The Great Indian Sledge-Car (Mountain Adventures-2)

  The biggest adventure of my life happened when I fell off a mountain and made it back alive!
  The snow hadn't melted in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand. Where we were trekking, the tracks were blocked by frozen waterfalls and glaciers. And after a sharp bend, a huge glacier stood facing us.
  From where I stood, the source of the icy river was invisible, but I could see it stretching for more than 600feet beneath me and then thinning out on a hilly meadow. 
  Six of us had crossed to the other side. When it was my turn, I could see water sparkling in puddles within the footprints that had been created. The ice was thin and the shoes of six people had worn it off. The glacier clung uncannily to the mountain slope. One fall could mean an abyssal jump of 600ft.
  And I did the terrible mistake of looking down. :P
  As I slid down the ice after that, my horrified eyes caught Dad's face. There was an instant calming effect. I knew, I had to be strong. I had to control my nerves. I looked at mum. The next moment, I was grinning at her. This was fun! Natural sledge!!
  The best part was, I had no idea where I'd land. It could be the meadow 600ft below, or if I was deflected right by the friction, I'd probably be thrown into a waterfall! Ok. This last thought was scary.
  I was falling on my chest and could feel it going numb by now. I tried to turn over. Couldn't. Gave up. My lungs burned. The numbness was spreading.
  Suddenly, my feet hit something solid and WHAM!! I was thrown into a narrow watery ridge cutting across the glacier. I perched gingerly on the one tiny stone that was wobbling in the soft mud. That was the only way I would be spared the ice cold water. The worst part was, even that didn't help much. I was drowned to my knees. Taking a position, I looked around. Apparently, I had been deflected left. And thank God for that, I hadn't slid down by more than a hundred feet. If I could climb the giant, mossy boulder next to me, I would reach the track above. But, I had never done rock-climbing in my life!!
  I looked around. All was white. Like someone had spread out a bride's veil that spanned miles. Heaven or hell or whatever it was, I'd need a helicopter to get me up. My left leg suddenly did a knee-jerk! So my legs were freezing. I was losing control over my muscles. This could get dangerous. Dad was planning to slide down too. And then came Spiderman!!! =P
  By profession, he was a grasscutter, or whatever you call those people who jump across mountains with a spider's agility, climbing almost vertical slopes in no time and at the same time, filling the sacks on their backs with grass and fodder for the cattle. He strolled - practically strolled down the boulder and landed beside me. With his sickle, he cleared some of the ice. We had a language barrier. His Hindi was broken. All I knew was, "do whatever the hell he makes you do!!"
  And....he made me climb that boulder. I must've been in a trance cause I don't remember any of what he had said. He had mentioned something about either the young or the older grass being stronger. He clamped my hand around those and showed me where to place my foot. I did not make the mistake of looking down this time. What was crucial was a clear head.
  I did make it to the top of the rock. Then I walked like Jack Sparrow, swaggering like a maniac, right into my mom's arms. That was when I let go of the wild wild tears and sobs I had been battling so far.
  Well, there I was, back alive, but with a thoroughly swollen and bleeding left knee and a few scratches here and there.
  Spiderman refused to take anything from dad. He was a village lad, shy and all. He just kept looking at his toes, smiled and rushed away. I thought to myself that sometimes...the noblest of souls reside in the most unexpected people.
  The bells of the temple below us echoed across the mountains. God resides in every living being around us. If we believe in Him, no trouble should be able to scare us off. He will rise to rescue and restore...
  But I guess, Lord Kedar likes pushing me down and then picking me up! Just last month, He threw me in front of a replica of His temple at Sikkim. Again. Because the replicas were so gross, I was having trouble recognising the temple of Kedarnath. So I went WHAAAMM on the marble before one of the temples and I knew my answer!!
  Gods can be great pals too!! xP