Under the protecting eyes of Ramajima and Mount Sishne, she blossoms in all seasons of the year. There is a very genuine misconception in urban areas about her; many of urban-born affectionately call her ‘mountain’ though in reality she is just a hill. She doesn’t touch the blue sky above her as Mount Everest does. But, she is the only one in the whole world who can take children on her rainbow to travel through the world of heaven and bring them back to herself.
Far from the world of maddening crowed, of plastic and the worldly eyes of intruders, she hides. Here, people born out of her are the only ones who can feel their blood give rush when they see her from miles away because they are so much alike that they are linked with each other to feel each-others heartbeat. These people are out of her seed and are as enigmatic as she is. Only intruders in this virgin society are poets and the God and Goddess of nature. I can guarantee, Laxmi Prasad Devkota must have been the only intruder in this society in his dreams and must have been inspired by her to write every words of his life. These were extraordinary beings with extraordinary powers that linked them with her.
But, if you decide to go and see her leaving your cozy home in Kathmandu, you will have to drive west through almost forgotten-highway for two days in bus and then walk for three days to find her in front of your eyes. After some days of relaxation upon her lap, you will not be able to impede yourself from putting on your hiking shoes. And then, after 3 hours hike through the small trails passing cheerfully through deep wooded forest with artistic old trees standing tall just asking you to appreciate them for their age while thousands of wild flowers beg you to stop and smell their heavenly scent. With those temptation and discovering mysteries hidden behind those rocks of hers if you still can move forward you step on Ramli. And after missing few breaths; standing on grassy sheep pasture when you look around; there, you will discover yet another stimulating reward in those smiling mountains and unfolding hills that extend to the horizon. At that time, your eyes will see the miracle of her; the startling synchronization of natural colour…the valley with scattered villages by the deep blue river and hills raised from those villages extend from being deep green to haze blue in the horizon behind the folds of higher hills and suddenly turn itself white with snow covered mountains behind them protecting and cherishing them.
After that magical moment, when you have caught your breath and you are relaxed you have to look directly below you to see her. With some scattered thatched roof houses, deep green forests and potato, maize, millet and mustards fields, at first you might find her as ordinary as other hills quietly lying next to her. She will not make you gape or reach for your camera like Everest does. But you will discover she will not allow you to turn your head away from her as well. It is that time when you decide to look her closely enough to find something striking hidden inside her. Then you will discover, there is something very intriguing about her. It is a wonder; to find her become alive in front of your very own eyes.
Through her prairie you will see two different worlds within a circle of clock. During day, laying on your back, under the shade of full grown maple tree you will see the blue sky extending to infinity with only a source of light hanging on it. While during night, laying on the terrace, hands under your head you will find yourself staring at the wonder of another world. The world of night yet so bright and so gay with uncountable numbers of stars twinkling in the same clear sky that held sun on its palm during day time; as if someone had quietly slipped to put glitters during dusk to make your heart give a leap in your life.
You will discover, She is a place… a magical place where Echo is still alive under her loving arms. Here, Achillies and Beowulf live in harmony with fire- breathing dragons. Sita and Ram come here to have their romantic moments once in a while. Here, you can find your wishes made on rocks come alive. She is the one who lets people see God in rocks, shows the footprints of them in hills and water. And yet so secretive with her limestone caves and layers of ancient power hidden under bushes you can never expect what might jump out of it. A roaring tiger may chase you towards your home if you wander too far away or wild boar may show you how to dug the jungle and eat earthworms.
Of all people I should know. I have spent my first 9 years wrapped around her arms. Even after parting with her, I have been spending my days with her in my imagination and dreams. The first thing I ever smelled was her sweet scent on her air that gave me life and encouraged me to open my eyes to see her in her full glory. When I was about 2 minutes old I had cried with full joy by sensing her love for the first time. At 4, holding my brothers hand, I had witnessed secrets deep within her. At 7, I had learned birds’ language and was talking with them sitting comfortably on her rhododendron’s palm. Then after a decade I had gone back to her and she had not changed much; she was still the love of my life.
I really don’t remember when exactly love affair began between us. What I am sure of is that I had realized her love even before I was born, even before I existed. It was just like that…when I had breathed in her for the first time I was totally, deeply and madly in love with her.
Yet I fear. I fear, in the tiny moment of her long life-span, my love seems one sided. If she blinks her eyes during the time when I am with her, she will miss me. She will miss to notice my existence. She will not see I ever existed and loved her till the last breath.
But that realization heightens my love even more because that fear gives me a reason to be by her side in every breath of my life: a reason to live, a reason to love and a reason to die. And even after death takes hold of me I will lay a somber sleep in her lap of intoxicating beauty tasting the ambrosia of her core. Yes, this is my wish: to live my whole life wrapped around her arms, and let my body live forever mixed with her in her garden of Nirvana.
I have come to realize, to understand her you need a little bit of black magic. We all do. A little black magic to belong with her, to understand her mysteries and her secrets behind her smile because her subtle beauty is not like a beauty of Everest: instantaneously impressive but nothing more. This instant impressiveness doesn’t give you enough time to create, to reflect and to live with them. That is why we need a little black magic in our lives to understand her subtle beauty because these mysteries and magic crawl up on us slowly giving us enough time to live, love and appreciate life. Life that is so full of mysteries and secrets revealing itself in right time, with right message and meaning showing each day with a little piece of heaven creating smile on beholder like she does.
This is the reason; She and Life are so much intertwined together. Creating a reason to smile, to live, to love and make you believe that you rightfully belong in her heavenly wings of life’s warmth.
Far from the world of maddening crowed, of plastic and the worldly eyes of intruders, she hides. Here, people born out of her are the only ones who can feel their blood give rush when they see her from miles away because they are so much alike that they are linked with each other to feel each-others heartbeat. These people are out of her seed and are as enigmatic as she is. Only intruders in this virgin society are poets and the God and Goddess of nature. I can guarantee, Laxmi Prasad Devkota must have been the only intruder in this society in his dreams and must have been inspired by her to write every words of his life. These were extraordinary beings with extraordinary powers that linked them with her.
But, if you decide to go and see her leaving your cozy home in Kathmandu, you will have to drive west through almost forgotten-highway for two days in bus and then walk for three days to find her in front of your eyes. After some days of relaxation upon her lap, you will not be able to impede yourself from putting on your hiking shoes. And then, after 3 hours hike through the small trails passing cheerfully through deep wooded forest with artistic old trees standing tall just asking you to appreciate them for their age while thousands of wild flowers beg you to stop and smell their heavenly scent. With those temptation and discovering mysteries hidden behind those rocks of hers if you still can move forward you step on Ramli. And after missing few breaths; standing on grassy sheep pasture when you look around; there, you will discover yet another stimulating reward in those smiling mountains and unfolding hills that extend to the horizon. At that time, your eyes will see the miracle of her; the startling synchronization of natural colour…the valley with scattered villages by the deep blue river and hills raised from those villages extend from being deep green to haze blue in the horizon behind the folds of higher hills and suddenly turn itself white with snow covered mountains behind them protecting and cherishing them.
After that magical moment, when you have caught your breath and you are relaxed you have to look directly below you to see her. With some scattered thatched roof houses, deep green forests and potato, maize, millet and mustards fields, at first you might find her as ordinary as other hills quietly lying next to her. She will not make you gape or reach for your camera like Everest does. But you will discover she will not allow you to turn your head away from her as well. It is that time when you decide to look her closely enough to find something striking hidden inside her. Then you will discover, there is something very intriguing about her. It is a wonder; to find her become alive in front of your very own eyes.
Through her prairie you will see two different worlds within a circle of clock. During day, laying on your back, under the shade of full grown maple tree you will see the blue sky extending to infinity with only a source of light hanging on it. While during night, laying on the terrace, hands under your head you will find yourself staring at the wonder of another world. The world of night yet so bright and so gay with uncountable numbers of stars twinkling in the same clear sky that held sun on its palm during day time; as if someone had quietly slipped to put glitters during dusk to make your heart give a leap in your life.
You will discover, She is a place… a magical place where Echo is still alive under her loving arms. Here, Achillies and Beowulf live in harmony with fire- breathing dragons. Sita and Ram come here to have their romantic moments once in a while. Here, you can find your wishes made on rocks come alive. She is the one who lets people see God in rocks, shows the footprints of them in hills and water. And yet so secretive with her limestone caves and layers of ancient power hidden under bushes you can never expect what might jump out of it. A roaring tiger may chase you towards your home if you wander too far away or wild boar may show you how to dug the jungle and eat earthworms.
Of all people I should know. I have spent my first 9 years wrapped around her arms. Even after parting with her, I have been spending my days with her in my imagination and dreams. The first thing I ever smelled was her sweet scent on her air that gave me life and encouraged me to open my eyes to see her in her full glory. When I was about 2 minutes old I had cried with full joy by sensing her love for the first time. At 4, holding my brothers hand, I had witnessed secrets deep within her. At 7, I had learned birds’ language and was talking with them sitting comfortably on her rhododendron’s palm. Then after a decade I had gone back to her and she had not changed much; she was still the love of my life.
I really don’t remember when exactly love affair began between us. What I am sure of is that I had realized her love even before I was born, even before I existed. It was just like that…when I had breathed in her for the first time I was totally, deeply and madly in love with her.
Yet I fear. I fear, in the tiny moment of her long life-span, my love seems one sided. If she blinks her eyes during the time when I am with her, she will miss me. She will miss to notice my existence. She will not see I ever existed and loved her till the last breath.
But that realization heightens my love even more because that fear gives me a reason to be by her side in every breath of my life: a reason to live, a reason to love and a reason to die. And even after death takes hold of me I will lay a somber sleep in her lap of intoxicating beauty tasting the ambrosia of her core. Yes, this is my wish: to live my whole life wrapped around her arms, and let my body live forever mixed with her in her garden of Nirvana.
I have come to realize, to understand her you need a little bit of black magic. We all do. A little black magic to belong with her, to understand her mysteries and her secrets behind her smile because her subtle beauty is not like a beauty of Everest: instantaneously impressive but nothing more. This instant impressiveness doesn’t give you enough time to create, to reflect and to live with them. That is why we need a little black magic in our lives to understand her subtle beauty because these mysteries and magic crawl up on us slowly giving us enough time to live, love and appreciate life. Life that is so full of mysteries and secrets revealing itself in right time, with right message and meaning showing each day with a little piece of heaven creating smile on beholder like she does.
This is the reason; She and Life are so much intertwined together. Creating a reason to smile, to live, to love and make you believe that you rightfully belong in her heavenly wings of life’s warmth.
[Note: I was born in Jhumlabang of Morabang VDC, Rukum District of Nepal!]
4 comments:
Attention!
This piece is mind boggling; in the sense, the nature is being canvassed, I could comprehend the meaning though.
I had an opportunity once in my life to enjoy the beauty of those places – Rolpa and some parts of Rukum on the way from Thawang to Bhalubang. It was my first time that I could see and feel the beauty of rhododendron (Lali Guras, I’d like to say). Also I was amazed by the other kind -- pink and white colored Guras in the pristine jungles of Rukum and Rolpa.
Although I had enough agility, my desire to visit and enjoy the new places was almost ruined by the continuous and over a weeklong –12 to 15 hours of journey through the punishing trails of steep hills. Exhausted by the whole day long journey, we would rest at the nearby house en route and we would get wooden log for pillow as luxury and DHIDO with unknown dried vegetable (SAAG KO SUKUTI) as delicious dinner. For me, this journey was more like the realization of Nepal rather than enjoying the beauty of nature.
Of course, the natural beauty out there is great but life is obviously difficult. It’s so amazing to see the garland of Himalayas on the horizon but you may not have desire to live in the Himalayan range. Anyway, you’re being sentimental and the blog is poetic. Keep it up!
A very poetic description of a beautiful place!
same title but quite opposite views.
http://shortmusings.blogspot.com/2009/03/where-do-i-belong-sundaypost.html
your writing is very descriptive and captivating.
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