Closer to the heaven naturally, backwards socially

Nothing ever leaves an ecstatic feeling in life than being closer to the mountains. Beautifully decked mountains with snow on the top and alpine meadow at the center make the soul and mind of wanderers ever happier. My trip to Tilicho has left an indelible mark in my life that I will cherish forever.

Mountains, the source of ecstasy for the wanderers, have been the subject of concerns ecologically after the ratification of the Paris accord in 2015. Literature on mountains and Himalayas one way or the other get high prominence among the writers of this era through their fictional and non-fictional work. Prominent among them is Amitav Ghosh who has been relentlessly writing about the impacts of climate change, swallowing the vast amount of property and millions of people affected across the world every year. Ghosh is a step ahead in raising the issue of climate impacts through his fictional work. The Gun Island, The Hungry Tide, and Sea of Puppies, for instance, precisely depict the impacts of floods and deforestation, affecting thousands of people and animals throughout the world. The typical way of storytelling that Ghosh adopts is amazing in terms of making the readers hooked to the issue he is raising through his characters. Deen and Piya, the characters he has poignantly used in ‘The Gun Island’ love each other selflessly despite hailing from different backgrounds. The love between them is not only the revelation of their intimacy itself but also the manifestation of how Sundarban, one of the areas of dense forest inhabited by various animals including the Bengal Tiger, have been losing their life over the years.

Having studied the literature on impacts of climate change has attracted me to delve into available literature as to how seriously the impacts authors have revealed in their works. More importantly, how have they affected life in Nepal? The book by Pradeep Bashyal and Ankit Babu Adhikari entitled ‘Sherpa: Stories of Life and Death from the Forgotten Guardians of Everest’ compelled me to dwell on the mountain literature in order to find what it exactly entails. Both authors have arduously researched the life of Sherpas and their contributions at popularizing Nepal to the world, revealing various anecdotes and incidents that the public rarely know about. My Tilicho trip brought me closer to the realities, something that I had studied in various forms of literature. I did see the Himalayas melting faster than ever. The discussion and interaction I was a part of, helped me know how their life has been affected by the climate change and melting of snow. The family I met en route to Tilicho at Menji of Manang district revealed the fact that the production on agriculture they used to have a couple of decades ago has now been limited due to the erratic weather events. Buckwheat and potatoes, which they used to produce a decade ago, are no longer produced in such a voluminous amount. Apple trees I saw surrounding their farm bore fewer apples compared to last year according to their observation. Similar was the case with the farm owner at Apple Valley, a popular stop on the way to Tilicho. I asked a man who was spreading pesticides on his apple orchard how his production has been over the years. He responded that his year-to-year production was not just dwindling, the size of the apples was also shrinking.

One-night stay at Menji in the house of Chandra Gurung helped us go deeper to the social realities of people living there. Porter by profession, Gurung has built a homestay with four rooms. Hailing from Gorkha, Gurung has been doing his own agriculture works besides working as a porter. There was a deep bond between him and his wife, who works as an assistant at a local health post. The couple’s combined earnings have helped them settle in Menji. A very charming lady, Gurung’s wife has been supporting her husband in the farm and homestay, but also raising and educating their five-year-old girl. The camaraderie between the two could be seen as both of them worked together while preparing the food for us in the kitchen. They have to work together to survive in the mountains.

The snowfall we experienced at Gurung’s homestay, beginning from the evening till midnight, made us realize how cold it could get in the depth of winter. 

As Gurung talked about how he got into the profession and the challenges faced by porters, he also recollected the blizzard at Thorangla Pass (5416m)  that killed scores of Israelis and Nepali people back in 2014. Hearing his story, I was overcome by fear that I could meet a similar fate in Tilicho. 

Dinner was served at around 8 pm. We had plates full of round breads of buckwheat with vegetables, Timur pickle and some ghee.

After a delicious meal, Gurung shared with us a tragic story that nearly had us in tears. The couple had lost their first child who had developed pneumonia just after five days of birth. The lack of health facilities nearby had been the prime cause of the death. I barely noticed the availability of health centers and pharmacies on the way to Tilicho. A very curious thought I still have is that why does Manang not have health facilities? The establishment of health centers would prevent many untimely and unwanted deaths.

Though the transport facility has reached all the way up to Khangsar, what Manang really needs is health facilities.