Lost in the Himalayas with Nawang
by Mehernosh Jehangir and Arnav Sheth

Arnav and Mehernosh are childhood friends of Nawang. Nawang had gone to the Himalayas with them to enjoy the mountains as a teenager. 

The two of us were reminiscing about our dear friend Nawang the other day, and we realized that we had both had the privilege of being lost in the Himalayas with him, on separate treks. They were fond memories of our time together with him, and we decided to write them up in his memory.

Arnav
Nawang and I were trekking to the Pindari Glacier in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. We had chosen this one over the one to Everest Base Camp since the Glacier was melting, and Nawang, being the keen environmentalist, wanted to see it before it disappeared.

Early on in our hike, we came across a shepherd who was herding a large flock of sheep. The sheep were being guarded by two sheepdogs, who began following us. In the beginning, we were a little intimidated, however, they began to charm us, and a new friendship was born. We decided to spend some more time with the dogs and ended up following the herd for a while. In addition to the dogs, we also made friends with the shepherd, and shared a meal with him and the dogs. We had a great time, and before we knew it, the sun was setting. We had to set up camp very nearby because daylight was fading rapidly.

The next morning we realized that we had gone way off-trail in following the herd, and it was only thanks to Harsingh and his keen nose for navigation that we were able to get back on track. The saddest part of this experience was parting with the dogs; Nawang wanted to adopt one of them and bring him back to Mumbai. However, we both agreed that Harish would probably not be very pleased with that decision, so we decided to leave him behind.

Mehernosh

Trekking from Gangotri to Gaumukh, Nawang and I got separated from the group as we were chatting away and enjoying the beautiful scenery. After walking for a few hours without seeing the rest of the party, we realized that we must have taken a wrong turn off the trail. Being young 15-16 year old boys, we decided that the best course of action would be to keep going on the path we were on, as the trail had to lead somewhere and we would run into someone who could help us. To our surprise, the trail ended in a field and disappeared! We then realized that we were probably on a trail used for grazing cattle. Luckily, Nawang had made friends with some sheepdogs we encountered along the way, who in turn led us to some shepherds who pointed us in the right direction so that we could catch up with the group.

Although our stories happened in different places and different times, our memories of Nawang in those situations are the same. Even as a young teenager, he displayed the traits that he would later show on the battlefield – he kept his cool, kept our spirits up with his great sense of humor, and made a scary situation fun and memorable. We will always miss him and remember him fondly.