A Worthwhile Tour - A short story!

“Should I or should I not?”, a confused Tiara hovered around her exquisite hotel room looking for answers.

Bold, feisty, and adventurous by nature, Tiara was on her first solo trip in Darjeeling. She had booked one of the best hotel rooms, one from where she could feast her eyes on the mighty and massive Kanchenjunga.

A cold, cloudy and misty Darjeeling had welcomed her with open arms. She had been so enthralled by the mesmerizing aura and captivating beauty of Darjeeling that she had put all her intellect and researching skills into discovering viable sightseeing options.

After talking to the few tourist vehicles in the Mall Road, she had summarized that she had to get a car booked that would cost her Rs 2000-2500 for a one-day sightseeing tour. Costly for her, but she was more concerned if travelling solo with a driver in an unknown city would be a safe option or not.

Lucky for her, that very evening as the hoteliers lit up the fireplace and all the hotel guests gathered around the fireplace, Dr Pate, one of the hotel guests came to her rescue. An excellent gentleman and a well-known dentist, Dr Pate was on a tour to Kolkata for a medical conference and decided to hop on to Darjeeling for a day before he departs for Pune. While Dr Pate was going through the local sight-seeing tour catalogue, one of the hoteliers pitched him that the hotel has its own cab for the sight-seeing tour.

An excited Dr Pate decided to book the cab but before finalizing, he asked the hotelier if there is anybody else who would like to join him and at that moment the landline in Tiara’s hotel room rang.

And there she was, wondering if she should join this guy!

Tiara had been through a recent catastrophic disaster and realized that a solo trip would be a good option to put the past aside and move forward. After a baffling 30 minutes of measuring the safety options, the level of risk, the intensity of visiting tourist places, Tiara finally decided she would join Dr Pate.

She walked up to the reception, met Dr Pate and hoped that she chose the best option.

“We want you to be up by 03:30 AM. Tiger Hill is the first stop, and we cannot miss the sunrise” the hotelier said.

After months, Tiara slept with high hopes that night.

The very next day she was up by 03:00 AM. Dressed in double and triple layers of warm clothes because of the thundering cold weather outside, Tiara was ready by 03:20 AM.

The hotelier knocked at her door at 03:30 AM and an excited Tiara rushed outside and got on the red Bolero. Dr Pate took the front seat and Tiara had the entire middle seat of her own. Sahil, the driver introduced himself and welcomed them to Darjeeling.

Tiara struggled to keep her eyes open as Sahil drove through the hills. It was dark outside, and Tiara finally took the advantage of closing her eyes for a few minutes.

It took them 30 minutes to reach Tiger Hill. The location was crowded with tourists.

“Don’t get lost. Check the car number and stay close if you want to”, Dr Pate said Tiara.

Tiara nodded.

Both of them dissolved in the crowd as Sahil drove back to the nearby parking lot. Tiara felt elated. It was an entirely new experience for her. She had never been to a new city, all alone.

Dr Pate found a location to sit on the mountain as they waited for the sun to come up.

“I will be meditating while doing a silent chanting for 10-15 minutes.” Dr Pate told Tiara.

Tiara, being adventurous, energetic, and spontaneous found Dr Pate eccentric.

“Who meditates on a vacation? “she thought. Meditation was never her cup of tea.

“Meditation, seriously Dr Pate! You are on a vacation”

He smiled and said, “I am 46. I meditate every day. When I was your age, all I did was nothing. Meditation changed my life.”

Tiara wondered about Dr Pate. He was too old to be her brother and too young to be given a fatherly figure. Confused, she sat quietly beside Dr Pate as he got lost in his meditation, listening to chanting.

Tiara put on her earphones too, playing some instrumental music. She looked at the darkness and ran through the pages of her life reviving the grief, the grudge, the pain, and the loss. The grief that didn’t seem to end, the grudge that conquered more and more space in her heart every day, the pain that reminded her of her missteps and the loss that could never be retrieved.

And even during those bleak hours, Tiara knew there was always hope, hope to redeem, and regain, hope to get back to smiling and laughing, hope to feel normal again.

The Chaiwala moved amongst the crowd yelling for tea. Tiara would have loved to have some, but she waited patiently for Dr Pate to come back to the human world.

 “Would you like some tea, Dr Pate?”, Tiara asked

“Why not? Wait here, let me get it” Dr Pate went after the Chaiwala.

Sipping on their tea, they gazed at the vaguely visible mighty Kanchenjunga as the dawn brought chilly breeze and dense fog. Soon after, the great ball of fire rose high from beneath the clouds leaving everyone speechless.

“Isn’t this beautiful?” Dr Pate said. Tiara nodded. She was too amazed to say anything. As the sun bestowed light across the town, the faces of the tourist were seeable. Tiara witnessed the joy and the glee flowing from person to person, friends posing for selfies, kids running to their parents, old couples holding on to each other, and siblings fighting over the photo of the sunrise. The infectious exhilaration flooded Tiara as she whispered to herself, “This is beautiful.”

Their next stop was Batasia Loop. Batasia Loop was a spiral railway track where the toy train took a complete 360-degree turn. Batasia Loop also provided a 360-degree view of Darjeeling’s landscape with the majestic Kanchenjunga. Tiara roamed around, negotiated for a blue-coloured Darjeeling shawl, clicked some selfies and then asked Sahil to drive them to a nearby restaurant for breakfast.

Dr Pate made blissful faces while eating hot puris with Chana Dal in a home turned restaurant.

“This tastes fresh”, Tiara said.

Dr Pate paid for the breakfast and Tiara made sure that she pays him back.

“You could have paid me at the end of the trip”

“I wouldn’t remember”

Both hopped back into the red Bolero.

“What are we visiting next?”, Dr Pate asked Sahil.

Sahil smiled and said, “You will see”

Tiara thought that it was a good time to ask Dr Pate about his chanting journey.

“Why chanting, Dr Pate?”

“You see, a few years back, I took a break from my job as a doctor and went to a monastery. There, I stayed for a month and kept no contact with the external world. I ate, I slept, I woke, I meditated, and the cycle continued. That very moment I realized the importance of life and ever since meditation and chanting became a part of my life. It gives me solace.”

“Wow, Wonderful!”, Tiara said. She respected the fact that Dr Pate was a fan of meditation and that was his choice, but back in her mind she said, “I would never do that”.

Little did Tiara knew that she had tapped on the wrong chapter as Dr Pate was overly impressed with the fact that someone had taken interest in his meditation journey and he continued showering knowledge on Tiara till they reached the next spot.

“…….and you see, it’s important that you meditate and –” Tiara cut Dr Pate short and announced, “And we have reached our next spot, Rock Garden”

By that time, the sun was up, and Tiara let go of her extra layers of clothes.

Rock Garden was fascinating. A perfect picnic spot, Rock Garden was surrounded by Chunnu summer-fall, flower gardens and of course with various shapes and sizes of rocks. Tiara wondered if she should collect some pebbles and keep it with her to use it on Dr Pate in case he starts lecturing on the meditation again.

What made the trip to Rock Garden more interesting was the presence of a fluffy, friendly, and entertaining dog with whom Tiara played for an hour and clicked many selfies.

After the trip to the Rock Garden, Sahil dropped them to the hotel for half an hour to get refreshed.

Around 11:00 AM Sahil drove them off to the Himalayan Zoological Park, where Tiara was overjoyed to see the Red Panda and the Snow Leopard, while Dr Pate took a break and sat for a while.

They went to the Ghoom Monastery next. Dr Pate looked delighted. Famous for its beautiful Thangka on the walls, fancy bells, and drums, Ghoom Monastery housed the 15-foot high Maitreya Buddha statue. Tiara went around the monastery, discovering new things, playing the drum, and gazing at the 15-foot Buddha statue. Dr Pate, excited with the aura of the enchanting Buddha and the surrounding area tried enriching Tiara on the monastery history but she turned a deaf ear.

“I feel divine”, Dr Pate said after coming out of the monastery.

“You surely do”, Tiara smirked.

After lunch, they went to visit Darjeeling Tea Gardens. The mesmerizing landscape made Tiara go awe. Dr Pate felt amazing too and before he could lecture Tiara about the tea gardens, she asked Dr Pate to click some pictures of her. Impressed with the photos, Tiara decided to cut him some slack and listened to his Gyan.

“Dr Pate, do you love tea?” Tiara had asked

“Yes, I do. I think we should buy some”, Dr Pate said.

Sahil drove them to a place where they could buy the famous Darjeeling tea.

“Don’t you have some knowledge to share, Dr Pate on the famous Darjeeling tea leaves?” Tiara had asked.

“I am surprised. Someone is interested” Dr Pate smiled.

After visiting Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and getting lost twice in the weaves of history of Tenzing Norgay, Tiara finally found her way towards the red Bolero and Dr Pate.

“The Mountaineering Institute tour was so inspiring and inspirational”, she said to the others in the car.

“Are you planning to climb the Everest now?” Dr Pate had asked.

“Sure, why not? Only if you come along” Tiara teased back.

“Mind if I join too?”, Sahil pitched in and all of them had a hearty laugh.

As the day came to an end and Tiara having to spend the entire day with a stranger, finally concluded that besides his lecturing skills, Dr Pate was not that bad.

Their last stop was Darjeeling Peace Pagoda. Tiara had always been hugely influenced by Buddha. She didn’t know anything about Buddha, but whenever she looked at Buddha, she could connect to something spiritual that would calm her and made her feel serene.

Dr Pate narrated the story of Buddha to Tiara and for the first time, she showed genuine interest in listening to him. The fact that Buddha was not considered a God but an extraordinary man fascinated Tiara and she wished to attain Nirvana.

“It’s all within you”, Dr Pate had said, “Only you can do it”

As they drove back to the hotel after a long, long day, the glimpses of the day’s tour flashed in front of Tiara’s eyes. She smiled and felt happy with her decision.

“Thanks, Sahil. I had a wonderful time” Tiara thanked the driver.

“Would you like to join me for dinner?” Dr Pate had asked before they went back to their rooms.

“Sounds good” Tiara smiled.

Within an hour, Tiara got all dressed and went out with Dr Pate. They ordered the famous delicacy of the town, "Thukpa" in a small restaurant.

“Thanks for tagging me along on the trip today,” Tiara said.

“Thanks to you too for joining. It was a good day”

“Yeah, indeed it was. I loved it. You see I have been wondering the entire day what should I be calling you. Dr Pate sounds like you are my doctor. You are too young to be my Dad and too old to be my brother. Then I thought “Uncle” sounds good. Though all my Uncles are older than you, still…”

Dr Pate laughed.

“You can call me Prateek.”

Tiara smiled.

“Prateek it is”

They had their dinner and walked back to the hotel.

“Today was a wonderful day. I so want to share this day with my kids. You see my daughter is a few years younger to you and my son just passed out his high school this year. What about you?”

“I used to work in Bangalore. I lost someone very close. After that, I left my job and went home.”

“So, this solo trip…”

“This solo trip is for a break, to enjoy and appreciate life”

“Great. Do you think it worked? The break?”

“I don’t know. I feel happy and most importantly, I feel calm after a very long time”

Dr Pate had realized that Tiara really had been through a lot.

“You see, I love my family a lot, especially the kids. They are my pride. I want them to be happy, always, and forever. My wife is a great partner and we have been together for 23 years now. I cannot imagine losing any of them. We never plan or wish to lose anybody close to us. It just happens and it happens because its life and no matter whenever it happens, it hurts the same. What's most important is that we grieve, and we get back to life. We think that by indulging into smoking, abandoning everyone, and killing us with alcohol is going to make ourselves feel better. But that’s only temporary, that never lasts. It’s we, who must deal with this. Remember, it’s all within you, only you can do it.”

Tiara nodded, thanked Dr Pate, and walked to her room.

Later that night, Tiara switched off the TV, opened and leaned against the window to feel the chilled air on her face. It was dark outside. The moon shone bright, the mighty Kanchenjunga silent and the tranquillity echoed back in the darkness as the cold breeze rejuvenated the environment. She thought what Dr Pate had told her.

"No matter how old are you, losing someone hurts the same all the time. And yet we grieve and get back to life. Painful, yet truth"

Irrespective of the fact that she hated someone lecturing her, she surprisingly found relief in Dr Pate’s words.

It was after months that she smiled on her own as a wave of peace prevailed in her mind and her conscience said,

“You can do it. Remember, it’s all within you, only you can do it”