Ecstasy

There are moments.
Moments that empties our mind.
Moments that erases all pain.
Moments that pours our heart with ecstasy.
And one such moment was when I turned around on my trail, to get the glimpse of Fort Rajgad from Torna. The sight I had been dreaming for long, the sight under the scorching sun, drenched in the fluid of love making called sweat, gave me one of my most euphoric sensations. The rocky bastion ahead, protecting Fort Torna, no way diminished my feeling of ecstasy. The long hike from Rajgad, the anxious wait to touch Torna after a sleepless night, was worth the moment. A moment, I will remember for long.

The previous afternoon, Trupti, Parul, Chikita, Vignesh, Abhinav and I lazily hiked Rajgad. A pup joined us too; having trekked many times with their species and knowing their psychology well, I tired to shoo it off, but for the kinder gender being with us it felt at home with them. The kinder gender tried to train it at grape feeding but the slippery stuff just flew out every time. But, no one bothered to feed it with anything it was skillful at.

Soon the Sun went down behind Torna, a view I always enjoyed watching from Rajgad and which always made me lusty to conquer Torna from Rajgad. The next morning the desire should be fulfilled, just a night’s wait.

Just before the last rocky patch leading to top of Rajgad, a villager came down running with one of the long iron railings which are fitted to make the route safer for trekkers; there can be no luckier sight a trekker can have at dark hours. On my inquiring, his excuse was, he is taking it for repair.

A moment later, our pup had an amazing discovery; his legs were bit on the shorter side than what was required to trek the rocks ahead and only thing he did next was what every dog is most skillful at, wag the tail and cry. Now the kinder gender helped me with my backpack while I trekked the rocks with the pup in the arms, careful every moment not to bang its head on the rocks as we kept swaying.

Fireworks lit up the zenith the moment we landed on top, a royal welcome that we never expected. We relaxed under a tree by the pond and enjoyed the chilling breeze till the merriment subsided. Later, to our astonishment, we found both Padmavati temple and the other room in front were jam packed. Puneris just don’t stop trekking, no matter what’s the season. We then decided to camp on the roofless verandah of Daaru Kothar at one of the edges of the Fort. After filling our hungry pouches and hearts with calories and laughter, it was time for a little rest before the journey ahead. One after another everyone fell asleep.

I kept turning restlessly in my sleeping bag, with eyes closed but was wide awake. It was one night I had been waiting for long. At midnight, I open my eyes to look around for any awaken soul but was awestruck by what I saw. The gibbous moon had come up halfway and has light up the faraway mountain ranges and the near end of one of the ridges of Rajgad going down towards the base village was in dark shadows. The stars had got brighter, glistering and telling me, Bani few hours more, just hold your breath.

I came out of the sleeping bag to take a walk and see the night in its glory. Chilling wind gushed from south west, the direction we will be heading in few hours. The moon had faintly lit up Torna, I gazed it. It looked distant. Two flight were flying, one behind the other, they looked frozen in the windy sky, taking eternity to move even the infinitesimal distance in the cosmos. Specks! That’s what we are. What’s man’s worth in this cosmos? Nothing! Nothing but we are those who have the will; Specks who can grasp the Spectacular.

I went back and slept.

After adding a drop to chlorinate the water of Padmavati Pond, we marched for mission Torna. Soon we were meandering down the trail from the Sanjivani Machi and bade farewell to Rajgad. Thickets and barren hillocks alternated on our way, breaking occasionally to add calories to our machines, we kept going on and on.

Soon I was greeted by an Eastern Ribbon Snake, dangling from a twig, just a foot in front of my face, flicking its forked tongue, which soon vanished into the shrubs after exchanging sweet words. Somehow, I have started encountering more snakes during my treks; last year we spotted a juvenile green viper in Ahupe trek which I first mistook as tendrils of a climber plant but then turned back for a closer look and was mesmerized by its cute looks and last month too some unknown snake crossed my path in the K2S night trek.

We continued ahead after Trupti had a closer look of the Eastern Ribbon Snake. We missed the right trail on one of the hillocks and climbed down the ridge on the wrong side, we kept moving in the right direction in hope of climbing it back on getting a trail up. Or otherwise there was a gentle slope towards the end of the ridge which we could have climbed without much effort to get back to the right trail. But a shepherd on top of one of the hillocks called us and asked to climb it to get the right trail. We started climbing the hillocks but it gradient was bit high and we had to get on all fours, holding on to dried grasses and reeds to get a grip on its loose soil. Soon we were back on right track.

In a while we were at the base of Torna. We had little water left. It was the first trek I had used a cap in. We started our final climb. After crossing the initial mound of loose soil, it was just the rocky bastion that was left to reach the top. That’s when I turned around and checked Rajgad.

Filled with a fresh surge of Adrenaline, we moved ahead, climbing one after another rock, with hardly any trail marked till we came across an iron ladder which confirmed we are on the right track. After hitting dead ends couple of times, we made our way through; the dare devil girls leading and navigating all the way, in fact motivating too. My backpack once got stuck between rocks and the view of deep valleys on both sides was freaking me out, but the sight of a kinder gender’s slender legs standing on the rocks as if it’s some ramp and not a scary ridge was soothing, and I crawled out of the rocks like a lizard.

Soon we were on top. And like they shower flowers on victors, heavenly rain poured on us, drops of molten hail quenching the thirst of our soul and filled our hearts with Ecstasy.