Last night’s storm

The storm last night was ruthless. The wind probably 100 kmph. The lightning persistent. But the wind was unbelievable. Throughout the night I hoped that our newly planted trees remain fine because I could see them from my window struggling to keep up outside in a howling wind doing their best to survive. Yes it was a howling whistling wind. 

Having spent few years in Himachal I became accustomed to storms, the kind that define the wilderness nature throws at us at random that sometimes leaves you praying through the night. There have been few instances when we were camping out in the open usually in villages ahead of Billing and a storm decided to grace us. One time it was just me and Chaos (my doggy boy). We had gone camping with another couple - friends of mine Amit and Meenu. We went for a day hike to a glacier and returned by lunch and decided to nap. So me and Chaos went into our tent and Amit and Meenu theirs. It wasn’t even ten minutes into it when it began. Clouds that were distant few minutes back swept over us and taking over the sky. The grey black sky then began to roar. If you have been in a storm in somewhat deeper mountains you would know that the crackling of clouds puts Greek mythology into perspective. It does seem like a battle of Gods. Worse is that you are out in the open with no illusion of safety. The earth beneath constantly shakes and the lightning pierces through the flimsy walls of your tent. You are just hoping the mountain behind you doesn’t roll down and are glad that there is an actual forest there because it will save you. 

So Chaos looked at me and I at him and in between I hid my face in the sleeping bag. For many trekkers and mountaineers it may be usual to experience this but this was our first trek. Soon enough Amit called out from outside and I was extremely grateful for hearing his voice and we decided to head to the hut near us where the man who gave us food and the shepherd their ration stayed. We were very grateful for a foundation under us and finally felt safe. Somehow Meenu was deep asleep when all this happened. By our later treks we learnt to keep busy with a pathetic game of cards hoping it would distract us. 

Another time I decided to take my mom camping. We were camped out at Billing when at about 2:30 in the night it began. I heard the clouds in the distance and knew it was coming. It put up its show and we hid our faces in the sleeping bag. It passed but came back again and then again. Finally we woke up in the morning to see the Dhauladhars covered in a fresh coat of snow. 

Mountains have a way of showing you your place. You know you are not above them or above nature so you keep grounded going about your daily chores or just watching your next step because that’s all there is. The sham of things that we tend to pile on in the urban world comes crashing there. For the past few years the storms are becoming much more recurrent in the month of May. From what I understand (correct me if I am wrong on this one) when the surface of the earth heats up more than usual, it leads to the formation of cumulous clouds resulting in rain and storm and this is becoming too frequent in the recent past. The shepherds who would earlier cross over into deeper mountains early on in May now have to wait for days at the base with the flock before the mountain lets them through. And even in the plains the instance of dust storms has increased in the past couple of years. This year it may be because of recent cyclonic events along the coast but the cyclonic events are themselves indicative of rising temperatures in the sea. 

A brewing storm. Ladakh 2018

Mike Shanahan who wrote this beautiful book on the importance of fig trees called Ladders to Heaven says, "What should concern us is not the resilience of nature, but our own resilience to the new nature we are bringing into being."