Traveler Notes - Chapter 11 Countrymen In India

Once I myself walked along a mountain serpentine in the Himalayas Pradesh 50 km, well, the road went down. There was a gorge on one side of the road, and steep cliffs on the other.

At the side of the road stood an old imperial bus station. Of gray stone covered with green moss. There is a small shop. Selling bananas and mangoes. I just bought a bunch of these fruits for 10 rupees. And there were 30 of them. For the same money on campus, you could buy only 10 pieces.

I was dressed in an Indian kurta, with Bata shoes and Adidas training shoes on my feet. There was a Nepalese hat on his head and a rosary of sandalwood on his neck. And over a shoulder hung a cloth bag containing bananas, a bottle of mineral water, a bunch of chapatti. A couple of apples and dry snacks, i.e. Nepalese dry pasta. They could be filled with water for a minute or just eat dry. Packaging cost 40 rupees at the time.

During the descent, a couple of times the buses would almost be hit, but somehow it worked out. I walked down the road and hummed the song “Dusty, Dusti Naraha, Piara, Piara Naraha, Zindagi meter, Piara, Piara Naraha”. In appearance, some Indians mistook me for some highlander. And they said something in Hindi, and I answered in English. And we stared at each other. They at least understood something in English, but in Hindi I could only say hello to “namaste”!

Moreover, I had only 100 rupees of money, something about 2.2 dollars. I left my wallet in the departmental bus. And he drove off. What should I do? Cell then were heavy for the simple engineer. And especially with roaming. In Himai Pradesh, I did not know anyone. To Uttar Pradesh was to go and go, two hundred kilometers at least. I only have a center certificate, permission from the bureau to stay in the country, a passport and 100 rupees. And hi.

But the views were amazing. The mountains like Roerich’s paintings are, of course, stereotyped, but such associations have caused surrounding landscapes.

There was also a branch from the path, a wooden, drawbridge, below which there was another valley. A floodplain of shallow sand, a small mountain stream flowed. Some fruit trees grew on the terraces.
for visiting.

But I did not dare to go there, it was already the end of the day, about 5 pm. I did not want to get lost, somewhere in the highlands away from the busy highway.

I walked, looked around, ate bananas, drank water. And clocked up kilometers. In my head there were no worries as I get to the center in another state. Just complete nirvana from the mountain air and probably just an admiration for the beauties of nature. Wildly beautiful!

On the way I came across a small mountain village with a small roadside cafe. That’s where I wandered. Drink scorching, Indian black tea with milk and double sugar. 150 ml of such tea cost only 3 rupees.

And then, surprisingly, I met almost that countryman! It was a neighbor from a neighboring city, but from another country. The total difference is 54 km. He immediately approached me and asked::

– hey, countryman, what are you doing here?

I was surprised how he realized that I was not a mountaineer ?!

He remarked with a grin, but I guessed from your training, we brought them in your city and country in the spring!

Then, in a conversation, it turned out that he was not only a fellow countryman, but also my kindred and I were from the same kind of “City Artisans”. Oh, how small the Earth is! And relatives, you need to help!

His name was Kamal, he was a businessman, he was engaged in the purchase of knitwear lines in India and in the Himalayas was as a cultural program. We talked, then yes, he says, and I’ll give you a ride to your hostel. It’s inconvenient, I say, such expenses.

And he waved his hand, said, do not twist the brains, we are relatives!

And we went to campus, on the way he fed me manti with our traditional food, he brought with him. He told about his business that he has his own factory in Keder, and he wants to develop the production of knitwear and produce his own brand, now I say, I train my subordinates from the Indians so that they can sew branded three-piece suits and shirts. Indians have to notice, the woolen fabric for suits is cool.

He stayed to start on campus at the hotel, having breakfast in the morning, we made fried eggs and boiled rice. Kamol left, wishing us to study successfully!

After I saw him once on television already at home, he presented just his brand of shirts, as if he managed to make his dream come true!

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