The House On The Faraway Mountain

By Sheenam Negi

“It is always the same with the mountains. Once you have lived with them for any length of time, you belong to them. There is no escape.”- Ruskin Bond

The sky was coloured in gloom over the mighty mountains of Lahaul. A group of the village elderly was gathered at Guddu’s tea stall to sip their morning tea and to share the usual tittle-tattle about their village. The slothful shepherd was herding his lambs on the lush green pastures. And a bevy of beauties were grumbling about the weather while working in the fields beside the tea shop. It was nothing out of the blue. It is what the ideal morning looked like in those hills.

Life wasn’t any different for Ranjeet and his wife, Nima. They were the youngest in an extended family of sixty-two. Almost everyone in their family, hoping to escape the harsh winters of Lahaul (or perhaps to savour the fruit of modern life), had moved to the more vibrant valleys below. Ranjeet and Nima were the family pariahs who chose to stay behind. They lived in Lahaul with their ten-year-old daughter, Pema.

After dropping her at the nearby school in the morning, Ranjit and Nima walked briskly towards their potato field. They cherished this time because it was when they could be alone. It was the only time they could adore the mere existence of each other. This walk amidst the snow-clad mountains warmed their otherwise lonesome village life.

On reaching the fields, Nima opened a tiny hut built there. It was where Baa, their fluffy white sheep, lived. They loved her like their child because she looked like a squish mellow (or perhaps because she did not leave them like the others). Nima showered love on Baa and began helping Ranjeet with the potatoes.

She felt a little uneasy, particularly today. The day before was not a pleasant one for her and Ranjeet. Her brother-in-law (Ranjeet’s elder brother) Raju, who was visiting them after more than a year, ran into an argument with the two of them. Raju had migrated to the nearest small town with his family and had become a townie himself. Ranjeet could never fathom somehow who has lived in one place for most of his life could change his old ways. Ranjeet was angry at Raju for having forgotten him, like the rest of the family. He was furious at the audacity of his elder brother for telling him to stop living like an uncultured brute. It was not the first time someone had advised him to leave the village. But didn’t Ranjeet and Raju share the same roots? If Ranjeet was an uncultured brute, then wasn’t Raju one? Ranjeet was always a proud man. He was proud of who he was and where he came from.

Nima, however, was in a dilemma. She loved living with her small family in this beautiful, old, backward village of Lahaul. But, “Wouldn’t life be better for Pema in the city?”. She took pride in her husband for protecting the honour of the little life they had built in the village. But she also kept mulling over the suggestions of her family and friends.

Lost in her borrowed thoughts, Nima tore a piece of cloth from her favourite suit on an unnoticed broken tree branch. Already sulky, she exclaimed, “Why does it always happen to me?” Ranjeet looked at her suit and then at the melancholia on her face. He knew she was upset and was probably drowning in her head. Ranjeet flamboyantly started swearing at the tree branch, “Bad branch. Bad, bad branch. Why are you bothering my beautiful Nimu?” Nima chuckled a little while keeping the frown on her face whole. His dull-witted humour always made her laugh. “Nimu, i’ll get you two new suits after selling this year’s harvest.” “No! Make it four”, demanded Nima. “Oaky! Madam”, replied Ranjeet.

Nima felt bittersweet on hearing Ranjeet. “How will we buy gifts for me this year, Ranjeet? We have to renovate the house, pay the school fees, and we’ll have to make a new shed for Baa as well”, said Nima with a sigh. “Nimu, do not worry about anything. We have saved enough money. Our house will be as good as new, and so will Baa’s. And you will also get your early Diwali gifts. Mmmm…. But there is a small problem!” said Ranjeet. “What now?” exclaimed Nima. “We’ll have to shelve our plans of visiting the city this year”. Ranjeet and Nima laughed their hearts out after this. They both knew that going to the city wouldn’t be that easy for them, even if it were for a tour.

By afternoon, they wrapped up their work on the field. Ranjeet packed his tools, and Nima locked Baa inside the warm shed. They began walking towards Himani’s school. Nima felt a lot more peaceful at heart. She realised she wouldn’t get it all in life, but what she had was also abundant. A caring husband, a lovely daughter, a cute little sheep, all of it, in the blissful lap of nature. Ranjeet and Nima picked up Himani from school and bought fruits and sweets from the village bazaar. They also had an early dinner at the infamous Guddu’s tea stall. It was evening now, and the cold wind from the mountains up above blew softly, making the weather even more pleasant. Nima felt more gratitude, held Ranjeet’s and Pema’s hand, and started strolling back to her house. Her house was a little further than the other houses in the village, the house on the faraway mountain.

By Sheenam Negi