Research

Tiri VillagTIRI DIARIES

For a multitude of personal reasons I have to write about my last visit to  Sangda River, Tiri, Mustang.  And  here I sit to write  a rather detailed account to the events, and daily chores to justify  my stay in Tiri and my work. Commencing to write up anything new is always a big deal for me, it just gets in my nerve and I loose a damn clue how to start to put words together and make a sentence. Somehow, emerging from the vagueness of words I come up with this travelogue :).

Wind eroded hill

Mustang, this harsh and weather beaten land often forming mirage at daylight, with splendid snow covered rock mountains across the horizon, cold crystal streams, sparse bushes of cypress, juniper and ash  has only few things to offer to its dwellers; its desolation, magnetic solitude, the vast wind eroded high and low dome shaped hills up to the zenith and the fierce gusts of winds that can blow us up to few meters. But still it is one such fragile, beautiful and serene place. The spectacular landscape of this region is indeed a subject of amusement. One gets easily flummoxed by the special features that this place has preserved in concoction with the rivers flowing straight down from the Himalaya and surrounding wind eroded hills which are sharpened everyday by the giant gusts of winds. It would be totally unfair to delimit my admiration for this ever tolerating place to external cruelty and forcings in few words. One gets baffled by the sight of outstretching landscape, the dirt somewhere older than any exile, the unsettling concrete sprawl of the loosely mounded hills, burnt in the coolness. I salute this place which has stood still and tolerated the nature's cruelty since eternity long.

Grand canyon like structures

This trip will always remain especial to me and close to my heart. It was such a treat for me to get to know "more real me" and prove "my abilities" to work in harsh conditions. My heart sinks, almost audibly whenever I gaze into the memorandum or I get lost in the reverie and find myself working skin to bone in Sangda river,Tiri, Mustang with two most strongest and determined men I have ever come to know all along. Getting up at 7 in the morning and preparing for the day's work was a routine affair for 10 days during my stay in Tiri village. Sometimes my stomach would churn down, and I would feel sick remembering the 2 hours long walk uphill to the station. But then I used to get motivated to continue my work seeing little kids of the village helping their parents in the field and household activities. I tell you that that these kids are the most strongest kids I have ever seen in my life. Even a 4 years old kid helps his father in taking the  flock of sheep out for pasturing.

Sangda River

I easily used to get enlightened once reaching the river and starting a day's work. Sangda is not a big river but September is a peak flow period from summer monsoon and like other big rivers this river was flowing fiercely with a gushing sound at this time of the year. 

My helpers (Sanjay and Namgyal dai)

I wouldn't dare to go into the river for doing measurements as I was scared with its depth and speed. A huge thanks to Namgyal dai who did all the measurements for me getting into the freezing cold river every single hour (hourly measurement and six times a day) - a pretty tough job. 

Rhodamine solution prep.

 The big help I received from Sanjay and Namgyal dai made it possible for me to accomplish my work perfectly. For me these are the people with the face of an ordinary man but with a quality of near divinity. They even pampered and spoiled me like their younger sister (will never ever forget their gratefulness). My task was to jot down the depth of the river at every 0.5 m across the length of the river and the current meter readings and conduct the tracer injection method to estimate the flow in the river.

Conducting flurometer experiment

Between two measurements I used to have free 45 minutes to myself. I can't tell now how much I loved those 45 minutes. I used to do all the calculations instantly in the field. It would only take me 10 minutes. Then for the rest of the remaining minutes I used to read the book " To Whom The Bell Tolls"which my friend lent me prior this visit. This book by Heminway is all about the civil war in Spain during early 18th century. It's about how revolution started in Spain and how Fascists were taken away by Republicans. I enjoyed reading this book as it illustrates elaborately about the political history of the then Modern Spain and how love sprouts amidst the blazing war (between Robert Jordan and Maria : two main characters of this book). Like this visit, this book will remain especial throughout my life. Also it was an achievement for me to read  this book in 10 days whilst in the field.(I read it like a crazy, I must say :).

Tiri Apples 

And everyday at 1 pm we used to have our lunch. For a person like me who has not a good appetite, a packet of wai wai meant a lot in that field , it tasted amazing and the chappatis, the boiled Mustang potatoes, the chilly pickle (Marcha), the buckwheat chappatis, and on the top the fresh apples from the same village, they all tasted heaven  (never in my life I have praised the taste of food like this).

Our lunch being cooked.

I can't depict in words how very much I loved the desolation and solitude of that place. Several  miles away from the  crowd, pollution and selfishness of Kathmandu city I was in the lap of nature, living my dream, pursuing what I always wanted to, being myself, enjoying bivouacking under the fathomless deep blue bright sky, understanding the entities of life and nature. And sometimes I would feel that this wide country just stretches my life to a thinness just trying to take it in, trying to calculate in it what I must do. The windy bay at its head would scatter my thoughts like someone going mad from science and birds pulling my hair, land filling my throat. I almost used  to choke up in the ebb and flow of thoughts. Magical were all those moments in Sangda River as I could see everything getting resolved in dazzling measureless freedom. :)

Me and Sanjay

The most challenging task was heading back to Tiri village in the evening. I used to feel mournful and sucker punched and heavy and banished from some fundamental aspect of my being, but most of all I used to  feel caught by the angry gush of  terrible wind. This wind would pause my movement for a while giving me the sense that I am in some kind of space holding my breath and then suddenly the wind would free me up pulling down me to reality. And I in tremor would try to avoid these winds as far as possible. To distract myself from these winds I used to brag a lot with Sanjay on top of my voice :) and take lots of funny pictures of ours.  I hated those horrendous walk then, but now they are the wonderful parts of this whole trip.  I now understand that greatness is always built on some foundation. These winds are the foundation of this majestic place. 

And at the dusk after reaching our guest house I would just feel there is no longer a container or anything to be contained. I used to feel so accomplished and proud for not thrashing or lungeing or fleeing  :). I would applaud myself and Sanjay for doing everything perfectly and for making most of that day. :).  In this particular trip there had been  joys too great to be described in words and there had been some minor hardships upon which  I have not dared to dwell. This trip was a big success which taught me that courage and strength are naught without prudence and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of lifetime .  I am glad that everything went so well and I faced  all those hardships with big smile in my face . 

"There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a  void in your soul, ready to be filled. YOU FEEL IT, DON'T YOU?"