July 16, 2016.

It’s a little after 9:00 in the night and we are sitting on chairs in the narrow little corridor that runs the length of the first floor right outside our rooms.

Like I said, there’s been no electricity in Tabo past four days, and so we are sitting basking in the glory of the moon which is three days away from Poornima (Full Moon Day). We are sitting and yarning, swapping stories, listening to songs and singing along. With the cold chilly wind reminding us not to forget where we are.

Kaushal is a great story-teller, with experience travelling around Himalayan mountains in Himachal, Uttarakhand, Arunachal, Ladakh, Kashmir, Sikkim, and also in the hills of Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, and Kerala. He has a treasure of travel tales, and a knack for making it relevant to the moment.

The sky’s been overcast most of the evening, much to the dismay of The Wayfarer, who’s been out a few times, walking around the market, catching up with Tabotians (😃) and making new friends. He’s one cool character to have walking beside you, knows a lot about these high mountains since he travels regularly and also because he strikes up conversations quite easily with anyone and everyone.

We saw many local folk, sitting on their roofs talking and playing cards till the last light faded. We went up to the terrace a couple of times but nope, no chance of a starry starry night today.

Check out this video, you’ll see next to nothing except maybe a hazy moon and hear some yarning – it will give you an idea what it’s like to be in a tiny Himalayan village in the middle of July on a moonlit night.