The road from there onwards became steeper and, simultaneously, the mercury fell like dead pigeons. The Jazz now had to remove her pretty heels and wear those reliable sneakers to climb on. New alloys really added another dimension of sportiness to the Jazz’s sneakers. The road narrowed further as it wound its way through those tiny habitats. As for the Blues, the song being played was ‘Sweet home 
Chicago’. B B King isn’t the King for nothing. It was around this time that I sensed a tinge of jealousy. The Jazz with her newly acquired spoiler trying to match King’s fine-cut suit and diamond rings!
I stretched my legs in the cabin and enjoyed all the space I was blessed with. The cup-holder in the door pocket saved me from thirst and my co-driver slept merrily in the comfort of the air-conditioner.
The day’s duty done, it was time for the sun to set: a warning to us to better make it to our destination before the nocturnal mist swallowed the road up. Not to worry, though. We were in safe hands. At a flick, the Jazz cast a reassuring halogen glow on the road, making things easy for us. Discussing Clapton’s ride with the King, we reached the Himalayan Trout House at village Nagini and gave our salutation to the Tirthan, a tributary of the river Beas. The pear, cherry, apple and apricot trees standing tall and proud in the camp area fed our hungry tums. The lullaby that the river sang while enveloping tiny trout put us to sound sleep. 
I wouldn’t be able to tell when was the last time I woke to chirping birds and not to my mobile phone’s shrill Christmas bells alarm. A bit of dew on the Jazz’s body told us that she and the stream had had an extended conversation over the night. The next day was spent in taking all our travel fatigue off layer by layer and it became all the more interesting when the landlord aroused our attention by making a mention of fly-fishing.
The Tirthan Valley is basically famous for its fly-fishing camps for brown trout. The technique is using replicas of river flies as bait to dupe the trout to the dinner table. However, making exact replicas, tossing them into the river at a certain angle and understanding the habits of the fish call for some practice. Since we could relish the trout only if we caught it ourselves, we were more than happy to undertake the practice session.
Let’s not go into the details of our not-so-successful fishing hour, but words fail me when I sit down to write about the camp experience and the fishing lesson. Another mistake we made was not taking any light woollens with us. The night temperature of 12 degrees Celsius was enough to rattle our bones.
There were plenty of other things we could have done, such as visiting the Jalori Pass and Great Himalayan Park, to name but a few. However, there were time constraints. The next morning, we were ready to bid adieu to the Himalayas. Needless to say, none of us wanted to leave so early, but better things awaited us at the other end. We were now better acquainted with the route and also had garnered fond memories of the time spent in the Valley.
The drive back home held nothing of interest, for parting is never pleasant, especially from such pleasant and magical environs as the Tirthan Valley. Delhi soon welcomed us back home. The country roads did bring us back home, but not really.
In an aside, I would like to modify that famous saying. ‘Give a man a fish, and you at least feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats herbs for dinner!’
BOX GETTING TO TIRTHAN VALLEY
By Air: Nearest Airport-
Bhuntar (2 flights a week, to and from Delhi), 90 minutes’ drive to the valley
By Rail: 8 hours drive from
Ambala station, 7 hours from Kiratpur station
By Road: 550 km from Delhi
(11-12 hours’ drive)
OTHER USEFUL INFO
Altitude: 2000-3000 meters
Best seasons to visit: March- June, September- November
Places to see: Great Himalayan National Park, Gushaini, Shoja, Ghiyagi, Banjar, Jalori Pass
Popular for fly-fishing lessons, camping
CAPTION
If there can be a car with space for everyone and everything, then this is it, this is it, this is it.
1. Some trout-catching, on the rocks.
2. The tent and other knick-knacks emerged from Jazz’s magic boot
3. Pretty lady climbing up the winding roads to Tirthan Valley
1. Nearest filling
station being 20 kms downhill, paying Rs 60 for a litre in the valley wasn’t a bad deal
2. With rocky terrain and marijuana bushes on road-sides, the valley was the perfect place for ‘Rock and Roll’.
BLURB
THIS WAS ALSO THE TIME FOR VARIEGATED VERNACULAR POETRY ON THE BACKSIDES OF TRUCKS, MUSICAL POWER HORNS AND THE JAZZ TO surreptitiously TRANSFORM INTO ‘JAJJ’ IN PUNJAB!
