The Day I Realised That I Am Alive: October 2019

This place made me take my another solo trip

This place made me read that book script

This place urged me to write again

Beauty of this place made me insane.

Pong Dam- View from The Pong Eco Village

It was one random Sunday evening when I decided to take a trip to Pong Dam. Pong Dam, a dam on Beas River is also known as Maharana Pratap Sagar. It is a perfect place for bird watchers. This destination was on my list since long. I started searching for places to stay and I came across this place, The Pong Eco Village Resort http://thepongecovillage.com/. Beautiful, serene, calm and peaceful, words are less to describe this place. I booked it immediately and called Mr Mukesh, the owner to confirm my booking. What started with Mr Mukesh turned to 'Mukesh Bhai' in the end. I planned to stay here for two days. When I was about to book my bus tickets, Mukesh Bhai called and told that he was also leaving by his car from Delhi till Pong Dam. I joined him and the solo trip no longer remained solo. I got the company, Mukesh Bhai.

How to reach Pong Dam/ The Pong Eco Village

By Bus- There are direct buses from Delhi till Pong Dam.

By Road- There are two ways and one may choose any looking at the traffic conditions

1) Delhi- Panipat- Karnal- Kurukshetra- Rupnagar- Nurpur- Talwara- Pong Dam- The Pong Eco Village Resort

2) Delhi- Panipat- Kaithal- Cheeka- Patiala- Ludhiana- Hoshiarpur - Talwara- Pong Dam- The Pong Eco Village Resort

We reached The Pong Eco Village Resort and tiredness of nine hours drive vanished in few seconds. The Pong Eco Village is a destination in itself. After having scrumptious dinner cooked by Mukesh Bhai I went off to sleep, dreaming about star studded sky, clouds, thunder and the rains (which were actually there).

Mukesh Ji cooking dinner

The mornings were as peaceful as the sound of thunder at nights. I woke up and was welcomed by spicy tea flavoured with elaichi, adrak (ginger) and kali mirch. I wonder what kind of spices do they use in their food. It all together had a different taste. While I am writing this my mouth has started watering thinking about that food.

I had ample time with me. I wrote poems, my thoughts and I finished reading two books. Whenever I am travelling I carry minimum two books, lest I finish the first. This habit proved to be useful here. I finished reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and Ruthi Rani by Premchand. This was a prefect place to read and write.

The Pong Eco Village Resort is made in a small village consisting of 14 families and houses. I started walking around the vicinity and curious eyes of villagers kept watching me. To break their curiosity I started wishing them 'Namaste' and they started replying back with wide smiles.

I took a small walk crossing the village and the jungle and in between various thoughts kept poking my mind. Butterflies were touching my feet and from a distance I could hear chirping of birds. Vibes, I thought. We say that a person has got negative or positive vibes. What are vibes? Are they in our control? In that moment I felt that the answer is yes, they are in our control. They are dependent on what we think, what we feel. It is all in the mind. Positive mind yields to positive vibes.

Village and jungle walk

I extended my stay by one more day. Everything about this place was fascinating. One morning I noticed that Mukesh Bhai has put agarbatti (incense stick) in the temple. However, there was no idol, no murti in the temple. Curious, I was, I asked him the reason, and he told me God is everywhere. Such simple sentence which we hear so many times but for the first time I found somebody practicing it.