyes to see her best friend and the kids. That was the first time Sasha would be seeing Salli as the house was ready just in that year. After flying till Delhi they came to Salli all the way by car. They reached around 10:30 at night. The driver was really good as he safely drove through the dangerous patches of Salli road in that darkness. 12 hours of car drive was equally exhausting for the driver and the passengers. At night time mountains would get extremely cold. They had switched from 40 degrees temperature of Goa to 12 degrees of Salli in just one day. Just after stepping out of the car, they started shivering. We knew that would happen so we had carried warm jackets for everyone. Quicky after welcoming them we started our small trek uphill through the forest with the help of a mobile flashlight. We asked the driver to spend the night as it was very late and also an exhausting drive. 

We had a big open land in the front which was part of the house. Unlike in the plateaus, the mountain land is spread across in steps. On those spread out steps, people would either build houses or do farming. Our house was built on the first step. The second step was kept for farming and the third, fourth step was laying idle where kids would play cricket. Just in front of the fourth step, there was a naturally created water pool in the same stream which had passed by next from our garden. All our guest would enjoy going into that pool. Sasha and her kids were really enjoying the mountain life. Sasha would help Madhu in cooking and farming. She had brought with her varieties of plant seeds. Just like Madhu, she was close to the soil. Looking at what Madhu had built in the middle of the forest, Sasha was really proud of her friend. I would see them sitting in the balcony talking for long hours. Her kids had already become friends with Noor and the local kids. They would play cricket, climb the trees, jump in the pool, sit on the buffalo or just go hiking up in the mountains. I had seen them in Goa and now looking at them in the mountains in their true colour was simply fascinating. I guess kids were supposed to be raised in nature and not in the cities. Humans and animals truly belong in nature and not in the zoo-like cities. 

One afternoon after lunch we were sitting in the living room. The sky was getting dark with clouds and the wind was flowing with an unusually high speed. I went out to check. Trees were dancing in the wind and were getting a good air blower wash. I saw some villagers in the mountains running behind their cows and goats to take them under some shelter. Everybody in the house ran outside to pick up the cloths which we had hanging on the rope in the garden to dry. We checked if there was anything to take inside the house as winds were getting stronger. We closed and bolted the door while everyone was sitting in the same room next to the kitchen. Suddenly, there was a loud thunder followed by lightning which was visible from the window. The thunder was so loud that it skipped everybody's heartbeat. In the same moment, lights went off. The kids were getting scared while their mothers were keeping them close. One more thunder boomed with a strike of lightning, that time even louder and scarier. Weather in the mountains was really unpredictable and dangerous. Abruptly, the wind stopped and we heard a strange noise coming from the roof as if someone was throwing stones on it. I looked out of the window and to my surprise, it was raining hailstones. In a matter of 15 minutes, the whole mountain ground was covered with a blanket of white snowballs. The hailstone cloudburst was so heavy that it broke some of the roof slates and made their way into the rooms and kitchen. Everybody was running around and struggling to stop the roofs from leaking. After fighting for a long time we surrendered in front of the mother nature and decided to go out and enjoy the show. By that time the storm had started to fade out and hailstones were replaced by pleasant raindrops. I was stunned by the wild dance of nature. The stream next to our garden was flooding heavily with mud colour water. There were many rain water-induced streams flowing down the mountain making it look like hundreds of waterfalls in front of our house. Trees were looking astounded as if their mother had just washed them with forceful love. That reminded me of my childhood baths. Kids were going nuts in collecting snowballs and eating them. Life in the mountain was again returning to the normal.

There Was Some Beauty In Surrendering To Nature.

Home For Everyone

Summer season would drive lots of travellers into the mountains as weather would be very pleasant. The cool breeze and chill temperature of the winter which one would feel in the plateaus would be felt during summers in the mountains. There would be a good amount of snowfall in Salli during winters making the entire summer pleasant to live. Soon Salli became famous through FB and word of mouth. We would get guests from all over the world along with majority of Israelis. People would come with a plan of staying for 2 nights and ultimately end up living there for 2 weeks. Such was the magic of Salli and Madhu. Every single guest would feel heavy-hearted while leaving Salli. We always treated everyone like our family and didn't give them a business vibe. Our kitchen was open to everyone to cook. There were no rules in our guesthouse. Upon arrival we would ask them to choose whichever room they wish to stay and show them around. The freedom to use the kitchen and cook was something unique we were offering. Salli became backpackers paradise. Visitors from all nationalities would cook their unique food which was a pleasure to watch.

There was a big porch outside kitchen where we would sit together on the ground for the meals looking at the lush green hill in front of our house. There would be so many different dishes to taste. Our morning and evening tea would be enjoyed in the balcony. Someone would play guitar while someone would sing. Everyone would share their stories and talk about their journey. At night everyone would gather in the kitchen around the fire. Madhu would serve fresh food by sitting next to the mud stove. Everyone would get hot roti in their plate. She loved to feed people and would get happy seeing everyone eating. Madhu was a complete woman to her core. After dinner we all would just sit in the kitchen enjoying the fire. Our talks would go till late night over mint tea. By that time Noor would be already asleep in my lap. That was her most preferred place to sit and sleep. She wouldn't bother if I was eating or doing some work. She would just come from anywhere and sit in my lap as if that was her designated royal chair. I enjoyed serving the princess. That 6-year-old kid made my life nothing less than heaven.

We would fill our basic kitchen stock once in every two weeks. As we were not charging guests for the stay and had kept it on the donation, everyone would buy vegetables from the market and cook on their own. That became a tension free business where we would just provide the place to stay and guests would take care of everything by themselves along with cooking food. Some guests would not pay enough while leaving as it was on donation. But then some guests would come and pay way more than expected which would balance out the less paying guests. Our approach for the first year was just to introduce more people to Salli even if that meant to suffer loss. The donation-based payment was the best way to attract visitors and market the business. We observed after one month only that we were already in profit. The way Madhu was doing business was surprising to me. Our place was making good profit and at the same time it was not giving the business vibe but a feeling of home to the visitors. We were connecting with our guests like a family and it would feel sad when they leave. That was definitely not just a business. Madhu would often tell every guest that, 'This home isn't just mine. I am just a medium who has built it. It belongs to everyone. This is a home for everyone who is away from their home.'

Our Guesthouse Was Nothing But An Ashram.

Business Begins

We started hosting backpackers one after another. There was no shortage of people for the business. As Madhu was friends with so many Israelis, she just had to put a post on FB about the guesthouse. Every day someone would call to enquire about the availability of rooms. We could only host a maximum of 10 people so sometimes we would keep people on waiting. We were getting overbooked. Salli was becoming a newly found destination for backpackers. Unlike typical tourists, backpackers would always be in search of untrodden paths and places. We met their search. Also as that was our first year of business, Madhu thought of running the place on donation and not with fixed charges. I didn't understand her plan. She always had some unusual and illogical ways of doing things. But she was the expert in that business so I preferred to watch and learn.

There was one quality which was common between Indians and Israelis. And that was Bargaining. They would bargain for everything on the earth. Their most used phrase would be 'Lama Kakha' which meant 'Why like this?'. You could tell them the lowest price, still, the response would be 'Lama Kakha'. They would often try to speak in Hindi by using Google translate which usually translates words literally. That would sound funny as hell. Most of them would be talkative and loud, always speaking in Hebrew and not in English. They usually would stick to their tribe and mix less with the locals. But once they were your friends then you would enjoy the best company. A complete street smart people with always some interesting story to share. Most backpackers would be on tight budget. They preferred to spend as less as possible by staying in hostels, dorms, cooking their own food and travel by local transport. Even though Indian Rupee was 20 times cheaper than Israeli Shekel, they would save money for their further travel.

Keeping our guesthouse on donation was an attention grabber for backpackers. They would just flow towards Salli. Madhu was smart indeed. Slowly and steadily I was settling into realising the universal truth: 'Women Are Always Right'. Managing and marketing the guesthouse was a whole different business. I was completely alien to that. Most of the time would go in mere observing and understanding the dynamics of that business. On the other hand Madhu would just move effortlessly like a hot knife through butter. She would share her business secrets with me while she would cook. We had a mud stove in our kitchen. I learnt from her how to build fire in mud stove without creating smoke. I had gone back to the basics of living a raw life. I & Noor would sit next to the fire and Madhu would cook while singing some beautiful Sufi songs. She really had a great voice. I would often ask her that how could she cook so delicious food? To that, her reply would be 'Because I cook with love'. Sitting in that kitchen next to the fire with such lovely company I had nothing else in my life which felt missing.

We Don't Really Need Much In Life To Be Happy.

The Israeli Backpackers

Usually foreign tourists would first land in Delhi and then go to the typical famous touristy places in Himachal like Dharamshala, Manali, Kasol, Spiti valley, Bir billing, Dalhousie etc. Salli was situated deep into the forest around 50 km away from Dharamshala. Indian tourist would be often seen trekking in the high mountains of the Salli valley. But the place wasn't explored by the foreigners yet whom we were ready and excited to get introduced. Himachal mainly had an influx of Israeli backpackers as that was a second home for Israelis like Goa was for Russians. In the famous tourist places, one would find restaurant names, menu cards, shop names in Hebrew, the language of Israelis. Those places would look like mini Israel.

There was a big difference between a tourist and a backpacker. A tourist would be seen with big suitcases, staying in expensive hotels, dining out and visiting typical touristy places with a rented private car. One the other hand backpackers would be carrying a backpack, staying in hostels, sharing dorms, cooking their own food, travelling through local transport or just prefer to walk. The main difference was in the attitude. Backpackers were like free spirits, flexible in their plans, just flowing with the wind and enjoying life to its core without any checklist in their mind. They preferred living in raw and real life. Just by looking at them, one could figure out if they are backpackers or tourists. Their hippie clothes, tattoos, jewelleries, headscarves and a small pouch carrying THE STUFF would make them apart. Most of the backpackers would be in their 20s. These young high spirited Israelis were a very unique breed.

Just after finishing 3 years of military service those young ones would fly out of Israel to travel the world for 1 year. Military service was compulsory for every citizen of Israel after the age of 18. Brilliant law to ingrain discipline in the citizens before they take up their professions. No wonder Israelis were the toughest people. The whole world knew how they would fight to protect their land and dignity. I could only imagine the stress those people had suffered witnessing endless war with the neighbours. That one-year travel vacation was a must for every citizen to come out of that stress and be in nature & relax. They were friendly people who would talk about love and peace. I guess only the one who has seen war can be worthy of understanding love & peace. You need contrast in life to appreciate the other side.

Madhu was born and brought up among the Israelis right from her very young age. Her father's guesthouse and the restaurant were in Dharamkot, a place near Mcleodganj, Dharamshala. She was active in her fathers business since she was a small kid. Showing rooms to the Israelis, arranging them, taking payments, cooking & serving at the restaurant, teaching yoga and making lots of Israeli friends. She was a people person. An inborn high energetic extroverted Madhu had gotten the right atmosphere to grow her warm and outgoing nature. As she was surrounded by free-spirited hippies from her young age, one could see their strong influence on her. She was nothing like a typical conservative tribal woman from her community. Her talks would be blunt and in the face without giving a damn about others judgements. She had no filters while talking her heart out. To me, she seemed more Israeli than Indian. So I had no question of inviting any fights from her. Madhu was a class apart.

The Israelis Already Had Made Their Way Into My Life.

Starting The Leftover Construction

The month of March was when all the tourists would start coming to the mountains. We were excited to host the tourists for the very first year of the guesthouse. Madhu was building that house for 3 years. She had bought a massive land of 40,000 sqft in the middle of the forest with a big stream going by the side of the land. The location she had chosen proved that she had an eye for nature's beauty. The house was built on around 3000 sqft area. It was 90% already constructed when we met. Now our job was to finish the rest as early as possible. We knew that it was going to take a couple of months to finish. There were only 2 rooms ready to host the tourists. Other 3 rooms were under construction as the previous mason ran away with advance payment without completing his job. As we were not doing business on a large scale, we found managing 4-5 rooms easy by hosting around 10 guests at a time. The biggest challenge in front of us was the transportation of raw material till the house. The main road would end 200 meters from our house. Then one had to climb uphill by foot into the mountain. So transportation would be carried out manually or through donkeys. Cement, bricks and sand would be carried through donkeys but the steel rods for RCC construction weren't possible through those poor animals. That daunting task would be carried out by people. We weren't in need of any steel yet as the remaining 10% leftover work was related to plastering, plumbing and wooden floor work.

There were many more plans to expand the house and build more rooms but right then we wanted to finish with the basic leftover work and get the house ready for hosting the tourists. The main season in the mountains was from March till June so we were in a rush to finish fast. Shortage of manpower would be a normal thing in the mountains. After a lot of searches, Madhu found one mason from the nearby village through her local contacts. He was a mason and a carpenter too. We were happy that we found a guy who could work on both unfinished parts. Now we only had to search for a plumber. Luckily through the mason's reference, we found one. We started with the living room next to the kitchen. I and Madhu would help the mason in everything he would need. While Madhu would also look after the house and cook. It wasn't necessary for me to work. We could have hired one extra person but I insisted to work and learn about construction. I was learning from ground zero. Right from mixing cement, sand and water in required proportions. I would carry that mixture in a plastic tub and get that to the mason. While he would do his brickwork and plastering I would just keep standing there figuring out the science and technique behind his work. He would get amused by my curious questions and happily share his knowledge.

Learning new things was something ingrained me even if it meant to make my hands dirty. Sometimes the work pressure would just break me as I wasn't trained for such manual labour in the past. Madhu would sense my irritation and ask if we could hire someone. But I was determined to complete the task all by myself no matter what. It took us more than one month to finish the leftover construction. Even if it was frustrating sometimes due to work pressure I had enjoyed working. It made me a little bit wiser. The feeling you get from building your own house cannot be measured in money. Every single drop of sweat was worth the effort. I would relate myself to that house very dearly. I could only imagine how much Madhu would be relating to that house as she had built that from scratch. When I say I have a home in the mountains, it is not just because I found a loving family there but also because I have built some part of that house by my own hands. There was some deep connection with that house beyond any words.

Part Of Me Still Lives In That Home.

In The Lap Of The Nature

Salli was a beautiful village in the heart of the untrodden Khauli River valley of the Dhauladhar Himalayas. There was a government school at the beginning of the village neighbouring Hanuman temple. A big metal bridge was connecting Salli to the other part of the road, whose underneath Khauli river would flow with great force cutting through the big rocks. Standing on that bridge was a blessing for the eyes looking at the magnificence of nature. The local bus would not cross the bridge but stop at the beginning of the bridge only. Salli was the last stop for all the buses. To go to further villages there would be shared jeeps. There was one big Hydro project at the bank of the river and a huge metal water pipe going across the village to its main Reserviour build on the top of the hill. The main market area would begin right from where the bridge had got connected to the village. All the shops were built on both sides of the main road which was passing through Salli to Kareri lake. That was the holy lake of Lord Shiva and Shakti, whose temples were built at the lakeside. Also, that was a very famous destination among trekkers. That was the same place on my checklist to visit when I first came to Himachal. Then met Madhu and came to Salli with her to go for trekking the next day but rather stayed in Salli only, for 4 days. That was still unchecked. When I had already found heaven then why would I think to go in search of something else?

   

Our home was in the middle of the jungle surrounded by trees and a big mountain behind. There was a small road made up of stones going in front of the home. There was a small bridge next to our home connecting another hill where there were few villages on the upside. Big stream flowing next to our garden would pass underneath that small bridge. There were many big rocks rooted in the ground through which the stream would flow. That was our favourite place to wash clothes and dishes. The same stream had few naturally created swimming pool spots. Most of our afternoons would be spent in those pools. In the evening we would march uphill for collecting wood for our mud stove. People in that village had innocence on their face and in their heart. They would speak with me in their local mountain language 'Gaddi'. They would get curious to talk with me as I was the only different looking person in the entire village. Everyone there started knowing me by the name of Maratha, as that's what Madhu and Noor would call me. Right from my very identity which was the name, everything had changed in my life. Every time someone would call me, it would remind me of my roots. That name carried a great pride. I felt grateful to Madhu for blessing me with that name.

 

Noor's school would start at 9 am so she would get ready by 8.30 and wait for her friends to walk with. Kids from the villages situated on the upside of the mountain would come rushing down like small boulders rolling down from steep mountain hill slope. Their uniform was red checked shirts and white short. These beautiful red flowers would start showering from the mountain in the early morning. I would sit outside with Noor waiting for her friends. Madhu would keep asking her the regular drill questions about if she had taken her tiffin, water bottle, books and pen. Upon her friends reaching the bridge next to our home, Noor would get up and hug her mom saying, 'I love you, Mumma.' She would get the same reply in return and a kiss too. While walking away Noor would often look back to see her mom and wave goodbye. Madhu would keep standing there till Noor would get visibly away from her sight. Every morning I would be blessed by witnessing those loving gestures between the mother and the daughter.

I Prayed For Their Union To Stay Forever