Book 2: Chapter 8: Part 4: The gateway to the ‘Kingdom of the Lion’.
Sangye could not sleep after Dawa had woken him and told him that he was going out there all alone. He knew the feeling. Old man Dawa must have itched to go out there, into the valley, knowing that it was out there, calling him, to explore and walk through it. He had watched Dawa take his bag and realised that he must have sat through the night, packing and getting ready. Sangye, the old nomad from Qinhai, got up and stoked the flames in the small room for the animals, and got it to become warmer.
He heard Dawa place the stones back on the doorway. He would have to wait until the morning, to allow for the animals to be packed up and ready for walking. He had a wristwatch, given to him by some Russian trekkers, years ago, and it ran accurately. Sometimes, he got new batteries for it at Shiquanhe, and it would run for more than a year without any problem. It was a trekker’s watch for high altitudes, and cold winters. It had a glow to it during the night, and it had been many a night that he had sought comfort and sanity during winters by just gazing at the glowing dial inside his sleeping bag. It could get quite frightening during the winter nights.
Around 7 am, he woke up Katishe, Satawa, Yeshe and the Yak boys. The boys began to organise a hot sludge-sort of meal for the yaks, made of grain paste. The animals would feel comfortable with the warm sludge for them. Yeshe got a meal organised for the mastiffs. The animals would have to eat inside the stone hut, for it would be dark and cold outside. Katishe began to get the breakfast organised. A large bowl of soup with yak fat and butter started boiling, with appetising flavors. Sangye had warned Katishe against making any sound with the utensils or adding any flavored leafs or herbs. He did not want the smell to be noticed outside the stone hut. Not until they knew the area, anyway, and knew for sure that there would be no danger outside.
By 9 am, the entire group had got ready. Sangye asked the yak boys to take their animals outside and have them walk around. He had decided that the yaks and the yak boys would stay back at the stone hut. They would not proceed with the group until they had known the trail for some distance and would know for certain that it was safe ahead. They would not be able to run or move swiftly, if they had to, if they had the yaks and equipment with them. The area could be explored for the next 2-3 days, by keeping the stone hut as a base camp. The yaks could be allowed to graze near the stone hut, and would be returned inside at night. The yak boys would stay back.
Sangye split up the rest of the group. He decided that he would proceed ahead with Yeshe, on foot, and with the mastiffs. They would walk up the trail that climbed up sharply. Katishe and Satawa would watch the trail as Sangye and Yeshe walked. They would be able to notice if there was any movement on the rock walls or from within the forest areas, behind Sangye and Yeshe. Katishe and Satawa would follow Sangye and Yeshe, allowing for an hours distance between them and would repeat the same watchful procedure. This cautious approach would allow them to keep a watch on the trail behind them.
Katishe and Satawa agreed with the plan. They knew of the wisdom of the old nomad from Qinhai and knew that he had survived many a dangerous trail. Both of them, Katishe and Satawa, themselves, were veterans, and yet they knew it was sensible to be cautious in these regions. They did not know the area ahead of them, and it would be a slow exploration, to allow for a proper approach to the trail.
Yeshe had removed the stones at the doorway. The yaks were moved out into the valley and allowed to graze. The mastiffs went out, happy to be allowed to run about. Yeshe and the two yak boys went outside and moved around, watching, carefully. Sangye, Katishe and Satawa came out of the stone hut, and sat quietly. The fog had not lifted, and it was light enough to watch the trail for some distance. The old men sat, watching the trail. Nothing seemed to move. Even the birds were silent. The fog was quite cold, and the yaks were shivering. The yak boys walked around, picking up the yak dung and taking them back into the stone hut. They would decide about drying the dung if it was safe to do so. The mastiffs hid their morning sign well. They had been trained to do so, by Sangye, who knew the danger of leaving an open sign, a welcome to predators.
By 10 am, the fog had lifted completely, and they could see the path to the upper trail. It seemed like a natural gateway to an unknown valley. The path climbed up steadily and disappeared into the horizon. They were at a lower point from the place where the path went into the valley that they could not see. Sangye and Yeshe picked up their bags and began to walk ahead. The mastiffs kept watching them, to see if they would return, and began to follow them. Katishe and Satawa kept watching the forests and the rock walls nearby.
The yak boys moved the yaks closer to the doorway to the stone hut. They could go inside quickly if required. Katishe asked the yak boys to prepare a door for the stone hut that could be propped up during the daytime. It had to be heavy, he told them. The boys began to search for and pick up heavy logs and pulled them to the doorway. The lower logs were placed across the doorway, high enough for the yaks to manage to walk above them. The logs were supported by stones piled up against them, on either side, inside and outside.
Other logs were kept inside with stones ready to be piled up against them, from the inside. The boys kept brush and branches near the doorway on the outside that could be pulled from within to create a cover across the doorway. Katishe watched the preparation and the valley alternatively. Satawa did not look away from the trail and kept watching Sangye and Yeshe. There did not seem to be any disturbance in the valley. Sangye had told them about old man Dawa going out on his own in the night. They knew him from many years and knew that the old man was probably safe out there. He may be up in the rocky walls, or on the trail, or in a cave that he may have discovered, and may be watching them from somewhere. Satawa looked all around the valley and waved. Dawa may see him and he would probably wave back.
Sangye spoke to Yeshe, “This may just be the entrance to the ‘Kingdom of the Lion’ as we knew about it, or heard about it. Many people have searched for it. The trail is certainly moving in the correct direction from the Kang Renpoche valleys. We are moving north and northwestwards. We seem to be moving more to the north than northwest, and we have not left the group of mountains of the Kang Renpoche. It is said that there is a sleeping lion under this ground that rests on an enormous bed of water that cannot be seen.”
Yeshe kept watching the trail and the forests on either side. He was excited. The forests seemed to be changing as the trail kept climbing. They looked behind them, and waved at Katishe and Satawa. They could see them at that great distance. The trail had climbed sharply, and very soon, it would go through the opening in the valley wall. They would not be able to see the stone hut behind them.
“How can it be the ‘Kingdom of the Lion’, out here, in the Himalayas ?” he asked, “for there are no lions here, and of all the stories that I have heard, there were no lions in these regions. Could it be a mythical story after all?” Sangye nodded, as if in agreement, and replied, “Yes. It could be a story, for there are many stories in this region. Some stories that I have heard say that the water comes out from the mouth of a lion, and some stories say that the lion is resting on a bed of water. So, we do not know. But, for sure, nobody in recent times, have actually seen the lion or the lion’s mouth or the bed of water.”
Yeshe asked, “But, isn’t there a Lion River
Sangye nodded, remembering the group. They had only been in search of information. They had not seemed to be fit enough to travel inside the higher mountains. Yes. This path certainly looked like it was moving towards the place with the story of the ‘Kingdom of the Lion’. He looked back at the stone hut, and saw that Katishe and Satawa had begun to walk on the trail, following them. He knew of the Seng Tsanplo River Seng Tsanplo River was also called the ‘Lion River
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