The Mystery of the Kailash Trail - Chapter 3 - Part 3

Chapter 3: Part 3: Village dogs that did not bark at night, while the yaks were silent.

Vijay Kulkarni had stayed up awake through the rainstorm during the night inside his 4-person alpine tent near the Manasarovar Lake. Their camp was near a village settlement at some distance from the lake. They had pitched their tents outside a school’s compound wall. The buildings and the nearby prayer hall had offered some protection to the group from the hailstorm that had crashed down during the night. The storm had ceased after dawn, and surprisingly the morning fog and chilly wind was absent.

He walked around the tented area looking out at the deceptively still waters of the Manasarovar Lake. The waves were lapping at the shore and one could hear the faint sound. It meant that the morning was very silent in the village. That was strange, thought Vijay. He should have been hearing the Mastiffs and other village dogs barking their heads off. The domestic yaks sitting nearby were also quiet. Possibly everyone, humans and animals, were all tired in trying to survive through the night.

His colleagues had not stirred out of their tents. They knew that there would be no moving about until the sun had come out and there would be no sign of any repeat storm. The group was taking the opportunity to sleep in and gather some much needed rest. Vijay walked near the school compound gates and looked in. Several trekking and pilgrim groups had set up their tented camps inside the compound. The school building had been constructed on three sides around an open playground. It had been a sensible choice. The tents had not blown away and there did not seem any damage. The school gates could also prevent disturbance from the village dogs and yaks.

Vijay walked back to his tent and looked in. His team was waking up and moving around. Himanshu and Paramita came out and joined him in moving around. They were hydrogeologists, and had come on the expedition to collect rock samples and study the region. This area was like a godsend opportunity for them and they enjoyed the aspect that Vijay and other trekking leaders would be worrying about the logistics. It was a mixed group, comprising trekkers, pilgrims, hydrogeologists, inland fishery experts, wildlifers, photographers, birdwatchers and tour guides.

Each group had their own agenda. They did their own thing while the tour guides and trekking leaders kept them moving within an agenda. The Chinese did not like anyone wandering around and usually frowned upon any informal studies that had not been permitted. Fair enough, thought Vijay, we would have done the same thing in India, and we would not have done that only to the Chinese. We would have stopped one another also from studying whatever is usually obvious to each of us.

Himanshu asked, “Vijayrao, what happened to you at night? I did not see you sleep at all. You seemed to be moving about in the tent through the night. You had also walked out during the rain and kept going in and out. What happened? Upset stomach?” Paramita laughed, for she knew that Himanshu liked to keep making fun of Vijay. She added, “No, that cannot be. Vijay Sir does not ever have an upset stomach. He has moved about in so many wild areas and he has eaten all types of food. His stomach cannot be upset. He must have been moving about trying to take photographs of the rain and thinking of trekking in the heavy downpour or in the hailstorm.”

Vijay smiled at their banter. He knew them from old times, even Paramita. She had been a post-graduate student at the University of Pune and was a keen geologist. Himanshu had made her into a serious hydrogeologist and an expedition addict. They had accompanied him on many expeditions and were genuine in their work and much accomplished. Vijay replied, “No upset stomach. I do not know what happened to me. I could not sleep at all. I sat in the tent for quite some time. I was very curious. A strange situation had occurred. The dogs in the town were not barking. It was raining very heavily. I felt that it was such a waste. Here we were, up at the shadow of the Mount Kailash and on the banks of the Manasarovar Lake. An opportunity of more than a lifetime, and it was raining. And we were hiding inside a tent when we had some of the best rainproof kit and dresses with us. Why hide inside? I decided to go outside and watch the rain.”

“So why are looking so different,” asked Paramita, “you seem so very different. You look strange and weird all over. What happened? Did one of the dogs pounce on you, or did the yaks charge at you? You look like you were scared to death, with all your hair standing on end, and you are walking about extremely nervously, jittery and all scared.”

Vijay nodded. He was glad that the subject had come up so soon. He wanted to get it off his chest and talk to his friends. He said, “I had a really weird night. It was weird throughout the night. So many incidents that happened are all strange. Not a single incident or a disturbance, but it was all so very different. I was walking about, all kitted out, and I do not think I was seen in the rain, because my kit is all-black, and it was an all-black night out here, with the rain pouring in like there was nothing else in nature.”

“About 2 am or so, I saw the mastiffs and other dogs from the village. They were all whimpering. They were not getting wet. They were all hiding deep inside the school porch and in the open porch of the prayer halls. They were not getting wet and were quite dry. But, they were all whimpering. It was very strange. And then, I saw the yaks. They should have been sheltering and should have been inside their sheds and places where their people would have moved them to protect them from the rains.”

Vijay continued, “The yaks were standing out in the rains, bunched up and all wet. They were watching the Kailash peak. They did not move from the spot, and did not move their gaze away from the peak. I kept walking around, and realized that all domestic yaks had come to stand together. Something was happening. Were they seeing ghosts? If there were ghosts or demons or evil spirits around, why were they watching the Kailash peak?”

Himanshu interrupted, “Vijayrao, this is a strange place, we knew that. The local stories are full of demons, gods, good and evil spirits and humans possessed with strange powers. Why cannot the yaks have their part in it? But what you say is strange. Why should all the yaks come together? They do not know each other, and all the yaks in this village would not be related. They come from various villages, towns, prefectures and communities. They are so many hybrids. Why would they stand together, and that too, in this heavy rain? It does not make any sense.”

“I agree,” said Vijay, “I thought the same. I looked around to see if there was any human walking around. There was none. I walked around the yak herd, staying quite far away, until I was in a straight line behind them, and the Manasarovar Lake was behind me. I was in the line from the Manasarovar Lake to the yaks that had gathered. I could see what they were seeing. I was also watching the Mount Kailash. I tell you, Himanshu, Paramita, this place is really strange.”

“It was about 3 am or so, thereabout. It was raining heavily here, and so was it raining through the Lake and the area to Mount Kailash. But, as I kept watching the yaks, the rain seemed to have stopped at the Mount Kailash peak areas, at night, while it was raining everywhere else. The Mount Kailash and its peaks were all shining brightly. I could see the moon shining extremely bright, and the snowy peak was as brilliant as it was day out there. It stayed like that for about an hour or so. And suddenly, I could no longer see the peak. The rains had started out there, I guess.”

“During that time, the yaks stood still, bunching tighter and tighter, watching the Kailash peak. They stood that way, even when the rains had started out there on the peaks. I came back to our tent and sat for some time. You two were sleeping so peacefully, that I had no mind to disturb you. I came out at about 4.30 am, and the yaks had gone and there was no animal or human being moving about. The dogs were still whimpering on the school building’s porch.”

Vijay continued, “Something happened out there on the Kailash peak that the yaks here, so far away, and the dogs, dangerous at other times, knew about. They seemed to know that something was happening out there. How can we stay here, not knowing about it? I want to change the plans for our expedition. Let us go out to the kora once again. I want to go to the nearby monasteries and the pilgrim trail and ask one and all about what happened out there. I wonder if someone was witness to whatever happened.”