Loneliness in the lap of nature has its own unique pleasure. The companion of this solitude is the rainbow twinkling in the form of a circle in the sky. The orbits of the stars are visible. The Milky Way sometimes disappears, sometimes appears. The playful baby clouds keep covering them. Then they suddenly disappeared into an unknown eternity
By Ramsharan Joshi
The sky is bending down towards the earth,
We saw this union here,
Maybe my world, my dreams, perhaps, will meet here only…
As soon as I remove the curtain of the Lamont cottage, I see a beautiful scene in all three directions. This is like cinema.
My eyes could not stay for more than a few moments in any one direction. I see miles of lush green fields embracing the deep, dense, blue sky. The earth and sky were becoming one – mutually devoid of existence.
In such moments, that sublime scene of the school-age film, Madhumati, emerges on the screen of the mind. Shailendra’s immortal song picturised on great actor, Dilip Kumar, starts playing on the lips. Music by another great, Salil Chaudhury.
Suhana safar aur ye mausam haseen, humein dar hai hum, kho na jayein kahin…
There is no exaggeration here. When one enters the lap of nature, after getting rid of the hustle-bustle of big cities, the feeling is something like this.
While doing my Masters’ in English Literature, I was introduced to the natural beauty of Scotland, through its poems and essays. Today, after a gap of almost five decades, I am finding myself in the midst of this unique series of magical scenes.
Absolutely alive!
The earth is merging into the arms of the sky. The sky is vanishing into the lap of the earth. The cognition of the dividing boundaries of both will be the fragmentation of the satvik feeling!
There are around six cottages at some distance in the Airhouse complex located in the village of Lauder. Each has a different name. We are staying in Lamont. The rent is about $300 per day. This is a roomy cottage which is somewhat cheaper. There is also a tent-like arrangement.
In fact, Airhouse is a huge farm house far away from the urban crowd. In this complex, farming and animal husbandry is done. Horses are kept separately. There are big enclosures for the animals.
The farm owner is Scotty. He rents out cottages to nature-lovers. The business continues all year round. Advance booking is required. The festival days are especially wonderful. Our stay in this quiet and secluded courtyard is for about seven days.
Watching this transparent meeting of land and sky, I am reminded of the scenic beauty of Ranikhet, Surguja, Arunachal — back home. They start floating in my eyes.
I have had the opportunity to visit these places many years ago. I saw a unique India hidden in the shade of pure nature.
If you go to Jashpur and Ranchi, from Mainpat, Samaripat and Ambikapur of Surguja district, a mile-long carpet of greenery will be spread out to welcome you. You will get a similar welcome when you go to Amarkantak, the origin of the great river, Narmada.
The dense forests of Bastar is not far behind. Despite the disturbing presence of the government and armed resistance of the Maoists, Bastar is replete with gifts of natural beauty. From Dantewada to Sukma and Konta, or, from Jagdalpur to Visakhapatnam, the entire stretch is mesmerising. If you travel from Udaipur to Mount Abu, nature will remain your companion.
Kerala is amazing! It is God’s land.
You will find yourself wrapped in the arms of the earth and sky, at every place in the deep interiors of this beautiful land, flanked by the expanse of the ocean blue Arabian sea. You can take a small boat and enter the back-waters. In the distance you can see rivers merging into the saline waters of the sea. Every little distance, you will be greeted with a toddy shop, often in a thatched hut. Drink a glass of early morning fresh toddy, with fried sea fish, and discover the taste of heaven on earth!
However, one must follow certain rules. You must go to all these magical places through forest routes, not through tar roads, crushed under vehicles. Only then will you experience a kind of inner joy.
The route to reach Lauder village has been similar. We have chosen this village because we will be free from the hustle and bustle of Boston, London, Edinburgh and Delhi. Even if it is for a few days.
In the words of Keats, “A thing of beauty is joy for ever.” With apologies to the poet, I would like to express my feelings in my own way: a few moments spent with nature gives us the feeling of immortality. In moments of solitude and silence spread for miles, few lines from several decades ago (probably 1959-62) speaks from within:
I search for you,
In the unknown pictures lost in the sky,
In the white moonlight of the snow,
In the quiet voices of the birds,
In the matchless beauty of the plains,
I search for you…
These few lines are integral to the poem. I realize that in the present phase of my consciousness, all the rest, including the six lines, are merely a collection of words.
This poem is the natural starting point in the journey of feelings and thoughts. The environment carves the consciousness, elevates it, and pulls it in the direction of the antonym.
For now, sitting on the wooden platform of the hut, I want to forget everything. I feel like surrendering myself to the blue sky, the shining stars, and the glow of fireflies in between, along with slow sips of delicious, local beer.
Who would want to be deprived of such moments at this stage of life!
It is a hut, but it is equipped with modern amenities. There is a TV. The walls are adorned with paintings. In one corner of the drawing room, there is a rack of books.
I glance at the books and that world famous book was there: Diary of Anne Frank. Interestingly, it had two copies — a hard cover and a paperback.
The guests who have chosen to stay in this beautiful place, seem to have read it with great interest. The corners of the pages are folded, and there are marks.
This is natural. If you start reading the diary, you will get immersed in it. You will reach the Germany of Adolf Hitler’s era.
The reader will start getting acquainted with the atrocities of Nazism-Fascism. The destruction of humanity in the form of the genocide of Jews. Hitler’s racial purity ideology, and the inner world of an innocent teenager, who becomes a silent witness to the Holocaust.
The diary, or an authentic document, has shaken not only millions of readers in different languages all over the world, but also historians, writers, artists and academics. It documents the parallel journey of Hitler’s mass murders, and the conflict in the inner world of a trapped and condemned teenager.
In the Nazi era, in the last lines of her diary, the 15-year-old Jewish girl, defines herself by saying, “She is a bundle of contradictions.” She describes her own role and internal conflicts.
The summary that can be drawn after reading the diary, is that in the violent and vicious backdrop of any ideology, the creative development of humanity will forever remain blocked. The journey of human civilization will remain stagnant.
A two-hour feature film has also been made on this diary. A movie worth watching.
A imminent crisis seem to be emerging in my country!
Barricades of symbols, images, metaphors, mythical heroes and public rhetoric of vicious xenophobia have been erected. The feeling of becoming ‘second class’ citizens have started growing among the minorities. New types of internal colonies have started taking birth in my secular and democratic nation.
Will thousands of anonymous Anne Franks not be breathing in these colonies!
This is a puzzle for me. The existence and reading of such a diary, amidst the vast silence of nature, spread in all four directions, is a wonder in itself.
I feel that the attachment and curiosity towards the diary, reflects man’s universal love for humanity and peace. Man should fly in the sky like a free bird. The mutual relationship between nature and man should keep getting enriched with newer dimensions of aesthetic creativity.
I am seeing fireflies and stars twinkling in the sky. In such moments, two lines of great Hindi poet Sumitranandan Pant, the painter of nature, are striking my memory:
The evening has departed, wearing a thin veil on the pleading face,
My lonely courtyard is filled with silent sweet memories…
To tell you the truth, for the first time in my life, I am enjoying living in such a modern hut. It is miles away from the modern rush. There is neither bloated egos with deep pockets, swanky cars and SUVs, nor the noise of the bustling crowd on the streets.
Sometimes the sound of horses bleating, cows and buffaloes galloping, and running deer, touch my ears. In such moments, I am reminded of the 19th century writer, Thomas Hardy’s novel, Far from the madding crowd
Loneliness in the lap of nature has its unique pleasure. The companion of this solitude is the rainbow twinkling in the form of a circle in the sky. The orbits of the stars are visible. The Milky Way sometimes disappears, sometimes appears. The playful baby clouds keep covering them. Then they themselves disappear.
The game of hide and seek continues on the horizon.
The dawn reaching the wooden platform of the hut is slow and soft, but no less unique. Welcoming such a dawn is happening for the first time. The rays of the sun piercing the fog, fill every pore of my consciousness with freshness. Then they spread in all four directions, sitting in the warm sun, having breakfast, or, bathing in a tub of hot water, they create the illusion of a momentary heaven.
The chirping of birds makes the dawn melodious. The vast, green, carpet of fields is spread before the eyes and the cattle running on it transports the viewer to another world.
In fact, Scotland is famous not only in England, but all over the world for its immense natural beauty. Eighteenth century poet, Robert Burns, is a singer of nature. He is also hailed as the national poet. Burns’ most famous song is Auld Lang Syne. Whatever the season, whatever the place, and whatever the whatever the occasion, this folk song starts dancing on the lips of the Scots.
There are also folk songs and folk tales in the books kept in the corner. When the sun starts shining, one can enjoy the songs and stories.
Love, nature, human relations and society have been woven in this famous poem of Burns. Through the poem, the poet asks:
Should we forget old acquaintances? And never hear their sound in the mind? Should we forget old acquaintances?
19th century Scottish story-teller, essayist, and poet, Robert Louis Stevenson, has described the various forms and colours of nature of his country. Stevenson has written poems for children.
In the last phase of the 19th century, his children’s poem, My Shadow, became very popular. Its last lines are as follows:
One morning, very early, before the sun rose,
I woke up and saw the bright dew scattered on the yellow flowers,
But, like a stubborn toe-head, my shadow,
Remained sleeping in the bed behind me, in deep sleep,.
My granddaughter was with me, she was bound to like this poem.
There is another famous 18th century poet, novelist and historian from Scotland, Sir Walter Scott. In the next century, along with his novels, his poems were also popular. He wrote novels based on history. The companionship of such writers in the hut, gives an intense feeling of joy.
The fame of the land is world-famous for its fine, sublime liquor. It is a different matter that we could not go to any ‘brewery’ or madhushala. Established brands were available in the hut.
While leaving Delhi and London, friends had recommended us to go to such and such brewery. Stay there and drink Scotch. It has its own pleasure.
However, the intoxication of Medini kept us so immersed that we did not feel the desire for any artificial ‘me and bar’. Anyway, there was a time-constraint.
In Edinburgh, we came to know that Scotch is more expensive in the country of its birth. It is cheaper in London. A lot of money is earned from the export of Scotch.
It is said that the journey of Scotch starts from the 18th century. There are more than 140 whisky distilleries, or, whisky birthplaces here. Its history tell that in the 15th century, a sadhu-sanyasi laid its foundation by consuming wine.
At that time, grain was used. Single malt, single grain malt, blended grain malt, blended scotch whisky, etc. are much sought-after. It was learned that in 2023, Rampur’s single malt was placed in the best category in India. It was awarded the John Barlakarn Award on January 12, 2024.
I am not a connoisseur of alcohol. Despite gulping down glasses of brands from all over the world, no one has been able to become my dilruba till now. Amritsari lassi has been more intoxicating for me, than a Patiala peg of whisky. Who would leave the kulhars of delicious lassi of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi, and go for the cut-glass glasses of whisky from Scotland!
Ramsharan Joshi is a seasoned journalist, eminent author and distinguished academic, based in Delhi.