Shangri La — What I discovered amongst the mountains of Switzerland
I and my friend were hiking the mountains in Switzerland. My smartwatch ticked 6:15 PM, and an impressive figure of 16km from where we started, was dimming from it. I was clambering with my heavy backpack and the camera gear, and irregular drizzle made my breathing heavy.
The cool mountain breeze and the smell of rusty leaves filled our lungs, while we were held in abeyance by the beauty of the mountains.
We had our stock of food, so we were not fretted to go back but I was getting anxious about the destination and light up a smoke.
“What do you think bro, are we getting lost?”
“I want to believe we are not, but maybe we are nearing the edge” — It was my first time, but my partner had navigated these territories before, so I relied on his memory.
“Won’t it be fun to get lost?”— the question dropped like an explosion amidst the silence.
“Surely, if we want to freeze to death at night” — that was my reply to him in the brain. But, the thing about an effrontery attitude is that you are not vexed with “what ifs” and rather more curious to chase it.
I took the time to give an answer to that question.
“I believe, we will find a way back. It may be unchartered in our maps, surely we have it traced in our phone.” — Technology is like a cunning mistress, and no one knows when she will just abandon you.
“I bet you didn’t check your phone for long”, my friend said, “We are out of network for the past hour and a half.” The beauty of the Swiss mountains are enough to ruse anyone’s attention, and I realized my reliance on technology crashing at that moment.
The question didn’t instantly vanish from my thoughts and along the ascend I kept asking myself for the right answer — “What if we truly get lost?”.
30 minutes past that, I was standing on the cliff, the cold fuzzy air was cutting through my skin. We were tired from the long day wayfaring but found solace there and the alluring night was slowly gripping us.
The light of the shadow from the silhouette outshined the radiance of the sun. Starry nights and slender line of pine at the periphery of the mountains, fabricated the night in a mysterious tenebrosity.
The Shangri La wasn’t an imaginary place to me anymore, it’s the elated feeling of joy inside me, that I felt with every breath of the mountain air.
These are the moments, I love to disconnect from the cacophony of the world, and reconnect with nature.
“Isolation is a gift. You will be alone with the gods and the nights will flame with fire.” — Charles Bukowski. I am not much fond of quotations, but I found the meaning to be appropriate in my circumstances, a timeless manifesto for living life with purpose wholeheartedly.
Away from the cacophony of the city, the tranquillity and the absolute quietness prevailing there hammered inside my heart. The moon rose over the silhouette, illuminating the treetops, and an aircraft pierced through the starry sky leaving a white trail behind.
Did I find my answer? — Well, maybe yes. When I was sailing in the darkness, not knowing if I will be able to reach my destination, I had a choice — Go back or Go ahead. I chose the latter. Why? — I don’t have an answer to it, maybe stupidity or boldness. But, what I realized was, I didn’t succumb to my fear of getting lost. I was afraid but embracing fear, engendered results that were beyond my expectations.
While we took the descent after an hour, the image inside my heart will never match the one my lens captured. The dusky terrain inspired my thoughts that somewhere between ascent and the summit, I found the mystery of climbing, and the moment made me feel most alive.
