The wind rustled through my hair. I was lost in the serene environment thinking about the concept of friendship. What makes one choose one person as a friend over another? How does one trust another? How does friendship transform during the process of life? Will I ever again be able to be with like this with all my friends together at one place again?
I had no answers. The wind kept racing against me.
The snow and ice made the winds cold and they cut through the small gaps in the clothing and made their presence felt. It hits you in an instant. You have a brigade of friends, you feel you can face the world. The moment you walk out of your college, you enter the world and it hits you. The flock you were part of is wide spread now. You desperately calm your mind into believing that this how the world works. But does it matter to you how the world works, you just want to be with your friends again. Those moments of joy, of sheers happiness keep coming back to you.
Some try to drown themselves in work, some marry, some create a social circle but no one is able to fill the void. It just happens, the people you want to be with the most are farthest away. Even if you meet again, have a get together, things are not the same, everyone has evolved. The minds which were shaped together for years start to explore independently and are no more connected. A gush of wind flew off my head cover. I felt cold. The snow covered peaks all around looked mesmerizing.
All these thoughts rushing to through my mind causing hot blood to run through the veins covered by the skin which was cold from the winds blowing on top of Rohtang Pass. What started as a group of 13 college friends reduced to 8 after the departure of 5 of them a day before was now only 4 at the near top of the peak at Rohtang Pass. The other 4 decided to stay down. I somehow connected this to what might happen after our college days are over. We start reducing as everyone takes on their individual journey into the world. Different priorities, different perspectives.
What must have been a few minutes felt like I was absorbed for hours in these thoughts. I turned around to see my friends standing. Sunny, Rahul and Biplab were preparing to capture our moment of glory on film, standing topless in the snow at 15000 ft above sea level. It was cold and we were standing without our shirts ready for the shot. Then sunny started to take off his layers, the over coat, the jacket, the pullover, the shirt, the t-shirt inside and I don't remember more but we almost froze to death before he was ready. The camera was set up for a timer shot and cheez ...
that moment is still fresh in my mind. The air was thin. We were breathing harder and we were advised not to come up as the weather changes dramatically and it could become worse at the top. Succumbing to the temptations four of us climbed up.
The first thing Rahul and I did was to stamp our climb by releasing our pressures. We enjoyed standing on near the top. In those moments we were shielded by everything else. We had no worries no thoughts in our minds, only the pristine beauty around us and we were trying to squeeze in all of that into our memories. Soon it was time to get back. We started to climb down and suddenly Biplab's one foot caved into the snow up to his knees. We had to dig out his boots. Our legs were already cold as some snow had seeped into the boots and now our hands were frozen too after the digging. 
We decided to slide down to the base of the peak. We put our overcoat under us and just slide on the ice. It was fun but we realized later that it could have been dangerous.
Four more friends were waiting below Gaurav, Lokesh, Parichay and Sriram.
We had one more cursory look at the scenary trying to capture the most and got back into the jeep. The return was rather quite. Most of us had seen snow for the first time including me. We were still in awe of what we had witnessed. We returned the rented overcoats and boots on the way. We reached Manali and it was already late afternoon. We had to reach Bhuntar before 6 p.m. which was the departure time for our bus. We agreed with the taxi driver to drop us till Kullu from where we had to take a bus back to Bhuntar. On the way we stopped at a mandir where everyone paid their homage to God. The taxi driver was a mountain guide too. He kept telling us his stories. We reached Kullu bus stop. We immediately boarded a bus to Bhuntar as we didn't have time. We wanted the taxi to drop us till Bhuntar but he also had to return back. We anxiously sat in the bus till we reached Bhuntar just in time.
Our bus was ready. We boarded it. Only to find that we were not getting the seats we were promised. The ticket said only 2 seats in the last row and rest in the middle but we were being given 4 back row seats. The booking people justified it by saying that they don't have any online booking and so two people were booked the same seats. We didn't buy this and argued. They threatened to leave us here for the next bus if we did not agree. This was the trigger needed. Gaurav Sharma was up in an instant. This guy has all the muscles but I seldom see him angry and this was one of those moments. I wanted to capture this on camera but things were serious. The eight of us told them either we get the seats marked on our ticket or this bus is not going. We had this thing of fighting for justice as we consistently did this in college, in cricket matches, punishment by the principal ...
Finally, they gave in as we were a determined lot and we were on our way back to Delhi. After 6 days of sheer pleasure we just relaxed.
Some more clicks and most of us went off to sleep. The bus jolted to a stop and my thoughts were interrupted. I had reconstructed the whole day in my thoughts. We had stopped for dinner. We got down, ordered food, topped up our stomachs and were back on the way to Delhi. We had some jokes about the absurd food rates at the dhaba but then we did not have any options.
A week ago all of us had just finished our final exams for our third year in college. We were sitting outside the library and wondering what should we do. With no conclusions we departed. I wanted to suggest a trip but decided to come up with a destination first. That night I met up with a friend of mine who does these treks and trips regularly. He told me about a place called Pulga in Himachal. With a vague idea about the location of the place I suggested it to my friends and we decided to go for it.
The next day i.e. 29th May 2001 we went to ISBT to get tickets for Bhuntar. Somehow 13 of us had agreed to go. This was the largest group ever for me to go on a trip. We collected the money and got the ticket for 30th May, 2001. Parichay, Gaurav and I had gone to do this errand. It was decided that Parichay would be acting as our accountant. While returning we bought some bags, clothes etc from the Monastery market. The best thing about all this was that it was a very quick series of decisions. We decided to go on 28, 29 we got the tickets and 30 we were off on our trip that too with 13 people.
Gaurav, Sriram and I reached ISBT in a taxi. Soon Rajesh and Abhishek joined in hitchhiking their way up to ISBT. Then Sunny and Bips in an auto. We were all ready to embark on our journey. By 8:30 pm we were all set in the bus and the journey began. Everyone was excited. The bus stopped at a local shack where we had our dinner. After the dinner everyone in the bus started to doze off.
Early morning sunrise hit me in the eye and I felt like we were flying in the sky. We had already started our ascent in the Himlayas. It was a beautiful sight. The clean air, greenery all around, slowly climbing bus and the plains getting smaller and smaller with every revolution of the tyre. People started waking up. Now some among us had a thing for climbing in a bus. So they had taken a pill called "Avomin" and they continued sleeping. The bus started having some trouble and we had to stop at a service station. We were delayed by around and hour till the bus was being repaired. We started to explore the area and started to climb a nearby hill. Sriram started collecting pine cones. We came back all pressurized and queued in front of the loo.
Finally, we were ready to move. We stopped again a little later for breakfast. Everyone was refreshed and the sleeping beauties Parichay and Rahul were awake too. We reached Bhuntar by around 9:30 am. We straight away went to the Bhuntar airstrip. It is a small airport for kullu. Now our resource manager Parichay had organized for us a short half day stay at one of the guest rooms at the airport so that we could freshen up before moving on towards Pulga.
All 13 of us squeezed into the room and started for wash, brush etc. Some of us went out to arrange for lunch. The food came and we attacked it as we had been trained throughout college. We always believed in college that whether you buy a bottle of soft drink or attack a friend who had bought one, you will only get one sip if you are quick enough. We were experts at snatching our share and trust me it's a lot of fun...
Finally some of us remained hungry so we went out again and ate in the market. I got my shoe repaired which had got some problems. We were ready to move again. We found out that the way to reach Pulga is to catch the next local bus at 3:00 pm which goes up to a place called Varshyani after Manikaran and from there we would have to trek a bit to Pulga. The best part about this trip was that none of us had ever been to Pulga. In fact no one had ever heard about it. My friend had just given me some directions. We had no maps, we were just on a wild hunt for this place. The bus was crowded and some of us felt like having some fresh air so we climbed on the roof of the bus.
Our ride on the rooftop was fun. Overlooking the cliffs we got our adrenalin pumping and the driver was assisting us by getting too close to the cliffs. It was like a roller coaster ride only without the safety measures. We reached Manikaran by evening. There was a gurudwara and a hot water spring nearby. We spent some time there by the river which was wild. The bus had again got some problems and hence the delay.
Now we had to decide either we stay at Manikaran and move to Pulga next day or we do Pulga the same day. I thought if we stay we will lose time and since the bus was ready we decided to move on. This time the driver asked us to sit in the bus as the road ahead was treacherous and at most places only one vehicle could pass.
Many a time the bus had to reverse to reach an area where an oncoming vehicle could pass it. The covered peaks became visible. We were never short of incidences on this trip. This time a local man got in the bus with a lot of boxes which he put on the floor of the bus and moved a little ahead. Now these boxes were cramping on us as there was not much space in the bus and we had requested him to move them. He didn't listen. The bus took a jolt and one of the boxes fell on the stairs of the bus. Now this gentlemen gets into an argument with us that we had pushed the box. We retaliated and it was a big argument there with that guy saying that he will get back at us. We all were finally settled by the others in the bus.
We reached Varshyani and it started to get dark. I think it was 7:30 already. Varshyani is the last point where the bus could reach. We got down and started asking for directions to Pulga. One of the locals told us that it right across on the other hill and it will take us half an hour to reach. Another one said that was dangerous to go at this hour as the route passed through a dense cover of trees in the forest and there were no police here. He warned us if we get into any brawl with the locals we might get ourselves killed. This was a trigger. Some of us thought we should stay at Varshyani that night and go to Pulga in the morning. Varshyani had nothing. Only a couple of huts. We didn't know where to find shelter. It was dark already. We had to make a decision. We decided to move ahead.
We trudged along crossing the stream flowing in between to get onto the other side. The path was very thin and it was hard to see anything. None of us was carrying any proper torch. This was one of the preparatory mistakes we made. Addy had a small torch of his. I am not sure how much of a help it was but Addy was leading us with the torch in his hand. We reached a bifurcation. The locals had told us that one side was Kalga where it was more costly to find accommodation and one side was Pulga. We were unsure where to go. We turned towards Pulga. I was at the very back and had taken out the small knife which I usually carry on treks. It was very dark, we didn't know where we were heading and there was no one around. Although we were 13 of us but still it was a bit scary.
We reached a small Mandir under a tree and there was some kind of animal sacrifice made earlier. We took a break there. Everyone was dead tired. We were on the move since the night before. The exertion was taking its toll. Shaoor was already feeling a little temperature. We were not even carrying food and everyone was hungry. I started to doubt our decision of reaching Pulga on the same day. I had this feeling of guilt as I had suggested the place and was the only person who had the slightest idea about the place. I had got these 13 people stranded here in the night with nowhere to go. We were not even sure whether we were heading the right way or not.
Shaoor took some biscuits that one of us had and took a pill. I was amazed to see the dedication of this guy. He just asked me to support him and he said he will move along. The path was so narrow that we were almost moving in a pile with Addy in the front and Shaoor and me in the back. After a while Addy saw some light inside a cave. It was most probably some fire. We thought there might be someone who might tell us if we were on the correct path to Pulga and how far was it. Addy used his vocal chords but in return what we got scared us. It was some sort of growling sound. We moved fast ahead. We were not sure who made that sound and were in no mood to investigate. It was already very late. It must be more than 9 pm.
We were afraid that we had lost our way.
We took another break and decided that we will move on till 10 pm and if we don't reach Pulga we will stop where we reach and start again in the morning. We started collecting wood sticks on the way. We would use if to stoke up a fire if we stay the night out in the mountains. 
Some of us were still having a nice time, clicking photographs, joking around.
Crossing many unsupported wooden bridges upon streams which we could only hear we continued moving forward. Finally, to our relief we could see the Pulga village some distance apart. We reached there by around 10:30 pm. We found a guesthouse. It was all dark, probably everyone was asleep. Some shouts and sounds later a man emerged from the house. We were saved. He had empty rooms in his guest house which we eagerly rented ad asked him for some food.
While he was preparing food for us we kept our belonging into our rooms. Food arrived and we hogged.
It was time for some chit chat with friends. We had taken 4 rooms with 3 people sharing each room and the last room had 4 people. One room was a little far from rest of the rooms which were close together. Puneet felt like sleeping so he went to the room which was a little away and told his roommates to come later. We spoke to each other for some time and then decided to sleep. There was a door which separated the way to Puneet's room and this door was locked now so the other two guys were stuck. Since we were on the first floor there was no other way around to reach the other side. Puneet was sleeping all alone in that room. Nevertheless, Puneet's roommates stayed on this side adjusting in the other two rooms as it was too late to wake up the guys from the guest house.
I heard a knock on our door. I checked the time and it was around 2:30 am. We opened the door and it was Shaoor standing outside and seemed a bit worried. He said he and the other guys heard the sound of a piano. This was a secluded village with not even electricity and no connection to the road hence it was not possible to have a piano. In addition to the piano they also heard footsteps and 'ghungroos'. We got a bit worried about Puneet as he was all alone on the other side of the guest house but since it was already too late we decided to look at it in the morning.
We were woken up in the morning by both the Gauravs. Puneet was fine too and there had been a strange incident. Supposedly, Rajesh had lipstick marks on his cheeks. None of us had any lipstick with us and it was an unsolved mystery. Having joked about all the incident since the night we got ready and went for breakfast as we had to start the trek for Khirganga which was around 15 kms above Pulga. We ate and packed some for the way. Before leaving I asked if anyone was not interested in the trek then they could stay back and enjoy areas around Pulga but everyone wanted to go.
It was sheer fun trekking with a huge bunch of friends. We stopped often to click for snaps. It was a long trek. Every time we met a local he would tell us the destination is only half an hour and everytime we met a foreigner he told us it was far. We were carrying one bag with everyone's required belongings and that bag was being shuffled between me and Rahul.
Parichay was our manager who was managing the "common" fund. The best part was that although we had collected money from everyone to build up the common fund it felt like we are getting things for free whenever they were bought out of the common fund. It was fun. 
We came across a bridge on top of a very ferocious waterfall and while crossing it sunny almost fell in the fall as the bridge support gave way but since he was coming last no one noticed it and he later told us about it.
Puneet was having a tough time and his legs got swollen of all the walking so we took a break. Few among us wanted to turn back as we were no longer sure how far was Khirganga but returning back was no longer an easy task as we had come along very far. It is situation like these which differentiate people of different temperament. Not everyone is built alike.
I realized that though you could be friends with everyone but you can connect with only few of them and these are the ones you will miss once you are out of college and step into the real world. Somehow all of us agreed to keep moving ahead. Finally we reached the top to Khirganga.
We immediately went to the hot water spring and it was amazing to just enter the pool of hot water and we were rejuvenated.
We stayed there for a while and then were thinking whether to stay back one night or start back when it started to rain. We had no other option but to spend the night in Khirganga. 
Khirganga is a very small place with few shacks and few small houses on top of a hill. There were very less people and few foreigners. We looked for some shelter and it was difficult to find a place for 13 people. We finally managed to get a large basement room in one of the houses. We ate dinner in a "Langar" which is free food given in a place of worship. Then it started getting cold and we searched for some wood to burn. 
It was dark all around. When it was time to sleep we came to know that we were only given 8 blankets and on top of that the carpet on which we were supposed to sleep on the floor was damp. Puneet was running with fever so we gave him 1 blanket and then we lined up everyone to lie down and put the blankets on top of them.
There was no lock on the door to close it from inside so I took out my knife and kept it beside me before sleeping. Addy was sleeping near the door and he had his Swiss army knife. We were hearing some sounds outside but everyone was very tired and it was too dark outside to check. There was a bang on the door in the night and Addy thought it was some thief so he got up with his knife but it was the owner. There were few more tourists looking for a place and he enquired if it was ok for us to let them stay here. Since they were 2 girls with a guide we agreed to help but I guess the guide had his plans of his own so he carried on. It was a cold and long night.
We got up the next morning which was beautiful and started moving back to Pulga with me and Rahul in the lead. We had two new companions, two mountain dogs who kept moving with us. They were the same ones who had escorted us during the final leg while we were climbing towards Khirganga. They were like our guide.
At times they moved ahead of us and at times between me and Rahul. It was a nice experience, they were very hospitable. They escorted us till Pulga. Rahul and I reached back to our guest house first to find two beautiful Canadian girls having breakfast there. We struck up a conversation with them and soon were discussing plans to trek in the evening. 
The rest of guys reached and saw us talking to these girls, it was a sight to see their reaction. The girls then left for their hotel and it was decided we would meet them in the evening.
Soon it started raining and it seemed that our plans were going to be spoilt. We had nothing to do but to play cards. After a while it stopped raining in the evening but there was no sight of the girls so we decided to check out Pulga on our own.
We went on a stream and had some dips there in the cold. 
As we reached back we met the girls again. After a while we all retired. The next morning all of started our journey back to Bhuntar from where we were supposed to return back.
Some of us wanted to explore more and since few among us had never seen snow we decided to move towards Rohtang pass. Five among us departed to Delhi from Bhuntar and the rest moved towards Manali from there. It is good to have resourceful friends. Parichay who was instrumental in getting us a room at Bhuntar to freshen up on the first day was there again to arrange for hostel rooms in the mountaineering institute in Manali. We reached Manali in the evening and stayed at the institute. We went out in the night for some food and found a nice shack where a lady cooked amazing 'parathas' with 'lassi'. We fixed up a taxi for the next morning to take us to Rohtang and retired for the day.
The next morning we woke up early. The Toyota Qualis was ready and we all hopped into it. It was a beautiful ride towards Rohtang. The first sight of snow was amazing. This was the first time I was seeing it. We reached Rohtang and while some of us were having skiing sessions 3 guys went ahead to climb one of the peak at Rohtang.
Rahul, Sunny and Biplab started ascending. I wanted to but so did I wanted to try my hand at skiing. Hence, after I was through with the ski, I asked if anyone else wanted to climb. No one was ready as some people there advised us not to climb as the weather could become bad on higher levels but I did not want to be left behind to so I started climbing quickly behind the other three. I could feel the scarcity of oxygen but it was immaterial. I was enjoying with my friends and I didn't knew how many such moments were left so I wanted to make the most of it. We had reached the top.
So does this means the end of the golden era or "those were the best days of my life"? Not really, life reveals more when you probe it. You be a mute spectator to life and you will feel out of place, trying to fit in. You explore and you find life is a beautiful gift given to you by a force which cannot comprehend completely. You just need to understand that there are some things you cannot change and have to accept them as it is. Others you can change. You have to make the decision to change. Each change brings with it brings a multitude of options. You just need to keep taking decisions without worrying about it being right or wrong once the actions is taken. You can always correct if you go off track. This is the biggest lessons I learnt from my father. This is why you are given only one brain whereas two arms, two legs as you need to do more action than just thinking.
This trip is one of the most memorable trip of my life. I think one cannot capture moments of friendship in photographs, videos or journals but this is my attempt to remind us of those moments of joy which have been engraved in our minds and will stay there no matter where each of us go. Friendship lives forever. It keeps evolving and after a while distances do not matter. The connectivity stays no matter after how long you meet an old friend, the connection stays.
This is my gift to my most precious friends from college.
I had no answers. The wind kept racing against me.
The snow and ice made the winds cold and they cut through the small gaps in the clothing and made their presence felt. It hits you in an instant. You have a brigade of friends, you feel you can face the world. The moment you walk out of your college, you enter the world and it hits you. The flock you were part of is wide spread now. You desperately calm your mind into believing that this how the world works. But does it matter to you how the world works, you just want to be with your friends again. Those moments of joy, of sheers happiness keep coming back to you.Some try to drown themselves in work, some marry, some create a social circle but no one is able to fill the void. It just happens, the people you want to be with the most are farthest away. Even if you meet again, have a get together, things are not the same, everyone has evolved. The minds which were shaped together for years start to explore independently and are no more connected. A gush of wind flew off my head cover. I felt cold. The snow covered peaks all around looked mesmerizing.
All these thoughts rushing to through my mind causing hot blood to run through the veins covered by the skin which was cold from the winds blowing on top of Rohtang Pass. What started as a group of 13 college friends reduced to 8 after the departure of 5 of them a day before was now only 4 at the near top of the peak at Rohtang Pass. The other 4 decided to stay down. I somehow connected this to what might happen after our college days are over. We start reducing as everyone takes on their individual journey into the world. Different priorities, different perspectives.
What must have been a few minutes felt like I was absorbed for hours in these thoughts. I turned around to see my friends standing. Sunny, Rahul and Biplab were preparing to capture our moment of glory on film, standing topless in the snow at 15000 ft above sea level. It was cold and we were standing without our shirts ready for the shot. Then sunny started to take off his layers, the over coat, the jacket, the pullover, the shirt, the t-shirt inside and I don't remember more but we almost froze to death before he was ready. The camera was set up for a timer shot and cheez ...
that moment is still fresh in my mind. The air was thin. We were breathing harder and we were advised not to come up as the weather changes dramatically and it could become worse at the top. Succumbing to the temptations four of us climbed up.
The first thing Rahul and I did was to stamp our climb by releasing our pressures. We enjoyed standing on near the top. In those moments we were shielded by everything else. We had no worries no thoughts in our minds, only the pristine beauty around us and we were trying to squeeze in all of that into our memories. Soon it was time to get back. We started to climb down and suddenly Biplab's one foot caved into the snow up to his knees. We had to dig out his boots. Our legs were already cold as some snow had seeped into the boots and now our hands were frozen too after the digging. 
We decided to slide down to the base of the peak. We put our overcoat under us and just slide on the ice. It was fun but we realized later that it could have been dangerous.Four more friends were waiting below Gaurav, Lokesh, Parichay and Sriram.
We had one more cursory look at the scenary trying to capture the most and got back into the jeep. The return was rather quite. Most of us had seen snow for the first time including me. We were still in awe of what we had witnessed. We returned the rented overcoats and boots on the way. We reached Manali and it was already late afternoon. We had to reach Bhuntar before 6 p.m. which was the departure time for our bus. We agreed with the taxi driver to drop us till Kullu from where we had to take a bus back to Bhuntar. On the way we stopped at a mandir where everyone paid their homage to God. The taxi driver was a mountain guide too. He kept telling us his stories. We reached Kullu bus stop. We immediately boarded a bus to Bhuntar as we didn't have time. We wanted the taxi to drop us till Bhuntar but he also had to return back. We anxiously sat in the bus till we reached Bhuntar just in time.Our bus was ready. We boarded it. Only to find that we were not getting the seats we were promised. The ticket said only 2 seats in the last row and rest in the middle but we were being given 4 back row seats. The booking people justified it by saying that they don't have any online booking and so two people were booked the same seats. We didn't buy this and argued. They threatened to leave us here for the next bus if we did not agree. This was the trigger needed. Gaurav Sharma was up in an instant. This guy has all the muscles but I seldom see him angry and this was one of those moments. I wanted to capture this on camera but things were serious. The eight of us told them either we get the seats marked on our ticket or this bus is not going. We had this thing of fighting for justice as we consistently did this in college, in cricket matches, punishment by the principal ...
Finally, they gave in as we were a determined lot and we were on our way back to Delhi. After 6 days of sheer pleasure we just relaxed.
Some more clicks and most of us went off to sleep. The bus jolted to a stop and my thoughts were interrupted. I had reconstructed the whole day in my thoughts. We had stopped for dinner. We got down, ordered food, topped up our stomachs and were back on the way to Delhi. We had some jokes about the absurd food rates at the dhaba but then we did not have any options.A week ago all of us had just finished our final exams for our third year in college. We were sitting outside the library and wondering what should we do. With no conclusions we departed. I wanted to suggest a trip but decided to come up with a destination first. That night I met up with a friend of mine who does these treks and trips regularly. He told me about a place called Pulga in Himachal. With a vague idea about the location of the place I suggested it to my friends and we decided to go for it.
The next day i.e. 29th May 2001 we went to ISBT to get tickets for Bhuntar. Somehow 13 of us had agreed to go. This was the largest group ever for me to go on a trip. We collected the money and got the ticket for 30th May, 2001. Parichay, Gaurav and I had gone to do this errand. It was decided that Parichay would be acting as our accountant. While returning we bought some bags, clothes etc from the Monastery market. The best thing about all this was that it was a very quick series of decisions. We decided to go on 28, 29 we got the tickets and 30 we were off on our trip that too with 13 people.
Gaurav, Sriram and I reached ISBT in a taxi. Soon Rajesh and Abhishek joined in hitchhiking their way up to ISBT. Then Sunny and Bips in an auto. We were all ready to embark on our journey. By 8:30 pm we were all set in the bus and the journey began. Everyone was excited. The bus stopped at a local shack where we had our dinner. After the dinner everyone in the bus started to doze off.
Early morning sunrise hit me in the eye and I felt like we were flying in the sky. We had already started our ascent in the Himlayas. It was a beautiful sight. The clean air, greenery all around, slowly climbing bus and the plains getting smaller and smaller with every revolution of the tyre. People started waking up. Now some among us had a thing for climbing in a bus. So they had taken a pill called "Avomin" and they continued sleeping. The bus started having some trouble and we had to stop at a service station. We were delayed by around and hour till the bus was being repaired. We started to explore the area and started to climb a nearby hill. Sriram started collecting pine cones. We came back all pressurized and queued in front of the loo.
Finally, we were ready to move. We stopped again a little later for breakfast. Everyone was refreshed and the sleeping beauties Parichay and Rahul were awake too. We reached Bhuntar by around 9:30 am. We straight away went to the Bhuntar airstrip. It is a small airport for kullu. Now our resource manager Parichay had organized for us a short half day stay at one of the guest rooms at the airport so that we could freshen up before moving on towards Pulga.
All 13 of us squeezed into the room and started for wash, brush etc. Some of us went out to arrange for lunch. The food came and we attacked it as we had been trained throughout college. We always believed in college that whether you buy a bottle of soft drink or attack a friend who had bought one, you will only get one sip if you are quick enough. We were experts at snatching our share and trust me it's a lot of fun...Finally some of us remained hungry so we went out again and ate in the market. I got my shoe repaired which had got some problems. We were ready to move again. We found out that the way to reach Pulga is to catch the next local bus at 3:00 pm which goes up to a place called Varshyani after Manikaran and from there we would have to trek a bit to Pulga. The best part about this trip was that none of us had ever been to Pulga. In fact no one had ever heard about it. My friend had just given me some directions. We had no maps, we were just on a wild hunt for this place. The bus was crowded and some of us felt like having some fresh air so we climbed on the roof of the bus.
Our ride on the rooftop was fun. Overlooking the cliffs we got our adrenalin pumping and the driver was assisting us by getting too close to the cliffs. It was like a roller coaster ride only without the safety measures. We reached Manikaran by evening. There was a gurudwara and a hot water spring nearby. We spent some time there by the river which was wild. The bus had again got some problems and hence the delay.
Now we had to decide either we stay at Manikaran and move to Pulga next day or we do Pulga the same day. I thought if we stay we will lose time and since the bus was ready we decided to move on. This time the driver asked us to sit in the bus as the road ahead was treacherous and at most places only one vehicle could pass.Many a time the bus had to reverse to reach an area where an oncoming vehicle could pass it. The covered peaks became visible. We were never short of incidences on this trip. This time a local man got in the bus with a lot of boxes which he put on the floor of the bus and moved a little ahead. Now these boxes were cramping on us as there was not much space in the bus and we had requested him to move them. He didn't listen. The bus took a jolt and one of the boxes fell on the stairs of the bus. Now this gentlemen gets into an argument with us that we had pushed the box. We retaliated and it was a big argument there with that guy saying that he will get back at us. We all were finally settled by the others in the bus.
We reached Varshyani and it started to get dark. I think it was 7:30 already. Varshyani is the last point where the bus could reach. We got down and started asking for directions to Pulga. One of the locals told us that it right across on the other hill and it will take us half an hour to reach. Another one said that was dangerous to go at this hour as the route passed through a dense cover of trees in the forest and there were no police here. He warned us if we get into any brawl with the locals we might get ourselves killed. This was a trigger. Some of us thought we should stay at Varshyani that night and go to Pulga in the morning. Varshyani had nothing. Only a couple of huts. We didn't know where to find shelter. It was dark already. We had to make a decision. We decided to move ahead.
We trudged along crossing the stream flowing in between to get onto the other side. The path was very thin and it was hard to see anything. None of us was carrying any proper torch. This was one of the preparatory mistakes we made. Addy had a small torch of his. I am not sure how much of a help it was but Addy was leading us with the torch in his hand. We reached a bifurcation. The locals had told us that one side was Kalga where it was more costly to find accommodation and one side was Pulga. We were unsure where to go. We turned towards Pulga. I was at the very back and had taken out the small knife which I usually carry on treks. It was very dark, we didn't know where we were heading and there was no one around. Although we were 13 of us but still it was a bit scary.
We reached a small Mandir under a tree and there was some kind of animal sacrifice made earlier. We took a break there. Everyone was dead tired. We were on the move since the night before. The exertion was taking its toll. Shaoor was already feeling a little temperature. We were not even carrying food and everyone was hungry. I started to doubt our decision of reaching Pulga on the same day. I had this feeling of guilt as I had suggested the place and was the only person who had the slightest idea about the place. I had got these 13 people stranded here in the night with nowhere to go. We were not even sure whether we were heading the right way or not.
Shaoor took some biscuits that one of us had and took a pill. I was amazed to see the dedication of this guy. He just asked me to support him and he said he will move along. The path was so narrow that we were almost moving in a pile with Addy in the front and Shaoor and me in the back. After a while Addy saw some light inside a cave. It was most probably some fire. We thought there might be someone who might tell us if we were on the correct path to Pulga and how far was it. Addy used his vocal chords but in return what we got scared us. It was some sort of growling sound. We moved fast ahead. We were not sure who made that sound and were in no mood to investigate. It was already very late. It must be more than 9 pm.
We were afraid that we had lost our way.
We took another break and decided that we will move on till 10 pm and if we don't reach Pulga we will stop where we reach and start again in the morning. We started collecting wood sticks on the way. We would use if to stoke up a fire if we stay the night out in the mountains. 
Some of us were still having a nice time, clicking photographs, joking around.Crossing many unsupported wooden bridges upon streams which we could only hear we continued moving forward. Finally, to our relief we could see the Pulga village some distance apart. We reached there by around 10:30 pm. We found a guesthouse. It was all dark, probably everyone was asleep. Some shouts and sounds later a man emerged from the house. We were saved. He had empty rooms in his guest house which we eagerly rented ad asked him for some food.
While he was preparing food for us we kept our belonging into our rooms. Food arrived and we hogged.It was time for some chit chat with friends. We had taken 4 rooms with 3 people sharing each room and the last room had 4 people. One room was a little far from rest of the rooms which were close together. Puneet felt like sleeping so he went to the room which was a little away and told his roommates to come later. We spoke to each other for some time and then decided to sleep. There was a door which separated the way to Puneet's room and this door was locked now so the other two guys were stuck. Since we were on the first floor there was no other way around to reach the other side. Puneet was sleeping all alone in that room. Nevertheless, Puneet's roommates stayed on this side adjusting in the other two rooms as it was too late to wake up the guys from the guest house.
I heard a knock on our door. I checked the time and it was around 2:30 am. We opened the door and it was Shaoor standing outside and seemed a bit worried. He said he and the other guys heard the sound of a piano. This was a secluded village with not even electricity and no connection to the road hence it was not possible to have a piano. In addition to the piano they also heard footsteps and 'ghungroos'. We got a bit worried about Puneet as he was all alone on the other side of the guest house but since it was already too late we decided to look at it in the morning.
We were woken up in the morning by both the Gauravs. Puneet was fine too and there had been a strange incident. Supposedly, Rajesh had lipstick marks on his cheeks. None of us had any lipstick with us and it was an unsolved mystery. Having joked about all the incident since the night we got ready and went for breakfast as we had to start the trek for Khirganga which was around 15 kms above Pulga. We ate and packed some for the way. Before leaving I asked if anyone was not interested in the trek then they could stay back and enjoy areas around Pulga but everyone wanted to go.
It was sheer fun trekking with a huge bunch of friends. We stopped often to click for snaps. It was a long trek. Every time we met a local he would tell us the destination is only half an hour and everytime we met a foreigner he told us it was far. We were carrying one bag with everyone's required belongings and that bag was being shuffled between me and Rahul.
Parichay was our manager who was managing the "common" fund. The best part was that although we had collected money from everyone to build up the common fund it felt like we are getting things for free whenever they were bought out of the common fund. It was fun. 
We came across a bridge on top of a very ferocious waterfall and while crossing it sunny almost fell in the fall as the bridge support gave way but since he was coming last no one noticed it and he later told us about it.Puneet was having a tough time and his legs got swollen of all the walking so we took a break. Few among us wanted to turn back as we were no longer sure how far was Khirganga but returning back was no longer an easy task as we had come along very far. It is situation like these which differentiate people of different temperament. Not everyone is built alike.
I realized that though you could be friends with everyone but you can connect with only few of them and these are the ones you will miss once you are out of college and step into the real world. Somehow all of us agreed to keep moving ahead. Finally we reached the top to Khirganga.We immediately went to the hot water spring and it was amazing to just enter the pool of hot water and we were rejuvenated.
We stayed there for a while and then were thinking whether to stay back one night or start back when it started to rain. We had no other option but to spend the night in Khirganga. 
Khirganga is a very small place with few shacks and few small houses on top of a hill. There were very less people and few foreigners. We looked for some shelter and it was difficult to find a place for 13 people. We finally managed to get a large basement room in one of the houses. We ate dinner in a "Langar" which is free food given in a place of worship. Then it started getting cold and we searched for some wood to burn. 
It was dark all around. When it was time to sleep we came to know that we were only given 8 blankets and on top of that the carpet on which we were supposed to sleep on the floor was damp. Puneet was running with fever so we gave him 1 blanket and then we lined up everyone to lie down and put the blankets on top of them.There was no lock on the door to close it from inside so I took out my knife and kept it beside me before sleeping. Addy was sleeping near the door and he had his Swiss army knife. We were hearing some sounds outside but everyone was very tired and it was too dark outside to check. There was a bang on the door in the night and Addy thought it was some thief so he got up with his knife but it was the owner. There were few more tourists looking for a place and he enquired if it was ok for us to let them stay here. Since they were 2 girls with a guide we agreed to help but I guess the guide had his plans of his own so he carried on. It was a cold and long night.
We got up the next morning which was beautiful and started moving back to Pulga with me and Rahul in the lead. We had two new companions, two mountain dogs who kept moving with us. They were the same ones who had escorted us during the final leg while we were climbing towards Khirganga. They were like our guide.
At times they moved ahead of us and at times between me and Rahul. It was a nice experience, they were very hospitable. They escorted us till Pulga. Rahul and I reached back to our guest house first to find two beautiful Canadian girls having breakfast there. We struck up a conversation with them and soon were discussing plans to trek in the evening. 
The rest of guys reached and saw us talking to these girls, it was a sight to see their reaction. The girls then left for their hotel and it was decided we would meet them in the evening.Soon it started raining and it seemed that our plans were going to be spoilt. We had nothing to do but to play cards. After a while it stopped raining in the evening but there was no sight of the girls so we decided to check out Pulga on our own.
We went on a stream and had some dips there in the cold. 
As we reached back we met the girls again. After a while we all retired. The next morning all of started our journey back to Bhuntar from where we were supposed to return back.Some of us wanted to explore more and since few among us had never seen snow we decided to move towards Rohtang pass. Five among us departed to Delhi from Bhuntar and the rest moved towards Manali from there. It is good to have resourceful friends. Parichay who was instrumental in getting us a room at Bhuntar to freshen up on the first day was there again to arrange for hostel rooms in the mountaineering institute in Manali. We reached Manali in the evening and stayed at the institute. We went out in the night for some food and found a nice shack where a lady cooked amazing 'parathas' with 'lassi'. We fixed up a taxi for the next morning to take us to Rohtang and retired for the day.
The next morning we woke up early. The Toyota Qualis was ready and we all hopped into it. It was a beautiful ride towards Rohtang. The first sight of snow was amazing. This was the first time I was seeing it. We reached Rohtang and while some of us were having skiing sessions 3 guys went ahead to climb one of the peak at Rohtang.
Rahul, Sunny and Biplab started ascending. I wanted to but so did I wanted to try my hand at skiing. Hence, after I was through with the ski, I asked if anyone else wanted to climb. No one was ready as some people there advised us not to climb as the weather could become bad on higher levels but I did not want to be left behind to so I started climbing quickly behind the other three. I could feel the scarcity of oxygen but it was immaterial. I was enjoying with my friends and I didn't knew how many such moments were left so I wanted to make the most of it. We had reached the top.
So does this means the end of the golden era or "those were the best days of my life"? Not really, life reveals more when you probe it. You be a mute spectator to life and you will feel out of place, trying to fit in. You explore and you find life is a beautiful gift given to you by a force which cannot comprehend completely. You just need to understand that there are some things you cannot change and have to accept them as it is. Others you can change. You have to make the decision to change. Each change brings with it brings a multitude of options. You just need to keep taking decisions without worrying about it being right or wrong once the actions is taken. You can always correct if you go off track. This is the biggest lessons I learnt from my father. This is why you are given only one brain whereas two arms, two legs as you need to do more action than just thinking.
This trip is one of the most memorable trip of my life. I think one cannot capture moments of friendship in photographs, videos or journals but this is my attempt to remind us of those moments of joy which have been engraved in our minds and will stay there no matter where each of us go. Friendship lives forever. It keeps evolving and after a while distances do not matter. The connectivity stays no matter after how long you meet an old friend, the connection stays.
This is my gift to my most precious friends from college.
