We both were silent for a long time. Neither of us said any words just cuddling each other in a romantic embrace enjoying our warmth. After Narkanda, car started a gradual descend. After few kilometers we found a wide river flowing alongside the road. The river was on the left side of the road. Paree exclaimed on beholding the strong currents of the water.
“Oh! My god, what a beautiful hilly river. What is the name of this river?” She asked me.
---“This is Satluj river.”
---“You mean Shatadru in Bengali?”
I nodded affirmatively. Paree was obstinate to stop the car; she wanted to touch the river water. I told her that the weather is very cold outside and the water will be damn chilled. She did not paid attention to my words and asked Balwinder to stop the car. As the car stopped by the side of the road, she opened the door and ran out.
---“Are you coming with me or I will jump into the river?”
On hearing those words, no one can stay inside the car. I scratched my head in a veiled disgust and had to walk towards her. She climbed down the bank of the river over the small stones, very aptly balancing herself. She bent down to touch the flowing water.
As the chilled water touched her fingers, she yelled out ---“My God, so cold. I can’t feel my fingers.”
I laughed at her and said that I cautioned her. She sprinkled some water on me. With a veiled anger in her voice ---“You are not at all romantic. I am not going to talk to you.” I assured Paree that we will get to see another river, the place we are going to.
She exclaimed ---“Really! Why haven’t you told this before?”
I told her that beautiful things divulge gradually, I wanted to surprise her.
---“Ok, then; I am not angry. Let us go then. I am dying to go to the place. What is the name?”
---“Chitkul. You dumb girl”
Again our car started and the river was flowing alongside the road, beautiful green hills on all sides. The sky was clear blue with tuft of white clouds floating. We saw apple orchards over the hills on the other side of the river, small villages on top of hills. On reaching Rampur, we had our lunch. After lunch I was feeling very chilled so I asked Paree that can I have a puff?
Paree looked at me bit angrily ---“So you have started smoking again.” I pleaded her that I have not smoked after that reception day, only the chilled weather is making me so. I wanted to puff a cigarette badly but as I saw her getting in to the car without saying anything, I sensed trouble. I thought it would be better not to smoke rather to hurt her.
---“Ok baba, I am not going to smoke. No will you smile for me.”
As our SUV rumbled out of Rampur, Paree told me that she was feeling sleepy and wants to sleep. I moved to the right corner of the seat as she pulled her legs on the seat and rested her head on my lap. She took my left arm and pressed it on her bosom. I looked down to her face. Gently I combed her head, she closed her eyes and soon she went to sleep. She was looking very beautiful while she slept. For the first time I looked at her sleeping face, as if her face was gleaming with some eternal peace. Balwinder eyes were fixed on the road. I bent down slowly and touched her soft cheeks with my lips. On sensing my kiss over her cheeks she snuggled more into me pressing my hand over her bosom, to feel the warmth. The road was full of trucks and was a busy road. I looked outside. Ballu pulled the car to a petrol pump as we reached Jeori. Paree woke up.
She asked me with her sleepy eyes---“Why have we stopped.”
---“To fill diesel.”
---“How long have I slept?”
---“Not much, you can go to sleep again.”
---“How long it will take us to reach our destination?”
I asked the person at the filling station as how long will it take us to reach to Chitkul. He said that it will take about four hours more. He also cautioned us that after Karcham Bridge, the road would be very rough. On hearing him Balwinder assured me in his typical Punjabi tone---“Oh! (Sirji tussi fikar na karo. Menu pata si.) Sirji don’t worry about anything.”
______________________________
Paree doesn’t understand much of Hindi so she asked me as what Balwinder told me. I said to her that he assured us that the journey will be safe. I looked to my wristwatch, it was already 2:30 pm, I sensed that it would be dark by the time we reach our destination. As our car started from Jeori, Paree said that she does not want to sleep anymore, she want to see the hills and nature. The sun already leaned towards the west. In hills, night comes early. By the time we were near the Karcham Bridge it was getting dark outside. At Karcham, we found that there were two rivers joining, the colour of was green and another was bit muddy.
Paree exclaimed on seeing the green river ---“Oh! I have not seen any river with green water. Can we stop here?” I asked Balwinder to stop the car as we climbed a bit on the road.
---“How beautiful. Is this the river we will get to see in Chitkul? What is the name of the river?”
I nodded my head saying that this will be the same river she will find in Chitkul, the name of the river is Beas flowing all along from China to India.
We left the highway NH-22 and took a small hilly road to Chitkul. The road was very rough with pebbles and gravels all over and lonely also. Chill winds were blowing outside. I embraced Paree more into myself so as to give her warmth. After sometime Ballu had to switch on the head lights as the visibility was getting poorer due to little fog and darkness descending. Paree looked at me with fearful eyes. I assured her that nothing will happen.
She caressed my cheeks and said ---“You are really a brave and strong hearted person. How did you dare to take me to a totally unknown place where there are very few people?”
---“If you are with me I can fight against the world honey.”
She kissed on my cheek ---“Umm! My brave baby prince.”
As we passed Sangla, it was dark all around. Balwinder was having a hard time to drive on that rough dark road. I asked him, was everything ok or not? He assured me that everything was fine, he can drive easily. Paree again looked at me with bit of tension building inside her. I told her not to worry. She started cursing me that I am mad, I am insane; we should not have come to this secluded dangerous place. What if someone kills us and throw us in the river deep down below? I told her to stop talking all nonsense. She got bit angry and moved to other end of the seat, silently looking outside in the dark. To douse the situation, jokingly I asked her whether she was able to see anything in that dark night outside or not. She nodded her head in anger and said that she was not going to talk to me anymore. I also got frustrated as I was also new to this place. How come I would have dreamt that the road would be so rough and it would take us so long to reach our destination?
About an hour after or so, most likely by seven o’clock in the evening, we saw lights at the end of the road. We reached Chitkul. I told Paree to be seated inside the car till I find some hotel. As I came out of the car I could hear the winter winds howling badly around me. It was very dark all around. We found a hotel at the end of the road. It was very dark outside. The manager of the hotel told us that there were no guests in that hotel, only we two will be staying. Paree was very quiet all along. She has not spoken a single word after Sangla, in last two hours or so.
______________________________
“Oh! My god, what a beautiful hilly river. What is the name of this river?” She asked me.
---“This is Satluj river.”
---“You mean Shatadru in Bengali?”
I nodded affirmatively. Paree was obstinate to stop the car; she wanted to touch the river water. I told her that the weather is very cold outside and the water will be damn chilled. She did not paid attention to my words and asked Balwinder to stop the car. As the car stopped by the side of the road, she opened the door and ran out.
---“Are you coming with me or I will jump into the river?”
On hearing those words, no one can stay inside the car. I scratched my head in a veiled disgust and had to walk towards her. She climbed down the bank of the river over the small stones, very aptly balancing herself. She bent down to touch the flowing water.
As the chilled water touched her fingers, she yelled out ---“My God, so cold. I can’t feel my fingers.”
I laughed at her and said that I cautioned her. She sprinkled some water on me. With a veiled anger in her voice ---“You are not at all romantic. I am not going to talk to you.” I assured Paree that we will get to see another river, the place we are going to.
She exclaimed ---“Really! Why haven’t you told this before?”
I told her that beautiful things divulge gradually, I wanted to surprise her.
---“Ok, then; I am not angry. Let us go then. I am dying to go to the place. What is the name?”
---“Chitkul. You dumb girl”
Again our car started and the river was flowing alongside the road, beautiful green hills on all sides. The sky was clear blue with tuft of white clouds floating. We saw apple orchards over the hills on the other side of the river, small villages on top of hills. On reaching Rampur, we had our lunch. After lunch I was feeling very chilled so I asked Paree that can I have a puff?
Paree looked at me bit angrily ---“So you have started smoking again.” I pleaded her that I have not smoked after that reception day, only the chilled weather is making me so. I wanted to puff a cigarette badly but as I saw her getting in to the car without saying anything, I sensed trouble. I thought it would be better not to smoke rather to hurt her.
---“Ok baba, I am not going to smoke. No will you smile for me.”
As our SUV rumbled out of Rampur, Paree told me that she was feeling sleepy and wants to sleep. I moved to the right corner of the seat as she pulled her legs on the seat and rested her head on my lap. She took my left arm and pressed it on her bosom. I looked down to her face. Gently I combed her head, she closed her eyes and soon she went to sleep. She was looking very beautiful while she slept. For the first time I looked at her sleeping face, as if her face was gleaming with some eternal peace. Balwinder eyes were fixed on the road. I bent down slowly and touched her soft cheeks with my lips. On sensing my kiss over her cheeks she snuggled more into me pressing my hand over her bosom, to feel the warmth. The road was full of trucks and was a busy road. I looked outside. Ballu pulled the car to a petrol pump as we reached Jeori. Paree woke up.
She asked me with her sleepy eyes---“Why have we stopped.”
---“To fill diesel.”
---“How long have I slept?”
---“Not much, you can go to sleep again.”
---“How long it will take us to reach our destination?”
I asked the person at the filling station as how long will it take us to reach to Chitkul. He said that it will take about four hours more. He also cautioned us that after Karcham Bridge, the road would be very rough. On hearing him Balwinder assured me in his typical Punjabi tone---“Oh! (Sirji tussi fikar na karo. Menu pata si.) Sirji don’t worry about anything.”
______________________________
Paree doesn’t understand much of Hindi so she asked me as what Balwinder told me. I said to her that he assured us that the journey will be safe. I looked to my wristwatch, it was already 2:30 pm, I sensed that it would be dark by the time we reach our destination. As our car started from Jeori, Paree said that she does not want to sleep anymore, she want to see the hills and nature. The sun already leaned towards the west. In hills, night comes early. By the time we were near the Karcham Bridge it was getting dark outside. At Karcham, we found that there were two rivers joining, the colour of was green and another was bit muddy.
Paree exclaimed on seeing the green river ---“Oh! I have not seen any river with green water. Can we stop here?” I asked Balwinder to stop the car as we climbed a bit on the road.
---“How beautiful. Is this the river we will get to see in Chitkul? What is the name of the river?”
I nodded my head saying that this will be the same river she will find in Chitkul, the name of the river is Beas flowing all along from China to India.
We left the highway NH-22 and took a small hilly road to Chitkul. The road was very rough with pebbles and gravels all over and lonely also. Chill winds were blowing outside. I embraced Paree more into myself so as to give her warmth. After sometime Ballu had to switch on the head lights as the visibility was getting poorer due to little fog and darkness descending. Paree looked at me with fearful eyes. I assured her that nothing will happen.
She caressed my cheeks and said ---“You are really a brave and strong hearted person. How did you dare to take me to a totally unknown place where there are very few people?”
---“If you are with me I can fight against the world honey.”
She kissed on my cheek ---“Umm! My brave baby prince.”
As we passed Sangla, it was dark all around. Balwinder was having a hard time to drive on that rough dark road. I asked him, was everything ok or not? He assured me that everything was fine, he can drive easily. Paree again looked at me with bit of tension building inside her. I told her not to worry. She started cursing me that I am mad, I am insane; we should not have come to this secluded dangerous place. What if someone kills us and throw us in the river deep down below? I told her to stop talking all nonsense. She got bit angry and moved to other end of the seat, silently looking outside in the dark. To douse the situation, jokingly I asked her whether she was able to see anything in that dark night outside or not. She nodded her head in anger and said that she was not going to talk to me anymore. I also got frustrated as I was also new to this place. How come I would have dreamt that the road would be so rough and it would take us so long to reach our destination?
About an hour after or so, most likely by seven o’clock in the evening, we saw lights at the end of the road. We reached Chitkul. I told Paree to be seated inside the car till I find some hotel. As I came out of the car I could hear the winter winds howling badly around me. It was very dark all around. We found a hotel at the end of the road. It was very dark outside. The manager of the hotel told us that there were no guests in that hotel, only we two will be staying. Paree was very quiet all along. She has not spoken a single word after Sangla, in last two hours or so.
______________________________
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