“This 4x4 is equipped with snow chains, it will drop you outside the resort, then we will have another 4x4 which will take you up to Dhalli and from there on an Innova will drop you to Chandigarh.”, the hotel staff told us. It was very reassuring. They know their job, I thought.
It was snowing heavily, and how!!
Not sure if there is any “cats and dogs” equivalent for snow, but whatever it was, it was significantly worse than “cats and dogs”. Our flight was scheduled for 7.05 pm; so, we left the resort at 11.10 am. Given that the trip to the hotel had taken us 4 hours we had sufficient buffer for the return, or so we thought.
The two changeovers were done smoothly and we were finally in the Innova. The driver was familiar to us as he has driven us around two days earlier. So, we settled down for a long ride to the airport.
The snowfall was however getting worse. The scenery was soon painted in white, “whitewashed” to be precise. The driver seemed to grow more nervous as every minute went by. He said, that he had bypassed Shimla town and taken Shogi Bypass and that he was expecting the snowfall to abate as we descended the mountains quicker in this route, but there was no let up. The driver said that the snowfall was unprecedented. One hour into the journey we were crawling at 8 kmph with another 130 km to go.
“Fingers crossed, we will make it in time”, I thought as the snowfall kept on getting heavier and heavier. The childlike joy of seeing the huge amount of snow slowly gave way to a dull fear of getting stuck.
As we proceeded at a snail’s pace, a Fortuner zipped past us as if the snowy road was just a minor inconvenience. And ahh, I wished that we were in a 4X4.
A few kilometers down the road we saw the same Fortuner parked at the side of the road and its occupants, a couple surveying the surroundings, with them was a small child. Our driver slowed down, he seemed to know the man. He rolled down the window and said,
“आप कहाँ जा रहे हो ?”
“अरे सुरेंदर! …………मैं तो चंडीगढ़ जा रहा हूँ” came the reply
“साथ साथ चलते हैं”, Our driver said.
“ठीक है”, was the reply.
I was so glad to have another car give us company as the situation was getting scarier by the minute. We restarted the trip. Soon, however, the Fortuner overtook us again and disappeared from our sight and I thought to myself, “So much for the company!”.
It was not long before soon our Innova got stuck without traction on slippery snow. Luckily it was in a village and some villagers quickly came to our rescue and helped push the car through. I wondered, what would happen if got stuck in a spot that was away from the villages.
The snowfall was worsening and after a few kilometers, we again found ourselves sliding backward and sideways on a treacherous sloping bend covered with snow. The car came to rest diagonally on the road almost blocking the road on both sides. The driver’s expression was that of utter helplessness and I began mentally working out the potential next steps. And out of the blue, we saw the gentleman from the Fortuner appear from behind the bend walking down the slope. He spoke with the driver and then they walked off only to reappear within 5 minutes with a rope from a village. The rope was tied around one of the tyres (to create traction) and after a few missteps, we were successfully able to make our way out of the mess.
Now it was just another 6 kilometers before we hit the highway and from there the road was expected to be fine. And just as I was getting the feeling that we will make it through, we saw that ahead of us a car struggling to make it through another tough slope. This was on a side of a mountain with no villages close by and when we reached there our Innova slid almost sideways. My heart sank. Again, we saw the gentleman come back and try to help us. After a few hearts stopping tries driver gave up. So, the gentleman proposed to the driver that he will drop us at Chandigarh. However, his car was around 300- 400 meters away. So, we grabbed our luggage and lugged it in sub-zero temperature, slippery snow, sloping curving road and with no winter clothes (all packed in anticipation of a direct drop to the airport) and trudged across. We breathed a sigh of relief when we were finally in his Fortuner.Getting a lift in a tough situation sounds simple, isn’t it? But it wasn’t. For almost 15 kilometers, or so, the gentleman whose name I later learned was Ishan (who was traveling along with his wife Ekta and 15-month-old son) despite the severe weather and having to ensure his own family's safety stopped at each bend and looked out to see if our vehicle was following and anytime, we got stuck he stepped down to help. He knew that the snowfall was unexpectedly heavy and that we would find it difficult to make it in the Innova in that weather. Further, he agreed to drop us at Chandigarh in his car when we got stuck in a hopeless situation.
The snowfall was getting worse and very soon all Shimla roads had closed down. It was unprecedented snowfall. If Ishan hadn’t helped us, it was unlikely that we would be able to move from there for the next several hours. At sub-zero temperature and excessive snow, it would’ve been a nightmare. I’m glad that fate didn’t allow me to experience what it would be like.
God named, God sent, Ishan was our saviour in the snow.
A mountain resident who went out of the way to help. It was a very pleasant ride and we had an engaging conversation with Ishan & Ekta all throughout. They went out of the way to make us comfortable. At Chandigarh, Ishan even paid for a cab to ensure that we get dropped at the airport in time. (We made it to the airport at 6 pm!)
Why am I writing about this?!! Because:
- Believe in the goodness of people and good people. They exist.
- If you can, always help.
Thank you, Ishan, & Ekta!
I will pay it forward.
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