A knight in shining armour

Trekking is an activity that is enjoyed by most and talked of by the rest. A visit to Bhimashankar is indeed very enjoyable in the rainy season, when you see puddles and toads and slippery roads! Nature is at its best with lush green grass, wet green trees, green toads and green algae and the smell of wet earth and the sounds of running water and the list goes on.



It was on one such trip that I noticed my husband's enthusiasm for trekking and exploring nature. He had mentioned it previously too but this was the first time I got to see the sparkle in his eyes when we were literally walking on clouds, the spring in his walk when we were walking on nature's carpet, the slurpy sound that he made while drinking hot tea and the increase in his appetite not for food but for taking in the fresh air and explaining all feelings to his wife and daughter.



Though the day saw clouds descending and ascending, we had enough visibility to see 10 feet of our surrounding and off we all went to the climbing down mountain activity; man-child-woman. For a child, nothing is as interesting as a walk on stones, pebbles and mud and touching everything in the way to see how it feels. Our daughter gathered so many precious stones that it looked more of a geological trip. And who would be the best person to carry the load? Of course, her father!



The three of us made our way down the zig zag path snaking down. We could not exactly see the destination, but in my husband's words, we were on the right track. He was more worried about having to take care of two inexperienced trekkers rather than the poor visibility due to clouds. Our daughter was the most daring person, leaving no scope for destination definition, she went down further and further, forgetting the fact that the climb up was yet to start.



And when it started, there was no stopping, we three went climbing up and up for we could only see the tall trees and the wind blowing at the clouds, I wonder if this can indeed be described as being on cloud nine ! My husband, walking ahead of us and leading, would stop to see our progress and except for one patch of the climb, everything was fine. At that patch, our leader picked up the little girl and put her on better grounds, hey! but what about me. I got worried. And there it was, a strong, firm hand coming towards me and ready to pull me up.



Oh! what a moment ! I truly felt like a lady who was being asked by the prince to hold his arm and be pulled up on the horse. My husband had suddenly turned a knight in shining armour and quickly enough, I grabbed his extended arm and was pulled up a steep incline. My expression in the eyes changed and the world appeared even more beautiful. Quickly the three of us ran for the top and get a glimpse of the world below. Once there, we could see the clouds running, making me wonder, whether we were all competing or synchronizing the run?



Nature has its own ways of unfolding situations before us. And I got to see my husband in a different light even on a cloudy and foggy day. Things will always be the same, but the way we see them, will keep on changing.