zing zing magik

The first time I saw the woolly ball at Zing Zing Bar it fascinated me. There were only a few of us riders at the last rickety tea stall before the ascent to Baralacha La .
"Two things are certain on a road trip", I ruminated, " You know fellow travellers by face and you cannot bathe for days."It was then that I saw the biker in blue walk out. I convinced Tarko my biker mate that it could be his ball.

As we began our ascent to the Baralacha La Pass, a vulture swooped over us. There was a sudden chill. Our fingers froze. Within minutes the browns disappeared and whites appeared. We were black dots disappearing into white.
A couple of hours of riding brought us to Sarchu at 14000ft. There were no signs of the blue biker. We decided to rest in a wayside tent for the night. It got dark and a million stars hung dangerously overhead. It was magnificent. I jumped in a wave of excitement only to be hit by altitude sickness.
"Juley"? asked the ladakhi host. The inside of the Tent began whirling. As I stood up my head ached. I fumbled in my rucksack and the ball tumbled out. I tossed it around. Five minutes later I felt my normal self. While I slept and dreamt, Tarko was hit hard by sickness.
The next morning was the most adventurous as we had to cross the dizziying Gata Loops, twenty one switchbacks in succession.
After ten mind numbing uphill switchbacks we took a break. I took out the ball and juggled with it .
A couple stopped by us. The woman seemed delirious. Her partner washed her face. I tried to comfort her. She saw the ball in my hand and held it. There was silence. In a few minutes she felt better and went ahead with her partner.
I wondered if this nature’s way of getting humans to acclimitize to the limitless. The hypnotic landscapes lay bare all thoughts. I felt as if I was in Post Dream time.
After crossing the Loops we stopped for Tea . As I waited for my cuppa a man in blue was about to leave. I ran to him,“Hey , is this yours?”. The Man smiled as he saw the Ball and said “ I left it so that it could be found”. “Oh” I remarked.“It is a guardian of Sickness”. It then dawned on me how I had escaped feeling sick and the woman who touched it had felt better immediately.
At that very moment I felt connected to all travellers who were touched by this phenomenon.
As an Artist I have always appreciated beauty . Now I have started to feel the magic.