An Anecdote
Sitting around the fire place and listening to my grandfather's thrilling stories used to be the daily routine of our childhood. He told many stories. His supply of tales was endless, but the stories relating to the Himalayan wonder, "Yetis," always kept me spellbound. "They are as big as the Yaks and as powerful as the tigers," he would tell us, and the fierce tides of curiosity would envelop our young minds.
The descriptions that my grandfather gave me are still vivid in my mind. "They are somewhat brown with shaggy hairs all over their body. The hairs remain straight to trap more air and keep them warm from the cold snowy weather of the Himalayas. They move slowly and carefully," Grandfather would tell us. I would then imagine myself following the Yetis' footsteps in the soft snow of the Himalayas. "They have two legs and two hands. The Yeti's head somewhat resembles with that of a monkey's. The hands are large and formidable and the feet are highly splayed and have a strong, muscular body." I would ask my grandpa with excitement, "Do they eat bananas?" "No, they only eat the bamboo shoots! They have a humanoid figure and wander about in an upright fashion." His loud voice would roar in amazement at my childhood innocence. He would tell the stories with the same exhilaration as he did when he saw the Yeti for the first time, on his way to Tibet.
The stories and the legends made such powerful impressions on my mind that I started reading books about them. Some of the books that I read even had photographs of their footprints. The photographs were of big impressions engraved in the snows of the Himalayas. There were clear marks of five distinct digits and the instep with an indistinct heel. The imprints looked exactly the same as those my grandfather had described. My imagination infused in me an immense desire to see the Yetis, and I, along with two of my friends, finally decided to go up to the mountains in search of those amazing beings.
With great energy and excitement, we trekked for three days to the mountains. It was the most "out of the world" experience of my life. We had high hopes of seeing the real figure that my grandfather had described to me years ago: a robust faced creature with large teeth and a broad mouth. The mountain peaks gleamed in delight all around and gave us the feeling that somewhere in one of those vast areas were the Yetis roaming. The chilling cold and the snow defied everything, reminding us the power of nature in the great Himalayas. The frigid environment around us gave us a hope of seeing the Yeti somewhere around the crevices.
Tsering Sherpa, a porter, shared the most disappointing of all experiences, "we were about to catch one of them in 1973 on our way to the base camp of Everest but the weather did not favor us." Other people had their own stories to tell us. "The last time I saw Yeti was ten years back in the base camp of Mt. Annapurna," Samde Sherpa, sipping his last gulp of tea, told us. Samde Sherpa had been a trekking guide for many years. Drinking the tasty salty-Ghee Tea (a Himalayan specialty) and listening to the guides' stories, we stayed the entire night around the fireplace with ever-strengthening hope, enthusiasm and immense excitement. I learned a lesson that day -- odd things can happen at any time where the air is thin and icy. This impression further heightened my hope of seeing Yetis tugging around the Rhododendron bushes.
The next day we went out in random routes. We had a guide from Namche Bazaar who had his own stories to tell us. "They are clever creatures and can sense human presence. But they cannot run fast," he would tell us with vivid descriptions. We hardly paid attention to what he said as we were busy looking around to trace any clues of Yetis' presence. The frigid wind, immeasurable snow and the absolute isolation of the region kept us exhilarated. Our thoughts of a wild human like creature watching us from some frozen bend made us more excited. How could they survive in such a harsh and cold climate and still thrive to amuse humans? Where could this biped have been hiding?
Our quest for the Yetis continued until the next few days, but the glimmer of hope slowly began to wane. We could not even distinguish their footprints at the base of the Himalayas. How is it that we could not even find the slightest clue of the creature? I was filled with despair, but I recalled the memories of my grandfather and his inspiring words. His description of the Yetis glowed somewhere deep within my mind.
Most people like to dismiss Yeti as a Himalayan legend. But I always thought that their world is out there in the mountains. I believed they enjoy snow as much as we humans do. They will continue to capture the imagination of people as one of the most legendary creatures of the Himalayan region. This great mystery, the Yetis, continues to draw many scientists and experts from around the globe to explore its existence in the lap of the Himalayas. But, despite the increasing sightings and mounting physical evidence, Yetis remains shrouded as a riddle with insufficient clues.
Thinking about the wonderful creature simply elates me, refreshing my beautiful childhood memories. I do not know why the image does not get erased from my mind. I still rejoice in this particular story today. I am hopeful that one day I will see this creature, living, in its withdrawn manner, in the Himalayas. Memories to cherish and stories to tell will always keep up my zeal for a second visit to the mountains in search of that ape-man with an eerie human quality.
How could this animal still remain out of human sight? Could it be a bulky ape-like hairy man of dizzying heights? Considering the remoteness and the size of the Himalayan region, it does seem probable that the creature may roam about the valleys, crevices and peaks of this behemoth mountain chain and elude scientists for many years to come. Maybe we have yet to understand something more.
Maybe Yetis should never be discovered, as it will end our quest forever. The scientists will then not be seen in the mountains. The Himalayas will lose her pristine beauty and attraction. The thrilling stories of seeing Yetis, told by the Sherpas of the Himalayan region, will then be confined to internet sites. Since the Yetis are the living identity of the region and its people, discovering them implies that the Yetis and the Sherpas will be forgotten -- solved-forever.
Whether they be Abominable Snowmen to the westerners or a thrilling mystery to the cryptozoologists, the Yetis always remind me of the beautiful stories that my grandfather told me during my childhood. However, the discovery of the Yetis, if it ever took place, might not be as appealing for children to hear from their grannies as it used to be when I heard the tales from my grandfather. The beauty of its mystery will have faded by then. I wonder will the children be as curious as I used to be, when they hear the anecdotes of the Yeti's quest.