My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
Yes, you read that right. This post is indeed about bathing a sheep. Not elephants, which we travel far and wide and pay to bathe! Not cows and buffaloes which we see bathing everywhere! But this post is about sheep. Have you ever bathed a sheep or seen someone bathing a flock of sheep? We did, while roaming around Dharamsala. The sight was captivating enough to make us want to stop, much to the surprise of our driver! What was so interesting about it? First, that they were bathing sheep! Second, it seemed so well choreographed, such a part of their routine, that each sheep went through the same process to end up thoroughly bathed!! So, do you want to know how to bathe a sheep? Read on......
- Step 1: Collect your flock of sheep.
- Step 2: Find a suitable river, with enough flowing water.
- Step 3: Now for the actual bathing process. Catch hold of the sheep, by its tail. It certainly doesn't want to bathe, so this is not as easy as it looks!
- Step 4: Drag it knee deep into the river.
- Step 5: Hold on to its neck, tightly, with both hands, and dunk it into the water.
- Step 6: Continue the dunking.
- Step 7: Have someone keep an eye on the other sheep. They want to escape before their turn comes!
- Step 8: Hold the sheep tightly, one hand around its neck, the other on its behind..
- Step 9: Dunk the sheep completely into the water, head and all....
- Step 10: Grab its legs and dunk it again!
- Step 11: Finally let it go!
And just in case you have any doubts, here is a video for you.....
When we paused by the river to see the sight of the sheep bathing, it was to click just a single pic. The three of us - me, Shankar and Samhith - were so fascinated by the sight, that our halt turned into over 15 minutes, much to the consternation of our driver, and many, many photos and a couple of videos! It just emphasizes the fact that you never know what will capture your attention, especially when you are travelling. Yet, it is such mundane moments that sometimes stay with you, long after the trip has ended. As I sat writing this post, Samhith came up, peeped over my shoulder, and said "Oh, you are writing about the sheep? That was fun." There were so many more fun things we did, so many more interesting things we saw, and yet, this moment is something we all treasure.
Which is why I always reiterate - keep you eyes wide open, and enjoy the small moments. You never know what will become a treasured memory!
This post is part of my series on my #summertrip 2015, and I hope to take you along with me as I recount stories from my month long trip, which took me across the country. To get an idea of all the places I visited, and what you can hope to read about, click here.
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- The Himachal Series-
Haha! This look like fun...I would like to bathe one of those sheep as well :)
ReplyDeleteI am sure you would have joined him, Sid! and you would have had a great deal of fun doing that too!
DeleteHa ha not as easy as it sounded!
ReplyDeletecertainly not, Mridula!! I dont think i could even approach the sheep!!
DeleteInteresting effort. Keep it up !
ReplyDeleteThank you Gopal!
DeleteThis is hilarious! I could actually hear your voice narrating the post out to me while I laugh. I'll keep the steps in mind lest I need them when I volunteer next :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Amrita. you can add that to your mental list the next time you plan to volunteer :P and let us know how it goes!!
Deleteawesome.. i laughed a lot.. :D
ReplyDeleteThank you, Krishna! glad to have made you laugh :D
DeleteThat looked fun!
ReplyDeleteIt was, Usha! and would have been even more so had we joined in :P
DeleteHahahah! I was just trying to imagine you standing and watching over the entire ceremony with grim academic interest and, well... failing! :D
ReplyDeleteOverall, the entire exercise sounds so funny! :D