T-r-e-k-k-e-r-s, it’s late.” Lying next to me, Chiku helps himself to a groan, Ayan barely manages to stretch a leg and from the far corner of the room, Susu’s snoring continues unruffled and unopposed. To the only open pair of eyes he could find, Sebastian, already waist deep into the room, directs his next round of hollering. “T-r-e-k-k-e-r-s… T-r-e-k-k-e-r-s…” I quickly bolt my eyes, shut him out if I can’t shut him up, roll over.

Admitted, it’s late. By now, we should have been up and about, completed our bathing at the river, got into the tracksuits and stepped into the trekking shoes, finished breakfast and toiled our way across to the orange orchard, located half way up the next mountain. But Sebastian’s got us wrong—we are intent on being slackers here than the trekkers our guide wants us to be. Reshi, a dot wedged somewhere within the mountain folds in the Sikkim-Bengal border, just seems idyllic for the idler.

The short, wiry Nepali, Sebastian, is understandably cheesed off. The only time he lets his mind and body be at rest is during the five hours he allocates to sleep at night. Rest of the time, Sebastian is a blur of activity — there he is, fixing the straw matting of our hut, feeding the dog, running after the chicken, collecting firewood, preparing lunch for us, washing dishes, using the rocks to sharpen the knives, a picture of predatory application right before casting the net in the river for the fish to appear on our dinner plates, getting the lanterns ready before dusk gets to us. And there he is, annoyed and exasperated. We had once earlier tried, but failed, to make Sebastian realise that where we come from, Kolkata, we are part of a different blur. Wake up late, grab a breakfast while reading the papers, iron clothes, run to the auto stand, dash down the Metro’s escalator, stepping on toes on the way up, sidestepping on the way forward, office, nicotine, caffeine, Disprin, deadlines…and then, ‘sleepwalking back again’. Sebastian would have nothing of it; he wants us to see his world.

... contd.