Chronicles of Spiti - Kaza

Just Another Day In Paradise

Why do I always find the most humble and studiously calm people in the Himalayas? No matter how often I asked myself this question, the answer remained disguised.

Everyone here is just too chill!

It’s extremely rare to see people with attitude, raising their voice, rather unfriendly or being arrogant or impolite. Even when there are some confrontations people are one dimension removed, and not being entirely serious. It looks like everyone's having a good time, super friendly, chit-chatting with any random guy, unassuming and empathetic.

I can say that today, I found an answer to my question.

It was our last day in Kaza. While we were packing our bags with memories, our homestay operator came running to us. Before we could say something, he gave us the Spiti Apples with a huge smile and said “You can’t leave Kaza without having Spiti apples!”. Also, he gave me a packet of dry apples to have on the journey. Let’s just be honest here, I believe living in a cold place would be an amazing experience, however, not for a lifetime because I know it's a pitfall. From hot water to delicious food, warm blankets to running the fireplace, our homestay operator was behind everything that made our living comfortable. So, the first lesson to becoming Himalayan is, “Always help others”.

What’s next? Still unknown. Rahul(Travel guide) said that if we see something mysterious and exciting then we’ll stop and explore. Sounds like a plan when you are out of place. Our first stop was a petrol bunk. Obviously! What’s so cosmic about it? If you remember, we were in Kaza. It’s about 12,270 feet above sea level. Technically, petrol bunk is a big deal here, and the fact that it’s even functioning at -30°C. I thought we were born in the world of technology and maintaining a petrol bunk will be easy as pie. But, I was wrong! When I saw the petrol buck's board saying,

“WORLD’s HIGHEST RETAIL OUTLET”

I was just stunned. My eyes popped out of my head. This was out of expectation and for the first time we were taking photos in the petrol bunk. Haha! I was literally exploring the place like it was some ancient monument, but it was a lot of fun though.

We had some spare time, so I was taking a walk around the place, and out of the white, I was at a monastery. I was led to the uppermost spot of the Kaza with a towering prodigious monastery. When I went inside and checked, it was closed. I had only one option, taking a selfie from outside and going back. But, my fate had some other plans. A random Himalayan guy, who looked like he was 60, came to me and said, “Give me your phone, I’ll capture a photo for you.” I underestimated and gave him my phone. But, he shocked me with his photography. That’s the best pic I have in front of the monastery.

Later he asked, “Have you been inside the monastery?”.

“No, it’s closed”, I exclaimed.

He laughed and said, “I know the Poojari of this monastery. If you are interested, he’ll show you around.”

I blinked at him, astonished. "Well, yes," I said.

I quickly took my phone out and called my friends. They arrived immediately when they heard about the monastery. Also, the monk(poojari) just came in time and opened the gates of the happy hunting ground. The bright and colorful building made a stunning contrast to the majesty of the Himalayas which sits just behind the monastery. The monk was exceptionally welcoming and allowed us to wander through this sacred place and surroundings. It had a very big statue of the Buddha and several short benches were placed around the big hall for monks to perform rituals. Every pace that I took here was slow and serene. It was an unbelievable experience, the vibrations were so high that it was hard to not feel levitating.

The mock was very energetic and he was also happy to see us. Once he opened the windows of the monastery, a light flashed in from the mountains. With a smiling face, he showed us around while speaking about the monastery's history and culture. By spending little time exploring, I can say that it's the most colorful monastery I have ever visited. And, the monk treated us so well, we thought of offering some money to him. When I lend my hand with money, the monk said: “NO MONEY” with a sheepish look. When we all requested a lot to take the money, he took all the money and dumped it in the monastery's donation box, and said again “NO MONEY” by making all of us look like fools. Lesson learned again!

We salute you O’ Great Monk, We salute you O’ Great Himalayas!

“Himalaya’s nature is not only mountains, rivers, or snow, it’s also the people who are living there to complete its beauty!” And, to answer my very first question, I always found the most humble and studiously calm people in the Himalayas because they are part of the Himalayas.