I tasted the magic of the sky filled with infinite stars: Bhavya Mittal

Contributor - Bhavya Mittal 

जब सफर शुरू किया,

तो आसमान में कुछ ही सितारे दिख रहे थे।

जैसे जैसे हम आगे बढ़े,

आसमान में सितारे बढ़ गए और धरा पर नज़ारे।

I have been trying to write about it since quite a few days but every time, I ended up leaving it in between because I wasn’t being able to recall the moments with the same purity with which I had experienced them and hence, I was unable to bring them to life while writing. Roughly an hour ago, I read very disturbing news which had unsettled my mind and heart and unleashed a sense of restlessness. It made me wonder about the humanity and sensitivity which we have lost somewhere far behind us. I was feeling the fear deep inside me of humanity becoming increasingly endangered. 

My mind was battling with these thoughts and as they were getting unbearable, I turned myself towards a book to calm the noise brewing inside my head. I was successful in keeping away the thoughts for a while but then as I lied down to sleep and closed my eyes, they resurfaced and my eyes started watering as my heart was searching for an assurance filled with love that humanity is still alive. And in the next few minutes, to my surprise, with my eyes closed, I saw blurred images of people sharing affectionate hugs with each other. It was us hugging each other’s vulnerable souls for long on the top of the hill after the crying circle had ended (as Ashita Di called it) as the chilling winds were blowing against us. The hugs gave me warmth then against the chilling winds, the remembrance of those hugs gave me warmth now against the chilling thoughts of waning humanity. 

The sudden flashing of these memories amidst my call for love tells a lot about the importance this experience holds for my soul. As the night is falling into silence, I am deeply remembered of the moments we all spent together in the bus, in the mountains, on the road and there would be no better time to pour down my thoughts than at this moment.

The decision to go to Padh-Yatra came very naturally and I didn’t have to make any hard efforts to make it happen (as there were so many people who extended their help to me for which I am deeply grateful) except the emotional labor invested in talking to my family about it. I don’t mind doing it because every time, it results into us understanding each other better by the end of it.



I was very much anxious on 22nd before leaving for Padh-Yatra because it involved meeting new people and putting myself in unknown situations. I would say, I, again, took the leap of faith and everything turned out to be beautiful. The space was open and safe for anybody to say anything- a kind of space where you can put your heart out there without the fear of it getting wounded. I wouldn’t say I was able to do it successfully every time but I really loved watching and listening to people doing it and realizing the oneness we all share.

Padh-Yatra for me has been a very very memorable experience because of the intimacy I was able to share with the nature, people and myself. There were times when I was deeply immersed in the nature without any unwanted thoughts barging into the territory of my calmness and there were times, when the nature acted as a beautiful facilitator in building conversations and friendships. Padh-Yatra helped me in reinforcing my belief, formed through direct personal experiences, in the universal human connection. I experienced how similar we all are in our fears and our weaknesses and how we all are together. I experienced how we all are fundamentally and metaphysically, the same. To read about these things is comforting but to live them is truly magical.

I had played Frisbee years ago and I didn’t know that years after, when I would be playing it again, it would be in the mountains beside our bus in the process of getting repaired, with people most of whom I had met for the first time a day before.

In the first sharing circle which we had on the top of a hill after reaching Teal village on 23rd March, we had to reflect upon the force which had brought us there. I remember that I didn’t go to seek any question or an answer. But here’s the magic- I returned with answers from strangers-turned-friends to some unasked subconscious questions.

We started trekking in early morning on 24th March from Teal village to the Parashar Lake. It was as emotionally and mentally satisfying an experience as physically exhausting it was. We walked, we stopped, we sang, we danced, we played, we ate- everything adding to the joy.

For me, Padh-Yatra was about just being in the moment. It was about cherishing the path more than the destination. It was about nature, calmness and silence, untamed winds in the mountains, meeting new people and forming new beautiful relationships, laughing deep from the heart, acknowledging and feeling different emotions and also about strengthening my belief in the human connection. It allowed me to act and talk in absolute alignment with my thoughts and I can vouch for this that doing so can be the most liberating thing one can experience.

I listened to the silence of the mountains

I looked at the tenderness of the dying leaves

I felt your wind brushing against my face

I smelled your blooming flowers

I tasted the magic of the sky filled with infinite stars;

I am safely holding this experience within me

Till we meet again, next time.