"Home of the Great Spirit"

"Damn it. There she goes - my prospect for a much needed rest."

But that was a cry of amusement rather than despair.

Even the sight of his sole shelter - the hiking tent - getting blown away by a strong gust had failed to evoke any serious despair or panic in him. The prospect of spending a lonesome night in freezing Mt. Washington without a tent would certainly not be very welcoming to any person with a sane mind. But on that fateful evening, he considered it just another mishap that was in tandem with the storm his mind was going through of late.

Mt. Washington is the tallest peak in the North Eastern USA. Although at 6,288 ft the summit was not particularly tall by the Himalayan standards, the hike in early November had proved to be quite arduous for him. The winter had set in early that year and the wind did live up to its reputation of being most erratic. As a matter of fact - on April 12, 1934, a weather observatory on the summit had recorded the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface - 372 km/h or 103 m/s. The native Americans had avoided climbing the summit and believed it to be an abode of spirits and named it Agiocochook -  "Home of the Great Spirit".

He was not much of an experiened climber. But, climbing Mt. Washington under most arduous conditions was a pilgrimage - perhaps that would help him regain the sanity he had lost. He had likened it to a pilgrimage the Hindus and the Buddhist  undertake to the Mt Kailash with the hope that it would purify their mind and bring them good fortunes.


An immigrant from India, he had lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania, with his wife and a five year old son. Theirs' was an arranged marriage. He was still recovering from the culmination of a long term relationship with his girl friend when he finally consented to his parent's suggestion to an arranged marriage with a decent girl of their choice.

Like most of the girls of India, she had entered into the marriage with an intention to start her life as a caring  wife and a daughter-in-law to his parents. But perhaps he was not ready for a married life. His actions, his treatments towards the newly wed wife lacked the warmth that a lover would offer towards a woman he loved - or perhaps even that of a husband towards a lady that deserved the due respect of a wife. There were moments when he noticed her moist eyes - but she never failed to provide the support  and care a loving wife and daughter-in-law would carry out. And that was not an act carried out because she had a "duty to fulfill" - it was an act that spontaneously resulted from someone who was truly in love and believed in making a family.

It took some time for him to really fall in love with her. He realized she was the best thing that has happened to him. Like most marriages - they had their share of fights and disagreements. But he realized he was with a woman he loved and trusted and who also shared the same feelings towards him. He felt deeply repentant towards the pains she might have gone through during the initial phases of marriage when his actions failed to reciprocate her showering of love and affection.

The decade long marriage had proved to be the most wonderful blessing of his life. He considered his family the pillar of his life and every aspect of his life revolved around it.

"The true meaning of joy" - he had started believing - "resulted from sharing the each and every moment of life with your family".

They would dearly looked forward to the evenings - when the family will reassemble after the day's engagement with work and school - to share their "moments" over their day. They would look forward to their week-ends when the family would get involved in activities surrounding their only son and with the a bunch of family friends they socialized with. Even after a decade of marriage, some time they would spend hours - till the wee hours in the morning - sharing the most mundane details of their life.  They never seemed to run out of topics to discuss.

However, of late, he was not in much of communication with his wife - other than the bare minimum logistical issues concerning home and child management.

Gone were the days when sounds of joy would reverberate across their little suburban abode. Gone were the days the stillness of the wee hours of the morning would be interrupted by the soft whispers of two souls engaged in sharing the smallest aspects of their life. Gone were the days when their souls - though separate in  physical existence - yet rhymed in unison.

An eerie silence replaced what used to be the sound joy between the two.

The root of all problems lay in the age of Indian system of dowry - which was prevalent from the north Indian province of India they hailed from. Unlike most of the arranged marriages, their wedding had taken place without any exchange of dowry - which his father was strongly against. 


But about two years back - in one of the family gatherings in India, one of his relatives - an elderly lady - made a derogatory remark against her about not bringing any dowry in presence of his mother, her mother-in-law. She expected her mother in law to stand in support with her. But her mother-in-law uttered no word.


To her - his mother failed to behave in a way that accorded the proper respect which she - the daughter in law of the family - deserved. That left her devastated and she turned to him to make his mother understand where she had failed.  It was not that she wanted to go in for a confrontation with her mother in law, but she wanted him to make his mother realize where she had erred. 

But true to his up bringing as a most obedient child, he was unable to  take a stand against his mother. In the traditional Indian value system - you are not encouraged to make a stand against your elders - especially against your parents. You may be in disagreement - but you do not take a stand. You protest in your mind. You do not display your resentment - that will be like showing your disrespect towards them.


He had failed to comprehend the degree of pain his his mother's treatment inflicted on her daughter in law. He was initially even in denial that his mother could offer such treatment towards her own daughter in law. He had considered it to be a utterly trivial incident which will be forgotten in due course.


But the wounds were much deeper than he realized. But his wife failed betrayed by her mother in law's treatment and his indifference.


He felt as if he was torn between the only 2 women that mattered the most in his life - his mother and his wife.


They gradually started to drift away.  The incident proved to be the sole thorn of a conjugal life where otherwise two souls had taken complete refuge in each other.


Then about three months back he discovered something quite accidentally that proved shattering to a mind already tormented by the drift that that had surfaced between him and his wife.


His wife had procured the new version of the iPhone that she left on the kitchen counter top when she had gone to take her shower. 


They had maintained no "element of privacy" in their relationship and used to share everything - even their email accounts. While playing around with various features of his wife's new phone, he accidently noticed a few email and text conversations between his wife and an "unknown gentleman" that had crossed the boundary of normal friendship. 


He realized that his wife had started relying on the "unknown gentleman"  more than him in the recent past for her emotional support.  He felt that he was no more the person she would share the mundane details of her everyday life -- his positional was being replaced by the "unknown gentleman".


He felt the earth shatter under his feet.


He did confront his wife over it. And she was as candid as she had always been towards him. She expalined that the "unknown gentleman" was a senior from the college days for whom she had an infatuation and apparently he shared the same towards her. But they never expressed that to each other. They got reconnected over Facebook recently and started exchanging notes.

She did acknowledge that in her weak moments – when he was not the most accommodating and understanding companion that she had always expected him to be  - they did exchange as few notes confiding the feeling they had for each other during the college days. It was nothing but reminiscent of the moments of infatuation they shared in the distant past. After all, she was just seeking some emotional support that she did not receive from her own husband – but with no other ulterior motive. In any case, there was nothing serious going between her and the “unknown gentleman" and it was just an avenue for letting her steam off.

She did retain hope that time will fade away the "cloud of doom and gloom" that is casting over their marital bliss. The “other gentleman” would no way come in disturbing their marital bliss - it solely rested on their own hands. That incident would have never happened had she not lost the faith and trust on him - for not standing up for her.  

His mind knew she meant every bit of truth. And he did acknowledge that such an incident is quite a normal reaction from any individual with wounded heart.


But his heart failed to accept it. His heart could not bear to see his position in her life overtaken by an "unknown gentleman".  

A shadow of doubt started haunting his mind over his wife's faithfulness towards him. He was not sure whether it was jealousy or the suspicion - but he realized the incident had contributed in drifting them even more.

That's when he decided he needed some time to get away from home - alone. Some place where he could go and explore his soul and listen to what it had to say. Some place that will rejuvenate his heart and fill with resolve to work on restoring his mind. 

He filled up his back pack with some late fall clothes, some dry food, a flash light and a hunting knife. He decided to carry his tent just in case he decided to do some camping - a favorite summer time activity of the family


He announced that he will be gone for a couple of days - for a voyage of self introspection.

He could see her eyes turning moist. She inquired with genuine concern if he had carried everything that he needed. But, thankfully, did not ask where he was headed. He was relieved that she did not - he himself did not know where exactly he would be heading for. 


She softly said - "Take care of yourself when you are gone. Hope this trip of provides you with all the solace you need".

As he started his car, he caught the glimpse her glancing through the window. Can a short trip of solitude really succeed in cleansing a mind clouded by the mist of suspicion? 


He wasn't sure. Neither was she.

After a good 2 hours of driving aimlessly in the back roads of Pennsylvania -- he decided may be Mt. Washington would not be a bad destination after all. Even in the middle of the Summer, it was by no means considered an easy climb. In the Winter it would  be certainly an even more difficult for novice climbers like him. But that’s exactly what he was looking for - an ardous expedition that perhaps would  offer a life altering experience.

He concluded - a life altering experience is what he needed - something that would help restore his soul and reassure him of the sole purpose of his existence - a blissful existence with his wife.

He realized the 'devil was inside his mind, not inside his soul'.

He had reached the Mt Washington area of New Hampshire after a good 9 hours of overnight drive. 

As the first light of the day appeared, New Hampshire greeted him with wonders of nature in abundance – picturesque rolling hills, snow capped peaks, streams with crystal clear water and colorful rock bed winding their way down the mountain slopes, lush green meadows, mesmerizing woods that have shed their leaves in preparation for the winter snow yet preserved their pristine looks. This was the same area where they had spent a wonderful one week in their much happier days. Both of them were ardent lovers of nature. Visiting the pristine national parks – far away from dins of human civilization – used to be their favorite vacation destinations.

A stream in particular had such mesmerizing appeal on him that it almost aroused his most primordial urge to seek its source – as if the source of the crystal clear water will also succeed in cleansing his mind. Upon consulting the GPS device in his Android phone, he figured that it will be one night and 2 days hike to reach its source and come back.

He parked his car in a nearby strip mall and started his hike along the stream. He carried enough supply of energy bars and waters to last through the hike. He planned to seek it’s source – camp by it over the night and then return to the parking lot for a homeward bound journey – hopefully with a fresh mind.

As he started his hike, the sun was slowly ascending to its zenith. Silver-grey boulders lay tumbled along the track. There was no sound of civilization but of the whispering winds and the monotonous yet gentle sound of the stream winding down the mountain. Underfoot the stones glistened with quartz.

The hike offered a raw exhilaration for his tormented soul. The arduousness associated with the steep climb was what he was looking for. There were times when the climb was almost at a gradient of 70 degrees. Then the gentle sound of the stream would change into a deafening roar. The wind, as was expected in the slopes of Mt Washington, was erratic, strong and chilly. As he reached the higher elevation of 5000 feet, the vegetation gradually changed from Alpine to Tundra – with bush type vegetation. Given the latitude of Mt Washington in far north, Tundra like vegetation appears at a much lower elevation than what you would expect in the Himalayas. The view from the mountain was astonishing – a landscape with rolling hills all over, deep gorges and small lakes bearing the legacy of the glacial activity from the last ice age, meadows spread over acres, alpine forests of the lower elevation.

It was almost evening when he finally reached the source of the mystical stream. It was a small lake which was perpetually supplied with water from the underground natural reservoir and snows that adorned the mountain.

He decided to pitch the tent before the nightfall.  As he unfolded the tent and was about to secure its strings on the ground, suddenly a strong gust of wind lifted up the tent and blew it over the deep gorge!

Luckily enough he still had his sleeping bag and the back-pack where he carried the dinner – few packs of energy bars and a bottle of brandy to keep himself warm.

Slowly darkness descended on the mountain and the chilly wind picked up its erratic velocity. As the darkness grew, the clear night sky adorned itself with bright twinkling stars but engulfed the mountain with a chill that he was not prepared with.  His light fall time clothing was certainly not warm enough to protect him from the chill and wind of Mt Washington.

He checked the thermometer app in his phone and it read 21 degrees Fahrenheit – well below the freezing point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit. He realized at that temperature when he is exposed to strong wind without the shelter of a tent,  it was imperative to stay awake if he had to survive through the night. If he fell asleep, he would almost certainly go into hypothermia and freeze to death.

He realized the need to stay awake and warm – though it would be a challenge after a tiring hike throughout the day and the long overnight drive. He flashed his flash light and looked for some dry branches and bushes to light up a much needed fire. He collected some dry branches and bushes and tried in vain to light a fire for nearly an hour or may be more. To his utter dismay and horror, he only managed to damage the cigarette lighter in the process. And that was the only instrument in his possession to light up the much needed fire for survival on the freezing mountain top.

He huddled tightly under his sleeping bag but was afraid he might lose his battle to stay awake. Hypothermia was a certainty if he fell asleep. He sipped some brandy to keep warm. But he realized he should not drink more than a sip or two.  The last thing you wanted was to get drunk and fall asleep.

He started to gaze at the stars and think of his wife and the kids. How he wished he could call his wife or send her a text expressing his love for her and the kids. But there was no cell phone signal in that area.

He proceeded to the stream to splash some cold water on his face to stay awake. 


As he was about to stoop with cupped hands to scoop some water from the icy stream, he suddenly felt the presence of a person standing in front of him.

He was startled. A person is the last thing he expected at that hour and place.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” – he inquired while reaching out to his hunting knife incase of any adverse eventuality.

“I am Aha-ka-toon-ka – The Whispering Wind – of the Abenaki Indian Tribe. I am the medicine man and I have come here to look for certain plants that need to be collected at this hour of the night. I saw the flash light and realized there was some one who might need my help. You have nothing to worry from me – my son” – replied the man with a soft, assuring, kind yet a firm voice.

With his long hair, weather beaten face with a reddish tan, an aquiline nose and the traditional costume – he looked every bit of an elderly native American chief – the ones he had seen in doing powwow dances in the native American festivals and museums.  

Aha-ka-toon-ka presented such an aura of composure and kindness that he did not feel much threatened by the sudden appearance of an unknown person almost out of nowhere. Or perhaps he was in such a state of despair, he could not be threatened by anything anymore.  

“Excuse my ignorance. But I did not know there are native American reservations in this area” – he added.

“We have been always around and our spirits will always roam around these mountains – my son. We will always be around – physically and spirituality. In the great circle of life – no one enters and no one exits” – replied Aha-ka-toon-ka.

“I can see that you are struggling to light a fire to keep yourself warm. My son, you will definitely not survive the night without a fire and our native American skill will definitely come to some use in this regard.”

He watched in amazement as Aha-ka-toon-ka proceeded to light up a much needed fire using the tools his people had been using since time immemorial. As the medicine man was lighting up the fire, he started to recite an Abenaki hymn:

          Kassiwi  Niona  Enna  Odakozik  Chibaio  Agaskwikok

          Kizos   Aalakws   Nionakiya   Alnobanogan   Nionakiya

          ……

In the heart of the still dark night, the Abenaki hymn combined with the perpetual sound of the strong mountain gust created a mystical aura that pervaded through the deep gorges and ridges of the mountain.  “It is almost eerie yet a strangely wonderful feeling” – he thought.

Soon there was fire that provided the much needed comfort of warmth.

He offered Aha-ka-toon-ka some brandy which he politely refused saying – “My son. You do not need intoxication to keep yourself warm. The strength and conviction of your heart can provide you with all the energy you need to keep your mind strong and warm. Conviction alone will provide you with all the warmth you need in your mind to fight this chilly gust on the mountain top or the gust that is tormenting your soul. Just listen to your heart and act on it.”

“How would he know? Is he reading my mind or something?” – he wondered.

“My son – consider me as a reflection of your own destiny and inner thoughts. Your thoughts are what that makes your world. You are a slave of your thoughts. You need to listen to your heart to free yourself from your thoughts that is blinding your mind.”

He was taken aback. “This medicine man definitely is definitely reading my mind.” – he thought.

“When in times of trouble, we native Americans, have always looked into the nature for answers. Look into the stars, listen to the rhythm of the winds, the forceful flow of streams winding down the mountain slopes, the flight of the great eagle. Wah-kan-taw-wah has created all elements of this great nature with a perfect harmony and the book of nature is the greatest source of all wisdom – my son. This book of nature has undergone countless revisions since creation and if you try to read read the signs in this wonderful book - you will find answers to all your troubles”

He wasn’t sure how long they were engaged in conversation.  They talked about the Abenaki tribe, the history of New Hampshire, the arrival of the Europeans, the traditional medicine of the native Americans , the age old wisdom of the native Americans to look for signs in nature to seek solutions for any problems.

“Look my son”- Aha-ka-toon-ka pointed to the northern sky.

There he saw the beautiful northern lights – aurora borealis – lighting up the mysterious and magnificent light that was more spectacular than any man made light work he had ever witnessed.

He continued to watch the splendid marvel of nature in utter awe and appreciation. The splendid sight filled his heart and mind with such an ecstasy that he felt as if he has been bestowed with a new and profound enlightenment –to learn from the greatest source of wisdom - the book of nature. Look for signs in the nature. And clearly he is seeing one now – the colors of hope as reflected in the beautiful splendor of the northern lights.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been watching the wonders in the sky, but when he turned to thank  Aha-ka-toon-ka for the most wonderful words of wisdom he had ever learned – he realized that Aha-ka-toon-ka was gone.

Aha-ka-toon-ka disappeared as mysteriously just as he had appeared. From nowhere into nowhere.

By then, the dawn had broken and the sun appeared in the eastern horizon.

Elated with a sense of enlightenment and hope, he started his descend down the mountain to get to his car and the drive back home. He could not wait to get home – to his family which was always his greatest source of joy and love. He almost felt the same feeling which a teen ager had when he was going out on his first date.


All these while his cell phone had been switched off as he was outside the signal zone of the provider. When he reached the signal zone, he turned his cell phone on and found several text messages, emails and voice mails from her inquiring about his well being. But he decided not to call back. But get to home as fast as he could.

It was well past late evening when he reached his home. As he used the key to open the door, he found the house was engulfed in total silence. Heis son was already fast asleep on his room.

He saw the door leading to the master bath room was ajar and she was staring blankly at the mirror emerged in some thought.

He silently opened the door and offered her the most sincere hug. She reciprocated with an equal intensity.

They stood several minutes silently in each other’s arm. There was no need for any verbal communication. The deep and rapid breadth, the language of solitude said it all.

Two hearts rhymed in unison once more.  Or perhaps the rhythm had never ceased, it was only "his mind" that had blinded his soul from feeling it in those dreadful months.


Agiocochook  - "Home of the Great Spirit" – revived their spirits once again .

                                            --- The End ---

                                      The Abenaki Hymn

Kassiwi  Niona  Enna  Odakozik  Chibaio  Agaskwikok (With  We Who Visit Ghosts From)
Kizos   Aalakws   Nionakiya   Alnobanogan   Nionakiya (The Sun Star of Our Birth and in Our)
Awazsiswogan   Enni   Taolani    Agaskwikok   Noesal   Niona (Infancy   Which   Is   from  the Land  of)
Kizosaltoalakws  Taolawisi  Maskozisis  Taolwisi  Nolka  Moz (The Rising Star as Long as the Deer  and 
                Moose Shall Run Free and the Grass Shall Grow)
Sibo Ikok Pon Tekw (And  the Rivers  Run Swiftly  the Abenaki Shall Survive)
Wobigid Sanoba Magigwogan (The Wicked Spirits Treason)
N'mahomios Chibaio (Against Our Grandfathers Spirits)
Amikimek Pmegamek   Agakidozik (Have Given Us Guidance and Wisdom to

Rise and Come Together to Dance  We Have Been Taught)

Kazaldozk  Nigawes  Spemki   Toldalozi  Nosokazik (To Love  Mother   Earth   and to Respect Her)
Niona Aho Wobenakiak   Kizos Posiwaganogan (We Are the Children of  the Dawn the People)
Wobenakiak    Mozmozik Odiozon (Of the East  May the Great Spirit and)
Kinikinik  Volcanda  Kottliwi   Kwahliwi Tapsiwi (The Great Creator Bless  Us and Smile upon Us)