Writing the Song of Life- Sukanta’s Sar Pass Trek Review with Thrillophilia

It is strange how you can connect every phase of your life with a song.

Some moments are incomplete with the background music, and there are songs that are incomplete without certain people or things.

Lyrics that hit you like a mediaeval spear at one point might not even scratch the surface after two years.

Strange…but it's true.

I was treading my way towards the final juncture of our Sar Pass trek when I was reminded of this song from Pink Floyd,

Come on you target for faraway laughter,
Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.

This journey really did feel as if I reached for the secret of life too soon. Not that I found it, it might take years before I am even 2 per cent close to grasping the little secret of the universe.

But I surely did get the right direction pointed at me- forward.

The Slide of a Lifetime
He who showed me the way was not god, he was a plain and simple human who tried his best to help us survive this trek- Jitesh Sir.

Jitesh Sir was one of the trek leaders about whom I had grown great respect from the very day I met him. Throughout the trek we have talked and shared several moments of laughter and wonder- to be honest, it was enlightening to walk with him and hear him talk about his ambitions and his purpose in life.

He just wanted to help people, travel the world, and promote kindness. And now that I think about it, the right direction was just that- a step towards preserving humanity.

Well, there was a horrific incident one time, and I had my heart racing so fast that I almost thought I would collapse. But thank god… I am still living and breathing well enough to write a Thrillophilia review about it!

So, there was a patch of descent which was covered entirely in snow and there was no way to walk upon it. So, our trek leaders suggested that we leave our rucksacks, open our jackets and use them as a skate to slide down the slope. One of the leaders showed us how it was done, and he waited down to help us reach safely. There was another leader waiting up to slide down the bags after us.

Me and my friends were one of the last people to slide down, and by that time the snow slope had become rough. To our surprise, when we started sliding down, we faced a lot of friction due to which our alignment got haphazard and instead of a smooth slide we zigzagged our way down, almost toppling over the edge at the end.

Thank god Jitesh sir was there to catch us, otherwise that would have been the last of my gasps.

Then at last the other trek leader, Kesar sir, got down quite easily and congratulated us on our attempt and the save.

That night, he told me,

“Nothing waits for nobody, but the right things do come at the right time to the right people. Just trust the process, everything happens for a reason.”

“What if you just think about the could have beens…?”

“ No one gets rid of the past, we just have to accept it and carry it forward. It might take days, but you will get there”

We were sitting in a circle around the bonfire in Nagaru when we had this conversation. The journey surely made the conversation more personal and deep.

I had another Pink Floyd song in my mind at that point in time-

Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar, you're gonna go far
You're gonna fly, you're never gonna die
You're gonna make it if you try, they're gonna love you…

The next morning, I felt unbeatable, I felt confident, as if something was waiting for me to reveal itself.
And the dog that accompanied us throughout the journey wagged his tail and walked up to me to confirm this feeling.

To Revelations
I had gone on this trek with two of my friends, and trust me, we had the time of our lives. Walking across stretches where everything around us was covered knee-deep in powdery snow. With heavy rucksacks behind our backs, thick black sunglasses to save ourselves from snow blindness, and layers of heavy jackets and warmers to deal with the extreme cold, we kept on testing our resilience and zeal.

It had become a challenge to complete at that point. After covering such a long distance from Kasol, we had to cross the Sar Pass and reach Biskeri Thatch to stay the night. It was a long walk and we were prepared mentally. It was the power of our stubbornness that helped us complete the trek and survive in such harsh conditions.

Still, they say that this is a relatively easier trek in India, so, after completing the entire journey and coming back to Kasol, I had another mission- explore the hardest of the peaks and push myself to the best of my abilities.

The trek was one of the best things that I have done in life. It was not just eye-opening, it was also a very soulful experience. The trails and the sceneries have the power to transform you as a person, and I would recommend everybody to trek at least once in their lifetime.

I met a good mentor, I made new friends, and I grew much closer to the friends I was travelling with.

So, all is well when it ends well. And as this Pink Floyd lyrics go,

A soul in tension that's learning to fly,
Condition grounded, but determined to try…

I was determined to embark on a mission that would take me to the secret of life.

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