Right Place, Right Light

First time this year will I be coming across a full moon while out in the hills. I've been unfortunate this far - being there at the wrong times. The moon was always far from giving that grandiose feeling. In January it was nonexistent altogether, and in its last quarters during both my March and April-end trips. Mismatch between the pande cycle and the lunar cycle.

This month, we have a full moon on the 20th. There can't be any better date for that. I would be out in the Himalayas - the heart of it. Most likely camping out in Rudraprayag, or amongst the snows of Kedarnath. I expect both to be a scenic delight at night. While Kedarnath would offer an unobstructed view of some of the highest himalayan peaks - painted even more white in the moonlight, one can expect great landscapes along the confluence of rivers at Rudraprayag. With the peaks up ahead and the civilization lying below, it can get quite uplifting. If my friends can refrain from 'Truth of Dare' kinda juvenile games on evenings, I will try scribbling about the night.

Moonlit nights are very special to me. Still remember the magic, the feel. Lone walks through the jungle road on way back to Gethia, chilly winds that makes you turn your head in veneration of a larger being, silence that is compensated for by the pounding of your heart - a pounding that grows in anticipation of something dramatic along the way.
And just because the white light brings the landscape in one's sight, Jim Corbett comes alive. All his tales spring up in your head. Imagination runs wild, surpassing the actual wilderness that surrounds you. You expect some large animal, preferrably of the feline species, atop that ledge a few hundred metres away. It might be observing you for the past few minutes. It might be on the move now, rushing through the grass. You wait for those eyes to light up, you wait for any hints of swift movement through the grass, you wait for a growl. But that never comes - its all inside your head. A relief of sorts as well.

You come across a sharp bend and stop dead, close your eyes and raise your hands in ecstasy of the moment. You stand facing - opposing - the city lights huddled together in the darkness of the surrounding mountains. At one with yourself. You realise that this is the most honest version 'reality' that you will ever live through. What some can only dream of.

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