Friday 27 July 2012

Subolong ..The nectar falling from the mountains


The first sight intoxicated me. I was expecting a sight but this was beyond all my capacities, my imaginations clearly did not reach this wonderful delight which was in store for me .... ah, this abruptly reminded me of my childhood ...of those days when I have tasted the taste of beauty in Darjeeling...my hungry eyes could dig in the majestic realities of true nature of pure and innocent bliss of a world where one can lose oneself without thinking about time, space or any other issues, a place away from the daily life, a place away from the chaotic life, a place where nature can be a source of spirituality. I was thinking about the time I dreamt with my best buddy to go on a vacation and lose ourselves completely. You can totally surrender yourself at the hands of nature and it won't disappoint you.

The waterfall was more than a hundred feet high and I was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the gift of nature ...the force of the water was so great that it seemed the water was not only flowing downwards but upwards as well. It's a universal truth that water is colorless but when a lot of water fall from a great height it looks like a thousand white diamonds are falling down from a great height at great speed, spreading the rainbow colors. At that moment I felt life is precious and wonderful because we have great nature around us to celebrate life. I went down the stairs with my injured leg very carefully, not to slip the stairs but the excitement was so great I wanted to fly down to touch and taste the nectar from the mountains. My dear sister took my hand and guided me to the falls. The path was rocky and stony and I had to be extra careful not to hurt my leg. I finally reached the falls... oh what an amazing feeling it was to touch the water and soak myself in the water. The water is one of the basic needs of our daily lives but here there was a primal urge to touch and feel the nectar. It was as if the mountains and waterfall came together to celebrate life and love . When you are so near the bond of nature it seems like you forget all the social bonds and break all the social chains, u become a beast, a creature of nature, a creation just like any other animal, free to do whatever you like ...reminds of the inner beast that one has when one is himself or herself without any pretension, here beast doesnot define a beast like Mr.Kurtz in The Heart of Darkness ...but a person with free will and without any sense of shame or guilt like any other creature... you feel like being one with the water, with the mountains, with the trees, the rocks, and with the people, you love. Where there is music and a song that only you can hear and you feel like dancing to the tune of that music. This is probably called paradise because it is all about happiness, beauty, love, and purity and you find all of these among nature.
 When everyone else had a change of clothing I did not take it because I thought of saving myself the bother, especially when I was not even fit, true I could not reach the place where the fall was most heavy and everyone else was having fun having a nice shower under the fall, while I chose to stand under the small one. Even the sight of monkey-faced hooligans could not upset me, even if there would be a very handsome man, I would not have paid any attention to him because I was so much in love with the fall. I was thinking of writing a poem celebrating nature. When all my friends went up the mountains to take a closer look at the fall I sat down below near the foot of the mountain seeing a view which would be imprinted on my mind forever ....the sun was just at the top of the mountain and the water was falling down. It was shining like a thousand lamps lit up together and the water was falling like a boon from paradise. I could go on and on looking at the gushing water which was so bright and crystal clear. My friend caught a shrimp and jumped up and down with joy. I was bitten by small bugs, yet I did not move from the place I was sitting as if someone chained me to that place. It was only the sight of a scorpion that could make me move and I saved myself only in seconds. Many poets wrote a thousand poems on nature and I have been to many places but here I was at a place that moved me so much. It touched my soul, it was as if I was performing a spiritual ritual. The kind of connection and purity and love I felt at this place that I never felt before.
The way to the waterfall was a memorable path. It took us almost two hours to reach Subolong falls from Rangamati city and we didn't feel bored at all as the scenic beauty was worth the ride.  I remember in schools we were often given comprehensions on a boat ride, back then I would not have been able to write anything other than probably a fictional one but if  I am ever given to write on a boat ride this would be the best one to describe so far as the water of the lake was crystal clear and the lake was surrounded by hills and small islands where there were small markets and dwellings, the lives of these people of Rangamati amazed me because they hardly had any resources, they didn't have electricity, cars or internet at every place, and local busses were also not available, vehicles were not so available, yet they are indeed truly happy and very hospitable. It taught me a great lesson to be humble, happy and the beauty of innocence and nature and purity truly amazed me. I learnt to be content with life. Now I know that if you look around you can find great resources in your own country. It's fiction that you can only find great nature abroad. We have majestic places in our own land.

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