The lonely tree
Young Bishen Singh’s dreams were finally coming true. He had just passed his college exams and landed a government job as a school teacher. He had always wished for it. There was only one challenge though, his first posting was in Kaza. Spiti was still part of the State of Punjab then, and Kaza only found an occasional mention in government reports. There were a lot of myths surrounding Spiti mostly because so few people had heard of the place, let alone visit it. In those days the bus only went up to Manali after which one had to walk across the Rohtang La, then walk the long stretch from Gramphu to Batal and finally cross the Kunzum La. A very, very long walk of over 100 km. And after all this walking, you only reached Losar. Kaza was another 60 km away. The travel took over a week.
Bishen was partly sad about leaving his family back in Punjab. But he was also terribly excited for the new adventure he was about to set out on. He had always wanted to explore the mountains and this was his chance. He had packed all his stuff, including a lot of woolens, in a single sturdy cloth bag. He also had one bag just for food that could see him through his long walk to Spiti. Bishen left 10 days before his joining date hoping to reach Kaza a few days before his first day at school.
The walk from Gramphu was a pleasant one. He crossed a patch of birch forest at Dorney nalla. He couldn’t recollect seeing so many birch trees in a single place before. There were so many waterfalls to admire that one hardly noticed the distance. His pace dropped every few kilometers as he was in awe of the landscape. It was also early summer and Gaddi herders were setting up camp. Gaddis are always glad to receive an unexpected guest who brings them news from new places. The first few evenings were spent at different Gaddi camps, where the routine was somewhat fixed. Bishen would be welcomed with a piping hot cup of tea followed by rotis drowned in ghee and roti-khadi – all made from goat milk. Bishen had enjoyed his walk from Gramphu to Batal. But the walk from here on was going to be a lonely one since Gaddis only camped up to this point and did not enter Spiti. It took Bishen two full days to summit Kunzum La and then climb down to Losar, the first village in Spiti.
The first thing Bishen noticed when he started descending Kunzum La was how bare the landscape was. The waterfalls were all gone and even the trees began to disappear. By the time he reached Losar, he was struggling to spot a single tree. Bishen suddenly felt as if he had set foot on a different planet. His pace dropped again, but this time in shock. He was struggling to wrap his head around why these massive mountains were without any greenery. Had someone robbed them of it? He couldn’t imagine living in a place like this, that too so far from home. He suddenly felt like he was stuck without anywhere to escape. As he reached the village of Sumling just 15 km from his final destination Kaza, his eyes fell on a lonely willow tree.
This full-grown tree stood in all its majesty almost in defiance with the otherwise treeless landscape. Bishen felt like he had met a long-lost friend. His eyes welled up and he couldn’t hold himself back. He dropped all his luggage and ran towards the tree. He hugged the tree tightly and sobbed loudly, ‘My friend I have been forced to come this far just so I can keep the hearth burning back home, but what ill luck has fallen upon you? Who cursed you to come to this place?’
Hearing Bishen’s loud sobs, several curious villagers gathered around to see what was happening. But none had the heart to disturb the conversation between two long-lost friends.
Kaza is the main town of Spiti and the headquarters of Spiti sub-division.
Gramphu and Batal are locations on the road from Manali to Kaza.
Birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree. The bark usually peels horizontally in thin sheets, especially on young trees. These sheets were traditionally used as paper in many high mountain regions. Several holy scriptures have been preserved by writing on such sheets.
Dorney nalla is a patch where one can still find a lot of birch trees on the way from Manali to Kaza.
Sumling is a beautiful village on the right bank of the Spiti river.
Willow is a tree with long thin branches and often grows near water.