CHAPTER 28
When Cartwright reached home he found among his paper’s a letter from Sunanda which he opened, as was his practice, after going though the official post. The letter cheered him somewhat and took his mind off recent events:-
“Dear Mr Cartwright,
I am writing this letter sitting on the banks of the Bhagirathi whose turbulent waters make a continuous din as the river flows swiftly down the valley. I have left Uttarkashi behind. I am now staying in an ashram which is situated on the left bank of the river, the far bank that is, and we have a to cross the river by a rickety suspension bridge about half a mile downstream to reach the Gangotir track. UP and down this track passes a never-ending traffic of pilgrims going up to the glacier whence the Ganga issues forth. I too am journeying up to witness the source, but I am going by stages and staying on in ashrams in out of the way places. Many holy men stay in these retreats and you never known when you might come across some truly exalted being. This ashram is run by a venerable old sadhu whom everyone calls swamiji. I think swamiji has taken a liking to me. He lets me sit near him as he meditates in the morning – no one else is allowed to come near him at these moments. Yesterday I asked him how he had learnt to conquer the restless mind and he said only one thing. ‘right thinking.’ He refused to explain what he meant by right thinking, but I hope to get the whole thing out of him gradually. One cannot be in a hurry in these matters. I cannot describe to you the beauty and grandeur of the scenery here. The hills on both sides of the valley are clothed in a thick forest of conifers, such a forest as we never see in our part of the world, though our forests have their own glory. Some of the trees here are real behemoths, rising straight as a column for a hundred feet – there is one such tree right in the ashram compound, and I love to sit under it. Beyond the hills rises the snowy crest of a distant mountain which always has a plume of cloud flowing from its summit. It is the sort of scenery that instils a deep reverence and peace within the beholder. I think someone is calling me – perhaps swamiji has summoned me – and I must conclude this letter.
I remain
Your friend and well-wisher
Sunanda.
Cartwright could easily picture the scenes described in the letter, although he had never been to the Himalayas. He could feel some of the exalted mood that Sunanda had described in the letter and he sat down and wrote a reply.
“My dear Miss Dube,
Your letter cheered me immensely. I read it at the end of a long day and the fogs lifted. I pictured to myself the glorious landscapes that you have described in your letter – all those towering, wooded hillsides topped by still loftier summits clad in snow, and I felt uplifted.
I had just come back from the court where I had given evidence. My testimony has caused consternation in the official community, though I don’t see why it should have done so. I did not say anything in court that was contrary to done so. I did not say anything in court that was contrary to the police version. The only thing that I added was the fact that I did not apprehend any danger from your brother as I walked up to him to take away his weapon. I do not think you brother as I walked up to him to kill me in cold blood and I said so in court. If this helps the defence, so be it. I said what is no more than what I believe to be the truth and I don’t see why it should raise so many hackles. I don’t know how this case will end but whatever happens ultimately I do not think what I did has done any harm to the image of the government. I meet with nothing but goodwill whenever I step out of my house and it only strengthens my conviction that Indians will go more than half way if we move forward to meet them.
Do keep writing about your journey up the Ganges. It takes me out of the mundane and humdrum affairs of the district and reminds me of the timeless world that surrounds us. That is a tonic that I need; now more than ever.
I remain,
Sincerely yours
Cartwright.”
