by Abhishek Roy
Vivek led the way, GPS in hand. Ram and I treaded close by. After nearly 15 minutes, we climbed a small hillock. On reaching the top, suddenly the clouds parted a bit, allowing the sun to illuminate our destination and we beheld a superb scene.
Kapittel 19
Mathias’s story
NANDA DEVI BIOSPHERE RESERVE, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA
March 10, 2017, Friday, 1200 hours IST
Nestled in between the two sheer cliffs was a small lake. Though the surface was shimmering, it was clear by the dark blue waters that were accentuated by the dark sky, that the lake was deep. The lake was much more beautiful than it appeared on the map but the object which lay on top of the ridge like cliff, closest to the lake was the most intriguing. In a place like this, where nobody would wish to live, perched on the top of the cliff was a man-made structure. Though the sky was dark, the sun did manage to reveal the superficial features of the structure. It was basically, a stone mound. It looked like a stone igloo, only that it was much, much larger. In the strange lighting, it looked forbidding, ominous. The dark and sharp shadows cast by the stone bricks gave it a crude and evil look and the cloudy sky made it look even scarier. There was little snow on the top of the mound. From a distance it looked like a huge cap sitting atop the cliff because of the wooden deck, protruding outwards, over the cliff.
“What is that thing on top of the cliff? Whatever it houses must be really big. Maybe it is a concealment where my father resides,” said Ram.
“This mound like structure is the oddest thing I have ever seen. You may be able to see monasteries in some mountains but nothing like this. It looks...ancient,” said Vivek without moving his eyes from the structure.
Ram looked at Vivek. “This surely does not look like a monastery.”
“No one must be living there for sure. It might as well be some other place of worship.”
“A place of worship inside a mound of rock?” asked Ram.
“Maybe. I am not sure.”
“Let us say it is. Then why would my father summon me here to a stone mound?” Ram’s face displayed perplexity.
“Only way to know is to go inside,” I said.
Without wasting more time, we walked towards the lake.
Once we reached there, we plonked down our bags and sat in the cover of the opposite cliff. By now, the sun was again behind the clouds as if, it fought its way through to show us the reason why we were here.
The soil was cold but our clothes protected us from the cold and the wind.
“The GPS tells us that the coordinates are of this lake here,” Vivek said, pointing towards the lake. “So we are in the right place. Now, Ram, tell me what your father used to do.“
“He was a theoretical physicist at Cambridge. He had come here on an expedition. I still remember him talking about a ‘chronoscale’. I have no idea what it is but I remember him saying it explicitly. Anyway, he came to India never to be seen or heard again. He had left me an old radio and my Maglite flashlight since I liked playing with them as a kid. Suddenly one day, I received a distress call from him. He said that he was Dr. Chandra Shanbhag. He is a scientist and got lost in the Himalayas. He gave his coordinates that point here.”
“Did he describe the place too?” asked Vivek.
“Well, no but he did say that...yes! He said he was in a temple. So this must be a temple. You were right Mathias! A place of worship.”
“Well, then it is necessary that we go up to that temple. The question is-how?” said Vivek.
He was right. The temple was situated on top of a 100 to 120 feet high cliff. The walls of the cliff were vertical and sheer. I could still manage maybe but there was no way Ram could climb this.
“Mathias. Are you good in hiking and mountain climbing?” Vivek asked me.
“I have never climbed mountains but I am a good climber. I may manage to climb this.”
“How about you Ram?” Vivek turned to him.
“Not in my dreams!”
“I myself am a good climber but this is something I have never scaled before. It will be hard climbing this.”
“What else can we do?” I asked.
“Wait for me here while I go and check the other side of the cliff,” Vivek said.
“Are you sure? I mean, a storm is coming and if some guard sees you here then you are busted,” Ram was worried.
“Don’t worry. I will come in a jiffy.” Vivek assured us and went off.
Ram and I sat for a while, in silence. The only noise was that of the wind. Both of us were gazing at the stone edifice on top of the cliff. Now that we were closer, I could see the structure in its entirety. It was completely made of bricks of rock and stone. Facing us was a deck that stretched out and hung over the cliff. It was the only section that was made of wood. The deck was reasonably big and there was a gateway at the other end of the deck, leading inside the mound. The height of the mound must have been about 100 feet and was as large as a soccer field. It loomed over us like a sinister deity, calling us inside its arched portal.
“Mathias?” Ram called.
“Yes?”
“It is just very odd that my father would lead me here. When Vivek said that there was a secret ISRO base here, I felt that it was okay. My father was a physicist and naturally, he could come here for some meeting. But then he disappeared and now, he sends me a distress call only to lead me here, to this weirdest place. It just does not make sense.”
It really didn’t make sense Ram. It never had.
The winds had started to blow more violently. Thankfully Vivek had left his bag with us. Ram and I set up the tent and sat inside it, shielded from the violent winds. Shortly afterwards, a blizzard started albeit a weak one. The small spherical handheld bulb I had made back at the institute was our only source of light. In the incandescent light of the bulb, one could see the tension on his face. He again looked much older than he was.
Suddenly we saw the hurried movement of a shadow towards our shuddering tent. The shadow was that of a man. It moved from the left and stopped at the entry. Instantly, Vivek poked his head through the entry and said, “I am back.” He crawled inside the tent and sat on my right.
“Oh! It is cold out there. Good, you put up the tent,” he said while rubbing his hands.
“This place is giving me creeps all the time!” cried out Ram, “Did you find anything on the other side of the cliff?“
“Yes, but first let me ask you, what’s that Mathias?” asked Vivek, pointing towards my bulb.
“I made it at the institute back in London. It is a thermoelectric bulb which is powered by the heat of my hand. That way I do not need any other source of power as long as I am myself warm,” I smiled.
“Impressive.”
“What are we going to do now?” Ram brought us back to the point.
“I saw that the entire central block can only be reached through the water. All points of entry are closed and the edges are sheer climb surfaces. So climbing the ridge is almost impossible. The next thing we can do is use something which is only found here.”
“What is that?” Ram was getting impatient. He almost thought that his father was within reach.
“I have a wild idea in my mind.”
“Blurt it out,” Ram said.
“Ever heard of waterspouts or snowspouts?”
“Yes. Snowspouts are very rare. Though I am not sure... “
“Do you wish to ride one?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“See for yourself,” Vivek motioned outside the tent.
Ram pulled back the curtain on his side and was dumbstruck.
“Are you crazy?”
“Tell me. What other way have you devised?” I challenged him because I thought that it was really a good idea.
“Nothing yet but nothing nearly as insane.”
“Listen. Sometimes, we need to try whatever we can to get to our destination. Do you want to get to that structure over there?”
“Yes.”
“The waterspouts are high enough and I believe that the uplift caused by the vortex will be enough to propel us up there.”
“In such a cold climate, getting wet might kill us,” he said.
“Well we have Vivek’s truck,” I said, looking at Vivek. “The heat generated by the engine will help us get warm again. So that is not an issue. Ram, this might be our only way.“
I could see that Ram was slowly understanding, “What if we don’t make it?” Ram asked.
“Then it was worth a try. Vivek, do you agree?”
“Kind of. It might prove to be dangerous but it is worth a try,” Vivek replied.
“See?” I asked Ram.
After a while of musing over the plan Ram made up his mind and I was glad he did. I had a feeling about it. An intuition that told me that it was going to work out in some way or the other.
“Ram. Do you have your Maglite with you?” I asked.
“No, you had it all these while, right from Meerut.”
“Right, I forgot. Take it You should stay here, Vivek. Ram, you are coming with me right?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Nope.”
***
Whilst we were readying ourselves, Ram asked me, “How are you going to make my Maglite waterproof?”
“I will show you.” Ram gave me a suspicious look.
“Fine. Don’t trust me. We will be better off swimming in the darkness.”
“Here. Take it, take it. Do whatever you want with it.” I smiled and Ram handed it to me. Immediately I opened my bag and fished out a roll of electric tape.
“You carry electric tape with you?” asked Ram, astonished.
“For when it is necessary,” I grinned.
Unrolling some of the tape, I started wrapping it around the Maglite. After wrapping the tape around it countless times and twice around the protective glass lens, I handed it back to him.
“You think this will stop the water from flooding into it?” he asked me.
“I actually made it more resistant to water than waterproof but I am positive that it will stay on for a longer time. Enough for our need.”
“If something happens to my flashlight -”
“Something is most likely to happen. I will buy you a new one when we return home,” I assured him and Ram punched me on my back while I chuckled.
The weather outside had really become better. Shafts of sunlight tore through the clouds that had started to part. The lake was becoming blue again and the mound up on the cliff was visible.
Both of us were wearing a partially water resistant wind cheater, a thick shirt beneath it and khaki pants. Our shoes were hanging in a waterproof satchel which was slung around outright shoulder. On reaching the shore of the lake we checked our gear one last time. Each of us had a harness system with the long rope, coiled and attached to the belt. A few carabiners (which are metal loops with a spring loaded gate) were stored in a small pocket in our belt and a rope-to-harness attaching device was attached to the belt and the rope. We also had a 500 ml water bottle and a climbing axe with us. In all, the harness and its belt with all the gear was the heaviest thing we had to carry. Along with that, Ram also had his flashlight with him.
We had left our bags in the tent with Vivek. Both of us wore a safety harness and hooked a coiled climbing rope to it. We wore our gloves, a pair of safety goggles with an elastic band to protect it from falling, and some nylon pads.
“Take care guys,” Vivek bade us goodbye.
“You too,” replied Ram and both of us exited the shelter of the tent. Instantly, we were assaulted by the wind and snow. The visibility was reasonably fine as we still had a visual on the lake. However, the structure on top of the ridge was hazy. Ram and I bent forward and moved slowly towards the shore of the lake where a waterspout had just died out.
The wind resistance was immense. Each step felt unusually heavy. After three long minutes that seemed like an eternity, the view of the tent became cloudy. We reached the shore. “I am scared, Mathias!” Ram yelled over the howl of the wind.
“Trust me! It will be fine!” I yelled back.
He moved his head from left to right, “No. I can’t do this.”
Just before he turned back and was about to walk back to the tent, I pulled him back, “Stop being a coward, you fool! If you cannot do it for yourself then at least try it for your father’s sake. If you don’t, you will fail him!” Now I was getting annoyed with his behaviour. Persuading him was becoming a mammoth task.
He paused a moment and finally understood. He mustered up all his courage, “Fine! You are right!” With that both of us plunged into the dark waters.
All of a sudden, there was complete silence. The water was serene but dark. Strangely, I had expected the water to be cold but it was surprisingly warm. It must have been the result of a hot spring underneath. Instantly, as we surfaced, the wind hit us again and the intense noise started. “What do we do now?” Ram shouted.
“Wait!”
We slowly waded across the water, waiting for a waterspout. I glanced at Ram and could see fear on his face. He was always a peace loving person. Even when the institute used to take us to a theme park, he never went for the rides. Now, the cold waters, the danger of the snowspouts and the fear of what he may encounter inside the mound had really got over him. Yet, he did his best to try to overcome his fears. As we held each other’s hands, I could feel his hyperventilation, the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Yes, I was charged up too, but not that I was hyperventilating. I knew that we were going to make it.
We waded towards the centre of the lake and stopped a few metres before it.
“Now we should wait for a spout to form. Alright?!” I asked him. Ram gulped down some saliva and nodded.
For Seven long minutes, we were in the water, still. After each minute, I would look at my watch. Up till now, we hadn’t noticed the fact that there was lightning and thunder also. It was then that I realised that it was not an ordinary blizzard, it was actually a thunderstorm with rain but because of the cold temperatures, the water formed snow and the wind propelled it in the form of a blizzard.
A bluish fork lightning struck again and the thunder that followed was deafening and after seven minutes of waiting, I saw it. There, to a little left of the centre, a dark spot appeared on the water. At first, Ram was petrified that it was some dangerous aquatic creature. However, it never moved from its position. Gradually, the water started to spiral and a ring of droplets of water appeared over the dark halo.
“There!” I yelled over the din and both of us swam to it. We stopped short of the spray ring and observed it. As it grew, a funnel of condensed air snaked its way from the clouds to the spray ring. We moved with the spray ring and just before the waterspout came to life, we entered the vortex.
Whilst we were passing through the ring of spray, the water and the wind assaulted us simultaneously. However, after enduring that, the experience inside the funnel was like heaven and hell. Inside the vortex, the pressure was so low that our ears popped. Moreover, it was much more silent and peaceful in there. The only noise was that of the roar of wind and water around the vortex. When we looked up, we were awe-struck by the beauty of nature.
On looking up, we could see the light greyish tube we were in. The churning tube snaked its way up to the clouds and ended at a wall of grey.
“It is not going to help standing here,” I told Ram and was relieved since I no longer had to shout.
“So we enter the vortex of this colossal thing?”
“How else is it going to pick us up?”
“Okay,” he was loath to enter the vortex but I dragged him with me nonetheless. Standing a few feet away from the wall of the tube I said, “On the count of three. One, two —“
“Can you extend it to five? I would feel better,” Ram interrupted me.
“One, two, three, four, five!” and both of us jumped in. Again, the immense noise invaded our ears, only thi
s time, it was louder. The spray of water drenched us completely. The water was a little colder than the lake water but the bulk of the low temperatures was contributed by the snow mixed with the water. In an instant, we were lifted. Both of us moved in a leftward direction and went vertically up into the air. God knows, how many times our bodies did somersaults but the experience was exhilarating. Though waterspouts or snowspouts are milder than twisters, it was nothing less.
I was whirling around the spinning vortex at dizzying speeds, wondering how much torque the spout had. I was sure that Ram was screaming but the intense noise drowned it all. The world around me became a grey blur. However, the duration was short. Finally, after gulping lots of water, I was hurled away like a slingshot. I shot outwards, away from the vortex. I had no idea how much the spout had lifted us but expected to fall near the mound. As I tumbled through the air, I noticed that the cliff face was still visible. My fears were confirmed when I caught a glimpse of the mound. It was still, 300 feet away. I closed my eyes in frustration that I had failed Ram.
The wind coursed through my hair and brushed along my cheeks. Eventually, I fell into the waters of the lake awkwardly and sank.
A dark halo like structure was spinning more than ten metres away. I realised that this was the base of the confounded spout that had failed us. I wondered whether Ram was fine. If he had fallen on dry land, then he would have surely broken some bones and the mission had to be aborted because of me.
Just when I was about to swim up to the surface, I noticed a forbidding dark hole on the cliff face, below the surface of the water. It was disturbingly circular and led to some place inside the cliff. The hole could not be the lair of some creature since no creature could bore a perfectly circular hole into solid rock. It was definitely man made. As creepy as it was, I wanted to check inside but I decided to search for Ram first.
