Bimla Dei

 What is God to you ?  I know there are many belief systems which I would never dare to question not.. because I believe in the power of faith for sure. However, God to me is good people who believe in good deeds and who are at it every day bettering not just lives of themselves but also others. 

Recently, I got this opportunity of visiting the Shesh Nag temple aka Balo Nag temple in Bahu. After almost a 30 minute walk you reach this clearing on top of a hill. Exquisite and thought through architecture of the temple is a puller for sure. However, what you need to understand about this place is that what binds it together is the deep rooted faith of the people living there in the natural forces which protects and safeguards them. Every tree and every thread which binds each of them felt like hushing of the same. faith.. believe..

I really cant wait to be there once to attend their holy festival whenever that would be conducted. 

 

But what really pulls me towards this place is the dedication of people, small scale sellers and vendors gathered over there to hand serve the very few hand full of people, who attempts to walk through to finally reach this clearing. 

We did not reach the place during the Puja time however after our sightseeing and the walk, we were a bit tired for the walk back without any refreshments. As I also had this idea of tasting a localite dish, we decided to settle down near the first lady who were calling us out to her stall. 

After checking out the available dishes, we ordered a traditional Siddhu with its accompaniments, a plate Maggi and three teas. 'Siddhu' according to Google is a traditional Himachali dish which is commonly eaten with ghee in the state during the winter season to maintain body temperature and also boost energy. It is also sometimes served with lentil broth (dal) or pudina chutney. 

Yes, that was our 'Siddhu'. But according to me, Siddhu was not the winner maybe Siddhu dipped wholly in ghee could be the first runner up.The chutney in which she served Siddhu is something which I would want to try again, again and again and would very well want to see how well it can perform as an accompaniment with so many other dishes. 

So here goes my version of her chutney recipe, Equal parts of green apple, a small slice of tomato, 3 or 4 garlic cloves and a small slice of ginger, a few leaves of mint (forest mint if available but make sure it never over powers the dish, top it with dried chilli flakes or minced green chilly (both should have the same effect). Add salt to taste. One amazing thing about the chutney I tasted was that all of these ingredients which went into its preparation were cultivated by this lady in her house farm. Did you notice the dedication and passion with which she serves each and every plate of her local tradition.. wait I will stress more on it.. 

Along with our cup of Maggi she also served a well prepared and refreshing cup of tea. It tasted different but refreshing and soothing. After drinking that small cup of tea we felt recharged and all equipped for our walk back the trail.I believe it is trick of this magic ingredient which she added into the boiling water along with the tea leaves which goes by the name "madhoshiddha". This is forest herb which grows in the hills, it is a natural immunity booster, pain reliever, antioxidant, gives in quick relief for tooth pain and aches and naturally boosts energy of a person. It can be consumed fresh or dried along with hot beverages to refresh energy levels of a person. 

Now, lets talk a little bit about this wonder woman who goes by the name Bimla Dei. Wakes up at 4:30 am everyday, cultivates a little bit of everything at her house farm, takes cares of her crops till 7 or 8 to get back to her house chores, she has a handful of daughters and one son is what other vendors mocked her seeing her explain all these details to us. But she talked only about one daughter who has just completed her B. Ed and also how she has high aspirations for her daughter and how she wants to see her daughter working and independent like all three of us. However, she also complained how her daughter just wants to sit in the house all day long by having zero faith in her own mother's high hopes for her. Anyways,.. after finishing her household chores and other important works at home, she runs around carefully collects all the required ingredients to serve her very few guests with atmost dedication and passion, makes it to the Baho temple clearing around 10 to 11 am, sets up her stall in one place with a few arranged chairs around a small tea poy to serve her dishes to the guests and also makes a fire in the nearby pit around which she has arranged a few benches where visitors can sit and talk and also warm themselves up. When she doesn't have guests, she knits all day long or goes into the forest to collect firewood. 

What amazed me is that, she charged us only 170 rs for these dishes and her time. When I paid her 250 rs, she got so offended that her expression changed and straight away returned 50 rs and also claimed that she did not do any of this for money but only because she really liked us and chanted something which almost meant, 'aditi devo bhava' or something. I had to really talk her into not returning me that 30 rs and also had to calm her down by holding her hand saying what I offered was not a tip rather a gift to her and she deserves way more than that. Just imagine where I am coming from and how much I have to pay all those high end chains for a 'small' or 'regular' cup of tea or coffee. But I was taken aback by her sincerity and dedication to what she does, even completely negligent or unaware of the potential of what all she could do with it all. Or is it a willful decision ?  One thing I know for sure is I would volunteer myself to call and proclaim the women like her "Wonder Woman" every single day. 

Also, story did not end here.. As I asked her more details about this wonder herb, she actually accompanied us for a short distance on our way back, went inside the forest, collected a handful of this magic herb and offered me the same to take it back home. I tried to convince her to take back the 50 rs she returned and asked her to buy something for her daughter with it but she willfully denied the same saying she is just so happy to meet young girls like us living 'happily'. but didn't she mean 'successfully' ??

And between, from everything I have researched so far, I can say that this magic herb has real healing properties. "madhoshiddha".. thank you Bimla Dei 🙏