Today I woke up at 3:17 A.M for no reason at all. This is getting slightly frustrating; I might have to seek out a Kinnauri Shaman to get some answers. I forced myself to sleep again and finally woke up at 8:30 A.M when Mr. Vinod Kumar (the owner of the homestay) knocked on the door with some tea. I got off the bed and my left knee immediately buckled under me. I gingerly steadied myself and tried to place some weight on it but it hurt like the devil. My left knee was damaged in an accident a few years ago and had not healed 100%. All the walking over the two days seemed to have exacerbated the condition and I needed some rest. In light of the situation I decided not to go out today and instead stay home and work on the blog and try to upload some pictures.
It was painfully slow work and Mr. Kumar’s daughter, a veritable angel, got me food at regular intervals and saw to my needs. I rested till about 5:00 P.M and couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to get out and so I did. I picked up my camera and walked slowly into the village towards the temples.
The first temple that I visited was built in the style of the Dev Mandir in Batseri. It had doors adorned with dragons and elements of Buddhism and Hinduism eclectically featured. I wish we had temples like this in South India. Next, I went to a Shiv Mandir in the village but it was closed down. I walked out of the village and headed towards the general store that Mr. Kumar owned. There I called Debashis Dey and asked if we could meet.Mr. Dey moved to Rakcham from Mumbai in the last year and has been there ever since. He runs two websites, http://www.rakcham.com and http://himalayandiary.com. I came across his websites when I was researching information to develop my itinerary. He has done an excellent job in capturing the life in Rakcham, both in photographs and words. Through his website and posts he imparts invaluable information to aspiring travelers like me. One of the reasons why I chose to visit Rakcham was because of his websites. I had left him a message asking him if there was a chance of meeting and he replied with an affirmative and his number. Today I got to meet him and talk to him about his life here in Rakcham.
Mr. Dey was an affable man who patiently answered all my questions. He told me that he had moved to Rakcham from Mumbai after selling all his assets and leaving everything behind. He told me that he had wanted to live in a pollution free environment and looked over several other options including Dharamshala, Manali, and Shimla before settling in Rakcham. He explained to me how life progressed here and how beautiful and pristine everything was. He is also a veteran, having survived the previous winter which saw Rakcham receive about 18 feet of snowfall. He answered several questions about the day to day life there and then asked me about my plans. He had some helpful insights and showed me several paths where I could trek to. I was grateful for all the first hand information and then he left asking me to call him if I needed any help.
With the next couple of days’ plans ready in my mind I came back to the house to rest some more and wake up early tomorrow to see what I can do with my knee. Tomorrow should be an interesting day and hopefully much more. Until then, cheers!
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