Ten hours after trekking without a break, all of us had run out of drinking water. A young local guide was following a few steps behind me and I was at the rear of the group. When we came to a small clearing, I could no longer bear my thirst and turning around, whispered, managing the hoarsest of voices:
“Zara apna paani dena.” (Please give me some of your water.) He turned around and I pulled out the 2 liter green sprite bottle, now three fourths filled with water. As I swirled it I noticed small black particles floating within. I looked at the rest of the trekkers and they were all out of sight. ‘How will Anil know I drank unclean water?.” I thought as I downed a huge mouthful. It tasted like kerosene.”Oh crap! This has been used to fill kerosene before! Ugh!
“Is mein kuch dala hai?” (Has anything been added to this?)
“Uh..nahin…”(No)
After half an hour I felt like another swig.
“Paani?” This time he gesticulated farther where another guide was waiting and apparently told him in Nepali, I needed water. The older man frowned at this. ”Oh, they must be running out of water too,” I thought but the thirst got better of any selflessness. As I grabbed the bottle and put it to my mouth, the man said,
“Khorab paani,” (sullied water)
“What the hell! I know it and I have even drunk it once. Even once is enough to pick up infection…”I thought as I downed another huge mouthful.
He was now grinning. “Khorab paani…Rom daala hua…” he said.(Sullied water…mixed with rum)
“Huh? Yeh poora rum hai?” (Is this fully rum?)I asked aware that my cousin’s wife was within earshot.
“Nahi. Shudh paani. Itna rom.” He said showing measures in his hand…
And then the climb down became mentally tumultuous also! Was I feeling blank because of exhaustion or rum? Were my legs wobbly because of pain or rum? Were my eyes droopy because of tiredness or rum?..Hell…whatever… it was helping me right now to walk through this scary forest in the dusk…
That night when we sat for dinner and I passingly mentioned the episode, Anil said-“Oho! No wonder you have that silly smile despite 13 hours of trekking!”
And that was how rum became the buzz word that got associated with me!
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