When we started the five kilometer trek to the fort at the
top of this hill, I immediately became doubtful if I will be able to make it to
the top. It had been years since I went on a trek like this… and while it was
not dangerous it was not at all easy… at least for an amateur like me. By the
time I climbed half the mountain I was breathing hard and my legs had started
cramping. It took me three breaks and a lot of determination to not quit the
trail in half and turn back…
After a strenuous climb of one and a half hours I reached the peak… and
I was literally at the top of a mountain and feeling like it! My head was in
clouds! What a feeling of accomplishment! 
I had a good rest at the top, enjoyed the view, clicked more
than the requisite number of selfies with the fort in the background and then began
the descent back to the base… Yes! I was doing it… I had almost done it… I was half way through the trail downhill… and I had to have some rest now… my legs were shaking with sheer exhaustion. If I did not stop I might just collapse…
I spotted a set of large rocks and went to rest on one of those… I started breathing deep to fill my body with much needed oxygen and closed my eyes for a moment… and when I opened them I spotted him… the old man…
A villager, wearing a dirty torn dhoti and a kurta which
barely covered his torso… tall and slim like a rod… very dark complexion giving
testimony to a number of years exposed in the Sun… face covered with wrinkles
and white beard… sharp eyes crinkled at the edges… head tilted just slightly back
to look at the high rise that he was climbing… But what arrested my gaze was
the big pile of long dried timber wood sticks tied with a rope placed on his
head……
That burden of wood looked heavy… easily at least ten kg!
From the looks of him he must be around seventy years old. He had climbed the steep
rise of the challenging mountain trail half way… and he was walking as
effortlessly as if he were walking on a plain road! He was not even breathless!
I was instantly stunned and secretly ashamed… Wow…! Was this
man fit for his age or what! Here I was… feeling as accomplished as if I had
climbed the Everest… and being happy with myself… and here was this old man,
doing the same thing as effortlessly as if it’s a daily chore to him…
Was this fire wood needed for some camp being setup at the
mountain? Was there no other way to take the wood to the top? Why was this old
man even doing this?
My curiosity overcame my reserve and I called out to him to
enquire about this…
He told me he was a resident of a small village which was
situated on the other side of the mountain. Every day he collected the wood
from the forest and carried it all the way to the top and beyond to his village
where he sold some of it and used rest for fire. This was a routine for him
since many years now and despite his old age he was quite capable of handling
the hard work daily…
His manner of answering me was quite matter of fact. He gave
me a nod with a genuine smile as if to indicate that he got my concern for him
and started his mountain hike…
I kept looking at his back… as he climbed some more my eyes
fell to his feet…. He was wearing some age old slippers… I looked closely and
found they had holes in their soles, big enough to get spotted from a distance.
But this man did not seem bothered by it… he was easily navigating his way
through the big rocks and tree branches and going up the hill….
My eyes fell on the fancy sneakers I was wearing, which I had
thought of as not good enough for such a rocky trail… I had bought a
windcheater a day before just for this trek thinking how else I would survive
the cold mountain air early in the morning….
I felt my eyes stinging… I was deeply touched and moved
beyond words… Unexpectedly I found myself in that peculiar moment when life
presents you with a mirror….
In terms of money, in terms of luxury of living, in terms of
sheer pampered lifestyle….. What a blessed life I had compared to this man! It
was not the first time that I was seeing someone drastically poor and working
hard for their livelihood, but this seemed to be kind of severe for the sheer
labor that he was going through for such trivial returns …
But then, I thought, did I really need to feel sorry for
him? Did his demeanor ask for it?
While I was shocked to see an old man performing such a hard
labor, he himself had simply called it as a daily routine. And at that advanced
age, this man was so fit and active… that was the true reward of his hard work
and simple lifestyle… health!
While I instinctively felt compassion for his poverty, he had
showed so much acceptance…! Acceptance
of his work, his lifestyle, his circumstances… acceptance without a trace of
complaint!
He was at peace
with what he had, seemed even proud when
he said that he does this daily and still possesses the strength to manage this
hard work…
Was that not the real goal of seeking happiness… being at
peace with you and your life?
So in terms of health and happiness, I thought, who was more
blessed?
The old man kept climbing the rocky trail and moved beyond the
line of my vision…. And he got me present to the ultimate meaning of blessings
in disguise and the power of acceptance for being at peace with you and your
life…..
As I climbed down the remaining slope of the mountain, I did
not have the same sense of achievement that I would have had otherwise, but I definitely
had the image of an old mountain man imprinted on my mind, with an inspiring tale
which had to be told…