How I Met Koushik and Vardhan
Cheesy warning: This story will melt your heart!
To make this relatable and interesting, let me start with a small introduction, I am a 20-something girl, a mechanical engineer working in the manufacturing industry in Pune. Trekking has always been an activity I have enjoyed to the core. After having trekked extensively in the Sahyadri Mountain Range, I decided to Trek The Himalayas (o that came out well, #trekthehimalayas), and that too Solo. A friend recommended Trek The Himalayas and after my first interaction with the front office, I decided to go for it! The next challenge was selecting the trek. Being a hopeless romantic, I choose the mesmerising- Dayara Bugyal.
Now let’s move on to the actual trek. So while we all were gathered at the base village, everybody seemed to be excited and in full spirits. If only I were too. Now you are wondering what must have happened, well, don’t fret I will tell you. So I caught a severe cold and cough. But I was determined to make it. On the first day out trek leader said let’s start and everyone started as though this is all they had and as you can imagine, I was left behind. Unable to breathe because of the cold, I had difficulty climbing. I was fighting with myself to keep going, but couldn’t. Just when I was about to give up, my trek leader said to me- “no matter how slow, we shall make it”. These golden words filled me with hope. I kept going and going. Finally, I managed to catch up with my fellow mates.
Enter -Vardhan and Koushik. These two guys are the sole reason I have such an ecstatic memory of this trek. I don’t know what I would do without them. They say a friend in need is a friend indeed. Well, I say, a stranger in need is a friend indeed! Right from taking care of me to boosting my morale, they have done it all. We laughed together, played cards together, lived together and most importantly supported each other in every way during the trek.
Lastly, I would like to say here, that in nature/mountains there is no differentiation. It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are, what you do for a living or how much money you make. Because nature is as ruthless as it is giving. All that matters is ‘how you can be of help/love to other fellow human beings. All that matters is giving nature, compassion and love. When you truly begin to understand this you will forge loving bonds for life. And that’s exactly what happened to me. Thank you, Trek The Himalayas for showing me the time of my life and giving me friends for life!
Written By
Srushti Mali