Himalayas, not Bombay

At the Bhaironghatti GMVN TRH, I soon found out that the voltage was too low to charge any of my 4 mobiles. So I asked the Manager, who was still in office at 2015 hrs, if anything could be done about it. He answered:’ Now, Madam, you have to remember that you are in the Himalayas, not Bombay. Forget your mobile phone. If you want to remain connected to a mobile, why come all this way?’ Speaking with a gentle smile and kind look, he reoriented me to geography and the purpose of our journey. What could I do but thank him and accept his logic?

We were served a warm and tasty dinner, prepared after we came. We slept at midnight, after packing our overnight bags for the next leg: Gaumukh. My parents were to stay back at Bhaironghatti and visit Gangotri at leisure. My father, aged 70 years and with a 5 years-old history of heart problems and a 33 years-old history of diabetes, was not very keen on that. He wanted to accompany us to Gaumukh but we could not take the risk. His cardiologist had said: No physical climbing. When reminded of his cardiologist’s advice, he stayed back, very reluctantly.