I was in Vashisht this new year for a short sojourn. Amidst the Omicron scare, I was clueless about how to spend New Year’s Eve. I was looking to spend the day away from the noise with Nature, something non-touristy.
One morning while sipping hot black coffee and staring at River Beas from my balcony, a thought crossed my mind - why not have this as the venue. It seemed to be a perfect ‘Me’ time scene as there was no well-laid route to reach there :) that's it - what better than the riverside of Beas for a New Year gala.
On 31st Dec, I packed some snacks, hot coffee, moong dal halwa (for the new year feel 😊), my partner in crime – Speaker and began to find the path down to the gushing waters.
There is a short-cut trail beside the Cafe O'one Korean Restaurant in Vashisht to reach the highway. It’s 15 mins downhill trail to reach the Manali -Leh Highway near Café Riverine. Just opposite the cafe and beside the govt tourism shops, a muddy trail will take you down to the river-bed full of white shiny boulders.
You need to hop from one boulder to another like a bird and cross a few narrow tributaries to reach the main river stream. It will take another 20 mins to reach there and all you can hear is the loud rushing waters.
It was a fusion of two contrasting scenes running alongside –
- One made by Nature – sounds of birds chirping and rushing waters, Pine trees surrounded by snow-clad peaks, cool scented breezy air, high-flying eagles etc.
- The other one by Man – honking vehicles, traffic & plastic jammed, the smell of the polluted air.
Time just flew by before I realized it was time for 2021 to end with an amazing sunset.
This was my best New Year’s Eve ever – Mountains, music, coffee, and Magic.
I never imagined Celebrations can be so magical yet so silent.
Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are. —Gretel Ehrlich
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