The Rabbit Boy, Khajjiar, Himachal Pradesh, India. January 2016

Khajjiar, Himachal Pradesh, India (January 2016)

I see the rabbit boy again today. It's Monday morning. I wonder if he goes to school. I make a mental note to ask him today about it. The rabbit boy allows you to take pictures with his rabbit for ten rupees per person. 

Today I have woken up early. Or so I think. As I look over I see both of them deep asleep. The cell phone is on silent but keeps buzzing.  I pick it up and it's 10 am. There was a time I needed to have a watch on my wrist and would only open when I took a shower. But on this entire Himachal trip I am not wearing one. You get used to it. Of everything you once needed. 

I don't have the sense of time. Which is good for me. I want to keep lying down but I also know that I will not get any more sleep. Plus the white grass is something I don't want to miss. 

As I dress up and come out, a glorious sunshine greets me. Part of mini Swiss, which is what Khajjiar is also known as, is dunked in sunshine while the other is still lazing. Underneath the shades of pine trees. The white grass is visible. As I walk on it, it bristles. Dew has frozen as temperatures dropped below freezing last night. That explains the 'white' grass. As I brush my palms on the grass it gives a feeling of crushed ice. Crushed ice reminds me of the cocktail that we had at the Social a few months ago. I have this thing of random memory apparition. Every step releases a crunch sound and forms a beat that kind of rhymes with the  bird songs from the Deodar trees. 

Our decision to chose Khajjiar as a place of stay was rewarded as soon as we saw the room at the Deodar hotel which is a part of HP tourism chain. While the room is nondescript, the view is amazing. It is perched right on top of the small hill overlooking a vast patch of well manicured grassland surrounded by pine trees.

As I sit on the porch and look beyond I get a panoramic view of the place, like that of a king. The drums from the Nag temple underneath are on as if announcing my arrival. People of my kingdom get ready for visitors. The hotel boy places tables and chairs outside on the grass. The para glider untangles the ropes of his chute. The horsemen put saddles. The rabbit boy is already around wearing the same clothes as he did yesterday. That reminds the king that he has not changed his in the last two days.